My friend Karen and I rode our bikes down to the Broadway Bridge to see the rest of the Bridge for Blankets panels. In the process, I found a path along the west side of the river that was new to me. We picked it up at the Portland Police Department’s horse stables, and rode south, oohing and aahing over the four knit panels on the bridge. (Click any of the pictures for a larger view.)
Portland is such a beautiful city, and the bridges over the Willamette River help make it so. My favorite? The Fremont Bridge. It’s a tied arch bridge, and I love its modern look. It’s the next bridge north of the Broadway.
Our ride took us along Waterfront Park, back over the river on the Hawthorne Bridge (vertical lift), along the Eastside Esplanade, crossing the river again over the Steel Bridge (vertical lift) because I’d never crossed it on the bike/pedestrian path next to the train deck, and then back towards home over the Broadway (bascule). The sun came out and it was glorious.
Steel Bridge (black, train deck lowered), Broadway (red), Fremont (green).
One more look at the lovely knitting:
If you’re local to Portland, don’t forget the Block Party on Saturday, August 10, noon to 7 p.m. at NW Broadway and Hoyt. You can still buy raffle tickets for the Raffghan there; the drawing will be around 2 p.m. Proceeds go towards defraying costs for the Bridge for Blankets Project. Music, dancing, bridge tours, food, arts, crafts…what’s not to like?
(Photo: Sharon Mackie)
And if you want to get your whole bike geek chic on, the Providence Bridge Pedal ride is on Sunday, August 11. The ride offers routes of 3 to 36 miles, and crosses up to 10 bridges, depending on route. This is the yearly opportunity to ride your bike on the top decks of the two freeway bridges, the Fremont and Marquam. The views are spectacular. Here’s an ancient picture of the family on the Fremont Bridge from 1997, the second Bridge Pedal. Yes, I hauled 4 year old kiddo on a Burley Piccolo trailer bike. The year before he had a toddler seat on my bike rack. We’ve grown up some since then…
Have a great weekend!
ETA: Here’s a in-depth feature on Tyler Mackie and the Bridge for Blankets project.
PDXKnitterati 
Sounds like a great ride. I love being beside the water, but I have to walk. I don’t think we have any bridges here that you can bike over.
That’s why I think Bridge Pedal is so cool. Freeway bridge open to bikes? Yes!
It looks so pretty! We have some interesting bridges in Cleveland, although it’s a bit more industrialized in that area. Biking is one of my favorite family activities. We had a bike trailer that we hauled the kids in when they were younger. Our summer has been a bit wet, so we haven’t done too much biking yet. That is interesting that there are knit panels on the bridge!
They’re only up until August 20, and the weather has been astoundingly cooperative! Here’s hoping for another few dry days.
What a fun weekend! I love bike-friendly places!
You have some great photos here. I am sorry I missed the party 😦