This article in the New York Times, In Portland, Cultivating a Culture of Two Wheels, Nov 5, 2007 mentions how the city is encouraging the local cycling industry. It also mentions how those companies are interested as much in environmental issues such as recycling and sustainability as they are in profitability. Bike Portland’s web site www.bikeportland.org is mentioned along with local bike builders and the Handmade Bicycle Show.

A good quote, Sam Adams, a city commissioner in charge of transportation on Portland’s goals: “Our intentions are to be as sustainable a city as possible,” Mr. Adams said. “That means socially, that means environmentally and that means economically. The bike is great on all three of those factors. You just can’t get a better transportation return on your investment than you get with promoting bicycling.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/us/05bike.html?ex=1352005200&en=99713bea4de6f6b5&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Great article, thanks for sharing.

Portland is also planning to spend $24 million to add 110 miles to the existing 20 mile bike network.

The video notes cyclists' desire for environmental and health benefits of riding.

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=278032d5df02f06be646116987472a48d5d707e0

Bike builder Natalie Ramsland: "California didn’t offer me the ability to bike anywhere and everywhere as a first class citizen in the way that Portland does. Here it’s like if you are riding a bike you are really traveling in the vernacular. It’s what people do here."

Well...to balance all that out...here's an article from the hometown paper.

Vicious Cycle: Portland is not so bike-friendly—But it could be. Here’s how. (http://wweek.com/editorial/3351/9896/)

I'm sorry, but the NYTimes reporting on Portland's bike "culture" is laughable...this city has jumped the shark. Hipsterification...watch out, it's a disease on the rise, coming soon to a town near you.

Hipsterification...watch out, it's a disease on the rise, coming soon to a town near you.Heaven forbid should something disrupt the normal pattern of most American towns, i.e. SUVs, big boxes, and McMansions.

I'm sorry, but the NYTimes reporting on Portland's bike "culture" is laughable...this city has jumped the shark. Hipsterification...watch out, it's a disease on the rise, coming soon to a town near you.

Hipsterification, perhaps but this too will pass. It happened to Austin, it'll happen to Portland. Only when the hipsters pick up for their next go to location Portland will still have all the bike infrastructure.

At times I do think the "bike heaven" moniker is a bit over used, after all there are sections of the city that are no better than any other (ever tried biking down 122nd? Not so bike friendly.) However the city government is very much so more proactive about funding cycling infrastructure than anywhere and more aware of the problems that the city still faces.

I just wish the state capitol had a tenth of the awareness that Portland, Corvallis, or Eugene have... :(

NYT article Portland Acts to Protect Cyclists

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/us/10bike.html

Good stuff, thanks for sharing. Maybe the city can find it in the budget to talk to the Tri Met bus drivers as well. I wish there were a bike boulevard that gets on the Broadway bridge so I don't have to use Lovejoy. I get in more close calls there than anywhere else.

Why is it that cycling is so popular in both Belgium and Portland, where it's cold and rainy?

Good stuff, thanks for sharing. Maybe the city can find it in the budget to talk to the Tri Met bus drivers as well. I wish there were a bike boulevard that gets on the Broadway bridge so I don't have to use Lovejoy. I get in more close calls there than anywhere else.

Why ride down Lovejoy with the trolly tracks and horrible bike lanes? There are streets on each side that hardly ever have cars on them...

Why is it that cycling is so popular in both Belgium and Portland, where it's cold and rainy?

Damn fools I tell you, damn fools.

Why is it that cycling is so popular in both Belgium and Portland, where it's cold and rainy?

Because it's not that cold and it's not that rainy... It's also not blisteringly hot in the summer...

It's a pretty ideal climate for aerobic activity...

Because it's not that cold and it's not that rainy... It's also not blisteringly hot in the summer...

It's a pretty ideal climate for aerobic activity...
Probably. I live in Colorado where it's always sunny and never humid, so it's hard for me to fathom. I actually had to ride my bike on wet roads yesterday . . . the horror!

Because it's not that cold and it's not that rainy... It's also not blisteringly hot in the summer...

It's a pretty ideal climate for aerobic activity...

Errr...been outside lately? It's been raining for what, 3 weeks straight?

Errr...been outside lately? It's been raining for what, 3 weeks straight?

I'll trade you 3 straight weeks of your PNW light rain for 3 straight weeks of my upper midwest heavy snow and temps below 20...

