Cyclists and area residents along with local media celebrities and journalists helped Metro celebrate National Bike Month and the release of its new Bike There! map on Thursday afternoon.
The Bike There! celebration at the Metro Regional Center's outdoor plaza featured the inaugural Metro media goldsprint challenge, a competition where riders raced each other on stationary bikes set on rollers.
The crowd of more than 150 people cheered on meteorologists Mark Nelsen of KPTV, Dave Salesky of KATU and Nick Allard of KGW as well as journalists Joseph Rose of the Oregonian, Nick Christensen of the Hillsboro Argus and Justin Carinci of the Daily Journal of Commerce. The challengers were all great sports, battling in a number of 250 meter heats.
In the end Salesky nudged out Nelsen and Rose for first place, winning 4 heats and setting the fastest time at 12.06 seconds. Salesky vowed to return next year to defend his title of Metro media goldsprint champion.
Salesky then put up his cycling skills against Metro Council President David Bragdon. Despite a strong effort, Bragdon wasn't quite able to beat the champion.
"We had a great event, and I'd like to thank all the competitors as well as people who turned out for our Bike There! celebration," said Bragdon. "Cycling can be great fun as we witnessed with our goldsprint challenge, but it is also a great travel option whether for commuting, exercising or exploring the parks, natural spaces and beauty of our region."
The Bike There! celebration also featured free bike tune-ups from the Bike Gallery, a souvenir photo station, a look at the electric bike which is the newest two-wheel addition to Metro's transportation fleet, regional bicycling information and a close-up look at the new, eighth edition Bike There! map.
The new map provides users with 600 miles of on-street bike routes and 235 miles of off-street trails. It helps cyclists easily identify which routes are the most suitable for bikes, moderately suitable or pose a challenge such as high-traffic volumes. Everyone from new cyclists to recreational riders and even bike commuters will find new routes, helpful directions and important safety information in the new map. The durable, waterproof Bike There! map sells for $9 at the Metro Store, local bike shops and other outlets.