I ditched work on Thursday to familiarize myself with the Land of Port a bit better by joining up with fifteen other people on bikes and Dr. #1 Badass (planetary geology professor) at the Washington Park Zoo MAX stop.

The four and a half hour tour began by reviewing the excellent MAX station display of a drill core sampled during construction of the Red Line. Its corresponding timeline set the framework for our understanding of the geologic development unique to this region and foreshadowed the stops we would make later in the afternoon.

Professor #1 Badass, currently teaching at UNLV, was a genial and informative guide who enthusiastically answered a litany of interesting questions posed by ride members. We discussed the slow motion drift of the Zoo area, explaining why it is a better location for a park than a housing development. We witnessed the result of a recent landslide then bombed down to Burnside and 24th to see the fault line which defines the edge of the west hills and plays an important part in the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

From here, we traveled to the west waterfront and heard how human attempts to control the river allowed a downtown to exist in a relatively dry state...for now.

Then it was off to Sullivan's Gulch to hear from local historian Shawn Granton about the long term and near term development of the area starting waaay back when the entire region was under water and the Gulch developed as a submerged channel; the path of least resistance for water, silt and house-sized bits of debris. In the blink of time witnessing modern development, this area is the path of least resistance in which to locate transportation lines.

Remaining riders ventured on to Alameda Ridge. After a brief stop on one of Alameda's hidden stairways we were off to Rocky Butte (by way of Annie's Donuts, who opened up specially thanks to Rev. Phil's masterfully pathetic plea) to climb up the volcanic feature and get the big picture of the Cascade Range, the Willamette and Columbia River Valleys and the skyline of the West Hills. Participant Steve won a free burrito coupon from BikePortland sponsor, Laughing Planet for his enthusiastic participation and endurance. He called this ride the most informative of Pedalpalooza thus far.

A little tired but full of donuts, we bombed back down feeling more knowledgeable about the geologic history of the Northwest and encouraged to live for the moment because the cataclysmic events that shaped this place are not taking the day off for Pedalpalooza.

[Thanks to Carye Bye for this report (via the Shift list) on the Oregon Sesquicentennial Ride that she organized in honor of our state's 150th birthday. You can see her photos of the ride here, and check out BikePortland's photos from the start of the party here.]

Oregon is celebrating its 150th Birthday all year long! About twenty cyclists met up to celebrate in style. We had two Beavers, some Oregon themed shirts, and many of us dressed up in Oregon’s state colors Blue & Yellow (Gold and Navy if you are picky).

At the start we had a little Birthday Cake, lit the candles and Sang "Happy Birthday Oregon." Four people won best costume and got a fabulous Oregon-Beaver drink coaster set (thanks SCRAP!) and four Natives of Oregon won special arm-band garters with a picture of Oregon. Everyone got buttons to wear!

Each person put something about Oregon on a name tag. One person had eaten cherries off 10 + trees in Woodlawn neighborhood that week. Another admitted she loved rain. One person proudly proclaimed CAR-FREE in Oregon and I said that I’d been to the Slug-Queen festival in Eugene – which is fabulous beyond words, by the way.

Our first stop was the Woody Guthrie Circle at the Bonneville Power Administration Building in the Lloyd. Dan Miller brought his little guitar and we sang “Roll, on Columbia.” Dan even wrote up one of his own verses to sing! The great folk singer Woody was hired by the government to make folks songs about the new dams being built up the Columbia in the 1940s as a campaign to appease the public. After three rounds of singing, ‘homeland security” showed up and told us to stop taking pictures! But didn’t say to stop singing.. but we were on our way to our next stop anyway. Strange!

Next up was the Portland State Building. Inside there are two incredible glass murals, one of Multnomah Falls and one of Bridge of the Gods. Also in the center of the lobby is a gold ring hanging from the ceiling with Oregon’s State motto: "She flies with her own wings."

