[Updated (see below) at 10:20am, 8/13]
View the full gallery or watch slide show below.
If you were one of the lucky ones that beat the gridlock and massive bottlenecks, this year’s Bridge Pedal was probably a great day of riding.
Morrison Bridge.
(File photo)
Unfortunately, for many riders (including me and my crew), it seemed like every few miles of pedaling was followed by a major bottleneck.
At the approach to the Ross Island Bridge, some riders spent close to an hour on their feet. They tried to make the best of it by doing “the wave” and ringing bells, but I don’t think anyone expected (or enjoyed) such a long wait.
All the walking and waiting meant that thousands of riders missed out on the festive bridge parties, music, and free food and drink samples.
South Waterfront rest stop.
(File photo)
The back-ups also meant that more riders than usual had their ride cut short and didn’t get to cross the Fremont Bridge (it closed at 11:30).
On the bright side, a few friends of mine avoided the bottlenecks and reported a fantastic day of riding. And, as usual, there were lots of smiles and even with all the gridlock, the Bridge Pedal spirit could not be denied.
The highlight of my day was running into Wes Robinson. Wes was happily pedaling the bike he won in the BikePortland.org Raffle back in November!
So how’d it go for you and your crew? Did you beat the crowds, or was this year more like Bridge Walk?
Check out my my photo gallery or the slide show below (sorry there are no shots of the Fremont or St. Johns Bridges, I didn’t make the cut-off time to ride them!).
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
UPDATE: Reader Chris Sullivan sent in this 3:43 minute long video of the ride.