Pedalpalooza marched on despite intermittent showers yesterday (check out this post for reports and links to photos).
Tonight, you’re faced with some tough decisions. Here’s what’s on the calendar…
PIZZA RIDE
-
SE 16th and SE Harrison (Ladd’s Circle)
6:00pm
This year’s pizza ride will pay homage to a cross-section of Portland pizzerias in the Southeast quadrant. Hardcore pizza buffs and novices are all welcome to join us as we eat, ride, repeat over a course of 6 miles. Who makes the best? Bring cash for pies, of course.
LAKESIDE BICYCLES MONDAY NIGHT SERIES
-
1940 North Victory Boulevard, Portland, OR (Portland International Raceway)
6:00pm
Whether you’re a beginning or experienced cyclist, you’ll love racing at Portland International Raceway (PIR). One of the most popular weeknight bicycle race series in the nation, The Lakeside Bicycles Monday Night Masters and Women Race Series runs May-August. The Monday night series attracts hundreds of novice to experienced cyclists to race on a traffic-free race course that’s fun for everyone.
GELATO ANYONE?
-
5329 NE Sandy Blvd (Hollywood Bike Gallery)
6:00pm – 8:00pm
I scream, you scream, we all scream for Gelato! A free ride with free Gelato for all. Grab your helmet, your bike, and a friend and join us for a casual ride to Mio Gelato for a frozen treat.
ODE TO TREES
-
SE 22nd and Rex (Westmoreland Park)
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Learn about some of Portland’s Heritage Trees.
DYKES ON BIKES (AND THEIR FRIENDS)
-
2236 NE Alberta Street (Meet at Zaytoons)
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Join us for a fun ride in and around northeast.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE RIDE FF
-
SE 38th Ave and SE Oak St (building in Laurelhurst Park on the south side)
6:30pm – 8:00pm, depart at 6:45pm
The monthly language exploration ride. Learn about different cultures and explore languages. Learn how to say ‘Bicycle’ in Chinese, Korean, and Spanish, and Hebrew. Share your vast knowledge of foreign languages with friends. We will also enjoy a multi-cultural vegetarian potluck.
PORTLAND’S WORST BIKE ROUTES
-
SE Powell & 17th Ave. (The worst underpass ever.)
7:30pm
Don’t Portland’s calm, treelined bike boulevards get a little boring sometimes? If you like walking on 82nd street, you’ll LOVE this ride. Bring a patch kit, nerves of steel, and full body armor. This is gonna suck.
Check the official Pedalpalooza calendar for more info.
Remember to leave a comment below with reports and links to photos!
Pizza riders take note: You should be able to hit two pizzarias before it\’s time to leave for the Portland\’s Worst Bike Routes tour. You\’re going to need some food in you before braving those mean streets — so see you all at Ladd\’s Circle at 6!
I\’m really looking forward to the Worst Bike Routes Ride. The description is hilarious.
Does anyone know if lights will be necessary/advised? The ride starts at 7:30, but it doesn\’t get dark until around 9(?).
Pizza ride report by Elly Blue:
Pizza ride! This is the second I\’ve helped organize and the first I attended. We started out with more than 60 riders, and over the course of 4 hours and 6 pizza stops, we gradually lost some and gained some — at stop three we had over 40 riders, and 25 stuck it out all the way to the end.
We started at Ladd\’s Circle, with the crowd showing up early and hungry, and stayed in Southeast Portland for most of the ride. Using a well-honed system devised by Shawn of Urban Adventure League fame, we re-counted riders at each stop, called ahead to order pizzas at the next stop, cut up into half-slices or tons of squares. At each stop, the dollar bills flowed, as did the quarters. We did some hasty division of costs that should have left us short, but due to the pizza riders\’ exuberant arithmatic, ended up leaving us with nearly 20 bucks extra to donate to Shift.
