I just signed up for Portland’s Bridge Pedal again this year. It’s coming up next weekend. It’ll be my 5th time, and I am really looking forward to it, even though last year was such a mess.
I better explain that last sentence…
Bridge Pedal 2007 had some problems—and I complained about it.
Since we had a late start time, Alison, Austin and I got caught in the traffic jam waiting to cross the Ross Island Bridge. It was a stand-still for over an hour! This picture shows what was ahead of us, and it was pretty much the same behind us.
Since we got delayed for so long, 1,500 of us were too late to go across the Fremont Bridge. They had to open it up for cars. Well, they turned us around over by the Rose Quarter, and sent us to the finish line, so we never even got to the rest area. I was especially not happy at all about that, and decided right then I would do something about it. Something – I wasn’t sure what.
When we got home, I did two things. (1) I emailed the Bridge Pedal organizers, and (2) I posted a comment on BikePortland.org (an excellent Portland/bike-related blog which has since become one of my favorite blogs). There were dozens of comments on this particular topic, and so I added my own frustrated experience, followed by my full name (most people only use their first name). Well, the jam had become a big news story, and an Oregonian news reporter saw my name on the bikePortland.org site, and Googled me.
I was pretty shocked when I got the phone call from the Oregonian! I am not one to complain usually, and I really don’t like the spotlight as most of you know. She asked me a bunch of questions, and the next day my name was in the paper as one who was not happy with my Bridge Pedal experience.
I was even more shocked when I got a personal email from Rick Bauman, the Event Director! It contained an apology, a promise to solve the problems that created the bottleneck, and a note that the registration fees had been refunded to my credit card. Cool!
By the looks of things, it seems like they have worked out most of the problems for 2008 without placing a cap on the number of riders. (There were around 20,000 last year!) It really is a great ride, and I recommend it for bike riders of any skill level… Its a really fun way to see the city and it’s bridges, and it’s pretty fun to ride on the freeway too!
I must comment on my 2 kids during this episode last year. They both had such good attitudes, and took it all in stride. Even while standing still for over an hour, they were very patient. I can learn much from them.
I’ll post a recap and review of this year’s Bridge Pedal after the ride next weekend. I expect it will be a good one—Deanne is going to join us!
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