THE PORTLAND EXPERIENCE

DAYS 57 - 60

MONDAY 30 MAY - THURSDAY 2 JUNE 2016

Portland is maybe one of the only places I've ever visited where I don't actually feel as though I'm the only Gay in the village.

Counterculture rules in Portland and that covers pretty much anything you can think of in this über-liberal town - not least of which has been the legalisation of pot in Oregon about 18 months ago, playing sweetly into both of Portland's left hands.

It's not as if the population has needed legal pot to help its cause because they have been well on the way with all of this stuff for years.

At the same time, if one considers for a moment the ghosts of Portland's industrial past which are obvious in the everyday as one strolls or rides or skates around the city's various locales, then this has been one seriously radical evolution.

If there is a city anywhere in the world that has more successfully transformed itself from one place in time (the grime and crime of a hardcore industrial 19th century port) to another (the bicycle and beer-led revolution of absolutely everything in the tattooed and pierced 21st century), then it is a place I would surely like to visit.

I've found it easy to become overwhelmed here at times.

Perhaps part of this is because I've been on the road cycling for 2 months and the main rules in this mode of travel really only take care of the bare necessities - shelter, food and getting from A to B in one piece each day.

So hanging out in such a progressive and creative center as Portland for a week has been something of a culture shock - being utterly spoiled for choice is most certainly one the main symptoms of this.

Of course I've been lucky enough to have the advantage of local guides in Darren and Tanja during my stay here and I've thoroughly enjoyed our (almost) nightly explorations of the microbreweries, eateries and ice-creameries and ranking them off against each other is certainly part of the fun of it.

But it's also the homeless population here that grates severely with one's sensibilities.

For a town of just over half-a-million, there's a shitload of homeless people to show for it.

So clearly, something is not right.

Whilst things may be sprinting ahead in a hyper-revolutionary direction on so many fronts, there would seem to still be pressing issues at hand.

Scenically, Portland would probably not qualify as urban eye-candy although the 13 different bridges that link its east and west sides on either side of the Willamette River do set it apart somewhat from other American cities I've visited.

Taking the aerial tram (a.k.a cable-car) up to the OHSU Hospital (Oregon Health and Science University Hospital) as I did on Tuesday, gives the best vista in town. 

On a beautiful day, it was hard to beat with super clear views of 11,352 ft Mt Hood directly east and the 8363 ft Mt St Helens to the north - a still-active volcano which famously blew its top off in a massive eruption back in 1980.

RIVER & BRIDGES WATCHED OVER BY MOUNT ST HELENS

HAWTHORNE BRIDGE

DOWNTOWN BY NIGHT

Portland regularly tops various published lists that represent different things about cities around the world - mostly along the lines of "greenest" and "most bike-able" and "most walkable" and "most sustainable" - but of course it also leads the way in the microbrewery and food-cart stakes. 

I actually realised today why I've kind of been avoiding the food carts.

It's not that I don't like street food. Quite the opposite in fact.

Stumbling across an entire city block of food carts just adjacent to O'Bryant Square proved to be something of an ordeal of the first-world magnitude.

I must have completed 4 or 5 laps of this place at around lunchtime today as I simply couldn't decide what to get.

Here's just a short list of what was on offer - at least half-a-dozen Gyros and Shawarma joints offering authentic cuisine from no-less than 4 or 5 different countries including Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and Greece - Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Mexican (of course) Moroccan and a couple of local U.S options which included an Hawaiian Grill, Carolina Smoked BBQ and a very tempting Louisiana stall which was serving up Po' Boys, Gumbo and Etouffee.

My eyes were starting to spin after about the 4th go-around, as much from needing something to eat as the confusion I was suffering.

So I eventually selected a Moroccan Salmon Tajine which was plenty tasty but just a bit light on to be honest, making me wish I'd probably gone for one of the stock kebab or shawarma dishes instead.....

DINNERTIME @ DESCHUTES BREWERY

PORTLAND'S DOWNTOWN FOOD CARTS

OUT AND ABOUT

Mooching about Portland and its environs hasn't been the only mission during my stay here.

I had it well planned to take a side-trip down Columbia River Gorge whilst I was here.

Initially the plan was to ride the Gorge down one side, camp out in or around Hood River and ride back the next day on the other side, making for a 2-day round trip.

Plans are meant to change and having taken what was effectively a "reccy" trip on Saturday with Tanja and her crew, I had re-considered distances and terrain to be covered.

A better plan was firming with the time that I had and car hire was due to be involved.

With the advantage of having 4 wheels, I could factor in a scenic round trip via Mount Hood and continue down through the Hood River Valley then across the Hood River Bridge and explore 84 West back towards Portland.

From what I had seen over the weekend, this was a route that offered a great drive as well as some stupendous views of the gorge itself.

So this is what I did.

HOOD RIVER VALLEY

COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE