Up here in rainy Portland, OR, we’re lucky to have some gorgeous summers. When the sun does finally come out, we celebrate. We celebrate with Hot Dog Week, Bánh Mì Week, and Bike Summer, a.k.a. Pedalpalooza.
Most people outside of Portland know the infamous World Naked Bike Ride, but we also have hundreds of rides that happen between June and September, and we thought it was high time we led our own. The Take It Easy Ride was meant as a safe intro to cycling, and we teamed up with River City Bicycles to host a great evening with food, drinks, bikes, and, obviously, a party in the parking lot. Skratch Labs also joined the fun, helping keep us cool and hydrated when the temps rose.
Our route was simple—take it easy and enjoy the view. We crossed the Burnside Bridge, Austin waving a giant Yakima flag for all to see, and turned onto Naito. Portland has a ton of protected bike lanes, and we got to enjoy them without fear of cars. Then we made it down to the South Waterfront, crossing the Tilikum Bridge for another great view of the city before heading north on the Eastbank Esplanade.
One part of the east side that is known only to locals is the potential for any route to get messed up by the trains. These trains can stay in one place for hours, blocking roads throughout the Central Eastside. Of course, we had to reroute, so we headed back south to Hawthorne, turned onto Grand, and, in classic Pedalpalooza fashion, took over two lanes of traffic. Bike Summer is known to cause a few slowdowns as cyclists take over the road for safety in numbers and to remind folks that it’s okay to take it easy.
When we got back, we were met with a sizzling grill of hot dogs, a cooler full of beers and seltzers, and a parking lot full of cool cars. We got to show off the StepUp Swing, giving away swag out of the back of a Subaru while bikes were loaded on it, and Chad brought his 1988 Ford F-150 complete with bike racks and a sick lift.
We’re lucky to be in the Pacific Northwest, with events and summers like these. Even though Portland is known for being weird and raining a lot, we know Portland for takin’ it easy.
