After several cool days in the 60's in Port Angels and the San Juan Islands I was looking forward to getting back to summertime temperatures in the 70's and 80's. Portland provided sunshine, a vibrant city with distinct neighborhoods, and great opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. I got a spot in the centrally located Northwest Hostel. My first day there I took in the Portland State University saturday farmer's market. It was the biggest farmers market I'd seen yet filled with tons of local produce. The area specializes in various berries so I bought a bunch to eat during my stay in Portland. From there I walked 45 minutes to Washington Park. Washington Park is huge with many attractions the most famous of which is their Internationally acclaimed
Rose Test Garden. It was not only impressive because of it's size but also the variety of colors and types of roses it had.
Sunday was a day I'd been working towards for several weeks. The main event for sunday was the Portland Century Bike Ride. I'd completed a few 100-mile rides before but this one posed something a little different than what I've experienced in the past, climbing. This ride had plenty of rollings hills and a couple of 700 ft. climbs which made the food/rest stops even more enjoyable than usual.
The course took us from Portland out into the country and then along the scenic Columbia River Gorge. The last leg brought us back through the city for an energized final 10 miles. Here I am on the Broadway Bridge with less than 5 miles left. It was a great ride and a really enjoyable way to see the area.
While in Portland I got together with a friend of a friend, Chris Rennie, who's spent the last 14 years in Oregon after growing up in Michigan. We hit an art/music festival in one of Portland Northeast neighborhoods on saturday afternoon and then I joined Chris and his wife Jen for an enjoyable dinner on their balcony one night during the week.
On tuesday afternoon I drove out to Multnomah Falls, about 40 minutes east of Portland. The Falls, Columbia River Gorge, and surrounding area provided one of the most scenic hikes I'd taken on the entire trip. I did the Multnomah-Wahkeena Loop which had about 10 different waterfalls along the way. Some of the Falls were tucked back between mountain sides providing about a 15 degree temperature drop. On a hot day like tuesday it provided a few short "air conditioning" breaks.
I found Portland to be a vegetarian's heaven. The city had great farmers markets, several grocery co-ops, and a couple dozen vegetarian restaurants. I didn't have time to try them all but I really enjoyed Bye and Bye, Blossoming Lotus, Black & Red Cafe, and Papa G's Vegan Organic Deli. While the only time I rode a bike in Portland was the century ride I do have to say Portland is a super bike friendly city. Wide, well-marked bike lanes can be found everywhere and I ran into several people who do not own a car and use their bike as their primary means of transportation. All in all Portland was a great stop with friendly people, great food, beautiful scenery, abundant sunshine, and lots things to do outdoors.
