It’s a bright, sunlit fall morning when I meet Sam Balto, or Coach Balto as he’s known to millions, outside his Northeast Portland home. His dog trots out to greet me while Balto rolls his cargo bike onto the sidewalk. We trade quick notes about our bikes—he’s riding an electric Urban Arrow ; I’m on my human-powered Omnium Mini-Max—before an elementary-schooler pedals up, backpack bouncing, and we roll out together.

A few blocks later, two more kids and a parent join in. The kids show off their skills, carving tight turns and hopping up and down curbs while we wait for more riders to join the Bike Bus, a weekly bike-to-school ride that's gone viral on Instagram and TikTok .

When we get moving again, the group has swelled into a rolling pack of thirty, including children, parent

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