Category: Oregon

The Road to Roy

Tualatin Valley Quilt Barn Cemetery Data Center Bicycle Tour

A Tualatin Valley bicycle tour including Roy, quilt blocks, nuts, grass, data, berries, and a cemetery.

Headed north out of Hillsboro on Glencoe Road and the first stop was the Coussens barn for a stretch and gander.
I’d seen this barn decor on a previous lap and learned it is part of the Tualatin Valley Quilt Barn Trail.
Travel Oregon has a Video.
They’re called quilt blocks. Spotted three more before the end of the loop.
Westside Quilter’s Guild map: The Quilt Barn Trail of Oregon’s Washington County
Glencoe Road.
45.56267912769301, -123.00148121724139

Take the lane.
Quiet rural two lane. Low traffic. No shoulder to speak of, packed gravel occasionally.
Wren Road.
45.562512558297826, -123.00923192337619

U-Pick Blueberries.
Wren Road.

The road to Roy.
Road to Ruin is a half mile further on.
NW Cornelius Schefflin Road. Busier and faster than Wren Road but with a good sized shoulder.
45.56509857255572, -123.05225540615638
Disused commercial nursery.
Looked like a good place for a camp-out or a rave, maybe a fyre festival. Or how about a Burning Something? Whatever happens should include plenty of taco trucks.
Roy Road. Quieter than Wren Road. Very low traffic. Good to very good surface.
45.57524026190394, -123.05786428290953
“
Put the
squeeze
on a cow
Eat
dairy
products
“
Roy Road.

Roy has a handful of housing and a catholic monopoly.
I continued east along NW Harrington Road sins intact smelling the roses when necessary.
45.59530030953294, -123.0799819355438

Made it through Roy unconverted. Blueberries. Harrington Road.

Looking for a rest stop. These steps along the road beckoned.
No big sign or announcement, if you blinked you missed it. But on a bike you find stuff like the Historic Harrison Cemetery.
Most of the original markers had toppled, the pieces placed on the ground next to the former bases. Others had been I assumed lost to time and replaced with aluminum plaques. Many of the inhabitants were young, children, 20’s, but there were a few older people as well, 70’s. Two were “lost in a flood 8 DEC 1857”.
Oregon State Parks Historic Cemeteries Program
NW Dersham Road.
45.602324102357564, -123.04031438297123
Airstrip for Flyaways remote control airplane club.
Adjacent to the cemetery. No action today.
Rode over for a closer look and there was this guy in a late model SUV with the windows all rolled up and I could very clearly hear Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds belting it out so I just turned around and left him to it.
45.60348862639077, -123.04252602789195
Aw nuts.
Another barn quilt block.
Grass.
Your data is safe & secure.
Hillsboro.
NE Starr Boulevard.
45.55916955175943, -122.93637810267816

Cannon Beach Low Tide Candy Run

Another minus tide. This time it’s a Saturday on one of the hottest days of the year. Beach communities are begging people to stay away so of course we and the rest of Portland Metro pack our debris and truck over the coast ranges to pay them a visit. Got a head start on the crowds and arrived CB at 8:12 AM. Pedaled up to the tide-pools ogled the anemone starfish barnacles crabs mussels flotsam jetsam etc. Lots more people today but with 3x the beach area available everyone easily distanced. Enjoyed a picnic in the park afterwards then a stroll into town over the bridge to Bruce’s for a taffy reload. Home by noon. Good time.

Gales Creek

June 18, 2021

Back to the Gales Creek Trail. Last time was a winter slog turned back at a too deep too fast creek crossing. This time the trail has been immaculately maintained, the slides were fixed, down trees cleared. The fresh bear poop was a nice touch. Rode from Gales Creek Campground up to Bell Camp trailhead. Light traffic on a early weekday. Good.

Minus Tide Fatbike Ride

May 28, 2021

Another minus tide ride at Cannon Beach. Timing aligned with a day off and a 9 AM, -1.7 foot tide. Crowd was light. Rain through the coast range on the Sunset Highway yielded clearing skies at the intersection with US 101. Nice ride up the coast and out onto the otherwise inundated wave plane. Tunnels were revealed along with the multitudes of starfish and anenomi. Not much flotsam & jetsum. Two buzzards were getting a head start on a fresh seal carcass. Post ride de regueur visit to Bruce’s Candy Kitchen in downtown Cannon Beach to restock the taffy stash.