Back in the saddle again
I'm back! I got to Missoula safely from way far away, Joe packed up the whole house into a Budget rental truck, and we drove to Portland. After finding an apartment and moving in, we gave back the rental truck and had. . .only bicycles for transportation!
***
After ten weeks of driving everywhere, for everything and getting very comfortable with it, I was a little nervous about going cold turkey when we moved to Portland. I wasn't sure if my slowly atrophying muscles could handle the workout, or if my reprogrammed brain could understand cycling distances and times again.
The earliest responses from various body parts indicate that I've missed cycling very much and can't wait to ride more! Hooray for muscle memory!
***
A week and a half after I started this post, I feel stronger than ever, if a little saddle-sore. On Sunday, Joe and I rode a huge (to me) loop around Portland--27 miles round trip--and decided that we didn't really want to move to St. John's. Ever. Nothing against it, of course; I just don't appreciate bridges that give me panic attacks. That being said, it was a lovely ride, and we've decided to take an extended ride every weekend.
Portland exploring here we come!
-rachel
posted by Rachel @ 5:31 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Hey Rachel,
We haven't met yet, but I've been reading Joe for a while, and your blog more recently (check out my welcome post: http://ephany.blogspot.com/2006/06/welcome-joe.html)
Glad you are getting your Portland legs. :)
I'm taking a NoPo (That's North Portland to you newbies) tour with some friends this Sunday (10am start) and thought I'd invite you both if you care to join us. The bad news...the NoPo loop starts in St Johns. The good news: You don't have to cross the St Johns bridge to get to St Johns...I can give you a much more pleasant route. And the loop includeds Kelly Point park (where the Columbia and Willamette rivers meet) and Smith and Bybee nature preserve area. There will definitely be picnicking and off street paths as well.
Alternatively, my friend Greg invited me to a block party this Saturday between 2 & 9pm in SE. Greg works for the Transportation Options office of PDOT (Pdx Dept of Trans) and he and his wife are cool and bikey as well. You can reach me at ephany [at] gmail [dawt] com.
hey alisha!
hopefully we'll be able to come up to seattle someday soon. so what is this new job you've been posting about? (can you send any work my way?)
-rachel
Welcome to Portland, Rachel! It's nice to have another bikey woman in our midst.
I've lived here for ten years, and contemplated moving to St. Johns for a couple of years now, and it's always the bridge which puts me off, too. It's a beautiful bridge, no doubt, and I'm frequently out in St. Johns taking pictures of it, but riding a bike over it has been a long battle, and I'm sad to say cyclists lost.
Like your first comment said, though, there are ways around the bridge, so don't give up on St. Johns altogether. It's one of the last few places in Portland which still looks like Portland!
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