Friday, June 17, 2011

3rd Summer Ride


We took Wednesday off. It was much needed. Steve had taken off of work early to head to a motorcycle graveyard to find a part he needed for his motorcycle. He actually found what he needed and got a good deal (still $$) on the carburetor. Then he headed over to Jon's to install it on his bike. In the end, the carburetor broke, breaking Steve's heart a little and dashing his hopes for his bike to run reliably in the near future. Sad day. We stayed home to salve his wounds with some video gaming and unwinding time.

Ride number three was great! The weather was perfect - warm with a slight breeze and plenty of sun! This ride was sort of a tour of parks. We went through a total of 4 parks: Capitol Mall Park, Riverfront Park, Wallace Marine Park, and Olinger Pool Park. If there's one thing Oregon is good at, it's outdoor recreation. I have to say the highlight of the ride for me was the Union Street Railroad Pedestrian Bridge. Such a fun place to ride with gorgeous views of the Willamette River. Here are some "borrowed" photos:

Original Union Street Railroad Bridge


Current Day - Night Time Crossing


Our View Riding Across

I'm so sad now that I didn't take any photos while we were out. However, I'm learning to just enjoy what's going on around me rather than always pulling out my "high tech gadget thingies" as I hear so many older, wiser people say. Next time I'll try to get some photos of the river views from on the bridge. I also love the California poppies mixed with the tall blue flower stalks (blue/purple foxglove?) on the West Salem side of the bridge. So cheerful and bright! Another borrowed photo:

I wish you could have come along! We left home and headed toward the river, passing through the Capitol Mall State Park. Steve walks through it every weekday morning on his way to work. We arrived at Riverfront Park where we celebrated our first 4th of July as a married couple in 2008. It was fun to see all of the kids out playing tee ball as well as some teens swinging blindly at a pinata.

We continued over the pedestrian bridge to Wallace Marine Park where Steve led me courageously through blackberry thickets on an off-road trail -- my least favorite part of the ride. :P Then we headed back over the bridge and towards home. At the last minute, we veered north towards Steve's parents' place. It was his dad's birthday yesterday so we dropped in to wish him a Happy Birthday and take a little break.

In Oregon, I believe it is illegal to ride your bike at night without proper lights. It started to get darker so we headed back home. I was so excited to roll my bike into the patio. We completed a gorgeous, fun ride, and I still had energy when I got home.

We had only eaten a small portion of our dinner before the ride after learning the lesson from Tuesday. So, once home, we got back to eating our Beef Stroganoff. Mmm! Tastes even better after a good workout!

A great evening was had by all. =)

Thanks for reading!



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