happy belated worst day
... in which your humble narrator finally gets off his duff and clues you into what’s been happening in his life in the month and a half (!) since his last blog post. First, let’s clear the decks of old material and give you guys a taste of my last big group bike ride.
worst day of the year ride: 18 miles
February 9th is, historically speaking, not a great weather day for Oregonians. In 1933, the town of Ukiah clocked in at 54 degrees below zero. In 1996, 28 inches of rain fell over a four-day period. So, in typical contrarian fashion, Portlanders revel in this meterological crumminess by celebrating it with a bike ride!
Every year, cyclists brave the weather to gather at the Lucky Labrador pub in southeast Portland on whatever weekend is closest to Feb. 9th. This year’s ride weekend fell on the unbelievably sunny and clement Feb. 12. No matter—we’re not gonna let a little sunshine and warmth scare us off!
I dunno if it’s ‘cause of the first signs of spring, or just the general endorphin high of biking, but the Worst Day ride seems to bring out all our inner freaks. Riders came dressed as fairies, ballerinas, superheros, and even an intergalactic hitchhiker complete with towel (he carried a paperback with him to quote from as he explained to everyone why a good hitchhiker needs to know where his towel is)!
The route took us through downtown to REI, where they had chai waiting for us. Yes, chai. Hot, sugary caffeine during an 18-mile bike ride. Only in Portland, right? Anyway, back on the bikes and up to the Community Cycling Center, the beneficiary of today’s ride. These guys are fantastic: they refurb old bikes, and give them to poor kids and poor commuters. Back south through the Hollywood district, and we landed in a big bike pile where we started at the Lucky Lab. Beer, soup, bread, and snackies.
Ah, it was a good day to be young.