Jesse's Birthday Surprise

Since we were in the middle of packing up our apartment last year on Jesse's birthday, I decided to try and make his 31st a little better than his 30th. I took him on a surprise trip to Forest Grove, which is only about 40 minutes outside of Portland. While he knew that we were going for an overnight trip earlier in the week, he didn't find out the exact destination until Sunday morning. We loaded up our bikes in the car, packed sandwiches, water and snacks, and headed out to McMenamin's Grand Lodge -- the start/finish point for the day. The lodge was built in 1922 and was a Masonic home until 1999, at which time McMenamins purchased the property and converted it into a hotel.

It was the perfect launching point for our bike ride, a 29-mile loop out to Henry Hagg Lake and back. We started out around 11:30am and got back to the hotel around 3pm. The ride to the lake was about 10 miles, and we passed at least three or four vineyards along the way. The old country road was a really nice route. Just after the entrance to the lake/park, we stopped to have a picnic lunch. As you can see, it was a gray afternoon, but perfect weather for riding. While the trip wasn't necessarily strenuous overall, there were several hills that made me want to fall over with my (what felt like) 95-pound bike. I love the Townie for cruising around the city, but a road bike she is not. I'm seriously thinking that when we have a little more storage space, I'll be on Craigslist scouting out a much lighter, less bulky option.

By the time we made it back to the Grand Lodge, I was soaked with sweat, but feeling good at what we accomplished. I took a quick shower, put on a fresh change of clothes and we had dinner and a couple of pints. I definitely earned my two Rubys -- a raspberry wheat beer -- with all of those hills! I had such a fun afternoon and I think we're definitely going to try and do a few more of these day-long bike trips before the summer is over!