“Our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption.... We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever-increasing rate. ”
— Vance Packard, The Waste Makers, 1960
After two weeks of feeling awful, achy and creaky, and not really into riding my bike, the weather mellowed out and gave my body and mind a break. I woke up yesterday morning and felt an absence of arthritis pain. I walked across the living room and didn’t bump into anything. And I decided that it was a sign that I ought to go for a ride.
Coffee Outside PDX was meeting at Willamette Park, quite a distance from where I live. However, I could ride the two miles to the !AX satiation, take MAX to OHSU at South Waterfront, and ride the rest of the way to the park, on the winding MUP that runs alongside the river. So I made a thermos of coffee, dressed and hopped on my bike.
The morning was cloudy but warm for November. It hadn’t gotten below 50F the night before, and by the time I got to the MAX station it was in the mid 50s. The train ride was mostly uneventful, except for a half dozen homeless folks with all their worldly goods in tow — sleeping bags, shopping bags, a couple of dogs — that sometimes blocked the aisles of the train car. I stuck to one end, hung my bike on the hook and stood with my bike. (If you don’t stand right next to your bike, chances are someone might try to make off with it at the next stop. That’s an ugly side effect of the spike in Portland’s homeless population over the last seven years. Don’t ask for my opinion on where and how city government has gotten it wrong so many times.)
The train arrived at OHSU — the medical center where I go at least once a week for physical and speech therapy — and I threaded my way through the network of one-way streets to the beginning of the Multi-Use Path of the Willamette Greenway. The water was calm, and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of waterfowl on the docks and the riverbank below. This MUP is a combination of public and private property, with the private sections allowing public access by way of an agreed upon easement. The private parts of the path have lots of bumps and holes in the ashphalt, marked with wide stripes of yellow paint. The paint was obscured by all the fallen leaves, making it hard to see some of them until I was right on top of them. I took my time and rang my bell to warn folks on foot of my approach. The air was balmy, and I ended up not needing my vest about halfway to the park.
I pulled into the covered picnic area at the park and found lots of Coffee Outside regulars. It was lovely to hang out with them and catch up on the two weeks I’d missed, while sipping coffee and snacking on whatever treats had been brought to share. A young couple at one of the picnic tables had brought a miniature, tabletop camp stove, basically a tiny version of the drum from a washing machine on little feet. They fed newspaper and then small pieces of wood into the top, and soon there was an impressively warm fire that we could gather around.
They’d also made up a bunch of spoke cards to give away. Some featured the frog suits that have recently made the news, being worn by protestors at the ICE facility. Others commemorated the recent anniversary of Oregon’s famous exploding whale. I found these especially funny, since the couple who’d made them hadn’t been born yet when it happened. I giggled at the sweet absurdity and helped myself to a couple of whale spoke cards. I’ll probably gift one to a friend, and stick the other on my Peugeot.
I was starting to feel my energy fall off a bit, and I still had to get home. So after a lovely ninety minutes of bike-fueled socializing I said my goodbyes and headed home. The sun was beginning to peek out a little bit between the clouds as I retraced my route, and I was thrilled to spot a great blue heron atop a pole at one of the little boat piers, near a flock of cormorants showing off their wings. I heard a bird cry I couldn’t identify, but which sounded high and piercing like a raptor.
Once on the MAX train, I saw that every bike hook was in use, but I managed to find a spot where I could park my bike in a wheelchair space and sit next to it in one of the fold-down seats. I didn’t have to move the whole way back to NE Portland, which was good because the fatigue was really beginning to set in. Two miles back to the house, and a much-needed afternoon nap marked the end of the journey.
Total ridden, about 8 miles.
Premier Tech, the second title sponsor of the team formerly known as Israel Premier Tech, has dropped its sponsorship of the team, following in the footsteps of the other major sponsor, Factor Bikes (which pulled out last week).
