This weekend is the type of weekend I want to have all the time!  Saturday morning I got up and out for the Velo Ride.  A super convenient group ride since it starts less than 2 miles from my house.  It’s also a nice way for me to discover rides in the greater Portland area since I still consider myself new around here.

We did a good hard, but not brutal 41 mile loop with a few climbs.  After that I swung by the house, picked up Mia and we did another 23 miles together.  A totally great day of just under 70 miles total.

After the ride it was quick trip to Home Depot and Lowes, REI for some new running shoes (more on that below), and our favorite weekend trip…the grocery store at Freddie Meyer.  Always an entertaining place for people watching.

Sunday was french toast and sausage for breakfast, then a 33 mile ride with Mia.  Discovered some more new roads out towards Banks and Roy too.  The first 5 miles of our ride was figuring out the route for Mia to bike commute to work.  I think I have her convinced to give it a shot.  After that it was 5 sucky miles on T.V. highway and then onto nice country farm roads for most of the rest of the ride.

I’ve discovered various 30-40 mile loops from our place by just following the Vineyard & Valley bikeway signs.  It’s hard to get lost that way.  Today’s loop involved that option a couple times since I kind of knew roughly where we were, but not exactly.  The basic gist of riding out in the area we were in is you are bordered on the north by route 26 and on the south by T.V. Highway.  Between those two roads are miles and miles of low traffic roads.

I love riding out this way.  Downtown Portland is not too far away, yet you feel like you are light years away from any stop lights, cars, traffic, etc.  It’s really quite ideal cycling country.

It’s the stuff out here I wish I had been able to show my brother when he was out in November.  It’s not all pavement and people.  In less than 10 miles we’re out in the boonies.  Just what I was used to growing up in New Hampshire.

After my ride with Mia, I took a quick 4 mile run on my new Brooks Pure Connect 3 shoes.  I wanted to try something new, and I have been running with Mizuno Waverider series shoes for the past 5-6 years now.  I still love those shoes, but it was time to branch out a bit.

I don’t feel I am the type of runner who adapts quickly to different shoes.  That’s one of the big reasons I stayed with the Mizuno shoes, they just plain worked.  Sometimes it helps to step out of the comfort zone though.  The first 4 mile jaunt on these guys felt really good.

I’ll try to get a few more runs this week on them before racing in them next Saturday.  Duathlons is one of the reasons I threw some Lock Laces on them too.

So, just remember, it always rains in Portland!

Thanks for reading.

-Pete