Well, 7 of us showed for what I think was the first unofficial Portland area BF member get together. We rode a fairly flat route in the southwest area or town, starting in Tualatin, migrating down to Wilsonville, over to Sherwood, then out to Scholls, Farmington, Beaverton and return.

Here's who attended - from left to right:

Patriot came down from Port Orchard - about 200 miles away - to show us all his beautiful Trinity
MrBallistic rode his brand new not-so-stock gorgeous Bianchi Pista fixie - and gave me new found respect for what it takes to ride one.
Gonesh9 also went fixed on his Surly Cross Check with the 38 knobbies - the bastard also beat all of us up the hills - something I don't take too lightly.
Barleyrocket on his newly upgraded Cervelo - it's been 5 months since we've rode together and he has improved quite a bit. I only wish he still lived around the corner.
DinoShepard showed off his stripped-to-the-metal aluminum Scattante, which got everybody asking questions. It truly is uniquely cool - I'm surprised I haven't seen this done before
IXXI - a Serotta forum regular and sometime BF lurker, got everybody wowing with his brand new Vanilla fixie.
And me on my 5500 - I took the photo so if you want to know what I look like - look to the left.

A good time was had by all and it was agreed that we should do it again in the near future.

55/Rad

Yes, it was a great ride. Thanks 55/Rad for hooking it up.

There was an amazing array of drool-inducing bikes at this ride. I was able to get a closer shot of each after we were done, in the same order from left to right from 55/Rad's photo:

Patriot's very uniquely custom painted "Trinity":


Mr. Ballistic's super sweet new Bianchi Pista with white all over and hard carbon seat:



My Surly Crosscheck:


Barleyrocket's showroom quality Cervelo:


DinoShepard's "Retro Dog":


IXXI's remarkable Vanilla fixie:

You've always gotta show some detail with Vanillas...


And 55/Rad's Super sleek Trek:

man, Gonesh -- you totally got the climber's jersey today... and on a fixed with knobbies to boot. that boy is HARD. i think that you have a nitro burner on that surley drivetrain or something...

also... 40 miles on a fixie with a hard carbon seat == ouch! though, i have to admit, less so than i expected going into it.

loved riding with y'all -- let's do it again before the century season kicks into high gear.

You guys are nothin' but a bunch of posers.

I like all those bikes. That Vanilla has some amazing detail.

I never saw 55/RAD's 5500 till now, but I like it. 34mm rims....I like those.

Ride Notes:

General - Cool course. Great group. Next time we run the big hills to Skyline. Bring it on fixed gear boyz!

Barleyrocket - I had always ASS-u-ME-d that name meant (to the effect of) Beer powered. I liked it. Then I got the rest of the story (as they say) and found out that wasn't the case at all. The real story is hoot. Either way, his was the most desired wheel on the flats.

gonesh9 - Anti-grav dude on the fixed gear. I loved climbing with this freak on knobbies. Stand it up and grind it out.

Patriot - Bike or art? YOU make the call.

Mr. Ballistic - What can I say? 40 miles, single speed, carbon seat, no bottles, no Camelback. Warrior or ...?

IXXI - Found out this frame was painted by my old ride buddy Brian Baylis. The bike just oozed classic Italian sex appeal. This bike is why lugged steel will NEVER go away.

Until next time boyz.

-Z
(JYD = retro dog)

Wow, that Vanilla is anything but. Very sweet, IXXI. All of those bikes look good.

As far as the riders go, well that's another story -- nobody looks good w/ a helmet on.

So close to making this...let us know when the next one is!

what's up with no pics from the ride itself, eh?

and oh boy do I love those Rolf wheels. purdy!

very cool. glad y'all had a great ride ... !

Looks like it was a bit chilly there....you guys are layered up.

Nope, just a vegetable powered engine.



Yeah, a little chilly, but luckily we missed the rain. Was just right for a nice Sunday morning ride.

I have to say it was a great time. I enjoyed the whole ride. I will absolutly be there when ever there's another chance. Thanks 55 for getting it together/coordinating.

Sorry I didn't make it there 55/Rad it was my suggestion to join you guys but it was not my turn to pick the ride.
we ended up doing Hillsboro to Hagg Lake -I think they call it the Blue Berry ride? Nice for a Sunday put in 70- I would like to show next time when it is my pick.
Velocity

Done that before, and enjoyed it. A couple of weeks ago I rode Hillsboro to Sheridan and back (knocking off my first ever century- solo).

Wish I could have made it yesterday, but I had to be here at work. Needless to say I am pretty much a ghost here for the next two days, and then I'm pulling out of here on Friday. If anyone is free and interested, I have time to kill on Thursday afternoon, and possibly first thing Wednesday morning/or afternoon.

I sure am going to miss this place......

oh.... you know i forgot to tell y'all this before:

bianchi basically means 'white guy' in italian, which was my primary design inspiration for the bike. once i replace the fork with a carbon one painted white, it'll be the business.

Let us know where your going to be in Arizona and may be we'll hook up there sometime. By the by nice job on the centcy!
Velocity

I gotta hook up with you guys next time... Took the torelli out from gresham, along marine drive and looped back in on the springwater (had to test it on that awful section around 205 into gresham) it was truly marvelous.

Sorry I couldn't make it out yesterday. My Saturday ride reaggravated a bum knee so decided to rest it... Will try to make it next time!

Anyone been to Multnomah Falls lately? How is the road from Crown Point?
Velocity

Ok, this thread deserves much more atteniton, so I'll pad it a bit and try to get it moving by talking a little smack.

Man, you guys were a serious bunch of Oregon slugs. At the 30mi mark, I actually pulled up next to gonesh9, and "yawned". Just ask him, I really did. Of course it had nothing to do with my 2yo daughter waking me up at 6am.

On a lighter note, some of you may remember, I was not only complaining about the flu I've had lately, but the horrid grinding noise coming from my rear brakes.
Well, I pulled it apart, and found a tiny steel wire embedded in the pad (?). My beautiful Corima pads!!!

Bloody Oregon litter-bugs.

Luckily, the pads and rim are okie-dokie.

As for future rides, yes we must do it again. That was definitely worth the trip down.

LOL.....I hear you, but look at gonesh9's bike. A knobby balloon tired Fixed gear? (I will say a nice bike though). How's he gonna pull away from your CF Record 10s

Then what's up with IXXI and Mr. Ballistic too (nice bikes as well). I would expect this to be a group ride started in the FG/SS forum

you'd be surprised... he kicked ass. i'm eager to ride with him again.

and yeah... it started out as a regular ride, but both ixxi and i just got our fixies all built up, so we were eager to try them out. rad was supposed to have his together, but the parts were hard to come by, so he just rode the trek.

next time, i think we'll all go geared. then we'll see who's yawnin

(says he with the 8 month old who woke him up at least 4x the night before)

*yawn*

Ok, Ok, as a jealous East Coast outsider (jealous that you guys actually put this together), give us some of the salacious details...mileage? avg. speed? Who was dragging? Who was showboating? King of the mountain? Who was suspected of being on EPO? And most importantly, who had one of these puppies hidden in their drivetrain?
https://www.tidalforce.com/products/s750/index.html
Come on, inquiring minds want to know!