Although the team had dropped the word “Israel” from its name and the majority owner of the team, Canadian-Israeli Sylvain Adams, agreed to step back from day-to-day operations, the damage had already been done and showed no signs of slowing down. Organizers of next year’s Tour de France Grand Depart (opening stage) in Barecelona, Spain made it clear that an Israeli team would not be welcome in Spain unless the team moved its base of operations and registry outside of Israel. Other race organizers have said that they do not want any Israeli team racing in their events because the mere presence of such a team would spark more violent protests similar to those that halted the Vuelta de Espana in September.
I add to that the news that Premier Tech’s star rider has been trying to end his contract early and leave the team for weeks, and clearly the writing is on the wall. There is no word of anyone stepping forward with an offer to buy and move the team, and it’s strong Israel-identified history may be too much for another prospective owner to take on.
If you read the comments at the various cycling news websites, you’ll find that the commentators are running five to one in favor of disbanding the team entirely. A few even suggest that no new elite pro cycling team be allowed to take out a UCI racing license if they are based in Israel or majority-owned by an Israeli.
All of this effectively spells the end of the team that began as Israel Cycling Academy over a decade ago.
(If you click on the Google link for Israel Premier Tech, you’ll discover that the link now goes nowhere. The team’s Facebook page is still up, but has not been updated since November 5.)
Interestingly, another country, United Arab Emirates, serves as a home base for another pro cycling team and also hosts a stage race each year. Color me cynical, but I suspect that nothing will be done or even said about this parallel reality. After all, the UAE team is profitable and so is the UAE Tour. Plus, they’re oil-rich. Plus, they’re not Jewish.
..::ducks to avoid flying debris::..
For the foreseeable future, people will find any number of ways and reasons to make non-political things selectively political, and it will continue to be hard to be openly Jewish in many, many places around the world. And there is not a thing I can do about that.
This just in from Cycling News:
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/it-has-become-untenable-for-us-to-continue-as-a-sponsor-premier-tech-terminate-israel-premier-tech-sponsorship-despite-name-change/
After the name change, sponsors decided that wasn't enough. They want to see the team dissolve entirely. For the sin of running a professional cycling team in Israel.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/article-869743
This disturbed some people so much that they shut down a Grand Tour, preventing it from finishing.
Israel Premier-Tech, or IPT, has also been excluded from start lists of several Classics races because of their name and flag.
Factor cycles, the team's bike sponsor, has also withdrawn unless the team changes both its name and its country of operations:
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/its-not-a-matter-of-right-or-wrong-anymore-its-become-too-controversial-around-our-brand-factor-meets-israel-premier-tech-to-discuss-team-name-and-flag-change/
Rob Gitelis, president of Factor, said this: "It's no longer a personal thing of I support this or I support that.
There's just a certain level of controversy we just can't have
surrounding the brand."
That smells like crap to me. It took a lot longer for sponsors to drop teams over doping (see: USPS and Discovery) than it has taken for this team to lose its sponsorship.
The team's web site hasn't been updated in over a week, though it is still accessible:
https://israelpremiertech.com/
And so far, there hasn't been a peep from the UCI, the international governing body of cycle sport.
(Of course, they bent over backwards to protect Lance Armstrong for years before finally kicking him to the curb, because the guy was simply making too many cycling sponsors rich by association. All that IPT has done is aroused the ire of violent protestors who've turned out in droves to disrupt races and endanger riders and fans.)
I'm not shocked, just disgusted.
Bicycle racing should have no room for any of this behavior.
Fuck all of them.
And #yallaAcademy.
I have had a very tough time getting in my Coffeeneuring reps this year.
Because of lingering effects of Long Covid that include recurring waves of fatigue, poor sleep and balance issues, riding a bike isn’t always advisable. If I push myself too much, I can pay for it the next day by being too wiped out to even take a shower. The bummer is that there is no way to predict how much energy I’ll have or when I’ll have it.
So today, I slept through the morning, skipped Coffee Outside and was going to call it a day.
