‘Bridge Pedal’ bikers again swarm through SE Portland

INCLUDES COOL BIKING VIDEO | Riders didn’t make it to outer East Portland, but, many of the thousands of participants were from our neighborhoods …

Heading south on the Springwater Corridor Trail, 2022 Providence Bridge Pedal participants approach the Sellwood Bridge.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Starting early on Sunday, August 14, Portland’s 26th annual celebration of bicycling – the Providence Bridge Pedal – sent riders on a tour of Portland and most of its Willamette River bridges.

Of the about 10,000 participants, almost half of them took either the “Main Ride” or “Fremont Express” routes which brought riders south of Portland proper, along the Springwater Corridor Trail, and across the Sellwood Bridge.

This year, 2022 Providence Bridge Pedal riders go under the Sellwood Bridge, before looping around, and over.

Having started as early as 6 a.m. that morning, the first riders arriving at the Sellwood Bridge crossing showed up at 7:14 a.m.

“As past participants noticed, we changed how riders approached the Sellwood Bridge,” event organizer Rick Eauman told East Portland News afterwards.

“Transitioning from the Springwater Trail via S. E. Grand Avenue, a dead-end street in Sellwood, and then out through the curb cut, was really difficult, and caused the flow of riders to stop,” explained Eauman.

“This year, riders continued south on the trail, and turned east at the base of S. E. Umatilla Street, and then, onto the bridge,” the organizer told us.

As the sun was rising, some of the thousands participating in the 2022 Providence Bridge Pedal made their way out of Southeast Portland and across the Sellwood Bridge.

Because of this, riders headed over the Sellwood Bridge on its south side, riding westbound, mostly on the wide sidewalk, facing the eastbound traffic, and the bridge did not have to be closed to motorists.

Take a look at folks having fun while riding their bikes, in this unique video:

“Because we were taking over two blocks of S. E. 6th Avenue, where there are apartments and residences, we hired a certified flagger to get their occupants through the bike traffic,” Eauman said.

Although, traditionally the downtown “Family Ride” is the largest event, Eauman told us, “maybe because of ‘conditions downtown’, that group has gotten smaller – and the ‘Main Ride’ participation has increased.”

And about the weather that day, Eauman mused, “I wish we could ‘bottle’ the weather, and save it for next year; we had a beautiful sunrise and great weather, making this the best Bridge Pedal ever!”

It took several hours for all 4,500 of this year’s Providence Bridge Pedal riders to make their way across the Sellwood Bridge. It was over around noon.

And he promised all bike riders, “See you on August 13, 2023!”

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