When I lived in Seattle, I was amazed at the quality of the rain- it was never heavy downpours like we get up here, it was just long, steady drizzle/light rain. And no thunderstorms. That was weird. It was rare that I couldn't actually get out on my bike due to the weather.

The difference I saw was that the PNW didn't get the severe weather we get in the midwest. Heck, y'all get earthquakes and volcanoes, so we're probably even.

But yeah, 3 weeks of rain is teh sux.

I'll trade you 3 straight weeks of your PNW light rain for 3 straight weeks of my upper midwest heavy snow and temps below 20...

When I lived in Seattle, I was amazed at the quality of the rain- it was never heavy downpours like we get up here, it was just long, steady drizzle/light rain. And no thunderstorms. That was weird. It was rare that I couldn't actually get out on my bike due to the weather.

The difference I saw was that the PNW didn't get the severe weather we get in the midwest. Heck, y'all get earthquakes and volcanoes, so we're probably even.

But yeah, 3 weeks of rain is teh sux.

I totally agree buck. A little light sprinkle never hurt anyone. Cervelo-er which side-street in particular do you like?

I usually go down Johnson or Kearney all the way down to 9th and then on to the Broadway Bridge...or scoot up Marshall, but they keep having construction in front of Bridgeport...

I try to avoid the Pearl at all costs by going out Front/Naito to Thurman, but that presents its own issues.

I think something people miss in this "bike friendly" moniker is that a city can be friendly to commuter bikes and not friendly to roadies. I find that the case with Portland. It sucks to ride your road bike here. I know many have a different opinion, and maybe it's my own SAD getting me down on it, but I am just fcking sick of the people here, the street maintenance, how long it takes to get out of the city, and then how shitty the roads are for riding once you get out. And as has been touched on in many other posts, the hipster/fixter dumbfcks here have raised the level of animosity towards cyclists to a boiling point.

Yes, I am actively looking for a way to move.

Portland is also planning to spend $24 million to add 110 miles to the existing 20 mile bike network.

Last year working against a very vocal automobile and especially freight lobby, Sam Adams, Paul Smith at PDOT, who worked on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://forums.roadbikereview.com/ /><st1:City w:st=<ST1:pBoston</ST1:p</st1:City>’s bicycle infrastructure, and Mia Birk of Alta Planning and Design got a 53.5 million dollar budget through the city council for bicycle infrastructure over the next four years.
Mia is one of the finest and most knowledgeable alternative transportation experts in the country. Bicyclists in Portland, hipsters or not, are very fortunate to have Mia, Sam, Paul and so many others like them working on these issues. If Sam becomes Mayor it can only get even better.

I usually go down Johnson or Kearney all the way down to 9th and then on to the Broadway Bridge...or scoot up Marshall, but they keep having construction in front of Bridgeport...

I try to avoid the Pearl at all costs by going out Front/Naito to Thurman, but that presents its own issues.

I think something people miss in this "bike friendly" moniker is that a city can be friendly to commuter bikes and not friendly to roadies. I find that the case with Portland. It sucks to ride your road bike here. I know many have a different opinion, and maybe it's my own SAD getting me down on it, but I am just fcking sick of the people here, the street maintenance, how long it takes to get out of the city, and then how shitty the roads are for riding once you get out. And as has been touched on in many other posts, the hipster/fixter dumbfcks here have raised the level of animosity towards cyclists to a boiling point.

Yes, I am actively looking for a way to move.

That's an interesting view. It makes me rather glad that I turned down an offer about a year ago to transfer from my job in Corvallis to my company's Portland office, even though there was more advancement potential and probably a more stable future.

At any rate, I haven't really ridden in Portland much, but from driving there occaisionally, I'd take Corvallis roads and drivers any day.

But then again, "Most Bike Freindley CITY" is a relative term.

In Corvallis, there doesn't seem to be all that much of a hipster crowd outside of campus. They don't seem to wander too far and wide. Of course, you get the typical clueless bike riders associated with pretty much any college town (wrong way, no lights, no brains etc...).

Why is it that cycling is so popular in both Belgium and Portland, where it's cold and rainy?Yeah, along those lines I always wondered why England (of all places) was the source of so many great topless sports cars.

