2024 Adaptive BIKETOWN Spring Newsletter
Welcome to the 5th edition of the Adaptive BIKETOWN newsletter. We are excited for the 2024 riding season, and we can not wait to share the various spaces to connect and see the Adaptive bike fleet. Thanks to the hard work of Kerr Bikes, the Portland Bureau of Transportation, and our lovely sponsor, Nike, Adaptive BIKETOWN is happy to continue offering the first hour of your ride FREE for our Adaptive riders!
The shop is currently operating its spring hours and the lovely weather has already brought out a record breaking number of riders to kick off the season.
Come on down to the OMSI waterfront, look out for the big red barn, and enjoy a ride on us!
What to Look for in 2024
Adaptive BIKETOWN has many fun plans for 2024. The team has been hard at work connecting with partners and setting up events to get more people on Adaptive bikes.
Spring ridership has been soaring in March and April thanks to some pockets of sunshine. Adaptive BIKETOWN has already participated in the season’s first Sunday Parkways in East Portland, and the team is looking forward to the second Sunday Parkways in Cully on June 16th. We will be riding alongside Adaptive Sports NW and Shriners Children's Hospital for an Adaptive-led group ride. Adaptive BIKETOWN will continue hosting the Kerr Fun Zone for Albertina Kerr clients in 2024. And for the first time-ever, Adaptive BIKETOWN is reaching some of our younger student riders by showing up for a week of PE classes at Parkrose Middle School.
Last year's Adaptive Ride with a Buddy Group Rides received a lot of positive feedback, so let's keep them rolling! PBOT staff are officially passing off the baton to community members to lead Buddy Group Rides that will start and end at our east-side waterfront location. Please reach out to info@kerrbikes.org if you are interested in leading a ride.
Pedalpalooza is another great space to join the bike community. What is Pedalpalooza, you ask? Pedalpalooza is a festival of bikey fun. Hundreds of different events are organized by people like you. Most rides are free and all are open to the public to join.
Bike Summer will be three whole months of fun on wheels. Add your events for June, July, and August 2024 now! Seeking inspiration? View the Pedalpalooza archives of past bicycle fun events. If you need help creating or editing an event, check out the calendar FAQ or contact the Shift calendar crew.
If you would like to organize a group ride with your own set of friends, don’t hesitate to reach out at info@kerrbikes.org for support.
Read ahead to learn about this season’s community gatherings!
2024 Adaptive BIKETOWN Community Engagement
Parkrose Middle School Physical Education (PE) classes included Adaptive bikes in their bike safety unit.
This past May, sixth graders at Parkrose Middle School participated in PBOT’s bike safety education unit. One class was composed of students with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and inspired PBOT’s Safe Routes to School program to partner with Adaptive BIKETOWN to rent six adaptive bikes for students to use during the unit. Middle schoolers came to PE class excited to ride and thoroughly enjoyed using the tricycles and handcycles. Thanks to the adaptive bikes, everyone was able to participate and learn!
Sunday Parkways
May, June and September
We commemorated the first Portland Sunday Parkways of the season by gathering in East Portland on May 19. Adaptive BIKETOWN was set up at Gateway Discovery Park where we spoke with community members and had several adaptive bikes on hand for people to reserve and ride! Despite the cloudy spring weather, over 15,000 community members participated! Thank you to everyone that supported this event by showing up, volunteering, or spreading the word.
If you missed the May Sunday Parkways event, you can still catch us on June 16 in Northeast Cully where we’ll be partnering with Shriners Childrens’ Hospital and Adaptive Sports NW for the second-ever Adaptive Group Ride. This is a great opportunity to try out an adaptive bike and connect with others! The last Sunday Parkways of the season will be on September 22 in Southwest Portland. Although there will be no group ride due to the hilly terrain, this is still a wonderful opportunity to learn about Adaptive BIKETOWN and walk, bike, or roll on the open streets. You can learn more about future Sunday Parkways events here.
Kerr Fun Zone
Kerr Bikes and Adaptive BIKETOWN will continue to host Kerr Fun Zone events during the 2024 summer months at the Kerr Bikes/Adaptive BIKETOWN location. Events offer Albertina Kerr program participants (youth and adults who have intellectual and/or developmental disabilities) with ways to let loose and enjoy the nice weather by providing games, prizes, food and bike rides.
Bike Fleet updates!
Who would we be if we didn’t update you on the thing that has brought us all together, the Adaptive BIKETOWN fleet?!
The Adaptive BIKETOWN fleet was updated over the winter (with an emphasis on safety improvements) and now sits at over 30 bikes! Check out some of the Adaptive BIKETOWN fleet here.
Due to the popularity of our current side-by-side adaptive cycles, we are planning to purchase a Worksman Side-by Side (X2) to round out our fleet.
If you have suggestions for bikes you would like to see added to the adaptive fleet, please contact info@kerrbikes.org for consideration.
Adaptive BIKETOWN is also helping share the love by donating our lesser used bikes. One hand trike has already been donated via P:EAR Bike Works and an upright trike has been donated to a community member who was formerly an Adaptive BIKETOWN regular.
If you could use an adaptive bike of your own, let us know your needs by emailing info@kerrbikes.org! We may have a bike available for donation as we make room for new additions to the fleet.
Adaptive BIKETOWN
Thursday-Monday (11am-5pm)
1945 SE Water Ave., Bldg B (Big red barn next to OMSI)
Portland, OR 97214
Closed for Winter Season - Available by reservation only at https://adaptivebiketown.com/reservations
Adaptive BIKETOWN Website: www.adaptivebiketown.com
Kerr Bikes Customer Service
Email: info@kerrbikes.org
Phone: (503) 802-5271 or 311 afterhours
Adaptive BIKETOWN program questions, comments & feedback
Email: sharedmicromobility@portlandoregon.gov
Phone: 311