The Last Hurrah: NW Portland Sunday Parkways

The fenders are on the bike, it's starting to get dark early, and I pulled out the heavy rain gear. That can only mean one thing - summer's drawing to an end. But we're not done yet!  This Sunday is the final of the five Sunday Parkways planned for this year. This month we explore another new-to-Sunday-Parkways neighborhood - NW Portland, as well as Old Town, China Town, and even a bit of downtown.  Here's a summary of ebike-related activities at each park, and details on the traditional ebike meetup.

At Couch Park, look for Best Buy's signature tent, and check out their electric bikes and scooters. Then, brace yourself for the ride up to Wallace Park on NW 25th and Pettygrove.

In the shadow of Chapman School, Wallace Park should be busy - indeed, most of the vendors will be located here. Check out ebike demos at The eBike Store tent, as well as Kalkhoff Bikes. The hills of NW Portland would be a great venue to check out the hill-flattening capabilities of ebikes.

With all the action in Wallace Park, let's plan on a meetup at 11am at the Kalkhoff tent. The one-way downtown loop is only open from 11am to 1pm, so we'll likely head there first.

If you're riding to the NW Sunday Parkways and would like some company, I'm joining a group meeting at Florio Bakery on NE Rosa Parks and Grand (1 block east of MLK) at 10am to ride in together. We'd love the company.

SE PDX Sunday Parkways eBike Meetup: 11am @bestbuy in Laurelhurst Park

It seems we're running through our Sunday Parkways this year so quickly - it's hard to believe we're already rolling into Southeast Portland!

If any Portland ebikers want to meet up and take a lap together, let's meet at the Best Buy tent in Laurelhurst Park at 11am. If I don't see you there, I'll see you on the route.

PDXebikers in pictures!

Here's a link to some photos of Portland ebikers at East Portland Sunday Parkways over at bikeportland.org. Check out the entire slideshow - there are some really good pics in there.

Sylvia's newly converted tadpole cargo trike.

Gretchin and Rose, the Townie conversion.

Woodard Cycle's recently completed "Ponder" mountain bike chop.

East Portland Sunday Parkways eBike Meetup

Are you planning to ride in the East Portland Sunday Parkways this Sunday? Interested in meeting other ebikers? Let's try to meet at The eBike Store tent at the Lents Park vendor row around 11am and say hi. I may not be on my ebike, but I'd be honored to ride a lap or two with any of you. Leave a comment if you plan to join us, or just show up.

Update, 7/18/2010:
Thanks to all who showed up for the ebike ride - it was great to see you all! That was fun - I think I'll repeat it for the SE Portland Sunday Parkways.

East Portland Sunday Parkways Live!

The East Portland Sunday Parkways is Sunday, June 18th. First, if you're even slightly considering volunteering for a Sunday Parkways shift, step up! They are desperately in need of volunteers. Mrs. PDXebiker and I are both doing an intersection shift - help us help make this a successful extension into new Sunday Parkways territory!

Unfortunately I won't be able to pre-ride the East Portland Sunday Parkways route this year, but I will direct your attention to some ebike-related fun at each of the parks along the route. The East Portland is a new area for Sunday Parkways. It's a shorter route at only 4.5 miles, but manages to connect 4 parks and offers an additional 1.5 miles on the Springwater Trail. It also includes some time on the I-205 bike path, which I've been interested in riding since it opened, but haven't made it down that way yet. This will be the perfect excuse.

Lents Park, once considered for the location of a new pro baseball stadium, is a good place to start. The route follows the southern boundary of the park; here you'll find The eBike Store and Kalkhoff Electric Bikes. Drop in and say hi.

Bloomington Park, in the center of the route, has the most vendors setting up there. Best Buy will be there, at the epicenter, sharing their line of electric vehicles.

Ed Benedict Park is co-hosting Sunday Parkways and the East Portland Expo with live music, vendors, and free health screenings. Singing Planet Ebikes will have their Pedego rental ebikes there.

Don't forget that Springwater loop - with the number of events going on, the promise of good weather, and a shorter route, this one could get pretty busy, and the Springwater Loop might be a good alternative to the street route.

In short, I'm looking forward to East Portland Sunday Parkways - it's going to be a great chance to ride in a part of town I've never been. Any PDXebike readers planning on riding?


Updated, 7/12/2010:
Due to construction, the Springwater Corridor loop won't be open for Sunday Parkways. As an alternative, they recommend a short trip down to the Ramona Street Fair.