I couldn’t walk in a straight line. So I knew it would be stupid to try and ride my bike.
By lunchtime, I felt a little steadier and the sun had come out. I decided I’d walk somewhere and back, even if it wore me out the next day.
I plotted a course and took the bus to Petite Provence, where I knew I’d find something I could enjoy on a budget, even it was just a croissant and some coffee.
I’ve been going here for years, and it has always been lovely.
The weather forecast said we were in for an atmospheric River, a massive water dump that would net us up to 2 inches of rain in the first twelve hours.
No matter. Coffee Outside was being held at Irving Park, a park with several covered areas and within riding distance of home. I hadn’t been in a couple of weeks due to health issues, and decided I’d go. It was pouring when I left, and pouring the whole way there. I was glad to find a small group already collected at a couple of picnic tables, camp stoves running and water being heated, coffee beans being hand-cranked.
(Photo: Portland Parks & Rec. — taken on a much warmer, sunnier day.)
I pulled in and enjoyed seeing familiar friends and a couple of new faces I hadn’t seen before. We talked, laughed, shared stories, sipped coffee and helped ourselves to a bowl of leftover Halloween candy. (Sour Patch Kids doesn’t pair well with hot coffee.) Meanwhile, the wind picked up, the rain got heavier, and leaves were ripped from trees to swirl and fall to the ground to make a thick carpet of red and gold. I was enjoying myself, but could feel my energy dropping. After an hour or so, I knew it was time to head home.
My rain gear, some of it over thirty years old, held off the worst of the rain and damp, but I could feel leakage through some of the front-facing seams after being pelted with huge, heavy raindrops for half an hour. My hat and gloves kept me warm enough to avoid the worst wet chills. By the time I got home, I was soaked and tired, glad to be home and happy I’d gone.
When I worked at Citybikes, our shop was a Chrome Industries dealer. We sold their bags and a few accessories. Their rep wanted us to sell their shoes and apparel too, but we didn’t have enough floor space or a changing room to make that possible. During the time we were a Chrome dealer, we sold a lot of their messenger bags and backpacks. Meanwhile, I also bought some early models of Chrome shoes with my dealer discount, and have worn almost no other she in the last fifteen years.
They were not cheap. A medium-sized backpack retailed for over $100 in 2008. The bags were made in the US, and they were durable: Cordura outer, truck tarp liner, lots of double stitching and metal buckles made them tough, and spare parts made them repairable. During my time at Citybikes, I sprang for a Chrome backpack for myself and I still have it almost twenty years later. I have traveled extensively with it and sometimes use it in town for errands.
This particular bag was a special limited edition made for Blue Lug bike shop in Japan, and features blue thread and a commemorative logo screened on bottom. I have worried about losing it only a couple of times when I got to the baggage claim later than planned, but so far I’ve been lucky. Now that I don’t travel as frequently, I’m probably less likely to lose this bag to theft, but the “cool” factor is still there.
This is an original Warsaw backpack, designed for bike messengers who have to carry big loads and also great for racers who ride to their races with all their gear. I recently acquired this one for an insanely low price because of use and needed repairs. It retailed for $200-plus new, but I paid twenty bucks for this one. I obtained replacement buckles from Chrome and did the repairs myself at home with heavy-duty thread. The Velcro is a bit worn out, but the big buckle on front should be enough to keep the bag closed in transit. I also covered the worn area at the bottom of the back padding with gaffer tape and super-glue, which should serve well for a long time.
The Warsaw came in two sizes for awhile, a 55L size for messengers and a smaller 35 L size for commuters. Today, only the smaller Warsaw remains available online, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it fade away very soon.
I saw a new doctor last week to discuss my ongoing adventures with Long Covid.
During our nearly hourlong chat, she explained to me that, due to new information and a much larger patient sample, Long Covid is gradually being ushered to a space beneath the larger umbrella of CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). The two conditions share many symptoms and with a larger patient pool, it’s hoped that more attention will finally be paid by the medical establishment, which has been slow to take CFS patients seriously because they’ve mostly been middle-aged women whose cases are difficult and expensive to deal with.
