Hood River / The Dalles, OR Ride Report

In June of 2010 I had the opportunity to visit Portland, OR and the surrounding area. In a brief description everything is over the top beautiful. The Willamette Valley, Coastal area, Mt. Hood, Columbia River and Portland itself.

I had a day to myself while my wife was working in Portland. I drove the couple of hours to Hood River and rented a Giant OCR from Discover Bicycles. I rode out of town and East towards Rawena Glen and The Dalles. The route follows old 30 for awhile which is an engineering feet of the last century. Cliffs and tunnels and one really cool switchback coming down from Rawena Glen.

I dodged some bullets. It rained every day on our trip but only threatened rain and spit a little on my day off.

The incredible thing about this ride was the change in scenery. In the less than 20 miles I went to a rain forest kind of environment to a dryer one.
This was a memorable 45 mile ride and if you are ever in the area this is a must do, especially with a shop like Discover bicycles where you can rent a nice road bike for $30 for the day.

Tomb Ride Report

A nice day for November 23rd; 50, sunny and not too windy and just enough time to go out for a quick ride. I never get tired of this ride; there is nature, history, beauty, some easy hills and a great down hill run.
I rode across the Lawrenceburg Rd. "Lost Bridge" over the Great Miami River and am always on the lookout for bald eagles. There were none today but I did spot a couple of blue herons. The Great Miami is maybe a mile or so from the Ohio River at this bridge. At the point where the Miami meets the Ohio marks the Western edge of the old Ohio Territory and now the state line which runs due North and splits Ohio and Indiana.

I took a right on Bower Rd. and followed the Miami R. towards the Ohio R. and on the left is Shawnee Lookout State Park. The Indians used this site as a lookout and camp to see who was coming and going on both these river highways. I followed Bower Rd. which runs along the Ohio by the Duke power plant. This is called the Miami Fort plant because Fort Finney was built on the site after the revolutionary war to subdue Indians in the area.

I then followed Bower Rd. (where I get a glimpse of the Ohio

now and then)

until I see the limestone monument and tomb of our 9th president William Henry Harrison. He is Ohio's first and America's first president to die in office. He caught a cold and died 32 days later. The tomb itself is pretty cool. William and

his wife along with their son and family are buried in the crypt.

I then climbed up Cliff Rd. past Congress Green Cemetery where a whole bunch of early settlers are buried.

Cliff Rd. is my favorite part of the ride because once I get to the top I stop and gaze at the great view up and down the Ohio River. I then ride the roller coaster as Cliff Rd. turns into Dugan Gap and then fly downhill to Bower Rd.

There is really very little traffic on this route. There are some tractor trailers but they seem to know to expect bicycles. They generally slow down and pass with care.

Danny MacAskill

Gobbler's Knob Ride Report

November 12-The weather was perfect, about 70, not too bad for a November. We hit it pretty hard with the hill out of Harrison, and kept a pretty good speed 19-20 mph all the way to Cedar Grove. The Big Cedar Rd. portion is perfect; downhill, peaceful and beautiful. The Gobbler's knob hill is allways a killer. Sometimes I make it and sometimes I don't make it without stopping. Today was a day I didn't make it. The St. Peter's Rd. portion seemed to have a lot more gravel than usual (from recent course asphalt patches) which is a drag because it is a usually a great downhill run. All in all it was a great 38 mile ride followed by a cold one in the VFW parking lot.