I'm in Portland.

Dan and I arrived about noon yesterday. First stop was the cheap hotel that we are staying in. It is conveniently located across the street from the convention center where the handmade bicycle show is. That is the reason we came out here.

We also came to drink some beers. Yesterday afternoon after getting settled in and getting a burger, we headed to the Widmer brewery for some beers and a brewery tour. They provide an interesting tour where I was able to sample more of their beers and then eat a hops pellet. Talk about eating a pellet of bitterness... From there we headed to a McMenamins brewery pub, the White Eagle. They had some fantastic beers and some great food. I also picked up a few bottles for the road. Overall the first day was a smashing success. One of the goals for the weekend is to try 4 new beers we have never tried each day. Yesterday we met this goal and more.

So back to the bike show stuff.... we haven't been yet but saw a few pictures from a couple guys that got into industry day. One cool thing is that bike enthusiasts are everywhere. And not really so much trendy extreme bikers as much as bike geek types. On the flight from chicago to Portland, Dan and I sat in front of two older guys that love bikes and riding old steel bikes. One was a retired metallurgist that is considering starting to build bikes as a business (instead of just the current hobby). He has also ridden across all 48 of the continental US states... most of them on an old loaded bridgestone bike. Guys like that are everywhere as well as are the typical younger industry types who are designing products for some of the big boys. Good times. We are about to head to the show itself this morning. Maybe more later.... maybe not. I will try to take some pictures, though.

Cheers.