20 June 5, 2022The Sunday TimesTravel USA
two themes were often
combined. Once we hit the
open road in our minibus, the
snow-touched suburbs of
southeast Portland quickly
made way for the arid
landscapes of the Warm
Springs Indian Reservation,
where we stopped for lunch
and to meet a former tribe
council member, Bridget.
The reservation was
formed in 1855 when the US
government proposed a treatytime on this trip, “en route”
turned out to be a misplaced
description.
The six-day, 910-mile
adventure from Portland to
San Francisco promised
an emphasis on the great
outdoors and culinary
highlights. Both are abundant
across Oregon and California,
two west coast states known
for their lush environment
and counterculture.
As with the bike tour, theI
t was during a leisurely
bike tour of food trucks
in the leafier end of
Portland — after an
orange-peel-infused
cold brew from Upper Left
Coffee Roasters and before
a “secretly vegan” breakfast
sandwich that would have
triumphed in a blind taste
test — that I spotted the
slogan on our guide Edwin’s
hoodie, as if it were a parental
advisory sticker. “You are not
en route,” it declared. “You
are already here.”
Our ten-strong tour group
had already proved the
phrase. We had spent the
morning following Edwin
and his black labrador,
Bear, veering through the
neighbourhoods of rainy
Portland with our rented bikes
and cycling helmets like the
world’s least threatening gang.
When the showers were
heavy, we ducked for shelter
underneath trees. Otherwise
we spent the ride admiring the
bold murals emblazoned on
spare walls, and noting the
abundant political signs and
posters along these wide
residential streets — such as
the Stop sign with “racism”
scrawled underneath.
Ultimately, it was one big
loop that elongated the
starting point of Intrepid
Travel’s new tour between
two great cities on America’s
Pacific coast.
It’s a well-timed addition,
given that British Airways’
Covid-postponed direct flights
from London Heathrow to
Portland have finally
launched. Yet not for the lastShilpa Ganatra makes the most
of new flights to Portland with
a tour showcasing the best of
Oregon and north California
HIGHLIGHTS
OF THE
WEST
COAST