The sneak-it-in bike ride

My favorite type of bike ride is definitely a long, meandering, multi-day tour to beautiful natural places I’ve never been before. But a close, close second is a bike ride in my own city that I can sneak in to an otherwise normal day. Especially if I end up somewhere I’ve never been before, or on streets that I don’t normally frequent.

The last few days I’ve been able to sneak in some stealth rides, and it makes me a very happy lady. First, on a relatively sunny day, it was a ride up to and along Skyline Blvd, then back to the St Johns Bridge into North Portland for the loooooong way home from work at the zoo. Then a ride up Rocky Butte on my way to teaching Bike Club in NE Portland, and a jaunt through Tryon Creek State Park to revel in the fall leaves. And just yesterday, a ride down the Willamette River and into Milwaukie, then back through downtown Portland all on my loosely-defined way home from the zoo.

(This picture may be Lassen Peak, from my trip down to South Lake Tahoe, but even a 30-minute detour, if it takes you somewhere unusual for a daily commute, is exciting:)

It’s lovely. A random bike ride–just that little step out of the routine–makes a day seem different, exciting, a little illicit. For someone who gets as crazy as I do if every day starts to seem the same, the random detour ride is an invaluable tool to retain my sanity and sense of adventure.

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