TriMet says, “let’s party!”.
(File photo)
In case you haven’t heard (or seen the banners), TriMet is throwing a party for cyclists next Friday (7/13).
The reason? Bribery, plain and simple.
Their big light rail construction project has torn up several parts of the I-205 bike path, so they figure to make nice they’ll offer a supported bike ride to show us the detour, give us a bunch of free food and entertainment and then, to top it all of, offer a ton of great prizes.
The nerve!
Whether you accept the bribe or not (you don’t really have a choice), you’ve got to hand it to TriMet for doing their best to ease us through these trying times.
The event, dubbed “I-bike 205”, will consist of a 7-mile ride (fully signed with rolling support from the Bike Gallery) along the new detour route that will end with a big party and a feast in the parking lot of the Clackamas Town Center (at 7:00pm).
According to event planners, the Alberta Street Clown House will be there along with juggling unicyclist Tyler Bechtel.
Other groups that will have booths at the finish line include the Community Cycling Center, the Portland Wheelmen, Portland Velo, The Metal Cowboy (author Joe Kurmaskie), ORBike, and others.
But here’s the best part. They’re giving a ton of stuff away. Here’s a partial list:
- Trek Lime bike
- Two pairs of Pink Martini tickets
- Clackamas Town Center gift card
- Free bike tune-ups from Bike Gallery
- Two free entries into Cycle Oregon’s 2008 Weekend Ride
- Three monthly TriMet passes
- Bike club memberships
- Copies of Joe Kurmaksie’s “Metal Cowboy” books
- Bike helmets
No word yet on whether or not ODOT plans to follow TriMet’s lead on future projects.
For all the details on the event, visit the official website.
Thanks for reading.
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This is something I\’ve been meaning to do on my own — it\’s nice that TriMet is hosting this for us. One question, though: Any chance there would be a \”bikepool\” going from downtown to SE 96th & Main for this event?
(Looking at bycycle.com\’s recommended route, it seems to require riding on some high-traffic streets on a Friday afternoon. I\’d appreciate some real-world commuter expertise…)
Too bad the new detour route is pretty lame. Nice big markings on the street, and almost enough orange directional markers, but some of the streets they have chosen to use are pretty iffy in terms of bike-friendliness. I hope they finish the MAX construction ahead of schedule.
I\’m pleased to see trimet making an effort to make up for the inconvenience. The I-205 area is pretty far outside of my usual stomping grounds though, so I have little to no idea just how much of an inconvenience this project has been to the cyclists in the area. But, inconvenience or not, at least they\’re making an effort. It\’s a heck of a lot better than \”You can\’t go this way. Deal with it.\”
wow! above and beyond really. the event shows respect for the biking community. how many events are held for the automobile community when road work creates detours? none. pat yourselves on the back and continue with the positive movement.
i think this is great! I mean seriously it looks like Trimet is doing everything in their power to make this easier for us.
Hey Meghan, heading to I-bike-205? I\’ll be leaving from downtown at 4:00. If you or any others want to bike-pool it, meet me at Terry Shrunk Plaza (SW 3rd & Madison, where the Bike Master Plan rides start). I\’m a volunteer \”Safety Rider\” for the event, so I have to get there a little before 5.
Should be a nice ride – the Clinton or Lincoln-Harrison bike boulevards get you almost the whole way out there, then there\’s just a bit of finagling on the other side of 82nd.
Are all the bus drivers that have bumped or hit cyclists going to go onstage and take a bow?
Tri Met sucks, and a lame detour like this in the name of the big white shame train is another fine example of how Tri Met is truly running this town, not our elected officials.
I once again call out for a community force to police and hold Tri Met accountable for the many many attrocities they pull off daily, along with future plans to spend our tax money on silly tracks, instead of using the many available rail right of way\’s.
I have said it before, and I will say it once again,
\”Screw Tri Met and the great white horse they rode in on!\”
Not everyone wants to ride a bike Dabby. If riding a train gets people out of cars then it is a good thing. Shame train is a phrase use by self-righteous car drivers who won\’t take public transit, oh the irony.
Will PDOT, the County, and PD make the new detour route a \’safety corridor\’ and enforce vehicle speed limits on it for the duration?
Have the traffic signals been made more bike (and ped) friendly…bike loops/ push buttons and \’hotter\’ calls for signal change? (As this is a detour of interstate [bike] traffic, so it should have precidence over local traffic. 😉
Shame Train is a term actually used by cyclists who are too tired to ride home, so they sneak off and catch the train, Skidmark………
As in \”it is a shame to be lazy and not ride your bike…\”
You don\’t know any car drivers, do you Dabby?
Not everyone lives within close in bike distance to Portland…riding Trimet allows many metro area bicyclists to leave their cars outside the city and bike part of the way in to reach the ends of the system…or as a safety net on those days of flats, poor weather, deadlines, or being tired.
No shame in knowing one\’s limits.
Dear Options Guy:
In my usual fashion, I have double-booked myself for Friday afternoon. I appreciate your offer of a lead-out to the I-Bike-205 event, and I hope others will take you up on it!
Thanks!