Day 3: Orientation Wrap-up + Shake-down Ride!

8/8/22

Kicked off the day by practicing safety drills before our first group ride through the beautiful city of roses! Feeling extremely grateful for all the work trip leaders and directors have been doing behind the scenes to make this such a pleasant trip so far. This crew has amazed me with how aware, mindful, and curious they are about the places we are seeing and people we are meeting. Our first build day with a local non-profit organization called Taking Ownership in conjunction with our observations from our first ride from a city experiencing gentrification and affordability issues has brought forth thought-provoking and vulnerable discussions around such a difficult topic. I know I’m going to learn a lot from this group - I already have.

Riding around Portland was a dream! Stopped for a lovely coffee (from a local spot that doesn’t charge extra for alternative milks!!!), climbed a hill with a gorgeous view of Mt. Hood, played some tunes on Tabor Hill, and stopped to smell the roses. Group riding is a whole different ballgame than the solo or duo riding I’m more used to, but it sure has its advantages when it comes to safety or for when your clear screw falls off on the trail.

I couldn’t be more excited for everything ahead of us, and I seriously need some help deciding whether I should stay for the whole trip or leave early to go back to school as I planned originally (this group is already making this decision harder than i thought😅)

-Susan Hsin, DW'22