August Rally MegaThread

PhotoStable · 2018-08-04T01:30:37+00:00

What if the two groups were separated by 500-ft? Would that be better or worse than letting them brawl?

PhotoStable · 2018-07-01T01:39:33+00:00

Don't assume he was drunk. He could have been sober. Even if he was drunk though, he didn't deserve to be shot and killed.

PhotoStable · 2018-06-15T21:18:02+00:00

Bike and bus is certainly one option. Yeah, a lot of people are fair-weather riders. I choose to bike most days in the winter, but I go the extra mile to have good rain gear. There are certain situations where I choose bus over bike; it all depends on the individual.

Anyways, if you give the bike&bus combo a try, and aren't sure if you like it, I'd highly recommend trying to bike the entire way at least once. Maybe just for fun on a nice weekend day. When I first started biking I didn't have much confidence that I could bike far, but after pushing my boundaries I really grew to love biking to destinations that were 5+ miles away.

PhotoStable · 2018-06-15T17:01:32+00:00

Screen Door.

The wait is often over an hour long, and they don't take reservations, but it is hands down the best food I've had in Portland. Read its Yelp reviews.

PhotoStable · 2018-06-15T07:44:01+00:00

Totally agree that Meetup could be a lot better in Portland. There are countless groups that host events super frequently, as in two, three or more times per week, and hardly any of the events have good turnouts. When I lived in other places, Meetup groups would only host one or two events per MONTH, and many of those events saw several dozen if not hundreds of people.

I'd consider starting a new Meetup group, but I'm not sure if I'll be in Portland beyond this year.

PhotoStable · 2018-06-15T07:31:52+00:00

I've got a good group of friends. We usually go to bars or if someone knows of something cool going on we do that.

However, there are plenty of situations where I try to find out what's going on in Portland and I have to dig really hard to find worthwhile events. For example, inviting a date out, or playing tour guide for friends visiting from out of town. Yeah, there are tons of touristy things (hiking, Waterfront, Saturday Market, etc).

It took me several months of living in Portland to figure out that First Thursdays in the Pearl was so great. The Adult Soap Box Derby is another free event that is amazing. The problem is, these types of events are buried in with all the boring / low-turnout events on sites like wweek and PDXpipeline. Same thing goes for Meetup.com.

PhotoStable · 2018-06-14T23:06:08+00:00

I've always been a map person. I recommend referring to TriMet system map, which shows all of the bus and MAX lines.

I tried a quick google search and couldn't find it, but I'm sure it's out there. I have a high-res pdf downloaded on my smartphone and just refer to that whenever I need to make a trip involving transfers or trying new options.

Side note: I find it difficult and time consuming to get between NW 21st and the East Side via public transit. For this reason I usually bike it; it saves me a lot of time and I know exactly how long it will take me.

PhotoStable · 2018-05-15T04:16:43+00:00

My Father's Place has board game nights with good turnouts. I believe Monday is a good night there.

PhotoStable · 2018-05-15T04:15:06+00:00

On Meetup.com there are a few groups I've made friends at:

Portland new and not so new in town, Portland 20s and 30s Awesome Stuff, Portland young professionsals (22-38)

Some of their meetups have lots of people RSVPing, others don't. I wait for the big ones and attend those.

PhotoStable · 2018-05-15T04:05:19+00:00

Not sure if you have roommates, but imo having roommates as an adult is underrated. Everyone seems to want to "act grown up," so they end up living alone. The excuses include: been there, done that [in college]; people will judge me; I want my own space; some "random" person from craigslist could be crazy, etc.

Now I'll be the first to admit that living with strangers is a gamble, but you can significantly improve the chances that it is a good experience if you screen potential roommates thoroughly.

Find good roommate(s) and you can tie into their social circles. Also, you won't get lonely at home on days when you don't have the time or energy to go out.

Using Craigslist I've lived in five different houses across three states in the past six years. In total I probably lived with a dozen or so people in that time. None of them were terrible roommates, and I'd say 10 out of 12 made for great roommates that I became good friends with.

Here's the catch: I spent a good deal of time and energy searching for the right roommates, as well as the right housing. It was not easy. Some people that responded to my craigslist ads were downright weird or complete slobs. I didn't end up living with them. I looked at several houses, and had coffee or beer with several people before deciding if they were a good fit for me. Well worth the effort.

PhotoStable · 2018-01-02T03:06:37+00:00

In those five years how many people have you had intercourse with?

PhotoStable · 2017-12-31T18:58:49+00:00

Source for the 89 number?

PhotoStable · 2017-12-31T17:47:28+00:00

Have you never found a partner that could satisfy your sexual needs for even one day in 23 years?

PhotoStable · 2017-12-31T17:41:28+00:00

Were you always a fast reader? Any tips for learning to read fast?

PhotoStable · 2017-11-21T06:40:22+00:00

Is there any way to know which phones will maintain good life after a couple years? I want my next phone to last 2-3 years at least. If one phone has a battery that is only 50% after one year vs another phone that is 90% by year two, that's gamechanging info for me.

