(Designed by Studio Concepts)
I’ve watched the Rose Festival’s Grand Floral Parade for years, and each time it strikes me how bikes could play a much larger role. Does is really take a gas and oil-powered vehicle spewing exhaust fumes into the crowd just to power a float? Couldn’t we figure out a way to make the Grand Floral Parade more bike-powered?
Portland is home to the best and brightest in cargo bikes and electric-assist technology. Someday it’d be great to sit down with Rose Festival brass and discuss bike-powered floats as a serious proposal. It’d be great P.R. for them and a natural fit for a Portland parade. But for now, the good news is that this year there will be something of a test-run: at least one float will be completely pedal-powered.
The Oregonian is sponsoring what is believed to be the first bicycle-powered float in the parade’s long history. According to senior political reporter and Pedaling Revolution author Jeff Mapes, there will be six riders (including himself) as well as “a floatilla” of others behind the float. Riding behind the bike-powered float will be Mayor Sam Adams, members of his staff, their families, and other notable bike advocates (they did this last year too, see photo above).
Mapes says the float features a statue of Portlandia wearing a bike helmet (see graphic above).
Hopefully this float starts a trend and we’ll see more bike-power in the Grand Floral Parade in future years.
On a related note, also keep you eyes peeled for the bike-riding citizen volunteers organized by the Portland Police Bureau to help out with public safety and crowd control.
Thanks for reading.
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This is a HUGE deal. The Rose Festival folks used to say NO WAY to bikes – no exceptions at all. They thought bikes were a hazard in the parade.
This is a sign of things changing.
The Rose Festival is such an integral Portland event and to incorporate bikes means a lot.
Excellent, except for the “cycling is dangerous, even at 3mph — do not attempt without magic hat” message. What sort of chassis will this be built on? Seems like it would need four wheels and steering gear.
I may be remebering wrong [aged mind and all] – but it seems that when I was a kid, there were some floats in the BIG parades in NYC that used multiple pedal power to move the characters on a float or two. Granted not the same as the general mobile power along the route but it got air-time. Maybe it was a specific float sponsor novelty or something
Did they license that? Apparently Portlandia’s sculpture belongs to the city but her image does not – it belongs to the sculptor, who reportedly defends his copyright quite vigorously.
Can’t wait to see the float!
I’m marking my spot with tape right tonight! Got to make sure I chain my chairs to a pole too.
Matt #4 – I’m not sure a float can be considered a copy if it’s just an interpretation and not a mold or some other kind of literal copy. I am definitely not a lawyer though.
We just finished riding in the parade with the Oregon Human Powered Vehicles (OHPV) group. This featured velomobiles and recumbent bikes and trikes. We were right ahead of the Segway drill team. It seems that the alternative transportation theme was strong this year.
er, to me portlandia seems to be doing some sick skater trick, than riding a bike.