This thread has a funny contrarian drift to it... There clearly are quaint little college towns with minimal traffic and vast tracts of open road all around so that cycling is easy in and around town. Great. But there are very, very few American cities that have treated cycling as an actual mode of travel together with cars, transit, etc. Portland isn't perfect for riding, with over-zealous police actions and other problems, but more and more people are using bikes here for more and more trips. Cycling in Portland is easy and fairly safe, in part because more and more people are riding.

Roadie riding in town is not likely all that great IN any city. Other than going all the way across town, roadie riding is available from almost anywhere in Portland within 20-30 minutes of riding that isn't bad in itself. I'd like to hear about another American metropolitan area of a million or more people that has created as deep an infrastructure for cycling as Portland has. There might be one or two, but I'd be shocked if there are any more than that.

In Corvallis, there doesn't seem to be all that much of a hipster crowd outside of campus. They don't seem to wander too far and wide. Of course, you get the typical clueless bike riders associated with pretty much any college town (wrong way, no lights, no brains etc...).

I miss Corvallis bad. I lived on 5th behind Tommy's and miles of great roadie rides were just over the bridge or a quick couple miles to Philomath. Salem isn't anywhere near as bike friendly in town as either Corvallis or PDX but there's plenty of nice riding outside of town.

To each their own.

It looks like a job offer is coming through for a move for me, so I guess I will get to compare. Hopefully in three months I won't be eating serious crow and jonesin for the rain and bike lanes.

It seems that the bikers attitude helps shape the motorists cooperation. Yes, we have all experienced the irrational psycho-sociopath who wants to hurt us, but I get overwhelmingly positive response and allowance from Portland motorists.

Seattle rain and Portland rain are not the same.

Johnson is a good alternative for my commuting and training rides.

I totally agree buck. A little light sprinkle never hurt anyone. Cervelo-er which side-street in particular do you like?

The main reason I moved to Portland is because of the great training and racing here. I don't get your 'not friendly to roadies' thing at all.

I usually go down Johnson or Kearney all the way down to 9th and then on to the Broadway Bridge...or scoot up Marshall, but they keep having construction in front of Bridgeport...

I try to avoid the Pearl at all costs by going out Front/Naito to Thurman, but that presents its own issues.

I think something people miss in this "bike friendly" moniker is that a city can be friendly to commuter bikes and not friendly to roadies. I find that the case with Portland. It sucks to ride your road bike here. I know many have a different opinion, and maybe it's my own SAD getting me down on it, but I am just fcking sick of the people here, the street maintenance, how long it takes to get out of the city, and then how shitty the roads are for riding once you get out. And as has been touched on in many other posts, the hipster/fixter dumbfcks here have raised the level of animosity towards cyclists to a boiling point.

Yes, I am actively looking for a way to move.

I'm with dead flag blues - Portland is racing paradise. During the race season (which goes on forever) you can damn near race every day and OBRA does a great job with the races. Then of course comes cyclocross season and the Cross Crusade! More fun can not be had on a bike!

Not to mention all the amazing areas to ride around Portland... Skyline, Council Crest, West Hills, Buela Vista, Rocky Butte, Mount Tabor, the Gorge, Larch Mountain....all the great rides around Oregon City, Estacada, etc...

I also commute by bike and it's a very supportive community. Bikes are very much treated as traffic and most drivers are very polite. Your always going to get the occasional a-hole driver or light blowing hipster but most people are very cool.

Dealing with the rain is not that big a deal. Just do a cheap fixed gear conversion and slap some fenders on it (don't forget the courtesy flaps), get a rain jacket and you are good to go.

This thread has a funny contrarian drift to it... There clearly are quaint little college towns with minimal traffic and vast tracts of open road all around so that cycling is easy in and around town. Great. But there are very, very few American cities that have treated cycling as an actual mode of travel together with cars, transit, etc. Portland isn't perfect for riding, with over-zealous police actions and other problems, but more and more people are using bikes here for more and more trips. Cycling in Portland is easy and fairly safe, in part because more and more people are riding.

Roadie riding in town is not likely all that great IN any city. Other than going all the way across town, roadie riding is available from almost anywhere in Portland within 20-30 minutes of riding that isn't bad in itself. I'd like to hear about another American metropolitan area of a million or more people that has created as deep an infrastructure for cycling as Portland has. There might be one or two, but I'd be shocked if there are any more than that.

I have spent a fair amount of time in Portland (in fact, will be there this coming weekend), and I'd say it's ok for cycling as big cities go. Rather be there than, let's say, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago.

All the rain (and "sorta-rain") days would drive me nuts, though.

