Riding along with Paul Jeffery, on his daily ride up Mt. Tabor

Mt. Tabor with Paul Jeffery-2

Paul Jeffery, photographed at
Common Grounds coffee shop
this morning.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

48-year-old southeast Portland resident Paul Jeffery (he goes by PJ) used to enjoy a daily ride from his house near 40th and Salmon to the Goose Hollow MAX stop. From there, he’d zip through the hills and down into Beaverton where he’d pedal the final leg of his journey to his job at Electro Scientific Industries (a producer of high-tech laser systems and industrial production equipment).

PJ’s routine changed back in November when he was part of a 10% workforce reduction. In other words, he was laid off.

Without work, PJ missed the routine of getting up and getting out on his bike. So, at the end of January, he started riding to the top of Mt. Tabor each morning. I met him this morning at Common Grounds coffee shop on SE Hawthorne Blvd (a very nice place I must say)…

Before I knew PJ was currently unemployed, I thought his daily Tabor ascents were some sort of quest. When I referred to them as such this morning, he said, “A quest? Well, I guess it is. I plan to do it every morning until I get a job.” This morning was the 11th day in a row he’s done the ride.

Wherever he ends up working, he’ll be riding there. PJ sold his car — a “beautiful VW Passat” — back in September. “It was sort of on a whim,” PJ recalled, “I only drove it about 500 miles a year and it had some big repair bills coming.”

After chatting for a few minutes, we pedaled onto SE Salmon to make our way up to Mt. Tabor Park. PJ kept a medium pace, turning the gears on his Cinelli fixed gear as a light rain sprinkled our faces. Why do you only ride fixies? I asked (he’s got three others in his garage back home). “I just like the way they feel,” he replied.

When we got to the top of the park, and made our way to PJ’s favorite bench, he pointed out St. Stephens church and the trees just beyond it that mark his backyard…

After taking in the view of Hawthorne Blvd and the city skyline, we rolled back down. While I coasted and enjoyed the view, PJ pointed out that he has work (even harder it seemed) on the downhills too…

Thanks for sharing your ride with me PJ. I hope you find a great job soon and find a new daily bike routine, although going up Mt. Tabor will be hard to beat!

— I hope you enjoyed this ride-along story and photos. If so, you might also like the ride-along with Ryan Good through Forest Park a few weeks ago. I enjoy doing these and think they’re a fun way to meet Portlanders and learn about what’s it like riding in different parts of the city. I have one more planned for the coming weeks and I’d like other ideas. If you have a noteworthy daily commute and don’t mind me tagging along with a camera and notebook, get in touch.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Kirk
12 years ago

YAY fixies!

yuffington
yuffington
12 years ago

Jonathan, you really Paul’ed the heck out of that article! Keep it up!

Dan
Dan
12 years ago

PJ seems like a nice, down-to-earth guy and I wish him luck on his job search.

However, after getting stuck behind a rather slow fixie rider in traffic earlier this week, I feel the need to put this out there, just to encourage discussion: “One-speeds suck, geared bikes truck!”

A.K.
A.K.
12 years ago
Reply to  Dan

Meh, there are just as many “slow” people on geared bikes.

Lance P.
Lance P.
12 years ago

I love reading your ride along blogs. It is interesting to hear completely different daily or weekly rides.

Joe
Joe
12 years ago

awesome power to the people ! PJ way to roll man, I’ve been outta work couple times and riding keeps ones mind focused.

Doug Smart
Doug Smart
12 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Good go, PJ! I had a three week lay off last September and found that an hour or so of pedaling each morning, with a focus on hills, did a lot to keep me in a good state of mind during a worrisome time.

A.K.
A.K.
12 years ago

Fun article! Nice change of pace from the “usual”.

And major props to PJ for going up Tabor daily on his fixie. Good way to get some strong climbing legs!

Spencer Boomhower
Spencer Boomhower
12 years ago

Hey, Common Grounds! That’s my home-office-away from home. Great coffee, great couches, and tasty savory muffins.

Nick V
Nick V
12 years ago

I sold my Ford Ranger in 2010 and was laid off shortly thereafter. Coincidence? Hmmmm. Best of luck to PJ. I have since found a great job and don’t miss my truck in the least.

bruce
bruce
12 years ago

thanks for this piece. I got to know Paul when our commuting schedules would synch and ebb and synch again. One of those interesting friendships which seem to happen out there on the streets when we’re moving at a more human (humane) pace. Hadn’t run into him for several weeks and now I know why. Paul: I still owe you a beer somewhere. Good luck and good roads to you.
bruce

tom
tom
12 years ago

Sorry to hear about the job PJ. Glad you haven’t given up on the rest of your bikes with that sweet cargo bike you have. I’m sure I’ll see you out this weekend during MBW’12.

Svetlana
Svetlana
8 years ago

I love reading the Ride Along With . . . piece. I hope it says an ongoing feature.