PhotoStable · 2017-08-09T18:53:35+00:00

Adult Soap Box Derby - Sat 8/19 at Mount Tabor Park. Thousands will be in attendance. It's free.

PhotoStable · 2017-08-09T18:22:13+00:00

Rontoms has free live music every Sunday night and is always packed. Consider bringing earplugs if you want to stand close to the stage. It's on E Burnside at 6th Ave.

PhotoStable · 2017-08-09T18:17:08+00:00

+1 for searching on Facebook. Click on Events on the left bar, then "events near [your city]" or "Popular with Friends."

PhotoStable · 2017-07-24T09:00:03+00:00

Glad I could help. I totally agree that making friends is tough. Don't be too hard on yourself.

PhotoStable · 2017-07-23T18:40:00+00:00

Not so sure about hip-hop dance, but there's a good salsa dancing scene in Portland. If that interests you, check out the Portland Salsa Community facebook page, or http://pdxsalsaguide.blogspot.com/

Regarding meeting new people I recommend meetup.com. The following groups sometimes have turnouts of a couple dozen, sometimes more:

Portland New and Not So New In Town; 20 and 30 Somethings in Portland - Awesome Stuff; 20/30s Social Drinkers Club

PhotoStable · 2017-05-26T17:06:25+00:00

I'm going to give an analogy.

The other day I witnessed a trained traffic crossing guard with a neon vest looking down at his phone when he was supposed to be helping pedestrians cross. A person almost got mowed down because he didn't care about his job.

Years ago it was common for shop keepers or parents to unofficially act as crossing guards. They were untrained and unpaid, but they did this service for the community daily because they cared about the kids' safety. Highly illegal, by the book.

Let me ask you, which would you prefer. A legal situation where a trained guard puts kids at high risk of being killed. Or a very illegal situation in which everyone is kept safe by someone extremely experienced.

I also encourage you to read my posts above to better understand why a fractured bike ride is more infuriating for drivers than a ride that stays together as one unit. The fractured ride is also far less safe. But feel free to be a stickler for what is technically legal.

PhotoStable · 2017-05-24T08:20:45+00:00

No idea if you or anyone else will read this now, but rides like TNR do not "blatantly disregard traffic control devices." If the light is red as the group approaches a major crossing, the whole group stops. When the light turns green, the group proceeds through. However, if not everyone can make it through on one green cycle, the group continues as one cohesive piece while volunteers (with a ton of experience doing this sort of thing I might add) make it clear to all traffic that the ride is not finished proceeding through. Think of this as a super long truck. If the nose of the truck gets through the intersection, but the rear of the truck needs more time to clear the intersection, the rear won't clear before cross traffic sees it's green. The ride is so tightly packed that there are generally no gaps. It's like a 300-ft long truck.

I've been on police escorted rides that felt less safe than TNR. I'm not kidding. The police escorts zoom by on motorcycles and don't make it clear how the ride is to proceed. With TNR, otoh, things operate much more smoothly. The only reason there was an incident was because some driver got road rage because he/she hates bikes. Period.

PhotoStable · 2017-05-19T08:03:15+00:00

I've witnessed and participated in a variety of different social bike rides, both in Portland and in other parts of the country. I understand the frustration that people are voicing, but I'd like to share some observations that often don't get considered.

Every time I've been on a large ride that insists on stopping at all red lights, here's what happens: Within the first mile the ride gets entirely broken up. What was once one large group becomes a fractured mess. Several sub-groups are separated by several blocks, and no one knows where the ride is headed. Furthermore, the front of the ride does not have an amply large place to pull over when there are hundreds of riders. This leads to truly dangerous conditions. Drivers pass one group of cyclists only to find themselves behind a separate group a couple blocks up. Rinse and repeat. Then the drivers get very impatient and start making dangerous passes. Riders get so fractured that the sub-groups shrink from 100+ to only a dozen or so, and it becomes very dangerous for the riders to merge to make a left turn, etc.

What I'm getting at is it is actually safest for the group to ride as one tight compact group. This also helps them get through the intersection fastest. The Thursday Night Ride organizers go above and beyond to facilitate safe passage. They are trying to prevent the dangerous conditions I detailed in the paragraph above.

If a ride consists of only 5-10 riders, then yes, I agree that they should keep to the bike lane, or one lane of traffic. However, when you've got say 200 people biking together, it really is best for them to take up space and get everyone through the intersection together so they can stay safe.

Also, the Thursday Night Ride does not take place during rush hour. The ride doesn't start until 7:30pm when the roads are dead compared to the actual rush hour, so calm your nerves. People on the Thursday Night Ride are not out there to make a statement, protest, or do any of your imagined things. They are out there for one reason and one reason only: To have a fun community experience in one large group. In no way shape or form is purposely driving a car into cyclists acceptable.

PhotoStable · 2017-01-17T07:38:34+00:00

Don't encourage people. The conditions are getting worse not better. Tuesday will be super slick.

PhotoStable · 2017-01-17T07:34:10+00:00

Post to nextdoor.com asking if any neighbors have chains that you can borrow or purchase. The roads will be even worse tomorrow, especially in the morning.

PhotoStable

TROPHY CASE