Thursday, February 6, 2025
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Dan & Louis Oyster Bar, 208 SW Ankeny St, Portland, OR 97204
Meet at the bike racks at SW 2nd and Ankeny
BikeLoud
Thu, Feb 6, 2025, 5:30 PM
Meet 5:30, ride out at 6:00
6:30 PM
Ride is a loop
Whether you knew Bob or not, please come CELEBRATE LIFE as we honor a cyclist who recently passed. We will ride from his work in downtown to his favorite stop, the Tilikum Crossing bridge and back making a loop. We at BikeLoud didn't know him, but he sounded like a really cool guy and didn't want his death to go un-noticed in the cycling community. We learned a little about him to share… Bob Spingler was a beloved employee of Dan & Louis Oyster Bar who sadly passed away on 12/4, following a bike crash on his way home from work on 11/21. He had a zest for life and vibrancy, shown in his wild clothes, body ink and jewelry. Bob rode a custom motorcycle cruiser for over 50 years, only recently changing to riding an e-bike. He liked weed, and loved Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Band and especially, King Crimson, with their album cover tattooed on his chest. His sister said, “Bob went to Woodstock in 1969 and never came back!”. He had spent time in many different parts of the US, and lived in Portland for the last 10 years. The story of how he got hired at Oyster Bar is funny and inspiring! His best friend shared, “[At age 75,] besides arthritis, he had the body and energy of a 35 year old. Cycling is what kept him young. One thing especially fascinating was how he talked to absolutely everyone. Being at a restaurant or on the street with him, literally anyone walking by would get a genuine “how you doing?””. Because Bob loved stopping to hang out on the Tilikum Crossing on his way home from work, we will ride from the Oyster Bar to the Crossing with his favorite music playing, stopping to cast flowers into the river, then riding back to the restaurant. Bob’s coworkers and friends are having a Celebration of Life memorial for him at the restaurant at 4pm. We will meet outside at 5:30, and ride out at 6pm. Route will be 4.5 miles long. Please join us on this ride to honor Bob's memory and pause for a thought about other cyclists who have passed from our cycling community. (Photos by his friend and photographer, Wayne Mackeson)
SHIFT hosts this calendar as a public service. Rides and events are posted to the SHIFT calendar by community members, not by SHIFT. Rides and events posted to the SHIFT calendar are not sponsored by SHIFT or SHIFT’s fiscal sponsor Umbrella.