Sacramento River Trail out of Redding, Ca.

Today Paula and I rode our Tern Vektron S10 bicycles on the Sacramento River Trail. We started at the Sundial Bridge, and road up towards the Shasta Dam. Round trip our milage was thirty miles. Next time we’ll dedicate more time so we can do the entire trip; Paula thinks the trail is 23 miles one direction.

The trail was lovely, perfect for bicycles or trikes. Most areas have a center line, so if it got congested, it would still be viable, as people would know which side to be on. We did it on a Monday, so only saw a few retired types. A lot of the area is rail trail grade — 3%, but some parts that climb up over the various smaller dams have some hills. Thankfully most climbs are followed by a flat or downhill reprieve, so it’s all survivable.

On one steep section, Paula had a mis-shift and dropped her chain. We got it back on, and rode to the furthest point we were going to do, and then headed back. This time on a steep section, she dropped the chain again, and she worried she had bent the derailleur. Thankfully we were less than a mile from a trailhead, so she walked it down, and I rode back for the car. We were able to take the bike to Bikes, Etc. where the mechanic diagnosed it as a broken chain link. He installed a replacement link and all was perfect. Whew!

Check out our photos…

Leslie & Paula travel back to the Dark Side

We wintered in Arizona this year, and had a lovely time cycling around Phoenix and Tuscon. While there Paula began exploring two wheeled e-bikes. She purchased a Gazelle which she thoroughly enjoyed riding on the trails. She could explore the non-paved trails without worrying about the trike clearance issues.

Not wanting to be outdone, Leslie started looking at two wheeled e-bikes also. I’ve been looking at 20” wheeled bikes for quite some time, as I believe they’re easier to transport in our Coachmen Cross Trail 20XG and our Ford F-150. After lots of test riding, I decided on a Tern Vektron S-10. It folds for transport, and either fits in its soft-sided carrying bag, or in a crate we found at Home Depot.

Paula was very helpful in assuring I had a Kinetic seat post and a good saddle, as it’s been over 40 years since I’ve ridden an upright, non recumbent bike. After trying a half dozen saddles, I settled on a Terry. I still haven’t worked up to the metric century limit, but I can get to 45 miles without too much complaining. And here’s a shout-out to PortaPedal Bike in Tempe, Az for their perfect customer service.

After Paula saw how much fun I was having, she decided to get her own Tern. After a bit of fiddling around she opted for a Vektron also, from Clever Cycle in Portland. Another shop with excellent customer service. Hers is matte black and mine is silver. So from now on we’ll either be on our HP Velotechnic FS20s or our Tern Vektron S-10s. See you down the road or trail…

Lake Crescent to La Push along the ODT

 We just completed a camping trip to the Log Cabin Resort in Olympic National Park with a few friends. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, as we got to ride the Olympic Discovery Trail route all the way to LaPush and Rialto beach.

We arrived on Saturday, one day after the Log Cabin Resort’s official opening day. We had had our reservation since November, but they lost our site selection. Darn! We were able to do an alternate site, but the hassle factor still existed.

A bunch of us rode our bikes and trikes out of the campground to the Spruce Railroad Trail trailhead. Up the trail we went for almost eight miles. As it was a Saturday and one of the first beautiful spring days of the season, the trail was rather busy with walkers, but we had a lovely time anyway. We had Diane, Donna, Patty, Patty, Sile, Cyndi, Paula and Leslie on the ride. We returned from the ride for a lovely shared meal together.

The next day we retraced our steps for the beginning of the ride. This time the trail was slightly less populated, and we were able to travel further; 28 miles this time. We traveled from the campground to a crossing of Rt 101. We decided not to continue because the weather had turned quite threatening.

Today’s ride featured three pups: Moji, Luna and Cinco. It was Moji’s first long bike ride and after about 7 miles she was finished, so Paul and Bev turned around. In addition we had Patty, Sile, Kathy, Rolf, Diane, Leslie and Paula on the ride. It even included a short walk off the trail to take in the sight of the Devil’s Punchbowl.

On day three, we drove to the Camp Creek Trailhead, and cycled to the Fish Hatchery outside of in Beaver. Another great day of cycling, this time 39 miles. We had Paul, Paula, Leslie, Sile, and Kathy with us. I was remiss in taking photos on this day. Darn! But we did do the miles that we missed yesterday due to weather.

On Day 4 we drove our vehicles to Forks and cycled to La Push and Rialto beach. This time 42 miles. All the cycling was on roads, as the ODT hasn’t been completed to La Push yet, but it was still very pretty. Cars were mostly polite, and we could find places to regroup when we needed to. We didn’t see an vampires though — the sun was too bright. Cycling today were Cindy, Patty, Sile, Kathy, Leslie and Paula. 

By the time we returned to Forks, we were so hungry, we were looking for BBQ. No such luck unfortunately on a Tuesday. So we had Mexican for dinner, and very glad for this option. Then Cindy and Patty picked up ice cream for us to share back at camp. Yummy!!

Overall a wonderful four days with friends and lots of fabulous cycling. We covered around 125 miles.

Hike outside of Portland, Oregon: Tyron Creek State Natural Area

 On our return to Washington, one of our stops was outside of Portland to see our friends, Bev and Paul. We had a lovely visit, and Paul laced up a new rear wheel for Paula’s trike — THANKS Paul!! In our honor Paul wore his t-shirt that says “They’re here because Paula (or Leslie) broke it again!!”

Bev, Lorie, Lilly (Lorie’s beagle) and we took a lovely walk on one of the trails through Tyron Creek State Natural Area. Of course being in the Portland area in spring, it was wet. But glorious none the less. Check out a few photos below: