Most amazing bike experience ever!

So how many of you Portlanders made it to Sunday Parkways yesterday?

For those of you not from Portland, Sunday Parkways was a 6 mile road closure loop, opening the streets to walkers, runners, cyclists (of all sorts!), skateboarders, electric wheelchairs, etc. The route linked 4 parks along the way with food vendors, entertainment and information at each of the parks. It was modeled after ciclovia in Bogota, Colombia and is being tried out in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and others later in the summer.

I have never seen so many happy people in one place ever! The event started at 8am, but the kids and I got off to a late start and didn't get on the course until 9:30. For the first couple of hours I rode with the kids in the trailer and did the whole loop. It was a little drizzle-y, so we didn't stop too much. It was drier by 11, so we went home and got the kids' bikes and let them loose. They rode until they were exhausted, and we headed home just as they were closing down at 2pm.

There weren't too many people out in the morning - which was really nice. We did the whole loop rarely having to stop. By afternoon, the loop was flooded with people. Fortunately everyone was so happy to be out, no one was annoyed by having to ride around my unpredictable kids. If you're having one of these in your city, I highly encourage you to get out there and enjoy it. And if your city isn't having one - go tell them to do it! It was a truly magical Sunday that I hope we can experience again here in Portland very soon.

Here's a great stopy about the day from BikePortland: http://bikeportland.org/2008/06/22/t...nday-parkways/