Forty two (42). For those of you familiar with Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and pop culture in general, you know the significance of the number. For those who are not so familiar…..well, it’s the answer to everything. So perhaps it’s fitting that week 42 of Oregon’s COVID state of emergency falls now. We’ve just flipped the calendar to 2021 and, while things didn’t magically change overnight, we’ve got several things to look forward too. The current jackass residing in the White House has 17 days remaining in office (regardless of what B.S. antics are currently playing out in Congress) and the COVID vaccine is rolling out. A few of my friends on the front lines have already received their first of two shots.
Starting off the new year
I’ve got my sight set on two goals for late June and the preparation for that starts now (actually started about 4 weeks ago). I’ve mapped out a path to getting into (hopefully) top shape for that timeframe. I’ve been riding inside using trainerroad.com during the week and trying to get outside at least one of the two weekend days if weather permits. The weather has been the biggest hurdle this past week/week and a half. It has rained quite a bit. Not typical PNW non-stop drizzle but coming down in buckets at times rain. This has resulted in some minor flooding this weekend out here in western Washington County.
I am a paying member of the bikepacking.com community. Besides some member exclusive discount codes there are also random drawings for gear held throughout the year. I happened to be the recipient of one of those raffles for any set of tires off of the Renee Herse website. I chose the Fleecer Ridge in 700×55 (AKA 29x 2.15″) and their endurance casing. They setup very easily on Stan’s Crest rims with an air compressor and 3oz of Orange Seal Endurance. I’ve been running Teravail Rutland in a 29×2.2″ light & supple casing since late summer. Those have been decent tires but are kinda slow on pavement. Today’s first ride on the Fleecer Ridge was a good one. I did a decent mixed terrain loop and they are noticeably quicker on the pavement and have no distinct disadvantage on the gravel. The singletrack trails near my house are all too wet to ride right now so I’ll have to experiment in those conditions later on this year.
It rained pretty much non-stop all day yesterday. As the day wore on the rain got heavier and the wind picked up. By the time Mia and I went to bed the rain was lashing against the windows pretty hard. I have no idea what time it stopped but when Mia took Codi out for his morning walk it was no longer raining.
There was a nice window of dry (and actually some sunshine too) weather late morning so I hopped on the bike and headed out while the gettin’ was good. As I approached the B-Street trail heading south out of town I was expecting the typical wet and puddle ridden path that appears when we get a good rain. What I was not expecting was the whole path just beyond the parking lot to be submerged.
It appears Gales Creek was overflowing….quite well I may say. Can’t say I was surprised.
In many spots the drainage ditches where overflowing and just coursing down the road.
Most cyclists I know have a long list of random finds while out riding. Everything from cash/wallets to tools to porn magazines just lying on the side of the road. Some of my more notable are a 13″ crescent wrench and a super nice maglite. Today would have been the topper for a take home item with a nice Dewalt cordless drill just lying in the middle of South Road. I am not sure of MSRP on those things but I know they are not cheap. I couldn’t find a convenient way to carry it though so I just propped it on top of a fencepost at the next house I biked by. The other odd sighting was the above head. I cannot tell if it is a cow or elk. There was no other part of the carcass in sight. Just a head, on the side of the road…..staring at me.
It’s not uncommon to see the farm fields along Highway 47 in various stages of flooding during the winter months. What isn’t so common is the water coming right up to the houses in a couple of those areas. Three houses in particular along Old 47 just outside of “downtown” Gaston.
I cannot imagine any of those being my house. That would totally suck. I bet this isn’t the first time this has happened either.
I was totally expecting there to be flooding over at Fern Hill and Geiger Rd. I was pleasantly surprised to see that while the farm fields were now small lakes Fern Hill itself was still dry.
Recipe
It has been awhile since I posted a recipe. This one comes from Giada herself. Mia and I happened to see it on TV as we were having breakfast on Saturday morning. Not having any plans for dinner that night I proposed making Giada’s Baked Rigatoni with Sausage from the episode we just watched.
Now all I did was follow some pretty simple instructions, but, dang did this come out nice. Not only will I toot my own horn for making it so well but got to give credit to Giada for the recipe.
Thanks for reading,
-Pete
ON & OFF RHODES 
Yeah that rain yesterday was pretty good! Emee and I drove out to Fort Stevens yesterday and got the brunt of it. Today on the coast was pretty dry, but I’d of course we got caught on our bikes during a small squall. So we had to go back to the cabin to dry out for a bit.
But those cabins are pretty nice.
Indeed! They are twice as much as you’d pay at Stub. But you get a bathroom with shower plus microwave and fridge! It’s so nice to not have to put on shoes when you need to use a restroom.