Bridge Pedal on Aug. 13

The 11th annual Providence Bridge Pedal and Stride on Aug. 13 offers bicyclists their one chance a year to ride across all 10 of Portland's bridges, from the Sellwood to the St. Johns.
Registration forms for all events are available online at www.providence.org/bridgepedal. Forms are also available by calling the Providence Bridge Pedal Hotline, 503-281-9198. The mail-in deadline for registration is Aug. 5.
Pre-event activities begin Aug. 11 and 12 with a free Providence Bridge Pedal Health and Wellness Expo in the DoubleTree Hotel at Lloyd Center.
Registration for the Bridge Pedal and Stride can be done at the expo. Activities also are planned for children, including games, contests and the latest in bikes and health information. The expo will run from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12.
On Portland's big bicycling day, Aug. 13, more than 15,000 cyclists will head over the Willamette River bridges in the second-largest community bike ride in the country. Providence Heart and Vascular Institute's Women and Heart Disease Program is a main beneficiary of this year's event.
The 10-bridge ride (for ages 13 and up) is 38 miles long. Shorter options — a 24-mile, eight-bridge ride and a 14-mile, six-bridge route also are available. All routes cross the top decks of the Fremont and Marquam bridges.
The 10-bridge ride begins at the corner Southwest Naito and Morrison streets. The eight- and six-bridge rides start at the corner of Southwest First Avenue and Jefferson Street. Start times begin at 6:30 a.m. and continue through 9:30 a.m.
New this year is an "express" start time beginning at 6:30 a.m. for adult riders who like their Providence Bridge Pedal a little speedier (15 mph or faster). Express riders can choose a 10-bridge or an eight-bridge route.
In cooperation with the Portland Office of Transportation's Women on Bikes program, an 8:15 a.m. start time is reserved exclusively for women. A special presentation will be made at the start of the Women on Bikes event by Suzanne Hall, M.D., medical director of the Women and Heart Disease Program at Providence Heart and Vascular Institute. She will be joined by former Olympic cyclist Inga Thompson.
For those who enjoy crossing the bridges on foot, the Providence Bridge Stride begins at 8 a.m. It covers five miles across the Steel and Fremont bridges. The stride begins and ends at the Rose Quarter Commons.
Fees for the event are:
• Providence Bridge Pedal: $25 adults ($35 day of event); $10 for children 12 and younger ($15 day of event). Teams of five or more riders can save $5 per adult rider. Team registration information can be found at www.providence.org/ bridgepedal.
• Providence Bridge Stride: $15 adults ($20 day of event); $10 seniors ($15 day of event); free for children 12 and younger.
Participants in Providence Bridge Pedal and Providence Bridge Stride get free admission to The Bite of Oregon on Sunday until 2 p.m. by showing their event vests.
To ensure that children and families riding in Providence Bridge Pedal have the safest ride possible, this year children age 12 and younger who are riding on their own bikes will be participating only in the eight- or six-bridge rides. Children in bike trailers or bike seats are welcome on the 10-bridge ride.