We haven’t done a lot of rides, organized or otherwise, since moving to Portland. We’re doing a tour in Quebec next week and really should be doing more training. So today we did the Bridge Pedal, probably the most extravagant organized ride we’ve participated in.

The ride is a big meandering loop through downtown, crossing many of the bridges across the Willamette River. Almost the entire route was closed to other traffic, with just a few intersections kept open. And even those had police or other flaggers keeping things moving. All the route options are relatively short, but riding from home to the start point added a few miles. We opted for the 20 mile Main Ride, hitting eight different bridge. With Hawthorne repeated, and the ride in/out, we made a total of 13 bridge crossings.

We wanted to be there for the official start of 7:30, so targeted a 6:30 rollout. Of course, we didn’t quite hit that, between inflating tires, adjusting seats, and actually getting out the door. We left home on our two tandems, heading west towards downtown. We crossed the Blumenauer pedestrian/cyclist bridge across 84, then Burnside Bridge to get to the start point a little before the opening.

There were masses of people, filling the street for several blocks. They let folks leave in waves, but it was still very crowded. We merged in and quickly crossed the Morrison Bridge to the east side.

Next came the longest section, a loop around south along the Springwater Corridor multiuse trail, past Oaks Park and to the Sellwood Bridge. Max just had a week of cycling adventure camp near Oaks Park, so he told us about the various places they went and stopped for snacks. We crossed Sellwood, dodging the cyclists stopping to photos.

Then it was back north on the west side, along a mix of smaller roads and Macadam Ave. Heading back downtown, it was time for a knot of rapid crossing and recrossings. We crossed the Hawthorne Bridge, where the grate decking was covered with plywood for our benefit. Then south a bit to the Ross Island Bridge, looping back north and retracing our steps to take Hawthorne again. This time, some of the plywood had slid under itself, so Anne and Max had to go up on the sidewalk. Ruth and I were a little behind, and by the time we got moving the plywood was back in place.

Then it was time for some interstate action. The route had us going across the Marquam Bridge (a double-decker that carries I-5) and then along I-405 to the Fremont Bridge (another double decker). There was a rest area with snacks, music, and general crowds on both. The whole south/eastbound direction of the interstates was closed for our benefit.

Riding on an interstate has been on my bucket list for a long time. We didn’t get to do it on the west coast tour (we went through Pendelton instead). While we did bike on an interstate, I’m not sure it counts when the whole direction is closed and all lanes of traffic are crowded with cyclist. But it was still a neat experience to be at the top of these bridges overlooking the city.

For the final leg of the route, we cut back south to the Steel Bridge, leading to the finish. There were ice cream sandwiches, completion medals for the kids, and general celebration. We hung out for a bit before it was time to figure out how to get home. There were some grander ideas, but in the end we decided to just retrace our steps in the morning.

The last few miles of a ride are usually the longest. In this case, we had a slight downhill in the morning towards the river that we needed to pay back on the way home. Still we arrived home in good spirits.

Most of the ride was intense, as it was crowded throughout. But it would have to be crowded to shut down all the roads. And it was good to get some saddle time, especially for Ruth and I to gain confidence and gel as a tandem team.