North Portland Sunday Parkways

(I'm not a good photographer under the best of conditions, and this Sunday Parkways I was riding in a larger group that made it a bit more difficult to stop and take photos; I think you'll quickly see what I mean.)

Sunday Parkways, North Portland style kicked off promptly at 10am as traffic was diverted away from the route. We started much the same my route preview went last month, starting in Peninsula Park and riding south and west, ie, clockwise. As we rode through, we slowed to check out the Brammo e-motorcycle on display along with some ebikes at the Best Buy tent. Farther along, we saw The eBike Store and Kalkhoff USA set up next to each other; I tried to get a shot of both in the same frame. You see how well that worked out for me.

The Willamette overlook was easily the most stunning view on the ride. Farther along at Arbor Lodge Park we cruised by Singing Planet Ebikes. I got a pretty good shot of the graffiti chalked in front of their booth. Intentionally, of course.


Coincidentally, Saraveza was throwing a party for the New Belgium brewery. Scanning through my photos, I realized I was going to need some photographic filler. Here's a shot of the drum kit bicycle being played, and the rotating tricycle. You can pedal pretty fast on that thing, but you won't get very far. You will, however, quickly get dizzy.


Early results I heard were an estimate of 23,000 people out riding, eating, doing, watching, and soaking up some great sun! Based on congestion on the route, I wouldn't disagree with that estimate - wisely, there were signs to walk our bikes across the Bryant/I-5 pedestrian overpass. I saw at least 4 ebikes, including a Bionx-based hand-cranked trike, and an ebiker on a non-ebike. Up next, the East Portland Sunday Parkway. Held in conjunction with the East Portland Exposition, it should be well-attended. It will also be the first Sunday Parkways that travels along a MUP.

Volunteer to be an Intersection SuperHero!

ePedalpalooza - What are Your Plans?

Well, we're almost halfway through Pedalpalooza - the eBike Ride is over, and it might not rain. Rain much more, anyway. The eBike Ride was great; did it inspire you to go on other rides as well? It inspired me - I've been on the following other rides:

Tiny Home Tour
A fun jaunt around NE Portland to look at small houses and ADUs. There's a SE version this weekend; highly recommended.

Accupuncture Ride
I was just riding to a food cart when a group of people rode by. I caught up and inquired, turns out they were the Accupuncture Ride. I trailed for a couple of blocks.

Hidden Routes of NE Portland
A great tour of little-known shortcuts and alternative bike routes around N and NE Portland. Do you know about the shortcut from Commercial to Freemont?

Mrs. PDXebiker and I are also considering the following rides - we'll probably skip the World Naked Bike Ride, though.



Fort, Food, Fort

SMUG

Tandem Ride

Costco Run

Sunday Parkways (here's my preview of the route)

Saraveza's New Belgium Bike Party

What about you? What rides have you been on, and what are you thinking about going on?

Ride Report - Sunday Parkways, NE Edition

Sunday May 16th was the first of 5 Sunday Parkways for 2010. Portland's signature summer car-free event, Sunday Parkways have been growing in popularity since they started 2 years ago. This year was no exception; despite early rain, there was a strong turnout all day, and even after the saw horse barricades came down, there was heavy pedestrian/bike traffic in the neighborhood surrounding the route.

Last week I posted a preview of the route; I was happy to see that I was pretty close in my suggestions. Alberta Park seemed to be the busiest park; the intersection of Prescott and 37th was secured with police officers, and the addition of Woodlawn Park was enthusiastically embraced. The exit from Woodlawn Park up 13th street was probably the narrowest constriction point on the route; Ainsworth was the most pleasant riding - the median made for divided traffic, and it was mostly parked-car-free.

I visited all the parks starting at 10am. There was ebike-related action at each park. While I was at Woodlawn Park, it rained a bit, but SoupCycle, who delivers in Souplandistan via ebike, was already slinging soup.

Alberta Park at 10:15 was already crowded. Wake at The eBike Store was up and running - not surprisingly, RainMates chaps seemed a popular item. With the broad open ball field, music venue under cover, jungle gyms, and copious food carts, Alberta Park promised to get busy quickly.


On the way to Wilshire Park I spotted someone on an ebike - an eZee conversion kit. It's rider wasn't actually using the motor, though, as he was riding with his son. Wilshire Park sported a Best Buy booth, where they were demoing their ebikes.

The ride down 37th to Fernhill was a nice downhill. At Fernhill, Singing Planet eBikes was doing brisk test ride traffic, answering lots of questions, and enjoying their cul-de-sac location.

