The temperature has dropped and so has the number of “travelers” camped along the waterfront. Last week they were spread out like a giant slumber party and this week they are gone. Not all, of course, there are some who are sticking it out in the mist and drizzle and low temps.
Under the Burnside Bridge was a popular spot. The city has built a new venue for the Saturday Market. I’d offer up a review of the space but I think I should visit it first. I can tell you a little bit about the part along the waterfront. There is a large open area with a glass cover. In this area and an adjacent circular area there are water features. These are not fountains in the sense of a bowl of water with some cascading tiers. These are the kind of water features that have jets at the ground level and shoot water up in varying displays. I believe that they designed this so that the homeless wouldn’t camp under the glass cover. I will visit the Saturday Market sometime this fall and get back to you about the rest of it.
Another popular camping spot is on the east side of the Steel Bridge, just south of the Rose Quarter transit center. If you are familiar with the area you’ll know that there is a series of paths and view points along the walkway to the bridge. One of these viewpoints was claimed by a group of homeless with lots of luggage. They kept their goods and chattels bundled up and stowed neatly in the overlook. One of the group would always be hanging out with the stuff in the afternoons; presumably the others were off making a living somewhere. They haven’t actually left the area, but they don’t sleep on the overlook anymore. They’ve moved up hill to be under the trees. I guess it’s just too cold on the exposed viewpoint.
I didn’t intend to write a blog post about the homeless in Portland. I was thinking more about the changing seasons but the tides of humanity reflect the weather here. It’s pretty mild in Portland but it does get cold and it certainly gets wet. We are coming to the season when they all move to California.
I was going to write about trees. You know how I love trees! The color change has begun. The native deciduous trees tend to be yellow or brown. Alders, maples – both vine maples and big leaf maples - oaks. We get the dramatic colors from the fancy fureigners. Outside my window at work is one – I can’t tell you what it is (until I walk over and check it out) but I can tell you that it is glorious. It is a ball of bright yellow and pale green. It is some days ahead of the trees around it, as far as changing color. On some streets in the neighborhood there is one tree that leads the pack and stands out in luminescent splendor. My street hasn’t started yet, but by next week I think we’ll see some color busting out. And after that, the yards, sidewalks and streets are filled with leaves. The raking season is just around the corner. More on that soon, no doubt.
Do you have a favorite tree? Are things starting to look like Autumn in your neighborhood?
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Bicycle Buzz
I have two things to say about the biking.
1) I took a different route home on Monday afternoon. Mostly I took a different route through downtown so that I could observe more of what’s happening in PDX ~ all the better for my reportage. Instead of turning by Terwilliger Plaza and taking 4th through downtown, I went down 6th instead. Thought I’d get a good view of the new Max Green line and see what changes have been made on the bus mall.
Well, that didn’t work so well. The Max tracks are a huge hazard to bicycles and when you are traveling parallel to them, it’s nerve wracking. I could hardly take my eyes off the damn things! I had to get off my bike and walk across them to get off 6th. I turned down SW Market St just to get away from the tracks. Originally, I intended to ride to Salmon and get on the waterfront that way, but I had to escape the hazard and turned right by St Mary’s academy. I took Market down to Second and turned left there. Second is like an alley in size and in repair. Actually, the streets downtown are in terrible shape and it’s a nightmare riding on them.
I will add just one small note of commentary here. This isn’t new but I saw it again and was reminded of how irritating it is: There is a clock by the fountain in the plaza at PSU. The plaza between 5th and 6th, Montgomery and Mill. On the clock are Roman numerals. Now, maybe I’m wrong but I think the number 4 is written IV, not as it appears on the clock, IIII. That bugs me every time I see it. Didn’t anyone proof the design before it was cast in steel?
2) Wednesday was wet! I made it to work fine, dry and cool. On the way home, though, ugh. It rained periodically throughout the day but the afternoon was “supposed” to be clear. Ha! I looked out the window at work about quarter after 3 and thought, I’d better get out of here before it rains. So, I clocked out, got my bike, rode down the elevator and by the time I got to the door, pouring!
