Portland = Utopia

P-Town, Stumptown, City of Roses, Bridgetown.... call it what you will. We're calling it fun! After birthday celebrations in Astoria we took a 100 mile side trip into Portland. Our friend Aaron rode and met us 25 miles outside of town and gave us the royal escort back to his house. Aaron helped us celebrate all things bikes as we watched the last stages of the Tour de France that he recorded for us. He set me up with new bike gloves and socks, had tools to do some basic bike maintenance and gave us a place to get cleaned up. Thanks Aaron for an awesome pit stop! From Aaron's house we headed over to our hiking buddies Yum and Pep to spend a couple of days with them. You may remember that last summer we hiked to their wedding at Timberline Lodge near Mt. Hood. Wacky antics ensued. We were lucky that our trip coincided with a concert by one of our favorite bands. After hiding out in the basement to escape the record breaking heat (I couldn't remember if we were in Tucson or Portland). We ventured out to the venue for a great show by the Mother Hips. After the show we went for some late night nosh and brew at one of Portland"s 28 breweries. Portland required we bring our "A" game to the brewery tour. The next day started with a yummy breakfast and a strategy session on how to spend the day. Here is a recap: a 15-20 mile bike tour of Portland on a 105 degree day with visits to the Lucky Labrador, Hopworks and Amnesia breweries. We danced in two fountains and one guy's yard using his garden hose. We rode along the Willamette River and crossed over 3 of the cities many bridges. We scored free popsicles from a nice lady on the street, marveled at how bike friendly the city is and collectively tasted more than 15 beers. The evening ended with a yummy dinner from Pep's garden. Portland brought our brewery tour total up to 10.

Chaos, Panic and Disorder. My Work is Done Here.
-bumber sticker outside Lucky Labrador