What unfolded during our discussion was the fact that Long Covid and CFS are long term conditions with no cure and no meaningful treatment. Symptoms can sometimes be alleviated with physical therapy and careful pacing of energy expenditures. Sometimes, energy that I expend on one day will make me fatigued right away. Other times, the fatigue will bite me on the ass a day or two later. I can’t know which in advance, nor how long the fatigue will last.
It also means that I can’t predict when I will have enough energy to support the things I want to do on any given day.
How does this relate to my cycling?
It means that while there’s a schedule for things out in the world, my energy won’t always align with that schedule conveniently. So while the rules of the Coffeeneuring Challenge state that I’m not supposed to shift around the two days a week on which I take my Coffeeneuring rides, the reality is that there’s sometimes no other way to handle it.
So while the rain subsided and the sun came out today, I took a ride. If the Coffeeneuring panel decides that’s a violation of the rules, that’s okay. I can live with it.
Today I rode to Safeway to pick up a prescription, then to New Seasons for a few other items. They also had a thermos and tiny sample cups offering a new coffee roast, so I helped myself to a tiny cup. Delicious, not too dark, and just enough. The sun felt lovely warming my back, even with the temp in the low 50s. The leaves that haven’t yet fallen from the weekend’s storms were gleaming reds and golds, and showed up beautifully against the blue sky and swirling clouds.
The ride there and back was just enough. I could already feel my brain going fuzzy half an hour after I got home.
It’s not always like this. But these days, I can’t predict how my body will respond to the demands I place on it, especially if I’ve already done stuff around the house before I take a walk or a bike ride.
So while I continue to sort out how to live with this thing — call it Long Covid or CFS or whatever — I’ll be learning how to listen to my body more closely, and to adjust my activities accordingly rather than trying to push through.
And now, a nap.
Total: around 4 miles.
I would have ridden yesterday, but my knee was hurting with the dampness in the air.
Since I’m retired, I decided to let it go.
Then this morning, Sweetie asked me to run a bunch of errands, and the day was drier and I felt like riding. So off I went, bringing along a cup of homemade coffee and an empty saddlebag that would be filled with library books.
I rode to Fremont, and down to NE Vancouver, where I stopped at the credit union. Then I rode over to the newly renovated Albina Branch of the Multnomah Country Library to collect a couple of books that were being held. My goodness, what a beautiful renovation and expansion the building has had!
(Photo from Multnomah County Library)
After a lovely week visiting my mother-in-love, where I walked everywhere I could and admired the green, windswept beauty, it was nice to be home again. I had considered going to Coffee Outside today, but I was so lagged from our trip that I slept in and opted for a mellower, shorter ride.
I made my way to Woodlawn Park and enjoyed the antics of dogs and their humans chasing balls and barking under trees that had yet to drop their leaves; a dry late summer meant that the process of tree-change would be slower. The sun was bright and warmed my back as I continued on.
I took the scenic route around the back of the park and the elementary school so I could get in the minimum mileage, then arrived at Woodlawn Coffee.
I ordered a cup of coffee and a fresh chocolate chip cookie, which I enjoyed at one of the outside tables. A bike friend rode up as I was finishing, on a beautiful Gunnar cross bike in a metallic minty green. We chatted a bit, and when he went inside I got up and threaded my way home along quiet residential streets. Squirrels scurried up trees to get out of the way as I passed. The breeze picked up a little and blew some fallen leaves across a sunlit street.When I got home, there was a small gathering of starlings on the part of the lawn still in sunlight looking for scattered seeds from the feeder. At the sound of my tires on the gravel driveway, they flew up, startled, and flew away.
Total distance: 2.5 miles.
Today, I went multi-modal (riding and using public transit) sushi-neurring, to a favorite place in the Lloyd District called Sushi Ohana. The fall weather had arrived with cooler temperatures and a little rain, and I wanted a bowl of Miso soup. Knowing that a hot beverage would be required, I also got some green tea.
