(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Of course one of the greatest Portland Trail Blazers ever rides a bike.
Carrying on the legacy of Blazers champion Bill Walton, who used to bike to practice back in the ’70s, current star Damian Lillard said in a new Men’s Journal interview that he too has started pedaling more than an exercise bike.
Here’s the snip that caught our eye:
Your GOAT Spirit rap video shows your home gym, but do you mix any outdoor sports into your fitness routine?
Last year during quarantine, me and my fiancée bought bikes and started going on rides. When she said, “Let’s get some bikes” I was thinking, like, Mongoose bikes. But we went to this bike store. I didn’t know bikes were this expensive.
How much did you spend?
My bike was $2,500. It’s an electric bike. It’s crazy because I didn’t even know these kind of bikes existed, but I like it a lot.
Advertisement
That’s right folks. One of the NBA’s brightest stars rides an electric bike and he likes it “a lot”.
If you hope to see him cruising local bike lanes and paths, keep your eyes peeled on Old River Road in West Linn. Other places to ride near his house are the new bikeways on Willamette Falls Drive and downtown Oregon City. (We really need get that West Linn-Oregon City carfree bridge built ASAP now!) The Lillard family will also be happy to know that plans for major upgrades to Highway 43 will include protected bike lanes for extra safety.
And Dame, if you read this, I’d love to do an on-the-bike interview sometime. Think of it like Carpool Karaoke, but we’d roll on bikes instead of in a stuffy old car. And without the singing — unless of course you want to share a few bars.
By the way, here’s a map of good bike routes in and around West Linn if you need it:
[pdf-embedder url=”https://bikeportland.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/bike_mapwestlinn.pdf”]
Have fun out there. And good luck in the playoffs. Go Blazers!
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
— Get our headlines delivered to your inbox.
— Support this independent community media outlet with a one-time contribution or monthly subscription.