Even WILDerrrrRRR!

Happy National Bike to Work Day! Today was just another cold & soggy commute. But the previous two days were filled with torrential downpours, hail, rainbows, sideways rain, blinding sun, blustery gales, more downpours, etc. Unusually WILD weather and bike commuting for meek & mild Portland.

Surfing the Pedalpalooza calendar, I came across an organization that matches my current fetish for bicycling and all-things-WILD: www.cyclewild.org. Their mission is to reconnect people to nature via overnight bicycling adventures. I've been dreaming of riding to Bagby Hot Springs all winter, and the CycleWILD folks not only host rides to this sacred sanctuary but also provide a map and cue sheets for a bike-friendly route.

Touring by bike is still very foreign to me, but I might join the Reno crew in late June for a night or two of their Portland-to-Reno ride. There happens to be a Pedalpalooza Camping 101 workshop a few days before their ride, so maybe I'll get schooled and tag along.

Reviewing the Pedalpalooza bike madness schedule that fills Portland's parks and bikeways from June 10-26, I came across a couple of locally shot videos that are beyond WILD: Performance, and a local bike blogger joined Wayne Coyne for this Flaming Lips shoot on Mt. Tabor and Sauvie Island (two of the sweetest riding destinations in Portland). WARNING: Do NOT open this link if you don't want to see naked Portland hippy hipsters acting WILDly!!!

WILD man! WILD!