Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder
on last year’s ride.
(File photo)
For the third year, a who’s-who list of regional bigwigs and policy makers from Portland and Vancouver will escape from their cubicles for an up-close look at the highs-and-lows of our regional bikeway network.
The “Visionaries Voyage” was the brainchild of Cycle Oregon founder Jonathan Nicholas and Mike Houck of the Urban Greenspaces Institute.
I was lucky enough to be invited last year and it was a memorable experience (read my report and see photos here). Highlights included riding across the I-5 bridge with Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard, and getting to know a whole host of planners and politicians.
This year’s 40-mile route (dubbed the “Tour of Tomorrow, a Bi-State Bicycle Ride”) is expected to attract over 100 riders and will go from the Sellwood Bridge and north well into Vancouver. According to ride organizers, the goal this year is to,
“… explore ways to connect the bi-state metropolitan region with the emerging network of state-sponsored trails in Oregon and Washington. The ride is about creating a shared vision for a regional bicycle route network that is a part of the Portland-Vancouver parks and trails system.”
We’ll have lunch at the Pearson Airfield museum in Washington and other highlights will be the Burnt Creek Bridge, the Peninsula Crossing Trail, and the South Waterfront. Word has it that organizers have arranged for a full police escort over the Sellwood Bridge…just to be safe.
I’m really looking forward to this ride (it happens next Friday) and stay tuned for photos and a full report.