PBOT’s carfree extravaganza, Sunday Parkways, made its fourth of five stops this month and Southeast Portland welcomed it with open arms. Thousands pedaled and walked along the six-mile route that stretched from SE 52nd in the shadows of Mt. Tabor to SE 16th near Colonel Summers Park in inner southeast.
Here are a few highlights from my trip around the loop.
Bike Temple continues to outdo themselves. They set up a pop-up bike church at SE 16th and Ankeny, complete with an upright organ, a pulpit, and a blessing wall. Buddha Bill, Pasture Ted, Deacon Amos, and other believers held two full sermons where people stopped, had their bikes blessed and listened to selected readings from the 2030 Bike Plan.
Down the road, Citybikes had a very popular diversion; a misting arch to keep people cool. Above their shop a DJ mixed great music and they had bike stands out for making repairs.
Laurelhurst Park was beyond crowded. There was so much congestion, people had to walk their bikes for a good stretch through it. One of the attractions was a bike-sharing station compliments of Montreal-based Bixi and Alta Bicycle Share. Alta Bicycle Share, a division of Alta Planning and Design, brought out the bikes in hopes of keeping the bike-share dream alive in Portland.
One of the best street parties/rest stops I’ve ever come across at Sunday Parkways was going in front of Mia Birk’s house on SE Lincoln near 37th. Birk, a former PBOT bike coordinator, used Sunday Parkways to throw a launch party for her new book, Joyride. A live bluegrass/folk band played all day, there were free hot dogs, free bike repair (by Bike Gallery owner Jay Graves no less), lots of smiling people and plenty of shade.
As always, along the route there were many inspiring sights to see. There were tons of kids on bikes, families, and older people out today, and they came in all sizes and colors. Riding around, it becomes so clear that if we can just create this type of riding environment in more parts of the city more often, we’d hit our 25% ridership goal way before 2030.
I also came across many excellent and interesting bicycles. I ran into a fleet of Mitch Pryor randonneuring bikes, new creations from DIY cargo-bike man Tom Labonty, and more. For shots of those and other images from today, view my photo gallery or watch the slideshow below:
What did you see out there? Share the highlights of your day in the comments below!
Thanks for reading.
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Just got back! A big thanks to the city and ALL the volunteers for putting these gifts to urban living together. And thanks to all the folks along the route lemonade and sprinklers, that made for a Perfect Summer Day. This plus yesterday’s Adult Soapbox Derby on Tabor make Portland absolutely great!
Barbara and family
Thanks Jonathan and all that stopped by Alta Bike Share to check out the bike sharing demo. I heard a lot of ‘how do we get that here in Portland?’ Minneapolis and Washington DC have figured it out. Could we be next?
” I’ve sold a Monorail to Brockway, Ogdenvill, and North Haverbrook, and by Gum, it put them on the map!”
Monorail! Monorail! Monorail!
Anybody know who the dj was at citybikes? He was good.
this was a lot of fun. we headed out pretty early and were on the course while they were placing the road blocks ups, so we missed a lot of the heat. loved the proliferance of sprayers along the course, that felt like a small bit of heaven at times. =]
Didn’t it go up Mt. Tabor last year? Mia Birk’s stopped all bike traffic. If only I had known about the free hot dogs. “I pay taxes for this road” shouted a miffed driver trying to get to her house via the closed route. Got my picture taken by the Water Bureau while using the free water stations at Laurelhurst.
Jonathan — wonderful slide show. Really captured the energy of the event. Thousands of families out, having the time of their lives, on bikes.
& glad you liked the Temple setup!
Pasture Ted
Had a blast, as usual. I didn’t have or see any problems from cars either. The only downside is that it doesn’t last for a week!
I was an intersection “superhero” (the organizers’ term, not mine) during the AM, and had as much fun as I did riding the route later. The quintessential moment for me was a woman riding by with a big grin, exclaiming “I LOVE Portland!”
We volunteered at the 52nd and Lincoln intersection in the morning, and only saw one obstinate person in a car. It was hot, so good to stay hydrated! Ringing the church bell was a highlight.
were people’s yards and vehicles vandalized like they were last time?
wow, this was posted 21 minutes before the event even started… way to time travel!
I did the loop, but as usual didn’t have time to take in much of the festivities… I don’t understand how they think people can take all this in within only 5 hours…
only saw one slightly miffed cager…
loved that everybody had their hoses and misters out to keep us cool…
the band playing at Mia’s was really good…
@trail abuser #6
Good thing that driver didn’t make the connection that some of her taxes (albeit an exceptionally minute amount) are also are paying for Sunday Parkways.
Simply had a blast. I love Portland! Got my front disc brake fixed by the Metal Cowboy, had a nice talk with Mia who is a hero. Loved the cops rocking out at 42nd and Belmont. This was out first Sunday Parkways and we are looking forward to the ride in the NW.
Had my heart broken during Sunday Parkways yesterday…
The frame of my 1982 Bridgestone Antares LDT (long distance touring) finally gave up the ghost. Round about Hawthorne I noticed a clackety-clack with each turn of the pedals. Upon examination I found that the right chainstay had sheared, next to the dropout.
Would never have expected it. With bubbles in the top and down-tubes from rear-ending a car bumper two years ago, I have to admit the frame is no longer worth a salvage. Time now to put the old girl out to pasture 🙁
With three of my kids following on their bikes, and my 2-year-old in trailer-tow behind the now-lame Bridgestone, it was a 3-mile 45-minute jog home in the 90-something heat. Glad we had plenty of water!
I love Sunday Parkways! Why do the police cars remain on and idling while bicycles ride by all day?
the DJ on Citybikes roof was Ryan Smith, taking a break from helping customers & wrenching. His coworker Noel created the rainbow mister.I heard that both were going strong until 10 pm!
Terrific slideshow Jonathan; thanks!
Does anyone have a photo of the fantastic fishbike/trailerbike?
@ Trail Abuser #6: You should have yelled back, “So do I!!!”
I’d encourage anyone who might enjoy a gigantic happiness boost to volunteer as an Intersection Superhero for the next SP event.
The people watching is priceless, and nothing I’ve ever experienced comes close to the endorphin buzz of watching thousands and thousands of people smile as they pass. Sheer joy.
Thank you, Portland!
Red Five:
Did you observe this supposed vandalism from under the bridge where you live? Because there was no bridge on the route.
@Ryan #18
I yelled out to the other cyclists “AND WE DON’T!” Someone else yelled out “Sam Adams hates you!” to the driver.
@Weekend Warrior #16
To keep their red and blues on to block car traffic.
Absolutely amazing!
Here is video of my bicycle sermon, it’s definitely going to be a new tradition for us.
The Tall Tour
aka Monsters of Rock by Bike
So far we have rode all the Sunday parkways with our mobile freak bike performance ride.
Had a blast playing SE
http://thetalltour.blogspot.com/