hope you all had a great labor day weekend, at least for the american's. while everyone was celebrating with picnics, bicycle rides, and bbq's, i was celebrating the holiday by working cause i consider myself that lucky to have a job in an economy like ours. well, although i didn't get to have a chance to go out for bicycle rides and what not, i made the most of my commutes to work and did a route change, taking the quiet streets. Velouria of Lovely Bicycle did a recent post Side Street or Main Street, and it got me thinking about my commute. as much as i love and swear by google maps for my commutes, i had to make changes as i used to take the busy roads where there are bike lanes and shares but i always found these routes to be stressful to ride through. it's stressful because i'm overly cautious and ride slower where there is a lot of pedestrians, cars, and traffic lights to get through. i started finding the quiet streets because i was really tired of dealing with assholes on the streets, for realz. they come in all forms and i'm just over it. in finding a new route, i was looking for something with less stops, less cars, and more bike lanes. i was lucky to find the first two but not so much in the last. yet, i found a route that i finally found fitting to my comfort level. in taking the side streets, i feel like drivers are more aware and more willing to share the road as long as i communicate with them. it's a nice change from the bustling congested streets to quiet roads that leads me to my destination with much more ease and delight.
now that 30 days of biking is on, routes are in check, Wendy's chains are greased up, i'm ready to make my daily 16 miles sweet, bring it.
Portland happens to be on a pretty strict grid arrangement through most of the central city, which means there are almost always parallel streets to the main arterials with very little traffic.
The main arterial streets almost never have accommodation for bicycles here, at the most they'll have a bike lane for some few blocks which then just ends and leaves you in traffic. So, I'll ride on them sometimes for short distances, but I'm more than happy to have more stop signs if it means I don't have to avoid fast-moving cars.
Overall, I feel like I can ride around most parts of Portland and be fairly care-free, but you always have to know that once you get to certain areas, you'd better be paying careful attention or you'll get in trouble.
i love riding the quite streets more and i have a different route i use to get to bart from home, as they are doing construction and the road is all messed up. tom and i are gearing up for a 80 mile ride on oct. 1 so we are going to go riding every thursday to get ready, i can't wait.! this thursday is our first work out on gilbert, i can't wait! shall i be seeing you on friday?
xo,
cb
@cb, i hope to make it out friday night! i work so i'm hoping i can catch up with everyone by the time i make to the east bay. if so i'm going to bring friends from school. i hope your ride goes well this thursday. keep me posted!
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