Grocery Run

Sarah and I planned a short rec ride for this morning, 10-15 mies on the Scott Pierson Trail, followed by a grocery run on the way home. We were soaked with some of the coldest rain imaginable by the time we reached the trail entrance behind TOP Foods, so we decided that this was far enough in these conditions. We purchased about 60 pounds of groceries and a 40 pound bag of dog food.

When we came out of the grocery store, the sun was coming out. The rain had stopped and our load made it home completely dry.


I noticed quite a few car drivers doing double takes at the loaded Xtracycle on our way home. While waiting in a turn lane, one car driver hollered, "Very cool, man!"

So far, I've avoided doing big grocery runs with the kids by bicycle, but that's coming. Now that I know Tula can fit in the PeaPod, the logistics of getting the two girls to the grocery store on the Xtracycle are falling in to place. A sunny day would also be helpful!

Recreational Riding...

I organized a Sunday morning group ride for the Harmon Bike Club. Unfortunately, I woke up to find two inches of snow that were no where near the weather forecast for today (I was expecting a 92% chance of rain.) Well I'll be damned if I'm going to let down the one other person that might be willing to plow the slush with me this morning. I took the Xtracycle, wore my yellow rain coat (very rare occasion), lots of wool, and ski gloves. A small thermos of coffee was my back-up plan.

After two cups of coffee at The Hub, I rolled out at 10:20 by myself. Here's where I went:

View Larger Map

And here's what it looked like:


I stuck to the arterials where the cars had already plowed most of the slush off of the roads. I was already soaked when I reached Point Defiance Park, so I opted not to ride the portion of 5-Mile Drive that is closed to vehicles each weekend morning (more slush and run-off.) The 14 mile route felt more like a 20-miler, which was what I was shooting for today.

The sun peaked out on my way home. I got lots of smiles from drivers and saw one other set of bike tracks in the park. Those are very uplifting signs on a ride like this. Signs that kept me grinning the whole way.