Yes, small college towns like Davis, California, or Columbia, Missouri (just a couple I'm familiar with), can be incredibly good for cycling. Heck, you can be anywhere in 10 minutes and out of town on rural roads in no time. Not the same issues.

Fresno is sort of mid-size, at 500,000 city proper and maybe a million in the area. It is incredibly bike friendly, with 3-6 foot bike lanes on nearly all major and many minor roads, some bike paths, and even bike lanes that extend 25 miles in to the countryside in a few places. Plus, 300 days of sunshine and 7-10 inches of rain a year.

My brother, who lives in Portland, tells me that all sorts of cyclists have been killed there recently. Are these just anomolies, or maybe the result of lots of newbie/hipsters? What's up with that?

All the rain (and "sorta-rain") days would drive me nuts, though.

My brother, who lives in Portland, tells me that all sorts of cyclists have been killed there recently. Are these just anomolies, or maybe the result of lots of newbie/hipsters? What's up with that?

There were three high-profile, very sad cycling deaths in the past few months, two right-hooks involving large trucks and one an experienced commuter at a MUT crossing of a fast road. The first was probably inexperience. A 24 yr old art school student who was probably not all that experienced riding in town. It looks like she pulled up alongside a cement(?) truck as it was stopped at a light to make a right turn. Accounts differ as to whether the driver had his right turn signal on. The truck & cyclist started off when the light turned green, the truck turning right, the cyclist going straight....

The other right hook, 4-6 weeks after the first, was a very experienced cyclist, cyclo-crosser, LBS worker who was headed down a fairly fast hill. A large garbage truck, which passed the cyclist at some point, slowed and turned right across the cyclist's path, and he went under the tires. Bike skid marks show that the cyclist saw the collision coming, but too late. There was quite an uproar about this one, particularly after the other right hook fatality. No-one really knows what the cyclist had in mind, but for all his experience I'm sure he was well aware of the truck ahead slowing for that intersection, whether the truck's turn signal was on or not because it was a sharp turn and the truck would have had to slow to a near stop. My unsubstantiated guess, based on how experienced he was and aware I suspect he was, is that the cyclist concluded that the truck was going to wait for the cyclist to pass before starting the turn.

In the third an experienced 50-something year old commuter was hit crossing a fast road at a MUT crossing. Witnesses said that the cyclist did not come to a complete stop at the crossing. My unsubstantiated guess in this one is that the cyclist didn't see an on-coming car, perhaps because another car was already stopped at the crossing, and mistakenly concluded that the way was clear.

Ya.. it's been a bad few months.

As for the rain... I'll ride in much worse conditions than most, but even I like the sound of Fresno's climate...

The truck & cyclist started off when the light turned green, the truck turning right, the cyclist going straight....

***
My unsubstantiated guess, based on how experienced he was and aware I suspect he was, is that the cyclist concluded that the truck was going to wait for the cyclist to pass before starting the turn.

I *never* trust drivers to yield to me when they are turning right. I always try to either flat out come to a stop, or else I move over into the traffic lane and pass right-turning vehicles on their left. Get this alot with City buses pulling over for stops. I move over to my left as soon as I see their right turn signals.

At controlled intersections, I think it's safer to either 1) just stay in line behind the cars/trucks; 2) if stopping, move all the way up into the cross walk, so that anyone in a vehicle who may decide to turn right will see me, or else I can sprint out away from them if they decide to turn right; or 3) just take the lane if I'm there first.

My unsubstantiated guess in this one is that the cyclist didn't see an on-coming car, perhaps because another car was already stopped at the crossing, and mistakenly concluded that the way was clear.

I encounter that exact situation here on my commute. A nice bike trail crosses 4 lanes of traffic, and there is a cross walk (for bikes), with lots of signage for the vehicles, too. Frequently, one vehicle will stop for me, but them a few idiots will floor it to get around that one. I don't go until I'm sure all will stop.

Sounds like all of those situations were possibly preventable by the cyclist, even if the driver was mostly at fault.

It's crazy out there. Bottom line, you just can't assume that anyone else will obey the law or even be careful. Don't want to be dead right. The situation that I'm most fearful is crossing an intersection with a green light, and someone just plain blows the red and wipes me out. Not a whole lot of prevention available there, except to look and hope for the best.

