kengr

fayanora and I have both been wanting to go to one of the local nude beaches.

Sauvie Island is the one I've been to before. But news reports have been saying that due to all the beaches there (there are several besides the clothing optional one) and the cost of gas, lots of folks who'd normally go elsewhere were going there. And even with the new, wider bridge to the island, there were insane traffic backups.

So Friday night I got curious and decided to see how far away the other beach (Rooster Rock) was.

Turns out to be a bit under 20 miles away. Not really all that bad as the land is *mostly* flat between here and there. But there seemed to be a slight problem. The access seemed to be via I-84. Which makes getting there by bike a bit problematic.

I decided I needed to check this out and I hadn't ridden the bike for a few days, so...

I'll spare you a blow by blow description of things, other than to say it was a mostly pleasant ride on the way out.

I did discover that a couple of the TriMet buses run lot a *lot* farther than I thought they did! One actually would have taken me within a couple miles of where I gave up (maybe as little as a mile)

And yes, I did give up. Finally got withing 6.5 miles of the place and no more road except the Interstate. I did spend some time poking around some trails but didn't find anything the didn't get way too hard to follow after a bit.

I did find a nice public beach on the Sandy River, just past Troutdale. So we could take the bus to Troutdale and ride our bikes half a mile or so to the beach. We'd have to wear suits, but at least we wouldn't have the problems you get with a public pool. Though we might get more redneck problems.

It was getting dark as I headed back on the trails. But the moonlight was good enough.

I did a lot more walking on the way back, partly because a lot more was uphill, and partly because my butt was sore from all that time on the bike seat. It's an "old fashioned" type seat, though a lot better padded than my old bikes as a kid ever were. But after a few hours, that's not enough.

Only other problems were a few "oops" items. I hadn't taken spare batteries for the headlight or the GPS. The headlight gave out about a third of the way back. Fortunately, I was on well lit major streets, so that was only a nuisance. The GPS died closer to home so I don't have the total trip mileages and average speed. But last time I looked, I'd done 25 miles and averaged around 10 m[h for mosts of it. And spent 90% of the time moving.

That 25 mile mark was important. That's when I ewalked for a few blocks because I could feel a cramp coming on in one of my calves.

I had plenty of water (I have a 2 liter camelback) but next time I'm going to bring a bottle in the clip on the frame with Gatorade (cut 50% with water per what diabetes references tell me). I did have a Glucerna energy bar (diabetic version of power bar type stuff). I ate about two thirds of it 30-40 minutes apart on the way back because I suddenly started feeling *real* hungry.

I also had a "kippered beef" strip that I didn't use.

I also remembered to take my phone (didn't use it, but it's a good precaution).

I really should have taken my med bag. I didn't need anything from it, but I could have. And I suspect I'd have gotten a shock if I'd checked my blood sugar. even after the pieces of snack bar, my blood sugar was only 112 when I got home (about 12:45).

So over an almost 6 hour trip, I covered 30 miles (at a guess). Maybe more.

since I learned (after I got back) that apparently the traffic at Sauvie's Island isn't that bad now (at least on weekdays, which is when we'd likely be going) I think in a week or two, we mayy try that. Definitely taking the bus to the island. But even with it being 12 miles from the bus stop to the beach, the highest point on the Island is maybe 60 feet above the river. *Not* going to be any climbs/ And we'll get to rest for hours at the beach.