BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

-$2 train from airport to downtown

-food trucks!

-Powell's books

-Voodoo donuts if you like camp

-Japanese garden also, the Chinese garden

-Clever Cycles

-Biwa restaurant

-Bioswages

-lots of good Pho

I will be in Seattle in a few days. Never been out west. Top pot donuts is on the list.

Pseudacris pretty much hit the nail on the head. I would add:

FOOD TRUCKS.

VEGAN FOOD TRUCKS.

Blossoming Lotus Restaurant.

Beer. Lots of it. My favorite being Hair of the Dog.

Coffee.

(I'm not vegan. I'm not even strictly vegetarian, but they do vegan really well in Portland... it is an experience.)

I second Hair of the Dog, especially Adam. Best beer I've ever had. I also liked Lucky Labrador and Rogue breweries/pubs quite a bit.

The Laurelhurst theater on Burnside street is also an oddly charming arthouse theater, as is the area around it.

LOL You've clearly done your research Italianblend! Top Pot rocks!

Also, don't waste time on the SpaceNeedle, go to the Columbia Tower instead, it's cheaper and a better view.

@Helen, Pseudacris nailed it! Also be sure to check out the Deschutes brewpub (black butte porter is a local fav.) and the Full Sail brew pub. If you have time for a day trip, be sure to check out Multnomah Falls about 30mi east of Portland.

seattle...a few favorites

-Easy train service from the airport!

-Hiram Chittenden Locks

-The Sound Garden at Magnusson Park (namesake for the grunge band)

-Pike Place Market (the original starbucks - woo)

-Native American stuff @ the Seattle Art Museum

-Gregorian Chants @ St Mark's Cathedral

-Northwest Film Forum

-Sub Pop Records

-Wall of Sound

-The downtown Seattle Public Library (Rem Koolhaus design)

-The Underground tour (touristy but very cool)

[edit]

the Gamelan ensemble at Cornish College is tops.

Portland is where Pittsburgh needs to go.

Check out the bike boulevard between Mt. Tabor and Ladd's Rose Garden. Ride the Max line from downtown to the Zoo, and then pedal down the hill through the International Rose Garden. Stop at the Japanese Gardens. Visit Powell's book store in the Pearl district. Take the Max east to Gresham and coast miles down the Sweetbriar trail to the Willamette River.

Observe the separate traffic signalling for cyclists at strategic locations to prevent the dreaded right hook.

For the last 20 years, every time they repaved a street in Portland they painted a bike lane on it. The weather should be perfect in mid-July.

Don't miss the Voodoo Doughnuts shop at 1501 NE Davis Street.

Portland took out a freeway along their downtown riverfront and made it into a huge park. Nice!

We rented bikes and got great maps at Pedal Bike Tours in downtown Portland. Very convenient if you go there by air and take the Max downtown from the airport.

For the last 20 years, every time they repaved a street in Portland they painted a bike lane on it.

If this is true, that's f'ing awesome! How do we get to that? But I sure wouldn't want to hold up paving just to get a bike lane. Butwaitaminute... Maybe that IS the key!

@Pseudacris. another good list. The Soundgarden has been off limits for years though. You can hear it when you ride your bike through the park but you can't get up close.

^ Apparently, you can still see it with some planning ahead & photo ID.

I am sooooo sick of "Homeland Security."

[edit] here is a nice video of it. The best conditions for hearing it are the worst conditions for recording it (windy!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aGUPZc53cQ&feature=related

yes. hair of the dog adam is one of the best beers in the world, and i have had my share. it is definitely top 5 for me (st. bernardus abt tripel, de dolle oerbier, and drie fonteinen schaarbeekse kriek are others that might make the top 5, for context).

add another upvote for pseuda's take on portland. i would also add:

food trucks!

taco trucks being my personal favorite. darts at horse brass is a fun experience, as is the incredible amount of pacific northwest-ness (and cheese) of tillamook and the surrounding areas (trails, rocky cliffs above beaches, etc. ), a few dozen miles west of portland.

and if you like hoppy beer, there are just too many breweries/brew pubs to list. and if you like beer at all, hair of the dog adam is too good to pass up.

@StuInMcCandless Read the book Joyride by Mia Birk. She was Portland's bike-ped coordinator when Portland became a cycling heaven.The book details how she (and others) got the non-cycling community to accept changes in transportation policy.