The Great Outdoors – Page 37 – Not Your Average Engineer

April 3, 2011

Rain Squalls and the Beaver Freezer Triathlon

Yesterday I went out for a leisurely bike ride with Melissa. Out by the base of Bald Hill, a rain squall suddenly appeared and threatened to drench us. We made haste to the Irish Bend Covered Bridge to take refuge from the storm. The wind whipped the rain into sideways frenzied sheets of stinging ice. The howling gusts sounded eerily reminiscent of the noises the tornadoes made on the movie Twister. After about 15 minutes, the squall passed and we were able to continue our ride.

We rode past the staging area for the Beaver Freezer Triathlon. Several of my friends were participating yesterday. I was going to participate in this event but when registration came open, I wasn’t sure if I would be in Corvallis this weekend or not. Turns out I was. Maybe next year I’ll do the triathlon.

March 28, 2011July 1, 2020

Shredding the gnar at Bachelor with Jesi, Brent, and Felix

Over the weekend I turned off my mobile phone, abandoned email and social networking, and headed over the mountains to Bend with Jesi, Brent, and Felix for some hot snowboarding action. Mount Bachelor was having an EPIC POW DAY when we hit the slopes. Thanks to dancing to Team Banzai down at Cloud 9 with a few friends on St. Patrick’s Day, I had a free lift ticket for Bachelor. It was pretty surreal to have so few people on the mountain on a weekend with such epic dumps.

Very few people riding the slopes or the lifts. The first half of the day it snowed continuously.

In the afternoon we had a few bluebird patches.

Getting ready to shred down Canyon.

Jesi enjoying some sick gnar gnar.

The whole gang taking a break in the afternoon at Pine Martin Lodge.

As we stepped out of Pine Martin Lodge for a few last runs, the skies parted and we had a beautiful bluebird sky. The top Outback Express was almost deserted but they were still turning the lifts on the northwest side of the mountain.

Looking down toward Ed’s Garden.

Suiting up and getting ready to drop into some epic gnar gnar for a bluebird run.

The man with the vision for Mount Bachelor.

Post-boarding, I had a touch of Shackelton about my face.

It was still snowing in Bend as we prepared to head back over the pass on Sunday. What an epic shredding weekend.

March 25, 2011March 25, 2011

Chitwood Covered Bridge

The final bridge from our ride was the covered bridge at Chitwood. It was originally built in 1926 and has had some work done on it since then to keep it maintained. A note for motorcyclists: the north approach ramp is VERY slick in the middle where car tires don’t tread.

The sign reads: “Donated labor of local residents and Lincoln County funds of $300 provided for the first bridge across the Yaquina River at this sight, June 1983, to give access to the Corvallis and Eastern railroad station. In 1904 Lafe Pepin built the second one, which was also uncovered and supported on vertical timbers, all of which were subject to decay in rainy periods. During 1926, Otis Hamar contracted for the third at $4000. Cement piers were poured for the 96′ Howe Truss span with approaches of 33′ each. The framework, with flared sides, was fir board and batten covered with ventilation openings up under each eave of a shake roof. Above each arched portal is a ‘Chitwood’ sign which was saved from the old Southern Pacific depot removed in 1940. After 57 years of service, this structure was renovated by Jon Gilliland with installation of new material in needle beams, lower chord pieces, approaches, frame and its cedar covering.”