Lake Oswego

September 4, 2023

Lake Oswego

We’ve gotten in a considerable amount of riding in the last several days as we’ve enjoyed a spell of cool, comfortable conditions. We’ve averaged over forty miles for each of the past three days, and I’m pretty sure we racked up two hundred in the last week - I’m sure Rachael must have, since she routinely tallies a few more miles than I do.

Today’s loop south along the Willamette through Oregon City and Lake Oswego and back north up the west side of the river was the most challenging of the series, and with almost 2,000’ of climbing one of the most strenuous rides of the summer. It leaves us both feeling reasonably fit and ready for the modest hills ahead when we get to Spain.

In Gladstone, approaching the pedestrian bridge across the Clackamas. We’re mostly in it for the ride today so we didn’t stop much. This one, like most of today’s few shots, was taken on the fly with Rachael’s GoPro.

A traffic cone, for a friend of a friend. I’m trying to think of a story that makes sense with this shot, but none has come to mind yet. What do you think is going on here? Theft? Road maintenance work? An inanimate comfort animal?

Work began last year on upgrades to the Abernethy Bridge (where I-205 crosses the Willamette at Oregon City) to reduce congestion and upgrade it to hopefully withstand the Big One. It’s a multi year project, and the largest bridge project ODOT has tackled in 45 years. Sorry, Rachael - the bike path here will be affected through at least 2025.

I’m glad Rachael thought to take this shot crossing the Willamette on the Oregon City Arch Bridge. It took me a minute to place where this was when I saw it.

In Lake Oswego. We get annoyed every time we bike through this rather bike-unfriendly town, but it does have its attractions. With all the wealth this place has though, couldn’t it punch a decent bike lane through so you don’t have to ride through the heart of downtown on the sidewalk?

One of the best features of Lake Oswego is Foothills Park, which ends here at the mouth of Tryon Creek. Here we’re at the end of the trail, looking downriver to the Lake Oswego Railroad Bridge.

In Foothills Park, framed by two of the Stafford Stones.

The Stafford Stones are a circle of basalt slabs engraved with the words of William Stafford, who lived most of his years in Lake Oswego. Stafford was probably Oregon’s most renowned poet, and was the state’s Poet Laureate from 1975-1990.

I should look around more. I biked right under this weird sculpture without seeing it.

At the lower entrance to Tryon Creek Park. Imaginative street art is another of Lake Oswego’s fine qualities.

Video sound track: Sunflower, by Milt Jackson

Best birds

The latest issue of Atlantic Magazine announced the winners of this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year competition. You should be able to follow the link to see all 14 winners, but just in case here are the three that most astounded me. The captions are lifted from the magazine article.

Gold Winner, Best Portrait. Venturing into the tropical forest, I was excited to spot the rare glistening-green tanager. After hours of waiting, I saw the vivid-green bird on a perfect heart-shaped leaf. Its shimmering feathers reflected a dazzling array of colors.

Gold Winner, Comedy Bird Photo. The purple heron is a migratory bird that nests in the lake basins of the Italian Peninsula and feeds mainly on fish, although it also preys on mice, snakes, toads and other creatures. In this shot, the heron caught a large crucian carp and voraciously swallowed it after several attempts to turn the fish onto its side.

Grand Prize Winner and Gold Winner, Bird Behavior. During the breeding season, a female peregrine falcon fiercely protects her young, attacking anything that comes near the nest. For four years, I attempted to capture these rare moments of her attacking large brown pelicans with incredible speed and agility. The high-speed chase made it challenging to capture a close-up shot with a long lens.

Knee news is good news

I’ve had a curious reaction to learning that I have severe osteoarthritis in my left knee - ever since my consultation I’ve felt more upbeat and better about my condition. It’s hard to say just why, but I think it’s because it’s reset my expectations and caused me to feel differently about how I’m doing. For as bad as it is, the knee still does quite well considering. I frequently find myself walking along relatively pain free and feeling appreciative - for a bad knee, it’s really a pretty good knee!

