Being Benson

I am a Benson. Its official. I participated in my first family bike event!

The Benson family is long known for their infamous family bike trips. The family would pack what they could carry onto their bikes and set out over a mountain pass, sleeping on the ground with homemade mosquito netting for a week at a time. There is even a story of Ray giving a Sunday morning sermon during breakfast at a local dinner proudly clad in nothing but bike shorts and a t shirt. Suffice it to say, the Benson's are a biking family. And I can now count myself as one of the Benson Bikers.

A few weeks ago, Daren and I paired up with his parents, Ray and Judy, and his nephew, Nathan, to ride in the Portland Bridge Pedal. This event is huge in the area! Over 16,000 bike riders participate in this event which raises money for Providence Heart and Vascular Institute. There are several routes and lengths to choose from and we did the 6-bridge loop logging in 14 miles respectively.

It was an incredible way to see our beautiful city. The bridges are beautiful and the views you get from the top of the Freemont bridge are breathtaking. On top of all of the bridges were photo op spots, vendors giving away free coffee samples and pocket sized bike maps.

The day was a perfect balance of cool weather and just enough sun. The best part of the whole event is that I didn't fall once! Even though a kid and a volunteer tried to take me out at two different times, I never once went all the way to the ground. Another highlight was cruising down the Marquam bridge and hearing the volunteer yell "SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!" and then having my father-in-law fly by me at the speed of light shaking his head and laughing. I started laughing out loud so hard I nearly knocked myself off of my own bike.

Only in Portland, will a city also known as "The City of Bridges" shut down all of them for a bike ride.