Beautiful Weather

Yesterday's weather was gorgeous. Despite all of the sunshine, I stayed inside for a good part of the day. After reading a little in the morning for my class, I poked around on the internet to see what kind of houses were available for rent on the east side. I found a couple of addresses that seemed promising and around 3pm, convinced Jesse that he needed to drop all of his work and take a bike ride to Southeast Portland. It didn't take very much arm twisting, he'd had a pretty full day already and needed the exercise.

We coasted down the waterfront and landed at our first destination, a small house just south of Ladd's Addition. I had high hopes for this one, given that it was so close to downtown and in an awesome section of town. It, however, was a total let-down. It looked like a place that had been rented to college students and even by just peering in the windows, I could tell that it wouldn't do. The next place was equally as disappointing, as it looked like a storage locker with a front door (no wonder neither of the landlords posted photos).

With one more house left as our only hope, we rode all the way out to 57th Avenue near Mt. Tabor. It's a lovely neighborhood, quite perfect in every way -- cute house (just look at those windows!), nice back yard, beautiful street, right in our price range, and down the street from a nice park. The only down side is that it is located on top of an impossibly steep hill. That means that it would be sweet for commuting to work by bike, but kind of a drag to get home. However, the streets just west, from 51st (at the foot of the impossibly steep hill) to 39th seem to be our "sweet spot."

I still need to do a little more research on the area, like where my local grocery store might be, or what restaurants we might frequent, but as of our bike ride today, I'm sold. I just have to keep my eyes peeled for any other houses that might come up. On our way home, we both realized that we were starving, so we stopped in at our favorite Thai place, the Pad Thai Kitchen on Belmont. I'm always looking for a good excuse to ride out there, because their food is pretty awesome. Jesse got his favorite, the pumpkin curry, and I ordered drunken noodles. It was the perfect end to a pretty good afternoon.

Welcome Back Fall

Today seemed to be the quintessential fall day in Portland -- gray, cool, and rainy. It was a perfect day to lounge around the apartment, dreaming of good (warm) things to cook. My absence from the blog over the past week has been due almost entirely to the fact that my sister was in town visiting. I had such a nice time having her around that I forgot entirely about updating. Thankfully, I didn't forget to take photos!

The week was packed full of things that I felt were essential to getting to know "my" Portland. We went out to Fabric Depot to hunt for new project fabric and found inspiration for a Halloween costume. On our way home, we stopped by Burgerville, the local fast food joint that serves up very tasty burgers and sandwiches (and sweet potato fries). Friday was very sunny and warm, if a little hazy, so we drove up to the Pittock Mansion for one of the best views of Mt. Hood. Before heading out for our excursion, we stopped at Kenny & Zukes on NW Thurman for tasty sandwiches.

After the Pittock Mansion, we stopped to smell the flowers at the International Rose Test Garden. The sun was perfect and Katie got a lot of great shots of the final blooms for the season. On the agenda, of course, was one of our favorite happy hour spots, Bridgeport Brewery. Most every evening was ended with a round or two of games, so I was in heaven.

While it was tempting to sleep in and lounge around most days, we got up early and out the door for a full day of bike riding on Saturday. After renting a bike for Katie, we rode around town on a 17.5 mile tour. One of our stops was at Stumptown Coffee where our good friend, Brian, gave us a tour. Then, we had an outstanding lunch at Por Que No. Between the bike ride, Mexican food, and tasty margaritas that we made in the evening, Katie said that she'd never slept better!

Overall it was an awesome week and I hope she comes back soon!

Urban Bike Racing

Summers in Portland are jammed with exciting (and largely free or insanely cheap) things to do. Last Friday, before heading out to a concert, Jesse and I rode our bikes downtown to watch the Portland Twilight Criterium (krI'-tir-E-&m). Basically, a bike course was set up on the streets around five city blocks, which produced a highly-technical, six-turn course. The bikers raced around the 1-kilometer course for an entire hour, averaging just over one minute per lap (or a little over 30 miles per hour). It was insanely fast. My hair blew around as they whooshed by.

