True to fashion, Memorial Day Weekend in Portland has been a mixed bag, weather-wise. Some sun, some wind, some rain. Perfect day for a ride, right?
We decided to head east to Hood River, which is renowned for wind surfing and beer. We enjoyed neither today, but we did have some absolutely delish fish and chips at Big Horse Brew Pub. No beer for us, since we were on the bikes, but I can vouch for their chocolate stout – if I had a better growler transport system, a growler of that would’ve come home with me.
The ride was good, and was the longest I’ve done (about 120 miles round trip) since we moved. Working from home is great for a lot of things, but doing lots of riding for commuting is not one of them. It was also my first experience on real interstates. For the first few minutes all I could think was “OMG! There is a LOT of traffic!” I settled in pretty nicely soon enough, and enjoyed the not-terribly-technical twisties on I-84 east along the Columbia River. We hit a patch that had had rain just before we passed through and it smelled so incredibly pine-green. I would love to bottle that smell – it’s one of my favorites.
After lunch, we headed back home. Hit some pretty good rain on the way back. It’s really odd, but I really ride better in the rain – it’s apparently very obvious to my husband and usual riding partner. I just like riding in the rain. It’s much nicer than dealing with wind. Add to that listening to Billy Bragg’s new album on my ipod and you have very nearly my riding happy spot.
Today was also my first ride in my new Dainese Teren D-Dry suit. Because it was warmish, I didn’t use either the super-thermal layer or the gortex liner. I stayed perfectly comfortable without any vents open today (it was probably in the mid-60s or so). Even during the 10 or 15 minutes of pretty hard rain we had on the way back, I didn’t get wet, which was a plus. For a longer spell in the rain (especially without the gortex liners), I’d probably stop and put rain gear on just to be safe. On the bike, the suit fit great – the knee armor was in the right place straight off the bat. I probably need to do some adjustments on the waist of the jacket, as well as the jacket collar – the only rain I felt were the several drops that dribbled off the back of my lid and down my neck. Also new to me – suspenders for my pants. I’d always secretly snickered at folks wearing suspenders with their motorbike pants, but now that I’ve tried it, I’m a convert. No more worries about my pants sliding down while I’m riding! All in all, I think I made a good choice in suits!
Finally, here are a couple of photos I took. First is the view overlooking downtown Hood River (and the Columbia River) from the porch at Big Horse, and second a Stellar’s Jay who watched me eat lunch, in the hopes I’d give him a french fry. The jay did have two legs, but I’m pretty sure he was playing the ‘Look, I only have one leg!’ ploy in an attempt to get my fries…
