| The weather was perfect for riding up hills and the 5 of us (from left to right), Ed, Noel, Sugata, Severt, and Steven, gathered at 10:00 am for this ECT intermediate ride that began at Madison Plaza underneath the Hawthorne Bridge. Our first climb was up Mt. Tabor, which at 535 feet is the runt of the Portland area volcanic vents known formally as the Boring Lava Fields. |
| A point of interest to me is the statue of Henry Scott that sits atop Mt. Tabor. He�s the guy that Mt. Scott was named after. Maybe one of our local historians can explain why his statue sits atop Mt. Tabor instead of Mt. Scott? For those who might be wondering, Mt. Tabor is not named after a Mr. Tabor but rather is named after another Mount Tabor that sits six miles east of the city of Nazareth in Israel. As we began the descent from the top, we were joined by Manuel who had been looking to join our ride but didn�t find us until he had given up and prepared to embark on a ride of his own. We then headed north to tackle the 609 foot climb known as Rocky Butte. Rocky Butte offers a great view of the numerous other cinder cones and shield volcanoes that inhabit the area. |
| As we left Rocky Butte and headed toward our next volcano, Manuel, who recently raced in the 2007 OBRA Hill Climb Championships on Larch Mountain, offered to lead a paceline to our destination, which got us there way quicker than we would have otherwise. I�m a pretty slow rider compared to these bicycle racing types (actually, I�m slow compared to almost ALL other cyclists types) so it was nice being able to tuck into someone else�s draft and cruise along at twice the speed with half the effort. I didn�t notice anybody leaping forward to take over for Manuel, so I�m assuming that means everybody in the paceline was quite appreciative of his efforts. We soon came to Powell Butte, which at 620 feet doesn�t seem like it should have been much tougher than Rocky Butte but the grade is much steeper and a couple of us were quickly dropped to the back of the line. We kept a close eye on each other in the secret hope that one of us would dismount and walk up the hill rather than ride but since our thoughts were secretive in nature and since neither of us wanted to be the first to dismount, we remained on our bikes until we reached the top. The descent was great and the highlight was watching Ed come down the mountain on his fixie! Ever seen someone on a fixie flying down a mountain at 36 miles per hour? To say that his legs were a blur of motion is no overstatement. I was quite impressed with Ed�s abilities on the hills, both ascending and descending. I do feel the need to point out for any novice fixie owners tempted to replicate his endeavors that he does have brakes on his bike. |
| It was at this point that the ride officially changed from being the ECT 3 Volcano Ride to the ECT 4 Volcano Ride! Only Noel, who was born in France and races for Portland State University, was unable to continue on to Mt. Scott due to personal time constraints, as he hadn�t expected the ride to last as long as it did. At a whopping 1,050 feet, Mt Scott is easily the highest point on Portland�s eastside although it remains in relative obscurity in comparison to the area�s other volcanic formations. We took a nice break in a vacant lot that offers a panoramic and unfettered view of the city of Portland that is unparalleled.. Unfortunately, after many years of access, this lot is currently under development and this treasure will soon be no longer available to us. Manuel took this opportunity to share tastes of his homemade fig and spiralina energy concoction before we began our final loop around the top of the mountain, which featured one last insanely steep climb. More than one of us dismounted for this one! |
| For more information about the 94 other volcanic formations in the Portland area, I�d recommend the following web site. Portland Area Volcanoes |
About Community Exchange Cycle Touring ClubWe are a Portland Oregon based non-profit organization (IRS Status Pending). Our mission is to promote global peace through cross-border and cross-cultural exchange bicycle tours.We host community bike repair/spin/safety clinics, rides, and tours. Our goal is to build a global network of bicycle touring clubs, facilitate the initiation of reciprocated exchange tours between these clubs, and increase friendship-building among diverse cultures. We encourage every cyclist and potential world traveler to join us in connecting global communities by riding our bicycles and sharing our local scenery, culture, cuisine, language, and hospitality. We hope to meet, ride, and share with you soon!
Mission Statement
-Promote cycling as an alternative to fossil fuel burning vehicle transportation |