As we were looking at the murals…. A BIG SURPRISE happened. SESKI THE SASQUATCH came out between the two murals! Seski is Oregon’s State Mascot for the Sesquicentennial celebrations all year! I had been leaving notes for him in Forest Park (his local accommodation) inviting him to ride with us, and well, he came!

It was a media frenzy, everyone had their cameras out. No one could believe they were meeting a real Big Foot! When I announced that Seski would be riding with us, there were squeals of delight!

Around the corner from the Portland State Building at NE 7th & Lloyd Blvd is a display of Oregon’s State Symbols from Beaver to Douglas Fir, from Western Meadow Lark to the Oregon Grape. But something was missing! Oregon’s Mascot. So I did the honors and added Seski to the Hall of Fame of State symbols!

Our group cycled on with Seski in a Pedicab generously donated by Portland Pedicabs and we paraded down to the Waterfront and rode lower Steel Bridge to Salmon Fountain. People on the waterfront were so excited to see Seski! When we arrived at Salmon Fountain there were some youth group activities and the kids went nuts when they saw Seski. One boy ran over. "I love you!!!!" he screamed.

We pedaled into Chapman Square where there is a Pioneer Oregon Trail family sculpture that was erected in 1993 for the 150th anniversary of the Oregon Trail. Here we took many Seski photos, and bid him adieu.

The rest of us went up to the Oregon Historical Society to see the "Oregon, My Oregon" exhibit. We also looked at the tromp de l'oeil mural outside showing Lewis & Clark & others. I didn’t know how many folks would show up so I told the museum 30 to 60 people. So they had three docents ready for us. But with twenty we could have easily stayed as a group, but each docent really wanted to give a tour. I first showed everyone my favorite item at OHS, the Portland Penny that decided Oregon’s name. We split up our group with the three volunteer docents and each group started in different parts of the exhibit. I wasn’t so keen on this, and many of us missed a lot of the exhibit this way since we had an hour to see everything. And I really like to go in chronological order. Oh well, the docents were really sweet and loved telling us about the exhibit.

We lost a few here I think to visit the rest of the museum, and about 10 of us went to the carts to get some food and then went down to the waterfront for the last part of the tour: a visit to the Founder’s Stone! (This is curiously hidden off Naito Parkway just south of Morrison Bridge. There are no paths to it, and it was dedicated in the 1940s.) So we had a dramatic play to reenact the famous Naming of Portland story with Dan Miller as the Bostonian Asa Lovejoy and Allan Folz as William Pettygrove who hailed from Portland, Maine. At first the two pioneers wanted to have a pistol duel in the naming, but the audience said, We have an idea: how about a coin toss, and luckily we had a giant Portland Penny! Of course this play kept getting interrupted by random sprinklers turning on us, and then we’d scream and find a new area of the park, and then it happened again. But finally the city’s fate was sealed. Pettygrove won the coin toss, and Portland is still Portland.

The tour ended just in time to meet up with the Ice Cream social on Broadway Bridge!

As the traditional grande finale to Pedalpalooza, the Multnomah County Bike Fair (MCBF) has lofty expectations to meet. After 17 days and nights of rides and events that captured the hearts and minds of thousands Portlanders, I'd say it came pretty close to meeting them.

MCBF's volunteer organizers put together a fantastic event with something for the bike lover in all of us.

This is the first year I remember having a large and well-attended kid's area. Volunteers Beth Raisman, Martina Fahrner, Steph Routh, and others had decorating, arts and crafts, and even pedal-powered hayrides to get the little ones involved.

The midway section of the event also featured a host of locally made wares. Our BikeCraft at MCBF was the debut for Cycle Dog, a new Portland company that makes dog collars and leashes out of old bike inner tubes. Artist Ben Parsons attracted attention to his bike-themed screenprints and Tomas Quinones offered colorful handlebar bags out of duct tape.

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There were also several fashion-oriented vendors selling everything from handmade cycling caps and bike-inspired t-shirts to my favorite, neckties with cogs stenciled on them.

