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August 15, 2005
Bridge Pedal 2005 
Sunday morning was Bridge Pedal. I borrowed Sweetie's sweet black-on-black Townie 24, and rode down to the start, loving how quiet it was. I had signed up for the 10 bridge tour/ride/thingee, starting at 6:30. That's 35 miles—about 25 miles more than I've ridden in the last, umm, twenty years. I decided to just take it as it goes—walk up hills if need be, stop when I get tired, and go home when it stops being fun.
Because I'm on Sweetie's bike, and because I didn't give this a lot of thought, at the last minute I'm trying to figure out logistics, like how to carry money and camera and cellphone, etc. I decide on a smallish purse—and then I remember that I might be meeting up with coworkers at John Street Cafe, so I need my lock. I ended up with everything in my big buzz hydro backpack—inconveniently located for any picture taking.
(But not to worry: there are lots of pics of Bridge Pedal here)
We got started, and we were off across the Morrison Bridge (the grating covered by grey wool blankets!), then down the ramp to Water Street, and by OMSI, and... stop. At this point, we all started walking our bikes when there was an opportunity to inch forward. This was some serious congestion, a big old traffic jam. But it was different than a traffic jam in that everyone was jovially talking to everyone else, and while we were annoyed, everyone was in high spirits.
The hold-up was volunteers metering us onto the Springwater Corridor. But once on the Corridor, we flew. It's a flat out strip, ever-so-slightly downhill, and I loved flying down it. I was amazed that I could move so fast!
It's such a different experience than walking the Corridor. Walking the corridor, there are all these animals to watch, my favorite madrone to look at, the swamp below the funeral home and memorial building. Riding, I'm so much less aware of my surroundings. I'm clueing into other people's conversations, their bikes, their helmets. Some guys behind me spotted the feral kitten family. Oh my kittens!
Then it's up the hill and onto the Sellwood Bridge. The Sellwood Bridge is old and on the verge of being condemned. It has a narrow sidewalk on one side which is wide enough for one person, though on the weekends there are people on bikes, runners and walkers trying to share the space, while cars come perilously close. To be fair, the car lanes are narrow too, so it's a great experience for everyone! But now, the bicycles have one full lane. Wuhoo!
We fly past landmarks in my Willamette Greenway loop, and then down into John's Landing. A guys siddles up next to me and makes smalltalk. Could this be Jonathan? Yep! Too funny! We have a nice chat, barreling onto the Hawthorne Bridge. The grating here is covered with plywood, so riding over it make this thump-bump-thump noise, very satisfying.
Then, back onto Water Street, by OMSI.... and stop.
Then up a little hill to the Ross Island Bridge. I downshift, and I hear nothing. I feel nothing. Oh, my chain had decided it's had enough of the derailler. I put down the kick stand and look seriously at the chain, hoping that by looking at it, I'll be magically made aware of how to put it back together again. There is no magic moment, however—I don't have a clue, and I'm just not getting any smarter. Suddenly, a man appears, and he shows me how it's done. And it's done. Thanks, Mystery man! And I'm off across the Ross Island.
Zoom, zoom, zoom, then up the Harrison Hill, then onto the freeway! Dude, we're on the freeway!!! And then, effortlessly, we're up the Marquam bridge.
It's a serious party here, and a total logjam. There's a band, bike repair, free rootbeer and clif bars and vitamin water and bananas, and people taking pictures, and no way to just get through if you want to just get through. A guy in a Salmon outfit (damn, that looks warm), puts a sticker on my shoulder. Finally, maybe a half hour later, I'm through the people, and I'm jetting down the hill. Damn!
And, we're back on Water Street, but this time, we're heading the opposite direction. We head up 2nd, then onto Couch, then onto the Burnside Bridge. Yeeha! Then through Old Town, and up to the Broadway Bridge.
Before we're on the bridge, I hear a couple guys near by.
Those elite cyclists, they probably aren't even going to drink beer afterwards, says one.
Or during, says the other.
I snort, can't help it. Too funny.
I can't believe how easy it is to climb these bridges. I haven't walked up a hill yet. This is so counter to my usual ride-the-bike home scenerio where I'm huffing and puffing my way home. But then I get to eat my words. We turn off Russell Street, and I'm behind some slow cyclists who slow down, and boom, I lose my momentum and have to stop.
You could have gotten over, a man shouts.
