Oh yes, not even a week goes by and it's time for yet another...
PEDAL POTLUCK PICNIC!
And wait! This one will be led by someone else! That's right, two PPPs in a row NOT LED BY ME! This time around it's Lilymonster, who you may remember led one last year. And now she's doing another one because IT'S HER BIRTHDAY!

And she's encouraging you to:
dress up (I approve.)
NOT BRING HUMMUS FOR ONCE (I highly approve!)
join her afterwards for karaoke (well...2 out of 3 ain't bad!)

And the details:
TUES JULY 7
6:30 PM
MEET AT HAWTHORNE HOSTEL
3031 SE HAWTHORNE


stuff you should know:
mystery picnic destination! (don't ask where we're going!)
ride not a loop
goes until dark, bring yer lights
bring your own: cup, plate, utensils
BRING GOOD FOOD TO SHARE!

Hope to see you there!

REMINDER!
Pedal Potluck Picnic TOMORROW! (Tuesday June 30th)
Since it's one of those rare "5th Tuesdays", we will be departing from FOOD FRONT GROCERY, 2375 NW Thurman at 6:30pm.

This one is extra-special because it will NOT BE LED BY ME! Kate has stepped up to the plate for this one. Here's some details from her!

As always, the destination is *secret* and the ride is *NOT* a loop, but will end in a park-like setting where we will enjoy a picnic dinner.

Eating: potluck style. Please bring food and drink to share. If you

don’t have time to prepare something before the ride, come early and pick up something at fabulous Food Front, which has just about anything you might want plus a full deli as well as beer and wine. Bring a blanky to sit on, if you like, and your favorite cup and spoon.

If you want to participate, just show up!

Please note:

We will stay on the west side for the entire ride. The ride is mostly flat except for a couple of moderate inclines.

While the destination is perfectly pastoral, the ride is unabashedly urban.

The vast majority of the ride is on city streets, including some *busy* ones! We will share the streets with automobiles, some of which may be driving up to 45mph.

But: there is safety in numbers, and we will have a dedicated bike lane for 75% of the ride. I have travelled this route often and have never had a problem with inconsiderate drivers. However, if you feel very uncomfortable cycling on the same streets as fast cars, you should probably skip this ride (also not ideal for kids on their own bikes).

Also, this will be a moderate to slow-paced ride. If you harbor some serious rabbit or jaguar DNA, you may not be happy with the pace, and may also want to skip this ride.

That being said, this ride has been reviewed in our test kitchens for bike fun. We will have lots of interesting places and things to observe as we venture into a lesser-known area of the city, all while enhancing the visibility of cyclists on the road, coexisting peacefully with cars.

This ride clocks in at 6.1 miles (exactly one hour of leisurely riding by a 40-something year-old woman in suede platform sandals and a skirt).

Hope to see you there!

QUICK RIDE REPORTS
PedalPalooza 2009 wrap-up

Did you catch Pedalpalooza? YOU DIDN'T? Were you living under a rock or something for the last three weeks?

So now it is time to play catch-up. But I still don't have the time to write the detailed reports for the nine (nine!) events I undertook. So for the time being, please snack on these bite-sized reports!

BIKE TOURING WORKSHOP (Mon 6/15, 35 participants) The secret to keeping
people awake when you talk for three hours is to provide free coffee.

PEDAL POTLUCK PICNIC (Tues 6/16, 26 participants, destination Frazer Park, NE 52nd and Hassalo) Torn down juvenile
detention facilities can make great parks. And everyone loves bread and hummus.

MIDWEEK RIDE TO THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE (Wed 6/17, 46 participants) Getting
46 people to ride up a long hill to Crown Point is easier than you think.
Getting 46 people with bikes on MAX is a lot harder than you think, unless
it's Sunday night.

DEKUM TO WOODSTOCK (PORTLANDIA OBSCURIA II) (Thurs 6/18, 80 participants?)
Who would have thought sharing a tandem bike with Carl would be so much fun? Who
would have thought so many people would be interested in street names?

SOLSTICE RIDE (Sat 6/20, 100 participants at the start, 30 until the bitter
end) The secret to getting people to ride to the top of Council Crest is to
not tell them you're riding to the top of Council Crest.
NOTABLE KIRAN QUOTE FOR THE RIDE (1): "Shawn Granton is the Tom McCall of
Portland Bike Culture."
NOTABLE KIRAN QUOTE FOR THE RIDE (2): "This was never supposed to be a candy
'ride one mile and drink beer' kind of ride."

