(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Did we have an amazing October or what?!
In the nine years I’ve lived here in Portland, I can’t recall a more pleasant and spectacular fall. The weather was gorgeous and the leaves and colors were a sight to behold. And there was simply no better way to enjoy the local fall splendor than from the seat of a bicycle.
When you ride through fall, you don’t just see the leaves and the season, you experience it in a visceral way. Whether riding under a canopy of massive maple trees in southeast Portland, hearing the soft crush of freshly fallen leaves under my tires in Forest Park, or having leaves fall onto me like rain after being rustled out of a tree from a gust of wind, October was a month to remember.
But alas, we are now into the winter drizzle. The hues and the skies are darker now and rain has left leaves in sad and sodden piles.
To help remember fall, here are a few more photos taken from in and around Portland over the past month or so…
I hope you enjoyed riding your bike in fall as much I did! Now it’s time to start bundling up and breaking out the rain gear for good.
firelane 5 oh yes
is alex barr really that steep or is there some tilt going on there?
Ha! It’s really steep… But you climb the dirt road in the first picture. That second photo of Alex Barr on the paved road is a descent. Maybe next time I’ll do it in reverse. The riding up there is very special. Great roads and nearly carfree/zero traffic.
looks fun, I’ll put it on the list for next year
Best Fall ever.
I rode the new section of Old Historic Highway from Troutdale on the teaser weekend. Fantastic! Can’t wait to show my riding buddies. Zero traffic after Ainsworth state park. Looking forward to the future connections farther east. Great pictures all around
There’s usually a few people who grumble that The Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s Bike Commute Challenge should be EARLIER than September. This year, though, quite a few people suggested that October would’ve been nicer. They were right! What a gorgeous month.
Agreed Jonathan! What an incredible October. I think the rain we had in September made it even better. The trails were in perfect shape with the help of that rain: perfectly tacky and not dusty…and the leaves’ colors seemed to be brighter and lasted longer maybe also with the help of that sept rain.
Just a request for our house dwellers – if you have street trees that dump a lot of leaves on the street in front of your house, you have probably been out raking or blowing those leaves.
If you could take an extra couple minutes to clear the leaves from any bike lane that might run in front of your house, that might save your fellow cyclists from a fall.
I’ve been keeping the bike lane in front of my house clear, as well as the corner where riders turn and could fall. It has caused me maybe an extra 20 minutes over the past month, hardly any time at all. Of course, I ride that bit of road myself daily so I am somewhat self-interested.
Yes, it really was a great one. Thanks for this.
Poetically stated and captured.
There are currently two gingko trees on NE 16th just north of Brazee (right next to Hophouse if you need more encouragement) that have created a magnificent golden carpet on the sidewalk and front yard of the home.
I agree, what a beautiful October! After 11 years in Portland I had forgotten how much fun DRY leaves can be! So much fun to walk or bike through a dry pile of leaves. Too bad, they are turning in this wet messy mass again now (would have been even better if the City had swept Terwilliger before the rain started).
I did the HCRH out to Cascade Locks on the weekend the new brewery there opened (natch :). It was a bit chilly but wow, the descent from Crown Point was glorious. The foliage was amazing. One for the memory banks.