Urban Adventure League

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.