Tucked behind Powell Park only a few blocks away from Highway 26 a collective of friends gathered together to share their passion for fixed gear bikes. Kindly put together by Fio Ballerini and sponsored by A and B bike, PNX Bags, Skratch Labs, and Cycle Path PDX.
With an empty parking lot and willing participants, a course was laid out with a mix of tight turns and a long straight away leading to lots of fun and exciting racing!
The racing and a track standing mini-game ended with the winner receiving extra raffles tickets for the raffle at the end or some goodies!
Although I am not ever wanting to ride a fixed gear bike there is something so alluring about minimal maintenance, no cables which is aesthetically *chefs kiss*, and the general way of riding you commonly see displayed online.
What I love most about going to events like this is the overwhelming sense of openness and kindness from everyone! People are generally going to an event like this specifically to interact, joke around, and have fun. I highly recommend if you have felt like you are in a rut in your love for cycling or just in general need for a emotional pick me up, look for an event / group ride like this and I promise it’s like dopamine straight to the veins.
I plan to tie this and other articles into a larger story (in the works) about my experience as a “newer” cyclist exploring/making my way in the Portland scene!
Last couple months have been very hectic, because of that I have not been as consistent as I have hoped with making articles. That changes now, moving forward expect minimum one to two articles per week!
Thanks so much for reading and to anyone I met yesterday it was a pleasure and I hope to see you around. If you do see me please do not hesitate to say what’s up! I may not remember your name (if I even asked…) and I will never be offended if you don’t remember mine. 🙂
Cheese Slice 
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