Tuesday, April 15, 2014

thirty days of biking: week two highlights

A few highlights from the second week of my pledge to ride daily for thirty days:

1. I thrilled to the sound of geese flying low overhead as I crossed the Broadway Bridge this past Sunday to go to my teaching job. It was a brilliant morning that grew sunnier and warmer with every mile.

The view when I arrived at work:



















2. Bike Boulevards are the new "Bike Routes". Basically, the City of Portland has decided (in its infinite wisdom?) that painting sharrows on the streets and adding cute little toppers to street signs helps to make it clearer that This Is A Street Where Bike Riders Should Go In Droves. Or something like that. It has certainly helped in some places, like NE Going Street. In other places it's not yet clear if this re-branding has made much of a difference in bicyclist safety.



















3. The Portland Loo saved me more than once this past week, when I made it downtown and had to rush to find a restroom quickly. On a Sunday morning. When almost nothing was open yet. Mostly I can manage the symptoms of Crohn's disease; but when I can't I am so glad to find a Portland Loo. This is a public bathroom structure made of steel and large enough to wheel your bicycle inside while you take care of business. There are two that are on my route to work and they come in handy (except when someone is sleeping in one, which has happened occasionally).



Next week: a report on how to fuel up for long rides while living with the dietary restrictions of Passover. (Hint -- Matzoh Roca is an amazing source of quick carbs.)

Happy riding!

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