Shawne’s transit-to-track adventure to Cedar Park in Sandy

This is the latest installment in Shawne’s Adventures, a somewhat regular column where Tigard resident (and Portland legend) Shawne Martinez shares his carfree adventures — most of which he does with his young (fourth grade) daughter Eliza.

All of our 2026 Summer weekends were booked months in advance. We were so busy with birthdays, events, shows, work and family visits that we didn’t have time to go mountain biking on Mt. Hood or check out do something we’ve had on our list for a long time: explore Cedar Park in Sandy. Then school started and October rolled in. But, thanks to these (human-caused climate change-induced) 80-degree October days, we’ve gotten an extension on summer.

So this past Sunday was wide open for another carfree bicycle adventure with my little one. Let’s go to Sandy, Oregon!

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It was tough to get the kiddo out of bed at 6:00 am on a Sunday, but she later agreed that it was worth it. We grabbed our “park bikes” (BMX style bikes for riding at skate parks and pump tracks) and barely made it in time to catch the Line 12 bus to Portland. We wear our regular bike helmets on the street for better visibility and hearing, but bring our full-faced helmets with us in backpacks for the track. Jumping on the FX2 bus downtown is so nice with rear door boarding that leads directly to the bike racks inside the bus. One more transfer at Gresham Transit Center onto the SAM bus to Sandy and we were eating morning donuts at Joe’s without ever having to worry about driving, fueling or smelling a car. (I guess we did have to smell some stinky giant diesel pickup trucks, though.) 

Biking just four blocks north from the donut shop and we were at Cedar Park! I was expecting just a pump track, but there is also a skate park, playground, walking path and bathrooms. This is a big space! Rolling in early, there were just a few people there. We strapped our pads on, swapped helmets and aired up our tires before hitting the track. 

Pump tracks are a great workout! Using your full body to pump the bike forward and backwards through the rolling hills of the asphalt track, you can sustain forward motion without ever having to pedal. There’s an advanced course with wooden ramps for getting air and a smaller kid sized pump track. After the first hour, the place started getting more crowded. It was so cool to see so many people sharing the same space while riding skateboards, bicycles and scooters. Everyone got along, took turns and looked out for each other. My kiddo was getting more confident, learning how to launch out of one of the banked turns. A friend from Portland showed up and we started talking.

I looked over at the track just in time to see the rear wheel of my daughter’s bike flying through the air as the bike flipped forward followed by a shrieking scream. “She just crashed!” I exclaimed as I pedaled as fast as I could through the track and around a berm. My kiddo was on the ground, leg through the triangle of the bike frame and screaming so loud! I carefully moved the bike and tried to calm her while my friend helped. My first-aid training kicked in, and I did a quick assessment. She was very upset and in a lot of pain, but it seemed that it was nothing serious. We pulled all of her gear off and let her calm down on the grass. Having a full-faced helmet, knee pads and elbow pads made a huge difference here. She had some abrasions on one knee (from impact through the pad) and a big bruise on her thigh from getting tangled in the bike frame and impacting the ground. 

After many minutes relaxing in the shade, it was time to call it a day and head out to grab lunch in town. There was much limping at first, but after noodles at Double Dragon and a lollipop, we jumped back on the SAM, FX2 and the 12 to get back to Tigard.

There are a few different ways to travel between Gresham and Portland using public transit. You can take the MAX or the 9 bus, but we like the bike racks inside of the bendy buses. 

I’m always looking for ways to make Tigard more walkable and bikeable. Knowing that bikes mean business, I think about the bike tourism dollars that we left in Sandy this weekend. I want that for Tigard. After years of volunteering with the Tigard Transportation Advisory Committee and Climate Action Tigard, I’m ready to take my advocacy to the next level by running for Tigard City Council! I would love to bring a pump track to Tigard. Let’s make it happen! Thanks for joining us on another car-free bike adventure. See you out there!