Pizzerias and reviews:
1. Hot Lips on Hawthorne. This one is always a crowd-pleaser.
2. Hammy\’s at 21st and Clinton. This was a last-minute addition after they called Shawn and asked to be added. We said, why not? And were pleasantly surprised at the quality of their pizza, which some people counted as their favorite.
3. Oasis Cafe on Hawthorne, their pizza was weirdly salty.
4. Flying Pie on 78th & Stark, ditto and greasy besides
5. American Dream Pizza at 47th and Glisan, surprisingly delicious and thin-crusted
6. Stark Naked Pizza — another thin-crusted choice, and open till midnight.
Accidents/Anomalies:
1. The electrical fire at 21st and Clinton filled the intersection with smoke, fire trucks, and police cars. We picked up the pies at Hammy\’s and fled to the secret, nearby Piccolo Park at 27th and Clinton.
2. The rubbernecker in the Fred Meyer parking lot who ran his or her car into the shopping cart rack while watching us go by. You have our sympathy, and should really try biking instead.
3. The lady on a sharp orange (or blue?) cruiser who took a spill as we passed by. She seemed okay, but declined to join us and let us buy her pizza at the next stop.
4. Half the group elected to unnecessarily climb Mt Tabor to watch the sunset in between stops 4 and 5. They arrived sweaty but happy, and hungry. The rest of us pizza-bombed down Glisan for more immediate gratification.
5. We had one brave vegan. He stuck it out for several stops, so it seems like he did okay.
Would have done differently:
Monday was jam-packed with events, and a dozen or so of our group planned to split off after the second stop and head off to the Worst Bike Routes ride. Their experience at the next ride was made more authentically bad, because we neglected to buy enough pizza for them to have more than just a snack before their harrowing ride. Also at a couple stops there was someone who didn\’t get a slice, which is entirely the fault of my own bad arithmatic.
Best part: Tons of happy people of all ages (special kudos to the good-natured teenagers) riding around ringing their bells and enjoying a good, clean, fun night on the town. What\’s more innocent and wholesome than biking around eating pizza? Eating pizza and drinking chianti, maybe. A good time was had by all, everyone met some new people, and some interesting schemes were produced.
Also Shawn\’s ride-organizing prowess was on fine display. If you ever want to lead a bike ride and don\’t know how, this guy will set you straight. He\’s a real pro.
The \”Ode to Trees\” ride was delightful. We sauntered through the Sellwood-Moreland area viewing some of Portland\’s Heritage Trees, guided by our \”neighborhood tree liaison\” Valerie, and PDOT staff and volunteers.
Our last stop was at a copper beech tree that dwarfed the grand Victorian house it stood next to. The owner of the house came out when he saw 25 bicyclists staring at his yard. Apparently the tree was planted in 1892, when the man who built the house brought his bride home for the first time. That man owned a mill in Sellwood, so the house is likely made from locally-felled trees as well.
Here are some photos from the ride:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildsheepchase/tags/heritagetreeride/
Dykes on Bikes Ride Report:
Leaders: Emily Gardner / Linda Ginenthal
Date: 6/11/07
Start time: 6pm
Duration: 2 hours
Approx. Distance: 12ish miles
Number of riders: 50 at the start!
Synopsis of ride: Starting out at Zaytoon\’s on Alberta, we cruised through some of the potential bicycle boulevards in NE Portland and other bikeways passing by locations of interest to folks in the queer community. En route we passed by In Other Words Bookstore, Community Cycling Center, the Q Center, Sexual Minorities Youth Resource Center (SMYRC), Crush, The Egyptian Club and Dingoes.
High points: passing thru a group of kids in the neighborhood on NE Jarrett and passing out high-fives on the way through, having car pas sengers ask us what ride we were on, when we replied, \”Dykes on Bikes!\” one of the passengers started yelling, \”I\’m a dyke! Give me a bike! I want to ride with youuuuu!\”
Low points: None
Would you do it again? If so, What would you change? Heck yes! More folks, more bell-ringing and hi-jinks!