Tuesday Bike Ride

(Charm given as a senior gift for track in high school. Found this when I was at home last time. [I am going to try to post as many random shots as I can since I have taken so many pictures lately. Doesn't it make things more interesting?])

I rode my bike today! This was the first time I think ever that I've just hopped on it and gone out with no real plan in mind. It was fun! It is a gorgeous day out and I was glad to enjoy it on the bike.

My tire was almost totally flat after the race so I needed to find a place to fill up since my pump is broken. I found a local bike shop right near our new house and it was perfect! Guys working there a little off, but what can you do. Aren't all grease monkeys a little off? (If that is offensive I apologize.)

I headed briefly through town out towards Vancouver Lake/Frenchmen's Bar. It is a nice road with plenty of shoulder and little traffic. After passing through a couple of stoplights you're on open road. I took the left before V. Lake to head to F. Bar. I've done one ride out this way before, but I just stayed on the road and went to the end. This time I went off into the parking lot that takes you to more paths and an entire beach with like 20 volleyball courts set up on the Columbia River. Wow. There weren't that many people out there and it was quite pretty. Just a couple of boaters out waterskiing in the late day sun. I saw this huge tanker out there and realized that I HAD been here before. It was the turnaround at the Vancouver Lake Half Marathon I did in January. It was the boat pictured here. Guess I didn't recognize it without all that snow.

I don't know how far I went but I was out for 50-55 minutes in all.

I love being able to leave home and get on a route like that without having to deal with any of the city bullsh-t. I feel like my little adventure in a new city has begun. I thank my stars every day for living out in the NW. As a midwestern girl all of this beauty and nature wows me everytime.

Gotta run - need to put some maters and squarsh in the ground before we leave for CA (er, actually NV) tomorrow. I can't wait to be in Tahoe and enjoy another wedding and beautiful long weekend in the West!