Providence Bridge Pedal

{{Short description|Bicycle road ride event for Portland, Oregon}}

File:Cyclists waiting on Hawthorne Bridge during a lift.jpg in Portland, Oregon.]]

The Providence Bridge Pedal, formerly known as the Portland Bridge Pedal is an annual recreational cycling and walking event across several Willamette River crossings in Portland, Oregon. Oregon State Representative Rick Bauman is credited with conceiving the event while watching the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens on the Marquam Bridge. By 2007 it became the world's third largest annual recreational cycling event behind the Five Boro Bike Tour in New York City, New York and Tour de l'Île in Montreal, Quebec.{{cite web|last=Cohen|first=Scott|title=Portland Bridge Pedal|url=http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/portland_bridge_pedal/|work=Oregon Encyclopedia|publisher=Portland State University|accessdate=30 April 2014}}

The first event was held in 1996 and attracted 7,500 cyclists and walkers. The name was changed from the Portland Bridge Pedal to the Providence Bridge Pedal in 1997 after Providence Health and Services became the event's main sponsor. There are several routes with varying lengths in the event, which averages 20,000 participants per year.{{cite news|last=Hu|first=Ev|title=Bridge Pedal organizers strive for a smooth ride|date=20 July 2008|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/cycling/index.ssf/2008/07/bridge_pedal_organizers_strive.html|accessdate=30 April 2014|newspaper=The Oregonian|location=Portland, Oregon}} The longest route in 2013 spanned 10 crossings.{{cite news|last=Russell|first=Michael|title=Providence Bridge Pedal attracts 18,000 riders to its car-free bridge routes|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/08/providence_bridge_pedal_attrac.html|accessdate=30 April 2014|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=11 August 2013|location=Portland, Oregon}} The 2015 event was also the public preview of Tilikum Crossing, the first major bridge in the U.S. that was designed to allow access to transit vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians but not cars, with an estimated 40,000–50,000 people crossing the bridge during the day.{{cite news|last1=Yao Long|first1=Stephanie|title=Tilikum Crossing: public treated to an open house (photos)|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/multimedia/index.ssf/2015/08/tilikum_crossing_public_treate.html|accessdate=10 August 2015|work=The Oregonian|issue=August 9, 2015}}