Getting to Portland with my bike and the luggage was a big worry, having to depend on the airline doing its job. This worry seemed to be justified when I got a text at 5.45am that my flight to Chicago was cancelled!
However, checking their website, alternatives had already been booked, although I had to go via Newark with a 6 hour wait there for my next flight.
Also, at Edinburgh, security flagged up a problem with my bags. I thought it might be the two large aluminum fuel bottles, but no, it was a bar of soap! Maybe it's because nobody uses soap anymore. In the end, everything went smoothly, without no hiccups at all. Although with 24 hour door to door, I was glad to get to my hotel.
Before setting out my family warned me to keep my opinions about Trump to myself. Then, in the plane I was sitting next to Beverly, a young American woman from a rural place near Rolla in Missouri who was doing a Masters on the history of Slavery in the Carribbean. I knew then that I was on safe ground and we had interesting discussions about history teaching, political interference in primary and secondary education, Trump, DeSantis, pros and cons of living in rural America etc. The 7 hour flight passed rather quickly.
At the hotel I unpacked the bike with a bit of trepidation but it was in perfect condition, nothing bent or broken. Although a bit on the heavy side, a mountain bike seems to cope well with drops and bashes inflicted on them by luggage handlers.
The 3rd I spent on shopping and exploring Portland. I was able to find just about everything I needed, although the Americans seem to go for extra large packages for everything, which is a bit of a problem when you have to carry it all on a bike. I also couldn't find White Gas but Kerosene was easy to get and it seems to work with my cooker.
Portland is a very cycling friendly city with motorists stopping for you even if they have right of way. This was a bit confusing at first as you can imagine. They also have lots of trees which makes getting around much more pleasant.
Anyway, it's the bus to Astoria tomorrow and then off to Yorktown on the East coast (only 4,200 miles).