Ptown

Living in Portland is going to be incredible. Adjusting is a process - especially when you had no income for the three months prior to moving - but I can tell it's a good place to be for a while. I LOVE how bike friendly the community is. I was really nervous with all the stories of conflict in the city with bikers prior to me moving. I'm taking baby steps in trying new things though, and so far most of my experiences have been really positive. Yesterday I had an appointment pretty far across town during 5p.m. traffic so I decided to try mass transit. My work offers discounted passes; I get an all area Max and Trimet pass for $20/month taken straight out of my paycheck. So I boarded the Max with my bicycle after work yesterday, then I transferred onto the bus. The driver had to get out to show me how to put the damn rack down, because I kept squeezing the wrong bar. I made my appointment on time, and then I rode my bike home since it was after the rush hour and I wanted to explore a new part of town I hadn't ridden in. 

This is a rough estimate, but since I moved here I have biked just shy of 400 miles, and I've driven about 200. For some reason, it is easier for me to bike here than it was in Corvallis! 

The Bike Communte Challenge is going on right now.  Work places sign up to be a team, there are 1200 registered in the Portland area. For the month of September, commuters log their mileage by bike on a daily calendar. The total number of employees at the establishment are calculated with the total number of commuters in the challenge, along with their rate of cycling vs. driving to give a final percentage. Right now, my team as the Portland State Office Building is in 8th place!!!!!!! Being mostly comprised of Department of Human Services and Public Health

 employees, I would sure hope so. 

Here's a screen shot of my personal Bike Commute Challenge homepage. It shows the mileage total for the month (my work commute only), the calories I have burned, the carbon I have saved, and the percentage of time I bike.