Pedalpalooza Bike Festival
Every summer, Portland cyclists organize hundreds of fun-filled, public bike rides.
Courtney Tait
Courtney Tait is a writer from Victoria, B.C. who lives in Portland. Read More
Whether you’re a cycling fanatic, an occasional cruiser or just a lover of fun events, Pedalpalooza has something for you. Held all over Portland, this bike- and fun-focused festival celebrates summer’s arrival with over 100 rides throughout town.
Don’t know where to start? Why not start at the yearly Kickoff Ride at the beginning of the festivities? Dress up you and your bike and take to the streets to celebrate biking and the community. You can also Head to Portland’s verdant Gateway Green, Portland’s very first cycling park.
What is Pedalpalooza?
Inspired by the success of Bikesummer, a traveling event Portland hosted in 2002, Pedalpalooza has entertained bike enthusiasts since 2003. While local bike-fun organization SHIFT runs the festival’s site and helps with planning, anyone can create and lead a ride.
“I think the thing that surprises most newcomers (and continues to entertain old hands) is the ingenuity behind some of the rides,” says Chris McCraw, one of SHIFT’s community builders and an occasional ride organizer. “It’s DIY, as is Portland’s culture, with room for every weird kind of ride, from life drawing to scavenger hunts to pub crawls to races to campouts.”
With a mix of family-friendly and adult-only rides, Pedalpalooza embraces bike fun as a way to bring the community together. Many rides — such as Fancy Mondays or the Star Trek Ride — encourage costumes reflecting the festival’s celebratory, non-competitive nature. And while fun with bikes is Pedalpalooza’s priority, in previous years, events like the Climate Ride, Oil Train Protest Ride, Feminist Ride, and Jazz Funeral Ride (memorializing Portland and Oregon traffic deaths) also let people speak out on important issues.
Pedalpalooza for Visitors
Visiting from out of town? If you don’t have a bike, it’s easy to test out Portland’s bike share program, Biketown, or one of the city’s several other bike rental programs. Want to get a taste of Pedalpalooza without pedaling? Head to an event that ends with a post-ride dance, like the Kick-Off Ride Afterparty. There are also slower rides that you can join by foot or pedicab.
“Pedalpalooza is a ‘Welcome to summer, get on your bike!’ event that builds community,” says McCraw. “Hopefully, people you pass by will get a whiff of that joy — that delightful sense of being yourself and having fun in public — and join us on the next ride.”
Pedalpalooza Rides & Events
Ride your way through all of the Pedalpalooza events.
Bike Summer Kickoff Ride
This is the official ride that kicks off the festivities every year. Volunteers will be selling Bike Summer merch from 3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. There will be a limited amount of pennants and stickers for sale at the park, as well as shirts for you to try on before you buy online. There will also…
Pride Ride
Join the ride at Director Park for National Bicycle Day. Poison Waters will be leading this family-friendly ride. All Wheels Welcome. Enjoy a stately (i.e., slow) parade of 1.5 fabulous miles that will ride past spots from Portland’s rich 2SLGBTQIA+ history. The parade will end at the Cart Blocks Food Cart Pod with a dance…
Star Trek Ride
It's time to take the helm and shift gears to Warp 9. Explore strange new roads and seek out new pit stops and new destinations. Along the way, expect trivia, music, costumes, and prizes.
Kids Pride Parade
4th annual Lewis Elementary Kids Pride parade. Come march or ride — kid and family-friendly. Meet at 10:00 am. The parade starts at 10:30 and will last approximately 40 min, with events following. Especially looking for extra adults to ride, help cork, and help keep the march safe.
PSU Portland Farmers Market Ride
PSU Portland Farmers Market Ride — Pedalpalooza Edition. An all-ages/all-abilities, conversational-pace, meditative ride from SE PDX to the PSU Farmers Market to help support local farmers, bakers and makers of all kinds while building community in a relaxed, informal setting. Rain or shine! A post-ride adventure that is only loosely planned beforehand occasionally follows. Riders are…
Breakfast on the Bluffs
Come kickoff Pedalpalooza with coffee and breakfast on the bluffs. Feel free to bring something to share. Leading a ride? Bring your flyers and promote it.
