Sunday, July 6, 2025
-
Sun, Jul 6, 2025, 4:45 PM
Meet at 4:45. Ride at 5
Ride is a loop
For over a year, I've been borderline obsessed with finding my favorite Portland bike route. The ride I can do from my front door and never fails to see me home happy, regardless how I left. It includes many of the things I love most about biking including the following: Nature, wildlife, gravel, rivers, houses I'll never afford but like fantasize about living in, roads I suspect were not originally made with bikes in mind, unnecessary loops, options to short-cut, options to cut it short, sprawling views, sketchy road crossings, things to catch air off, seasonal colors and decorations, a secret sombrero, reasons to feel proud of PBOT, reason to feel disappointed in PBOT, opportunities to make questionable interpretations of traffic law based on arbitrary rules in my head which change depending on circumstance, bridges, skate parks, urban art, highways, mountains, railroads, power plants, moments where it feels like I've left reality behind, grass, more grass, cute tourist attractions, people in parks, people going to work, people shopping, people going about their day, people from all sorts of economic states, political views, and housing circumstances making up this awesome city, reasons to go fast, reasons to slow down, and reasons to stop to take it all in. I want to share it with folks, so I wrote a blog post (https://austingil.com/luger/) and want to put an event for it on the shift calendar. I'll be riding it with some of my friends on this day, but I should point out some things. This is a 30-mile, self-supported route. There are options for food, drink, bathrooms along the route, but nothing planned, so you're on your own. It's not a race, but on some parts, I like to go as fast as I can. Feel free to download the route in advance in case you want to go ahead, stay behind, or do it a different day (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50835744) I also like to collect points along the way: +1 do a little, unnecessary loop +1 blow Vera a kiss +1 turn something into a jump +1 get wet +1 each photo op: Mill Ends The Portland Old Town sign The Kenton lumberjack Tilikum Bridge Vera Katz +1 read a poem +1 each one you spot: Train Bus Light rail Air tram Plane Helicopter Police car Ambulance Firetruck Crane (bird) Dragonfly Duck Heron Hawk Goose Egret Good dog Squirrel Osprey Bat Coyote Crane (machinery) Your dream house Mt. Hood Uter Gats Dentist Lords +1 beat traffic +1 find the secret sombrero +1 ride over a train +1 ride under a train +1 ride alongside a train +1 each skrrrt +1 accidentally eavesdrop on a personal/dramatic/spicy conversation +1 successfully avoid a hazard +1 fail to avoid a hazard +100 report a road hazard to PBOT 24/7 Maintenance Dispatch by emailing or calling: PDXroads@portlandoregon.gov 503-823-1700 +1 forget you live in a city +1 each photo you send to a someone you’ve been meaning to reach out to +1 catch a bug (+5 in the mouth) +1 fix a flat (+50 someone else’s) +1 coerce a semi truck driver to honk the horn +1 investigate something off-route +1 free curb score +1 each accessory: Bell Pet Rack you don’t really use but keep around “just in case” Full repair kit Party light A sticker you love +1 play good music at the right time +1 play bad music at the right time +1 play weird music at the right time +1 play nothing at the right time +1 each time you see someone attempt: Kick flip Bunny hop Make out Karaoke song Parallel park Being funny +1 give/receive a gimme-five +1 give/receive a up-high +1 give/receive a down-low +1 give/receive a too-slow +1 have fun +1 learn something new +1 make a friend +5 each person you share this route with Yes drops, no stops. All wheels welcome. Don't be a jerk.
ShareShift 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.