Yesterday was the kick-off to Portland Carfree Days. The event, which runs through Sunday (9/24) drew a enthusiastic crowd who basked in the carfree atmosphere on SW Ankeny Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues.
There was a lot to check out; Carfree Day t-shirts, free maps and resources from PDOT, Carye Bye’s awesome, limited-edition Shift birthday postcards, the amazingly good food of master chef John that benefitted the Get Lit program, and of course friends old and new.
Timo Forsberg brought the mobile TriMet bus bike rack so riders could try out loading their bikes. We figured out how to load a long-wheelbase Electra Townie, which I previously thought couldn’t be done.
The highlight was the much-anticipated Donut Eating Contest. If my memory serves me correct, the victory went to Team BTA who ate 21 Voodoo donuts in five minutes! There was a tie for second which included my team, The Ragtags. I contributed six (yes six!) donuts to our total of 17. This guy had one in each hand and ate with style.
We also had a nice visit from some bicycle cops. Officer Pickett, who is a regular in the Portland Bike Forums (posting as “PoPo”), was a welcome guest. He’s even got a little squeezy pig on his handlebars; you gotta love that.
Carl Larson, and
Linda Ginenthal]
The fun continues today with more great food from Chef John starting at noon, free bike tune ups from the Community Exchange Cycle Touring Club, and a ton of great live music. Check out all the details at PortlandCarFreeDay.org.
[Check out the rest of my photos here]