Pedalpalooza debuted in grand style at last night’s Kickoff Parade. No one got an official count but I’d guess somewhere around 150-200 people showed up.
The scene at Jamison Square in Northwest Portland was like a bike carnival. SCRAP provided plenty of decorations (even though most people showed up fully decked out already) and there was even live music.
The bikes and the people were as beautiful and wacky as ever.
Justa looked especially dashing astride her unicorn, but she wasn’t the only one with a four-legged companion. And what about these companions? Strange.
Speaking of companions, it was great to see all the families in this year’s parade.
I loved this guy’s Bike Friday tandem with a child seat. These folks preferred the tag-along style while the Folz Family had Cody tucked under a farmer’s hat they’ve integrated into his child seat.
Some kids are a little more advanced. This little girl was riding her tag-along backwards and this fearless mama was pulling her little daughter along, making her the smallest rider of the night.
But if you think that’s the smallest bike of the night…think again. That award would go to this guy.
Check out Sprockette Lauren (a.k.a. Agent Lapis) blowing her horn while riding her xylophone-barred Schwinn. Or what about Bethany and this thing? At first I thought it was a huge flask, but it’s some sort of accordian/keyboard/horn thingy. This guy was also belting out some good tunes.
If you think playing a horn while riding is tough…how about riding high atop a tall bike and taking photos at the same time. Or, tougher yet, how about riding a tall bike with no hands at all (and while blowing a whistle!). By the way, those two talented tall-bikers are none other than recently married Morgan and Carol (AKA Roadkill Racoon and Reddish Raddish).
Paul Van Orden showed up, fresh from a trip back east. He’s the guy I profiled here on BikePortland.org when he ran as a write-in candidate for Multnomah County Sheriff in the recent elections (he did great by the way).
And hey, it’s Karl Benedek, editor of Oregon Cycling Magazine. He made the trip up from Eugene to get a taste of Portland bike fun.
Good to finally met local framebuilder Tony Pereira of Pereira Cycles. He was riding a very sweet, 1950s, French-inspired touring bike (with Gilles Berthoud panniers of course).
Finally, I leave you with Gabriel Amadeus; Zoobomber, artist, and all-around neat guy. Check out his flamingo pink, D.I.Y. style, three-wheeled, bucket seat, twin-flagged, mini-bike chopper. And he topped it off with this cool pink cape.
Eventually we all massed for the start and enjoyed a police escort through the streets of Portland.
[For a complete list of remaining Pedalpalooza events check out the calendar on the Shift website.]