Pedalpalooza Kickoff!

By a strange and magical stroke of luck, it is Thursday AND the start of Pedalpalooza.  The Thursday Night Ride's normal group of 200 people on bikes swelled to nearly 1000 based on my estimate.  (number of people in one block) X (number of block occupied.)

After a few weeks of hot and dry weather, today was a bit of a change.  It actually started raining lightly about 3PM.  I drove to Sellwood with windshield wipers running on delay.  By the time I got on my bike it had stopped.  The rain didn't amount to much. My home weather station reported a total of 0.07",  my buddy John's weather station near the Vista Ridge Tunnel showed 0.00".

The afternoon rain didn't dissuade the masses.  The group was large as we gathered at the Salmon Street Springs.

Riders were invited to bring bike mounted boom boxes and to wear costumes.

The wookie put his head on before riding
Josh C photo

Nathan, the ride's founder and usual leader, was away chronicling  the self supported TransAm Bike Race participants. Mark B stepped up, with the help of a small army of volunteers to help keep things orderly.

It was amazing to see the number of bikes on the streets.  We were legion!

Josh C photo

Daniel G photo

Bike Portland even was in attendance to report on the fun.

Most of the motor vehicle drivers honked and waved.  Only a few needed to be reminded that tonight the streets were ours.

"We were here first, you'll need to wait your turn"
Josh C photo

We rode a familiar route, but tonight there were no snack stops. My guess is that ride leaders decided the crowd was just too large to be accommodated.  We ended back up under the Hawthorne Bridge with plenty of daylight left.

With all the bikes with amplified sound, it was turning into a dance party.

Josh C photo

It was a great night for a ride, and a great start to the nearly month long Pedalpalooza celebration.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today .........14................0...................0.......................0............14
Jan...............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......277................0..................0........................0..........277
April......559................0..................0........................0..........559
May.........414...............0..................0.......................0...........414
June.........62...............0..................0.......................0............62
YTD...... 1433...............0...................0.......................0..........1433