(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Sunday Parkways got off to a great start yesterday as throngs of Portlanders enjoyed the warm sun and rolled through eight miles of carfree northeast neighborhoods.
The City of Portland put the total crowd at an estimated 28,250, which makes it just a few thousand shy of the record (31,600, in North Portland last summer).
Here are a few more crowd shots…
The route stretched from Woodlawn Park to the new cycletrack on Cully Blvd, and south to the neighborhood greenway on NE Going. Along the way, the parks were filled to the brim with people and bikes. One popular attraction was a bike polo demonstration going on at Fernhill Park. Portland United Bike Polo had matches going on throughout the day and lots of kids and families staked out a spot in the shade to watch. After the matches, they let kids come onto the court to ask questions and give the mallet and ball a try.
And I couldn’t resist this shot (thanks Drew!):
Also in Fernhill Park, several candidates took advantage of the crowds to do some last-minute campaigning. I saw both Jefferson Smith (and his little pooch George) and Charlie Hales working hard in the heat…
It was a real treat to head east onto the quiet country-like streets of the Cully neighborhood. At a few spots along the way I stopped to get a better look at who was out biking…
What a glorious start to the Sunday Parkways season! Where you out there? How was it? Share your experiences…