May 8 - Southpaws Pizza in Albany with the Salem Riders Group

What an unexpected delight! I was sitting at work finishing up a document I wouldn’t be using for a month and realized that I needed some wind therapy. So at the last minute I decided to join Norm Reddekopp and his group for a lunch ride to Southpaws Pizza in Albany for lunch. I had been wanting to join in the fun for several weeks and decided to go for it, hail or not. It turned out to be a perfect day.

The ride down to Salem included several rain and hail showers. But that is the beauty of being on a bike – the wind dries you out pretty fast anyway. Joined Norm and his group in Salem and took all backroads down to Albany. The drive was spectacular – one back road after another winding here, there, and everywhere through farms, pastures, and meadows. I decided to just enjoy the view and not even bother trying to figure out where I was.

The food at Southpaws was fantastic, including the best parmesan bread rolls I ever remember eating. I knew I was in for something special when Norm and two of his buddies all ordered the same appetizer and offered to share. To be honest, I did eat some of my pizza but after tasting the buttery, garlicky crusty bread oozing with mozzarella cheese I really couldn’t eat anything else. It was great to hang out with some new bikers and share stories.

The best part of the ride for me was after we left lunch and were a couple miles down the road. Norm pulled the group over to the side of the road, walked back to my bike and asked me if I wanted to take the long way home. I pumped my fist and exclaimed “yes!” I had joked with him at lunch about how I often like to convince my friends to go a rather circuitous route back home after we eat. Apparently he decided to indulge me.

From there, Kiley Breitling led us on an awesome ride west of Albany through Eola Hills. I especially appreciated all of these backroads as I am pretty sure that most of them were new for me. The sun was breaking through the clouds, the temperature was mild, and it was a perfect night for being on the bike. My odometer passed 50,000 miles on the ride so that was also kind of special. Tomorrow I have to drive the bike to Eugene for it to be serviced and will have to live without it for a few days. But I am sure that more wonderful riding is still to come.