October 31, 2007
Yeah, this is Cyclocross
Halloween cyclocross, does bike life get any better? Kegs, costumes, cow bells, racing and hundreds of really fun people. If you've been out at the races lately, you've probably noticed the three-wheeled videographer Dan Kaufman. Dan, of CrankMyChain, has been documenting the races as part of his online video series on bike culture. The tricycle to allow him to ride along with the fun while shooting footage. This latest video (see below) was shot at the Halloween cyclocross race at the Astoria fairgrounds. You can check out more of Dan's work on his website.
Just goes to show... around these parts, we don't just ride our bikes to ride our bikes. We take it to the extreme, we really know how to have fun. Cyclocross? This is how we do it here:
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October 24, 2007
Coffee Jerseys
You know it's good coffee if the company has their own 100% wool jersey, right? Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but Nossa Familia's jersey is stylish enough to match their robust, smooth coffee. Founder Augusto Carneiro is a bike enthusiast who happened to grow up on a coffee farm in Brazil and now imports his family's coffee to Portland. That's the short version of the great story.
Nossa Familia's coffee was a very welcome bright-and-early addition to many of the Oregon bike events this past season, like Reach the Beach, Portland Century and Cycle Oregon. I just got their latest newsletter and it turns out they have a pretty great retro-style 100% wool jersey.
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October 22, 2007
The Freakanomics of Bicycling
Turns out that cyclists are 12 times more likely than car drivers to suffer a fatal accident. But then again, walking is 23 times more dangerous than driving. And on top of all that, a Danish study found that people who do not bike to work suffer a 39% higher mortality rate than those who do. And the more people out there on the road, the safer we all are. This comes from an interesting tid-bit on
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October 19, 2007
Check out Alpine
This is a clip from the Alpine Trail, one of the highlights of Mt. Bike Oregon. Check out the quality of the trail. Oakridge, where Mt. Bike Oregon is held, is known for having some of the best maintained trails, thanks to the Disciples of Dirt, the Eugene-based mtb club.
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October 16, 2007
Money for Portland Bike Safety on the Line
The City of Portland is contemplating a transportation spending package that includes $54 million for pedestrian and bike safety, including route and intersection improvements that will make deaths like this one less likely. This is an UNPRECEDENTED amount of money. The BTA got it into the package; now they need your help to get it implemented because it's not a sure thing just yet.
City Commissioner Sam Adams is holding Town Hall meetings at which he'll be presenting the package and taking comments and questions from the audience. Whether you attend or not, you can comment online here.
Here's what the Michelle Poyrow at the BTA has to say: "The BTA supports this package one hundred percent because it will fund safety improvements holistically, for all road users, by improving bike routes, fixing dangerous intersections, paving crumbling roads, and funding educational programs. And it will be paid for by everyone, from a gas tax and a utility fee with discounts for "green" practices.
"I believe we are at a turning point in Portland's bike history. In twenty years, when we have cycletracks on all arterials and a full network of bike boulevards across our city and bike training in every school, we'll remember this decade as the time when we asked for change, and we got it."
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October 12, 2007
The Age of Discovery - Cyclocross Style
Cross Crusade is offering a chance to win a round trip voyage to the World Championships in Treviso, Italy, but you have to earn it. The Age of Discovery quest starts today.
They'll provide the map, you follow the course and look for fragments of other explorers' bikes or The Grail itself. The course may be ridden at any time, in any direction and in segments as frequently as desired. New fragments will be distributed on the course over the duration of the contest. Fragments may also be found where a cross is marked on the map. The Grail is out there somewhere now! The contest ends on December 2nd at the Cross Crusade Series Awards Celebration.
The finder of The Grail will win a round trip ticket to Italy to see the '08 World Cyclocross Championships. Anyone who finds fragments is eligible for free swag at the awards dinner, but you must race at least one Cross Crusade race to participate.
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October 11, 2007
Cross Crusade Breaks All Records
Last Sunday 1,078 racers descended upon the Alpenrose Dairy for the first race of the Cross Crusade cyclocross season. Breaking last year's record of over 750 racers, the event again established itself as the largest one-day cyclocross race in North America and solidified its designation as the largest participatory cyclocross bike racing series in the world.
The men's elite race climaxed with battle a between Shannon Skerritt of Vanilla Bicycles/Stumptown Coffee and Erik Tonkin of Kona/YourKey.com with Shannon taking an inside line right after the last set of barriers to secure the win. On the elite women's side, Wendy Williams of River City Bicycles took the win over Kristi Berg of Redline Bicycles.
Promoter Brad Ross is stoked about the attention. "We have truly become one of the hotbeds of cyclocross in the world" he said.
Next race is at Horning's Hideout in North Plains. See website for details.
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October 9, 2007
Help the Little Kids Ride Bikes
"We are looking for volunteers who know how to have fun," says Bicycle Transportation Alliance program leader Gregg Lavender.
The BTA's Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program teaches biking and walking safety to elementary school children in the Portland metro area. These important lessons include community walk and bike rides that need the help of volunteers. The program, now in its third year, is recruiting people to help walk and bike with kids and Gregg says it's a great opportunity for businesses and organizations to get involved.
"Help make walking and biking to school the best travel option for kids in your community!" Gregg says. For more information you can contact Gregg at Gregg@bta4bikes.org or 503-226-0676 x 20.
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October 8, 2007
Forks, Grips and Cassettes - Oh My!
Interbike, the annual geek-out-on-gear bike convention, happened recently in Las Vegas. This industry event is a chance for companies to show off their latest, coolest new products. Bicycling Magazine put together a video of some of their favorite six new products. So if you like gear, check out the video here.
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October 3, 2007
Latest Newsletter
Did you get that e-mail with the subject line "ORbike Newsletter - October"? If not, its high time you signed up for our newsletter (enter your e-mail address on the front page of our website). Sure, it's raining buckets across Oregon, but that doesn't mean we're not riding bikes. In fact, the cyclocross crew is in heaven with all this mud - and there are cyclocross series all around the state: Bend... Grants Pass....
So get out there! Stay on your bike or go watch some races.
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October 1, 2007
Outlaw Cyclocross Series
They love their cyclocross in Southern Oregon and pride themselves on races that have a hometown welcoming feel. Every year the Outlaw Cyclocross Series is dedicated to Nick Jensen who died in 2000 while swimming in the Illinois River. Nick was an avid sportsman and the Nick Jensen Memorial Fund has donated over $100,000 in equipment to Josephine County Search and Rescue, a non-profit volunteer organization. Proceeds from the cyclocross series will benefit Search and Rescue.
There is an array of raffle prizes totaling over $4,000. Their goal is to raise as much money as possible while having as much FUN as possible. The first race takes place in Yreka, CA, but all other races are in the Grants Pass area.
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