in Portland every year there is a fundraiser hosted by Providence Health Systems. it essentially involves all of the bridges across the Willamette being closed or modified to traffic so that the bikers can descend and ride over them. i’ve been meaning to do it for years, but this was the first time it all worked out. TBIL hooked me up with some of his coworkers who were doing the 8 bridge course and we were off.

this process was not only really fun and rewarding, it was instructional. i learned the following things:

  • you can appear to have all the trappings of a semi-serious cyclist and still have a gigantic ass
  • getting into a traffic jam with bike is just as annoying and actually more scary than in a car
  • the more derisively you yell “ON YOUR LEFT” the less i want to move aside
  • the sense of superiority you achieve by yelling “ON YOUR LEFT” with such derision is illusory. everyone else thinks you are a fucktard.
  • just because an event is hosted by a health care system does not mean first aid will be available when and where you might need it. (poor Gindy)
  • riding all the way to the top of the app roach to the St John’s without stopping is ALMOST enough to make me pass out, and IS enough to make me see stars.
  • there may be no greater pleasure in life than getting OFF one’s bike.
  • when you send someone a text that reads “sweet holy baby jesus, my ass hurts” it is helpful if they have the context that you were riding 30 miles on your bike that day because otherwise they might assume you are just mentioning consequences from the party they hosted the previous evening.

feeling proud of myself, if still sore and tired. next weekend: climb mountain. time with family. can’t decide which is more daunting…

🙂