It’s anniversary time for Pedalpalooza, Portland’s annual summertime bike fun fest. Starting in 2002 as the all August long BikeSummer, it morphed into the first two or so weeks of June Pedalpalooza, then the all-June Pedalpalooza. Pandemic in 2020 put a crimp on the “actual led rides” version, but last year it returned as an “all summer” (or at least June, July, and August) event.
At first I wasn’t into the idea of an all-summer event, as I felt it diluted the strength of the event–three months might spread the fun too thin. That was not a problem, and the energy and momentum of Pedalpalooza stuck around until Labor Day. And there’s a big upside for me–a season long event meant I only needed to do two to three events a month, vs. “lemme cram nine events into a single month” which leads to this:
Anyways, without further ado, here are the events I’ll be leading for this year’s Pedalpalooza. Most of these rides require registration (free!) via Eventbrite and are limited to 24 folks. You can get there here or do it via the ride’s individual link below. There may be more events to come, stay tuned.
- Tuesday June 14, 8 PM: Sunset Moonrise Ride. Meet at Grant Park by the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden. Ride 5mi to see sunset/moonrise. Not a loop, no store stop. Bring lights/layers/etc. Sunset 9 PM, moonrise 10:01 PM.
- Wednesday June 15, 9 AM: Midweek Gorge Bicycle Ride. Ride 25-50 miles on the scenic Historic Columbia River Hwy through the beautiful Columbia Gorge. Optional overnight camping at Ainsworth (about $10 in fees.)
Saturday June 25, 11 AM: Dead Freeways Ride. A 15 mi ride highlighting freeways that currently exist, removed, or never happened. We’ll also talk about future projects.Postponed, to be rescheduled in September (most likely)- Saturday July 9, 11 AM: Bikes and Film Cameras Club Ride. For cyclists who love shooting film! A 10-15 mi casual ride hitting up spots to photograph, ending in St Johns.
- Monday July 11, 5:30 PM: Old Libraries Ride: N/NE. A 10 mile ride to check out buildings that were once Multnomah County Library Branches. Concentrates on N/NE, ends near St. Johns.
- Wednesday July 13, 7:45 PM: Sunset Moonrise Ride. Meet at Mt. Hood Av MAX station (Red line near airport). Sunset 8:58 PM, moonrise 9: 41 PM.
- Thursday August 11, 7 PM: Sunset Moonrise Ride. Meet at Frazer Park. Sunset 8:24 PM, moonrise 8:52 PM.
- Saturday August 13, 10 AM: Creek Country Ramblers–Headwaters and hidden places. A 25 mile ramble exploring Johnson Creek and the streams that flow into it.
Urban Adventure League 