Bike Rack Moment of Zen #2
A few weeks ago, my parents and sister came down to visit the Portland State campus. I gave them the full tour, pointing out the good food carts, listing off the best bathrooms, and showing them all of the places I habitually lock my bike, in order of preference. Of course, during the winter, covered bike parking is at a premium at PSU (the single most popular bike-commuting destination in the city). Generally, I favor the racks under the sky bridge between Cramer and Smith– not only does the sky bridge prevent my saddle from acting like a sponge in wet weather, but I trust that the Girl Scouts, UPS recruiters, and Street Roots vendors who peddle their wares in that spot will notice someone skulking around with bolt-cutters.
My second-favorite place to lock up, though, is at the top of the stairs in front of the PSU library. Not only is the area covered, but it’s usually guarded by hipsters with cigarettes, and they tend to scare off the ne’er-do-wells. Those bike racks are also protected by this cheering graffiti gods-eye:
I’m not particularly spiritual (although I like my uplifting neurochemical cocktails as much as the next person), but it can’t hurt.
Bike Rack Moment of Zen #1
Yesterday, as I was locking up my bike next to Powell’s, I saw this stuck to a window:
Thanks to the miracle of the Interweb, I was able to take this picture with my phone and send it to my friend Kyle, who then used his iPhone to email it me. I’m sure there’s a simpler way to do that.
Update: While it’s not necessarily simpler, in that it involves my phone, two websites, and photo-editing software on my laptop, I did figure out a way to get pictures off my phone without having to talk to Kyle.
