Tag Archives: biking

Oct30

Portland Autumn by bike

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Week preceding Sunday, 29-Sept-2019

As you may recall, my Bike had been stolen back in May, after mother’s day.

Insurance had been difficult, as had been bike shops in general – it turns out that not only is Portland much more expensive than Boston when bikes are involved, but that sales people aren’t always the most knowledgeable… After searching through half a dozen bike shops, being told that my budget was impossibly low, and being told that my previous bike had never existed (sales people… Arg!) I gave up.

After giving myself a few weeks to cool down, I threw down.

I went to the neighborhood bike shop, and told them that I wanted a bike. I told them every specific that I wanted, then handed them my credit card and told them to go hog wild.I mean, I also got a quote, compared them to other shops in town, and discussed a lot of options. But that doesn’t make for good reading, so let’s just pretend I acted like a badass instead, and just threw down.

Anyways I got a new bike. Just in time for the Portland Rain to hit. Exactly in time, actually, and I biked home in the rain.

You know what? That’s fine, because I biked. And that’s exactly what I’ve been waiting to do!

Thankfully the rest of the week wasn’t quite as rainy, and I got to take a few after-work rides around town. It’s amazing how much different Portland is when traveling by bike… I’ve noticed so many more murals, but I’ve also just how quiet our neighborhood gets early in the evening. It’s kind of creepy – it’s as if everyone is on exactly the same schedule regarding when to eat dinner and then when to go home.

Still, though. I’m enjoying being back on two wheels, getting to poke around and take pictures of all the pretty streets and ridiculous hipster stores full of artisanally-crafted, single-sourced, small-batch, super-expensive chatchkes that are fun to poke and prod.

I’ve even been able to bike to the gym again, and bike to the local taco spot, and bike to pick up my car… I’m biking again!!

Apr18

12-Mar-16,Biking adventure in Portland!

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When I first moved to Portland, I planned on regularly tossing my bike onto my car and spending the weekend exploring the city.

Obviously, that plan of being bored and solo on the weekends has been a bit overcome by events – specifically going on a ton of amazing adventures with Sarah. But this weekend, after a long climbing competition the night before, there was a day that was basically begging me to get on  bike and stretch my legs.

 

So I did. I biked downtown, across the bridge (fixing a flat tire on the way) and through the woods.

Lunch found me at a little cafe called Chef Naoko, eating a bento box full of fancy organic, sole-source, sustainable (and many other Portland-verbs) meal. The tea was tasty, as was everything else. A bit expensive… But this is Portland, so what can you expect. Not quite San Francisco grade, but probably a bit above Boston grade.

I biked.

I went straight when the lights were green. I turned when they were red. A dodged and weaved around traffic, and followed detours when necessary.

I found myself in Washington Park in the rain, watching the clouds move through the city below.

I saw the Portland Holocaust Memorial; with its haunting brass sculptures of kids shoes and discarded Teddy bears. There was a school group walking through, so I stayed to listen to the description. It was a bit lacking, in my opinion… Saying “the German government did bad things” doesn’t seem to  quite convey what really happened. <shrug>

I met some LARPers, fencing with foam swords in the park. We chatted. They were cool.

I talked to a missionary, who offered to help me fix that flat tire that I’d gotten. He was cool, and surprisingly insightful. I thanked him for his offer, and wished him luck.

I kept biking.

Rain fell, pedals turned, and I enjoyed the long ride.

 

Dec25

An amazing date night in Portland!

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Friday, 16-October-2015

In retrospect, this was actually an anniversary date.  I mean… people do monthly anniversaries for the first year or so, right?  Sarah and I aren’t just crazy?  No?  We’re actually crazy?

Yeah, I kind of guessed.

 

Whatever, it was fun.  And like we needed an excuse to get dressed up and find a fancy restaurant anyways.  

Sarah slid into an awesome dress, and I buttoned up a nice shirt and a vest.  We locked out feet into our bikes, and started pedaling out into the city!

 

First stop was dinner at a French place called Navarre – where we did a tasting dinner of a few small plates.  My favorite was the Braised rabbit, but the Lamb stew, chantrelle salad, and heirloom tomato salad were pretty damn amazing as well.  

 

Next up was dessert, clearly.  Sarah lead us to a small place called Pix, a Patisserie that’s both a dessert place and a bar.  We already had drink plans set up for later, so we just had a few small desserts to finish up the meal… specifically an amazing Blueberry cheesecake eclaire (droooool) and chocolate truffle cake, A la mode.  Vanilla Ice Cream!  With chocolate cake!  Yes please.

Up until our next stop we’d been pretty nicely dressed for the venue.  Not over dressed, per se, but still nicely dressed.  Then we arrived at the door, asked the doorman to set us, and sat down for our drinks at the Secret Society.