Last week in Portland, Oregon, I was supposedly working, but the Pedalpalooza and the Portland Rose Festival proved far too distracting.
Inspired by Bike Summer in 2001, a group of folks decided that Bike Summer had been so much fun that they began to encourage cyclists to hold their own events throughout the year, with special emphasis on Rose Festival month. Shift 2 Bikes mostly hosts a web site where anybody can list an cycling event.
The Shift to Bikes calendar has about 20 events/day this month - and it's ALL grass roots volunteer organized.
The monthly Breakfast on the Bridge (Hawthorne Bridge, a favorite SE to SW route for cars, bikes, and peds) had special pancakes, bacon, and coffee, cooked on a utility bike, hosted by some of the Shift 2 Bikes organizers. I got invites to various events around the City.
In addition to the early morning and late evening birding rides, scenic Columbia rides, and other educational rides, there was the Prince vs Bowie and the Star Wars vs Star Trek costume rides, traditional English riding costume and picnic rides, and perhaps a favorite, the Super Bunny Santa crime fighter ride that began and ended (after sufficient urban crime fighting) at the Hare of the Dog brewery.
But, there was still the Inga vs Madonna ride, the more serious tour of unimproved city streets (yes, Portland still has a few dirt/mud streets), and the very popular night Fig Leaf naked mountain ride/run as a warm-up for next week's World Naked Bike Ride protest against oil - the City is braced for 10,000 riders.
Rides cater to all ages, flavors, sizes, and persuasions. The Sunday Joy of Sects ride made a tour of places of worship with a brief presentation from each one. Lots of stuff for kids. And there's plenty of on-street bike parking when it's time to stop at one of the thousands of Portland food carts, breweries, and restaurants.
If you'd like to see what fun a bunch of just folks on bikes have self-organized, click over to:
http://shift2bikes.org/cal/viewpp2011.php
It's kinda like a constantly changing kaleidoscope of Bike Party, Burning Man, and Critical Mass for a month.
Have a fun or educational ride planned around here? Get it on the SVBC calendar.
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