City of Roses

Day 23: Layover in Portland

After a fairly dramatic Amtrak ride, drama being the trials and tribulations of fellow passengers, I am taking a day of rest in Portland. Visiting with friends, meeting my brother for a business planning session, and wandering around a city that seems to worship the bicycle. My bike was in the shop overnight, because I cross-threaded the pedal when reattaching it. CityBikes did a great job installing the brass insert enabling the pedal to be reinstalled.

It’s also PedalPalooza, a festival of bicycles. I’m not planning to be in town this weekend, so I’ll miss many of the events. But it feels great to feel at home, on a bicycle, in a city which is huge by my standards of comfort and accessibility. I used to only want to life in a town where I could cycle into the countryside in 15 minutes. Now, with mass transit and ubiquitous bicycle lanes and paths, I could imagine living in Portland.

I’m not done with this tour, however. I hatched a plan while still in California, to ride out and down the North Coast. I’m excited, leaving early in the morning…