Sounds like all of those situations were possibly preventable by the cyclist, even if the driver was mostly at fault. ... It's crazy out there. Bottom line, you just can't assume that anyone else will obey the law or even be careful. Don't want to be dead right. The situation that I'm most fearful is crossing an intersection with a green light, and someone just plain blows the red and wipes me out. Not a whole lot of prevention available there, except to look and hope for the best.

I agree, and I ride the same way in the situations you cited. All your examples are the ways of avoiding a right-hook. They all avoid pulling alongside a car just as the car has an opportunity to turn right. It's by far the most common near-miss I see cyclists ride into during my commute - maybe a couple times a month. In a few situations the car will do a quick pass-and-turn, which really is unconscionable, but most of the other times the cyclist could have avoided the near-miss with your defensive riding options.

Cycling folks here have been apoplectic over the right-hook fatalities. The issue is "failure to yield" on the part of the driver, with the law seeming to establish an absolute duty on the part of the driver relative to a cyclist in a bike lane, the fatalities seeming to establish a clear failure to meet that duty, and police spokesmen making media comments about turn signals being on and drivers not seeing the cyclists as unwritten defenses to the seemingly absolute duty to yield.

Even though both cyclists in the right-hook situations probably had the right of way, I too think they both could have ridden more defensively to avoid their crashes. I think the young art student simply didn't know better and the experienced cyclo-crosser just mis-interpreted the driver's intentions. Both are very sad.

As for the red-light-running T-bone situation you mentioned, I was recently a passenger in a car when we were nearly hit that very way, but for a slam of our brakes. The variation on that in which I've had a close call is riding in a bike lane along a line of stopped cars with an opening for a car from the cross street to dash through from the far side of the street. I now treat those situations as the blind, completely uncontrolled intersections that they are -- slowing on them until I can see what might be coming through that view-obstructed break in the line of cars.

For all of these situations I now want a view of anyplace a car can come from before I'll ride past that spot at speed. If I don't have a view, or a nearby car is free to take the space I'm headed for, I slow down or find another space to be.

I get this on every single ride, so it becomes necessary to deal with it. Sometimes the driver's opposite approach is troublesome, too, as you can't be quite certain of his intentions. Last night, I was riding home, and a school bus passed me near an intersection, with his right turn signal on. I was in a bike lane. But, the bus driver just stopped in the thru traffic lane, apparently being very cautious and courteous to me. However, despite what appeared to be his yielding to me, I still don't trust it. I fear that they could first have intentions of yielding, but could change their mind if they can't see me or may think I'm yielding. I moved all the way to the center line behind him, to his left, so he can see my lights, and then know it's ok for him to make his right turn. Bottom line, I never, ever trust that a driver will yield to me when he's turning right, but especially in a large vehicle with low visibility for its driver. Drivers behind us may have thought I was being a pain in the butt, as everyone pretty much came to halt for a bit, but I'm alive today.

It's very sad to hear about these deaths, but at minimum I think we can all can try to learn from them.

I agree, and I ride the same way in the situations you cited. All your examples are the ways of avoiding a right-hook. They all avoid pulling alongside a car just as the car has an opportunity to turn right. It's by far the most common near-miss I see cyclists ride into during my commute - maybe a couple times a month. In a few situations the car will do a quick pass-and-turn, which really is unconscionable, but most of the other times the cyclist could have avoided the near-miss with your defensive riding options.

Cycling folks here have been apoplectic over the right-hook fatalities. The issue is "failure to yield" on the part of the driver, with the law seeming to establish an absolute duty on the part of the driver relative to a cyclist in a bike lane, the fatalities seeming to establish a clear failure to meet that duty, and police spokesmen making media comments about turn signals being on and drivers not seeing the cyclists as unwritten defenses to the seemingly absolute duty to yield.

Even though both cyclists in the right-hook situations probably had the right of way, I too think they both could have ridden more defensively to avoid their crashes. I think the young art student simply didn't know better and the experienced cyclo-crosser just mis-interpreted the driver's intentions. Both are very sad.

As for the red-light-running T-bone situation you mentioned, I was recently a passenger in a car when we were nearly hit that very way, but for a slam of our brakes. The variation on that in which I've had a close call is riding in a bike lane along a line of stopped cars with an opening for a car from the cross street to dash through from the far side of the street. I now treat those situations as the blind, completely uncontrolled intersections that they are -- slowing on them until I can see what might be coming through that view-obstructed break in the line of cars.