Today is insanely busy. My parents are in town and I want to spend as much free time as possible! Also, on the table for the next two days? Studying for my class final and finishing up my papers (which should have been done at the beginning of the week, but then Preshus arrived), and I volunteered to teach a course on house research and really, really need to go over my notes before Saturday. So, here's a video of the action -- it may be all you'll get from me for the rest of the week.

Jesse's Birthday Surprise

Since we were in the middle of packing up our apartment last year on Jesse's birthday, I decided to try and make his 31st a little better than his 30th. I took him on a surprise trip to Forest Grove, which is only about 40 minutes outside of Portland. While he knew that we were going for an overnight trip earlier in the week, he didn't find out the exact destination until Sunday morning. We loaded up our bikes in the car, packed sandwiches, water and snacks, and headed out to McMenamin's Grand Lodge -- the start/finish point for the day. The lodge was built in 1922 and was a Masonic home until 1999, at which time McMenamins purchased the property and converted it into a hotel.

It was the perfect launching point for our bike ride, a 29-mile loop out to Henry Hagg Lake and back. We started out around 11:30am and got back to the hotel around 3pm. The ride to the lake was about 10 miles, and we passed at least three or four vineyards along the way. The old country road was a really nice route. Just after the entrance to the lake/park, we stopped to have a picnic lunch. As you can see, it was a gray afternoon, but perfect weather for riding. While the trip wasn't necessarily strenuous overall, there were several hills that made me want to fall over with my (what felt like) 95-pound bike. I love the Townie for cruising around the city, but a road bike she is not. I'm seriously thinking that when we have a little more storage space, I'll be on Craigslist scouting out a much lighter, less bulky option.

By the time we made it back to the Grand Lodge, I was soaked with sweat, but feeling good at what we accomplished. I took a quick shower, put on a fresh change of clothes and we had dinner and a couple of pints. I definitely earned my two Rubys -- a raspberry wheat beer -- with all of those hills! I had such a fun afternoon and I think we're definitely going to try and do a few more of these day-long bike trips before the summer is over!

The P-Word

According to conservative columnist, George Will, Portland (termed the P-Word in his article) is a dirty cancerous lump of "smart growth" and "new urbanism" and "progressive as all get-out" projects. Seriously? That sounds pretty awesome to me. Think again America, it's an evil plot to rob you of your personal rights, like the right to endure long commutes to your job, and your right to unbridled use of the incandescent light bulb after 2014. At first glance, I thought this might be an opening skit for the Colbert Report.

I wondered why Newsweek even pedaled this garbage. Then, Jesse pointed out that both Will and the magazine probably only grow in popularity (online hits-wise) when they usher inflammatory, borderline insane arguments as opposed to the usual boring stuff. Reading his op-ed piece is like going to a freak show; you don't want to say for long, but can't help looking at the lizard baby again and again. So, that's why I'm not linking to his story. Find it on your own, it shouldn't be that hard.

Eventually, I was able to disregard Will's dismissive attitude on how many people actually ride bikes to work. I get the point, it's insanely small right now. What annoyed me most was his misrepresentation of early suburban history and speaking to the ideals of "scores of millions" of Americans. Let me repeat, Scores of Millions of Americans! In one breath he casually melds the streetcar suburbs of the early 20th century with post-war sprawl that has run rampant in the past few decades. Will conflates this history as some sort of proof that "meatloaf, macaroni-and-cheese, down-to-earth" (i.e. real) Americans have an innate need for automobiles and lots of space to protect their precious personal freedom.

Granted, early streetcars did enable freedom from crowded and dirty center cities. However, these edge neighborhoods were no more than a few miles away as opposed distant places accessed only by freeways and personal automobiles. Oh, and also? Those streetcar suburb dwellers didn't ride in their own trolley car to work. They sat by their neighbors on the trip downtown, willingly participating in "communitarian moments." I personally think a more worthy Newsweek topic might be: How the heck did those generations of trolley riders survive without the advent of mp3 players and noise-canceling headphones?!

