Mt. Hood from the backside of Mt Tabor.I thought that in my nearly 4th year in Portland I would have seen it all when it comes to cycling; spandex clad tools, tall bikes, bike jousts, texting bikers and the like. Yesterday was the day of biking firsts however. On my way in from the bike rack I passed by a bike that had a “Parking Violation” on it. . .a parking violation, that’s right. This person apparently broke some obscure parking regulation, bike parking regulation. I tried to deduct what the violation was for; double parking, wrong direction on a one way street, unauthorized locking mechanism, nothing stood out to me. What I found most entertaining about the whole situation is the fact that bikes, have no identification, no license plate, no registration numbers, nothing. So, assuming this cyclist doesn’t have fuckuitis, a common condition amongst Portland bikers ( I don’t because my mother raised a gentleman), how is the biker expected to pay their violation?
Prior to seeing the parking violation at work I nearly witnessed a blood bath of a bike-on-bike accident. When I say nearly I don’t mean that I arrived too late but rather one biker actually knew what he was doing, the other wasn’t so savvy. Another rider and I were headed down the hill into town (one of the many) and this kid, probably on his way to school, pulled out to cross the street on his bike. He couldn’t seem to get his feet settled on his pedals and so he just blindly, powerlessly rolled out into the street. The kid, still fidgeting with his feet to get some power to his bike, kept rolling further and further into the path of the downhill rider. Now. . .i must make a disclaimer about Portland bikers, many of us feel it’s cool to ride without hands, myself included. But. . .when you’re about to t-bone into another biker at 24.3 miles an hour. . .it may be time to put your hands on the handlebar. Back to the near carnage; the handless biker (he had hands just didn’t care to take them out of his pockets) swerved cut in front of the struggling biker’s path, just as he did, the kid got his feet on the pedals and started to pedal. The handless biker pulled his hand out of his pockets and swerved just in time to miss the kid’s back tire. Granted, no contact was made but I had there been a wreck I probably would have been right in the mix, seeing as I was only 20 yards behind the action. It was actually pretty impressive chain of events.
On a less impressive note. . .i got “lost” in the woods on Saturday. A co-worker and I went into the Columbia River Gorge, aka the Gorge, for a hike. I opted for the challenging option of the Herman Creek trail. Apparently the challenging option of the Herman Creek trail is not easy to find. Thankfully, my companion for the day was fit enough to handle the tracking and back tracking that added about 6 miles to our total trip. What peeved me the most was the fact that we never made our way to the overlook. We did however, find an overlook of the overlook. This is the best you’re going to get out of me.
Prior to seeing the parking violation at work I nearly witnessed a blood bath of a bike-on-bike accident. When I say nearly I don’t mean that I arrived too late but rather one biker actually knew what he was doing, the other wasn’t so savvy. Another rider and I were headed down the hill into town (one of the many) and this kid, probably on his way to school, pulled out to cross the street on his bike. He couldn’t seem to get his feet settled on his pedals and so he just blindly, powerlessly rolled out into the street. The kid, still fidgeting with his feet to get some power to his bike, kept rolling further and further into the path of the downhill rider. Now. . .i must make a disclaimer about Portland bikers, many of us feel it’s cool to ride without hands, myself included. But. . .when you’re about to t-bone into another biker at 24.3 miles an hour. . .it may be time to put your hands on the handlebar. Back to the near carnage; the handless biker (he had hands just didn’t care to take them out of his pockets) swerved cut in front of the struggling biker’s path, just as he did, the kid got his feet on the pedals and started to pedal. The handless biker pulled his hand out of his pockets and swerved just in time to miss the kid’s back tire. Granted, no contact was made but I had there been a wreck I probably would have been right in the mix, seeing as I was only 20 yards behind the action. It was actually pretty impressive chain of events.
On a less impressive note. . .i got “lost” in the woods on Saturday. A co-worker and I went into the Columbia River Gorge, aka the Gorge, for a hike. I opted for the challenging option of the Herman Creek trail. Apparently the challenging option of the Herman Creek trail is not easy to find. Thankfully, my companion for the day was fit enough to handle the tracking and back tracking that added about 6 miles to our total trip. What peeved me the most was the fact that we never made our way to the overlook. We did however, find an overlook of the overlook. This is the best you’re going to get out of me.
Looking out into the Columbia River Gorge. The flake is where the trail was supposed to lead us. Maybe next time.Sunday was a blessed day in Portland. The weather was fantastic and a perfect day for being out and about in the city. A friend and I walked up to Mt Tabor to take in some great views of the city and Mt Hood. I was hoping for some nice fall foliage but the funny thing about evergreens is. . .they are always green. Bastards! Sunday ended with a nice long nap on the sofa (inside) and some house cleaning.
Looking up Hawthorne Ave into downtown from the top of Mt Tabor.
Sir Scott the famed NW pioneer.
Sorry for the weak banter and weaker pictures. This weekend marks Halloween, which should produce some interesting sights. I'm not really one to shoot party photos but i'll do my best to capture the mood. Some may want to know what/who i'm going as and that is to be determined. Forever the procrastinator. Here's to handcrafted E.T. costumes and playboy playmates dressed as clowns.
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