Ladds 500
{{Short description|Annual event in Portland, Oregon, U.S.}}
{{Infobox recurring event
|name = Ladds 500
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|image = Ladds 500, 2025.jpg
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|caption = The event in 2025
|status = Active
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|frequency = Annually
|venue = Ladd's Addition
|location = Portland, Oregon
|coordinates = {{coord|45.508541|-122.649415|type:event|display=inline,title}}
|country = United States
|years_active =
|first = {{start date|2016}}
|founder_name = David Barstow Robinson
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|participants = Hundreds (2025)
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|website = {{URL|https://www.instagram.com/ladds500/}}
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The Ladds 500 is an annual cycling event in Portland, Oregon, United States.
Description
The purpose of the non-competitive annual cycling event is to travel around a traffic circle in the Ladd's Addition district of southeast Portland's Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood 500 times, either individually or as part of a team.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-12 |title=Ladds 500 returns to Southeast Portland, bigger than ever |url=https://www.kgw.com/article/features/costumes-controlled-chaos-southeast-portland-ladds-500-bike-relay/283-5950684d-de88-4bd5-9d6c-6e8c4da11c62 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=kgw.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=The Ladds 500 Returns, Now With No Cars on the Road |url=https://www.wweek.com/culture/2025/04/08/the-ladds-500-returns-now-with-no-cars-on-the-road/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Willamette Week |language=en |archive-date=2025-04-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250409223354/https://www.wweek.com/culture/2025/04/08/the-ladds-500-returns-now-with-no-cars-on-the-road/ |url-status=live }} The free event has been described as a "relay" and not a race.{{Cite web |last=Gebel |first=Meira |date=2024-04-11 |title=Weekend Guide: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at Moda, plus Ladds 500 relay |url=https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2024/04/11/weekend-guide-tina-fey-moda-center-ladds-500 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Axios |language=en}} According to the organizer, 500 laps is a century, or 100 miles. Portland Monthly has included the Ladds 500 in a list of fifteen "essential" annual bike events in the city and said, "Riders form relay teams and 'turn left for a while,' while non-riders party in the middle."{{Cite web |title=The Essential Portland Bike Events All Year Long |url=https://www.pdxmonthly.com/travel-and-outdoors/best-annual-bike-rides-cycling-events-portland-oregon |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Portland Monthly |language=en-US |archive-date=2025-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250410135030/https://www.pdxmonthly.com/travel-and-outdoors/best-annual-bike-rides-cycling-events-portland-oregon |url-status=live }} The event operates as a project of fiscal sponsor Umbrella 501(c)(3), is funded by donations, and run by volunteers.{{Cite web |last=Todd |first=Tatum |date=2025-04-13 |title=Thousands of wheels, hundreds of laps, one traffic circle: Ladds 500 invites riders to ‘do something stupid’ |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2025/04/thousands-of-wheels-hundreds-of-laps-one-traffic-circle-ladds-500-invites-riders-to-do-something-stupid.html |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=The Oregonian |language=en}} The phrase "It's spring, let's do something stupid"{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=What to Do in Portland (April 9–15, 2025) |url=https://www.wweek.com/culture/2025/04/08/what-to-do-in-portland-april-9-15-2025/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Willamette Week |language=en}} (or simply "Let's do something stupid") is part of the event's marketing.{{Cite web |last=Seibold |first=Hannah |date=2025-04-02 |title=Ladds 500: Southeast Portland’s 100-mile relay around a traffic circle returns |url=https://www.portlandtribune.com/news/portlands-100-mile-relay-around-a-traffic-circle-returns/article_22bd8415-7d2f-402b-9978-34f28e14a5be.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250415112055/https://www.portlandtribune.com/news/portlands-100-mile-relay-around-a-traffic-circle-returns/article_22bd8415-7d2f-402b-9978-34f28e14a5be.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 15, 2025 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=PortlandTribune.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Graves |first=Mark |title=Ladds 500 2024 |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/galleries/7OETFFHIBRHQPNSRZA5PHPGTJQ/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=The Oregonian |language=en}} The event is held annually on the Saturday after the second Friday in April.
History
The event was founded by David Barstow Robinson. Approximately 40 people participated in the first event in 2016. By 2025, the event attracted hundreds of participants. It has become popular enough that a permit from the Portland Bureau of Transportation is obtained to temporarily shut down vehicular traffic around the park where the event takes place.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-12 |title=Streets close for 8th annual Ladds 500 bike relay in Portland |url=https://www.kgw.com/video/entertainment/events/streets-close-for-8th-annual-ladds-500-bike-relay-in-portland/283-12a33e5d-03ec-4021-9812-d4fd77f72007 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=kgw.com |language=en-US}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Cycling in Portland, Oregon}}
{{Hosford-Abernethy, Portland, Oregon}}
Category:2016 establishments in Oregon
Category:Annual events in Portland, Oregon
Category:Cycling in Portland, Oregon