My wallet was feeling overly thick, so I took inventory and found a lot of expired TriMet passes.
As reported in the Payoff! report, I’ve switched over to the Hop Fastpass Card. No longer will I see the monthly color and artwork. It’s just that boring purple card for the foreseeable future. Still, I am saving money.
Just in case you were wondering what the back of the TriMet passes look like.
Let’s talk bike parking. Here, we have two examples of bike racks you would see in Portland, Oregon: the wavy line and the staple. You will notice that nearly every bike is parked perpendicular to the bike rack.
The reason that one should park perpendicular to the bike rack: other people. If we lived in a vast world with few people in it, then it would be fine to lock your bike parallel to the bike rack. But we do not. Bike racks get a lot of use, so you need to leave room for others.
This e-bike riders has not gotten the memo. By choosing to park their bike in this manner, they have denied another biker a spot on the rack. Because these bike racks are full, this is a particularly egregious gaffe.
If one wants to lock up both wheels, this can still be done. After my expensive back wheel was stolen (back in 1996) I started locking both wheels. I lock the expensive back wheel to the rack and lock the less expensive front wheel to my bike frame. I figure two locks are better than one, especially with my economical bicycle.
I’ve shared the train car with these two several times this summer. I’m guessing they are sisters, or good friends headed in the same direction. They spend their time reading together, which I find sweet.
TriMet monthly passes go on sale on the 20th of the month, so I always buy the upcoming pass while the current pass is still working. This means I put the new pass in my wallet behind the current month pass, and then forget about ever removing the out-of-date passes. 
Theoretically, this is $900 of TriMet transportation. But seeing as how each month is only valid for one month, and then becomes worth zero dollars, you are actually looking at a running total of $900, actual value: nada.
I think the first time I bought a monthly transit pass was for the T in Boston. It was probably 1997, and cost $35.00, or maybe $37.00?
Soon these types of passes will go the way of the dinosaur. TriMet is moving to a refillable card, something I’m not at all happy about.
Apparently the Hawthorne Wellness Center can’t share their bike parking. I find this weird and kind of offensive. As you can see, there isn’t a ton of demand, especially considering there are six bike staples in the next parking lot over.
I had a training in southeast Portland, so it was a bus day. On the way home I got to go across the new pedestrian/bike/bus/train-only (no cars) bridge. It’s a pretty bridge.
For nine years I’ve worked for an employer who provided me with a monthly Trimet pass. I have enjoyed this perk, because it means not only do I get myself to work for free, I can get around on weekends for free too. Since we moved to North Portland in 2007, I’ve been commuting more or less daily* on the Max train. My 30 minute door-to-door commute gave me ample time to read, to observe my fellow transit riders and to catch up on social media. I will miss this part of my workday. It’s been great to be a public transportation girl
*Sometimes I rode my bike. Once in a great while I walked.
Think about it. Every stop in the metro area has at least a piece of paper saying what routes service the stop and the stop ID number. Bigger stops have a full poster including bus schedules for all routes. Train stops and some transit centers have multiple posters with schedules. Who are the people who are always making sure these are up-to-date? Today, I caught a picture of one of them.
I was surprised to see this garish fabric peeking out from behind the purple pleather of the Max train Type 2 car. Was this the original fabric? Cursory Google Image searching did not turn up any evidence. 
Looks like someone is heading to the water for some Memorial Day fun. 
Me? I was headed to a few cemeteries.
Work bag is in the back of the lineup, full of book and lunch and phone and camera. Folding bag in the front with old sheet and sewing box. Fancy bag on the right, holding all my pattern class stuff. President Obama is in town and I’m not confident that I can get home after work and then to my Pattern Manipulation Class. So I’m skipping the trip home and just heading over to the pattern class. But that means I have to carry a lot of stuff.
