peder e. horner

Portland West Hills Ride #1

For those in Portland, I just found a great West Hills ride yesterday.

• Start: Skyline and Greenleaf
• North (down) on Greenleaf to Cornell at Skyline
• North/Northwest on Skyline to McNamee
• North (right) on McNamee and enjoy the beautiful road with fast descent (watch that last mile - tight turns!). Under the railroad tracks
• West (left) on Highway 30 for about 4-5 miles
• South (left) on Rocky Point Road and head up for a good climb (1264 feet) over 3.2 miles. Average grade 7.48%, max grade 14.2%.
• Left on Skyline for short bit then connect (right) with nice Rock Creek road descent
• Take a right onto Old Cornelius Pass Rd
• Take a left onto Germantown Road
• Veer right onto Old Germantown Road for a decent ascent (765 ft over 2.3 miles) Average grade 6.15%, max grade 10.78%.
• Right onto Skyline back to Cornell and up Greenleaf for finish at Skyline

All told, it's 6476 ft of climbing, 6460 ft of descent, for total overal elevation gain of a whopping 16 ft. Total mileage was around 40 miles (my cyclocomputer indicated 43, but the Topo map says 40.4).

The photo to the right is a screen capture off Larry's cool topo software.

The information about climb grades/distances was taken from Shawn Kolitch's website, which has great profiles of the best West Portland climbs.

:: peder horner ::

Hannah Gets Into Beach Elementary

We received notice yesterday afteroon that Hannah was accepted, via the intense lottery system, to attend Beach Elementary School, only 1 mile from our house- an easy walk or bike ride. This is a very sought-after program in the Portland Public School system. We are very excited for her and feel blessed. Today is her first day as pre-K, and she can't wait!

From what we've researched and been told, she should be bilingual and biliterate by the time she finishes her primary education (6th grade). Now, her parents need to get serious about learning some español!

What is so special about this school? It's a dual-immersion school (Spanish and English).

How is it done? From their website:

* Exact configuration varies by grade level. There is more of an emphasis on Spanish instruction for English Speakers in the early grades allowing them more exposure to the language.

* Students are assigned to a two person team:

> one teacher teaches exclusively in Spanish
> one teacher teaches exclusively in English

* Together the team delivers:

> a unified curriculum, based on the Portland Public School District Curriculum and Standards, with high expectations in both English and Spanish.

* Students rotate between the two teachers for instruction in a planned cycle of activities.
* There is no translation of content or repetition of lessons.
* Students receive daily planned second language instruction.
* Concepts introduced in the primary language are reinforced in the second language.

:: peder horner ::

SNAPP has arrived!!

A beautiful example of German engineering- a 1971 Colorado Orange BMW 2002. Unpretentious class, exuberant style, zippy performance, nimble handling, easy-to-work on... it's got it all! I've already driven it from Portland out to the Columbia Gorge for a hike with Taylor Davis up to Triple Falls. It drove really well at 70mph! Her nickname has been Mango in the past and more recently, "SNAPP", which is what is on the tag now.

I've learned that I have to use the English words for car parts, like bonnet (hood), boot (trunk), and indicators (turn signals).

I love the nicknames for the 02's, the "Whispering Bomb." True, true.

Click here for more pictures!

For more information on the 2002, I recommend the UK BMW 2002 website.

Yes, I'm still going to commute by bike to work. But, there are those few occasional days each month that I need to drive to work or church myself. We're planning on fully restoring it once I'm out of residency and fellowship.

Woohoo!!

:: peder horner ::

New M.Ward Album: Post-War

Local Portland singer/songwriter folk legend guitarist M. Ward has released a new album, and you should listen to it immediately. Mr. Ward has been making timeless folk music with a quirky indie twist for 5 years since his landmark debut album End of Amnesia. The production is, as on previous albums, ethereal. His voice seems to float around the finger-picked guitar on the quieter songs and the electric surf-like guitar on the louder, up tempo tracks. For example, just absorb the beautiful strings and tympani on the opening track "Poison Cup." Amazing.

Holly and I saw him perform live with the Calexico/Iron and Wine show in 2005 and were very impressed.

He even dose a raucous cover of Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home."

Click here for the NPR review.
Click here for the amazon page and more reviews.

Happy sounds,

:: peder horner ::