Well, actually, no, I couldn't, but thanks for your input, I say, nicely. And walk the bike up the hill.
Climbing the hill to the Fremont bridge is easy. It's a party up there too, but nowhere near as congested as the Marquam. It's so cool to be atop a huge, high freeway bridge. I get a reflector from City Commissioner Sam Adams (how cool is that?), get a clif bar, get a Starbucks samplelette, and then it's down the hill, off the freeway, down Vaughn and St. Helens to Hwy 30.
On Hwy 30, we're relegated to one lane. I'm trying to stay out of people's way, but amazingly, I'm faster than a lot of bicyclists out there. I keep getting caught behind cyclists who pedal-pedal-pedal-coast, and there are so many other cyclists passing, that I can't get around them. Unless I go outside the cones, and into car traffic. I start to get a little bent-out-of-shape about it, and then I realize: maybe this is a newish bicyclist. Maybe this experience will convince her to get out on her bike more often. Maybe even commute to work every now and again. Or do the Bike Commute Challenge in September. And maybe, at some point, she'll hit a rhythm of pedal-pedal-pedal-pedal.
I'm determined I'm going to make it all the way up my last bridge, the St. Johns. The hill up to the bridge is impressive, and seeming much steeper than when I walked it in the Portland Marathon last year. That's okay, I'm going up. I had momentum, I was gearing down, and then, an older guy ahead of me falls over in slow motion. No really—slow motion! I'm off my bike without thinking, helping him up, and he's laughing about getting his foot caught in his toe cage. I'm just glad he's not hurt. So I start walking the bike. And see before and behind, a trail of people walking their bikes.
Crossing the St. Johns is rather perilous. People are stopping, taking pictures, and generally all over the road, while we have one lane, and no real sidewalk. Oh good. What a nightmare! But finally, I've crossed, the rest stop is total chaos. I duck through downtown, then follow some renegades up a sidestreet, then I finally rejoin the route.
Immediately on the right hand side is the Portway Tavern. Ten am and it's open, and I hear the voices of my pals from Old Town. Stop here? Yeah, of course. Part of me wanted to invite myself into their party, but another part of me just wanted to get home.
As we are going down Willamette Blvd, it's getting less shady and quite a bit hotter. Some people have sprinklers out by the street—lovely. My thoughts are more and more about taking a shower and eating something that isn't a banana or a cliff bar. And so I finally navigate home.
All in all, 35 miles. And I cycled all ten bridges (I got the Steel Bridge going down to the start line). Great fun!
...
This morning, I was reliving it, and thinking that all those slow-downs were too bad. And then I thought, hey, we got what we wanted. There we were, taking over the roads. We were just like cars, only we could talk amongst ourselves. When the road was wide open, we could race or cruise, as we chose. And when things got congested, it just made me thankful for how flawless and quick and straightforward my bike commute is.
Posted at August 15, 2005
Comments
wow thats awesome vj. great job. lots and lots of miles! sounded like fun. good work!!
Posted by: brent at August 15, 2005 7:09 PM
Great to pedal with you VJ. I had a hunch it was you, but didn't have the guts to ask...I'm so glad you did! Congrats on a successful ride, hope to see you out on the roads again soon.
Posted by: Jonathan Maus at August 15, 2005 8:46 PM
What an impressive ride and an equally impressive description - I almost felt like I was riding with you. Great job!
Posted by: Jack at August 16, 2005 12:11 AM
Wow, that sounds like so much fun! What a lovely city you live in!!
Posted by: Lara at August 16, 2005 7:50 AM
Root beer! Mystery Men! That whole thing sounded like so much fun, I can't hardly stand it. I especially love the way you were helped the chain, and then you helped the older man. And the way some jerk cracked on you stopping, and you didn't do the same to the pedal-pedal-cruise folks. That's so you! Fun fun fun!
Posted by: Mia at August 16, 2005 8:52 AM
Yay! What fun!
Posted by: Megan at August 16, 2005 9:36 AM
So fun! I wish I'd been there for the ride. I was so sick that day we just drove down and I picked up my t-shirt and helmet. It was hard to watch everyone queuing up for the ride, but I know that I couldn't have done it being as sick as I am.
Posted by: Cheesepuppet at August 16, 2005 11:47 AM
This sounds so amazingly cool. I want to live in Portland! Good job and thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Dark_O_Clock at August 16, 2005 7:49 PM