Bridge Pedal

by Joanne Heilinger

With the rain and wind on Saturday, May 19, 1996, my husband John Maurice and I decided no to ride "Reach the Beach". So, having no other plans for Sunday and no SBC ride scheduled for Sunday morning, we decided to go to Portland and do the unprecedented "Bridge Pedal" over the 10 Willamette River bridges in the Portland area. This event required two years of planning and the cooperation of many government agencies. It was definitely well worth the effort. The event drew an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 bike riders and 300 volunteers.

As John and I approached the registration tables, we were greeted by SBC members Ralph Nisbet and Ken Benjamin and Ken's son, Dan. Since this was listed in Spokes as an up-coming event ride, we signed an SBC release and wheeled our bikes up to the starting line to wait our turn to start riding. With the large number of participants, they released the riders in groups of about 50 at 30-second intervals.

After a short excursion through downtown Portland, past signs saying that I-5 was closed ahead (imagine, a freeway closed for a bicycle event!), we headed onto the upper deck (165 feet above the river) of the Marquam Bridge. Of course we had to stop mid-span for a "photo op" since Ralph had remembered his camera.

After circling through an industrial area east of the river, we approached the Hawthorne Bridge where we dodged sandbags holding down the green carpet spread over the steel grating of the road surface. Even with carpeting, riding over the grating was somewhat treacherous.

We again circled through the streets of downtown Portland as we approached the Morrison Bridge which was covered with gray carpet. Did you know that the Morrison Bridge was the first bridge to span the Willamette in Portland? The original bridge was constructed in 1887. (The current bridge dates to 1958.) It was also the first bridge to be illuminated, 1987.

On the fourth bridge, the Burnside Bridge, we purposely avoided riding in the designated bike lane that permanently exists on this bridge. It must be the rebel in me that urged me to do something out of the ordinary, ride in an auto lane.

The Steel Bridge allowed us to share the partially paved grating with the Max light-rail trains. We learned that the Steel Bridge is unique in that its upper and lower decks move independently of each other.

Again we wandered through the industrial are of East Portland and past the new Rose Garden Arena as we approached the upper deck of the I-405 Fremont Bridge (again a whole section of freeway closed except for bicycles!). As we stopped for another photo session 175 feet above the river, we were awe-struck and pointed this out to SBC member Chuck Fisher as he rode up to us. It took 25 hours to hoist the 6,000 ton center span into place when it was constructed in 1973.

From the Fremont Bridge we headed four miles up the west side of the Willamette River on the left side of a four-lane road toward a steep approach to the beautiful St. John's Bridge. The descent from the St. John's Bridge was equally steep if we had chosen to visit the Cathedral Park Rest Area. Seeing other riders struggling as they climbed back up the very steep (D-rated, definitely) hill, we decided that we really hadn't exerted enough energy yet to make a rest stop necessary at this time.

Another four or five mile trip through a lovely residential area overlooking the Swan Island Ship Yards brought us back into industrial area near the red Broadway Bridge that was covered with black carpet.

Retracing some of the area that we rode when we first started, we then crossed the busiest non-freeway bridge, the Ross Island Bridge, and headed toward the Sellwood Rest Area. There we were served bagels, apples, bananas, oranges, and bottled water and given a flyer on the history of the area.

We continued south a little further before crossing the last and the narrowest of the bridges, the Sellwood Bridge.

The return trip to downtown took us along the Willamette Greenway Trail on bike paths that had obviously been buried in silt during last winter's flood. Paths that came within feet of the river (one are must have been rerouted and resurfaced because the original path disappeared into the river for a few feet); paths that we had to share with joggers, walkers, and a group of people wearing matching T-shirts with printing in some language I couldn't read.

The finish area was under the Marquam Bridge at the new, state-of-the-art energy efficient Pacific Gas Transmission Building where there were displays, food, and T-shirts for participants who wanted to memorialize in cotton this historical event.

We marveled at a three-person bike where one rider was reclined in the recumbent position facing forward, one reclined facing backwards and a third in the middle in an upright position like most riders. Imagine always having to pedal backwards and wee only where you have been, but the girl in that position had a big smile one her face. Another novelty was a old fat-tire bike with a one-wheeled, pivoted extension attached so that the youngster could help dad pedal.

Seeing numerous riders down, we noted that railroad tracks are very dangerous for cyclists, especially crossing is not at a right angle. Other than the railroad crossing accidents and lots of flat tires, there were surpassingly few mishaps considering the number of riders and the varied abilities and inabilities of the participants.

It's surprising how easy it is to get used running red lights and riding in the wrong direction on the roads. There was only one street that did not have o volunteer warning that we must watch for cross-traffic and obey the traffic signal. Everywhere else volunteers directed us to turn, stop, avoid hazards, and obey signals.

Money raised from this event was donated to the Willamette Light Brigade, an organization whose mission is to light the bridges that span the Willamette River, and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, an organization dedicated to making the roads and bridges more accessible to bicycles.

This 35 mile ride was definitely one of the most fun bike events that I've ever participated in and I would not miss it if it happens again. There was also a 13 mile family ride that crossed the eight bridges in the downtown area. Having an even number of bridges is really handy because you don't have to skip any or cross any more than one.

Oh, and if you can get Ralph to ride at your speed, he is full of jokes and puns and will entertain you immeasurably.

© Joanne Heilinger