Last night was the first night we’ve experienced rain since the first night; and it was very light drizzle. Andrew got up sometime around 6:30am and covered everything we had left out. We woke up at 9:30am...it felt good to sleep in this morning. We ate our all too common breakfast and took our time putting everything away. Andrew took another shower just because he could, then we left the campsite around 11:30am and started towards Portland, about an hour northwest.
Once we got into the city, we weren’t really sure what to do. I was waiting to hear back from someone who lived there which a friend had put us in touch with. As we were driving, we passed a large Goodwill, so we pulled in, attempting to waste time. We ended up spending over 90 minutes in the store. Andrew and I both scored some sweet winter jackets for dirt cheap that we are really stoked about, along with a few other things. We decided to look for the visitor center, but this proved to be a very trying process. Between Andrew’s large truck, heavy traffic, no parking and a GPS that changes its mind every 10 minutes, we finally gave up on that idea. I was able to get on my iPhone and do a little research on Portland. I’ve heard a lot of great things about this city and was really excited to see it, but once we were in the city, it was a little overwhelming. Up to this point, we had been bouncing around from National Parks, Forests and other open spaces, and suddenly we were in the big cit. Needless to say, it was a bit stressful for us.
Through my research, I found Forest Park Recreation Area, a 5,000 acre park with plenty of hiking and biking. We headed in that direction, found the park, but couldn’t find the type of biking trails Andrew was interested in. It was mostly paved roads, not single track type trails. We were quite frustrated at this point with the constant failure of our efforts so we decided to head towards a Starbucks to use their wifi. We both ordered a coffee; I took my computer out and immediately spilled my coffee everywhere, luckily not on my computer. They gave me a new coffee and cleaned up the mess and we got started on figuring out what to do. After an hour or so, we had more of an idea of how to spend our day.
We drove back into the city and found a place to park the car. We got our bikes off the roof rack because we knew it would be easier to get around that way. We road over to Waterfront Park to explore a bit. As we were riding along, I overheard a server say “it’s happy hour for another 30 minutes…” So we locked up the bikes and took a seat. Luckily, it was happy hour on food and drinks. We both ordered a drink and a gyro.
We knew there were a lot of breweries in the area, so we decided to make this evening into a brew assault on bikes. We finished up at the sports bar, then hopped on the bikes and road over to the Bridgeport Brew Pub.
Andrew ordered and IPA and I got a glass of water. As we were sitting there, this awesome bike/beer mobile went pedaling by, loaded down with people. It was hysterical! We’re not sure how they are allowed to drink and pedal around the city, but we like the idea of it. Only 10 people can pedal and 15 can ride.
Once we finished up at Bridgeport, we headed towards Rogue Distillery, the oldest brewery in town. I ordered the Chocolate Stout and Andrew got the Brutal IPA. Both were awesome!
It was after dark by this time and we decided it was probably time to get back to the car, make sure everything was still there and find a place to sleep. We had traveled quite a distance by the time we made it back to the truck and were hot and sweaty. We thought about sleeping right where we had parked, but thought that it may not be a good idea. We looked up truck stops in the area and found a place about 6 miles away. It had showers, a laundromat, movie theatre and more. We were in desperate need of washing some clothes, so we started a load and hung out in the car until they were finished. Showers were $10 a person; we weren’t that desperate yet. It was about 1:00am by the time we climbed in the back of the truck to go to sleep. We weren’t there for more than 10 minutes before someone came knocking of the window flashlight in hand. “We don’t allow sleeping on the premises,” he said. I didn’t say this, but thought, really, I see a whole lot of truckers sleeping right behind me. We had to move everything out of the front seats and back to the bed of the truck then headed towards the next exit. We parked behind a hotel, moved everything one last time and fell asleep.
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About 4:30am, I came into that phase of sleep where you’re half conscious; the kind where you can tell if you awake or dreaming. I kept hearing some kind of repetitive noise. Then I felt the truck move a little. A few seconds later, it clicked. I turned my head to look out the winder of the topper and sure enough, some guys crotch was in my face. It all hit me at once. Someone was trying to steal the bikes off the top of the car and Andrew was out like a light. Instinct took over and I sat up really fast and yelled “HEY!” at the top of my lungs. Everything happened so fast and I can’t remember what other specific words were rolling of my tongue, but they're probably not for repeating. Andrew woke up beside me and had enough knowledge to start yelling too, but not everything had clicked in his head yet. The guy jumped off the tire with a very expensive Ellsworth bike in hand. Andrew was still sitting next to me while his bike began to disappear into the night. I yelled “Go baby, go.” As in, go get that bleeping, bleep of a bleep!! I was pissed! But, Andrew just sat there. I’m thinking, (and excuse my language here)...but what in the hell are you doing sitting here, this guy is running off with your bike!? At the same moment, we both hear him drop it and see his hands swinging back in forth and he kicks it into high gear.
Just at that moment, the car parked next to us starts up and takes off; obviously the get a way car. Andrew gets out and walks over to the bike and as it is in his hands, the get a way vehicle runs it over! He carries it over to the car and puts it back on top of the roof, not wanting to assess the damage tonight, knowing it will put him over the edge. We’re both pumping with adrenaline at this point. After putting two locks on the bikes, Andrew walks off looking for the kid. I sat in the back of the truck, eye wide open and turning my head as every noise I hear. Neither of us know how many others might be hanging around. Eventually Andrew comes back and we try to discuss what the heck just happened. We were both very confused, half asleep and madder than hell.
Just at that moment, the car parked next to us starts up and takes off; obviously the get a way car. Andrew gets out and walks over to the bike and as it is in his hands, the get a way vehicle runs it over! He carries it over to the car and puts it back on top of the roof, not wanting to assess the damage tonight, knowing it will put him over the edge. We’re both pumping with adrenaline at this point. After putting two locks on the bikes, Andrew walks off looking for the kid. I sat in the back of the truck, eye wide open and turning my head as every noise I hear. Neither of us know how many others might be hanging around. Eventually Andrew comes back and we try to discuss what the heck just happened. We were both very confused, half asleep and madder than hell.
Later, Andrew described to me why he didn't jump out of the car immediately. He thought the kid only had a tire. Had he known the bike frame was in his hands, he would have been out of the truck at a more appropriate speed. He was also waiting to see if there was more than one person so he didn’t get jumped and leave me in danger had he took off after the kid. He was pissed at himself for not waking up to the noise, as he is usually a light sleeper, but he was happy that at least I had heard it. It was a good thing the kid dropped the bike because had Andrew chased him down and caught up to him, the kid would probably be sipping food through a straw in the hospital and Andrew would be in jail. And with fire boot camp coming up in about 3 weeks, this probably would not have gone over well.
Now, looking back, I see how those bikes looked like easy picking. We were parked behind a hotel, so the kid probably thought that we were inside sleeping. Since we had just ridden the bikes, we didn’t lock them up…yes, this was very stupid! We must have taken that kid by surprise when we started yelling at him from inside the truck. But seriously, how dumb can you be. If you’re going to rob something on a vehicle, wouldn’t you look inside to see if someone was in it first?!?!
So now what do we do? We had only slept for 2 ½ hours before this happened. It was going to be kind of hard to go back to sleep, but we didn’t think they would be dumb enough to come back and attempt that again. Eventually, we were both able to drift back to sleep. Andrew woke up at every sound throughout the night, not wanted to let his guard down again.
I apologize for not having footage of this. I probably should have gone into the hotel in the morning and asked for their security camera tape..but they probably would not have been happy to know that we were sleeping in our car in their parking lot which was clearing marked ‘for customer’s only.' I can assure you that the video would have made for a good laugh.
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