New bike path

On Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 9:08:15 AM UTC-7, AMuzi wrote:
On 3/10/2018 8:42 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 5:47:04 PM UTC-8, Gregory Sutter wrote:
On 2018-03-10, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, March 9, 2018 at 12:22:52 PM UTC-8, wrote:
On todays route, to Dutch standards through the middle of nowhere, I noticed that a new bike path is constructed (about 3-4 km long) along a quiet road. Even I was surprised that we go to this kind of trouble.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gAFqDSnOECBcxETP2

Wow, I guess that's what you get when you don't have to pay for cruise missiles. I think we should conquer NL and take the bike paths.

Jay, you win the Internet today. Here's your Unca Sam chapeau.

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Aw right! A new hat! I'll wear it leading the charge into Amsterdam! Which way to the coffee shop?

If I recall, 'coffee shop' in Nederlanderese means 'pot
vendor'. You needn't bother since you're in Oregon already.
Dutch buy coffee in an 'espresso bar' I think.

Lou, is that right?

Yes, I was using the term "coffee shop" to mean dispensary of the evil weed with its roots in hell. Invading foreign countries is stressful. You need something to take the edge off.

Speaking of getting high in NL, the flatness there is staggering. 50 meters in 85km? Dang.

My son JUST GOT OUT OF HIS WHEELCHAIR! He was cleared to stand last Wednesday, and one of the first things he did was get on his trainer. If you forgot, he shattered both of his ankles skiing on Christmas Eve.

I set him up with the recovered Roubaix -- complete with the flat pedals the meth tweakers had put on the bike. I also put some bright blue duct tape on the crank arms to keep them from being scuffed the ortho boots. The bike looks like something right out of a homeless camp.

Today, he rode outside for the first time. A few times around the neighborhood streets. 3.5km and 80 meters of climbing -- in ortho boots. I think he can still beat me even with two surgically repaired ankles.

The weather was perfect today -- 65F, blue skies. I was headed out to the Columbia River Gorge but turned back before Crown Point because the f****** wind. I got tired of thrashing myself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcP8qK_CSZA 00:39 is why you don't want a light bike.

What I hate about the wind is that it often shifts after mid-day when central Oregon warms up. If you mis-time your ride, you can end up with a headwind both ways. The wind remained out of the east for me today, and I had a screaming tail wind going home down Marine Drive -- which made me feel like Cancellara with a Gruber assist. It was great until I ran over a cement board screw and tore up my front tire. I had to boot it with a $1. I think Park sells $1 bills as tire boots. They're $2.

And not to sound too cranky, but I get tired of guys riding by and asking if I'm O.K. One guy actually stopped and was cross-examining me about the flat. Do you have this, do you have that? I just kept saying, "I've got it. I'm O.K.; I've got it." He wouldn't go away. He was wearing tights with pink flamingos on them. I kid you not. I once had a guy stop and basically take over fixing a flat -- it was so surrealistic that I just stood there and let it happen. It the officious flat fixing people. Another Portland trope.

-- Jay Beattie.