Random Bike Stuff from the Streets of Portland

Bike Stuff

1.      Bike Commute Challenge

The Bike Commute Challenge took place during September here in Portland.  I didn’t manage a 100% biking rate this year, but I did pretty well.  I rode all but three days of the month.  I’ll have to be satisfied with that.

2.      12 people at the light this morning!  Didn’t all make it through the green!

The numbers are increasing.  There was actually a bicycle traffic jam at the intersection of Interstate and Oregon St, by the Rose Quarter.  Lots of people are riding to work and wearing real clothes, not bike gear.  

I like it! 

3.       Older Gal passing me up

Now, this is just funny.  On my ride to work, there is a street that has a gentle rise over the course of two blocks.  It’s a gentle rise but definitely noticeable.  I will either downshift or stand up and pedal.  So, I’m heading up the street one morning last week and behind me comes an older gal cruising along on her bicycle.  This, in itself, is not surprising.  People of all ages ride bikes, especially in Portland.  Nor is it surprising that she then passes me.  I get passed by people every day.  But, as she passes, I notice that she is both older and heavier than I am…  hmm… and, I’m in decent shape so how is she able to cruise right by?  Well, I don’t bother myself about it, but rather just keep on riding to work.  When I get to the bottom of the tram, I see that she is a couple of bikes ahead of me and we both ride up the hill.  After we disembark and walk through the building to the street, she hops on her bike, reaches down and clicks something.  The next thing I know there’s a gentle whirring sound and off she goes up the street.  It’s an electric assist bicycle!

4.       Need a bigger basket

As I mentioned before, I need to replace the basket on the front of Helen.  It got broken and bent in that crash.  And, it’s just too small.  I have been looking on line and at my local bike shops and I think I have one picked out.  BUT, I also have the collapsible rear basket on the right, which is where I put my backpack.  I asked my Pop if I could have the one off my mum’s bike to mount on the left side.  Then I will have three baskets and that’s enough cargo area for any trip to the store or the farmer’s market.  Ok, true, I usually walk to the store… but still!  And, just because Helen is such a beauty, I’m going to paint all the baskets brown to match her trim.  It’ll be a winter project.

Lloyd Cinema stuff

What is happening in the Lloyd Cinema parking lot???

I DON'T KNOW!

There is construction fencing around almost the whole thing and giant equipment is digging up the pavement.  It looks very much like there is a large building planned for the space.  It's being dug up in the north-west corner of the lot (by the bus stop).

If they were smart, they would invest in a pay parking lot.  Tons of people park there to take the Max to work or to walk to their jobs in the Lloyd District.  Illegally park there, I might add.  I can be sanctimonious about it since I don't do it...  :-)  But, really, if you think about it, they can charge anywhere from $5 to $12 per day, and an attendant would only cost about $80 per day.  If they put in spaces for say, 300 cars, it would make money hand over fist.

Not sure what is going on, but believe me, I'll be keeping an eye on this one!

Back, I guess, and sorta ready...

Well, dear readers, what can I say?  I haven't been blogging (my great capacity for stating the obvious) but I have been noticing some things around my stomping grounds.

Here's the thing: my darling mumsey has cancer and is slowing fading away before our eyes.  It's beyond sad and I've cried a river over it.  I'm not going to add more about that, though, because this is not the venue for sad family stories.  Just know that I have been distracted and busy and not neglecting you intentionally.

BUT!  I do want to get a few little tidbits noted and then I'll try to fill things out later.  To that end, I'll have to resort to bullets.

• Occupy Portland!  Wow!  Have you seen all of those tents downtown?  How hilarious is it that they chose the park between the cop shop and courthouse?  I love it!  And, in true Portland fashion, when it looked like they were going to be in the way for the Portland Marathon, they moved.  And came right back.  We're civilized like that.
• In the same neighborhood, the Edith Green/Wendell Wyatt Federal Building is finally looking like more than a steel skeleton.  There is some steel superstructure going up on the front and the south side is getting some skin.  I'll try to get some pictures.
• In my neighborhood, the Gulch, that derelict brick building on 21st that almost fell into the freeway is being rehabbed.  What?!  Who would put money into that?  I don't know, but they are shoring up the south facing foundation and building a new exterior wall.  Go figure.  Again, pictures would be helpful.
• The Slammer Tavern.  Someone has moved into the apartment above the tavern.  It's been vacant for as long as I can remember and always looked like hell, but now someone is living there.  I drive by on my way home from work and I can't help but stare as I'm stopped at the light (7th and Stark).  Weird, huh?
• South Waterfront and the New Bridge.  The south waterfront is a freaking nightmare.  I don't know why they can't do some of that work at night.  It is hellish down there!  But, watching the progress on the new bridge over the Willamette is interesting.  The new bridge will be just upstream from OMSI and cross over to the yet-to-be-built new complex of education high rises.  OHSU, PSU, and OSU are combining forces and funding and building a shared campus.  The bridge will be adjacent.  The bridge will be for light rail (a new Max line to SE -- yes, Milwaukie), bicycles, and pedestrians.  No cars!  The view from the Hill is pretty good and sometimes I'll pause on the 8th floor and watch the bridge stuff going on.

