June 02, 2011
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Marcus Griffith
What the broken hub happened?
Vancouver typically hosts between 20 and 30 Pedalpalooza events that make the official calendar and a few dozen that go unpublished. At press time, only five events were listed on this year’s official Pedalpalooza calendar.
Even considering the handful that haven’t been posted or don’t get posted, this year is preparing to be Vancouver’s worst Pedalpalooza showing in years.
I tracked down a few former event hosts to ask why they weren’t hosting events this year. Some moved away, some are opting to keep their rides “under the radar,” but “just too busy” was the No. 1 reason former event hosts aren’t putting on a ride this year.
Tasha Grant, 32-year old Vancouver native has hosted a Pedalplooza ride for the last three years, but won’t this year because her work schedule is busier this year.
“I just don’t have the time [to host a ride] this year… people don’t realize the effort it takes to put together a decent ride”
Being “under appreciated” was also a factor for several people, including Kenneth Brinkman,
“You spend hours setting up the ride, use your own money to buy equipment and inevitably some jerk shows up and bitches about not having free beer or how the ride sucks and than your stuck until three in the morning cleaning up afterwards,” he said.
As of Tuesday, May 31, Vancouver rides on the Pedalpalooza calendar are listed below. More may be added at any time, so check out the online calendar at www.shift2bikes.org.
Tour of bike lockers
Educational bike ride to “show people how to access the downtown bike lockers and what resources are available to commuters.” Noon to 1 p.m., Tuesday, June 14. Laurie.Lebowsky@gmail.com.
Pop Crawl
Tour of soda places (it’s like a pub crawl for minors). Bring cash for soda. Meet at Pop Culture, 1929 Main. 5 to 7 p.m., Friday, June 17. stucat@gmail.com.
Vancouver Velo Vino Tour
A “tour of Vancouver’s wine bars in the Westside.” Starts and ends at Niche Wine and Art, 1013 Main Street. Bring cash for the food and drink. 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday, June 18. todd.boulanger@yahoo.com.
Pretty Panty Ride
“5th annual ride through Vancouver to visit public art while dressing in our prettiest panties.” Tends to be a low key ride with more PJ’s than g-strings. Starts at Esther Short Park. Sunday, June 19, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. leah.angstgallery@gmail.com.
Heritage Tree Bike Ride.
Bike around. Look at old trees. Hosted by the City of Vancouver’s Urban Forestry. Monday, June 20, 6 to 8 p.m., Starts at Esther Short Park. jessica.antoine@cityofvancouver.us.
Esther Short to Burn Bridge Creek Trail
Thirteen-mile “leisurely ride.” Start’s at Esther Short Park. Sunday, June 26, 11 a.m. Laurie.Lebowsky@gmail.com.
Not on the list yet is the long board friendly Bad Monkey 3rd Annual Anniversary Ride. wade@badmonkeybikes.com.