Pedalpalooza Kickoff party and ride

I decided I’d skip Coffee Outside this weekend, and go to the Pedalpalooza kickoff party and ride instead.

I enjoyed myself while I was downtown, bumping into friends and ogling the wide variety of bicycles and other human-powered vehicles.

I arrived a little before 3:30 and enjoyed the proceedings, walking around and snapping photos.

By 4:30, there were several thousand people gathered, filling the North Park Blocks while waiting for the start of the ride at 5pm.

At 5pm, the ride kicked off, cruising slowly to NW Broadway, then turning left to cross the Broadway Bridge. I pedaled along slowly, finding myself surrounded by other riders whose bikes passed me, sometimes with less than  half a foot between us. Once upon a time, this would not have fazed me at all and I would have easily held my line without worry.

Today, though, was my first group ride since before the pandemic, before Covid and Long Covid and everything else. And today, I simply could not feel comfortable holding my line with others passing so close. I got dizzy and a little thrown off, and I knew I would have to pull over and get out of the way. My Pedalpalooza Kickoff Ride was over after four blocks. 

I pulled up onto the sidewalk, feeling sad and sorry, and then I watched as several thousand riders in a dense bunch streamed past me. 

I knew I had made the right choice. I was sad, and also philosophical about it. Long Covid, a long hiatus from riding and the passage of time had taken away some of my comfort, stability and confidence. It had also taken away my stamina. I knew immediately that even if I had felt comfortable enough in that huge crowd, I wouldn’t make it over the bridge and up the hill to Laurelhurst Park, some six miles away. It was all just too much for the rider I had become now.

I waited until the last of the throng had passed me, and then I turned and rode towards the nearest MAX stop. I would ride the train up the long hill to Overlook, them hop out and ride the last two miles home.

Riding alone, I felt less wobbly and mostly held my line. I wasn’t trying my head quickly either way to look out for other riders, and I was riding in a bike lane, and that was preferable by far. 

I stopped at Peninsula Park to admire the roses, most of which are in bloom now. It was a good way to end my evening, and I was able to feel gratitude for being able to ride alongside such beauty as this.

Enjoy Bike Summer, and happy riding.

Proof that the bicycle market is DEPRESSED.

Prices on used bikes and accessories have been in freefall since the latter half of the pandemic.

A used bicycle that I rescued, overhauled and accessorized, could sell for over $200 in 2019-2020.

Today I can’t get fifty bucks for the same bike.

Below: this bike, with an Xtracycle attachment installed is currently for sale in Gresham, Oregon.

I used to sell the attachment kits ALONE, new, for over $500, some fifteen years ago.

Kiddie handlebar, running boards and other add-ons could bring the price up by another $100-125.

This attachment kit is installed on a Specialized Hard Rock, a mountain bike from the 1990s that has become somewhat desirable, and which can fetch upwards of $300 in good condition on the used market here. (The flagship Rock Hopper can fetch double that, depending on product year and condition.)

Today, this seller is asking $250 for the whole thing, bike and Xtracycle installed.

If I still rode a cargo bike, this would be a steal. But, like many bicyclists here and across the country, I find long tail cargo bikes too hard to balance as I get older (and wobblier, a residual effect of Long Covid), and I no longer haul heavy cargo by bicycle. 

It’s a new listing, so don’t be surprised if he drops the price after a few weeks. 

An aging demographic, the rise in popularity of e-bikes across age groups (that’s another post for another time, but don’t get me started), and the abandonment of bicycle-friendly infrastructure projects have all combined to make ordinary bicycle riding less popular than it used to be before Covid. The pandemic alone wiped out over a third of bike commuting from pre-lockdown, and it hasn’t really come back. 

This would be a bad time for me to sell either of my remaining two bicycles. (I’m not ready to let them go, but it’s definitely a buyer’s market these days.) I couldn’t sell the larger share of my bicycle tools, and ultimately gave them away. I’m mostly okay with it at this point, and hope they’ll be put to good use.

I’m still riding, a few times a week at most, for short distances. I take my transit pass with me so if I get dizzy I can hop on transit to get home. I know that the day will come when I no longer ride at all, and when it does, I’ll sell off what’s left.

In the meantime, I can still ride a little.

Pedalpalooza, Portland’s summertime celebration of all things bicycle, begins tomorrow with a friendly group ride that starts downtown. If you’re in Portland and you have a bicycle, check it out. There will be rides and bike-adjacent events all summer long: https://www.shift2bikes.org/pedalpalooza-calendar/

Happy riding!

pedalpalooza: it's never too early to plan your bike fun

Portland's monthlong celebration of bicycles, Pedalpalooza, begins June 9 this year. I will be away for a good chunk of it, but since the festival has been extended to early July, I will be able to participate in some bike fun this summer.

I decided to take it upon myself to organize -- if a bunch ofmiddle-aged bicycle iconoclasts can actually BE "organized" -- the annual Riverndell/Bridgestone lovers' ride. This ride, celebrating lugged steel bikes, and Grant Peterson's contributions to bicycling, has gone by several names, including Riv lovers' ride, the Grant Peterson ride, and more. But this year, I've decided to re-christen it the UNracer Ride, in honor of the real reason Grant and others of his ilk are in this bicycle thing.
For a certain subset of us, it's really about riding your bike and enjoying it. UNracing means riding a bike that offers a comfortable position; wearing comfortable clothes; and eschewing the whole racer vibe of lycra, clipless shoes and a bent-over riding position in favor of riding slower, mellower, and decidedly UNcompetitively.

In short, it's UNracing. Which is pretty much the only riding I do nowadays.

So the ride formerly known as the Riv lovers' ride, or the Grant Peterson ride, is now the UNracer ride. This year, it will happen on Wednesday evening June 29. If you're in Portland and want to celebrate lugged steel, fat pedals, mellow clothes and a mellower riding attitude, we're meeting at 6:30 pm at Peninsula Park. We admire each others' bikes and take a decidedly mellow ride that will end up somewhere. Bring money for food and drink at the end.

The rest of the action-packed Pedalpalooza calendar can be found here.

Summertime in Oregon is glorious! Pump up your tires, oil your chain and go for a ride!