I feel like there were a couple more things I wanted to make note of, but I can't remember right now.  I'll try to get back here before too much time elapses and update you, but in the meantime, I NEED A CAMERA!  My phone takes the crappiest pictures and my little digital snappy broke so I'm in the market for something easy and cheap.

Oh, and if you were paying attention, I said that on my drive home... sad to say, I'm not riding my bike much right now.  For one thing, it's wet out.  Really wet.  But the bigger issue is that I am working a swing shift and I just don't feel good about riding home in the wet, cold, dark night.  I sure do miss Helen though.  Sigh. But, if we have a break in the weather, I'll be pedaling.

I guess that's all I've got for now.  

I Promise

When I retire (notice that I say ‘when’ not ‘if’¹), I promise to be very considerate of working stiffs.  It’s hard, nay, grueling, to work full time and stop at the store on your way home to get either something for dinner or something for tomorrow’s lunch.  It’s even harder when you take public transportation and have to schlep your groceries home in your aching arms (because your backpack is full of your sweaty workout clothes) and you have to pray for a seat on the bus or train.

I promise to do my grocery shopping either mid-morning or mid-afternoon, or even late evening², but never in the 4:30 to 6:30 after work time slot, or the precious and brief noon hour.  Even if it means that I am shopping with the stay-at-home parents and their loud and sticky children, and the elderly who use the shopping cart as a walker and need help reaching the products on the higher shelves (it won’t be long before that includes me, by the way, as I already need help reaching the top shelf).  I promise that I will never be that person at the deli counter who has to sample every fecking thing (which is better?  the honey ham or the brown sugar ham?  Gah!  They are the same with a different wrapper!)  before deciding that she just wants a quarter pound of the roast beef (same as last time!), while holding up a dozen hard working, tired wage slaves who just need to get a half pound of sliced turkey for their sandwiches for lunch.

I promise to ride public transportation an hour after the day shift has arrived at work³, even though it means I will be riding with the college students and the indigent.  I will not take a seat from someone who will be on her feet all day standing at a check stand or serving food.  Until I am unsteady on my pins I will surrender my seat to anyone who looks like they could use a break.

I will be the most considerate retiree ever.  I won’t go to the post office during those same hours either.  I won’t be walking my dog when the commuters are striding down the sidewalk⁴.  You won’t catch me in the bank during those hours.  I won’t be at the gym either.  I’ll be there mid-day when there is no fighting over the recumbent bike.  I’ll have lots of time to plan my outings, and I will take the working people into consideration when I do.  I promise.

1. I intend to retire from my current job in approximately three years.  I will not be old enough to collect social security, if any still exists, or my public employee retirement income (again, if any money is left in there), but I am still going to retire.  And then look for a job, because how will I be able to feed myself and pay for my health care?  The key is that I won’t be coming here anymore.  Twenty years is enough.

2. A great time to do your grocery shopping is on Friday evening.  People with social lives are out being social and the only real action at the grocery store is in the beer and wine section (or liquor section if you live in a state that allows that).  Ain’t nobody in the breakfast cereal or baking aisles at that hour.