DEAD FREEWAYS RIDE (Sun 6/21, 30 participants) I'm hoping when engineers
designed pedestrian bridges across I-5 they never thought "This would be a
good
place to murder someone".

EPIC PIZZA RIDE (Mon 6/22, 100 participants at the start, 24 at the end. Seven pizzerias covered in about 7 hours, 23 miles of riding.) "Is Shawn leading us all the way to St. Johns via the St. Johns Bridge on this ride? OMG! He is! Is he really that cruel? WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO? I JUST WANT TO EAT PIZZA!"

TRAVEL STORIES: BICYCLE TOURING (Tues 6/23, 18 participants) "Well, this is just a talk. So we're safe, right? Shawn's not going to make us ride up to Council Crest again, right?"

BIKE-IN MOVIE NIGHT AT THE HAWTHORNE HOSTEL (Fri 6/26, 150 participants) "Seeing a documentary movie about someone who rode their bikes for 19 months from the bottom of South America to the top of the Canadian Arctic makes me want to complain less about Shawn's rides. For now, at least."

Pedalpalooza Coming!

In just a little over a week, Portland's annual celebration of all things bike fun will be upon us. June 11th begins Pedalpalooza, a 17-day, 200-event bicycle cyclone! Don't think you're going to sleep at all during the 400 hours that all this fun will be going on. Sleep is for winter!

And of course I have a metric ass-ton of rides and events this year. What they may be? Look down for the details!

MONDAY JUNE 15
BICYCLE TOURING WORKSHOP
Hawthorne Hostel, 3031 SE Hawthorne Blvd (Mt. Tabor Room)

6:30pm - 8:30pm

Are you a regular bicycle rider but have never taken a bicycle tour? Now that summer is around the corner, are you itching to hit the open road once the weather gets nicer and explore nature in a way you haven't yet?

Then join us to learn more about Self-Supported Bicycle Touring. We'll be discussing equipment, planning, and cost as well as day-to-day life on the road. We'll also have a few loaded touring bikes to check out.

This class is FREE. Donations accepted.

TUESDAY JUNE 16
PEDAL POTLUCK PICNIC

Alberta Cooperative Grocery, 1500 NE Alberta St

6:30pm - 8:30pm, Third Tuesday in May - August

The PPP returns for its FIFTH season! A casual bicycle ride traversing approx. 3-5 miles (5-8km) with a different route each time. The end destination is a mystery park or ark-like setting. The term "park" will be used liberally here, so expect the unexpected! At the endpoint we'll enjoy a picnic dinner. Eating will be potluck style, so please bring food and drink to share (preferably vegetarian/vegan).
Please also try to bring your own silverware, plate, and cup. We will also stop at a grocery store along the way. If it looks like it'll rain we'll end up at a COVERED destination.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 17

MIDWEEK RIDE TO THE GORGE

Hawthorne Hostel, 3031 SE Hawthorne Blvd

9:45am - 5:45pm, plan on being back to Portland early evening

Riding to quiet country roads and spectacular scenery is easier than you think. The Columbia River Gorge is just a short MAX ride away. And you can totally handle it if you are an everyday rider. Bring a snack, water, and Tri-Met fare. Gears recommended. And call in sick to work!

THURSDAY JUNE 18
DEKUM TO WOODSTOCK (PORTLANDIA OBSCURIA II)

Good Neighbor Pizza, 800 NE Dekum St

6:00pm, This might take a while... Burnside. Skidmore. Going?
Find out what all these street names mean.

We will be riding from Dekum down to Woodstock, giving you a one-sentence explanation of the history behind every street name we cross...even Failing.

SATURDAY JUNE 20

SOLSTICE RIDE (SHORTEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR RIDE)

Peoples Coop, 3029 SE 21st Ave

9:00pm - 7:00am, Ride at 10pm.

BRINGING IT BACK TO OUR ROOTS! Celebrate the shortest night of the year by riding all night around Portland. Ride leaves Peoples around ten and doesn't stop until we see the sun rise. Ride your bike that you feel most comfortable riding on for hours. Bring something warm: it can get chilly at night. Bring food and drink as well. Lights (good lights with fresh batteries) and awareness of marked and unmarked hazards encouraged.

SUNDAY JUNE 21

DEAD FREEWAYS RIDE

New Seasons-Arbor Lodge, 6400 N Interstate Ave

3:00pm

What if...Portland built all the freeways it planned? This ride will follow the routes of several highways that never made it off the drawing board, such as the fabled Mt. Hood Freeway, some that did but were later removed, and also some freeways that currently exist. We'll start off Sunday Parkways and cover some areas untouched by previous rides. There will be a break mid-way, bring a snack or cash for food/beverage.