I had a choice at that point. Get on my bike and ride or wait to see if it would stop. A toss up. I chose to ride, figuring that I was just going to get wet and so what. I had my raincoat on and that helped some, but my glasses were really wet, my thighs were wet and my butt was wet. The funny thing? By the time I got to the bottom of the hill the rain stopped. Oh well! So, most of me dried out as I rode home… except for my butt. I don’t have fenders on my bike and I don’t have rain pants. I’ll be checking those things out real soon. Maybe you’ve noticed, as you tool along in your car, all warm and dry, that bicycles kick up water from their tires. Well, if you don’t have a fender, all of that water goes right up your back in a dark, oily stripe. Yuck! My raincoat and backpack kept it off my back but my seat area was definitely wet.
I don’t know how much riding I’ll manage to do during the rainy months. It depends on how much I want to invest in gear for me and the bike. I have definitely been enjoying the ride though. It’s good exercise and my pants are fitting better.
1) I took a different route home on Monday afternoon. Mostly I took a different route through downtown so that I could observe more of what’s happening in PDX ~ all the better for my reportage. Instead of turning by Terwilliger Plaza and taking 4th through downtown, I went down 6th instead. Thought I’d get a good view of the new Max Green line and see what changes have been made on the bus mall.
Well, that didn’t work so well. The Max tracks are a huge hazard to bicycles and when you are traveling parallel to them, it’s nerve wracking. I could hardly take my eyes off the damn things! I had to get off my bike and walk across them to get off 6th. I turned down SW Market St just to get away from the tracks. Originally, I intended to ride to Salmon and get on the waterfront that way, but I had to escape the hazard and turned right by St Mary’s academy. I took Market down to Second and turned left there. Second is like an alley in size and in repair. Actually, the streets downtown are in terrible shape and it’s a nightmare riding on them.
I will add just one small note of commentary here. This isn’t new but I saw it again and was reminded of how irritating it is: There is a clock by the fountain in the plaza at PSU. The plaza between 5th and 6th, Montgomery and Mill. On the clock are Roman numerals. Now, maybe I’m wrong but I think the number 4 is written IV, not as it appears on the clock, IIII. That bugs me every time I see it. Didn’t anyone proof the design before it was cast in steel?
2) Wednesday was wet! I made it to work fine, dry and cool. On the way home, though, ugh. It rained periodically throughout the day but the afternoon was “supposed” to be clear. Ha! I looked out the window at work about quarter after 3 and thought, I’d better get out of here before it rains. So, I clocked out, got my bike, rode down the elevator and by the time I got to the door, pouring!
I had a choice at that point. Get on my bike and ride or wait to see if it would stop. A toss up. I chose to ride, figuring that I was just going to get wet and so what. I had my raincoat on and that helped some, but my glasses were really wet, my thighs were wet and my butt was wet. The funny thing? By the time I got to the bottom of the hill the rain stopped. Oh well! So, most of me dried out as I rode home… except for my butt. I don’t have fenders on my bike and I don’t have rain pants. I’ll be checking those things out real soon. Maybe you’ve noticed, as you tool along in your car, all warm and dry, that bicycles kick up water from their tires. Well, if you don’t have a fender, all of that water goes right up your back in a dark, oily stripe. Yuck! My raincoat and backpack kept it off my back but my seat area was definitely wet.
I don’t know how much riding I’ll manage to do during the rainy months. It depends on how much I want to invest in gear for me and the bike. I have definitely been enjoying the ride though. It’s good exercise and my pants are fitting better.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The Portland Report reviews The Beach
Last weekend the lovely T and I headed north and west to Long Beach. That’s right, north and west, not south and west. We spent the weekend on the Long Beach, Washington peninsula.
We went after Labor Day, so the tourist population was decreased anyway. There are two stoplights on the Peninsula. One is a blinking red light so that hardly even counts. Suffice it to say, there was no traffic to speak of. We escaped Portland early enough on Friday to dodge most of the outbound rush.
We stayed in a cottage on the main drag. It was small but cute and the bed was extremely comfortable. A funny thing about hotels in Long Beach is that most of them are not on the water. A few of the newer ones are and have the coveted ocean view, but the majority are along the main road or in little forest clearings. I didn’t see any that had the kind of beach frontage where you open your sliding glass door and walk out onto the sand. Of course, there may be some that I missed. I wasn’t there to do a comprehensive lodging review. The cottages we stayed in are for sale but I’ve never been tempted by the life of an innkeeper.
