The Hawthorne bridge, where all the bike commuters are, is basically cycle-commute central in a city known for cycle-commuting. Not only that, but it's about 8:30 am during the summer, so you have a high volume of fair weather commuters.

I grew up in Portland, so it takes me being somewhere else for a while to appreciate what a great place this city is to ride in.

As for the Ninja bike, it has...problems. The chainring is ramped and pinned so I get chain dop off road (going to bolt the front derailleur back on until I get a bash guard and chainwatcher). Also the chainring bolts keep coming loose so I've been riding my new mountain bike for the whole commute, complete with knobbies. Not the most efficient setup.