How to Make Yourself Sore

Absolutely epic Saturday. I rolled out of bed and into warm clothes and walked down to the banks of the Willamette River. Met the patient and knowledgable guide Annie at Portland Kayak Company, and went on my very first kayak trip ever. They do a women's beginner kayak paddle on saturday mornings and it was just me and a mother and daughter duo and the trusty guide.

After a safety briefing we embarked from the marina near the Hawthorne bridge for a paddle around Ross Island. I got to see Portland from the water and check out houseboats and osprey nests and the bike paths that run up and down the river on each side. I didn't fall in and I think I want to do it again, maybe next time with Rebecca if the weather is nice when she gets here. They have classes in a swimming pool during the winter where you can learn to do "wet exits" and eskimo rolls and other neat tricks.

As if that wasn't enough adventure for one day, I decided it was high time to get a bicycle. Kara told me I have to get a cool bike and I think I went to the cool bike place, The Recyclery, this used bike shop in the SE part of town where there were all manner of very serious (but very helpful) bicycle punk dudes with handlebar mustaches and peddle-pushers. I test rode a couple of pretty cool bikes at this bike swap meet they had there, but I settled on something just a little fancier (and still spent less than i planned) on a red peugeot steel vintage bike that was all fixed up and had more of a mountain bike-style handlebar because the curvy kind intimidate me. i got them to install fenders so if i ride it in the rain it won't be all splashy.

Music for you: The Bicycles- B-B-Bicycles

Outfitted with a cool bike like a proper Portlander, i set out from SE 9th to NE 49th to visit my cousin Roger at the hospital. he had a bunch of serious intestinal surgery and now he has to have a kidney out but he is very alert and friendly and was happy to hear of my adventurous ways. he and my aunt and uncle gave me all sorts of tips about interesting places to go along the coast of oregon to see sea lions, cliffs, old logging camps, and lewisandclarky sorts of things. A nurse kept coming in and out of the room to watch the football game that the Oregon State Beavers were losing and literally and repeatedly cried out, "FOR SHAME!"

I left them at the hospital after 8 and rode through the city again, back towards home. There is a big bridge being repaired in the middle of town but it is still open to pedestrians and cyclists so i got to go over that, away from the cars. At the end of it there is a gigantic flashing sign, pictured below.

it is kind of scary to ride around in traffic at night. I'm going to try not to do that too much.

So then I went to see Once, the movie about the musicians in dublin, at a downtown theater. It was just ok for me. The man and woman from the film are going to play a concert in town next week with all the songs from the film. i'm not going but I wish them well.

and now I am at obrien's pub near my house, writing this entry just mere feet away from my surrogate wife, the Twilight Zone pinball machine.

Tonight I will sleep the sleep of the just.