With hundreds of miles of protected bike lanes and a slew of biking events — including weekly, monthly and annual rides, plus the awesome summer Pedalpalooza festival — Portland is a haven for cyclists of all stripes.

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Pedalpalooza Bike Festival

Every summer, Portland cyclists organize hundreds of fun-filled public bike rides.

3 min read

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 — aka Bike Summer — has something for you. Held all over Portland, this bike- and fun-focused festival celebrates summer’s arrival with over 100 rides throughout town.

Wondering how to get in on the fun? The yearly Kickoff Ride at the beginning of the festivities is a great place to start. Dress up you and your bike and take to the streets to celebrate biking and community. You can also head to Portland’s verdant Gateway Green, Portland’s very first cycling park. At the end of the day, the festival’s multitude of widely varied events means you’re sure to find rides that are fun for you and your crew.

Know Before You Go

Find your ride on the full events calendar — options include rides that are mellow and challenging, family-friendly and adults-only, just for fun and in support of important causes.

What Is Pedalpalooza?

Inspired by the success of Bikesummer, a traveling event Portland hosted in 2002, Pedalpalooza (also known as Bike Summer) 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.

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It’s DIY, as is Portland’s culture, with room for every weird kind of ride.
Chris McCraw, Shift

“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. Most rides are free — they’re all open to the public.

a woman riding in front of a group of cyclists with a dog in her bike basket — Many Pedalpalooza rides are open to children — and even pets!

Pedalpalooza tall bike wedding — Pedalpalooza rides are fun for everyone — including newlyweds!

Mentioned Elsewhere Online

Shift

History of Pedalpalooza

Portland.gov

Portland Bike Laws

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, which lets you rent convenient, comfortable ebikes — there are more than 3,000 bikes and scooters spread across over 240 stations throughout the city. Another option is checking out 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 Kickoff Ride after-party. There are also slower rides that you can join by foot or pedicab.

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“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.”