The author and his knee at the Ladds 500. April 13th, 2024. (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Written by Cameron Crowell, a Portland resident whose work has also appeared on Eater PDX and Portland Mercury. This essay was submitted as part of a community project to keep BikePortland going while BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus is tending to a family medical emergency out of town and unable to work as normal.
Springtime in Portland means cherry blossoms, brief glimpses at sunny days in between the rainy ones, memories of the Blazers being in the playoffs (RIP Dame), and finally, after waiting all winter, bike rides to play pickup basketball at neighborhood parks.
Every town with seasons has a culture of pride around how their springs are better than everybody else’s, but ours really is best. Despite the doom and gloom about the state of Portland over the past few years — that has coincided with a decline in bike and transit ridership — when the weather is nice and people are biking around outside it feels like there’s grounds for hope. Just like I’m sticking with the Blazers even when it seems like they are trying to lose, I’m sticking with our community’s particular blend of blooms, basketball, and bikes.
Just like I’m sticking with the Blazers even when it seems like they are trying to lose, I’m sticking with our community’s particular blend of blooms, basketball, and bikes.