Kitted out and ready to shuffle on.
Day 11
For my last full day in Portland I went to kit out my new bike with a rack, bags and accessories. Ever the scrooge I went straight to the super market the other side of the city to pay $3 for an item that I could have got within 300 yards of the house for $12. Every penny counts and I needed to clear the riding cobwebs anyway. I had shopped around for the bags but with the heat touching the mid 90’s in the city I needed a break so I went down to the old part of town and listened to some music being played at the Sunday street fair. Oh man the food stalls were amazing. It was a feast from round the world. Thai, Turkish, Greek and Italian. As we are in the USA though the biggest queue was for the doughnuts. To be honest I had been told about Voodoo Doughnut 2 days before I even got to Portland. Judging by the 45 minute wait they must be good. I’m in the vicinity tomorrow so maybe the chance will arise for me to sample them without having to wait for nearly an hour. Watch this space.....
After I purchased my bags I set the whole rig up and packed everything in and went out for a test ride. It was my first time using panniers so I was wobbling about like a child learning to ride for the first time. I got the hang of it after a few streets and feel confident now that I can crack on with the trip down the coast. When I was out riding I went passed a football match and pulled over to watch. It was strange as it was a Sunday League game but being played in America. I didn’t know they did this. I thought it was an English thing. They had some decent players but they were struggling a bit in the heat. The ball came over to me at one point and for a second I thought about pinging it back perfectly like the Phil of old. A wiser head prevailed and I simply side footed it along the ground with no real pace or power. The last thing I would need would be to put my laces through the ball and have my hamstring come flying out the back of my leg just as I’m ready to get going on a bike ride for 2 months. So to finish I have booked my ticket to Astoria and got a room for the night and will be heading up there. Next stop.....The Goon Docks