Tonight: Free hot cocoa in East Portland and a carfree Peacock Lane

Ahh the lights.
(Photo: PeacockLane.net)

In the depths of winter, you need all the encouragement you can get to keep on riding. Thankfully, Portland is full of fun people and events to help break your winter riding doldrums. Two events tonight (and a group ride to one of them) should help make your riding a bit brighter.

If you ride in East Portland, swing by the E Burnside overcrossing of I-205 (9400 E Burnside) tonight between 4:30 and 6:30 for free hot drinks, bicycling information, and more.

The event is being hosted by the East Portland Action Plan Bike Subcommittee (EPAPbike), the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), and the Friends of Trees. This is part of an ongoing effort to promote the active bike community in East Portland.

After that, roll down to Southeast Portland for opening night of the annual holiday lights extravaganza on Peacock Lane. Tonight is the only night of the event’s two-week run where the street is completely closed to cars. That means you can roll (at a walking speed of course), walk, and frolic in the midst of the glorious light displays without ingesting toxic fumes or risking life and limb.

There’s even a pre-Peacock meet-up and ride being hosted by our friends at Shift. Join them for their monthly social at 7:00 pm for drinks at Belmont Station (4500 SE Stark) and then ride over to Peacock Lane at 8:00 pm.

The weather looks nice and dry right now. Let’s hope it stays that way for tonight!

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Evan Ross
13 years ago

Highly recommended! It’s always nice to take advantage of car free streets and the light displays look amazing. Bring the family

Spiffy
Spiffy
13 years ago

ooo, now there’s a lights display close enough for me to make it with my toddler before bed time…

Bill Stites
13 years ago

I’ll be out there volunteering – THIS is really the night to enjoy it … clear air, relaxed atmosphere, and safe for the kids to run around.

We at the Sunnyside NA have been working with the Peacock Lane folks to do more carfree nights in subsequent years. The leaders are really on board, but change is slow as they try to get all the neighbors to agree …

matthew vilhauer
matthew vilhauer
13 years ago

you had me at “free hot cocoa”….

h
h
13 years ago

hope it stays nice for tonight.

Mark Allyn
13 years ago

I just got back. I walked the lane in my lighted raincoat; the kids loved it.

It rained some of the time, but there was a good crowd.

Mark

Spiffy
Spiffy
13 years ago
Reply to  Mark Allyn

I followed behind you most of your walk… with you stopping to answer questions it kept about the same pace as my toddler…

my bike with the xmas lights on it also got some attention, but not as much as your technicolor raincoat…

it barely rained while we were there… started up again just as we were leaving…

very cool to see all the lights on one street… worth the 5 mile ride there and the same but uphill back to outer SE…

CaptainKarma
13 years ago

I just got back, as well, though I have much further to travel…..but yeah it was very charming and if you need an excuse to go for a ride, this would be a good one, even with the cars.
Thanks Peacock Lane NA. Possibly you could squeeze in one more car-free night, or maybe just 1/2 a night?