Rocky walks, Rodriguez rides

January 8, 2025

After breakfast I stop in at Elizabeth’s building to pick up the Raven and then drive to our bike locker to bring back my suitcased Bike Friday so we‘ll have it with us for the flight south, and to bring back the empty suitcase for Rachael’s bike also so we can get it suitcased too. When I’m back at the apartment I perform a first packing of Rachael’s bike and then we take them both across the street to our storage unit just to get them out of the way for the next few days. Together we take with us some of the other items we know are staying here when we leave, the beginnings of our travel prep.

Not long afterwards Rachael leaves for one of the walks I drew out for her: a climb through Washington Park to the Rose Garden, up past the Japanese Gardens, and then east along the Wildwood trail to the Barbara Walker Crossing: the new pedestrian bridge over Burnside Road whose Grand Opening ceremony occurred on October 27, 2019. Its creation is an inspiring story, the implementation of a vision that went back decades.

We were there in spirit, but sent our regrets. We were in Moura, Portugal at the time, on our way from Santiago to Valencia and thus unable to attend.

This link tells the inspirational story of how the bridge finally came to fruition, underwritten largely by crowdfunding. This excerpt from the link describes the situation prior to the bridge’s installment and why such urgency was felt to complete it:

Portland’s 30-mile Wildwood Trail once suffered a major flaw: its crossing at Burnside Road. With an average 18,000 vehicles passing daily, hikers were forced to dodge traffic in their pursuit of nature. The Barbara Walker Crossing now enhances access to nature by making this crossing safe.

The Portland Parks Foundation spearheaded the effort to build a bridge at this intersection before a serious tragedy occurred. A committee of local citizens led the effort to make this project possible.

The Barbara Walker Crossing had been a dream for decades.

Barbara Walker Crossing, the new footbridge that provides safe passage across frightening Burnside for walkers on the Wildwood Trail. Before this bridge came in, walkers had to descend ro street level and then take their lives in their hands threading through the fast cross-traffic.

Rachael looks down on busy, shoulderless, winding Burnside Road, reflecting on her frightening walk down to town from here two days ago. She’s still not clear on how she got down there, but perhaps she followed the old, pre-bridge route to the road and the dash through the gaps in the speeding traffic ongoing walkers had to endure. I know how bad that crossing was - I did it a few times myself.

Rachael took this walk on the evening the Raven returned. She called from here, sounding stressed and saing how unnerving Burnside felt. I said I understood what she meant, thinking the homelessness situation must still be a problem at the west end. But it wasn’t that at all.

It’s a healthy walk getting to this bridge and back: seven miles, with 800’ elevation gain, a walk I’ll be pleased with when I make it up there myself. Rachael being who she is though, she of course thinks the right plan is to walk another mile and a half on the other side and then back again so she can break into the double figures.

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A segue here, as we look back at that walk from two days earlier when Rachael walked up to Pittock Mansion and ended up walking back down on Burnside somehow. The background is that Rachael always reads over each post before it is published. On most days that results in her pointing out a few more typos that I somehow still overlooked. Today’s post generates considerable discussion about her walk two days earlier though, the one in which she walked down part of the canyon on her way back to home where Bruce and Andrea were just driving up to deliver the Raven. i had just spoken on the phone to her earlier, surprised at how stressed she sounded from her walk on Burnside. At the time I assumed it was because of the homelessness situation further west must still be a problem, and she was made anxious by the street scene. It wasn’t that at all though - it was from walking down the canyon.

The discussion was prompted by how I’d captioned her photos from the bridge, showing where she’d walked. I realized then that I’d miscaptioned them, because she hadn’t walked to the bridge then. She went to Pittock Mansion, not the Wildwood Trail.

And then she said she’d walked the canyon in both directions as an out and back, which I disputed. From her description of the rest of the walk, it couldn’t have been an out and back. After several frustrating exchanges on this, I remembered that we didn’t have to debate, because we had the evidence. I pulled up her track on RideWithGPS and then sat beside her on the couch to look at it together. And I was shocked, even frightened for her.

We were both partially right. She did walk both directions on Burnside, starting with about a half mile climbing up it until she came to a cross street where she left to climb through the residential streets toward the mansion. After that though it’s a loop, but nothing like the loop I’d imagined. Leaving the mansion she just kept climbing, getting her miles and elevation in, until peaceful Pittock Lane came to at end on Burnside Road - high on Burnside Road, all the way up at its summit near Skyline. And because it was getting too late in the day and she didn’t have that much daylight left and time to backtrack the longer distance, she walked down Burnside as the only reasonable distance available.

