Three Speed Ride 3/3/13: Updates!

It's just a little over a week until the first Three Speed Ride of 2013. I've been quite busy getting ready for it: readying the Rudge, creating the Society of Three Speeds membership kit, working on the Society of Three Speeds website (please check it out if you haven't yet), and praying to the weather gods.

I've received a few questions about the upcoming ride. Thanks for your interest! Here I hope to address some of the questions and concerns raised.

 -Unless otherwise noted, ALL Three Speed Rides listed here take place in Portland, Oregon. I will list other people's Three Speed Rides as well, but if is being organized underneath the umbrella of "Society of Three Speeds", it's happening in Portland, Oregon.

-Unless specifically stated, there is NO registration for the Three Speed Ride. It's a casual, "show up if you are game" type of affair.

-I've gotten interest about this ride from outside the Portland metropolitan area, a first for any of these rides I've done. This is very cool! I don't want to dash anyone's hopes, but this ride is not on the grand scale of the Lake Pepin Three Speed Tour in Minnesota/Wisconsin. This ride is a short day affair lasting a few hours and traversing a maximum of twelve miles. I do plan on doing something on a grander scale in the near future, but the shorter rides will be the meat* and potatoes of SOTS for now. If you are interested in travelling from afar for this ride, here are some things to note:

• There should be some on street parking around Kenilworth Park.
• If you are taking either Amtrak or Greyhound into Portland, it's about a 5 mile ride to the park, and a pretty pleasant one at that. Google maps bicycling directions do a really good job in this instance. (If for some reason that link is wonky, the start point is "Amtrak Portland OR" and the end point is "Kenilworth City Park Portland OR". The "CITY" is key to get the correct directions.
• If you are seeking lodging in the vicinity of Kenilworth Park, there is scant choices, unfortunately, as SE Portland doesn't have a lot of options. The closest lodging to Kenilworth would be the Motel 6 on SE Powell Blvd at 31st Ave, approx. 1/2 mile north of the park. Not the most glamourous digs, no, but if you are an Adventure Cycling member in good standing you can qualify for a 10% discount. There are bed and breakfasts and guesthouses scattered throughout SE, but honestly, if you haven't figured out lodging by now the chances are slim that you'll find an opening at a B&B so close to then.
• If you don't mind "roughing it" a bit, I would encourage you to consider staying at the Hawthorne Hostel, a Hostelling International hostel.** It's about 1 1/2 miles north of the park. Hostels and bicycles go together like peanut butter and chocolate.

If you have any questions about the ride, please email me or leave your question in the comments.

 *"Meat" of your choice, whether from animals or not.
 **Of course, I am biased...