Sushi Ohana is a favorite because the food is always fresh and delicious, and because it’s among the more affordable sushi places in town.
The Miso soup was just what I needed, tasty and not too salty with chunks of tofu and seaweed floating in it. It warmed my tummy along with the cup of green tea and I was happy to have thought of this as a good stop for the Challenge.
Refreshed, I paid my bill and rode to the MAX station, then hopped on the light rail train and got off at Rosa Parks and rode home, enjoying a bit of scenery as I passed Peninsula Park and the last of the roses in bloom. Crows flew and cawed overhead and some kids played kickball at one of the Little League diamonds.
At home, I put up my bike and put up my feet. Yum.
Total: about five miles RT.
Because I won’t have access to a bicycle on Sunday, I opted for the Early Bird option and began my challenge today.
I enjoyed a drizzly ride to KISS Coffee, on NE Ainsworth near 30th. I took the leafy route along what has become known as the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum, a beautiful tree-lined route that runs on Ainsworth from just east of MLK to NE 33rd. I was greeted by trees whose leaves have only just begun to fall, the result of a relatively dry August and September, and it was raining lightly.
As I approached the cafe, I was greeted by the singsong of children singing, “I love the sound of the rain!” — a fitting sentiment for a city which sees 40” of rain over a six-month period.
At the cafe, I locked up, placed my order and stepped inside to find a seat. While I waited for hot cocoa and a cheese melt sandwich, I enjoyed thumbing through a very funny book called The Darkside Zodiac, a funny, satirical book that explores the dark side of astrological signs. I’ll have to find a copy for myself.
No fresh photos this year, as I don’t have a portable camera or smartphone. I’ll insert stock photos where possible, and later reports may have sketches I photograph after the ride.
It was NOT bright and sunny when I visited this morning.
The ride there and back was lovely and leisurely, and ran a total of about three miles round trip. (No bike computer or GPS either, so you’ll have to take it on faith.)
Happy Coffeeneuring!
Not that I need much in the way of bikes and accessories these days, but I was curious to see what's out there, so I looked at the online want ads on FB marketplace and Craigslist.
The bottom appears to be falling out of a lot of used bike pricing right now.
Lugged steel bikes from the 1970s going for less than $50. Steel mountain bikes from the 1980s going for less than $100. Parts and accessories being almost given away because no one's buying right now.
Sure, there are a few vintage bikes that someone has lovingly overhauled and rebuilt going for prices that used to be standard before 2020. The difference is that almost no one is actually selling those bikes easily now.
What happened?
Well, I think a few things:
-- The economy has tanked since Covid and hasn't really recovered for most ordinary folks.
-- Jobs are harder to find, and wages have stagnated more profoundly than ever.
-- Trump's tariffs have caused a lot of pain in many industries.
-- People simply aren't shopping as much right now.
It has gotten bad enough that I have started giving some things away because I can't find buyers for them and don't want them taking up soace in my little house anymore. So I'm giving them away as gifts to friends and turning them loose in "free" boxes.
I stopped worrying about "losing" money long ago, ever since I realized I could no longer work and would have to make do on a fixed income. I got my use out of the things I've owned; now that I don't need them anymore I can pass them along to someone else and not lose sleep.
So if you're looking for a bargain on a functional used bike, there are many to choose from on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and elsewhere.
As for me, I'll be satisfied with what I have and keep riding it.
Cheers and happy riding.
I don’t normally toss up items for sale here, but I have a few things I don’t use and would rather see them go to a good home.
Sadly, these can only ship within the US due to uncontrollable tariffs not of my making.
Prices include shipping in the US.
1. Karrimor handlebar bag. This is small and would be perfect for a very small bike, either on a rack or hanging from the handlebar if there’s room. NOS, probably from the 1970s. There’s a coroplast stiffener inside on the bottom that I added. $35.
