Comments on: Oregonian blasts Bridge Pedal

By: Deb

Deb — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:28:54 +0000

if there\’s not a Kid Pedal – please require all kids under 6 or 7 to be on a tagalong, or in a burley. Kids on training wheels do not belong on these rides – they were there, I saw more then one.

By: LEE HOFFMAN

LEE HOFFMAN — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:01:20 +0000

My Idea of Bridge Pedal,the time has come to change a few things,first I am an avid cyclist,commuter,downhiller ,freerider, ,the BP has very little to offer a rider like me except the (large crowd) experience,the problem lies in this TOO MANY RIDERS that are illequipped,the small ones are great ,but they are dangerouus to ride with ,they lack the skills necessary to ride in huge groups,the tagalongs and carriers create huge blockages,and have on many occasions caused crashes and scared the kids to death. the course is too small ,too crowded and too unorganized How about lengthening the course,have it on two days? Saturday and Sunday?,or Put the carryons,tagalongs and the like in the rear?the colored bibs mean nothing if the course is being walked instead of ridden!

By: Max

Max — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 04:41:12 +0000

I rode the 8 bridge ride (leaving at 7am?) and I didn\’t have any problems – just fun. No bottleneck at Ross Island Br, plenty of bathrooms, plenty of rest stops. I took a zillion pictures and had a blast.

I guess I just missed all of the problems. I wonder what % shared the same experience as me?

By: the bridge pedal pretty much sucked « The Konami Code

the bridge pedal pretty much sucked « The Konami Code — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 03:32:26 +0000

[...] bridge pedal pretty much sucked 16 08 2007 The very excellent BikePortland.org has a full recap of the 2007 Providence Bridge Pedal, which was a total fiasco this [...]

By: Elly

Elly — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:16:00 +0000

The hardworking folks at Transportation Options (a division of PDOT) are working on creating a (weekly?) free event with several miles worth of major streets are set up as linear parks, where people can walk, bike, rollerblade, or whatever their hearts desire. Right now the first one is slated to coincide with the Towards Carfree Cities conference in June 2008. We\’ll see the real demand for carfree streets then — I suspect that a lot more people will come out than for the Bridge Pedal. It\’s not a benefit (except to the people who turn out, the communities, and the businesses they all patronize along the way) and they\’ll need a lot of volunteers to make it happen. Keep an eye out for your chance!

By: nuovorecord

nuovorecord — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:38:33 +0000

I don\’t ride BP because of exactly the reasons touched on in previous posts – I hate having to deal with hordes of inexperienced cyclists all trying to go the same places. But I recognize the fact that BP isn\’t meant to be a hard-core ride – it is what it is.

In my opinion, BP is a great way to get people used to the idea of riding their bike in the city. But, it seems to have outgrown it\’s current format and I think it\’s time to expand the horizons. I like the idea of a carfree day in Portland.

By: Brad

Brad — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:25:24 +0000

Beth -my take is that Bridge Pedal predominantly attracts casual bike riders (read: fair weather, about 8-10 times a year, summer only, in the neighborhood) and isn\’t designed for \”real\” cyclists or bike culture devotees. It\’s the same lowest common denominator event as the Shamrock Run or Starlight Run – a civic gathering / feel good fest disguised as an athletic event.

There is no concern on the part of the sponsors or directors to accommodate club riders, speed demons, avid bike activists, or anyone other than yuppies and suburbanites looking for the \”edgy\” fun of riding on a freeway. I\’d call it something else but Jonathan runs a family friendly blog – but it rhymes with a \”wherkle serk\” on wheels.

By: beth h

beth h — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:38:30 +0000

I wish there was some way to accurately poll all the bicycle-riders (NOT \”bicyclists\”, but bicycle riders; there\’s a subtle but important difference in what each term connotes) who would love to do something like a Bridge Pedal, but who find the 25-dollar entry fee insulting, unaffordable, or both. For the 20,000 people who participated, I suspect there must be another several thousand who just ride their bikes for transportation — likely because that\’s what they can afford — and who aren\’t at all connected to the \”bike culture\” that Portland touts so highly.

I have long wondered how to reach the segment of bicycle riders for whom \”bike culture\” is irrelevant (because it doesn\’t exist on their radar, they just ride their bikes), or for whom it means some kind of yuppified, elitist trip. I can no longer keep track of the number of customers who tell me each year that they could never afford/justify the steep price of the entry fee for Bridge Pedal.

How do we reach out to people who just ride their bikes, rather than those who think of themselves as \”bicyclists\”? Is Bridge Pedal an effective tool for this? If not, what else might be?

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:09:23 +0000

What I don\’t understand is how much more work it would be to keep the bridges open to PEOPLE for half a day, rather than 5 hours. All of the work to create safe bridges has already been done. What does a few more hours do to harm the event. This allows more time for people to get through, and starting times could be staggered over a longer period.

By: Anon

Anon — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:53:57 +0000

I had a great Bridge Ride that day… At the Mid-Valley Bicycle Club\’s Covered Bridge Ride, out of Albany, OR. Did a metric century in perfect weather with minimal traffic. They did run out of cookies at the lunch stop (but had plenty of other fare).

As to the Providence Bridge Ride, I think the place to start is to ditch the sponsor who cares only for the advertising value, and seek a sponsor that understands the benefits of bicycling in terms of personal and community health.