Is there a better time of the year to be a bicycle lover in Portland? We think not. Pedalpalooza is going strong, the racing season is in its prime, and adventure seekers of all stripes are pouring over maps for their longest rides of the season. Oh, and school is out (PPS last day is today)!
This week’s guide has a bit of everything and we hope you find time to get out on your bike at least once if not multiple times.
Friday, June 16th
2nd Annual New Orleans Jazz Funeral Ride – 6:00 pm at City Hall (1220 SW 4th Ave)
Led by Bike Loud PDX, this ride will aim to memorialize traffic deaths in Oregon “Big Easy style” with jazz, flowers, veils and coffins. More info here.
Western Bikeworks Weekly ‘No Drop’ Road Ride – 7:00 pm at the shop (1015 NW 17th)
Rain or shine, the nice folks at Western Bikeworks will roll out for a 1.5 to 2 hour ride at a conversational pace. Expect about 2,000 feet of climbing. More info here.
Bike Play: Bike Me to the Moon – 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Oregon Park
The Bike Play is a Pedalpalooza must-do in my opinion. The Working Theather Collective integrates bicycling and different locations into their production in a way that’s truly unique. Shows for three nights Thursday through Sunday. More info here.
Dropout Prom Ride – 9:30 pm at Colonel Summers Park (SE 20th and Belmont)
The crazy fun prom you wish you’d had! Roll up with your finest and funkiest attire, your grill bikes, and your good attitude for this annual blowout party event ride hosted by the wonderful ladies and gentlemen of the Dropout Bicycle Club. More info here.
Saturday, June 17th
Columbia Century Challenge – 6:00 am in Vernonia
Nearby Columbia County offers a treasure-trove of perfect cycling backroads. You can discover some of them on this organized ride. Choose from three routes. Registration and more info here.
Sharrows to Sparrows – 9:00 am at Columbia Park
This City of Portland-sponsored ride will introduce you to our wonderful neighborhood bike street network and show you just how close nature is to north Portland! Venture to Smith and Bybee Lakes and lots of other fun stops while you ride with an expert urban naturalist and a traffic safety staffer from PBOT. More info here.
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Mosier Mayhem – 9:30 am in Mosier
If you want to get away relatively close to home, and you have the legs and heart for unpaved adventures, this is the ride for you. Our Mother the Mountain and the Unpaved cycling club have joined together once again for what promises to be an unforgettable experience. Route traverses the Mill Creek area south of Mosier in the Columbia River Gorge. More info here.
Black Liberation Ride – 11:00 am at Irving Park (NE 7th and Fremont)
Celebration the Juneteeth holiday with what organizers describe as a, “Community bike ride for cyclists of color,” this event will loop through north Portland and stop at businesses owned by people of color. Note: “This ride is designed specifically for **People of Color**,” organizers say. “If you’re wondering why it’s problematic for a non-POC to take up space at this event in the whitest city in the U.S. then you *probably* shouldn’t come.” More info here.
The Princess BRide – 12:00 pm at Irving Park (NE 7th and Fremont)
You’ve seen the movie, now do the ride. This will be a “quote-along” ride and dressing in character is strongly encouraged. Supplies will be available to write your favorite quote on a placard and attach it to your bike. Ride ends at Colonel Summers Park in order to join up with the Magical Unicorn Ride. More info here.
Kidical Mass Ride Through Milwaukie – 1:00 pm at SE Park Ave MAX station (2750 SE Park Ave)
Feel the security and safety of riding in a group with small children. This month’s ride will head to Westmoreland Park with a stop for shave ice and other treats. More info here.
Sunday, June 18th
Sauvie Shootout – 9:00 am at Ovation Cofffee (941 NW Overton)
Spirited and fast training ride that can accomodate different fitness levels. Well-attended with many different groups to ride with. Route heads to Sauvie Island then up into the West Hills and back downtown. More info here.
Santa Cruz Bicycles Demo Day – 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at Sandy Ridge Trails
Hosted by River City Bicycles, this is your chance to test and shred on the latest bikes from Santa Cruz on the awesome trails at Sandy Ridge. Don’t forget to bring your pedals and shoes. More info here.
Gresham Sunday Parkway – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Gresham’s first-ever open streets event! Roll east and enjoy a carfree loop around Gresham with stops full of activities and streets full of your friends and neighbors. More info here.
Adaptive Bikes, Trikes and Tandems – 10:30 am at Gateway Transit Center
Bike Loud PDX is hosting this ride that is meant for every body. All are welcome to join the 7-mile ride at a casual pace that ends at Different Spokes — a bike shop for people with disabilities — where they will provide lunch. More info here.
Zoobomb-a-Thon – 2:00 pm at SW Knights and Fairview
“Bomb hills, not clinics,” is the battle cry of our beloved Zoobombers who will host their first-ever Planned Parenthood fundraiser. Come coast down the west hills in their attempt to ride 1,000 miles for charity. More info here.
Alleys of Alberta – 3:00 pm at Alberta Park
Explore the hidden wonders of northeast Portland’s most interesting alleyways. Ends at a park, so bring a picnic! More info here.