2. Velo Orange Randonneur Front Rack, Cantilever. New with mounting hardware. Sells new for $95 at the V-O web site. I’ll let mine go for $60 including US shipping.
4. Front canti rack, no name. Powder coated alloy. Excellent used condition. $15.
Buy both the Zimbale bag and this front rack — they go together perfectly — for $45 shipped.
The rules for the 2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge have been posted HERE.
I have checked with the admin, and explained to her that, as I don’t have a very portable photographic device — when my iPhone 6 bit it, I decided not to look for a replacement, and got a flip phone instead — the only way I could document my rides visually was to offer a sketch, scan it on my computer and add it to my blogpost. Thankfully, Mary said that would be fine.
Because of family obligations that will keep me off the bike for the first full week, I’m taking the go-ahead to start my challenge a day early so I can use two days and have them count.
If you haven’t tried Coffeeneuring, it’s a lovely way to extend your bicycling farther into the fall, find more excuses to go riding with friends, and enjoy a warm beverage as the season turns cool and then cold.
The Challenge begins October 11 — October 10 if you really need the head-start — and runs through November 24. Happy riding!
(Photo: from a pre-Covid Coffeeneuring Challenge. I miss the Association for Caffeinated Wheelers.)
After looking at the instructions a few times, I decided on the most direct approach, and simply punched holes in the back so that the decaleur would sit fully engaged and on the rack.
There’s still some wiggle, as I imagine there would be with only two points of contact — three after I add a toe strap through the slots in the leather patch on bottom. I suspect I’ll need to figure out a tighter attachment on bottom, though I don’t yet know what that will look like.
I do know I like where the bag and decaleur are positioned now. Even with some wiggle, the bag is sitting as low as possible that bouncing out seems unlikely. Once I figure out a firmer attachment I think it will be exactly what I’d hoped for. Meanwhile, I think it will serve well enough for rides around town.
Feel free to offer suggestions.
Wanting to make my Peugeot city bike a little more distinctive from the All Rounder, I decided to replace the short rack and front trunk bag with a larger handlebar bag, and a rack with integrated decaleur to support it. Doing so would increase the capacity a bit up front, and allow me to bring a little camp stove and tea kettle along on longer day rides, something I’m working my up to for next spring.
I found this Ostrich handlebar bag in a thrift store for a crazy bargain price (under $25). A previous owner had tried to dye the brown canvas black and got sloppy with the color, bleeding some onto the white trim. No matter. I brought it home, cleaned it up and applied some Nikwax spray-on proofing wax for canvas. It required some rubbing in and spreading around, and a few hours to dry in the sun.
Next came replacing the cheap shorty rack I’d gotten for the trunk bag with a more robust, brand new Randonneur Front Rack with Integrated Decaleur from Velo Orange. This was definitely more of an investment, but the stainless steel should hold up for many years of Oregon rain. I also mounted a small knob to the left side of the rack that will hold a headlight, so I can aim the headlight a little lower. This one’s from Portland Design Works, but multiple companies offer these and you can find one at your local bike shop.
I started the process today. Ultimately, I’ll need to refer to the printed instructions from V-O to complete the installation, including punching a couple of holes in the handlebar bag to accommodate the decaleur crossbar. I’ll get to that after Shabbat.
The rack went on without too much trouble, and I was able to use a rubber spacer between the rack and the fender to add stability to both. Once I sort out the decaleur installation and fit I hope everything will work seamlessly.
I’ll also have a shorty rack and trunk bag available for sale, cheap. US shipping only.
Stay tuned.
I’ve led High Holy Days music as a cantorial soloist at five different synagogues, for most of the last 18 years. It’s rewarding work and I’ve loved doing it.
Long Covid has caused multiple side effects that I still live with today, including loss of vocal control and breath support. For that reason, I decided that I would take this year off from not just leading, but also from attending services. It would be too hard for me to sit in a pew and not lead, or even be able to sing. So I decided instead to plan a bike ride on Rosh Hashanah morning.
