On Saturday we rose bright and early to prepare for our bike ride with Bob and some of his friends. There was quite a chill in the air as we headed out, but the sky was clear, signalling that we would have a brisk but enjoyable ride ahead of us. We met up in a small park and Bob introduced us to Roy, Josh, and Doug, who we had met before at the Chrome store opening. We chatted a little until it was clear that no one else was going to show up, then saddled up and rode out.
The route first took us through some industrial parks on the edge of the city before we cut in a bit to make it onto the Steel Bridge to cross the Willamette near the Navy ships. From there we followed a bike trail that runs alongside the river, passing through quite a few rowing clubs along the way. We moved along at quite a clip and soon I felt a cold sweat despite the nip in the air. At our pace it wasn't long before we reached another bridge and made our way back across the Willamette to follow a similar trail on the other side. As we passed by some apartment buildings, the riverbank jutted out into the water, revealing a great view down the length of the river and plenty of Portland's unique bridges.
Finally we came near the end of our ride and were going to stop at Breken's Kitchen to grab something to eat. They looked open and busy, bu when we tried to go in it turned out they were filming something in the coffee shop. Unfortunately they weren't interested in hiring any more extras, so we took our leave and went to Grand Central, a bakery turned coffee shop that was more than adequate.
We sat around some delicious egg biscuits and muffins and talked for a while before leaving to get back to the car. It was a great group of guys to hang out with, and I wish we could have had more time to shoot the breeze. Everyone had some great stories to tell, and both the ride and the breakfast stop flew by too fast.
Once we got back to the car we hopped in and made our way back to the house to shower and pack so we could leave for Seattle. On the way there, however, the check engine light on the Saab came on, so we stopped at the house just long enough to drop off the bikes and me, and Geries took it to an auto store to get it checked. We learned that some of the cylinders were misfiring and that a couple of the spark plugs had some oil on them. While the car still ran, it had lost some power, so we got it to a mechanic to have it checked out more thoroughly. Since it was Saturday the pickings were pretty slim, but we found a place to do a diagnostic. They told us that there were a couple of leaking gaskets and we left with that information, planning to extend our stay and see what our options were to get it fixed on Monday when all the mechanics open back up.
In the meantime we still had more of Portland to see, so we rode our bikes to the MAX train station to take us into town. We rode around for a while and took in the city by night. The riverside was especially impressive with all the ships and lights up for the Rose Festival. Eventually we made our way back to the train and headed for Bob and Christy's house for another night.
The next morning there wasn't much we could do for the car since it was still the weekend, so we slept in and I spent the day relaxing at the house while Geries went back into the city. It was nice to take a day to unwind after travelling around the country at such a breakneck pace. But even though I didn't see more of the city, I had a great time working on my bike with Bob and had an excellent dinner and conversation with our hosts, making the day far from a waste. Although not exciting, it was one of the best days of the trip so far. I got to bed fairly early hoping to get up early as well and get the car taken care of so we could leave by Tuesday morning for Seattle.
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