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<\/a>Portland\u2019s big weekly social ride turns 10 today \u2014 and after surviving Covid, leadership vacuums, drama, and calendar delisting, its fans are more than ready to celebrate. <\/p>\n
The Thursday Night Ride (TNR) began<\/a> in the spring of 2015. One of its first organizers, former Portlander Nathan Jones, said he was inspired by large social rides he attended in Guadalajara that have thousands of riders each week. The ride is a socially-paced mass of folks who come for all different reasons. One year in<\/a> and it was clear TNR had become an institution. It somehow managed to be massive and important like Critical Mass, but without the political baggage or police presence. It was just a fun, rolling party and it was reliable: every Thursday rain or shine at Salmon Street Springs. Meet at 7:00, announcements at 7:30.<\/p>\n But it wasn\u2019t all hunky-dory. Drama spouted up here and there as original founders moved away and various folks emerged as self-proclaimed leaders. When events blow-up in popularity, they often also attract lots of different egos and ideas for how to keep the fun going. Intra-community drama eventually reared its head at TNR, with various types of dysfunction, usually centered around the fact that there was no central form of leadership.<\/p>\n In late 2023, the drama spilled over when there was an altercation at the meet-up spot that was recorded on video and shared widely in our community. As I reported at the time<\/a>, the situation was serious enough that the ride was ultimately taken off the Shift Calendar due to violating the group\u2019s code of conduct that exists to make rides safe for everyone.<\/p>\n In our community, the Shift Calendar is ground zero for organizing. If something isn\u2019t on Shift, it\u2019s almost like it doesn\u2019t exist. So Shift, an all-volunteer group of scrappy activists who believe bike fun makes the world a better place, plays a key role in mediating these complicated and emotional disputes.<\/p>\n This past week, after many hours of meetings and discussions, Shift and TNR organizers came to a resolution and the ride is back on the calendar. (Note that the ride never stopped happening, it was just delisted from Shift.) \u201cTNR organizers stepped up, met with the Shift Code of Conduct (CoC) Committee, and addressed standing concerns,\u201d reads a post shared on Instagram<\/a> by Shift today.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>