February 9, 2008

A Peek at NAHBS

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Today was the opening of the North American Handmade Bike Show in Portland. This traveling festival happens once a year and brings under one roof some of the world's most hardworking and talented framebuilders. I wasn't able to stay for very long, and that's a crying shame. There were so many beautiful bikes, displayed even more beautifully and the Convention Center was completely abuzz with enthusiasm. On the other side of the Convention Center was the Golf Show, and let me tell you, our side was much hotter.

Though builders have been making a living creating custom bikes for years (many doing it solidly since the '70's), the number of framebuilders in Oregon/SW Washington has grown significantly in the last few years. There were at least 10 of them at the show exhibiting their finest.

This is just a synopsis as I have to run to get ready for all the fun Worst Day of the Year Ride action, but consider heading out to the show - it's pretty sweet. There's no shortage of simply gorgeous bikes to geek out and freak out on, and there are workshops too.

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August 18, 2007

MBO Report: Wish you Were Here!

If you're not down here with us at Mt. Bike Oregon in Oakridge, you're really missing out (and you've gotta come next summer!). Every day goes a little something like this: Wake up (groggy from a late night in the beer garden), sip on delicious coffee while waiting in the line for hot pancakes, fruit, sausages, biscuits+gravy, etc, check the shuttle schedule, make your lunch, load the bike, hop on the bus, hammer down the trail, then go back for some more - all day long. Riders return to camp ecstatically exhausted every night as they settle into the beer garden with a heaping tray of cooked-on-site dinner.

Favorite trails? Depends.

I mean, Alpine (the crown jewel) is always a packed favorite, but the downhill freaks just can't get enough of Larison Rock (or Crack Rock, call it what you want). Short, fast, awesome. And Middle Fork, the all day ride, is a singletrack dream-come-true with 35 miles of unrivaled singletrack.

Shanti Ware from PUMP Club in Portland has been leading awesome women's clinics. "These women all get it." she says. "By the end of the ride every single one them was bunny hopping and doing wheelies. It took me two years to learn that stuff!"

Wish you were here!

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October 1, 2006

Cyclocross Kicks off at Alpenrose

The cyclocross season kicked off with a bang today at Alpenrose Dairy at the first race of the Cross Crusade series. So why do people love racing cross? I think one reason is that cyclocross extends the biking season. Rain is no problem because a muddy course it part of the challenge. Race organizers carefully design a course that makes best use of the terrain, depending on the weather. I think another reason is that it's not always just about the terrain. Organizers plan hairpin turns plotted out with orange and yellow cones, they send 'crossers up stairs, over mounds of dirt and they make them leap barricades. This makes it awesome to watch. Spectators run to different spots of the course to get alternate views of the action.

And today, the action was hot.

[ photo gallery ]

Veloshop (a bike shop that pretty much exists to race and support cyclocross) was out in force with their signature pink and black. The kiddie cross was great to watch, but even better was the "micro cross", the tiniest kids on bikes. You should have seen them trying to get over the barricades! Adorable.

Check out our photo gallery for a glimpse at the day.

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September 7, 2006

Health Net Twilight Crit Photos

I can't believe I'm just finally getting around to sharing this. Sorry it took me so long.

Photos of the 2006 Health Net Portland Twilight Crit are now up on the Twilight Crit website's photo gallery. Relive the night - an action-packed downtown bike race. You'll also find some great shots by Jonathan Maus of BikePortland.org here.

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May 21, 2006

How Do You Make 1,800 Cyclists Happy?

Well, you tell them it's going to rain then surprise them with gloriously clear skies, take them through some of Oregon's most beautiful landscape, feed them tons of delicious food along the way, plan their ride to end at a pub on the beach and make sure they never have to wait in line. It may sound too good to be true but it's not - that was Reach the Beach yesterday.

I was at the Grand Ronde stop yesterday and it was awesome. Riders couldn't say enough good things about the beautiful route and the tasty food. These are just a pictures from the day - more to come. Oh, and that 1,800 count is a low estimate. The final numbers aren't in yet.

They shouted, "Go BIKERS!"

Lots of hanging out with friends along the way

Beauty surrounded the riders

Grand Ronde

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March 20, 2006

Tour de Murals

What a great idea. Last Saturday, local artist/cyclist Sara Stout put on a bike tour of local murals. The tour was organized as a way to talk about the new Share the Road Mural that will be painted in June on the outside wall of Hawthorne Auto Clinic. Carye Bye put together a great ride report.

