Today is the start of Pedalpalooza which was the source of many of my favorite days from last year. Unfortunately, those who I enjoyed the kickoff ride with last year were too busy to come to this year's kickoff ride. I was debating whether to go to it by myself or skip it but I haven't missed one for years so I had to go. It was supposed to be a picnic and a ride and it was starting in Northeast Portland so I decided to show up late. I figured an hour late was still early by Pedalpalooza ride time, especially when you factor in a picnic. However, when I got there, my ride was gone.
I looked around but didn't see any signs of the ride other than a few other cyclists who also thought it was better to be late than never. Since I was already up on Alberta, I thought I would lessen the disappointment with missing the ride by going to Mash Ton where one of the people I worked with at my internship was having an art showing. Disappointment was waiting for me again though as I found out their artwork had already moved on.
I was ready to bike back to Southeast with my head held low from multiple failures but I saw that the twitter account for Pedalapalooza retweeted someone's praise of the kickoff ride. Still, it didn't say where they went. I looked at the original tweeter's timeline and saw a more recent tweet that said they were at Overlook Park so I busted my butt and got down there quickly. It turns out that it was the endpoint for the ride but I still say that I made the ride because I biked the route and I followed them. Plus I cracked open a beer that I brought with me and left with my music blaring. I bought a portable stereo not too long ago with the intention of taking it on Pedalpalooza rides. I tried strapped it to my bike rack with a bungee net but I was still worried about it flying off if I hit a bump. I ended up snapping it into my pannier which was solidly hooked to my rack. It made for an entertaining ride home and fun was still had despite fate working against me today. Hopefully the rest of Pedalpalooza will be a lot smoother.
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