| Bike Happy Hour – All are Welcome! — Every Wednesday 3-6 pm — Rainbow Road – SE Ankeny & 28th — Gorges Beer / Crema Coffee / Ankeny Tap & Table — $2 off drinks (coffee & non-alcoholic too!) |
The inaugural Bike Happy Hour was really fun and you should definitely swing by next week.
We helped get this event off the ground because the owner of Gorges Beer Co. and Ankeny Tap & Table — which are on either side of the Rainbow Road promenade on SE Ankeny and 28th — wanted to plant a flag as a bike-friendly business and wants to make this carfree plaza a more welcoming destination. We also wanted to do our part to create a vibrant and healthy bike scene in Portland.
Judging from the great turnout last night, we are well on the way to doing that!
So many smiling faces showed up (scroll down for pics!). A few folks brought their little kiddos, and everyone was in a fun and social mood. The conversations flowed as easily as our $2-off drinks (some folks walked over to Crema Coffee & Bakery to use their discount on hot drinks) and we hung out on Gorges’ nice raised patio. After the doom and gloom “bike decline” headlines it was reassuring to be around bike-minded people and to watch all the riders roll by on Ankeny.
Post-pandemic and with so many people working from home, there’s a strong need to socialize and connect in real life. And for several people I talked to last night, they miss their daily bike commute and are hungry for a reason to ride. Check out more pics below the jump…
I saw a bunch of old friends, met several BikePortland readers for the first time, and was able to put a few commenter names to faces (thanks to Ted B for having everyone wear name tags!). I’m also thrilled because our wonderful server Una said it was the busiest Wednesday they’ve ever had. Bikes mean business, baby!
I want folks to realize this is not a BikePortland event! Yes we are organizing and promoting it, but it’s really for everyone. We just want the entire community to know that every Wednesday, from 3-6 pm you can stop into Gorges (or Ankeny Tap or Crema) and get cheap(er) drinks and bump into other riders. You can order from a full menu of great food too, and they’ll bring it right out to the patio (I recommend the Reuben and cole slaw, Taylor recommends the Smoldering Embers bloody mary beer).
I talked to one person who plans to invite their cycling team in the future and folks are already talking about using this as a meet-up spot for their Pedalpalooza rides this summer! Another cool thing about the space: There’s a small parking lot right next to the patio, and I realized last night it’s a natural spot to have a bike show-off area. Folks milled around the parked bikes and did test rides of each other’s bikes. As this event solidifies, we also have the option of using the upper floor event space at Ankeny Tap & Table for speakers, presentations, panels, live interviews, and so on. We’ll also move to that spot if the weather is bad and we need to get warm.
And if you were one of the many people who biked by and wondered what was going on, sorry it wasn’t more obvious. We will add more visual cues and signage in the future.
Hope to see you there next week. Or the week after that. Or the week after that. Every Wednesday, 3-6 pm on the Rainbow Road promenade. Tell your friends (or foes, because it’s healthy to talk to people who see things differently).
Thanks to everyone who came out!