Terri Sue Webb Naked Ride
Sunny Naked Ride honoring Terri Sue Webb, one of Oregon's pioneering body freedom activists. Ride naked or nearly so on the streets of Portland, through sunshine or liquid sunshine, enjoying body acceptance and healthy fresh air on your privates. This is a lighthearted protest ride. Bring signs and body paint. It will also be a…
R2R Woodstock
Ride with friends to the Kickoff Ride, all the way to NW Portland. Meet at 2:45+, ride at 3:30 to give folks time to do merch pickup if they need to. The ride is no-one left behind, and should take around 30 minutes +/-.
Derry Girls Ride
Join a pedal-powered tribute to the hit TV show Derry Girls. Get ready to embrace the spirit of Erin, Orla, Clare, Michelle, and James as we cycle through the streets of Derry/Londonderry. Feel free to come in your best Derry Girls outfit inspired by the show. From hilarious banter to heartfelt moments, this themed bike…
Was That a Dog? Gear Ride
Meet and share our assemblies of your gear for taking your dog on your bike rides, then take an easy-pace, 4-mile loop ride. Meet at Good Dog PDX on Stark St. The ride will cruise over Rainbow Road, then down to Ladd’s for barks and bells before returning to Good Dog PDX. Come to check…
Slut Pedal
Celebrate International S*x Worker Day by celebrating and uplifting local S*x Workers in PDX. This ride is centered around BIPOC and Queer S*x Workers, but ALL local dancers, S*x Workers, performers, sluts, and whores are welcome for this fun, community-oriented ride and party event. Wear what makes you feel confident, sexy, and comfortable on a bike….
Sing-A-Long Ride
Come along and sing well-known songs. Submit your song requests to Moorland or volunteers before the start or at any of the refreshment stops made. There will be a big sound system, disco lights..maybe even a fog machine. There will be karaoke at stops and sing-a-long songs on the ride. This ride was one of the…
The Goonies and Pirates Ride
The film was released on June 7th, 1985, and this day is the 39th anniversary. (Ride merges welcome as we hunt for the sacred jewels of Purple…Pirate costumes FTW.) Will you find the treasure? The purple gems and amethyst? The special purple ones? Where will one-eyed Willy lead you? Will you save Albina and Alberta St….
Prince4Ever
Kicking off Pedalpalooza with a BANG and celebrating Prince's Birthday on Friday, June 7. He would have turned 66 years old this year, and though Prince didn't celebrate birthdays and would often say: "You only had ONE birthday, the day of your birth!" we are going to celebrate him, his life, his music and his…
Pioneer Century
The Pioneer is an annual bicycle event organized by the Portland Bicycling Club to raise money in support of their mission to promote safe and enjoyable bicycling. Three fully-supported, non-competitive distance options of 33 miles (53km), 62 miles (100km), or 101 miles (163km). Each route starts at Columbia Distributing in Canby and loops back to…
Marine Drive Dry Triathlon
A choose-your-own-adventure multi-sport race. Sports are running, biking, and skating, and participants may complete all (in any order) or choose just one or two. People collect a "sport token" for each to attach to their medal. Each lap is 7.4 miles (12km), paved, mostly flat, with no road crossings. Participants can do a shorter distance…
Magical Fantasy & Fae Bike Ride
Did you read all of the Sarah J Mass universe and want to be Feyre Archeron or Manon Blackbeak for a day? Do you get through your work day to really thrive in your DnD campaign? Want to be a wizard like Harry or Gandalf? Planning on moving to the rolling hills of the shire…
KMHD Ride
Do you love jazz? Do you love KMHD? Do you love… riding bikes? THEN THIS IS THE RIDE FOR YOU. Join a gaggle of public radio, jazz, and bike-riding enthusiasts and ride through town blasting your favorite radio station, 89.1 FM KMHD. Plan to ride during the second hour of beloved host, The Baby Boomer's…
Petal Pedal
Petal Pedal is a gourmet distance bike ride like no other. You’ll journey along scenic, quiet roads along mostly flat routes (with a hilly option to visit Silver Falls) as you drift away to another world. The ride starts and finishes at The Oregon Garden, Oregon’s premier botanical garden with over 80 acres of specialty…
Portland Criterium Cycle Race
The Portland Criterium will return to the Portland North Park Blocks in August. This exciting form of bicycle racing will thrill racers and spectators alike as the race speeds around the streets over 30 mph. Bring the entire family to join a fun afternoon of racing and car-free events featuring some of the best athletes…
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