Are you disappointed that the Worst Day of the Year Ride was cancelled on, well, the worst day of the year?
A lot of people are miffed that the ride won’t go on. And the story has even gone national with a blog post by The Atlantic Cities and the Editor-at-Large of Bicycling Magazine tweeting about it. “I’m trying to understand—& not be an ass about,” Bill Strickland wondered to his 8,800 or so followers, “how “The Worst Day of the Year Ride” gets cancelled because of the worst weather of the year.”
Now, in an effort to show everyone that there’s no weather too tough for Portland bike riders*, a ride has been put together by Alex Criss (River City Bicycles employee) and a few other folks. Dubbed “Knobbies and Tots”, the ride will leave from the parking lot of River City Bicycles (706 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd) at 10:00 am tomorrow (Sunday, February 9th) morning. There will be free coffee at the start.
Bring your knobbiest knobbies — or even studded tires if you have them — and join some other hardy folks for an urban adventure. The route will be 10-12 miles, and rumor has it that hot and fresh tater tots and some adult beverages will also be provided. And, since the Worst Day of the Year Ride would have been a major fundraiser for the Community Cycling Center, Criss and crew urge everyone to bring a $5 donation for the non-profit.
With freezing rain falling all evening, please be advised that conditions are likely to be very tricky tomorrow. Ride at your own risk!
*I just want to reiterate that PBOT has issued a severe weather alert and they are telling everyone to stay inside and not attempt to travel at all. Based on reports from readers and a quick walk around my own house, I agree that the conditions are very challenging. A layer of ice has formed above much of the snow and even with knobby tires, it will likely be difficult to stay upright on a bike. Our only hope is that it gets above freezing after sunrise tomorrow.
UPDATE: Sunday morning at 8:49 AM: With ice all over the place and an official, emergency alert from City of Portland this morning, it should go without saying that riding a bike today might not be the best idea. Please use your own best judgment as to whether or not to give this a try. For updates on riding conditions, several readers have shared their experiences via comments to our storm update post yesterday.
Thanks for reading.
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Woot woot. Off to the garage for some bike preparation. Cannot forget to fill the flask for some liquid warmth.
Zoobomb Mini Bike Winter XI events and rides all weekend next weekend!
Better have studs. There could be 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice.
“CITY OF PORTLAND EMERGENCY ALERT:
CITY URGES RESIDENTS TO STAY HOME
DO NOT TRAVEL BECAUSE OF HAZARDOUS ROAD CONDITIONS CAUSED BY FREEZING RAIN
MAX SYSTEM & PORTLAND STREETCAR SHUT DOWN
CITY WARNS OF HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS ON SIDEWALKS”
Doesn’t sound very smart to be out in a vehicle of any kind this morning. Have fun breaking your neck on your bike. Aloha!
Did not break my neck last night at 9 or this am. But thanks for the kind words.
The adult age children driving lifted 4×4s with by knobby mud tires are out goofing off like everywhere is the their playground.
They can’t stop on ice any easier without studs or chains any easier than bikes.
The only advantage you have in surviving these idjits right now is they are reving loud while spinning out. This gives you plenty of time to find something sturdy like a concrete wall or building as they blunder through and crash in to things at high speed.
I’ve seen too many of the aftermath of this goofing off these last few days.
Stay alert and don’t expect that anyone is able to stop safely.
While I was out riding last night a jacked-up Toyota pickup came careening way too fast around a corner on a quiet side street, sliding all over the place. Although I felt confident enough riding around on the semi-fatbike in general, I didn’t have enough traction to perform the evasive maneuver I would have liked to do. Fortunately they slowed down just enough not to hit me, but I bet the fact that I was out there “in their way” probably pissed them off.
A vehicle more deserving of the slur “toy truck” I don’t know.
It’s easy to donate to CCC. Try this link:
http://www.communitycyclingcenter.org/index.php/support-us/
Of course everyone is disappointed the Worst Day Ride isn’t happening (though I wasn’t sure how I was going to get to my 7 a.m. volunteer post when I can hardly step out my door), but remember it’s not just about us. The purpose of the ride is to help kids & adults who need bikes. I’m going to make an additional contribution now to the Community Cycling Center to help cover the shortfall. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/532746
That was fun, Thanks. There were a total of 6 of us riding around. I had to cut out a little early from the ride as it was heading for some tots. Would love to see the pics some others took later.
I was out on my MTB 2 days ago. Heading west on Stark at 139th, there were 4 traffic lanes open, but the bike lane & sidewalk were not to be seen.
My only option was to take the rightmost rut. Most drivers were fine with that as things were pretty slow and sparse car flow. One of those ” adult age children driving lifted 4×4s with big knobby mud tires ” felt the need to slow besides me, roll down a window and yell obscenities.
I had ear muffs on , so didn’t get the actual words , but kinda felt sorry a bit for the AAC who was that angry , I think just about anything would set off a person like that.
He then floored it, which did NO good. The knobbies just spun. Funny part of it is that I was ahead of him at the next stop light 🙂
That type of vehicle is the automotive equivalent to a “toy bike”; it exists ONLY for recreational activities. It would be reasonable to argue that they don’t belong on public roads just as much as “toy bikes”.
So where are the pics from anyone else that was on the ride? 🙂
“The route will be 10-12 miles, and rumor has it that hot and fresh tater tots and some adult beverages will also be provided”
It sounded tempting !