Saturday morning was cloudy and cool but we went to the beach anyway. We’re Pacific Northwesterners! A little moisture isn’t going to keep us indoors! We walked probably a half a mile down the sand and then just sat and watched the breakers. Mostly, it was to give the old dog a rest. We decided that we need to invest in one of those collapsible water bowls that places like REI have. The dogs were thirsty but had to wait until we got back to civilization for a drink.
The sun broke through and the clouds burned off by about noon. By then we had gone back to the cottage, watered the dogs, had a quick pee, and set off again for points north. We went up the ocean side as far as we could and spent some time looking at houses and lots that were for sale. Despite the economy being in the toilet, the prices were out of our range. Saw some beautiful lots with ocean views but 200K is not within our budget. While we were driving around we realized that we were in some kind of residential community. Not just a group of houses that are in the same vicinity, but the kind that requires memberships and dues. No thanks! That kind of thing puts me right off.
We fought our way free of the dreaded homeowners association neighborhood and headed over to the bay side of the peninsula. The Willapa Bay is beautiful! It’s huge, for one thing, and across the water are islands and mountains covered with fir trees. The sun was out and the water was sparkling. It was really lovely.
We drove around a little and found the charming town of Oysterville. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places and they are doing a great job of maintaining it.
It is easily the most appealing town on the peninsula but very small and, unless you own an oyster bed, there is no work at all. Well, I would guess that just about anyone could get a job shucking oysters but that doesn’t really appeal to me. We stopped at a cannery with a retail shop and bought a small container of extra small oysters. We also got their own special brand of breading mix and, for a snack, some smoked salmon spread. So Delicious!
After that T wanted to head back into town but I insisted that we go to the end of the peninsula. Insisted! I wanted to see the end before we turned around. Here is where I realized that my camera was back in the room – we found the road that went as far as it could and sure enough, it said END. It was Washington SR 103.
We ate dinner at two different places. One might have been called Castaways and should have been cast away. Not worth the money. Everything tasted like it had been fried in stale oil. Yuck. The other place, 42nd Street Café, was fantastic. We skipped the sea food – T had county fried steak and I had the pork tenderloin. So damned good! Even the salad dressings were better than usual. I highly recommend it if you are ever searching for a delicious meal in Long Beach Washington.
And speaking of delicious, did I mention that those oysters were outstanding?! We took them home, carefully packed in ice in the cooler, and T pan fried them. Yum. Double yum! No tartar sauce for me, just lemon juice. Holy smokes, my mouth is watering right now!
Sunday was spectacular. The sun was out and not a cloud to be seen. We went back to the beach for another short stroll. It was shorter than we intended because the younger dog is an idiot. She went racing up to say hi to a family, wouldn’t listen when we called her back, and scared the crap out of the people. Well, she is a Rottweiler, so she’s pretty scary when she’s running right at you. It was mortifying. They can’t know that she is obnoxiously friendly. Sigh.
We packed it up and headed out of town. Bought some smoked salmon and smoked tuna before we left and have that to look forward to. Stopped at one of the two lighthouses on our way down the peninsula. What an isolated life that must have been. Cold, damp, remote. Brr… people could easily go crazy in those places.
Just before we crossed the Astoria bridge I insisted on one more scenic detour. There was a sign for “Dismal Nitch” and honestly, how could I resist? It’s only a rest stop now, but it was a place where Lewis and Clark got stranded for a while and uh, they didn’t like it so much. It’s really just a wide spot between the water and the steep mountain behind it. On a bright sunny day it’s fine, but I guess I can imagine foul weather and no nice warm Toyota to sit inside… Again, no camera, so the picture is from the interweb.
A number of people warned me ahead of time that there is nothing to do in Long Beach, that there is no excitement, no arcades, no boardwalk, no stuff. That’s ok! I’m not much of a shopper in the first place, and I rarely feel the need for commemorative t-shirts or coffee mugs to serve as tangible evidence that I have been somewhere. So, I don’t mind if there aren’t very many tourist shops on the peninsula, in fact, all the better.
We went after Labor Day, so the tourist population was decreased anyway. There are two stoplights on the Peninsula. One is a blinking red light so that hardly even counts. Suffice it to say, there was no traffic to speak of. We escaped Portland early enough on Friday to dodge most of the outbound rush.
We stayed in a cottage on the main drag. It was small but cute and the bed was extremely comfortable. A funny thing about hotels in Long Beach is that most of them are not on the water. A few of the newer ones are and have the coveted ocean view, but the majority are along the main road or in little forest clearings. I didn’t see any that had the kind of beach frontage where you open your sliding glass door and walk out onto the sand. Of course, there may be some that I missed. I wasn’t there to do a comprehensive lodging review. The cottages we stayed in are for sale but I’ve never been tempted by the life of an innkeeper.
