Ride report: R U Couv Curious?

When: 6/12/05
Reported by Shawn:

Despite some confusion at the beginning of the ride, the 18 participants (14 riders and 4 organizers) of the R U Couv Curious ride had a swell-o-riffic time learning how to effectively cross the Columbia River to get to Vancouver, Washington.

A group met Kiran at the Rose Quarter stop on the Yellow Line at 11am, while I met another group at Kenton station at 11.30am. From the area around the Expo Center station, we traversed the maze of bike paths to get up across Oregon Slough into the Shoppers Paradise known as Jantzen Beach. We negotiated the "recommended" crossing across the island (which is very poorly designed and quite dangerous) to get to the foot of Interstate Bridge, where we zipped over the three-quarters of a mile crossing of the Mightiest River In The West. Narrow sidewalks, low "don't walk" signals, and bird poop by the metric ton(ne) be damned!

Once we reached the State Of Washington side, Suzan and Todd, our 'Couv liaisons, took us on an enjoyable loop of the central city, taking in the sights of the Columbia River Promenade, Pearson Airfield, Fort Vancouver, Uptown Village, and finally downtown. We stopped at Esther Short Park (the oldest park in the Northwest!) and headed over to the Farmer's Market for nourishment before our return trip "over the river".

After we were satisfied, we returned to the Beaver State, learned about the sneak way through Jantzen Beach (to avoid the dangerous "bike route"), and crossed through East Delta Park to get to the Paul Bunyan statue in Kenton (our protector!) We parted our separate ways and headed off to more bike fun.