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Not Enough Pedal In The Bridge Pedal
The annual Portland Bridge Pedal was held this past Sunday morning. Most of downtown's many bridges were closed to traffic, and a route was set up to guide cyclists across them. I pictured a leisurely morning of riding along, taking time at the top of the bridges to snap a few pictures and simply enjoy the view. It sounded like a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.
Everything seemed quite organized.
All riders were issued start times and colored bibs which corresponded with how many bridges you'd cross, and how many miles you'd go. A friend and I signed up for the 14 mile, 6 bridge route with an 8:30am start.
We arrived early, and lined up for our start. My hopes for a leisurely ride quickly drowned within a sea of cyclists. "Eh... it'll be fine once we get going, especially since they're starting groups at staggered times."
As we approached our first bridge, the Hawthorne, I realized this would not be the case.
After a bizarre bike traffic jam, we (the sea of cyclists) flowed across the bridge similar to how water flows in the riverbed below it. No, the water droplets don't get to stop and enjoy the view either.
We ran into another traffic jam before reaching our second bridge.
The traffic jam grew as more cyclists approached.
Things didn't get much better once we got onto the Ross Island Bridge.
Finally, a view... (as seen from the top of the Marquam Bridge)
By this part of the ride, we were struggling to keep other cyclists from running us over. Even though we were zipping along with the flow of the sea of cyclists, there were those people... and if you're in Portland, you know who I'm referring to ...who thought they were Lance Armstrong at the Tour De France. At one point, the king of neon spandex was behind me shouting "ON YOUR LEFT! ON YOUR LEFT!" By saying this, he assumed the three inches of space between my tire and a wall would somehow turn into a few feet so he could pass.
It didn't.
And he didn't.
If I do the Bridge Pedal again someday, I'm bringing a squirt gun for idiots who try to pass inappropriately. I won't even have to aim since they announce themselves/
...on my left? PSHEW!!!!
...on my left? PSHEW!!!! PSHEW!!!!
All kidding aside, there were multiple accidents, and I suspect most of them were caused by these ignorantly aggressive riders. I also suspect these are the same people who give cyclists in this town a bad name.
Sadly, a lot of bad apples can indeed ruin the larger bunch.
A bizarre Bridge Pedal moment: I was in the middle of a horde of bikes moving at a pretty decent pace across the Burnside Bridge. We were packed closely enough that it was a challenge to keep a safe distance from the other riders... and I kept hearing an odd whistle. It sounded like... maybe a bird call...? After the fifth time, I took a look over my shoulder.
"Do you know what that is?" said the man riding far too closely behind me with a grin stretched from ear to ear. "It's the opening notes from Beethoven's Fifth."
Was he kidding me with that shit? Trying to pick me up on the Bridge Pedal?
A: I'm straight.
B: As if I wasn't worried enough about being run over!
I'm not offended that a gay man was hitting on me. I'm offended that he thought my standards were that low!
This was followed by confusion on the Steel Bridge. "What are we doing on the Steel Bridge?" I thought to myself. "It's not on our route."
Whatever. ...on to the Freemont Bridge.
Time to stop and enjoy the view of the river from high above.
And snap a few pictures of signs.
...and then back into downtown to the end of the ride.
From what I've been told, this Bridge Pedal was a disaster compared to previous years. I've also learned that I was lucky. Since My friend and I arrived early, we started around 8:15 instead of 8:30. The actual 8:30 start was delayed, and the Ross Island Bridge traffic jam had grown to 45 minutes by the time they reached it. Later riders also experienced traffic jams at even more of the bridges.
YIKES!
All things considered, I had a good time. I'm not sure I'll do the Bridge Pedal again next year because it just seems like the event has grown past the organizer's ability to handle it.
...and that's a shame.
::::: | Filed under: photos
::::: | Posted Tuesday, Aug 14 2007 at 12:00 AM
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Alice said:
Wow. I got a bike this year and had in the back of my mind wanted to do the Bridges this year. Thanks for the insights. Your photos give me a feeling of what it was like if I was there. I don't believe I was ready for it
And eewwww to Whistler's brother.
You have a whole year to create a left facing squirt gun for your bike. How about one with a verticle fan spray like at the car wash? You could add a scent if you really got creative.
::::: | Posted August 17, 2007 8:40 PM
Me! said:
To be fair, had the event been better organized, it would have been phenomenal. And, really, despite my complaints, parts of this year's Bridge Pedal were a lot of fun.
Hopefully, the organizers will have learned from this year's mistakes.
::::: | Posted August 17, 2007 9:28 PM
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