Activism can take many forms and can even be a celebration, but it is important to remember that the origins of those festivities are often dark events and that so many parties are actually memorials. Massive bike rides normally occur throughout the month of June in Portland during a festival called Pedalpalooza, but with the advent of covid we have an opportunity to take time to reflect on why we gather, what it means, and how we can make the streets safer. The ride leader is a skeleton on a ghost bike, to remind us that we’re working to make public spaces safer for everyone when we take to the streets.
I’d like to thank the Portland Street Art Alliance for this amazing opportunity to share my love of bike activism with my fellow Portlanders.