January 1: 2025 - Off to a Great Start!

Woohoo! Although pretty much nothing about today’s adventure was planned, it turned out to be a great day on all fronts – mingling with other bikers at the 2025 Polar Bear Run, riding with old friends to lunch, and finishing off the day with one of the best views Oregon has to offer!

Waking up to find no rain pounding on my skylight, I took off from home to head to the meet up for the Trinity Road Rider’s 2025 New Year’s Day Ride at Cycle Gear. With temperatures around 41 degrees and grey skies above, I breathed in the fresh winter air, filled with thoughts of gratitude for time spent with friends and family over the holidays.

Arriving at the dealership on Stark Street, I took in the glorious sight of hundreds of bikes of all sizes, shapes, and models, clustered around the booths offering hot chocolate, bike blessings, and riding suggestions in the area.

After running across Mitch Rice, I joined in on his group’s scenic ride through country back roads to Sandy. What a delightful romp past fields and farmlands, fruit trees and nut orchards! Weaving our way along the Clackamas River, we rode up and over hills past Eagle Creek and then north on highway 211.  

After a delightful lunch with 10 of the Rose City Hog members, I took the long way home by heading west on highway 26, cutting over to highway 84 east and then getting off at Corbett, following Corbett Hill Road to the historic Columbia River Highway.

This gem of a scenic byway, built over 100 years ago, provides one of the best views of the Columbia River Gorge around, with sweeping tree branches covering the narrow lanes, small stone walls with curved cut outs lining the roadside, and beautiful vistas filled with grey and blue skies above and silvery rippling water below.

Arriving at the Vista House look point, the bike and I admired the expansive water views in both directions before heading towards home. What a great start to the new year!