Well, here I am in Las Vegas for the Interbike trade show. In the next few days I’ll talk to all sorts of people in the bike industry. I especially want to touch base with the Portland-based companies that are exhibiting here (there are only a few). If I have time between all my high-profile meetings with movers and shakers in the global bike biz (not really) I’ll snap photos and get the low-down on new products that are of special interest to Portland bikers. Things like lights, racks, fenders, panniers and new commuting/city bikes.
But before all that, I want to share my experience with the new PDX Airport bike paths. In case you missed it, PDX Airport recently completed a network of bike paths. I decided to give them a whirl because my plane left at 6:00AM which was too early for Juli and the kids, the MAX takes too long from my house in NoPo, and because I just wanted to ride my bike. So, at 4:45 Tuesday morning I loaded my bags into the Burley and headed out.
I took low traffic streets the whole way and didn’t see many cars. Then, once I got on the new, off-street path it was very smooth sailing all the way. I couldn’t help from grinning as I felt very proud of my city for this Euro-style improvement to the airport’s bike-ability! The path was great. It was smooth, easy to navigate and it led me right to the bike racks. I was hoping to see more signage but maybe it’s just not up yet.
The best part was the bike parking structure. I was a bit worried about security of my bike and trailer, but after seeing the fully enclosed, gated bike parking(!) I felt much better.
It took me 34 minutes from N. Michigan and N. Portland Blvd. Much faster than MAX and much more fun than driving! I’ll definitely do this again.