Pedalpalooza Seventeen

At long last, the day of my very own Pedalpalooza dream ride - The Swim Across Portland.  The plan was to meet at the Water Cafe, ride to the pool, swim, ride to the next pool, swim, ride to the next pool, swim, and ride to Velocult for the afterparty.

Instead, the ride temporarily morphed into the "fix a flat across Portland" ride.  It was "dress Western" day at City Bikes and when his tire exploded, one dude stuck his cowboy clad head out and shouted "do I hear gunshots?!".

We skipped the first pool and went to the second, paid our entry fees and purchased popcorn before entering the somewhat empty pool area. Marco Polo, laps, tricks, tread water competition before getting back on bikes.

It takes a bit of courage to ride around Portland in a swimsuit with only 4 riders, maybe even more than riding naked with 10,000 riders.  We arrived at the second pool after tooling through the Portland Parkways route and getting sprayed with a super soaker.

After a lot of sunshine and chlorine, playing with floaties and diving for rings, we enjoyed a poolside picnic.  Then, off to the store for beer and the park for butterfly watching.  A quick stop at a party before the after party, then, at last, Velocult, where all good rides end and great parties begin.