It all started with this picture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/41335973@N00/13770029315/
Leaf Slayer exposes the little known Mason Hill Park nestled on the Tualatin Valley side of the West Hills. I decide to take a quiet solo trip out there to clear my head. Turns out Zack wants to clear his head too so we head out from Portland around 1pm. We amble up to the Leif Ericsson trailhead, taking a nice detour because the Thurman St bridge over Balch Creek is closed. First dirt. Slow going up that steep climb to Leif Ericsson. Once we're on the trail the pace picks up and the going is easy, the road is as supple as my tires and we make good time. Zack does some explaining. There's some gesticulating of hands and big ideas get bandied about. The trail is gorgeous today. It feels like the cathedral of trees as we round past Saltzman and keep heading to the terminus. At the north terminal of Leif Ericsson we cross the road and jump on the first firelane we see, which I think is 10. We hit a soft patch of mud and we immediately stop, we walk on for a few meters and jump on, enjoying a soft and technical steep descent which as me wondering exactly what kind of fire apparatus they think they can drive up this thing. It's great fun, I only fall down once, and I think we have some awesome pictures. We also have no intention of climbing back up this thing so we're in good spirits. At this point it's pretty obvious the firelanes are for descents only so our only course is to continue down through Linnton and buzz down Hwy 30 to Logie Trail Rd. The riding is pretty easy, the shoulders are wide mostly, and the views are great. Mental note to go back later in the season and load up with produce from Sauvie Island. The climb up Logie Trail is beautiful, quiet, and grueling. The hairpins kept on coming but it was an honest climb; There were no false summits and the shade was welcome on a warm day. Breaks were had. My bike fell over while I was taking pictures and resembled a dead bug. We went north on Skyline Blvd for about a mile before taking Johnson down into the Tualatin Valley. The descent was gorgeous, I saw Zack pump his fist at least once. We would have missed Mason Hill Park entirely if Zack hadn't stopped to check something. The park is pretty cute; There's one vault toilet, no water, but an sweet covered picnic area and some super burly tables in the middle Zack noted we could use for bike mechanical duties. Chatter was had, snacks were eaten, pictures were taken. We made the gradual climb back to Skyline on Johnson, then enjoyed the rollers on Skyline to Plainview at the intersection of Corneilus Pass and Skyline. We fueled up at Plainview Grocery and Auto Parts. The climb back up from Cornelius pass on Skyline was only second to Logie Trail in intensity, but after that we enjoyed rolling countryside albeit increasing traffic. We took a breather at Skyline Cemetery at the same spot we rested before: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lumachrome/9514336886/ After this stop we made good time to Cornell, then enjoyed the awesome descent down past the Audubon Society, past Upper Macleay Park, then took the gorgeous side paths to avoid taking the tunnels. We jumped off Cornell right at Pettygrove and bombed down that hill too. This was a gorgeous ride. I would do it again. Pictures proved something: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lumachrome/sets/72157643881311273/ cc -- "I want the kind of six pack you can't drink." -- Micah -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