3. I ride the bus that goes to the hospital.  Some years ago, in the very early hours of the morning, we pulled up to a stop downtown.  Waiting at the stop was an old lady of the crazy variety.  In her wheelchair.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that everyone has the right to get on the bus – it is ‘public’ transportation after all – and that includes people who are less mobile than us fortunate ones with the full use of all of our limbs.  Further, I am delighted at the variety of mechanical advancements the bus manufacturers design.  Each one is better than the last!  I will say, though, that it takes longer for a wheelchair to get on the bus than it does for someone walking.  No big deal!  So it takes longer, so what?!  The only time it is an irritation is when you are trying to get to work, maybe running a little late, and you would just barely make it if it weren’t for that wheelchair rider.  Sigh.  Oh well.  So, we pull up to the stop and the crazy old lady in the wheelchair wants to ride to the hospital.  Of course she does.  Never mind that it’s  6:30 in the morning and none of the clinics are open because, Hello, the workers are on the bus; she wants to go to the hospital and she has the right to get on the bus.  So, the driver deploys the wheelchair device and she wheels onboard, takes a look at all of us in our scrubs and uniforms and work duds, she lets out a piercing cackle and cries aloud, “Taxpayers! Ha ha ha, taxpayers!”  Yeah.  Way to rub our noses in it.  I promise to never do that.

4. I always, always, always, pick up after my dog.  If you stepped in poop on the way to work, it wasn’t from us.  I promise!

At least I make myself laugh...

I was on the bus early this morning and somewhere along 5th Avenue downtown I looked up and saw Mt Hood perfectly silhouetted between two of the 'president' apartment towers.  The sun was coming up behind the mountain and the sky was just starting to glow pink.

I got out my phone to take a quick picture to share with you:

Yeah, that's right.  Pointed the damn thing the wrong way and took a picture of myself and another random bus rider on the Number 8!

Go ahead and laugh!  It's funny!  I was laughing; still am.

Top O' Downtown

Have you been on the #8 bus lately?  Or the Max Green line?  Something is going on at the top of downtown! 

My guess is that it is Portland State getting ever bigger.  There were a few buildings in the block bounded by 5^th, 6^th, Jackson and College.  I say ‘were’ because all that’s left now is the last remaining cute old house.  Everything else has been knocked down and there are large excavations being dug all around.

You know what this means, right?  Yes, the Portland Bartending Academy has been forced to move!  In fact, I believe that I spotted their new facility the other day, but didn’t realize the significance until just this morning.  Unless I’m mistaken, which could certainly happen, those studious future bartenders are no longer in the University district but are now across the freeway in a strip mall.  I think they are now on SW Caruthers, but I will check that out and get back to you with a definite yea or nay.

So, what is PSU building now?  I briefly checked their website and couldn’t find a page with Urban Domination as a header.  They’re up to something, but it might take me awhile to find out just what it is…  in the meantime, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for signs.

Downtown views

So, it's dark out there before 7am.  You may not have noticed that, since few people get up as early as I do.  Oh, I'm not complaining (much).  At least, not about your habit of sleeping later than me.  My point, and I do have one, is that it's hard to observe a lot of the changes that happen in our fair city when you can't see it because it's too dark.  Or too rainy.

However!  Traveling up the newly reformatted transit mall on the old Number 8, I can make out a few indistinct shapes in the gloom.  One thing I have seen and think is pretty cool is a coffee stand.  I can just hear you now ~ Wow! A coffee stand!  In Portland, of all places!  Ok, ok, quit with the sarcasm.  It's not that there is a coffee stand, it's the stand itself that caught my eye.

Do you remember those curvy, mushroom shaped bus shelters that spoke so eloquently of the '70's?

By the '90's, most were closed up and vandalized with just a few left functioning along the bus mall.  In the past decade they have almost all been replaced by the new variety of streamlined, hi-tech style bus shelters.

Well, along 5th Avenue, between Madison and Jefferson (I think) is one of the old bus shelters that has been converted to a coffee stand.  It looks quite cozy and cheerful!  The funny thing is, I think it was moved to this location expressly to be a coffee stand.  I don't think it was there before.  At any rate, I can't locate it on Google street view at its current location.  Interesting, no?  Yes, I thought so too.  This might need some further investigation!

Observations from the commute

Ok, it's dark out when I go to work, but I do catch a glimpse of a few things.  Most recently, the absence of a thing.

Do you remember the auto shop parking lot in old town, on the corner of 5th and Glisan?  It's kitty-corner across from the back of the Greyhound bus terminal.  Directly across from a homeless shelter.  I believe that it has changed owners and apparently the new owners are not *art* lovers.  Or, they needed the space.

Missing from the lot is a large (and by large I mean about 15 to 20 feet tall) metal sculpture of a hand.  Reaching skyward, was it beseeching the heavens for alms?  Was it showing us the way?  Come to think of it, what the hell shape was it in?  My first thought was that it was reaching upwards, then I thought no, it was a fist.  Now I think it might have been an 'a-ok'.  Frustratingly, I can't find a picture of it on the interwebs.  Why don't one of you faithful readers refresh my memory... one of the two of you ought to remember!  Please comment!



