Lunch boxes, check!

Backpack, check!

Jacket, jacket, jacket.

"All ready?"

The mornings are colder now, sometimes wet but never as rainy as people think when they think of Portland.

I pull our bakfiets from the garage, wheel it to the front sidewalk. Helmets, gloves, and we are off. My youngest, Asa, sometimes wears a scarf several sizes too large. I take in a deep breath, preparing for the refreshing ride ahead. What a wonderful way to start the day--exercise, fresh air, and being with my kids.

We go a few leisurely blocks to Vancouver Street, then follow it south. On our morning rides, we watch the city as it wakes. We see the same people at bus stops or street crossings. The regulars. They now wave at us as we are part of their morning. I ring my bell and my sons wave.

We pass our local bike shop, Cascade Cycling, and often see movement in the store, undoubtedly preparing for the day. Then the new housing development at Vancouver and Alberta. We followed the construction throughout the summer and it was in its final stages this fall. It is a good looking building, modern, but not garish. My sons think the playground is a great touch, "Look Dad! They have their own playground!" Continuing on Vancouver, the stretch north of Alberta has become familiar. The same stretch of neighborhood over time. We have watched the changes. 

Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital marks a slight rise in the street. They are building here and my sons have enjoyed the large machines and loud noises. At the top of the rise, on the left, is Dawson Park with its newly remodeled gazebo; its burnished, coppery-red onion shaped top is gorgeous. 

Right on Tillamook for the immediate left on Flint to bypass an overly congested-with-cars intersection. While on Flint, we pass Cycle Oregon. I love the bike rack outside of Cycle Oregon. It is bicycle the shape of Oregon and bright yellow.

At the end of Flint, we turn Right onto Broadway. Coming up is the only stretch of the trip that I do not like. It involves merging from a bike lane, over one lane, to where the bike lane picks up again. We have the time of two blocks to conduct this move so it is not immediate, but my bikey-senses are in full alert as the car commuting is in full swing. 

Then my favorite part of the day, cruising over the Broadway bridge. This bridge has such an urban feel with its old style construction and the way it connects the east side of Portland to downtown, the west. Sometimes we stop in the middle and take in the sights and activity.

Over the bridge, and a right on Lovejoy. The stark change in our landscape happens at this intersection, Lovejoy and 9th. Here the buildings surround us and tower above us. I find that I get to enjoy the city more on bike; I interact with my surroundings more on a bike. Left on 9th, right on Johnson, and we are on our uphill ride past Jameson Park, which for a time had a Christmas tree. On the way home, at the request of the boys (Daddy, please, please, please), we would stop at Jameson Park so they could climb on the large wooden presents around the tree. It is a good place for a stop on the way home.

It is a short jaunt up Johnson until 20th, (taking a left) where we roll up the sidewalk, Couch Park on our left, Metropolitan Learning Center on our right. 

When the ride is calculated in miles, it ends up being 5 miles one way. However, it is not a straight shot on flat. It is a meander through neighborhoods, commercial centers, and urban life. The ride is about 30 minutes there, about 40 minutes return. When I am not downtown working and I head back home after dropping the kids off, I do this round-trip-ride twice.

I love the variety, and it makes us all feel very much alive.