Saturday morning was cloudy and cool but we went to the beach anyway. We’re Pacific Northwesterners! A little moisture isn’t going to keep us indoors! We walked probably a half a mile down the sand and then just sat and watched the breakers. Mostly, it was to give the old dog a rest. We decided that we need to invest in one of those collapsible water bowls that places like REI have. The dogs were thirsty but had to wait until we got back to civilization for a drink.
The sun broke through and the clouds burned off by about noon. By then we had gone back to the cottage, watered the dogs, had a quick pee, and set off again for points north. We went up the ocean side as far as we could and spent some time looking at houses and lots that were for sale. Despite the economy being in the toilet, the prices were out of our range. Saw some beautiful lots with ocean views but 200K is not within our budget. While we were driving around we realized that we were in some kind of residential community. Not just a group of houses that are in the same vicinity, but the kind that requires memberships and dues. No thanks! That kind of thing puts me right off.
We fought our way free of the dreaded homeowners association neighborhood and headed over to the bay side of the peninsula. The Willapa Bay is beautiful! It’s huge, for one thing, and across the water are islands and mountains covered with fir trees. The sun was out and the water was sparkling. It was really lovely.
We drove around a little and found the charming town of Oysterville. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places and they are doing a great job of maintaining it.
It is easily the most appealing town on the peninsula but very small and, unless you own an oyster bed, there is no work at all. Well, I would guess that just about anyone could get a job shucking oysters but that doesn’t really appeal to me. We stopped at a cannery with a retail shop and bought a small container of extra small oysters. We also got their own special brand of breading mix and, for a snack, some smoked salmon spread. So Delicious!After that T wanted to head back into town but I insisted that we go to the end of the peninsula. Insisted! I wanted to see the end before we turned around. Here is where I realized that my camera was back in the room – we found the road that went as far as it could and sure enough, it said END. It was Washington SR 103.
Actually, you can’t go to the end of the peninsula. It’s a combination of state park and national wildlife refuge. There are hiking trails, though, and we took the shorter loop which skirts along the snowy plover breeding ground and then turns back through the forest. We wanted to take the longer hike which goes across the peninsula, down the ocean beach for half a mile and then back across the peninsula, but we had the old dog with us and there was no way she could have made it. I, for one, was not up to carrying her back to the car. As it was, we stopped and rested several times so that she wasn’t too badly tired out. We got back to the car and loaded up the dogs and I was ready to say, yes, we’ve gone as close to the end as possible.
We ate dinner at two different places. One might have been called Castaways and should have been cast away. Not worth the money. Everything tasted like it had been fried in stale oil. Yuck. The other place, 42nd Street Café, was fantastic. We skipped the sea food – T had county fried steak and I had the pork tenderloin. So damned good! Even the salad dressings were better than usual. I highly recommend it if you are ever searching for a delicious meal in Long Beach Washington.
And speaking of delicious, did I mention that those oysters were outstanding?! We took them home, carefully packed in ice in the cooler, and T pan fried them. Yum. Double yum! No tartar sauce for me, just lemon juice. Holy smokes, my mouth is watering right now!
Sunday was spectacular. The sun was out and not a cloud to be seen. We went back to the beach for another short stroll. It was shorter than we intended because the younger dog is an idiot. She went racing up to say hi to a family, wouldn’t listen when we called her back, and scared the crap out of the people. Well, she is a Rottweiler, so she’s pretty scary when she’s running right at you. It was mortifying. They can’t know that she is obnoxiously friendly. Sigh.
We packed it up and headed out of town. Bought some smoked salmon and smoked tuna before we left and have that to look forward to. Stopped at one of the two lighthouses on our way down the peninsula. What an isolated life that must have been. Cold, damp, remote. Brr… people could easily go crazy in those places.
Just before we crossed the Astoria bridge I insisted on one more scenic detour. There was a sign for “Dismal Nitch” and honestly, how could I resist? It’s only a rest stop now, but it was a place where Lewis and Clark got stranded for a while and uh, they didn’t like it so much. It’s really just a wide spot between the water and the steep mountain behind it. On a bright sunny day it’s fine, but I guess I can imagine foul weather and no nice warm Toyota to sit inside… Again, no camera, so the picture is from the interweb.
