Must be Pedalpalooza.
(Photos © J. Maus)
With our lingering winter weather, it might be hard to get mentally focused on Pedalpalooza; but that’s just what you ought to be doing!
The big event(s) — organized by the community and extraordinary volunteers with Shift — happens from June 9th to the 29th. The ride calendar is already filling up (109 at current count), and the deadline to submit rides for the printed version (which will be inserted into the Portland Mercury) is May 22nd!
If that doesn’t get you fired up for Portland’s seminal celebration of bike fun, perhaps this will: Organizers just unveiled the official 2011 poster (created by Agnes Barton-Sabo)…
One last bit of Pedalpalooza news. This morning we shared how one local airline is honoring Pedalpalooza by letting bikes fly free during the duration of the event; but what about actually encouraging the event as a draw for tourists?
Pedalpalooza Kickoff Ride.
Vancouver B.C. resident Ron Richings has made the trip to Portland specifically to participate in Pedalpalooza for several years. He recently got a marketing email from Travel Portland and was disappointed it made no mention of Pedalpalooza. Always the activist, Richings sent the folks at Travel Portland an email:
“Over the last four or five years I have spend a total of at least ten weeks staying in Portland specifically so that I could participate in Pedalapalooza, and I know that I am not the only person who does this. It really is a significant tourist attraction.”
We couldn’t agree more. Since it was known as BikeSummer in 2002, Pedalpalooza has happened every year and it just keeps getting better and better (and bigger). As the largest, community-generated event of its kind anywhere in the world, it’s definitely worth some marketing muscle.
If you plan to visit Portland for Pedalpalooza, Shift has put together a handy visitor’s guide just for you. Make your plans now! You don’t want to miss June on a bike in Portland.
Thanks for reading.
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No question, this should be the biggest annual tourist draw Portland’s got –especially given that it coincides with the Rose Festival and Pride Week.
We don’t have obvious touristy attractions like the Eiffel Tower or the Grand Canyon, but we do have the great lifestyle that’s been drawing people here for decades.
The pitch should be: come to Portland, bring your bike (or rent one), and enjoy the Portland lifestyle.
It’s been my experience that there’s usually at least a handful of people from Vancouver B.C., and a few dozen from L.A.!
cargo bikes not welcome… c(:
Or unicycles. 😉
Not every artist remembers to put in every bike – it’s not exclusionary. The poster a few years back had a unicyclist on the St. John’s bridge suspension cables. Go to a Shift meeting, tell them next year’s PP poster should have cargo bikes on it. Or whatever else strikes your fancy – Shift is whoever shows up, they’re practically the ultimate in community/participant-driven in this town.
Where can I get one of those posters? Sweet!