Friday Ride Report And Tips On Donating

Today I rode with my friend Glenn, we went up the west hills, which seems to be my new normal route. We did a different section than I've previously done, which is pretty easy as they flank the whole west side of the city. Somehow though, this section seemed to go a lot higher than the sections I've done before? Am I just a softy or does anybody have facts on this? South hills versus North hills? They look the same when you look at em from the east side of the river. I'm pretty sure I'm just a softy today.

It was fun having a partner, though I'm a lot slower going up than Glenn. If you bike, perhaps you have friends like this, they rarely have to get out of the saddle, don't seem to get winded, and seem to barely be pedaling while you're grinding it out huffing and puffing? It was great though, it made me work harder than if I'd been on my own. Were it just me, I would have been stopping every quarter mile for a mouth full of trail mix or another Nutter Butter.

I'll do this route again and take pictures, it was beautiful. Lots of views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens, as well as downtown Portland, from way up high. With my commute, today will come in at about 33 to 35 miles of riding with hills, which is a good workout. I'm going to try and do 30 miles tomorrow, and 30 on Sunday to get some multi-day exhaustion going. 

Brendan Brazier told me in an interview once that it is good to train when you are tired if the activity you're training for is going to have you working hard while you're tired. It helps you get mentally prepared and helps you realize you can keep going even when you're beat. That is this weeks goal.

So, the donation page has been up for a day and a half and we're over a thousand bucks already! Thanks to all of you who have pitched in so far, I truly appreciate it. I've come up with some tips to help you decide when and how to donate. They follow.

Tips On When And How To Donate:

1. Do it drunk, if you are the drinking type. If you're like me, you'll be feeling extra generous!

2. If you don't drink, get drunk and do it cuz you won't know what the hell you're doing and will probably donate everything you've got. When you wake up with your first hangover wondering where your money went you'll realize asking for some of it back would just enhance your shame. Look at how much good you did the animals!

3. Do it on pay day. What good are you to me if you only have two dollars and thirty three cents to your name?

4. Do it after you watch Babe: Pig In The City.

5. Do it when your roommate who you know has a trust fund goes out clubbing but leaves his or her credit card at home. You know they want to help animals and again, way too shameful to ask for it back.

That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll have other brilliant and somewhat legal tips for you as time goes on.

I think I'm going to ride out to Sauvie Island tomorrow, I'll take pictures for you. There's a nude beach, but I think it's still too cold for all but the most ambitious dirty old men, so I probably won't get any shots there. Sorry.