Riding back up Ainsworth, I saw another ebike - an older gentleman riding a Currie conversion with his sons on non-ebikes.

Doffing the PDXebiker helmet, I ventured out later with a big mix of friends and family. We had a great time at Alberta Park, eating epic burritos and free Clif bars, enjoying face painting and a brisk game of frisbee. As the route closed, we headed to Woodlawn Park to volunteer to help with folding up tables and chairs.

In conclusion, Sunday Parkways kicked off this year in a big way, and I was glad to see ebikes seamlessly fitting into the mix. I'm already planning for the North Portland route. If you're considering going, please consider volunteering - it's easy and makes a huge difference!

Sunday Parkways Preview: North East

(I'm a big fan of Sunday Parkways; I have been since they started 2 years ago. This year, I'm planning on doing a preview of each of the 5 routes, sharing my experience and opinion on the route, as well as ebike-related points of interest along the way. Conveniently, I was test-riding a Pathfinder ST ebike over the weekend, and had a chance to check out the NE route. Also, please consider volunteering to be an Intersection Superhero - it's fun and a great way to help out!)

Sunday Parkways, Portland's signature summertime neighborhood event series, launches May 16th. The Northeast version is one of my favorite routes. Last year, we hosted a backyard bbq for the extended family and fielded a crew of ~25 on a wide variety of bikes, skateboards, scooters, etc.; logistics prevent a big production this year, but we're still planning to ride. You certainly don't have to ride to every park on the route, but here's what I'm looking forward to.

A big change for this year's NE Sunday Parkway is the new Woodlawn Park loop - adding a 4th venue and additional mileage is a great change to this route, so I'm starting there this year. With a well-developed play structure, ample picnic tables, and wide grassy lawn, Woodlawn Park and the cluster of restaurants on nearby Dekum St. is a little-known but much-loved part of the neighborhood. While here, be sure to check out Soup Cycle - Jed and Shauna will venture out of Souplandistan to offer the best in soups and salad. They also deliver weekly via ebike. Entry and exit to the park across Dekum St will be interesting; I'm sure the SP team will have it under control.

I'd recommend riding south up 8th Ave to Ainsworth; 8th is a little wider than 13th, and it maximizes your time on Ainsworth. Ainsworth can be a challenge to share with cars, as there's not much room to pass, but car-free, its a divided 2-way dream to ride. If this year is like last year, there will be Otter Pops in the median.

I think Alberta Park is going to be the center of the action this year - it's central on the route, has a solid roster of vendors and musicians, and will again feature the bike skills course. The skills course is fun to watch, but challenging to ride. It seems there's always one spot I can't get past, but I've been practicing. While in Alberta Park, check out The eBike Store, and grab a free map from the Columbia River Crossing folks.

From Alberta Park, I'd recommend back-tracking to 17th and heading south. This will take you by the Community Cycling Center on Alberta Street, a great chance to top off your tires, or grab something you didn't know you needed from their dollar bin. Beyond Alberta, we start climbing to Going St, then turn east to follow the ridge. The roads are wide and fairly shady, and as I recall from last year, a fun ride. An intersection mandala at Shaver and 37th marks the turn to Wilshire Park.

Wilshire Park offers the most food vendors of any of the parks on the NE route. Best Buy will be there, talking about their electric vehicle offerings. Pedal Bike Tours, who offer ebike rentals and ebike options on their tours, will also be in Wilshire Park this year.

From Wilshire, I'll head north up 37th Street to Fernhill Park. This is the longest straight leg of the route, and traverses the tricky s-turn at the intersection with Prescott. It's nice to pass through this intersection while heading downhill, so I'd recommend the counter-clockwise route on this loop. Also, 37th isn't as shady as 17th; last year I recall it got pretty warm riding uphill, ie southbound, on 37th.

Fernhill has a great off-leash section for the dogs; for Sunday Parkways, they'll have food vendors and an array of vendors, including a climbing wall. Be sure to check out Singing Planet's electric bike rentals. As the picture shows, the grass is filling in quickly at Fernhill.

Logistically, Wilshire and Woodlawn Parks have the most picnic tables, but last year there were temporary tables set up in several parks, so seating shouldn't be an issue.

"I Love This Route!"s
Alberta Park
The bridge in Woodlawn Park

"Keep an Eye Out For..."
Intersection at Prescott and 37th
Intersections at Dekum/7th and 13th