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 