One Hundred Eighty-Five

Last night I attended a volunteer orientation class at the Community Cycling Center, the largest non-profit organization in the country that uses the bicycle as a tool for teaching positive life skills to youth. There were 15-20 of us there - various ages, backgrounds, and levels of experience. We began the class by introducing ourselves. Everyone said their name, described what bike they were currently riding, and what motivated them to volunteer at the center. My favorite reason for coming was, “I just really like bikes.” And the best description of a bike was, “Some old bike – I don’t know what kind it is.” I was blown away by all the bikes and bike parts at the center. The new mural on the side of the building is equally impressive. (I'll bring a camera next time.) One guy seemed to feel bad about living in the neighborhood for 15 years and not getting involved sooner.

On the way out of Hillsboro, I hooked up with two fellow Intel employees - John and Ku (sp?) - who work at Ronler and were riding into Portland on their way home. It was a great ride. John used to be a pro triathlete. Ku lives just a few blocks from the CCC; he said I made him want to get out on his fixie again. I love it when people connect like that. Ku and I stopped by Cycle Path and chatted with Bill for a while.

On the way home I took a wrong turn and ended up riding around the University of Portland campus. Things look different at night when you're going in the opposite direction you usually go. It made me think about how easy it is going to be to get off course during RAAM.

I was also thinking about RAAM - and commuting in general - as I was descending Old Germantown Road. Even though there was some light in the sky, the road was VERY dark. My 3 watt bulb barely provided enough light. I'm thinking that some sort of high powered battery setup might be nice just for sketchy descents. Otherwise, I'll be going downhill at a snails pace just so I don't end up in a ditch.