There are obviously many more events happening this weekend. Please consult the Pedalpalooza calendar for full listings.
Stay plugged into all the bike and transportation-related events around the region via our comprehensive event calendar.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Thanks for including “Adaptive Bikes, Trikes, and Tandems” on your weekend list! We’re super-stoked to be leading what (we think) is the first Pedalpalooza ride specifically geared toward adaptive bike users and bike riders with disabilities. I want to emphasize that the ride is not exclusive to any body types, partially because like any other Pedalpalooza ride, we will need experienced group ride participants who can help with corking, especially as we expect a number of less-experienced, perhaps less confident cyclists, and a large number of low-to-the-ground bikes on this ride. So please come out (if just to help us cork!)
What does “corking” mean? I have seen it in multiple bicycle-specific contexts but the best I can gather from context clues is that it is a critical-mass style traffic strategy to overrule the light signals. Is this accurate?
Thanks
Corking is the act of blocking intersections from cars entering it so that a large group can safely navigate though the intersection, even after the light has turned red. It’s safer to have the ride all in a single group, rather than being broken up into smaller chunks at every traffic light.
The philosophy of corking is solid, but the reality is total BS. It’s all about cycling tribalism and screwing those who ride on their own (i.e. people who don’t make excuses for why they can’t ride). If you need to be together in a manner that requires dispensation from traffic controls, get a permit.
When this сrар goes down, the abuse factor for those of us that ride solo in the sticks goes through the roof. I seriously doubt some of you can fathom what you trigger or are willing to sustain what you wind up subjecting some of us to. I guarantee you’re not getting this action on the streets I hear people whining about on this blog.
If you want to call yourself a road user, act like one, starting with obeying the rules you expect cars to play by.
It’s obvious that you don’t understand the importance of corking on a large ride. If a large enough ride doesn’t cork and gets broken up by stop lights, the chaos and disarray would be far worse than if it were to be corked. So out of this, what I’m taking away from what you’re saying is that cyclists shouldn’t ride in large groups, and that simply isn’t going to stop happening. I’d recommend you relax, and go on a group ride!
There are plenty of rides with thousands of cyclists that obey the laws. If the nature of an event is that the group really needs to stay together, proper permits and controls should be set up.
Even if the corkers are polite and friendly, this plays poorly with a lot of people. And why shouldn’t it? If drivers park in the bike lanes or clog the intersections when you have a green because it suits them, I’m guessing you wouldn’t be favorably disposed.
If anyone in the crowd of cyclists does anything nuts, it becomes payback time against isolated riders where there are no witnesses. This effect is amplified dramatically if a situation makes the news.
Re the Moiser ride, Am I the only one who would like to do a ride without a GPS, Iphone, or other electonics? I get that they allow those unfamilar with an area to find their way, but i ride to get away from devices. How about some rides with slightly simpler routes that can be followed by maps?
I wouldn’t recommend turning off GPS on this ride if you’re not familiar with the area – there are many unmarked splits, and you could wind up wandering for a long, long time. If it’s not insanely hot this is a nice mellow area to ride in, then if you’re a cider fan pop into Rack & Cloth when you’re finished, or over to Thirsty Woman for some pub and (above average) grub.
I would have to go out and buy a GPS and turn it on before I could turn it off on this or any other ride. Unmarked splits? That’s my point. Why not make rides a little simpler so navigation devices are not a riding essential.
There are plenty of organized rides where the roads are marked with arrows at splits, volunteers make sure riders don’t get lost at tricky locations, etc. Even if this was a more organized ride, this area is very rural and unpaved, with a network of BLM, fire, logging, and private roads and sparse development. I know this area fairly well, it would be complicated to mark this route and ensure every possible wrong turn was accounted for.
If you want to enjoy this part of Oregon on the roads, I recommend the Cherry Ride earlier in spring, it looks like the Gorge Ride is today, and there are several others. There are many online resources, a few books, and Temira is a gorge local who publishes a really useful blog with routes here: http://thegorgeismygym.com/road-biking.
If you want to explore unpaved roads in more rural areas in Oregon, I highly recommend investing in a good GPS computer, particularly one that supports GLONASS which will nearly double your satellite constellation resulting in fewer dropped tracks in heavily wooded areas and on the north side of mountains.
Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into them. They sound interesting. Also interesting about dropped signals under trees.Few times I have tried to use Strava or Ride with GPS, my routes got truncated or lost. Since I ride in places with overhanging trees, sounds like the device was not a match for the terrain.
As an alternative, just pay attention to where you’re going — it doesn’t really matter if you follow a prescribed route. If you really want to follow the exact route, make a cue sheet with distances and use the odometer on a regular bike computer to figure out where you are.
Wired bike computers are cheap, more accurate than any GPS based system,more reliable and quicker responding than wireless systems, and the batteries last many years.
Phones are lousy bike computers. They’re big, fragile, hard to use when in motion, and consume way too much power.
And oh yeah, there’ll be no “traffic”, other than maybe a dirtbike or two.
Well you left off the Tour de Blast! And it was fantastic.