Summer has officially come to Oregon!
The Joyride, an all-women ride, is a ride I have done a couple of other times, and it’s one of my favorites. Cycle Oregon really knows how to put an event together! Between the venue, the route, the food, and the entertainment after, it’s such a wonderful thing to experience.
Christina and I posed at the beginning, getting a little bit of a late start. We hit the road at around 9am, while it opens at 8am. The latest you can start, I believe, is 10am. We chose to do the 40-mile route.
Toward the beginning, we got to see some growing hops. The Pacific Northwest really does love good coffee and good beer!
This is a great area for growing all kinds of things. From grass to grapes to hops, you never know what you’ll find. It sure is pretty, even when you don’t see green things.
Our first rest stop had foods such as dill pickles, little cups of pickle juice (I loved both!), small open-faced egg salad sandwiches, bread with peanut butter and jelly, pieces of bagel with cream cheese, fresh, local strawberries, banana halves, and more. It was a mini feast!
The shade was also VERY welcomed.
Since this is an all-women’s ride, you can see various men and women helping – serving food, making more, etc. The local robotics club was also a part of this! All of the helpers were incredibly gracious and wonderful.
We took a few breaks for water or lip balm, and it was really heating up!
The second rest stop was just as good as the first. This one had granola bars, Babybel cheese, candied ginger, more pickles, and some lemon cookies. There was more that I can’t remember, and each stop had plenty to drink.
The second rest stop was at this great farm.
I don’t know what kind of flowers those were, but there were soooo many!
This cemetery was named something-Crest (brain no worky well at this point in the ride). I hoped the word “crest” indicated more downhill from there… but there were a few more hills.
Mt Hood in the distance.
I’m pretty sure the elevation gain was promoted at a little over 900 feet, which is why I was thinking I could do it. Well. It was more. I was pretty beat at the end, and I felt like I was limping in. It was HOT. The food and festivities at the end were wonderful. I had so much fun talking to my friends, Christine and Christina! That was the frosting on the cake. That and sitting in the shade, sipping a very cold, locally made beer.
Distance and elevation gain listed in the picture above.
The Happy Viking 
I loved seeing Mt Hood at the end when we crossed Hwy 99, it was a nice long light I had to wait for and a much needed rest and viewing of Mt Hood. Someone on the ride thought the flowers were from potato….So I was imagining eating potatoes and that they smelled like potatoes…to distract myself from the crazy heat and exhaustion!
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