MONDAY JUNE 22

EPIC PIZZA RIDE

Skidmore Fountain, SW 1st Ave and Ankeny St

5:45pm

A haphazard yet precise expedition around the the city to sample the "holiest" of foods. Hardcore pizza buffs and novices are all welcome to join us as we eat, ride, repeat over a course of many undisclosed miles. Who makes the best? There will be many pizza stops, we'll keep riding into the wee hours of the night, and there may be some more "extreme" elements to the ride, you have been warned. So come for a little while or endure the whole event!

Bring cash for pies, of course. No mooches.

TUESDAY JUNE 23
TRAVEL STORIES: BICYCLE TOURING
NW Hostel, 425 NW 18th Ave

6:30pm - 7:30pm

A series co-presented by both Portland hostels featuring travel presentations on near and far from those who lived it.
For June, Hawthorne Hostel staffer Shawn Granton will share his experiences of bike touring over the past few years. Maybe hearing these tales will inspire you to go on your own bike tour?

FRIDAY JUNE 26

BIKE-IN MOVIE

Hawthorne Hostel, 3031 SE Hawthorne Blvd

7:00pm - 10:00pm, music and food start at 7pm, movies start at dark

An annual tradition... see bicycle related movies under the stars in the Hawthorne Hostel's spacious side yard! Enjoy some pre-movie live music and food donated by local businesses! Volunteers needed, contact us to help out!

This year we'll be showing "Long Road North" a feature length documentary by Gwendal Castellan. "Drawn by a longing for another horizon, Gwendal plans to cycle halfway across the planet. From the tip of Patagonia to the far reaches of the Canadian Arctic he makes the road his home for 19 months!"

PEDAL POTLUCK PICNIC RIDE REPORTS (the return!)
2009 SEASON

#1
Tuesday May 5th
start point: Hawthorne Hostel
end point: Rosemont Bluff Park, NE 68th and Hassalo
riders: 6
ride distance: 3.4 miles
food stop: Zupans on Belmont

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2885175

Why yes, it is deja vu. This is the same spot as the very first Pedal Potluck Picnic back in 2005, and also the first time I've repeated a destination. I'm not in the habit of repeating PPPs, but I like Rosemont Bluff (conveniently located blocks from my house), and it's been long enough since the last one. As Bobby Brown said, "It's my Perogative."

#2
Tuesday May 19th
start point: Alberta Co-op
end point, etc: ????

This one was led by Evan Ross of Portland Bicycle Tours since I was (cough, cough) "out of town". Still have to ask him where it went. (I'm slow on these things!)

#3
Tuesday June 2nd
start point: Hawthorne Hostel
end point: greenspace in the "rampland" on the West Side of the Ross Island Bridge
riders: 7
ride distance: 3.25 miles
food stop: People's Co-op

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2885201

With this one I returned the PPP to its roots, where we'd end up at a spot that no one probably never had, or would ever think about, having a picnic. The rampland around Ross Island bridge is a good example. It occupies several city blocks of urban landscape that is used for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, yet thousands of people pass by it every day without ever giving these spaces a second thought. And here it was: mowed, a view of South Waterfront and Mount Hood, underneath a few nice eastern oaks. And after a few minutes, we didn't even notice the traffic constantly spinning around us, heading for Lake O, Tigard, Salem, wherevs. Some participants mused about the possibility of putting community gardens in spaces like this, while others showed concern about pollution from automobiles.

A few facts about bicycing the Ross Island Bridge: It's not as bad as you think it is, yet it ain't great. And judging by the bicyclists passing us in rampland, it's used by more cyclists than you would think, but still, not a hell of a lot of cyclists.

Yep, I'm back. More about the rest of the trip soon...

HALFWAY.

It's been a little over a week that I departed Portland on a rainy Wednesday.  Now I find myself in Vancouver, BC, the land of universal healthcare, shelf-stable juices sold in 1 litre Tetra-paks, and everything in coins.  It was six days of straight riding from Portland to Vancouver.  411 miles (661 km), some rain, one flat, and three dogs who chased me.  I averaged about 60-75 miles (95-125 km) each day, one long almost-century day (95 miles-150 km) between Kelso and Elma, Washington, and a fairly short day (45 miles-70 km) between Dosewallips and Port Townsend.