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Today's commute

I took a different route to work this morning. I'm glad I did! It wasn't a great commuting route, but it gave me a big smile.

I was heading east on SE 11th towards Madison and the Hawthorne Bridge. I passed Morrison and Belmont, and along that stretch before Madison there is a vacant lot. Actually, it might be an entire block. I think there was a warehouse there a few years ago that burned down. You know, by Grand Central.

Anyway, it's a vacant lot now and full of weeds and grass and blackberries. As I rode by, some movement caught my eye. I looked over and there was a flock of goats noshing on the grass and weeds! Little pygmy goats, at least a dozen of them, maybe as many as twenty.

Nice!

I've heard of goats for clearing land before, but I've never seen any in Portland. And, man, we can use them on the blackberries!

Go little grazers, go!




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Public Transportation

I have started a dozen blog posts but been unable to finish anything. So, to give myself an encouraging boost, I’ll keep this short and reach the end.

I’ve written before about the trials and tribulations of the bus commute. One of my pet peeves is with people who let their stuff occupy a seat while other people stand. Yesterday afternoon a guy reached a new, unheard of depth in seat hogging.

He was sitting in the aisle seat and left the window seat next to him vacant. Typical. I walked down the aisle, drippy from the rain, breathless from running to catch the #77, and saw an empty pair of seats in front of this guy. As I reached the vacant spot, I saw that there was a backpack and a pair of gloves lying there. I looked back to the front of the bus, thinking that maybe the passenger who was talking to the driver was coming back to this seat. No. The guy in the seat behind reached over and picked them up. He was using four seats! Four! One for his lazy ass and three for his stuff! Argh! It’s public transportation, buddy, not your personal coach service. Jerk.

Downtown Update

The Max Green line opened! Yay! This should be a great thing for people living in the further reaches of the metro area, to the north and east; and for anyone heading to PSU. This line runs from Clackamas Town Center to Portland State University. It opened this week and reportedly ridership is already quite high. Well, they tapped into a huge area so it should be filling right up.

The only thing I don’t like about it is the fact that 5th and 6th streets downtown are now nearly impossible to use in the car or on a bike. But, it’s a fair trade off to get all of those cars out of downtown so… I’m not complaining. Really.

Another tidbit of downtown observation: The long empty lot at 4th between Mill and Market streets is being developed. This is the lot bounded by St Mary’s school, St Michael the Archangel Church (site of R & N’s wedding), and the crazy, triangular high rise that B & K lived in briefly.

It has been a parking lot for years and years, and an odd one. The east edge of the parking lot is built up on a rock wall. It had a mysterious, boarded up doorway in the wall that looked like a portal to trouble. Last week a construction fence went up and this week the wall came down. The earthmovers are out there digging like mad. One really good thing: it looks like they are protecting the large, beautiful, copper beech tree that lives in the southeast corner of the lot. I don’t know what is planned for that block, but I hope that preserving the tree is part of the development.

One quick note about the bike commute: I rode down the Hill! It wasn’t as scary as I feared, of course. When I leave my building, the street drops quite sharply. I was riding my brakes down the hill, expecting to see smoke coming off them, but I was being passed by cyclists who were actually pedaling away. Wow! They must have been going 50 miles an hour! Not me, thank you very much. So, I got to the bottom in one piece, had to ride through part of downtown where there are no bike lanes, turned off 4th onto Salmon and rode out to the waterfront. From there, it’s the same commute home. Amazingly, it’s faster to ride down the hill and through downtown than it is to walk to and wait for the Tram.

That’s it for today folks! Hey, you see right below this text where there is a picture of a pen and the underlined words “0 comments”? If you click on the word comments, it opens up a little box where you can type a few words. Try it! I love comments! You can go back and read other people’s comments. It’s all part of the blogosphere…

Bike Commute Update

I’ve done pretty well this week. I have ridden three out of four days; both directions. Whew!