I set out to return to Skidmore Bluffs, then ran into the same challenge as last time when the network of neighborhood streets led me to the footpath crossing over the freeway again. I was tired and underslept, and decided instead to go downtown. I rode part of the way, then tossed my bike on MAX the rest of the way. In pre-Covid years, riding all the way into town would have been easy enough, and pleasant. Now, it’s a dicey proposition, both because of the changes in my health and because the number of homeless people camping out everywhere has spiked to epic numbers. I just didn’t feel like encountering blocked sidewalks and people openly consuming meth smoke from tin foil platforms.
I rode the MAX to Portland State, grabbed a tofu bento at Rice Junkies and enjoyed it at one of the outdoor tables on the Urban Plaza. Rice Junkies has been there since I was a student in the late 90s, and I’ve continued to be a customer, sometimes going downtown for the sole purpose of eating lunch there. It’s good, hot and tasty, and very satisfying.
After lunch, I decided to head back to the east side. I hopped on MAX and rode it the Rose Quarter, then hopped off and rode slowly home through inner Northeast Portland. It was getting warmer now — the high would be over 80F — and I took my time. Along the way, I saw many more tents, tarps and blocked sidewalks filled with people who had nowhere else to go. Most were wearing filthy clothes. Many moved unsteadily as they walked, either because of drugs and alcohol, or fatigue, or both. Some talked to themselves, a couple of men yelled at no one in particular. Many simply lay on dirty blankets in or next to tents. Looking a block ahead, if I saw that the bike path or sidewalk would be difficult to thread my way through I’d turn and choose a quieter side street. It took me quite awhile to get home this way.
I won’t say much about the homelessness issues in Portland. Homelessness is everywhere, in every city across our country. Portland’s response has been to create more low-bar-entry overnight shelters, meaning that one does not need to be sober or clean to get a bed for the night. Because they’re overnight shelters, the folks who stay there have to leave very early in the morning, and have nowhere to go except outside all day long. I don’t personally see this as a solution, but a very poor band-aid that props up the ongoing crisis and offers little or no hope for a meaningful solution. It took decades to create this problem, and many bad decisions by state and federal elected officials that eased the flow of illicit drugs into our country, reduced or eliminated mental health and drug treatment options for those in need, and eliminated funding and access to low-become, subsidized housing. What we have now is a perfect storm that is too large for any one city or state to solve.
Making matters worse in Portland — and this is just my opinion — is the sheer amount of grift involved in maintaining a status quo approach to dealing with homelessness that all but ensures a continuous flow of money to NGOs that help a handful of people while everyone else is stuck outside. Their job is to look like they’re doing something, without actually doing very much, so they can stay in business and their executive directors draw healthy salaries for doing a little rather than a lot.
I know that sounds terribly cynical. But between that and Oregon’s stupid decision to decriminalize certain hard drugs, the homeless population here has grown quickly. People have literally moved to Portland because it’s easier to be homeless here. They’re camping along the Springwater Corridor and Marine Drive, leaving garbage and spent syringes in their wake and threatening cyclists and pedestrians who want to use the paths for the purpose they were originally designed. And they’re not leaving. The camps are swept every few weeks, and the homeless people simply reappear on the other side of the road or a couple of miles farther along the path, and the cycle begins again. It’s a never-ending game of Whack-A-Mole. Meanwhile, nothing is accomplished because those who benefit politically or financially from the status quo are guilt-tripping anyone with a roof over their head into keeping quiet.
So forgive me if I struggle with the way that rampant homelessness has taken over the city, and limited where I can feel safe enough to ride my bike. I refuse to feel guilty for having a roof over my head. I worked my ass off for years to acquire and keep it, and I'm not living high on the hog by any means. I understand that there are many broken people in our city, and in the world, who have fallen into the hole of drug addiction and untreated mental illness. And living at the level I live at, I can’t really do much to help solve their problems. I give what I can where I can, but it is literally a drop in the ocean.
