Portland

Starting can be the hardest part, especially when it involves putting bikes on planes.

Staying on the bike, well, that's easy - just pedal! But getting the bike packed, getting it to the airport, convincing the airline staff that, yes, they should let you check your bike and, no, they should not charge you extra, putting the bike together after you land, finding the hostel... it's more complicated. My new Arvon touring bike has couplers on the frame, so I can at least avoid the oversize charges. I put it in a cardboard box that I cut to fit,

and then wrapped that in a tarp:

I was pleasantly surprised to not be charged extra luggage fees, and the package was in great shape on the other end! Lauri gave me a ride to the LRT, and then I took the new 747 bus to the airport, which all worked out really well.

On the Portland side, I had some trouble with my navigation app (OsmAnd), which tried to tell me that it was 100km from the airport to the hostel, so I teamed up with a physician from Washington DC who was riding in (and had a data connection on his phone). Afterwards, I went to the Rogue brew house and had some excellent beer with two other people I met from DC, Michael and Nicole, who were a lot of fun. Interesting to learn about what living in DC is like. Afterwards, I met with Shawn and April, two locals who are friend with Keith whom I know from EBC in Edmonton. Shawn and April gave me some invaluable advice and cycling maps. They were a lot of fun to hang out with!

Today I will check out Portland some more, e.g. Powell's books, the rose garden, and maybe a community bike shop if I have the time. Also time to stock up on supplies. Portland has been great so far, and it's full of hot girls on bikes, so please excuse any narrative breaks in this post.

~Malcolm