HTFU Rain Ride at Hagg Lake

It was rainy and gloomy as befitting the Pacific Northwest, but our training ride at Hagg today made me happy. Exercise is a hell of a drug. The loop is too easy for us now, so we decided that the key is to build speed. It's still worth it to ride out there in bad weather, since it's safe and has easy access to water, bathrooms and the car for dry layers. We were equipped with full rain gear, which we've finally mastered. Dr. B has fenders and I don't, so my butt was soaked and eventually even my overpriced Rapha booties couldn't hold out any longer. Even though I barely rode in busy, stressful December I hopped back on like no time had passed. Every so often on the back stretches I'd get a whiff of pine and forest floor. Ah, Oregon.

December Is Crazy

We're both working a lot, which doesn't leave a lot of time for chilly bike rides and snowy hikes, but here are some current winter pics as a place holder:

Got a new helmet, but it's not as sexy as the discontinued Pneumo. Why do you hate me, Giro?

Despite the presence of this twinkly dead plant in my living room, I am still a Grinch at heart!

Kruger's Crossing XC Race

What a gorgeous day for biking! We rode Skyline in the freezing cold, slipping on icy leaves in the shoulders, down to Sauvie Island for our fifth Kruger's cross race. No, we don't race, but we are avid fans and someday Lucy may participate in the doggie dash:

Riding home:

Snapshots From A Rainy Day In Town

 The St John's Bridge

Peninsula Park, Rose Garden

City Market, NW 21st

Saltzman Road, Buried

Smokehouse 21, NW Portland

Cold, Foggy Ride in the West Hills

The fog clears a little at Skyline Diner.

Dr B. on his new Signal cyclocross bike.

Outdoor fireplace and gingerbread latte? Yes please.

SPOT Satellite GPS Device

Pictured: Future total pain in your ass.

The SPOT satellite device seemed like a good idea at the time, despite their auto renewal policy. The product itself worked okay, and I figured "how hard could it be to just cancel my account?"

Turns out, damn near impossible. I have cancelled, been charged, and then refunded after much hassle three times now. Their customer service phone line is a virtual middle finger in the form of muzak, and it takes several emails to get a response, much less a refund. I can honestly say it's some of the worst customer service I've ever dealt with. Calling Chase bank to dispute the most recent charge was downright pleasant in comparison.

I now have to change my debit card number to keep them from charging me a fourth time for a service I cancelled three years ago.

SPOT messenger: Not worth the hassle.

First Frost of November

I really like the easy Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain hike via Mirror Lake. I'd intended to do Zigzag Mountain via Burnt Lake before the big snow comes, but the potholes past the junction with Ramona Falls were just too wide and deep. Having gotten a late start, I chose to revisit this little 6-miler just a few miles more up Highway 26 to check out the new snow and get some good photos. Now home, I actually made a healthy dinner which I'm washing down with my latest obsession: Wild Turkey American Honey. Here are some of my favorite shots from today:

Today's post is brought to you by Mount Hood Roasters in Rhododendron, who woke and warmed me up today.

Lost Highway

The rainbow connection.

Dr B. has been wanting to ride Lost Lake Highway for several days now, so we finally headed out there on Halloween. The weather seemed partly sunny here and in Hood River, but was looking gloomy around the mountain - I suspected once we reached the lake we'd be enveloped in cold, wet clouds.

Finding a place to start the ride was difficult. First of all, our directions were ambiguous, but once we finally got to Dee Mills it was all fairly straightforward. Our book showed a loop ascending Lake Branch Road, which also forked off towards Whatum Lake on Mount Defiance. We debated parking on this remote logging road, but I had a major case of the creeps out there all alone and insisted that we drive the loop first to see what we were in for.

After some rough forest road, eventually we reached the resort at the lake, which was entirely boarded up and decidedly Friday the 13th-esque. For some reason, Dr. B saw no problem with all this (perhaps because he had not recently watched back-to-back Paranormal Activity 3 and Lake Mungo on Netflix), and he wanted to ride. I was over it, but was more than happy to ride SAG. I didn't want to ruin his day, so I tailed him in the warm, not haunted Subaru.

Within an hour he rode out of the freezing rain and back into some pretty sun-dappled open road, where we stopped for a picture (above). He didn't complete the loop due to the bitter cold, but I think we'll come back and do the whole thing some day. Just maybe not on Halloween.

Ramona Falls Trail Run/Hike

Buying a car this summer has given me a lot more choice in terms of my hiking destinations. It used to be that if I was going to drop the money on a Zipcar or a rental, it had better be an epic day, with alpine views and thigh-burning elevation gain. These days, I can do a relatively flat, heavily forested hike without any guilt about "wasting" my time and money. Yes, there's still gas, and I end up paying far more in the long run to own a car, but for me the cost is worth the perception of freedom.

Now I allow myself to enjoy trails like Ramona Falls, a completely lovely loop that I've heard of a million times, but only ever planned to do it as a part of a much longer Yocum Ridge excursion. I was impressed with the scenery from the drive in on Lolo Pass awash in fall colors and mossy FR 1825, all the way to pretty falls and back. The bridge at the Sandy River is out, but a downed log makes for an easy crossing. I ran most of the trail to make it more of a challenge, so just when the hike was getting boring (I know, too much beauty) I was done.

7 miles, super easy grades, great for a trail run!