So in order to stay sane and functional on the face of my own diminishment, I ride my bike, I take walks, I nurture my relationships and rest when I need to. I’m sorry that there are fewer places in the city to ride without feeling nervous. But I’m tired, and I’m retired, and I would rather not feel nervous when I venture out. I ride where I can, and I’m learning how to live with all the changes around me. Some of them are unsolvable by me, and I don’t feel guilty about that. This is the world. This is life. I like to think that on any given day, most ordinary people are doing their best. Those who could do so much more with their greater means are too often not doing their best. This too, is the world, and has been since there have been haves and have-nots.
When I got home, I’d ridden for well over three hours, and I was really tired. I was glad I’d ridden, and just as glad to be able to lie down for a nap.
The year has turned from summer to fall, my soul has turned a little older, and I hope that this year I'll be a little more hopeful, more thoughtful and better able to navigate the gap between what I can’t and can do to make my corner of the world a little bit better than I found it.
(Illustration by Frank Patterson.)
Yesterday, I enjoyed one of my longest rides this year, nearly 9 miles round trip, to meet up with folks at Skidmore Bluffs for Coffee Outside. It’s was a gorgeous morning, a little warm for this time of year but still very pleasant. Not having a smartphone or GPS, I simply printed out the section of the Portland Bicycle Map that included a few good choices for routes and clipped it to my handlebars.
The ride took me along quiet residential streets whose trees were beginning their turn from green to gold and orange, past old Craftsman-styled houses with inviting front porches and schools whose playgrounds were dotted with a few kids. A cat sunned itself in an east-facing window. Lycra-clad club riders raced past me, calling out a cheery “Good morning!” and waving, their skinny road tires humming along the asphalt.
I got a little turned around on my way to the Bluffs, and wound up going up and over the footpath that crosses above the freeway at Going Street. I surprised myself by climbing without shifting gears. My legs felt good, even if I was winded and slow.
I left my house around 8:30, thinking that I could easily arrive by a little after 9. But getting lost and doubling back a few blocks had me arriving closer to 9:45, where a dozen or more riders were already gathered under a large oak tree, sprawled on the grass and preparing coffee at an assortment of camp stoves. I set down my contribution of mini apple turnovers (a baker’s dozen for five bucks at Safeway!), inflated my little cushion and sat down in a circle of friends. We spent the next hour-plus chatting, catching up, drinking coffee and munching on a variety of pastries, donuts and fresh figs while the sun rose higher in the sky and warmed our backs. I have grown to really appreciate Coffee Outside for its conviviality and lack of expectations. People ride bikes, show up, brew and drink coffee and delight in each other’s company. When we’re done, we ride away lighter and more hopeful than before.
As long as I can keep riding my bike, I’ll try to join up with this bunch of lovely folks.
The 15th edition of the Coffeeneuring Challenge begins October 11. Details will be forthcoming soon. But basically, you ride your bike twice each week to a different location — a coffee shop, a park, a trailside rest stop — and enjoy a warm beverage. Document your rides with write-ups and maybe a photo or two, and if you complete the minimum of seven or eight rides within the several weeks of the Challenge, you can send away for an official patch. Or you can just enjoy the bragging rights. It’s a nice way to extend your riding season, especially if you live in a colder climate and you’re coming up against the rain or snow of late fall/early winter. If you want to participate, save the link above and check back regularly. Rules will be posted there soon.
The summer weather is taking a little longer to leave this year, with high still near 80F some days. But the lows are creeping down into the mid 50s at night, which is a relief. I hope to be able to keep riding when the weather finally turns colder and wetter, at least a little each week.
Autumn begins today. The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins tomorrow evening. And we turn and keep turning with the world. Happy turning, and happy riding.
(Photo: Skidmore Bluffs. Unknown)
Proud to be a member of the Tarik Saleh Bike Club.
Ride Bikes.
Try not to be an ass.
