[ORRando] Lunch at Nick's 200K perm

[Susan Otcenas]

Yesterday, Asta, Theo, Ed & I rode Ken Mattina's Lunch at Nick's 200K
permanent.  While many of the roads are quite familiar to all of us who
live or ride on the west side, Ken mixed it up a bit, threw in some
gravelly bits on (the intriguingly named) Stag Hollow Road and *best of
all*, introduced us to his favorite Italian restaurant - Nick's Cafe in
McMinnville.   
 
Despite the wood floors and white table linens, the staff at Nick's
didn't blink an eye when we arrived in our bike duds.  They gave us a
fabulous window seat so we could keep an eye on our bikes, the service
was excellent and the food and drink (mid-ride IPA or Sangiovese,
anyone? yes, please!) was delicious.   I can recommend the Gorgonzola
Pear Pizza without hesitation, and Asta was euphoric over the Delicata
Squash Salad.
 
Our Lunch at Nick's perm ended with "Dinner at Ken's" where he and his
wife displayed wonderful hospitality by inviting us in for some warm
soup and a cold beer at the conclusion of the ride.   Above and beyond!
 
If you are looking for a new route to try, give this one a whirl.  It's
a great "cold weather" route in that there's no significant elevation
gain (with no big descents to become chilled on), has reasonable access
to services along the way, and has a low likelihood of getting lost on
the mostly familiar roads.   I *don't* recommend it if you are on a
mission to ride a personal PR, as one of the highlights of the ride is
stopping for a nice mid-ride meal.  :-)  
 
Many many thanks to Ken for designing the perm and for his incredible
hospitality, as well as to Asta, Theo and Ed for being such
companionable riding partners!
 
Tailwinds,
 
Susan
 
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Susan Otcenas
Team Estrogen, Inc.
www.TeamEstrogen.com <http://www.teamestrogen.com/> 
877-310-4592
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