The city of Bend’s bike events have been forums about e-bikes and safety and the wheres and hows of bike routes.

Bend’s Bike Night Monday had some of those things. It was mostly about what bikes are mostly about: fun.

“We’ve had all these conversations about bikes and e-bike safety,” Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler told us. “We wanted to have a positive event and let’s do some education. But really it’s kind of about: Show up and have fun.”

We joined up with some of the Bike Night goers, pedaling our way from Orchard Park on the east side to The Grove at Northwest Crossing. And it is our duty to report some breaking climate and geological news for the city: The air is thinner. The hills are higher. (We are confident that discovery has nothing to do with the score of birthdays a certain someone has accumulated in Bend.)

Upon arrival, Northwest Crossing Drive, just west of Mount Washington Drive, was pretty much packed with cyclists. Young riders and not-so-young riders got some professional advice on negotiating a roundabout. Prizes were raffled off. Kids could clamber on a fire engine. Local restaurants offered nice discounts if you held up your bike helmet.

It may not be the first and last Bend Bike Night. The city may hold others again in different locations about town. A city government that can find a happy marriage of safety and fun has picked the right bike path.