Oregon City

June 16, 2025

We've earmarked today for another bike ride together, one where we'll just ride and I'll follow along with the GoPro. Today we'll stretch Rachael's distance a bit, aiming for Oregon City - a flattish round trip of roughly 35 miles. It's a pretty good jump from the 22 miles she rode on Sauvie three days ago, but it should help that she's not fighting a 15 mph headwind half the way. Pumping up her nearly flat front tire should make some difference too, I expect.

I'm up early, planning on coffee at the Saint Honoré over on Thurman because it opens a half hour earlier than my other morning haunts. The goal is to get out on the road early while it's still cool and refreshing out. When I get up though I'm surprised to find that it's more than a bit cool in the apartment; and looking around, I'm see that we left the door to the deck wide open all night. I'm also surprised to see that there's a nice sunrise developing, but in an unexpected place - reflecting off the western face of the high across the street.

It takes me a second to realize that it's not a reflection off the building, but off the glass pane of our door to the deck, opened at an angle that reflects the sun in my direction.

I'm back from breakfast by nine, and a half hour later we're packing up for the road. I haven't finally broken down and taped a checkoff list to the door, but I've really been working hard to internalize my list of essentials so I'm not forgetting anything. This morning I've got it all: phone, wallet, house keys, glasses, the GoPro, the Garmin, the Varia rear light, the helmet, the essential tools. We're good to go.

But I'm wrong. I mount the Garmin to the bike and am about to mount the GoPro when I realize I screwed up again. Not today though, but yesterday. The GoPro mount is on my Bike Friday, the one I dropped off at Clever Cycles yesterday.

Curses, foiled again! - as Snidely Whiplash was prone to groan when outsmarted for the umpteenth time by that other Rocky over sixty years ago, about the time that our Rocky first stepped onto the stage.

So that changes everything. No video, so we'll need at least some camera work if we want to show you anything from today's ride but the sunrise, a wall of text and a map. I propose that I keep the camera in my pocket as we ride together to Oregon City, and save the photography for the ride home so she can continue ahead at her own pace. Which works fine - we keep a good, steady pace all the way south with me in the lead most of the way, not stopping for anything but street lights until we come to the overlook just south of Willamette Falls where we stop while Rachael stuffs away some calories.

Not long afterwards she heads for home, off like a rocket. Feeling frisky, she lays down the hammer a bit and makes it the 17 miles home in a little over an hour - exhilarated, pleased with herself, and ignorant for the moment of how sore she'll be in the morning.

I take a different approach, stopping everywhere interesting on the way back, including a few nooks I rarely make time for - including Clackamette Park at the confluence of the Clackamas and Willamette River, and the high route back to Milwaukee rather than the Trolley Trail so I can bike through Kellog Creek Park. I've brought the Canon along and am hoping I can pull in 20 birds for the day, but it's just the wrong time of day at the wrong time of year. I'm close, but somehow can't find the flicker and cormorant that would put me over the top.

Still a great ride though, and a delight to ride with my partner again. We'll do it again soon, and with video next time.

Video, schmidio. Who needs it anyway? Let's just ride, Rocky!

Looking across the Willamette from Oregon City.

Looking north down the Willamette from Oregon City. Just a quarter mile behind us is the falls. The construction project is a multiyear expansion to the I-205 bridge to add lanes.

On the river. At times in the past this has been a noisy spot, with the pier heaving with sea lions that have come all the way up from The mouth of the Columbia to gobble up the local salmon.

In Clackamette Park, looking at the arched bridge across the Clackamas on McLaughlin Boulevard, at the entrance to Oregon City.

Clackamas cacklers on the march. They look pretty disciplined, a sharper act than the ragged bands of troops shuffling past the viewing stand in the big military parade two days ago.

Three looks of. Heron, all the same bird.

From a distance I thought this was an immature eagle from its size and flat-winged flight pattern, but now I see it's just a turkey vulture.

I'm still surprised to bike past Oaks bottom and not see any birdlife. They must all be off making babies and won't congregate again until the fall migration approaches.

Just another of the usual subjects, but still nice to see.

A lesson in scale. On the right, a crow; on the left, a raven.

Just another wind spinner at the same house, but it seemed like it deserved its own frame.

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Today's list: Rock dove, American crow, dark-eyed junco, spotted towhee, common raven, turkey vulture, osprey, American robin, house sparrow, Canada goose, cackling goose, mallard, California scrub-jay, song sparrow, red-winged blackbird, red-tailed hawk, great blue heron, barn swallow, brewer's blackbird (19)

Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 1,242 miles (1,999 km)

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