All two miles of it, including passing beneath Barbara Walker Crossing (so the captions are actually accurate). There’s even a spot where she scrambles back and forth from one side of the road to the other, trying to pick the side with the safest shoulder. It’s no wonder she sounded a little tense on the phone.

So. Rocky - how about we make sure you always have a route loaded that you can use as a guide so you can find a safe way out and back again when you’re in unfamiliar territory? Just a thought.

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Rich FrasierI wondered about that walk when I saw the trace. We owned a condo on NW Uptown Terrace for many years, so I’m unfortunately familiar with some of that walk. I’m not surprised that Rachael was unnerved by the experience. It was bad enough just walking up to our condo - and there was kind of a sidewalk that far.

I wasn’t aware of the new bridge. What a great thing that it was built! It definitely opens up a lot of new possibilities for walking up there.
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1 week ago

While Rachael is walking her legs off again, my plan for the afternoon is simpler - it’s time to pick up the Rodriguez from the LBS where he’s spent the last two nights (as long as I was in the ER down in California!) and move him up to our bike locker about a mile and a half away down in the urban core south of Burnside. It’s time, partly because we leave for Tucson in only five short days now, and partly because there’s room in the box now with the suitcases out. For the next three months it will just be him and the shapely Straggler cozying up in the dark there, and how could either of them be unhappy about that?

I’ve had several thoughts on how this might go, but the longer I think it over and consider how I’m doing in my return to health, the right way seems clear. I’ll walk over to West End Bikes to pick him up, and then I’ll just bike him there. And as long as I’ve got him pinned between my legs again I might as well take a lazy loop down to the Sellwood Bridge and back up the opposite side of the river. It’s time to finally break through that nine mile threshold we’ve been stuck at ever since December 10th, 29 very, very long days ago.

I’m sure by now you must have a sense of how much this day means to me and what a milestone moment it is, when two weeks ago I doubted whether I’d ever bike again or even be able to see. So I don’t think we need any more words about that. Let’s just look.

Our new favorite LBS when we’re in town.

Cacklers: short necks, traveling together in packs, heads down and drilling away like mobile sewing machines. You’ll never see a haughty, upstanding Canadian behave like that.

Another mixed pair: a glaucous-winged on the left and the other a westerner with the sleepy eye.

I love the cobolt blue the Ross Island Bridge got repainted with a few years back.

Two lesser scaups, centered in the river and swimming upstream. If you’re close enough and the light is right to see it, that yellow eye is another distinguishing characteristic.

I’ve got my good eye on things and like what I see.

I’ve never seen the new Sellwood Bridge look so radiant, its rusting steel veneer looking like a glossy coat of paint.

It’s getting there, but it has a few days to grow yet. It’ll be totally full on Monday at sundown. We’re flying south on a Wolf Moon, Rocky. How’s that for an omen?

Today's ride: 12 miles (19 km)
Total: 21 miles (34 km)

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Kelly IniguezWe'll see you in 49 hours!
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1 week ago

Scott AndersonTo Kelly IniguezYour time maybe. It’s still 51 for us stuck out here on PST.
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1 week ago

Susan CarpenterA red-letter day! It so heartening to see you back on a bike. Delighted that you've made it through the dark days.
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1 week ago

Rich FrasierScott, I’m so happy to read that you’re back on your beloved bike and enjoying yourself. Congratulations! Looking forward to many more ride reports!
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1 week ago

Suzanne GibsonLooks like good times are coming up for you two! I'm so happy for you! Next stop sunny Tucson!
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1 week ago

Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonI’m so excited to get there! Warmer weather, lots of biking and hiking trails with a lot of friendly people. I hope you are both doing well and it looks like we will might see you in Annecy. I’m crossing my fingers.
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1 week ago

Karen PoretHave FUN! You deserve it! :)
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1 week ago

Janice BranhamYay, you're back in the saddle again. I'm happy for you and for Roddy.
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6 days ago

Scott AndersonTo Janice BranhamYup. Just hanging out, waiting for you and Barry to dig yourselves out of your historic snowstorm and show up too.
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6 days ago