March Madness

Well, I most say that I haven't really followed any college basketball this year. With my team (GO Ducks!!) out pretty much from the start, I haven't bothered to watch really any games. So instead of watch much basketball today I went riding! It was supposed to be a great day in Oregon, with the high forecasted to reach 70! So I met my buddy Jer and we set out to hit Multnomah Falls. This is a great ride that has a fair amount of climbing, some great descents, and usually some pretty heavy wind!
Getting ready to head out the wind in Portland was amazingly strong for so early in the morning. We pedaled along Marine Drive into a fairly fierce headwind out to Troutdale and the Historic Hwy. As we climbed our way up to Crown Point (pictured above) the wind got more intense. Now, I've probably ridden this course, well I don't know...at least a few dozen times I guess...and today was the windiest I have ever felt it. The wind was so strong near Crown Point that it was blowing us to the side as we climbed. We knew we were going to be in for a crazy descent down to Multnomah Falls so we crossed our fingers!!

The descent down the Multnomah Falls (pictured below) was, in a word, SCARY. Again, I've ridden this road so many damn times I feel like I could do it with my eyes closed, but today was different. I led us down and as I made my way around the first turn I was greeted with a huge gust of wind...30+ mph. I held on to my machine and then made my way around to the second turn. This time barely going 10mph. I came around the corner and the wind was blowing so hard. It was blowing my away from the cliff wall to my right side and towards the cliff drop off to my left side. The wind was so powerful that it blew me past the center line...again towards the edge. It kept blowing me over until I neared the white line on their side of the road!! I was now thinking fast as the drop off below was probably around 1k. I unclipped my right pedal and used it for balance on the ground as the wind continued to push my bike towards the edge. I wasn't too worried because I wasn't moving super fast and I knew I could save the situation. My only concern was oncoming traffic. There was none. I self corrected, let the wind pass and got back on my side of the road.

The rest of the ride was pretty bland compared to the first half! We had a few laughs and made our way back to town. Another great ride in the books! I told Jer the wind would be Epic, but today was a new definition of the word. And no, my camera phone did not take either of these pictures...it still sucks. Thanks for reading,

-T