PORTLAND, Ore. — NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt visited Portland on Sunday and Monday as he kicks off the newscast’s “Across America” tour.
Holt's first stop Sunday was a quick ride with the Ride Like A Girl and Black Girls Do Bike groups along the river. There was quite the caravan on the Eastbank Esplanade, with Lester interviewing five women as he rode.
Associate producer Alicia Hastey said the NBC crew was impressed by Portland's love of bikes.
“I think we were a little surprised that the numbers are so significant and the number of people who bike and even as we look over now there's a dozen people and its in the middle of the day on a Monday,” she said.
Holt also spent time with Lincoln High School students who cooked for the homeless.
These stories aired Monday on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.
PHOTOS: Lester Holt visits Portland
Holt also strolled through the South Park Blocks with KGW's Laural Porter and Tracy Barry on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday morning he appeared on the KGW Sunrise show, where he got a special breakfast from Lisa Schroeder of Mothers Bistro and a coffin full of doughnuts from Voodoo.
He and Drew Carney also revisited the story of Holt's biggest fan, 8-year-old Jaden.
After an eventful morning at KGW, Holt prepared to anchor NBC Nightly News from Portland's Eastbank Esplanade.
Finally, on Tonight with Cassidy, Cassidy Quinn quizzed Holt on his "weird" Portland knowledge.