Pedalpalooza, Portland’s biggest bike festival, is just one month away

It’s still a month away, but it’s so big you need at least that much time to get ready. Yes, of course I’m talking about Pedalpalooza.

Pedalpalooza starts June 1st and lasts the entire month. It will be the 17th time Portlanders have paid homage to free bike fun in a way that seems to get bigger and better every year. This time around I want everyone to remember that Pedalpalooza is only as good as we make it. And by “we” I mean this community.

Shift provides a great online calendar tool and the inspiration that Pedalpalooza was built on; but the festival has no paid staff and comes together from the hard work of just a handful of dedicated people. What makes it magic is when people like you — and people from all parts of our community — come up with ride ideas, add them to the calendar, and get out on the streets.

Speaking of which, if you want your ride to appear in the printed calendar that will be inserted into the Portland Mercury, the deadline is today (May 1st). You can create and add events to the calendar right up until the last minute, but if you want to see it in print (and get more people to show up), add it now for consideration in the Merc.

So far there are about 120 rides on the calendar. Organizers expect more than twice that many by the time June 1st rolls round. Now is the time to get yourself mentally, physically, and materially ready for the all the fun. On that note, you’ll want to pick up one of the official Pedalpalooza pennants (available at the June 1st Kickoff Ride and other events). These hand-printed flags are just $10 and they provide most of the funding that keeps Pedalpalooza humming. You can pre-order one by donating $10 or more via this PayPal link.

Once you’ve listed your ride on the calendar (if you fashion yourself as a ride leader) and strapped your pennant to your bike, it’s time to make a plan of attack. Here are a few rides that are not to be missed:

Pedalpalooza Kickoff – 3:00 pm on June 1st at The Fields Park (1099 NW Overton St)
Come join the fun along with about a thousand of your friends as we take our bikes to the streets and show Portland (and the world) what bike fun means. Volunteers will be selling Pedalpalooza merch. Don’t forget to dress yourself and your bike up.

Stormwater Cycling in Eliot – 5:30 pm on June 5th at Dawson Park (N)
See the innovative ways Portlanders turn rain from a problem into a resource in the Eliot neighborhood. Staff from two of your favorite City bureaus will show and tell.

Mural Ride – 11:00 am on June 9th at Clay Creative Building (240 SE Clay St)
Come experience Portland’s newest and finest murals by bicycle!

Putt-A-Palooza! – 12:00 pm on June 15th (Location TBA)
The mini-golf ride rolls again! We’ll stop and play portable putting ranges, and maybe a permanent course, as well.

Live* Freeways Ride – 11:00 am on June 16th at Goose Hollow MAX Station (SW)
Did you know that the majority of Portland area freeways are legally open to bikes and non-motorized vehicles? We’ll ride almost 25 miles without having to exit the freeway en route to Oregon City. After a pit stop to refuel, we’ll continue with the expressway portion of the ride all of the way back to the Central Eastside. Distance around 45 miles, but if freeway riding isn’t for you, there will be multiple opportunities to turn around with connections to transit at most exits if needed. (*Not to be confused with the legendary Dead Freeways Ride.)

Solstice Ride – 8:30 pm on June 20th (Location TBA)
We ride bikes all night on the shortest night of the year. There will be a lot of stops, the ride will not be a loop, it will be at least 30 miles, there will be hills. We will not visit any locations children cannot be in like bars. We will end at sunrise, near transit. You WILL see some new places you’ve not ridden before.

Muppet Movie Singalong Bike Ride – 11:00 am on June 22nd at Irving Park (NE)
June 22, 2019 is the 40th anniversary of the release of The Muppet Movie and here is a singalong bicycle ride to celebrate the occasion. Who can forget Kermit the Frog riding his Schwinn out of the swamp on the way to Hollywood right after singing Rainbow Connection at the start of the movie? Song lyric sheets will be provided, and all singing abilities are welcome on this 4-mile ride which will have a mobile A/V system to show just the song portions of the movie. Adorn your bike with your favorite plush muppets, or even come dressed as a muppet yourself!

Bowie vs Prince – 7:00 pm on June 22nd (Location TBA)
Mobile Dance Party! Come celebrate the lives & music of these two amazing artists and pedal away into the night with us! We’ll be rocking the best “The Artist” & “The Thin White Duke” have to offer! SLOW pace. bowievsprince.com

Vending Machine Art Hop & Swap Meet – 12:45 pm on June 23rd (Location TBA)
30 local artists take over 30 vending machines throughout inner Portland. Artists vend their work and give out free custom made spoke cards to riders. Riders devise their own routes and travel from machine to machine scavenger hunt style, collecting spoke cards from artists at each machine. The ride ends at 8pm with a spoke card swap meet and dance party. The first individual (or team) to collect all 30 different spoke cards wins the GRAND PRIZE. All subsequents people who assemble a full collection can free-vend a mystery prize from The Venderia.

Stay plugged into Pedalpalooza via the official calendar, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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