Distance: 17.6 miles
Riding time: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Actual time: 3 hours (estimate)
Max speed: 21.5 mph
Average speed: 10.2 mph
Temperature: 63º (with a little rain)
Route:
- 162nd to Powell Butte
- Rode in circles for 30 minutes
- Old Holgate Trail down to Holgate (wow!)
- Holgate to Buddy’s house
- Buddy’s house to Foster Road
- Foster Road to Woodward/Clinton
- Clinton to Springwater Corridor
- Springwater Corridor to Hawthorne Bridge
- Waited 10 minutes for bridge to close
- Waterfront to Oak
- Oak to Broadway
- Broadway to work
I originally intended to ride down to the Springwater Corridor and take that into downtown but taking 162nd south ran me right into Powell Butte. Powell Butte is a park with many trails suitable for biking. It hooks up with Springwater Corridor on the south side, so I decided I would ride over it. It opens with a really steep, but paved hill that will literally take your breath away (from pedaling). After I took a five minute break, I zig-zagged the rest of the way up the hill. Once I got to the top, though, it was easier going. I grabbed the paved trail and went on my way. After riding for about 20 minutes, I was very close to where I had started. Powell Butte has many trails to choose from and I had no idea which to choose. Except it occurred to me that the “Old Holgate Trail” might take me down to Holgate Street which is south of Powell. It did and I came out very close to Buddy’s house. I was going to stop and leave a copy of the Constitution in his door (my new calling card) but his truck was in the driveway and his front door was open. He doesn’t work on Friday so we chatted for a few minutes while I plotted my new course with my bike map. I didn’t think I had much left in the tank so I threw out the Springwater Corridor course, which jogs south a few miles, and adopted a new course crossing southeast Portland into downtown. As it turned out, I was not very fatigued as I pedaled up the ramp to the Hawthorne Bridge. Sadly, they had the drawbridge open and were doing some sort of maintenance which took a very long time. I stood patiently and listened to Handsome Boy Modeling School.