Best Ride EVER

Rode to the park with my son!

Now as I say rode, it was more like walk, push while in saddle, and just having my bike with me.....

BUT! This is the reason I bought my new Guardian and have been trying to get my little guy excited about riding. We started him on a balance bike and he picked that up so fast. His transition to a pedal bike has taken some time. He wants to push, although he does love to brake. Getting that back tire to skid is an obsession of his.

The fun was getting him motivated so having him ride to the park was motivation enough. Getting him home again, now that was a chore. He did not want to leave the fun of the park.

Oh the adventures we are going to have!

I do have to say on the way back from the park my little guy was doing so much better. I had more saddle time and was working on my slow balance skills. Like I said, BEST RIDE EVER!

I miss my Airborne

On vacation for a couple weeks and I am missing my bike. We went up north to the Portland, OR area and have been having a great time. There is so much amazing nature to be seen. I wish I had the bike up here but dont know when I would be able to ride because we have just been busy doing family hikes and sight seeing.

 This is Mount Shasta. HUGE, 13 thousand and some odd feet tall. Such a majestic and amazing mount.

 Then the iconic Mount Hood. This is where I learned to ski and then snowboard. There are so many places around Hood and the Columbia Gorge to hike and camp. I am sure I could find some great trails to bike around here.

 Crown Point sits at the entrance to the gorge, and just a sight to behold. The drive up there is fun too. This is looking east into the mouth of the gorge. Up further near Hood River is one of the world's best places for wind surfing.

 Multnomah Falls. 532 feet of water dropping. Gorgeous at any time of the year. Always love going here and hiking.

Finally the most active mountain in the Cascade range. Mount Saint Helens. Was fun showing my kids the power of mother nature. My son was amazed and he remembers the volcano. Such a great  trip and soon to be headed back to NorCal and back to riding. It has been great to have some time off but I am missing my riding.

The grasses of Norcal

I am really enjoying riding this area. This is the second time over by the Old Borges Ranch. The grasses are so brown now and its only the beginning of summer. I miss the beautiful greens but am still happy to get out and ride.

 

 This area has some punishing hills, but they are not so steep that you cant ride up em. There was two climbs on my route that had 300ft of elevation change. The day was perfect though, clear skies right around 80 degrees.

 All day I was seeing these birds of prey. The area has a number of ground squirrels and so these birds were soaring looking for a little meal. Amazing to see such great sites while out for a little ride. Considering I am on the outskirts of such a huge Metropolitan area as San Francisco. Below here its hard to see but that is the 680 and 24 exchange. So only a few miles from thousands of cars and yet I feel like I am out in the wilderness.

This picture really gives the scale of the hills here. The washout provided a great natural kickstand, showing off that nice Airborne Guardian. There are some good climbs and great downhills. The trails here are all 8 feet wide though there are a couple single-tracks that are for hiking and horseback riding. Dont understand why bikes are not allowed. I poach a little bit but have to be careful not to upset the hikers or equestrian type people.

There is a great place to ride about 20 mins north of where I live that has a network of single-track(meant specifically for Mountain Biking) and I will be heading up there, but I am still exploring the rides close by. There is so much trail here that I can make different routes and ride varying trails so it keeps things exciting.