I'm going to be in town in a couple of weeks (for two nights), and will have a little time to kill one day. I'm starting to plan for next season's tour(s) and am looking for a shop that concentrates on touring related equipment and supplies. In other words, panniers, handlebar bags, etc, for loaded, self-contained touring. Is there a shop or two that people can recommend that I check out. I'm not above heading north over the Columbia if that's where I'll find one. However, I'd like to keep the search to bike riding distance from the convention center part of town, otherwise, I'll have to burn hydrocarbons instead of calories.

Sorry, nothing of the sort here in Vancouver.

In the Convention Center area, I'd look in on CityBikes. They're pretty funky, but they have gear other shops don't.

Check out Universal Cycles. They are mainly a online shop, but they have a good stock of stuff at their Portland branch.

River City Bikes? I wouldn't say they focus on touring...but they are very close to the Conv. Center and are large enough to carry quite a range of gear.

REI in the Pearl district probably has as much touring gear as anyone in town. Check out Performance Bike in Beaverton too.

I would say River City Bikes just because they have a huge selection of everything. Also, consider Clever Cycles. They focus on utility cycling, but that means they'll have a good assortment of racks and bags.

Another vote for River City. As has been stated, not touring specific, but the do have about the best selection of touring gear. Another option reasonably close to the Convention Center is the Bike Gallery on Sandy Blvd. Universal has a lot of stuff on their website, and much of it can be picked up same day from the storefront, but there is not a lot of touring stuff on display, unless you want to drool over the Salso Fargo and Vaya, both of which appeal to me greatly.

Well, the way my schedule is falling together, I may not have as much time for shopping as envisioned. That's because it looks there will be lunch with a lady friend in Vancouver. But I might be able to ride there and back, just in time for a soccer double-header at the University of Portland.