Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Mourning My Loss

well, I've prodded into blogging again.  Seems that some of you are still checking to see what ridiculous things we're up to now that we're off the road . . . in bicycle heaven, I might add.

The last few weeks--really, all of July--have been pretty gorgeous here.  Enough sun to warm things up, but if you start to feel the heat you can find relief in the shade.  Where I spend most of my time (Old Town Chinatown), the breeze from the Willamette River keeps things cool.

Today I wandered down 1st Ave to Pine St., looking for the BikeCentral shop.  The Bicycle Transportation Authority (BTA) bike shop list shows them on Naito Parkway, but they moved a few months ago to their new location in Old Town Chinatown.  The BTA is a new Old Town tenant, too.  They had been located near PSU, but TriMet needed the space and the non-profit was forced to look for new digs.  They've moved into a space on 5th Ave--also in Old Town.  BTA sponsors the "Bridge Ride"--ride all 10 bridges in Portland and end at the Bite of Oregon festival in Waterfront Park, and the "Night Ride", which starts (at dark) from Union Station and features glow-in-the-dark give-aways and entertaining rest stops along the way.  I stopped in at their new space, and signed up for membership.

In case you haven't heard, my purple Cannondale--the one that I rode 6,606 miles across the country last year--was stolen in June.  It was my fault, really.  I didn't lock it up because I was headed back out the door within 30 minutes.  But gollygeewhiz, whoever took it came up 3 flights of stairs and snatched it from my front stoop!  In a city where bicycling is an easy way to get around, bicycles are a high theft item.  Case in point: Netherlands.  Population:13 million; bicycles:14 million; bicycle theft:10%.  I have been using my spare bicycle that we had at Matthew's parents house, but that one was stolen about a week later.  As a courtesy to our neighbor who is selling her condo, we moved our bikes from the front deck to the rack in the parking lot.  Mine was locked with a cable lock, and the thief made quick work of it, leaving the sliced cable on the asphalt. 

I wasn't really prepared to buy a new bike.  I test-rode a really nice Trek at the Bike Gallery, and checked out a used one from Craigslist, but couldn't bring myself to make the purchase.  I remembered that Matthew had a spare bike at him folks' house, so we brought that one back and I've been riding it around the last few weeks.  I thought I needed a period of mourning for my old bike, but it turns out that I just needed a small dose of back pain.   Matthew's frame is just too large for me, and it's stressing out my back.  So now I'm in the market.

The guy at BikeCentral was nice, but not very trusting.  Guess I don't blame him--I lost 2 bikes in less than 2 weeks!  He showed me a nice commuter-type bike, but I was a little put off by his manner and so I didn't test-ride it.  I'll have to do a little research into the KHS brand, the kind they carry.  I'll head over to River City Bicycles next, to look at their Cannondale offerings.

On the walk back home, I stopped off at the New Market building and picked up a menu for the Mandarin House.  It's a well-known spot in Old Town Chinatown, and we've been intending to try it out.  As I crossed Davis, I met up with Merlin.  I met Merlin a couple of months ago, when she became the volunteer editor of the Old Town Chinatown newsletter, The Crier.  Her day job is with the city, as an Information Ambassador.  Sometimes she has a pushcart of brochures for anything and everything you can do in Portland, and sometimes she spends time just walking around looking for people that need her.  Information Ambassadors wear a uniform that makes it pretty obvious you're talking with someone who's job it is to KNOW THINGS.  Besides which, Merlin is super-friendly in a very warm, encouraging way.  When she uses the word "super", she really means it.  Merlin and I are collaborating on taking The Crier into cyberspace, and I'm enjoying working with her.

Tonight we're heading off to the North Park Blocks to watch a friend's team play bocce'.  The city hosts a league, and has something like 90 courts throughout the city.  The one in the Park Blocks is great--cool and shady.  Then we have to head down to the "vortex of evil"--so named because on one corner is a Ben & Jerry's, Cupcake Jones, TearDrop Lounge and the soon-to-be-open Bishop's Barber--Hair, Nails and Cocktails.   Matthew has pre-ordered cupcakes for his office which we'll pick up tonight.  Cupcake Jones features a monthly menu, everything made on-site, and "frosting shots".  See you there.