Has the start of the bike fun season been amazing or what? From a massive Ladds 500, to over 150 City of Portland employees riding to work bike bus-style Tuesday morning — our city is bursting with bicycling!
This Saturday, venerable nonprofit Cycle Oregon will add to the spirit with their first annual Bike Block Party— and I have a hunch it will be a huge hit. The plan is to throw a big bike fair on SE Sherman Street between 10th and 11th, which is right outside Baerlic Brewing, a business that’s become something of a cycling clubhouse in the past few years.
Cycle Oregon got a permit to close the street to cars so they can set up bike rodeo courses and a vendor expo full of cool local bike brands and cycling organizations. The event
Cycle Oregon began 37 years ago and came to prominence for their seven-day, fully-supported tours of Oregon’s best bike routes. When they sunsetted that event two years ago, it wasn’t an end to Cycle Oregon, it was a step in the organization’s evolution. They still host three bike rides, but are now also focused on their Jump Start program that gets kids on bikes throughout the state. With the Bike Block Party, Cycle Oregon is signaling their role as the state’s main bicycling booster and living up to their updated mission statement to, “Bring the joy of riding a bike to all of Oregon.”
Executive Director Steve Schulz told BikePortland that Cycle Oregon’s transition from an event-based organization to the “new Cycle Oregon” (a donor/program-based organization), “Was founded on the premise that the simple act of bicycling can be an antidote for physical and mental isolation.” But what good is bicycling if folks can’t access a bike or plug into the cycling community?
“Cycle Oregon is working to get more people on bikes by tackling barriers such as cost, accessibility and safety and so that anyone who wants to can experience the joy of riding a bicycle,” Schulz shared. “We are doing this collaboratively with creativity, an open mind, and enthusiasm, one person, community, and event at a time.”
“We want people to know that we are developing into so much more [than just an event-based company],” Schulz continued. “With events like the block party, youth education programs, camp and event scholarships, bike giveaways, repair services — and of course events — we are working to expand our reach throughout the state.”
When it comes to Saturday’s Bike Block Party, Schulz said Cycle Oregon is making it happen because, “We all need a little more joy and a community to share that joy with.”
If you want to hang out with cool bike friends old and new, while plugging into cool local brands and organizations like Biketown, Trophy Cup, BikePOC, OMTM, Salmonberry Trail, Blaze the Trail Cat, Candlelighters for Children with Cancer, Bike Bus PDX, Sorella Forte, BikeLoud PDX, Community Cycling Center, Bike Summer, and more; roll over to the Bike Block Party on Saturday.
Cycle Oregon Bike Block Party
Saturday, April 26th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm (rain or shine!)
Baerlic Brewing, SE Sherman between 10th and 11th.
Free entry (food and drinks available for purchase)
Event details
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