Peter's Commute Home

Now that the Winter Solstice has come and gone the days are getting longer. Yet, you wouldn't know it by my work schedule which has been keeping me at work late and leaves me riding home in the dark. It's a nice thing I am on the Springwater Path and my interactions with vehicles are minimal for most of my commute. It makes it hard not to bike in to work becuase there's not much of an excuse if you've got lights that are bright and good gear. Someone the other day talked about that ("I don't have rain pants") and then was off to the gym to attend a spin class. Earl Blumenauer has a fun rant about this where he says folks are sitting in traffic on their way to the gym to ride a stationary bicycle. He (and I) would prefer to see folks on their bikes.

Tram with Amelia

It was a rainy day in Portland and Susan was off with Abby at a birthday party, so what better time to spend with Mia than at the Tram. I hadn't ridden the tram for awhile and Amelia has never ridden without being in a child carrier. I also had a free tram ticket that I got from 2007, so figured might be time to use it. The tram is quite a marvel of engineering. Upon arrival at the top at OHSU, walking over the pedestrian bridge the Veteran's Hospital adds another nice stop on the trip. The pedestrian bridge was built in 1992 and connects OHSU Hospital and the VA Medical Center in what is the longest suspended pedestrian skybridge in North America, with a length of 660 feet.