Hey WTR,
I'm from 'portlandish' OR, too. The roads I live off (mostly Farmington)= full of gravel trucks, Joebob and Dwaine in their big ugly pickups (no offense, jobob! ) and kids in their noisy, beefed up cars *hides her neon*...

that said, there are still some bikeable places if you justlook around... depending on what part of 'portlandish' you're in, Beaverton has decent support for bike commuters, but Hillsboro and FG seem to be a little lacking except on the main roads (someone correct me if I'm wrong...)

just... pick your battles wisely.