I got a new seat for my bike, which is wonderful. It’s all wide and puffy and gel-filled (I’d say, just like my butt, except that I have a rather flat bottom – so, it’s more like my hips…). It makes a big difference. The next bike gadgets I will purchase are: a blinking reflector and a headlight. I had a headlight, the kind that has a little wheel that flips down onto your bike wheel and spins something inside and makes the lamp light up. I don’t know where it is, but if I can find it this weekend I’ll use it. Some things I would like to have but probably won’t invest in are: a bell, a rear view mirror and a basket. I’m leery of putting any money into a bike since I have had so many stolen. But, I’m going to a bike shop this weekend and who knows what I’ll leave with.

So, I’m pedaling along pretty steadily, but I have yet to pass another bicyclist. I probably never will. Sometimes I’m hard pressed to pass runners. Sometimes I see other riders like myself, you know, old, fat, out of shape, and they are cruising along at a much faster clip. I think it might be that the bike I’m riding is a “mountain” bike and might be geared lower. At least, I comfort myself with that thought. Yesterday, riding along the waterfront, there was a pretty good headwind blowing and I could really tell the difference. I was going slower than ever!

It’s still taking about the same amount of time to get home. I did figure out the time discrepancy that was bothering me last week though. It’s the danged Tram! Well, it’s the walk from my office to the Tram, waiting for the Tram, riding down the Tram, and then finally getting on my bike. It can easily be 15 or 20 minutes from my office to the street. I haven’t had the nerve yet to ride down the Hill. It’s really steep! I’m going to do it one of these days just to see if it is terrifying and to see how it affects my time. I’ll keep you posted!

One last thing: one morning this week I was just approaching the Steel bridge from the east side when the alarm sounded and the lights started flashing. The gates clanged shut and the lower section, the train track section, started going up. Ok, that’s not unexpected around here. There is plenty of shipping traffic on the Willamette. So I waited, and waited, and waited… a couple other bicyclists and pedestrians were waiting too. Eventually, all of the bike riders turned around and headed down the east bank to the Hawthorne bridge. As I was passing the Morrison a dredging barge came motoring down the river. It must have been up past the Ross Island bridge when they raised the Steel. Ridiculous! I was almost late for work! But, it did give me a chance to try out the east bank and the Hawthorne. I’m going to stick with the waterfront because it’s flatter.

Ok, that’s it for the bike update. A little long, thanks for bearing with me. In other news, the self defense class at Linfield College has started back up again and I have another great group of women. They are all very enthusiastic and willing to try stuff and are already hitting HARD! It’s going to be a great term.

Please feel free to comment… please!

Bike Update, etc...

Ok, I rode home again yesterday. Two things:

1) My butt hurts! I need a new seat, for sure. One of those wide, padded, “lady” seats. Oh yes I do. I got off the tram yesterday, tucked my pant leg into my sock and swung my leg over the bike. OUCH! When I sat down, I stood right back up. I had to ride a couple blocks putting most of my weight on the pedals until my butt bones stopped complaining. I’m taking Friday off and I’ll be shopping for a comfy seat that day.

2) My timing is off. I said that it took me 40 minutes the first day, well, it took 50 minutes the second day and that just can’t be right. I didn’t wander around in Riverplace, AND I rode up that short steep hill – which has to be faster than walking, right? I’m not sure how my timing got all wonky, but I’m still hoping to shave ten (or twenty) minutes off my time. I hope to get home in half an hour. I think I’ll be able to eventually.

So, part of my ride along the waterfront goes by a hangout zone for the homeless. It’s just a pleasant part of the park a little distance away from the businessy part of downtown (close to the Steel Bridge, by the cherry trees, if you know where I mean). Yesterday there were several people sprawled around in the grass and sitting on the benches. I noticed that there were also lots of pigeons taking a little rest there as well. I wondered, do the homeless ever catch and eat pigeons? They are certainly plentiful (I mean the birds), and surely, surely, they taste somewhat like chicken. But, then, I’ve wondered the same thing about squirrels. Why aren’t hungry people eating them? I’ve never had squirrel before but in my imagination it is a lean, dark meat. I asked T what she thought about that and she said, “Why go to all that trouble when you can panhandle a dollar and go to Wendy’s for a crispy chicken sandwich?” She does have a point there.

In other news, the concert tickets that we won are for tonight. Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal at the Edgefield! Very much looking forward to it! Gates open at 5, general admission seating on the grass, so we’ll be there on time. Really, really hoping that the rain holds off until tomorrow!

I will try to get some blogging in over the weekend, but you know how I am about turning on the computer at home… I’d much rather take advantage of this super fast work connection. If I don’t hear from you, and I hope I do, have a great holiday weekend! And Lisa, rest up for next week!