LAUREN FRAYER, HOST:
Commuting by bicycle has its upsides, like spring flowers this time of year, and often some downsides, like angry motorists. But if you bike to work in Portland, Oregon, you'll also come across fresh-brewed coffee and doughnuts and maybe a breakfast burrito. Reporter Deena Prichep stopped by the commuter brunch party held on the last Friday of every month. It's called Breakfast on the Bridges.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Coffee. Doughnuts.
DEENA PRICHEP: It's Friday morning, and there's a deluxe spread laid out on folding tables on Portland's Blumenauer Bridge.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: We've got [inaudible], coffee, doughnuts.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Gosh.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Pancakes, bacon.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Geez, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Or all of the above.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Thank you.
PRICHEP: Lance Polar (ph) woke up at 6 a.m. to brew five gallons of coffee. He and his fellow volunteers have set up a breakfast station on the sidewalk entrance to the bridge - mugs and plates and electric griddles to sizzle pancakes, all hauled here by bike, of course.
(SOUNDBITE OF SIZZLING)
PRICHEP: Some of the cyclists and pedestrians who stop by are on their way to work. Some are having a leisurely morning. And all are delighted, including Ian Lindsey (ph), currently enjoying a chocolate coconut doughnut.
IAN LINDSEY: The first time, we were doing our normal bike ride, and suddenly there was a tent full of doughnuts. We were like, what is going on?
PRICHEP: Lindsey has been stopping by since his daughter Marin (ph) was a kindergartener strapped into a bike seat. Now she's 8 years old, riding her own bike.
MARIN: Well, when we first started coming here, there was coffee and, like, milk. And then we came along, and they saw that there was kids coming all the time. So now they have orange juice. And they have doughnuts, and now they're adding pancakes, which I'm loving.
PRICHEP: While kids like Marin bike off to school, retirees like Robin Jensen (ph) stay for over an hour to enjoy the breakfast and the vibes.
ROBIN JENSEN: It's just really wonderful. It's a really nice community, meeting new people. I mean, look at this feast.
PRICHEP: Breakfast on the Bridges started over 20 years ago as part of a summer bike festival. It was such a hit that volunteers decided to make it a monthly event. They've now served thousands of cups of coffee on multiple Portland bridges. Timo Forsberg has been there since the beginning.
TIMO FORSBERG: If you ask somebody, how was your commute into work today in a car? How many people are going to say, I had the greatest time? Maybe 1 out of 1,000. If you ask somebody who rode their bike, it's probably going to be 9 out of 10, maybe 10 out of 10.
PRICHEP: Forsberg works for Portland's Bureau of Transportation and has volunteered for Breakfast on the Bridges in the past. He says bike lanes and other infrastructure make cycling safe. But events like this make it more fun.
FORSBERG: Doing Breakfast on the Bridge is great because people just walk up and talk to you. And there was this one time when there was this very attractive young woman who came up and just started talking to me, and we were chatting. And I'm like, this is very strange. I don't know why she's doing this. But now we're married. So Breakfast on the Bridge brought me a happy wife, a happy life.
PRICHEP: But even if you don't meet the love of your life, you can end up with a nice bike ride and a pretty great breakfast.
For NPR News, I'm Deena Prichep on the Blumenauer Bridge in Portland, Oregon. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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