Even though 2.8% is still a small number for bike commuters in Portland, it's significantly better than the national average. That has to be worth something right? Portland isn't constantly voted one of the most livable and walkable cities in the country for no reason. As I was reading Will's piece and about to boil over, Jesse got a phone call from the front door. It was the SmartTrips guy delivering (by bike) our bag full of information on enjoying the city by bike and foot. We got an awesome book on walking tours, a nice road map showing city bike routes, a bike safety manual, and a guide for getting around Portland without a car. Oh the delicious irony. I couldn't stop smiling all day -- certainly we must outnumber the George Wills of America.

A Three Hour Tour

Saturday was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was shining and the air was crisp. Jesse suggested that we ride our bikes out to the farmers market, but I was having a little trouble motivating myself to shed the pj's that early in the morning. So, we both had a hearty breakfast and made plans to bike up to the St. Johns neighborhood of Portland. The initial plan involved stopping for an afternoon snack once we got there and then on our way home hitting a new brewery for an afternoon pint.

We rode our bikes on the west side of the Willamette River along the old industrial area that I've never seen before. Further south, there are tons of abandoned warehouses with funky old signs and a rusted out railroad track that leads to nowhere. As you ride north though, the area is still pretty vibrant, with lumber storage, a glassworks, and tons of oil and gas storage sites. The hill leading up to the St. Johns Bridge is a pretty steep climb, but we took our time and stopped for a picturesque view of the bridge. It is really quite breathtaking.


St. Johns is pretty far north of downtown and until 1915 was an independent city. I got that feeling about five seconds after we crossed the bridge. Immediately, we heard the sound of a high school band and old car horns honking. We picked the perfect day to experience St. Johns, just in time for the 47th Annual St. Johns Day Parade and Carnival.

It was quite an experience. A lot of people refer to the neighborhood as charming for it's small-town feel. I'm not sure if charming is the first thing that came to mind. It seems like nice quiet neighborhood -- I can certainly see why some people really love it there -- but it's just not for me. We hastened our exit shortly after having a pretty sub-par pastry from the local bakery, and saw that our lunch destination, The Big Kahuna BBQ, had become a drive-through burrito joint. Knowing that after first half of our bike ride we both would need some grub, I was ready to high-tail it out of St. Johns to more familiar territory.

The ride down the east side of the river was really beautiful. The area between St. Johns and the University of Portland is lined with lovely old trees and has a really nice feel. We coasted down the road and enjoyed the afternoon. Final stop? Amensia Brewing on Mississippi Avenue. I had a delicious veggie burger and Jesse enjoyed a giant spicy bratwurst with sauerkraut. We ate our afternoon meal in their outdoor seating area that reminds me a lot of a biergarten. My only complaint? Well, except for the seasonal brew (Belgian-style) and a lonely porter, every beer on their menu is a pale ale. Dude, Portland, I get it! You love your hops, but cut a woman a break! Porter in the summertime is not very refreshing. Branch out just a little? Please?

I'm so glad the weather is improving and we are able to explore the city a bit more by bike. I'm looking forward to our next neighborhood adventure.

Bike vs. Erin 1:0

Today I ate pavement on my bike, or rather, my bike threw me onto the pavement. Don't worry, I'm alive and relatively unharmed. I protected my face with nearly every other part of my body, so my knee, elbow and palms hurt, but not nearly as much as my pride. My Electra Townie is certainly an ungrateful wretch, given that just minutes before launching me onto 10th Avenue, I had installed blinky lights for riding at dusk and filled up its tires for maximum coasting potential.

The real culprit? It's one of the things that I fear most, which is riding next to the streetcar rails. I tried to cross over the track and my wheel got caught in the groove. Instead of my bike heading to the right, it stayed put. Unfortunately, my body didn't get the message and kept going in the intended direction. The whole thing happened in slow motion -- I know this because I had an entire monologue in my head:

Dear god, not my face! We're taking family photos in just a couple of days -- not that I haven't taken plenty of photos with visible bruises and scrapes, but as an adult it would be embarrassing -- will I never outgrow my insane clumsiness?! Oh shit, flying to Florida with a concussion is going to suck, especially if I have to wear bandages on my head. Son of a @!$%^ I have a meeting tomorrow afternoon! How do you accessorize a head injury? Oh well, at least I didn't wear my good jeans and we didn't stop by the grocery store to get eggs. Shut up! Protect the face!