We had a grand time and I would definitely go back to the Long Beach peninsula.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
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…
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…
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Work related
So, the question on my mind today is: can I stick it out?
I am so tired of my job! I am so tired of artificial emergencies, of deadlines that are so important that all other work must be suspended ~ and then when the deadline passes, and the work isn’t done, nothing happens. So tired of management that has so little grasp on the workings of the department. Tired of being delegated to and not having enough staff to pass the delegated work on to. Tired of the world of healthcare in general, and the school of medicine in particular.
Maybe I’m just tired.
I don’t actually hate my job. Most of the time it’s just a job. Nothing special but nothing odious. Lately there has been an increase in the amount of work for us to do, which happens to coincide with a decrease in staffing. Not that I would have gotten any satisfactory work out of The Malingerer, but I could have shunted some of it her way. Now, every team member is working full tilt every day. But, more new and complex stuff keeps landing on our desks.
I’m 50 years old. I have 15 years of service in at the Hill. My plan at this point has been to work until I am 55, when I will have 20 years in and then retire from the Hill and get a part time job with benefits doing something completely different. Of course, I’d rather retire and not go to a job at all, but I’m not sure that’s going to be doable. My IRA was pretty much wiped out last year and while I still have PERS and Social Security… I don’t know. It’s a scary prospect. Let’s see, if I saved a hundred dollars a month for five years and hid it under my mattress… yep, I’d still be broke when I retired.
The thing of it is, if I were to change jobs, I’d be taking home less money, contributing less money to my retirement, paying more for benefits and getting less… all in all, not a good choice. So, yeah, I’ll be sticking it out here. Not because I like it, but because I like having a job that pays the bills. In today’s economy, that’s pretty good.
But, I’m still tired of it.
I am so tired of my job! I am so tired of artificial emergencies, of deadlines that are so important that all other work must be suspended ~ and then when the deadline passes, and the work isn’t done, nothing happens. So tired of management that has so little grasp on the workings of the department. Tired of being delegated to and not having enough staff to pass the delegated work on to. Tired of the world of healthcare in general, and the school of medicine in particular.
Maybe I’m just tired.
I don’t actually hate my job. Most of the time it’s just a job. Nothing special but nothing odious. Lately there has been an increase in the amount of work for us to do, which happens to coincide with a decrease in staffing. Not that I would have gotten any satisfactory work out of The Malingerer, but I could have shunted some of it her way. Now, every team member is working full tilt every day. But, more new and complex stuff keeps landing on our desks.
I’m 50 years old. I have 15 years of service in at the Hill. My plan at this point has been to work until I am 55, when I will have 20 years in and then retire from the Hill and get a part time job with benefits doing something completely different. Of course, I’d rather retire and not go to a job at all, but I’m not sure that’s going to be doable. My IRA was pretty much wiped out last year and while I still have PERS and Social Security… I don’t know. It’s a scary prospect. Let’s see, if I saved a hundred dollars a month for five years and hid it under my mattress… yep, I’d still be broke when I retired.
The thing of it is, if I were to change jobs, I’d be taking home less money, contributing less money to my retirement, paying more for benefits and getting less… all in all, not a good choice. So, yeah, I’ll be sticking it out here. Not because I like it, but because I like having a job that pays the bills. In today’s economy, that’s pretty good.
But, I’m still tired of it.
Friday, September 11, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A Beautiful Morning
I rode my bike to work this morning and was rewarded with a spectacular sunrise. The sky was lit up with gold and orange and pink. As I rode along the waterfront, the river reflected the sky and the world was bathed in beauty. Mt Hood loomed dark against the coming morning, a sentinel overseeing eastern lands. I turned my head and saw the sunrise mirrored in the walls of glass downtown. Street lights flickered out, unable to compete with the dawn.
The sun followed the dramatic heralding, reaching under the low lying clouds. As it rose, the colors faded to white; day restoring vision to the ordinary. And, within minutes, it was a typical Northwest day, cloudy with a chance of showers. And tomorrow a chance at further glory.
The sun followed the dramatic heralding, reaching under the low lying clouds. As it rose, the colors faded to white; day restoring vision to the ordinary. And, within minutes, it was a typical Northwest day, cloudy with a chance of showers. And tomorrow a chance at further glory.
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