Scenes from the 2017 Emerald Bike Ride

I had a great time biking on freeways Sunday with more than 7,000 smiling, happy people.

Freeways are rarely joyful places, which is what makes Cascade's second annual Emerald Bike Ride so great. For a few hours a year, the region's most enormous pieces of infrastructure become bike-only, giving people a chance to experience what it is like to bike around the region on billions of dollars worth of public investment.

It's pretty damn fast and easy.

Here are some photos from the ride:

Here was the 2017 route: