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Our day starts and ends at Waterfront Bicycles downtown on the west side of the river. Rental bikes were better than average and Karen Stiles and Jeff Hadley provided excellent service.
We work our way south from the downtown area and cross the Willamette river on the Sellwood bridge. From the bridge, there is a nice view of the Portland downtown area as well as a neighborhood of floating homes.
Leaving the river, we head east on the Springwater trail. This is a "rails to trails" route going through the historic town of Sellwood and on toward the mountains. New bridges such as the one in the picture and a smooth, paved trail make this a nice ride.
Returning to the Willamette river, we head back toward town on the east side esplanade along the river. This area has a rail line to the right and the river to the left. We see an osprey in a tree overhanging the river. The weather is perfect and the trail is busy with people out for the day.
When highways and industry leave no room for a bike trail, what do you do? Simple, just float the trail on pontoons. This area is a highlight of the ride as you literally ride on the river. Looking to the left, you are directly across from the downtown area. Looking ahead is the drawbridge where we will cross back to the other side of the Willamette River.
Our recent getaway weekend included a 30 mile bike ride on Saturday. With a reputation for rain, we lucked into perfect sunny weather in Portland Oregon. Calling Waterfront Bicycle ahead of time was a pleasant surprise. They fit us with much better than average rental bikes and tweaked them to our satisfaction. After providing maps and advice, we were on our way. Going south on the downtown side of the river was crowded but once we crossed to the east side, riding was easier. We did only a short distance on the Springwater trail and will go farther up the trail on our next visit to Portland. The beautiful scenery and the active people in this "green" city made the day memorable.
