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Size: 1935
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Size: 1932
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| That bicycle trip was "interesting". I took Newberry Road down from Skyline Road at the crest of the hill, because it looked like the shortest distance. Horizontally yes, but the longest distance vertically ... |
That bicycle trip was "interesting". I took Newberry Road down from Skyline Road at the crest of the hill, because it looked like the shortest distance. Horizontally yes, but the longest distance vertically ... |
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| It was a hot day, I was wearing shorts, and the road was MUCH steeper than I expected. My bicycle brakes overheated and started melting. I was speeding up, not slowing down. | It was a hot day, I was wearing shorts, and the road was MUCH steeper than I expected. My bicycle brakes overheated and started melting. I was speeding up, not slowing down. As I gained speed, I came around a gentle left curve to see the road angle more steeply, with a blind right curve at the bottom. I could not take that curve at the speed I was going; I would have gone rocketing straight ahead into the brush and trees below. |
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| As I gained speed, I came around a gentle left curve to see the road angle more steeply, with a blind right curve at the bottom. I could not take that curve at the speed I was going; I would have gone rocketing straight ahead into the brush and trees below. | I saw a dirt bank on the uphill right side of the road. |
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| I saw a dirt bank on the uphill right side of the road. In a split second, I decided to ditch the bicycle sideways into that soft dirt bank. I was wearing a helmet and bike gloves; what could possibly go wrong? | In a split second, I decided to ditch the bicycle sideways into that soft dirt bank. I was wearing a helmet and bike gloves; what could possibly go wrong? By this point, time was behaving very strangely; 100 milliseconds seemed like 2 seconds. As I inched my way down and sideways, I saw that the "slowly" approaching "dirt bank" was a pile of crushed rock gravel with a dusting of dirt on it. |
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| By this point, time was behaving very strangely; 100 milliseconds seemed like 2 seconds. As I inched my way down and sideways, I saw that the "slowly" approaching "dirt bank" was a pile of crushed rock gravel with a dusting of dirt on it. | I survived, no broken bones or bruises, not even a bent bicycle, but some ripped clothing and an ugly case of road rash on my right leg and arm. Being young and immortal, I continued to Sauvie Island to meet my friends at the beach. They were young and immortal as well, so my road rash wasn't concerning. I took a longer and gentler route home; I wasn't THAT immortal. |
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| I survived, no broken bones or bruises, not even a bent bicycle, but some ripped clothing and a very unsightly case of road rash on my right leg and arm. Being young and immortal, I continued to Sauvie Island to meet my friends at the beach. They were young and immortal as well, so my road rash wasn't concerning. I took a longer and gentler route home; I wasn't THAT immortal. 2016 Google street view picture of curve, 40 years later: No gravel pile, no bare dirt embankment; soft-looking ferns instead. My landing spot is near the sunlit ferns, until the Google camera car revisits and takes new pictures. {{ attachment:ditchturn.png | | width=1000 }}. |
---- '''2016 Google street view picture of curve, 40 years later.''' No gravel pile, no bare dirt embankment; soft-looking ferns instead. My landing spot is near the sunlit ferns, until the Google camera car revisits and takes new pictures. {{ attachment:ditchturn.png | | width=1000 }}. |
Sauvie Island Bicycle Ride
I bicycled to Sauvie Island, many years B.C. (Before Char).
That bicycle trip was "interesting". I took Newberry Road down from Skyline Road at the crest of the hill, because it looked like the shortest distance. Horizontally yes, but the longest distance vertically ...
- .. which I learned the hard way.
It was a hot day, I was wearing shorts, and the road was MUCH steeper than I expected. My bicycle brakes overheated and started melting. I was speeding up, not slowing down. As I gained speed, I came around a gentle left curve to see the road angle more steeply, with a blind right curve at the bottom. I could not take that curve at the speed I was going; I would have gone rocketing straight ahead into the brush and trees below.
I saw a dirt bank on the uphill right side of the road.
In a split second, I decided to ditch the bicycle sideways into that soft dirt bank. I was wearing a helmet and bike gloves; what could possibly go wrong? By this point, time was behaving very strangely; 100 milliseconds seemed like 2 seconds. As I inched my way down and sideways, I saw that the "slowly" approaching "dirt bank" was a pile of crushed rock gravel with a dusting of dirt on it.
I survived, no broken bones or bruises, not even a bent bicycle, but some ripped clothing and an ugly case of road rash on my right leg and arm. Being young and immortal, I continued to Sauvie Island to meet my friends at the beach. They were young and immortal as well, so my road rash wasn't concerning. I took a longer and gentler route home; I wasn't THAT immortal.
2016 Google street view picture of curve, 40 years later. No gravel pile, no bare dirt embankment; soft-looking ferns instead. My landing spot is near the sunlit ferns, until the Google camera car revisits and takes new pictures. 
.