I got there a bit too late to see the parade, but it was still relatively early. I went inside the event area and there were people dressed up as they were just in a bike parade and there was some stuff going on the stage and it seemed like people were having fun, but it was hard to tell what was going on.
It was a bit early to drink beer and I couldn't get into the performance stuff that was going on, but there was this area where you could ride a bunch of "funny" bikes. Bikes that have been modified in funny ways and seemed to ride very differently than how we expect bicycles to ride.
I didn't ride one myself, but it was fun just watching people get a kick out of them.
The vibe was mostly peaceful and if I was there with others, it would have been fun to kick back and drink beer. There was a lot of bike enthusiasts and bikes, but then other than the Sprockettes who were supposed to perform later on that day, the performances didn't seem to have much to do with bikes. I sort of felt like there was something missing (like the actual bike riding). So, I decided to go and ride my bike. Well, I sort of planned that before and looked up the map for a good destination.
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So, I decided to go to the Kelly Butte Park which was a park I hadn't been to and wasn't too far. I didn't feel like riding too far, but wanted to go somewhere I hadn't been to. I'd been going to all the parks around Portland as I like parks and usually they offer a quiet and pleasant place to take a break. Though some of them turned out to be more like an undeveloped nature reserves and not really made for humans to rest at. Kelly Butte Park turned out to be sort of in-between.
As I turned off the Divsion St. onto 103rd Ave, the road turned upwards so much that I was in my lowest gear and needed to zigzag my way up. I came to a gate which completely closed off car traffic. I had to get off and carry my bike over the gate to go further. I rode the steep hill a few hundred feet more and came to an open space which sort of looked like a lawn, but was full of wild flowers.
I laid in the middle of it for a while as the short steep hill really took it out of me. There was not one person there besides me and it was a nice change from the event.
I noticed that there was a trail leading into the trees an decided to go an see what's there.
There were lots of trees covered in some algae(?) like stuff and flowers I hadn't seen before. I decided to play "nature photographer" and took some pictures.
The place had a strange atmosphere to it, like if it was darker and colder, it could be a woods where witches lived.
I walked further to see if there was an opening with a view down below, but I couldn'd find it. So, it is a park where people must come sometimes, but not so much that they made special amenities for humans. I kind of felt like it's sort of a secret spot most people don't know about.
On my ride back, I got hungry and wondered what to do about it. Going home and fixing something was the obvious option, but much to my surprise, I found myself riding back to the Tour de Fat event.
I got there and it was still going on as before. I headed for the food and beer tents and got food and a pint of a New Belgium Stout. The beer was really delicious, but a bit expensive at $5. I think if you're promoting your product to possible new customers, the price should be a little friendlier. Either that or part of that $5 should go to bike advocacy. They had tip jars for the BTA (Bicycle Transportation Alliance), but I didn't feel quite generous enough to donate after I paid $5 for a beer.
I didn't mean to sound so negative about the event. Like I said, if I was there with others, I probably would have had a pretty good time. I think it's a fine event for people who it appeals to. If you like dressing up for a parade, watch vaudeville like performances and drink beer, this is the event for you. I like the beer drinking part definitely, but aside from the parade and the modified bikes, it didn't seem to have much to do with bikes. Maybe that's a good thing as it appeals to a wider audience and maybe show them how fun bike riding people are. I didn't see it happen, but there was a portion of the event which was called like "I WANT TO TRADE MY CAR FOR A BIKE!". I don't know how that turned out, but that would have been interesting to see. Everything about this event seems sort of "extroverted". If you want to dress up for the parade or give up your car in front of an audience, I guess this is appealing. I like riding my bike quite a bit, but I don't like dressing up and if I was making a big lifestyle change decision like giving up my car, I'm not sure that I would want to do it in front of a bunch of strangers. That's just me though. Oh, and one more thing which I thought was cool was, after I ate and drank, I went to throw out the dish and the cup I used and the staff person who was supervising the trash bins said to put all my trash in the compost bin. Apparently, everything I got within the premises were compostable. That's pretty cool.
Anyway, all in all a cool event.
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