Site icon BikePortland

Bridge Pedal: What are your plans?

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
There was quite a bottleneck or two on Bridge Pedal last year.
Slideshow below
(Photos © J. Maus)

Bridge Pedal is this Sunday and that means nearly 20,000 people will hit the streets and bridges around Portland seeking fun, camaraderie, or merely hoping to be a part of the annual cycling spectacle.

Bridge Pedal 2007-25

Last year, overcrowding problems reached a high point when a few spots on the course (especially before the Ross Island Bridge) turned into bike bottlenecks. Lots of folks were disappointed with their experience and even The Oregonian, one of the event’s main sponsors, raised questions about how to improve the ride.

Are the annoyances of the massive crowds on Bridge Pedal enough to keep you away? Or are you like many people, who just grin and bear it, realizing that it comes with the territory and that the tradition and spectacle of the ride outweighs any negatives?

I was a bit annoyed last year when I didn’t make the time cutoff to get up on the Fremont Bridge (I was stuck in a bottleneck). But even so, it’s a ride I don’t like to miss. I’ll be out there Sunday, snapping photos and taking video. Stay tuned for a full report Sunday night.

Do you plan on doing Bridge Pedal this year? If not, why not, and if so, what do you like most about the event?

Here’s my slideshow from last year:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Switch to Desktop View with Comments