PORTLAND, Ore. — The 27th Providence Bridge Pedal and Stride is this Sunday, giving Portlanders a rare opportunity to get up on top of the Fremont Bridge, car-free, to catch a sunrise view of Portland.
The signature summer event is a celebration of bicycling. It rolls back and forth across the Willamette River and covers most of Portland's downtown bridges. Over the course of 27 years, more than 300,000 people have participated in the annual event.
"These bridges, they stitch the community together and it's the only opportunity each year for us to celebrate as a community — the bridges, the city, the river — in a very special way, car free," said founder Rick Bauman.
There are six difference course options available.
- Fremont Express — 23 miles
- Main Ride — 20 miles
- Family Ride — 13 miles
- Bridge Stride — 5 mile walk
- Kids Pedal — 3 miles
The event is scheduled to run from 6 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., impacting traffic on I-5 and I-405. Six bridges will be closed off to cars.
- Fremont: Top deck closed 5 a.m. - noon
- Steel: Closed until noon
- Morrison: Lane restrictions eastbound until 11 a.m.
- Hawthorne: Eastbound closed 6 - 11:30 a.m.
- Marquam: Top deck closed 5:30 - 11 a.m.
- Ross Island: Westbound closed 5:30 - 10:30 a.m.
The following bridges will remain open to cars throughout the event.
- St Johns: Open both directions
- Broadway: Open both directions
- Burnside: Open both directions
- Sellwood: Open both directions
This year the Fremont Bridge is celebrating its 50th birthday. The bridge opened in November of 1973 and was the last bridge in the area built without a bicycle and pedestrian lane.
The bridge provides some of the very best views, and backdrops for pictures, during Bridge Pedal.
Proceeds from this year's event will benefit the Providence Better Outcomes thru Bridges (BOB), which focuses on serving vulnerable groups in the community.
