It’s kind of fitting that today is Pi Day and it’s been a full year since COVID19 screwed up EVERYTHING. We’ve come full circle (pie, round, circle….see what I did there?) I started writing blog posts specifically about COVID19 because I felt the need to document what is happening and give my perspective on things. Part of me cannot believe it’s been a year already. I distinctly remember coming home from a short trip to Cannon Beach and not being able to find toilet paper anywhere. COVID was all over the news while we were at the beach and it just also happens to be the last time that Mia and I ate out at a restaurant. The optimistic side of me hopes for some sort of normalcy by late June early July. The realist in me thinks more like September or October.

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I also distinctly remember the optimism of “couple weeks of lockdown and we’ll be good….” Yeah, right! As the weeks dragged on and on it was quite apparent that everyone was in this for the long haul. Fifty Two weeks later and I am still writing about it on a weekly basis.

Pi Day

Yes, it is Pi day. I am a fan of this concept/celebratory day for two reasons.
1. I like desserts
2. I was a math minor in college, so I like math humor.

I was looking to do something a bit different. It was down to either a fruit based pie or a nut based one. Early on in the COVID Kitchen posts, back in week 8, I posted about the Chocolate Pecan Pie that I made. That thing was awesome and I will make it again someday. However I was in the mood to experiment on this 2021 Pi Day. I found this Maple Walnut Pie recipe and it seemed like a good idea to me.

Playing hooky……….

Three of us from the City of Beaverton took Friday off to take advantage of a stellar weather forecast and get in a looonnnggg day of riding. I feel somewhat responsible for lowering the work output of COB by close one half of one percent (again…remember I was a math minor). The plus side is we don’t all work for the same department so it isn’t like I brought Finance to a standstill.

I’ve only ridden on the Crown Zellerbach trail once previously. Since then though I have wanted to loop together both the CZ and Banks-Vernonia trail for what is roughly a 90+ mile ride of pavement, gravel and if you really wanted, singletrack.

I started out at my house in FG and met Mark and Carl in North Plains. We then proceeded up and over Dixie Mtn (gravel) to Otto Miller (gravel) Rd to Dutch Canyon an into Scappoose. From Scappoose it is the CZ (gravel) all the way up to Vernonia and then back on the BV trail (pavement) to Banks and then work my way home to FG.

There are decent options for refueling in Scappoose, Vernonia and Banks depending on where you start and how much you want to carry with you. I never miss a chance for a coffee at The Black Bear in Vernonia. We also took the opportunity to fill up all our water bottles and get some more snacks at R&S Market. I personally have found that on these longer rides some salty potato chips go a long way.

This was hopefully the first of many long rides that I need to accomplish over the next several months as I gear up for the Skull 120. I ended up with just over 90 miles and around 5300′ of elevation. The next ride should be in 2-3 weeks time and is around 85ish miles and over 7,000′ of elevation if memory serves me correctly.

It was great to have Mark and Carl along for the ride. It helps days like this go by a bit faster when you have people to talk to. It also helps when you’re all on the same page as far as pacing strategy. It’s only March and I don’t need to be going all out for a 90 miler at this point in the year.

That is about it for now
Thanks for reading,
-Pete