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As Portland braces for its second 100-degree day of the year, the dangerous temperatures have prompted the cancellation of several events that make up a long-standing summer tradition: Pedalpalooza.
The mobile festival features hundreds of group rides between June 1 and Aug. 31, all of which are volunteer-led. That means each organizer makes the call when it comes to scrapping the ride due to extreme heat or proceeding with caution.
Some of the already-canceled outings include the Dead Freeways Ride, which was scheduled to take place at 5:30 pm. Monday, Aug. 14, and take cyclists to locations where major roads were planned but never executed as well as those that have been demolished. Urban Adventure League, which puts on that excursion, says it hopes to hold the event in fall.
Four rides have been canceled on Tuesday, Aug. 15, including the acoustic-focused Bleeps and Bloops II tour, both Naruto Rides, and the Ladd Circle Park High Visibility Ride.
However, some excursions whose routes include water are still on, like two different weekly pedals to the Kevin J. Duckworth Memorial Dock on the Eastbank Esplanade, where riders are encouraged to come in their swimsuits. (The dock is well outside the boundaries of the Willamette River’s toxic algae bloom.)
Logan Vickery, a volunteer with local bicycling organization Shift 2 Bikes, tells WW that Pedalpalooza organizers have been reminding participants via social media to pack extra water and stay home during the peak heat of the day.
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for much of the Pacific Northwest—essentially from Seattle to the Oregon-California border—through Wednesday night. That means afternoon temperatures of 96 to 106 degrees are forecasted, though some areas, like Salem and Eugene, could get as high as 110. In Portland, we’re likely to break the record high on this day in 2008 of 102.
To check the status of Pedalpalooza rides during the heat wave, view the event’s website.