Here Come the Freak Bikes
June 13, 2008
The freak bikes are coming out on Saturday (June 14) for Cirque du Cycling, a bicycle street fair. Tall bikes, swing bikes, choppers and more will be out in force to parade down Mississippi Avenue and strut their stuff.
One of Portland's longest-standing bike clubs, the venerable Belligerantes, spent the last two weeks shining up their vintage Schwinn Sting-Ray for the affair. I spent some time catching up with Craig Babb, one of the founding members of the 12 yr. old club.
Where'd the name come from?
Belligerantes is sort of a mix of Belligerent Vigilantes. We are Portland's only all Schwinn bike club.
Tell us more about your rides
We roll on customized vintage Schwinn's. Our motto is 'If it ain't Schwinn, don't bring it in. Mike "The Commander" developed what we call the Mega-Ray, reproducing the look and feel of the classic Sting-Ray on full sized adult frames.
What do you have planned for the parade?
As parade veterans, we have a well rounded, crowd pleasing display of stunts, tricks and maneuvers. At the very least, our classic American steel and chrome wows the crowd every time. By the way, we proudly took home a first place ribbon in the St. Johns Parade this year.
So why Schwinns?
It is our unending goal to promote the Mega-Ray as the most desirable mode of urban transport, maintaining the preferred style of the vintage Schwinn, as well as celebrating the overall joy and festiveness of bicycle riding.
We look forward to seeing you out there!
The Cirque du Cycling parade takes place at 5:00 on Mississippi Avenue in North Portland. A full day of festivities is planned. See the website for details.
Posted by orbike at June 13, 2008 10:37 AM
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