For all of these situations I now want a view of anyplace a car can come from before I'll ride past that spot at speed. If I don't have a view, or a nearby car is free to take the space I'm headed for, I slow down or find another space to be.

It's very sad to hear about these deaths, but at minimum I think we can all can try to learn from them.

Yup. I think that's why it's useful to discuss them in some detail to try to deconstruct what happened. Some folks in our local bike scene are more inclined toward a near-lynching, which I don't think is quite as useful.

http://bikeportland.org/2008/01/15/da-no-criminal-negligence-in-jarolimek-case/#more-6355

Here's a link to the District Attorney analysis of the right-hook collision involving the local cylco-cross rider. (Link above.) It looks like a major factor was the design of the road where the crash occurred. The right-turn was toward the bottom of a 7.4% grade and around a corner, so for a time, neither the rider nor the driver could see the other. The city closed the street where the right-turn was made shortly after the crash. It seems now that the road design and bike lane placement may have been an "accident" waiting to happen. D@mn.

I re-learned how to bike in Amsterdam (perhaps the quintessential instance of mediocre weather, booming bike culture), where I realized that cycling in the rain isn't that bad. As others have pointed out, a temperate, maritime climate certainly makes for a more bikeable year overall than places with hot, humid summers and snowy winters. I'd certainly rather be inside with a hot cup of coffee, but (a) once you're in rain gear and on your bike, it's actually really invigorating, and (b) because A'dam is relatively small and so easily navigable, commutes within the city tend to be short and bearable.

I'd imagine good urban planning similarly influences bike cultures in those areas like Belgium and Portland. After all, PDX is probably known first for its planning and second for its cycling culture.

I study in Los Angeles, however, and can appreciate sunny weather's appeal to a cyclist. But after breathing the crappy air, being ignored by cars, and experiencing L.A. culture, a bit of rain seems a small price to pay for living in the Pacific Northwest (I grew up in the Seattle area).

There's a bike-rider-weather bond that develops a strength - it's a form of integrity - when you persevere in the rain and cold. I have thrived on that this winter. Motivation has been a non-issue as I have been chomping at the bit to get out at every opportunity. Wierd.

Last Sunday was the first sunny weekend day since well before Christmas, and the muts and shoulders were packed with families on shiny new bikes with shiny new helmets. Dads with kids on training wheels going south on the Glenn Jackson 205 bridge. I imagined mom in the Escalade going over to pick them up at the low end of the bridge.

I felt oddly unmotivated to get out and ride in the sun. Where's the hero in riding in the sun? I think I'm really something when I hit it in 33 degrees and rain... Oh well, I went anyway and found my turf full of these casual bikers. They were getting in my way, not realizing the zen I have with these roads and paths, and how they were interferring . Well...I guess I can share. I even stopped to check on a stopped biker, who was okay and didn't need anything. I guess I can get used to the sun. If I have too.

There's a bike-rider-weather bond that develops a strength - it's a form of integrity - when you persevere in the rain and cold. I have thrived on that this winter. Motivation has been a non-issue as I have been chomping at the bit to get out at every opportunity. Wierd.

Last Sunday was the first sunny weekend day since well before Christmas, and the muts and shoulders were packed with families on shiny new bikes with shiny new helmets. Dads with kids on training wheels going south on the Glenn Jackson 205 bridge. I imagined mom in the Escalade going over to pick them up at the low end of the bridge.

I felt oddly unmotivated to get out and ride in the sun. Where's the hero in riding in the sun? I think I'm really something when I hit it in 33 degrees and rain... Oh well, I went anyway and found my turf full of these casual bikers. They were getting in my way, not realizing the zen I have with these roads and paths, and how they were interferring . Well...I guess I can share. I even stopped to check on a stopped biker, who was okay and didn't need anything. I guess I can get used to the sun. If I have too.

Yes, there is a sense of accomplishement from surviving the elements. I felt that a bit a few weeks ago riding to and work in pouring down rain, including riding through 12" deep flooding in some intersections. This is a big deal for people here in Fresno, because we rarely get rain, much less rain the floods.

In some ways, I suppose it's like surviving another kind of challenge, whether it be climbing a long steep hill, a double century, a 500 mile event, etc. But, after spending the weekend in Portland just now, I must say that would wear me down. So frequently it's not really rain, but still everything is wet. I think I'd prefer real rain.

Sure is green up there, though, and you have some great bike shops.