Bike City, USA
Downtown Portland Banquets & Catering
Portland has earned the distinction as one of the top “Bicycle-Friendly Communities” by the League of American Bicyclists. Its bike-friendly culture is well known and even better acknowledged.
In the mid- to late 1990s, Portland began building a bike network that today includes 300 miles of bike lanes and paths, improved bridge access, bike corrals and bike boulevards that wind through Portland’s beautiful neighborhoods. Many of these bikeways run right through the heart of downtown and past popular attractions, shops and restaurants. So renting a bicycle downtown and striking out from Hotel Fifty isn’t, by any means, a stretch of our guests’ imaginations!
For a list of trails and roads to ride a bike in Oregon, check out “Bike Oregon”. And TravelOregon.com devotes an entire portion of its website to celebrating all that’s great about bicycling in Oregon…check it out at http://traveloregon.com/
Portland riders engineer events throughout the year ranging from intense competitions to family-friendly rides. For themselves and for visitors. Among Portland’s top biking events are:
- 2013 PedalPalooza (June dates TBD) – Bike geeks organize about 200 events to celebrate all that is cycling. There’s rides, performance art, races, taco stand tours, gay pride bike parades, bike polo and more. Read more…
- 2013 Cirque du Cycling (June dates TBD) – This North Portland festival incorporates live music and entertainment with a street race, a family ride and beer garden; proceeds from the festival benefit a local charity. For more information…
- 2013 Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (July 13 and 14) – This 200-mile bicycle ride is the largest multi-day bicycle event in the Northwest, with up to 10,000 participants riding from Seattle to Portland in one or two days. The route takes riders through the scenic valleys, forests, and farmlands of western Washington and Oregon. Bicycling Magazine lists this as one of the best cycling events in the nation! To learn more visit shop.cascade.org.
- Providence Bridge Pedal (August) – This is a non-competitive community-minded biker’s once annual chance to pedal fancy- and car-free across Portland’s Willamette River bridges, from the Sellwood to the St. Johns. The event’s route includes the top decks of the Marquam and Fremont bridges! To learn more…
Perhaps you won’t be surprised that there are Portland area eateries that support the sport such as Little Red Bike Café whose walls are adorned with bicycle décor and two-wheeled patrons receive a 50-cent discount. Or there’s the Courier Coffee Roasters whose staff uses a custom-built cargo bike to deliver its artfully roasted beans. Black Sheep Bakery sports a bike-through window and offers riders a daily special of coffee, vegan muffin and an inner-tube patch kit! Hopworks Urban Brewery boasts a bicycle bar and parking for up to 100 bikes! It even lists tubes, tires and patch kits on its menu!
As for bicycle rentals, there are a couple close-by options from Hotel Fifty. The first is Waterfront Bicycle Rentals, located at 10 SW Ash Street. It’s located less than 1/2 mile away. And there’s Kerr Bikes Rentals, located at 1020 SW Naito Parkway – just 1.04 miles from the hotel.
Oh, we haven’t mentioned bicycle TOURS yet! And guess what? Pedal Bike Tours, located at 133 SW 2nd Avenue, just happens to be on TripAdvisor the #1 Attraction in Portland on TripAdvisor; #3 in Oregon! Among their bicycle tours are:
- a daily four-hour, eight+ mile tour of Historic Downtown (suitable for all ages)
- their most popular tour — a five-hour waterfall viewing extravaganza tour of the Columbia Gorge
- a three-hour, five mile Oregon Brewery Trail tour past ten brewpubs, touring two of them and sampling six beers (!)
- a five-hour Wine Country tour during which – after driving to Dundee – the ride itself is nine easy miles through lush countryside with a chauffeured visit to three wineries for tasting
- a three-hour culinary tour, Bites By Bike, which includes visiting a coffee roaster, deli, bakery, pizzeria, farmer’s market, food cart and chocolaterie
One has to admit, these DO sound interesting, fun and even educational, yes? And they are amazingly affordable. Call ‘em today for more information at 503-877-2453 and to sign up, of course!
As you can see, Portland is serious about its bicycle-friendly reputation. So c’mon. When you next visit Portland, get off your feet and onto a rental two-wheeler! Celebrate just some of the exhilarating cycling culture established by Portland’s bike aficionados. Make a weekend (or whatever) of it… with an overnight stay at Hotel Fifty, and you, too can experience bicyclers’ nirvana. To make your guestroom reservations, click here.
Miss Gulch ain’t got nothin’ on you!
