Armando (center) at the Photo Booth ride Thursday night.

Armando Luna is everywhere. From monthly advocacy meetings to late-night party rides — this guy soaks up the cycling scene.

During Pedalpalooza — the month-long, grassroots festival of creative bike rides and events — he kicks it up a notch. So far this month (we’re 21 days in), he’s attended 29 rides.

I recently asked a few questions to learn more about him and his impressive Pedalpalooza prowess…

What’s your background?

I moved to Portland in 1996, fell in love with it and then fell into a job at OHSU, where I still work. I commute by bike every workday from my home in Hollywood. I am grateful for being able commute by bike, for OHSU partnering with Go By Bike bike valet, and for my work paying bike riders to ride to work. (And the tram rides!)

How long have you been doing Pedalpalooza rides?

I don’t really know! I don’t remember the early years, mostly because I was a new dad, that sort of took everything over. When the kids were young they ended up attending a daycare downtown, so when they were old enough I’d pull them in a trailer to daycare, then ride to work.

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One of the most popular features on BikePortland is the occasional “People On Bikes” photo series, where we get to see our collective selves whizzing by on our bikes in Jonathon’s helpfully numbered photographs. Appreciative comments always follow, on #15’s adorable-dog-in-trailer or #20’s impeccable riding-cap-and-country-gentleman sense of style.

Some of us, however, have no time for pets-on-bikes or the fashion aspects of city cycling. While others are busy admiring the riders, we are fixated on what is between their legs.

I mean the bicycles, of course. We’re like, “hey, #7 is a ‘70s Peugeot AO-8!” “Um, what did the rider look like?” “Sorry, didn’t notice.”

Welcome to the world of bike geekery, of fascination with frames and componentry, clever design and old-world craftsmanship, gear-inches and effective rim diameters, shiny bling and subtle gleam.

Two aspects of bike geekery will be celebrated on the first weekend of Pedalpalooza, at the “Velocirque” weekend at Velocult. This is the third Velocirque; Velocult started doing these shows last year during Pedalpalooza and if you have even a little bit of bike geek in you, its well worth a peek.

On Saturday June 3, we’ll oogle over old-school “classic and vintage” bicycles. 1960s Italian city bikes to 1980s racebikes, from Cinelli to Hutchins, if it is cool and old, it is welcome in this DIY bike show. Here’s the Pedalpalooza blurb – show starts at 3 p.m.:

VELOCIRQUE BY VELOCULT
Velocult, 1969 NE 42nd Avenue
Saturday June 3rd – 10:00am, Ride 10 am, show 3 pm
Velocirque Saturday Classic & Vintage Bike Ride And Show. Bring your C&V bike to ride in the morning and show in the afternoon. Any C&V bike is invited – roadies, randos, tourers, mountain bikes, city bikes, Stingrays, track bikes. NOS garage queens or well worn racer, anything with soul. The ride will be at 10 am on Saturday: meet at Velocult, socially paced, not too long. The show starts at 3 pm and goes to whenever the shop closes. Bring a bike stand, if you have one.

http://www.shift2bikes.org/cal/viewpp2017.php#03-6267

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On Sunday June 4, we’ll jump to the the opposite end of the spectrum and geek out over the coolest new designs and bikes from Portland’s most inventive framebuilders. These are “Modern Customs”, custom frames made by frame builders who are still actively taking orders. Maybe an order from you? There will be everything from utility frames with geared hubs and belt drives, lugged steel in the classic tradition, titanium and carbon cross and race bikes, and who knows what else our local framebuilder community has dreamed up. Here is the Pedalpalooza blurb – show starts at 3:00 p.m.:

VELOCIRQUE BY VELOCULT
Velocult, 1969 NE 42nd Avenue
3:00pm
Velocirque Sunday Modern Custom Bike Show.  Dedicated to the craft and creativity of the bicycle framebuilder.  Meet our area’s best framebuilders, check out their cool bikes and frames, and bring your own modern custom bike to show off.  “Modern custom” means a custom built frame by a frame builder who is still taking orders.  Lugged steel to Ti to custom carbon layup, racer to rando to city, its all here.
Sky Boyer, Velocult, 503-933-2012  

http://www.shift2bikes.org/cal/viewpp2017.php#04-6268

Two afternoons of groovy old bikes, cool new bikes, and lots of unashamed bike ogling, what could be better?

Oh, and there’s beer, too.

A scene from the 2010 kickoff ride.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

It’s almost here. The largest bike event of its kind on planet Earth is about to start.
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Random acts of Hammercise: one more treasure of the Portland summer.
(Photos: J.Maus/BikePortland)

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Yeah! Gimme five!
(Photos J Maus/BikePortland)

Pedalpalooza is here! Today marks the start of Portland’s beloved annual bike festival with hundreds of events lined up over the next three weeks.
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