A summer commute in Portland (Pics)
#26
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Joined: Sep 2001
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From: Fallbrook,Calif./Palau del Vidre, France
Bikes: Klein QP, Fuji touring, Surly Cross Check, BCH City bike
You showed a photo of your bike . Thanks. . Could not tell the make. that is always something of which I am curious. no bike, no photos.Cant quite make it out. Is it a fixie.
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^ Since January 1, 2012
Pray for the Dead and Fight like Hell for the Living
^ Since January 1, 2012
#27
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The bike is a 2007 K2 Enemy, their cross bike. I'm currently running it as a 1x9 with a Tiagra Brifter, 38t chainring, Ultegra rear derailleur and 12-25 cassette. I have another ultegra derailleur that's a short cage I plan on putting on. Kind of silly to use a long cage with a single chainring, but this one was free, so no complaints.
#28
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More pics
My commute ends in the suburbs, where I see few other bike commuters and the drivers are kind of nutty. Probably more like what the rest of you experience. Mad props to those of you who commute in places where there are few other cyclists. I'm car-free but I don't know if I would ever have seen that as a possibility if I had not grown up in a place like Portland.




#29
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 13,237
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From: Fallbrook,Calif./Palau del Vidre, France
Bikes: Klein QP, Fuji touring, Surly Cross Check, BCH City bike
Congratulations on being able to be a car free purist. I admire such convictions. How about the rain. ? Does that impact on being car free. Some of us are used to Mediterranean climates. Rain seems so foreign to sun worshipers.
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Pray for the Dead and Fight like Hell for the Living

^ Since January 1, 2012
Pray for the Dead and Fight like Hell for the Living
^ Since January 1, 2012
#30
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Well, rain and snow don't bug me so much. Also, I'm only living in Portland temporarily now. I go to school in Missoula, Montana. Colder, but the town is compact and flat, and I live close to campus and downtown, and three miles from work, so being car-free is ridiculously easy.
Being young and a student without the need to care for children, etcetera, or have to carry large objects with any regularity, car ownership would simply be an unnecessary expense/complication in my life. Plus I really like riding bikes.
Being young and a student without the need to care for children, etcetera, or have to carry large objects with any regularity, car ownership would simply be an unnecessary expense/complication in my life. Plus I really like riding bikes.
#34
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#35
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Hey cool. Another Portlander. My wife and I just moved here and we have to sell our car. Which is a hybrid, so I bought a hybrid bike today. Looks like that's what I'll be going to work on from now on. Look for me to complain about being out of shape for a few months here.
#36
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Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Soviet of Oregon or Pensacola FL
Bikes: Still have a few left!
Great pics, brings back memories of my work commute way back in the 80's. I rode from 70th & Glisan to Downtown at 5th & Stark, I also worked at Western Seminary, 55th & Hawthorne for some time. There were no bike lanes, but there was a free bike route map, color coded to show the safest & most dangerous streets for cyclists. Don
Last edited by ollo_ollo; 07-27-08 at 12:19 AM. Reason: spelling
#38
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Portland, OR
Bikes: Bianchi Volpe
Aaaaah, Portland. I love that I ride among a pack of fellow commuters here, pretty much anywhere I go. My ride up to school is fantastic--racing other college kids the whole way. When I die, I want my ashes scattered from the Hawthorne bridge right during morning bike rush hour.
I live in nob hill but I'm considering moving to the east side just so I'll have more excuses and longer distances to bike.
I live in nob hill but I'm considering moving to the east side just so I'll have more excuses and longer distances to bike.
#40
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Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Portland OR
Bikes: Bakfiets, 1999 GT Nomad Hybrid, early 70's Schwinn Cruiser 5, Bridgestone MB-3, Trek 520 Disc, Electra Ticino 8D, Ochsner blue Road Bike
I felt Avant Garde in San Jose, CA. Now, I am like everyone else. I no longer comment how much I hate where I live anymore though,,, so that is nice.







