That will happen I am told. Really it was 8 tubes, 3 treads and one rear wheel. There is a series of events that lead to the replacement of the wheel. But riding 10 miles on a flat was one of them. I knew it wasnt a great idea, but I got bored of pushing, I didnt have much light left in the day, and wanted to get to the hotsprings, also it was downhill the last 10 miles.
The milk of human kindness carries on.
I had many people try and help, that American long weekend, and I ended up staying with a group of meat eating, hard drinking, bawdy joking, kind folks from Salem. It was refreshing to spend those rainy days in their company. I just waited out the long weekend, tried patching the tires with what I could in the local small town.
I hadnt drank so much beer or eaten so much meat since I was a teen.
God bless those Americans who pack wagons and trucks full of superfluous crap, its support to those attempting to minimalize weight on a bike trip.
Those days passed slowly but with revelry.
My Portland experiences of the Pedalpalooza were wonderful, What a great city. The people the rides, the weather, the activists, the alternative community. The top west coast alternative city of the day, I would suppose.
Highlights of a world class city -Portland!
World class, at least for me... Meaning the city has so much community activities going on.
Pedalpalooza is a wonderful time to see Portland and get to know something of the cycle-activist community.
The 2 week schedule reads something like Burning Man's wacky calender of events.
The city has done well in promoting cycling, with many bike paths, lanes and bridges. Great to see so European a feature as bike parking in front of all the "hipster" businesses.
There seemed to be so much community gardening going on in the city.
Dozens of houses with character; artsy Trout houses everywhere.
The Zoobomb, downhill, tiny bike, slalom is a long running and fun event with the P-town cyclists.
I really appreciated staying with Couchsurfing. The web based organization has come around to being popular and extensively useful for travelers. Cities like Portland are dominant in having the alternative numbers in hosting.
I was able to stay with so many groovy kind hospitable traveling people willing to take in a nomad like myself.
I was also able to attend some contact improv events in the city, further impressing upon me the interactive lifestyle of Portlandians.
"A day in the life of..."
That day I woke in a couchsurfer's yurt, after yet another late night themed ride. I Was happy to use my host's outdoor hottub. Moved that day to another host's house. Amazing to have such trust levels, I didnt meet the man for 3 days, while staying at his house (he worked long hours at the hospital). It must have seemed funny to come home to see my bike decorated with that many helium ballons, filling his living room to ceiling.
I had a busy day with the days nude ride, a contact improv Jam and later on the 10000 person night nude ride complete with nude restaurants and bars.
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