On Top of Portland
Originally uploaded by a.k.a. Little L

Yesterday, Mooj & I rode in the Providence Bridge Pedal. It was fun.

This was our third time. We missed last year, but the year before was a cluster. I think that the event suffered from its own success. It was so crowded that we were caught in a couple of big traffic jams. For example, a couple of years ago, it took us about half-an-hour to cross the starting line. We crossed a bridge and hit another jam, where we crawled along for about 45 minutes. It was very frustrating for a little one.

But this year it was very smooth. When I see the large crowds and the combination of riders of various skills and good/bad manners, I’m amazed at how well it works. But this year was the smoothest ever. It was fun!

In our previous two attempts, we did not get to the Fremont bridge before it had to open back up to traffic. This year we were determined to make it.

As we were waiting to start, the organizers announced the availability of a shortcut. We missed the Ross Island and the Hawthorn. Lots of cool pix from the Portland Bridge Pedal photos on Flickr.

My sister-in-law shares her experience on her blog. We met at the beginning of the ride, but were separated shortly after the start.