2013 Pedalpalooza poster by Fred DeMeglio.

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Mayoral candidate Jefferson Smith (R) chats
with Portland resident Joel Shapiro as they
ride on the Eastbank Esplanade.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Portland mayoral candidate Jefferson Smith has set himself apart from his challengers by not being much of an everyday bike rider. However, despite his lack of biking credentials, he managed to snag the endorsement of the Bike Walk Vote PAC. On Friday, he added to his bike-friendly profile by leading a Pedalpalooza ride.

Organized by volunteers with Bike Walk Vote, participants met on the Eastbank Esplanade and heard Smith speak on a variety of issues on stops along the river and throughout downtown. While Pedalpalooza is often connected to naked bike rides and costumed craziness, this ride was all about policy.

With a conversation stoked by Bike Walk Vote volunteer Michael O'Leary and questions from ride participants, we heard Smith explain his positions on everything from campaign finance to homelessness and from coal exports to the Columbia River Crossing project. (more...)

A partial group shot taken at Sewallcrest Park before the ride began.
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(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

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Bill Chin during a stop on the Epic Pizza Ride.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

For 52-year-old IT project manager Bill Chin, June is his biggest biking month of the year. Bill, a native Portlander who lives in John's Landing, has ridden well over 400 miles since the month began. Interestingly, he's done most of those miles pedaling to and from Pedalpalooza rides.

I bumped into him a few nights ago at the Epic Pizza Ride, his 19th ride of this year's nearly month-long Pedalpalooza fest.

"I'm not a daily commuter, so this gets me out on my bike," Bill shared as he scrolled through the list of rides he's done. He's got notes from several years of Pedalpaloozas on his phone ("Hey, I'm an IT guy, what can I say?"). He figures he's taken part in almost every Pedalpalooza since it began as BikeSummer 10 years ago.

His favorites so far this year include the various naked rides, the Rocky Butte Sunset Ride, the downtown tour with famous drag queen Darcelle, and of course, the Pizza Ride.
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A scene from the 2010 Bowie vs. Prince Pedalpalooza ride.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

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The crowd takes in a scene from The Invasion of the Bicycle Snatchers at Buckman Elementary School last night.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland

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Stormtrooper spotted downtown.
(Photo: Greg Raisman/Flickr)

12 days into Pedalpalooza (about half way through!) and the rides and good times show no sign of slowing down. In the interest of keeping you in the loop about what's going on out there, I thought I'd share a brief update on just some of the rides going on...

Thursday's highlight was Darcelle's Parade of Glitz and Glitter, a tour of downtown Portland with none other than the famous, 81-year-old drag queen herself. Ride organizer Carl Larson said Darcelle (in her usual sequin dress) rolled along with the 70-person ride in a pedicab and pointed out various places of interest. Portland Mercury reporter Sarah Mirk was there and snapped some great photos... (more...)

Rolling across the Hawthorne Bridge.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland

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A bumpin' bike, an exploration of neighborhood churches, and more.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

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Group shot from the Hott Socks ride.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Today was the first big and full weekend day of Pedalpalooza. And it was good. From what I've seen and heard, the turnouts and the spirit are as strong as ever.
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