Righty, I am now back in Portland after a long old trip . . . Highlights are few and far between but I will have ago!

If you are ever looking at coming to America, please do not go to Orlando. There is only one reason to go to Florida and that is the Kennedy Space Centre, so unfortunately I will be returning for that very reason! I can I justify my comment about Florida? Well, it was hot and Humid . . . That is all you need to know . . . Oh and full of little shits from Manchester. . .

Onwards to the next destination . . . Las Vegas. What a hole. The best thing about LV is the view flying in, it its very impressive. I think I can handle the place for maybe 1 or 2 days but then I would go crazy . . . The only gambling that took place was when I was checking in . . . 45mins of mayhem ensued before giving up and going to bed. I returned to the desk in the morning to try and resolve it and left with a bill that looked correct. When I checked my bank balance today I have not been charged correctly for the room. In fact I have been fully refunded . . .

Skipping on to something more interesting I got to spend a full day in San Fransico! A Saturday in the bay area, how cool is that! So obviously we (Dave, Chris and myself) dug out a map, marked all the sights to see in downtown and jumped in our rental car . . . to go surfing. Like I am going to spend a day in 90 degree heat walking around a city . . .

We went to Half moon bay, not to Mavericks but to another part that is where surf schools are held. We took our boards and proceeded to get beaten up my mother nature for our sins. The problem was the waves had a lot more power in them then you get in the UK, so although I was aiming for small breaks (3-4 feet) you ended up with the front of the board plunged into the water and being thrown off. I did catch a big wave by accident . . . Trust me, it ended in an accident. It looked like it was going to be a nice 3-4 feet, but I did not realise how far out I was. I caught it nicely, realised I had picked up lots of speed and I was way to forward on the board. I tried moving back on the board but it was too late, the nose got pushed under, I slipped off and I was rolling under the waves in the foetal position being hit by my board . . .

We stayed out for a few hours and then dropped the stuff off back at the rental place. We got invited in for a BBQ which was nice, just hanging out with the surf shop owners, was really cool!

The rest of the trip was pretty non-descript, except for the atrium at the Marriot I stayed in. It was huge! As soon as we walked in I wanted to go to the top floor (10^th or 11^th I think) and throw a paper plane into the atrium to see if I could make it spiral down. They other guys did not think it was a good idea so I did not get a chance to do it . . Boo hiss . . .

Another point of note is I have once again done my best to prevent the “squid end of the universe” scenario arising by having Calamari for 6 straight days . . . . If you do not understand, I am not explaining.

I am now back in Portland and I have a top few days in fornt of me. I think the Timbers are playing on Friday night. This means I have to get my bike fixed so I can cycle to the game.

Yes that’s right, I have broken the Wal-mart special already. Not sure if I have mentioned this on the blog yet but a couple of weeks ago there was the Portland beer festival. It was on the Friday before I was travelling for work and the idea was if I got all my stuff packed and sorted then I would go meet the guys for a quick jar. SO I got there with about 10mins to spare, downed a couple of beers and went bar hopping. When the end of the night drew in and the guys were making their way to cabs/trains etc . .. they were walking and I was on my bike. We crossed a road and when I got to the pavement on the other side I did not realised how big a step up the curb it was literally 18”. So I got the front wheel over it, but the back did not make it. This meant I got flipped over the handle bars, landed flat on my back, much to the amusement of all the people I their cars.

Still, a least I was not damaged (unlike from the break dancing competition the week before . . . . .) the damage to the bike was the chain came off and the derailleur’s are out of alignment . . .

Tonight I am off to watch Talladega nights (saw a snippet last night, really funny!). It does mean I am going miss the Timbers play tonight, but they are at home again next Friday so I can watch them then. Not doing to good at the mo . . .

Saturday I am heading up to Timberline for some long over due snow action. For $43 I get to play on the snow from 7:30am to about 1pm. I am really looking forward to it. I will get some piccies so you guys can see what it looks like up Hood in the summer. Full report to follow.

Christa is having a party on Saturday afternoon, Hawaiian themed, so it is snow in the morning and then boardies in the afternoon!

Sunday is the Portland bridge ride. There are something like 8 bridges in Portland and they all get closed off for this big bike ride. I am think about doing in, but it is a 7.5 mile ride to the start, then 24-35 miles of riding (depending which one you opt for) then another 7.5 miles home . . . not sure about it at the mo . . .I may be too hung over and just need a good sleep in!

Next Thursday is the Vans international event in the Rose quarter. Why is this important? Well, Snowboard rail jam. Yep, lots of snow and stuff to motivate me! I will be taking a camera and I let you know how it goes.

So as you can see the next week or so is going to be a lot of fun, I have lots of snowboarding, bike riding and football to look forward to! Not to mention that I am going to be back in the UK in a couple of weeks, more info on that to follow later!

Oh and Tons-O. I have changed my link format, I prefer the things to open in the same window, but as you asked so nicely I have tried to make a change for you!

Oh, Looks like I will be around for ManU V Spurs, we need to make some plans . . .