I have to admit that I pushed myself a little too much on this one, basically because the ultimate goal was "Get to Vancouver!"  And to be honest, while the route I took was mostly peaceful, level, and pastoral, there wasn't a hell of a lot that I really wanted to stop for, as the route mostly hit up small towns and avoided Olympia and Seattle.  In retrospect, if I did it again I would have slowed it down a bit and stopped at places like Lewis and Clark State Park and Deception Pass State Park.  But these places are fairly close by, so I have the opportunity to go check them out again if I want.

And now I have the accomplishment of finally biking the whole distance between Portland and Vancouver.  It's something I've meant to do for awhile, and it's a little embarrassing that someone who tours as much as me hasn't done it yet.  And there's something else I realized after I crossed the border into Canada: this is the SECOND TIME that I've toured from a city that I have lived in to one of my favorite Canadian cities.  (The first time was in fall of 2007, from New Haven, CT to Montreal)

So there is the inevitable return trip looming ahead, where I bike from Port Angeles, WA south along the Pacific side of the Olympic Peninsula.  I've pushed back my departure a bit, because after the breakneck pace of getting up here I'm not that jazzed to leave so soon.  Originally I had the intention of biking the whole way back to Portland, but I'm going to take it a bit slower and spend more time in the Olympics, so the goal is to at least get to Aberdeen and take the bus-train back.  If I can get to Astoria, all the better.  But I don't have the time or the will to bike from Astoria to Portland right now.  Besides, I've already done that.

For now, I'm enjoying my time here in Vancouver.  The last few days have been chill affairs of doing much of nothing.  And that's nice after the ride.  I never seem to get much opportunity to do that back home, either.  I've thought about taking a week off from work and just spending it in Portland, but then I would feel like I need to accomplish something.  Here in Vancouver, I don't have that desire...yet.   The next few days will be spent hanging out with folks.  There's a Midnight Mass ride tonight that I intend on going on, plus the B:C:Clettes are doing a performance tomorrow night for Bike-to-Work Week, and I want to check that out.  After that I spend a few days in Victoria.

Hope you're all doing well!

THE BIKE TOUR THAT NEVER ENDS...

So, I've got two and a half weeks off from work, starting this Wednesday and going to Memorial Day Weekend. Whenever I have this much time off from work, I travel. No ifs, ands, or buts. I don't relish "just bumming around home" if I have the opportunity to go somewhere.

But where to go? Initially I was planning on doing an Eastern Oregon bicycle tour. Even though I've lived in Oregon for 8 years, I've only really seen the west of Cascades half. East of Cascades--the dry side--is still a mystery. It's beautiful out there, so I'm told, and what better way to get to know it intimately than on two wheels?

Well, the problem is that early May is still "iffy" weather out there. I'd be going over several mountain passes in the 3,000 ft or higher range (about 1,000 metres or higher for you Metrikids). And when I checked the weather last week, ALL the passes were still getting snowed on, snow still piled on the sides for the road, temperatures around freezing. Now I've done some snow riding, but I didn't relish the idea of biking over snowy, icy, and cold mountain passes and having to CAMP near them.

Well, what to do? The clock's a-ticking!

I could take a train somewhere else. California? Just went there. Midwest? Nah, not right now. How about closer to home? The Oregon Coast is beautiful, but I've already done it. I will do it again, but not right now. Same goes for the Gorge. Plus, it's always there, so I'll be doing a few tours in it during the summer. I wanted to explore some unknown, uncharted territory.

How about the reaches of the Olympic Peninsula? All those rain forests? The setting for "Twilight"?

The general idea is this: start biking north on Wednesday, using the inland route that hugs (but doesn't use) I-5. I've biked this bit before, but oh well. Then after Centralia, head northwestward to Elma, then northward along the Hood Canal (uncharted!) to Port Townsend (charted.) Then cross over via ferry to Whidbey Island (uncharted!) up to Bellingham and then cross the border into BC and hang in Vancouver. (I've been looking for an excuse to go back up, since the last couple visits were sub-par.) Then cross via ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island and then again via ferry to Port Angeles, Washington. Now I'll be following US-101 along the west side of the Olympic Peninsula down the coast all the way to Astoria, Oregon!

I'm planning on biking the whole way (minus ferries and a possible bus ride from Vancouver to the ferry terminal--if you'd try to bike it, you know why), which would make this the first door-to-door long distance tour I've ever done. Of course, I might go a bit slow on the westside of the Olympics, so I may hop a bus from Astoria, or cut back inland at Aberdeen to get to the Centralia train station. I don't know yet. And yeah, it can be a bit wet. I know that.

As for the route, here's a general idea: View Larger Map

Well, it should be fun. Wish me luck! I might update this thing a couple times as well.