Ladd’s 500: Don’t Call It a Race!
Saturday, April 12th
Thousands of people came out to celebrate the unofficial kickoff of bike season in Portland.
“Let’s do something stupid!”
That’s the motto of the Ladd’s 500, a bicycle relay race event in SE Portland, started in 2016 by David Barstow Robinson and friends. The aim is to do 500 laps of the .2-ish mile roundabout in Ladd’s Addition, but the rules are loose. Cheating is allowed if it’s funny. The suggested rules for teams keeping track are to have only one rider on the course, and to for them to do no more than 10 laps before switching to the next teammate. However, this event is less about winning and more about bringing the community together for the unofficial kickoff of biking season.
This last Saturday, as I was making my rounds and saying hello to friends, I experienced the perfect encapsulation of spring while walking just one lap around the course. Rain, sunshine, and dark clouds rotated in and out throughout the course of the day like a meteorological relay. A videographer from Fox Koin 6 set up his camera and tripod as I was taking pictures and cheering on the undulating mass of pedal-powered-people.
He asked me “Which do you feel is more quintessentially Portland? The Ladd’s 500 or the Naked Bike Ride”
Without missing a beat I replied “I’ve done naked bike rides in other cities, but I don’t know of a single event like this in the country”
It felt like a tailgate party. Canopy tents were popped up inside the grassy circle, grills were fired up to pass out pancakes and veggie dogs, and you were never out of earshot from a speaker blasting.
It felt like high school. I found myself mingling with different cliques: the party people, the old gays, the unicyclists, the neurodivergent sweeties, the record spinners, the card game players.
It felt like love. Food (and weed) was shared freely. Children rode on training-wheeled bikes as their parents smiled proudly behind them. Thousands of people got together for something that ultimately has no defined meaning.
I asked friends how their experience was riding.
“Chaotic! But respectful.”
“There are so many cuties in Portland!”
“Heartwarming to see my son and his crush riding along together. Even if they didn’t want me to ride with them.”
Standard two wheel bicycles weren’t the only method of travel utilized over the course of the 7 hours. I saw rollerblades, skateboards, ripstiks, unicycles, runners, tricycles, a double decker, a 4 seater, Heelys, and even a pogo stick that was easily a crowd favorite.
The costumes and outfits were also varied: Spiderman, fruits, a luchador, the crew from Scooby Doo, dalmations, a xenomorph from Alien, clowns, Disney characters, Shreks, plenty of plastered on facial hair and askew wigs, gnomes, wizards, and witches.
I rode about 25 laps myself, and time began to lose meaning. The quickly shifting weather, the unpredictability of knowing where you would see someone you know, and the packed race course started to feel like the incoherent dreams you have after snoozing your alarm multiple times.
Beyond the inherent beauty of the 500, what personally impacted me the most was witnessing what happens in the spring when you maintain and build community in the winter. I saw friends from poker nights, indoor volleyball games, and concerts. To see them in the light of day, with a smile on their face? That’s what this life is all about.