The big kids jousted...

while the little ones played horseshoes.

Jed Lazar from SoupCycle served up chilled beet soup with pears and white wine and Kyrstin Westwind offered up fresh and sweet bike-blended smoothies.

At the Portland Mercury booth, big crowds gathered around as people tried to trackstand while being pelted with water balloons. Mike Cobb earned big applause when he withstood everything the crowd could dole out, even with his broken arm in a sling!

Meanwhile, over on the blacktop, the bike shenanigans were hot. The Sprockettes performed twice and there were all types of competitions (even for the kids this year, which was a lot of fun). Except for one bad fall by one of the jousters (get well soon Sage!), the show was enjoyed by what seemed like record crowds.

Unicycle jousts, live music, and clown antics featuring smoke bombs and Dingo in a chicken suit riding a swing bike, mixed with 11 kegs of beer while memories of an epic Pedalpalooza still hung in the air.

Check the slideshow below for more of the faces, bikes, and crazy action that made MCBF 2009 so great (or browse the gallery here):

The winners take the podium (Photo by Coach Dan)

Wednesday evening brought cooler, breezy weather to the top of Washington Park where ten daring mini-bike racers gathered for the 4th Annual Mini-Bike Steeple Chase. A spectator or two and a team of race volunteers stood by, prepared to crown the rider who bombed the mystery course AND cleared the three challenge hurdles: Emotional, Physical and Mental.

Rudimentary directions were given at the starting line and racers knew only that three challenges awaited along the dark and vaguely indicated trail. Several riders reportedly missed upper sections of the intended route but found their way to the first challenge stage where they were to stop, dismount and express sentiments so romantic to their waiting judge that she was compelled to give the competitor a kiss on the cheek — their passport to continue racing.

Onward through the forested darkness to sounds of frogs, crickets and buzzing freewheels the competitors raced to the Physical Challenge stage. This required dismounting again and running several laps of an obstacle course involving children's playground equipment and culminating in the requirement of physically tackling their imposing judge, not once but three times, whereupon steeple chasers were handed their paper pass to the Mental Challenge stage awaiting at the bottom of the hill.

Most were winded by this point and seemed glad to snatch the paper and hop back on their elfin steeds to catch their breath on the final paved segment. Riders were well separated by this time and a couple were disqualified already for blowing by the challenge stages entirely. One is missing in action. (So if anyone has seen Allen...)

The finish line was drawn, not on the asphalt but on the piece of paper collected at the previous stop. Riders reaching the end of the route now had a chance to examine the paper which presented them with a diabolical mental challenge of ...LONG DIVISION?!? Brutal.

Some racers dove right in with pen, paper and headlamps while others knew the game was lost. Some dug for electronic assistance, some called for tech support. One rider derived the leet-like answer without even looking at the math puzzle, relying solely on his knowledge of the evil event planner's mindworks.

In the end, a first time steeplechaser with the skills to romance, to throw down and to divide very large numbers on paper won the glory and the Chainring Chalice. Valiant second and third place finishers received coupons for a free burrito from Laughing Planet.

Congratulations to the winners: Zack, Johnny, and Turbo

BikePortland reader bonus! The final Mental Challenge question was: 40401861376 / 2012

Please try this on paper, in the dark while wearing a helmet.

Nostalgic brainchild of the of New Haven exports Shawn Granton and myself, the Pizza Ride has historically made the rounds of some of the better Portland pizzerias, fruitlessly seeking the perfect thin-crust brick oven pie, but always finding satisfaction, good sized crowds, enormous hills, and lots of 1/16th slices.

This year we traveled over 20 miles, with some major wins and fails along the way. (As one rider put it, "Granton should come with a warning label.") We were treated like kings at the Give Pizza a Chance cart downtown, where they had brewed up a batch of birch beer for us, as well as at Old Town Pizza downtown, Hot Lips by PGE Park, Signal Station in St Johns, and Pizza Fino in Kenton (which stayed open late for us). I left the ride at Stark Naked Pizza at 11:30pm -- but about 30 folks continued on to Hammy's for more late night pizza noshing.

