Bring or borrow a bike to hit the BBC Trail on July 12
Did you know that two of the most picturesque, varied, fun and doable (even for not-so-serious cyclists) paved bike paths in the Portland metropolitan area are right here in Clark County?
The Salmon Creek trail is short (3 miles), flat and green. The Burnt Bridge Creek trail is longer (8 miles), more rolling and more diverse. Both are gorgeous. And, next Saturday, you don’t even need your own bike to join a group exploration of Burnt Bridge Creek.
Bike Clark County, an all-volunteer group that does safety training, affordable repairs, bike donations to needy kids and more, has scheduled a group ride along the BBC trail. Its partner in the effort is BikeVanWa, an overlapping group that’s a little more political and advocacy-oriented.
Both groups are inviting the cycling public to enjoy Burnt Bridge Creek starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 12. The meeting place will be the northwest end of the parking lot of the old west-side hospital on Main Street, now known as the PeaceHealth Memorial Campus; please keep away from the Urgent Care area on Main and gather at the corner of 34th and Washington. Organizers will lead the ride from there. It’ll last about an hour.
If you don’t have a bike, or doubt that your old/cheap one is still streetworthy, no problem: that’s what Bike Clark County is all about. Just email taddvorak@gmail.com no later than Tuesday, July 8, to reserve one – for free! You’ll be provided a helmet and one of Bike Clark County’s “tip top maintained fleet” for the ride.
Don’t let the lack of a bike prevent you from exploring one of Vancouver’s true treasures. Having sampled many of the Portland area’s bike trails, I’m here to tell you: the Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway trail turns Portlanders green. With envy, that is. In fact, here’s a 2012 Columbian story and slightly ridiculous video I put together a few years back, celebrating the beauty of the BBC.
Just another reason why Vancouver is Vancooler now.