Now my bike looks a little worse for the wear (like someone unleashed a large dog in the basement and it found comfort gnawing on my seat and right handlebar).

Oh, and also, I ripped a hole in the toe of my 14-day-old shoes and nearly tore through my jeans. Now that I think about it, my big toe hurts as well. Overall? Shitty outing. However, I'm oddly not terrified of going back out again. Just pissed at myself for being a dumbass. Next time, though, I will insist on taking a different route.

Cold Averted (thus no good excuse for lack of posting)

I have officially bumped the cold threat status to Code Yellow (or elevated). In these hostile times (November = cold/flu season) I feel hesitant to bump the threat down to blue (or guarded). There's plenty out there to fear, so I'm not putting away the neon drinks just yet. However, for this particular bout, I feel that the loads of veggies and garlic played a large role in pulling me out of my slump -- like Tuesday's leftover stir fry over an omelet. I'm convinced that the the curry and hot sauce was the nail on the coffin.

Yesterday it poured for just about 10 hours again, but I was feeling cooped up and needed to get out of the house. I initially wanted to go on a bike ride with J, but we decided that getting soggy on the way to any destination would be a total killjoy. So, we took the streetcar downtown to the Portland Art Museum for the afternoon and then picked up a book on hold at the library. I was excited about the art museum, but ecstatic about the book. I love side dishes and finger foods and appetizers. On our way home we stopped at the Pearl Bakery to get a snack and a coffee and I perused the book for things to cook this weekend.

Today was exceptionally beautiful and we got to take that bike ride after all. We had lunch with one of J's high school friends, David, and his wife downtown. After lunch we stopped into Stumptown Coffee to chat with Anna (who was looking quite cute today with a new haircut). She's nearing the home stretch in her pregnancy and seemed quite upbeat in spite of standing on her feet all day.

We woke up today and designated Thursday as our "clean the apartment day," but J and I have managed to avoid any cleaning tasks until now. J's conquering the dishes while I type and I'll take over the kitchen floor after dinner. I just heard him yell "Oh god! A secret-hidden-bonus-banana," which is never a good thing. I should probably get in there and mediate.

Proposals and Pork

I was at a site visit yesterday for a potential job and it went pretty well. I came home totally excited and typed out a scope of work to send off to the architecture firm right away. We discussed the plan over the phone, agreed on a rate, and I think things should be in motion by Friday. Of course there are tons of approvals, so the work might not begin for a couple of weeks.

By the time I finished with the proposal it was 4pm and the hour when we start to think about dinner. Working from home, or as I call it, our "alternative work schedule," has turned us into old people. Dinner is usually on the table no later than 5pm. Yesterday was no exception, but we needed a few things at the grocery store. So, we hopped on our bikes and rode out to Safeway downtown. Of course, large trips in the future will be reserved for the car, but we were able to get everything we needed for dinner last night as well as fresh veggies for the rest of the week.

The veggies fit perfectly in the front basket of my bike. However, I found out that the basket not only looks clunky (with that giant mount on the front) it is also not really useful for anything except lettuce (or maybe flowers). We stored our bike locks in the bottom for the ride home and the weight made the handlebars really hard to control. I think this weekend I'm going to remove the whole thing and search for a basket or bags that will fit on the back rack so I can transport more practical things -- like a full load of groceries.

I have to say that I am pleased that we have taken advantage of the really nice weather over the past couple of weeks and ridden our bikes to a lot of places where we would have normally driven. This weekend we rode out to SE Hawthorne Blvd. to Pastaworks for pancetta and fresh pasta. They seriously have some of the nicest-looking meats I have seen in a while. The pancetta is far superior to any I have ever tasted (it contributed to a kick-ass pasta carbonara).