PHOTOS:
The Tour
RACC Murals

On Saturday, Sara Stout and local Muralists groups organized an excellent tour of local Murals by bike. We started at the Vita cafe at 30th and NE Alberta where we learned about the new Share the Road Mural that will be painted in June on the outside wall of Hawthorne Auto Clinic. Sara showed her idea so far for the mural. Joanne of Portland Mural Defense talked about the history of murals in Portland
and the on-going Clear Channel lawsuit that has made it difficult to get permission for murals to go up.

We then headed out down Alberta Street, stopping at the Women Mural, Tom Kramer mural, and the site of the upcoming Community Cycling Center mural. Here Robin, who got a RACC (Regional Art & Culture Council) grant to design this mural unveiled the plans - that show an amazing bike parade that includes a pirate ship and other whimsical characters (see photos!). Robin is going to need a lot of volunteers this summer so if you see folks working on the mural this late spring or summer - feel free to jump in and paint. Then we headed to the Albina Press mural, Bruce Orr's SCRAP Mural (Joanna Dyer came out to give a dynamic talk on this colorful mural made last summer, and it was the first approved mural under the new RACC rulings), and then another Tom Kramer mural near N. Williams.

Then our group of around 30 bicyclists headed South, we stopped at the Irvington Church Murals
that are on both sides of the building on the way. At City Bikes, Sara Stout talked about the Mural evolving on the building, and at SE Stark & 28th we looked closely at Ping Khaw's "Learning Beyond" mural that went up last year. In the Belmont area we stopped at few building murals, sunnyside piazza - a giant sunflower mural on the street - and the bike memorial lifehouse. Our last stop before the Hawthorne Auto Clinic was the Coffee Head mural hiding on a wall near Hawthorne & SE 39th. At the Auto Clinic we were warmly welcomed by the owner (I think) and had a huge spread of food. A planning session began for the proposed "Share the Road" mural to go up in June on the side of the building. Everyone was drawing bikes on the paper plan on the wall. So Sang Park stepped in and drew a car! But he quickly added a bike rack to the top. Check out the photos below and also the other mural links.

-Carye

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Safe Landing at Banana Belt

I didn't make it out to any of the Banana Belt races, but it sounds like a great time. Here's one report from the OBRA list:

"Bravo to whoever it was that tacod their rear wheel on lap 2 of yesterday's cat 3 race. (Pothole?) When I heard the sound of cracking wheels I thought for sure a pile up was about to occur. I looked left and saw you skidding to a halt, one foot unclipped, but with your bike upright. That was most impressive! Great job bringing your steed to a safe landing. - CLARK RITCHIE"

PHOTOS
Banana Belt 3
Banana Belt 2+3
Banana Belt 2+3

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February 17, 2006

Worst Day of the Year Ride Photo Booth

Ride participants at the Worst Day of the Year Ride donned costumes and mugged for the camera at the Photo Booth. The resulting pictures are hilarious - a true indication of how much fun everyone was having that the event. Nikkie West, the Bike Art Coordinator at the Community Cycling Center, did a great job encouraging riders to ham it up. Check out this photo gallery we put together.

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January 18, 2006

Mountain Biking in Oregon - Pics of Oakridge for Mt. Bike Oregon

We're really excited for Mt. Bike Oregon this year. We've planned some cool additions and there's sure to be a good crowd hitting the trails. That mean a great party every night after a day of hard riding in beautiful Oakridge, one of the best places to ride in Oregon.

I've been going through our pictures as I get some Mt. Bike Oregon materials together and thought I'd share them. Check out what it's like to ride in Oakridge. We'll also have a FREE DVD available shortly as soon as we produce more copies (so popular we ran out).

Check out our photo gallery. Photos by Matt Denburg and Chad Sageser.

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November 3, 2005

Cyclocross Photos

Local photographers (professional and ameture) just can't get enough of the 'cross races! Check out all these great photos, including 'cross racers in speedos and g-strings.

Flying M Ranch 1
Flying M Ranch 2
Flying M Ranch 3
Scouter's Mountain
Veloshop PIR
Alpenrose
Stumptown Classic

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