My least favorite part of the ride was seeing two people crash hard after crossing West Burnside as the other riders around them looked down at them and just kept riding along (big thanks to the few who stopped). My favorite part by far was the excitement in the eyes of the two young guys who had just been riding aimlessly around downtown and followed us out of curiosity -- they told us this was the most amazing experience and they couldn't wait to get involved in more rides.

Also exciting was meeting up with the Blues riders, who had great spirit. The guy on roller blades was my hero, he was faster shooting up the hill to the St Johns bridge than many of us on bikes, and never stopped dancing, even while corking.

This ride was a Mercury pick of the week, and we had a ton of non-hardcore riders along. Another awesome moment was waiting at the top of the St Johns bridge for the last few folks to make it up and seeing a gal on a cruiser ride up the final distance, standing on the pedals, with a huge triumphant grin on her face.

I was bringing up the back of the ride, and didn't get many photos -- but here are a few in a slideshow below (or see them with captions on Flickr):

Steve Upchurch shows off his mad yoga skills as sedate Scandinavians look on. (Photo by Elly Blue)

We've written about the bike-yoga connection before -- and that was the thinking behind the Yoga to Bike to Yoga ride on Wednesday night, organized and instructed by Tasha Danner of Southeast Portland's Bhaktishop yoga studio.

The well-attended ride went to four parks, with a yoga session in each one. I joined the ride for the first two stops, and took some photos of the participants -- folks of all ages and all levels, wearing everything from street clothes to specialized yoga gear.

I left the riders doing partners yoga in Laurelhurst and headed to Piccolo Park, where 20 folks were enjoying a picnic of lefse, aquavit, ginger cookies, and other Scandinavian delights in advance of the Short Shorts Scandinavian Pride Ride. Within half an hour, the numbers had grown substantially, with all manner of shortness of shorts and proud signifiers of Scandinavian heritage, vacations, and fan-dom.

Shortly thereafter there was a tumult as the Yoga Riders rolled up -- Piccolo Park was their final stop for a potluck picnic. After some boisterous and not entirely successful intermingling ("Our Scandinavian reserve prevents us from joining you for yoga in our extremely short shorts" deadpanned one rider as a man with a "Yoga!" flag ran through the crowd drumming up recruits), they stopped for a final yoga session, after which several adventurous souls rolled their workout pants up high and joined the flow of riders leaving the park.

Carye Bye organized this ride after seeing a friend show up to another event in short shorts and a giant Danish sweater. The combination may seem counterintuitive, but the 100 (!) people who showed up really got into the spirit. There was a happy, friendly vibe as the crowd of riders streamed at a leisurely pace through the alleys of Ladds Addition and past bemused restaurant patrons on Clinton Street, cheerfully calling "Who wears short shorts? We wear short shorts!"

The ride reportedly ended up at happy hour at the bar Norse Hall, where many toasts were enjoyed.

Here are my captioned photos of the Shorts/Scandinavian ride (including the onslaught of the yogini at the end). Or check out the slideshow below:

"It's the bike-gasm!"

That's how the Multnomah County Bike Fair was explained to me on my first time around back in 2005.

The description holds true. After 17 exhausting, exuberant days of Pedalpalooza, fatigue is setting in (and there were even rumors on Twitter of a pedalfluenza outbreak). A gentle but seriously fun sort of decompression is needed after spending over two weeks on such a cloud. Enter MCBF, the closing event of Pedalpalooza, a culmination of all the creativity, energy, and socializing of the last two and a half weeks.

Organized by Shift, run by a committed volunteer team on funds from beer and t-shirt sales, some donations, and seed money raised at Filmed By Bike, MCBF comes from the community and is for the community. And as the broader Portland community increasingly embraces bicycling, the fair gets bigger each year.

