Worst Day of the Year

It’s a sleepy Sunday evening, the end of a semi-cloudy, 46-degree day. Supposedly, it’s the worst day of the year, weather-wise, so in true Portland style there’s a bike race to celebrate it. It’s one of those races friendly to amateur cyclists like us – a race with rest stops with donuts, chai tea and beer – so we thought we’d give it a go.

We love cycling!

Lindsay and Daniel joined us in the 16-mile jaunt around the city. (We opted for the 16-mile route vs. the other option, a 45-mile “challenge.”) Four thousand people gathered outside Lucky Lab Brewery on Hawthorne, half dressed in oddball costumes, the other half in spandex. (We opted for spandex – too little time to pull together costumes.) Jamming to music from a drum brigade and a boombox strapped to a nearby biker’s back, we pedaled off across Southeast, Northeast and Northwest Portland.

Thankfully it was a flat course, with the Morrison and Broadway bridges providing the only real inclines. Besides taking advantage of just one of the three rest stops, we did make a quick pit stop at the very apropos Hopworks BikeBar for some brews. Otherwise, we kept truckin’ and finished the excursion with a soup lunch and Lucky Lab pint at the finish line.

Side note: You might also notice my sexy specs. You’ll be seeing more of those – I’m wearing those babies for the next few weeks leading up to my March 6 LASIK surgery. I was sure happy the “worst day of the year” did NOT include rain (aka, foggy, wet glasses for me).

Now I need to start my half-marathon training… (sigh)