Timbers play the Impact; Skate Decks; Oral Surgery

After a devastating loss to Crystal Palace Baltimore on Thursday and squandering two points in a tie with AC St. Louis on Saturday, not all is well in Timbers-land.  Despite dramatically out-shooting both opponents (16-5 over Crystal Palace and 14-3 over AC St. Louis) the boys dropped 5 points to two of the lowest ranked teams in the league².  Sometimes the Timbers have an unfortunate tendency to play down to the level of their opponent, but Ryan Pore has seemingly lost the spark that he showed in the first four games of the season and players like Johan Claesson and Quavas Kirk simply phoned in lackluster performances.  The consensus amongst the Army seems to be that the best thing about Saturday was the promotional giveaway of skateboard decks.

This seeming malaise is worrisome coming into tomorrow's match against the unbeaten Montreal Impact (2-0-2).  In the third game of the season, the Impact held the Timbers to a 1-1 draw and, despite the added difficulty of playing at PGE Park, will be looking to add to their point total.  Given that Timbers have had difficulties in the past with bottom-of-the-table teams, I doubt that Montreal are expecting an easy time of it, but I fervently hope that the last two games have awakened the boys after two weeks off.  There's unfinished business between our two sides.

We'll be at the usual meetup at The Standard starting at about 4 pm.  Come join us (but don't forget your jacket)!

On another note, some disorganization and injuries (as mentioned in the post title) prevented my showing for Sunday Parkways, but it was good to hear that some people made it out to enjoy the glorious weather.  Some antibiotics, a little tooth removal, and I'll be right back out there riding with y'all!

Smarter and better match previews can be found at:
portlandtimbers.com
montrealimpact.com
daveknows:portland
Dropping Timber
The Offside
RowdiesPDX

Pre-match discussion is over on SCUSA.

It's National Bike Month!

After a bit of a mental health break, we're back in action, and it's National Bike Month! There's so much going on that it would be a little bit rediculous to try to mention it all, so we've pulled out some of our favorites for you. (You can find the whole schedule over at PBOT's website.)

Bike to Work Breakfast
Tuesday, May 11th from 7:30-9:00 am. at Pioneer Courthouse Square
PBOT will be serving free bagels, fruit, donuts, coffee and tea in honor of National Bike Month and to say 'Thanks for riding'!
Learn all about it over at PBOT.

Ride of Silence
Wednesday, May 19th, 7:00 pm at either 305 NE Wygant, meet up at the Bike Farm, or at the NW corner of SW 5th & Hall Blvd, on the Beaverton library lawn.
Please come and help us honor those injured or killed while biking. General information on this event is available at rideofsilence.org.

Sunday Parkways
Sunday, May 16th, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm, various locations.
Sunday Parkways is "a 2-way route of city streets open to walk, bike, roll, run, jump, and skip - without having to watch out for cars! The 5.8-mile Northeast Portland Sunday Parkways route will have two loops, connecting Woodlawn, Alberta, Fernhill, and Wilshire Parks. Food, music, and activities are located in the parks and along the route." More information on events, locations, and opportunities for volunteering at portlandonline.com.
Also, the TABB has volunteered to spread the Timbers love by riding the Sunday Parkways route and doing our thing! Come ride with us! I'll post meetup times and details in this space shortly.

It's going to be a long few weeks off until the next Timber's game. I'll try to keep everyone entertained in the meantime. Now forget about the weather - get out there and ride!