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It will take a while, certainly, for the city to recover from the shock of the Jan. 31 South Portland protest where federal agents tear-gassed participants, including families with children. In the meantime, the bike community is offering a salve for the wound: a “Mellow Monday” ride themed around the musicians of Minnesota.
Riders will enjoy the music of Bob Dylan, Prince, Lizzo and more in solidarity with the citizens of Minneapolis, who have dealt with a surge of federal government forces in their city for the last month.
The Mellow Monday ride has been winding through Portland every week for about five years, says organizer Moorland Moss, founder of the bike group NakedHearts:PDX. Last week, Mellow Monday was ’70s disco themed. Because of the national political situation, Moorland really didn’t feel up to going but went anyway.
“I know it’s trite and cliché, but it felt healing to be there with people,” Moss says. “After two to three hours, we just felt slightly better.”
Mellow Monday rides are designed to be beginner and family friendly. The ride starts and ends at Southeast Portland’s Abernethy Elementary School in Ladd’s Addition; the loop is about 8–12 miles long at a relaxed pace. The ride will not go anywhere near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on South Macadam Avenue.
The Feb. 2 Mellow Monday ride was supposed to be Groundhog Day themed, but Moss pivoted to the Minnesota music theme in the wake of the Jan. 24 shooting of protester Alex Pretti.
“It just feels really important to have any kind of sense of solidarity with, not just all the families who are being forced to hide in their homes right now, but we also know that what happened to people in Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago, L.A., is the thing happening to us.”
GO: Mellow Monday group bike ride at Abernethy Elementary School, 2421 SE Orange Ave., shift2bikes.org/calendar/event-23018. 7 pm meeting, 7:30 pm departure Monday, Feb. 2. Free.