Weekend Outing

I have been on a hunt for a couch. No, the perfect couch. Not perfect in terms of bright, shiny and new, but a perfect fit for my criteria: good "bones," cheap (but lacking pee stains), no longer than 70 inches, and not terribly heavy.

Apparently that couch does not exist (at least not in Portland). After nearly two weeks of searching on Craigslist and a dazed Friday afternoon trip to Ikea, J pointed out that I might want to consider a paradigm shift with regards to furnishing our apartment. Feeling defeated and a bit overwhelmed, we each flopped down into a POÄNG chair. At that moment, J came up with a brilliant idea. We could just sit on chairs. Duh. It never occurred to either of us that we don't need a couch.

Saturday morning I woke up invigorated and ready to find another awesome chair. We ditched the plans to drive to Tillamook to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and instead went to a nearby second hand store to check out a chair that had been posted on Craigslist the night before. It wasn't as comfortable as I had hoped, so I decided not to take it. I was bummed, but still optimistic. J suggested that we stop by another store we had visited our first week in Portland to see if there were any new arrivals (or if this one chair that had caught my eye might still be around). And it was. And I got a pretty good price. Obviously it needs some love, both on the wooden frame and the cushions, but it was a great excuse for an outing. So, we decided to ditch the car and take our bikes for a spin.

First we stopped at the library to check out some furniture restoration books and then headed to the largest fabric store I have ever seen. J was even impressed at the magnitude. (For those of you who are starting to feel sorry for J, you know, for spending his anniversary weekend chauffeuring my butt around shopping for furniture and fabric, just wait. I redeem myself.)

Fabric stores of this size are never located downtown, so our bike ride was nice and long. And by long, I mean 16 miles round trip, which made J a very happy man. We were gone for about four hours and I was pooped and sweaty by the time we got home. However, I was extremely happy because we found the perfect fabric for my chair (and I rode my bike for 16 miles).

Even though our Saturday included stops at the library AND a fabric store, I think J would agree that it was a really great day. I'm so glad we decided to go together on our bikes. We saw the city from a completely different perspective and it made this Saturday seem like our first real weekend as residents of Portland.

Bikes!

Since Portland is such a bike-friendly town and we would like to drive our car as little as possible, last weekend we decided to go bike shopping. After trying out a few different bikes, I determined that I would like a more European-style upright bike (as opposed to a commuter bike with striaight handlebars).

The bike that I fell in love with was the Gary Fisher Simple City. However, it seemed silly to drop $600 on a bike before knowing if I'd even really like riding around the city. So, Jesse started searching Craigslist (for both of us).

He found his bike about 4 days after he started. It turns out that the guy he bought it from bought it in August and found out that he had to go overseas to work. So, Jesse got it for $100 less and it's practically brand new.

I actually found my bike while browsing for a couch in the furniture ads on Craigslist. The lady who was selling it put it in the wrong category, so it's very possible that I was the only one who contacted her. She was selling it for about $250 less than I would have paid in the store - there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with it other than some dust here and there. It's more along the lines of a beach cruiser bike, but with 21 speeds.

I went online yesterday before purchasing the bike to read user reviews. The bike gets top ratings for sure. People who have an Electra Townie 21 speed love the ride and comfort. The only problem is that they're all between 50 and 85 years old and have had various hip and knee replacements. I would be willing to bet that they all have garages too because the Townie is a total bitch to haul up three flights of stairs. Jesse often tells me that I behave like a curmudgeonly old man, so maybe I found my bike soul mate - the Oldsmobile of two wheeled transportation. It even has a little bell that I can ring violently like the Omas in Germany.

We took our bikes out for a spin last night and I think I need to make a few adjustments before feeling 100% comfortable on it. The lady who owned it before me had the handle bars jacked up and the seat pushed way low down. When I first hopped on the bike I felt like I was on a chopper. However, once we get the handlebars all situated, I think it's going to be a sweet ride.