Peterson Ridge 17-Mile Loop, Sisters, Ore.

Drove to the small town of Sisters, Oregon for the second time this month to try out the new mountain bike and get some sun while Portland was socked in with clouds and drizzle. We chose the Peterson Ridge system as an easy alternative to the Phil's network in Bend (where we've only ridden once, with a guide). It was just my speed. Some sports are difficult for a low-risk control freak, and this is one of them. Hopefully I will learn to trust my bike a little bit more. And I still don't think it's as hard as cross country skiing, so there's that. At least a mountain bike has brakes. And the fast and flowy parts through the pine are almost as good as hiking.

Black Butte, from the West Trail.

Posing on the trail. I spent a good portion of this ride either grinning like a maniac or grunting like Martina Navartilova.

Pretending to be more boss than I actually am. Riding over boulders is scary, there I said it.

Central Oregon colors.

I could seriously live here. 

Um, yeah, so lots of pics of Black Butte. North Sister was pretty close, but mostly shrouded in clouds.

We stopped for lunch at this conveniently-placed picnic table where the east and west trails meet.

Dr. B snapped this cool shot somewhere along the East Trail.

McKenzie Pass and Parkdale Weekend Rides

Starting off the 15 mile ascent to McKenzie Pass (highway 242) out of Sisters, Ore. Why, you ask? Wait.

Anticipating a harder climb, hitting the Hammer gels early.

Mostly pleasant climbing after 5 miles of false flat.

The lava fields are why you do this. That's Mount Washington and the flank of Belknap Crater off to the left.

Approaching the Pass.

Dee Wright Observatory ahead.

The Sisters, near where the PCT crosses 242.

I was so cold on the descent that I consented to wearing Dr. B's Raph-tard jacket. I am ashamed to admit that it is awesome.

Self-explanatory.

From Windy Pass, about 12 miles up.

Dr B's sweet ride.

I'm in there somewhere.

This ride gets the Charles Atlas seal of approval.

Day 2, riding from Hood River to Parkdale, with Mount Hood at the end of the highway.

Bitchin ride.

Feeling pretty badass right about now.

My compatriots like this "beer" stuff. I don't get it.

Timothy Lake Test Run

Okay, so I didn't go all the way around Timothy Lake for my big practice run in preparation for the half marathon next month. Because apparently I'm an idiot, I accidentally looped back around to my car about 4 miles in. That's the kind of mistake you make when you're overconfident, not looking at a map, going "fast" and listening to headphones. When I realized what I did, I decided to explore about the same distance in the other direction and hit the PCT junction before turning back around. Essentially, I did an 8-mile figure eight. Great. My limited impression is that is was a) hot, and b) hillier than I expected. Parts were flat, sure, but some weren't, and that made me nervous. I'm hoping that I was just accidentally off-trail for those parts, otherwise it's entirely possible that I will be crawling over that finish line on June 2nd.

Otto Miller and Dixie Mountain Ride

Not the hell I thought it would be, and actually pretty awesome.

Loving Each Day

This week was pretty horrific for a lot of people in different parts of the country, and I spent a lot of time on my runs and rides thinking about how lucky I am just to get to do simple things like run down a country road for three hours listening to a podcast, or ride bikes for 45 miles with my husband, climbing hills together and coming home safely to a bottle of wine. It's a tough world out there, but as cheesy as it sounds I'm glad I get to experience it every day.

Rode up McNamee, up Rock Creek. The hardest part? Coming down Logie.

The .28 is the distance from my car into Starbucks.
Otherwise, I finally ran 13 miles and don't feel too shabby.

Despite my words of gratitude in this blog post, here I am telling Dr. B
to go straight to hell when he suggests we add Dixie Mtn road to our ride, already my longest
and most elevation of the year. Hey, you can't be gracious all the time.

Stats: The Rock Creek ride was only 25 miles, 1800 or so ft of gain. But, the Rocky Point Road ride was 45 miles and 4,500 +/- ft of gain. Starting to feel ready for our annual version of Tour de Blast and the soft opening of McKenzie Pass!

Assault On Saddle Mountain

Blasted up and down a completely-melted out Saddle Mountain yesterday. Unfortunately, it was entirely without wildflowers or views. And the drive took longer than the summit. Wait a couple weeks, preferably for a sunny day, and the flower show should be going off. Not that I took the good camera, but it's really too bad since some of my favorite photos are from our day hike here back in 2009.

70 miles from Portland on Highway 26.
5 miles RT.

Seven Mile Summit Ride

This ride was easier than I expected. The grind up to Seven Mile Summit was long and hot, but managable. Certainly not as bad as some West Hills grades, so I just curled my back and pumped my legs, and soon enough I was surprised to be cresting the top of the climb. After that it was a screaming fast downhill to the old historic highway, the easy climb to Rowena, and a sprint to the car parked at The Dalles Discovery building. Here's someone else's GPS route of the ride. This would be more challenging as a lollipop with the Hood River->Dalles ride.

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                                                               2,797 ft total gain, 25 miles.

The Twelve Mile Mark

I ran 12 miles today, although "running" might be stretching the truth a little. Technically, I jogged at a 12 minute mile pace the circumference of Sauvie Island. The good news is that my nine mile run on Sunday was in the 10 minute mile pace range, so I feel that I will be able to bring the time down soon. My concerns are that Sauvie is extremely flat, and the Timberline Half is not only a hilly unpaved trail, but an extra mile longer than a true half marathon. Tomorrow, Dog Mountain... because my legs need a break?

Shamrock Run 8K

My first race! Super fun, perfect weather, 9.5 minute mile pace. Over way too soon.

A Full Weekend

I packed the last couple days full, with a nine mile running loop over the Sellwood Bridge, a surprisingly easy ride to the Vista House (didn't that used to be really hard?) and then a double whammy ski-and-run today. Trillium Lake conditions were icy and lame this morning, which just goes to show that bluebird skies do not equal prime conditions. Reluctantly, I returned to Portland and headed down to Helvetia to run on some country roads until I got bored. And so far, the carb-protein combo is doing the job of helping me keep my energy and immunity up. And all of this is to get me ready for what I really love to do - hike my ass off. I've been plotting the two challenging hikes to Tank Lakes (via the east Fork Foss River through Necklace Valley) and Jade Lake (via Deception Pass) in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and hoping I'll be ready by summer. Good times, good times.