Photos from a 'Cycling Circus' on Mississippi Ave
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on June 13th, 2011 at 10:51 am
(Photos © J. Maus)
Once again the Cirque du Cycling fest took over North Mississippi Avenue on Sunday. The event had something for everyone — from kids, to kids at heart, to serious racers.
The Family Ride was much larger than I remember it being a few years ago. The huge turnout is symbolic of how family biking continues to explode in Portland. It was also interesting to see the wide variety of bike set-ups; from tandems with traditional child seats, to trikes, bakfiets, and longtails, there was a bit of everything...
After the Family Ride it was time for the Bike Parade. The Belligerantes, a chopper bike gang, school bike trains, the Pedalounge, and many more fun entrants took part...
The much-anticipated Cargo Bike Race was dominated by Bullitts (although, a Metrofiets came in second), a model made by Danish company Larry vs. Harry (and sold locally by Splendid Cycles). I'm not sure who actually won; but it was someone on a Bullitt. The actual cargo aspect of the race left a bit to be desired, as there were no officials on hand to make sure competitors loaded up specific types of items. Some racers threw in light and small items, while I saw one guy take the time to strap an old toilet to his Xtracycle! Overall, it was very fun to watch the race and a good time was had by all (read a recap from competitor Travis Wittwer)...
The Cirque Criterium once again drew the city's top racers onto a thrilling course around Mississippi Avenue. People lined the streets to cheer on their favorites and there was a lot of exciting race action in both of the day's races...
It was an amazing day for bikes and for people who love them.
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Hells bells this makes me miss Ptown, then I remember the winters up there and am glad I'm in Capitola CA. ;)
Recommendedawesome fun! wish I could have made it...
RecommendedGood times!
RecommendedI love that shot of the cargo bike trike. Great capture.
RecommendedI think you've exceeded your smugness quotient for the entire year with this post.
RecommendedAwesome photos as always, Jonathan! Thanks for getting into the heart of the event and capturing so much of the fun.
HUGE thanks to all the creative bikers who were in the parade this year. We had about 16 groups and about 200 people. It was so long that the front of the parade looped around and met the back for the parade for a couple of minutes. Over time, I hope to see this parade get so wild that it outshines long-standing parades like the Twilight Parade with the most creative floats - all bike themed!
The Cargo Bike Race great! Racers got to choose their items for pick up (all carefully chosen to give wide variety). Some chose to showcase bravado with large items, others went weeny and took smaller pieces. Whoever raced there first got the pick of the bunch. Perhaps we need to somehow handicap Bullitts next year, or have them in their own field since I heard a lot of cargo racers comment "Of COURSE the Bullitts were in front....). We were really pleased with how well that race went the first time around and now have plans to expand it in years to come.
Thanks for coming out and celebrating bike with us - in the middle of the street!
Next up from Good Sport Promotion: Petal Pedal, a tour of the Willamette Valley's roads less traveled on June 18 in Silverton (1 hour from PDX) with a gourmet dinner and FREE BEER FROM HOPWORKS! It's a gorgeous ride along quaint, quiet roads. http://www.PetalPedal.com
Recommendedyou dont need to handicap bullitts. the cargo itself should be the handicap, on both riders and bikes that cant handle it. of course the bullitts were in front, because all other things being equal, they were the best bike for the task as they are hands down the fastest, lightest unladen cargo bikes on the market - and for all practical purposes, we were riding unladen cargo bikes in a flat, straight time trial.
if this happens again next year, i am totally available to assist - and not just to bias the race to suit me :). but the bottom line should be BIGGER, HEAVIER CARGO - in all honesty, i could have carried anything in those piles in my messenger bag...
Recommendedoh and lest i seem ungrateful or anything like that - THANK YOU (and brad and kevin and anyone else involved) for putting the cargo race together. i may lament the lack of monster cargo, but it was a hoot regardless, both for racers and spectators.
RecommendedLooks like that was a lot of fun, and yeah, I think the Bullitts were actually designed to be sporty (for a cargo bike). I think Larry vs. Harry is a Danish, not Dutch company, by the way.
RecommendedNow hold on bullet folk, that was a metrofiets up near the front. Big, heavy, steel and wood metrofiets.... Then again I had an aero helmet
RecommendedSlight correction. The Bullitts are designed by Larry vs. Harry, a company from Copenhagen, Denmark. They are fun bikes
The field wasn't totally dominated by the Bullitt.
In second place, Joshuah Hutchens riding his 8 speed METROFIETS!
Joshuah is a partner at Cyclepath cycle shop and the proud owner of his METROFIETS cargo bike.
RecommendedBTW - Craig Bartholomaus was the winner of the Cargo Bike Race. Way to Go Craig!
RecommendedSuper fun cargo race. Thank-you so much Good Sport Promotion and Team Beer and Kevin Z. I align myself with Joel - Aim for 200 pound total payload, awkward shapes, please. Lashing is an important facet of real cargo biking. Lashing quickly is a very spectator-friendly spectacle. Lashing quickly often leads to spilled loads too - also very spectator-friendly.
Longtails, Long Johns, cargo trikes - 80% of them have a 200lb+ payload rating. Let's see a race that tests the machines to their engineered limits!
Recommendedthanks Brad and Portland too!
RecommendedAndrew and I tested those limits...and they were super fun!
RecommendedAnd somehow we achieved not last!
RecommendedCase- was that you with the passenger? LOVED the passenger! I had fun watching but would've liked an introduction to the riders/bikes from the MC, since it was a small field, and I agree that more challenging cargo would be even more fun to watch!!
RecommendedSuper fun, as always.
...and...I still call Andrew the winner for having the clout to load a loo!
Recommended