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The fair is tomorrow, June 27, from 2pm to 7pm at Colonel Summers Park (SE 20th & Belmont). This year's party includes:

- Changes to the events stage setup. The good news is that this year the beer garden will be all ages! There will be specially-marked wristbands for those over 21, but everyone is welcome to come see the performances and listen to the bands. The bad news is that you won't be able to bring your own water into the beer garden -- but water will be available for you to fill your bottle once inside. Beer this year is locally brewed by the bike-friendly local Widmer Bros.

The Sprockettes always wow the crowds
(Photo © J. Maus)

- For the waaay under 21 set, this year there will be a Kids Area at the fair, including bike decorating (sponsored by SCRAP and Clever Cycles), a reading area (for kids to read to their bikes), and some programmed events including Bike Story Time at 3:00, relay races at 3:30, a bike beauty contest at 4:00, and a bike parade at 4:30.

- Northwest Trail Alliance is bringing their mountain bike skills park/obstacle course, after it was well-received at Sunday Parkways last weekend.

- Amazing booths on the midway! We'll be hosting a summer BikeCraft with nearly 20 local crafters selling their wares. The Portland Mercury will have a booth featuring a trackstand competition with a water balloon component, and quality prizes. Jeff Bernards will be there as always with his Protect Your World program, offering heavily subsidized helmets and lights. Also rumored to have a presence are the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, the Portland Bicycle Tours bike repair bus will be there, Zipcar, the North Freaks will have a photo booth for you and your bike, Providence Bridge Pedal, Stumptown Printers, Free School will be hosting workshops, and more...

- Food! Good stuff this year, including Pirate Dog's 'Eat or Die' sausage and veggie dogs (in the beer garden; on the midway you'll find local by-bike soup, bread, and salad by Soup Cycle (who we profiled earlier this year), Uruapan burritos, the big, pink Voodoo Donut truck, pedal-powered smoothies, and the Staccato Gelato bike.

The best news is that the weather should be in the 80s (last year it was around 100 degrees). Bring your bikeyest outfits, your water bottles, your sunscreen, and your Pedalpalooza spirit -- we'll see you there!

Event details:
What: Multnomah County Bike Fair
When: Saturday, June 27, 2009, 2pm - 7pm
Where: Colonel Summers Park, SE 20th and Belmont

Check out our photos from tonight's event on Flickr, or in the slideshow below:

You can also see our photos from last year here.

Pedalpalooza culminates this Saturday (6/27) with the infamous, one-of-a-kind Multnomah County Bike Fair. I know, you're sad because that means eleven long months of waiting for next year will commence -- but, you can keep the spirit alive, and remind yourself and the world of your love for bike fun. Come check out some of the unique goods from our BikeCrafters who will be selling their wares in the BikeCraft section of the MCBF Midway.

Summer BikeCraft at the Bike Fair is going to be awesome.

Last month we highlighted some of the amazing, creative Portland-based crafters who are planning to bring their bike accessories and bike themed crafts. See a few more pics of what's in store, and a full list of confirmed crafters below the jump.

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We have some exciting, newly confirmed crafters:

A Mumbreeze bicycle figurine

- a.bug - Margaret Cunningham's new on the scene with her lovingly "decycled" and very fancy bike tube accessories.
- Cycle Dog - Collars and leashes made from reclaimed bike tires and tubes.
- Deller Designs - Shaun Deller will be back with his ever popular, classy hats made out of old wool trousers. He'll bring a wide range of his designs and his discount rummage bin.
- Mumbreeze - Kinya and Kao Hanada make little papier maché bike figurines.
- Sown Textile Designs - Another newcomer to BikeCraft, with cool looking hand-sewn messenger bags.