Maybe I would have made this mental leap anyway, but I give at least part of the credit for this attitude adjustment to Jen Grumby’s Letter to Scott’s Left Knee.

Anyway, today is the day for my cortisone shot. It’s a bit of a logistics puzzle. I can’t drive there because I’m taking the car into the shop first thing this morning for an oil change and safety check before leaving it with Elizabeth for the fall. And I’m not sure I should be biking over there either, because Dr. Park told me I should plan on a couple of days of avoiding strenuous activity afterwards.

I woke up this morning though with what sounded like the ideal solution. After dropping off the Raven at Elliot Motors and caffeinating at Cafe Umbria, I’ll bike the two miles over to Kaiser for my appointment. Afterwards I’ll take Max back to town. It’s logistically perfect - the Yellow Line stops immediately in front of Kaiser, and also in Old Town less than two blocks from the car shop.

The appointment went better than I’d expected. First, I was shown the two x-rays and the difference pointed out. It’s pretty glaring alright. On the right leg there’s a large gap between the upper and lower leg bones, but on the left there’s nearly nothing. Bone on bone, as he says. Looking at it, I wonder if I’m not tilted to the left a bit because that leg must be just a tad shorter than the other.

Then comes the shot and follow-up discussion. The shot came as a surprise, because it was virtually pain-free and over almost before it began. I’ve been anticipating puncture pain for the last few days needlessly.

The discussion is pretty straight forward. He advises me that it will probably take a week until I see if there’s improvement; and there’s no telling how long the relief will last. If it’s only for a few weeks it won’t be worth repeating, but he goes on to say it could help for anywhere from two to six months. And if it’s worth repeating, we can do this indefinitely as long as it continues to be effective. He reminds me that it’s not healing or repairing anything, but the goal is to buy time by giving me enough relief so that I’m past the years when I want to keep spending so much time on the bike. And I need to wait three months before the next injection, and can have at most three a year.

He also said that considering how I’m doing in general he’s optimistic for me. And I am too.

Before I leave, I ask him about whether I can just bike back to the car, because it’s mostly downhill anyway. He says sure - just take it easy.

When I get back across the river I’ve got some time to kill because the car isn’t ready yet. I kill it very pleasantly, sitting on a wall at Tanner Creek Park until I get the call that the car is ready.

Something to help me remember my last ride in Portland for awhile. I expect Spain will be spectacular, but the city is just entering its prime now too.

I wish I’d seen this trio sooner and gotten a better shot. It’s not everyday you see someone out walking both their cat and dog.

So I imagine this really will be the last post for a few days. We leave in four for Minneapolis, where we have a three night stopover to check in with Shawn and the girls and possibly fit in a CycleBlaze meetup. I’m not supposed to bike for the next few days anyway, so I drop off Rodriguez at the bike locker on the way home and say we say our goodbyes until we reunite in December.

Oh, wait. One last thing. In a final bit of training we go to Neustra Cucina for dinner this evening for some Latein cuisine to get us in the mood. The mains are great as always - we’ve been coming to Nuestra Cucina for nearly twenty years now - but I really liked that they offered a red wine from near Haro in the Basque wine country. We’ll be near there in about ten days so it’s an excellent warmup and worth a second glass.

We also enjoy a long chat with our server Michael, who may have been working here for as long as we’ve been coming. He overheard us discussing my coming ablation surgery, and stopped by to say he’s in line for this too. He’s started wearing an Apple Watch on his morning runs and it told him he was having an afib episode. Once you start talking about it it’s remarkable how common this condition is.

His, and I can’t believe I forgot to take a shot of the wine.

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Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 324 miles (521 km)

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Ben ParkeDrop me a line when you’re in Minneapolis. If our schedules coincide, it’d be fun to say hello.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Ben ParkeOh! It might work out. Send me an email at scoandpdx at gmail.
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1 year ago