And here are the rest of the crafters whose work you'll see at the fair:

Top tube bags made from
old signs by Upcycle 27

- 1 by Liz - Popular clocks and magnets made from chain rings
- Becca Bikes - t-shirts depicting scenes of true bike love
- Becky Morton - t-shirts and spokecards
- Ben Parsons - colorful screenprints showing bike scenes around Portland
- Bike Cozy - "accessories for the fashionably practical rider"
- bIKE pUNK - "Get off your gass and ride!" stickers, shirts, sweatshirts, patches
- CityBikes - Portland's original cooperative, worker owned bike shop will be selling handmade bike buckets, saddles, t-shirts, stickers, and shirts
- CoG - a collective of artists who love bikes and make bike hats and bike related clothing and bike related art.
- Fun Reflector - reflective stickers for your bike and gear, with fun and fancy shapes
- Megan Denton - handsewn u-lock holders and shoe straps
- Microcosm Publishing - bike-oriented books, zines, patches, stickers, and t-shirts
- MMM Werk - custom altered bike pants
- Tomas Quinones - duct tape handlebar bags (we profiled these back in March)
- Upcycle 27 - Rebecca James makes clothes, patches, and prints with bike and DIY themes

BikeCraft will be in excellent company on the Midway at MCBF, joining such luminaries as a whole new Bike Kids section of the fair, the Portland Mercury (their booth is rumored to contain serious quantities of good clean wacky fun), and Jeff Bernards' ever popular Protect Your World booth purveying extremely affordable bike helmet and lights.

Event details:
Summer BikeCraft at MCBF
When: June 27th, 2pm - 7pm
Where: Col. Summers Park, SE 20th & Belmont

[Welcome to your daily Pedalpalooza rundown. We'll post each day's events and rides here, so you can plan, email them to your friends, etc...

Click ride title for full details... have fun out there!]

7:00am – 9:00am: Sisyphean Cruller Crawl – Eastside
Eastside donut ride. Lots of hills on the agenda. Meet at Wilshire Park, NE 35th Ave and Skidmore.

12:30pm – 1:30pm: Rough Rider Bike-in Lunch
All ye rugged frontier folk, meet at the Teddy Roosevelt statue at SW Park and Madison for a lunchtime get together. Bring your own lunch, beverages provided.

1:00pm: Natural Disasters and Geologic History of Cascadia
Gather underground at the Washington Park MAX stop (at the zoo) for a hilly tour of sites of past and future natural disasters with a geology professor.

3:30pm – 6:00pm: Mocktails Off the I-5 Bridge
Snacks, drinks, maps, socializing. Meet at the northwest end of the I-5 bridge bike path.

4:30pm: Bicycle Tea Dance
Wear something cute and ride to a park for a friendly dance with tea, pie, and music. Meet at Irving Park, NE 7th Ave & Irving Park Path. Will connect at the end with the Parks 2 Parks ride.

5:00pm – 6:00pm: Bike Kiss-In
Demonstrate your passion for bikes in this essential Pedalpalooza event. Bring a sign and a kissing partner. Meet at the I-5 entrance ramp off N Williams at NE Broadway, and make out to make a point.

5:45pm – 6:45pm: Last Thursday Bike Ride
Meet at NW Park and Couch, ride to the carfree Last Thursday art walk.

6:00pm – 10:00pm: Unicycle Polo World Championships
You gotta witness this. Arbor Lodge Park, N Bryant St and Delaware Ave.

6:00pm – 9:00pm: Portland Green
A ride around some of Portland's green building highlights, getting down to the nitty gritty details. Meet at Pedal Bike Tours, 2249 N Williams Ave.

6:00pm – 8:00pm: BTA's Local Advocacy 101
Learn to be an advocate (ie, represent your views to political leaders) from the folks who do it professionally. BTA office, 233 NW 5th Ave.

8:00pm – Late: Parks 2 Parks Night Ride
Meet at Mill Ends Park, SW Naito Pkwy and Taylor for a fun-filled ride between parks. Bring your favorite park activities.