Shift noted in new book on “The rise of the bicycle in American public life”

Shift gets noticed in new book.
Read full excerpt below.

In his new book, Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life, DePaul University political science professor J. Harry Wray devotes three-and-a-half pages to local bike fun activist group, Shift.

In a chapter titled, Pushing the Envelope: Populist Politics, Shift is noted for working, “on the cultural side of bike consciousness.” To illustrate his point, Wray writes about several Shift-inspired events and phenomenon including Pedalpalooza, Move by Bike, Midnight Mystery Rides, Breakfast on the Bridges (which has recently expanded to Salem), and more.

The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from Paradigm Publishers. (This excerpt previously appeared in J. Harry Wray, Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life. (Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers 2008), pp. 142–145.)

    SHIFT (to Bikes)

    Crritical Mass is not in the business of direct political advocacy, but its ideas tend to exude a kind of free-form political buoyancy. SHIFT of Portland, Oregon, is an activist organization of a slightly different sort. In 2002, Portland sponsored Bike Summer, a month-long festival celebrating the bicycle. It was hugely successful, drawing more than five thousand participants to a wide variety of activities. Both the strong response of the community and the feelings of camaraderie among the primary organizers of the activities led to the formation of SHIFT.

    SHIFT works the cultural side of bike consciousness. It is a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to demonstrate that cycling is fun, liberating, empowering, sustainable and environmentally friendly.” It is both more structured and more diverse than Critical Mass, with a central organizing committee of young bike activists. The central committee plans and advertises a variety of events. At the same time, it is open to others using the structure of the organization to promote biking activities. It describes itself as an “informal, loose-knit group oj bicycle folks,” who are drawn together by a common enthusiasm for the potential of the bicycle. Jonathan Maus, a media contact person notes the fluidity of SHIFTers. Some folks have been around since the outset, but people are constantly moving in and out of leadership roles. Many are inspired to become more active through SHIFT event they attend. There are no dues and no membership rolls. Since it is volunteer driven, the organization requires little funding, and the group ethos promotes doing things without spending money. People donate talent and other useful things, and one or two fund-raising events are held. This is sufficient to meet SHIFT’s needs.

    The SHIFT calendar is a frequently accessed and valuable organizing tool. Anyone who has a bike event may have it placed on the calendar. The calendar for May 2006, for example, listed sixty-seven events. These included a wide variety of rides, classes, tours, meetings, picnics, and swap meets. The activities that SHIFT plans exemplify its central purpose of highlighting the enjoyment of biking. The regular events they organized include Breakfast on the Bridges (free breakfast on three bridges on the last Friday of the month for pedestrians and bikers), Midnight Mystery Rides (regular late-night rides to intriguing destinations), and Pedalpalooza (described later).

    There is a certain kind of rider who recoils at the notion that something cannot be done on a bicycle. SHIFT’s “Move by Bike” program appeals to just such a person. This program supports household moves using nothing but bicycle power. Some movers have bikes with special trailers that give them the capability of hauling large items. There is no charge for this service. A request is placed on SHIFT’s listserv, indicating the date of the move, location, destination, and incentives-typically food and beer. Cyclists wishing to help simply show up at the designated time and place. I told a non-biking friend of this service, and she immediately asked, “Why do people do this?” A reasonable question, with a complex answer. In its abbreviated form, the answer is “Because they’re crazy bikers.”

    The annual grassroots bicycle festival Pedalpalooza is perhaps the most extraordinary event that SHIFT sponsors. Held each June, Pedalpalooza features over a hundred bicycle-related events, including a county bicycle fair. It has activities for virtually every subcategory of bikers, including tours of the city and surrounding area, BMX trickster exhibitions, mountain biking, races, a minibike steeplechase, tandem and novelty rides, and commuter-oriented rides. There are rides catering to a rich tapestry of social groups, including women, Latinos, gays, seniors, and kids.

    Some of the more interesting of these activities include Polo 101 (sponsored by the People’s Republic of Polo, in which instruction, gear, and food are provided for “low-impact” bicycle polo), Bike with Your MAMa (a ride through Portland’s “cool riverfront paths” designed particularly for singles meeting through bikes and conversation), Malty Beverage Ride (a tour of Portland’s renowned microbreweries), a Fathers’ Day Ride (in which fathers pull young children in bike trailers behind them), the annual Donut’Ride (Wlth the goal of hitting every donut shop in the city, this event stakes a claim to the “highest caloric intake” event of Pedalpalooza), Daytime World Naked Bike Ride (for those who are tired of freezing on midnight naked rides), Bike Trailer Tango (in which participants “learn how you can transport anything on your bike”), the Hob-Nob (for high-occupancy bikes, including tandems, triples, trailers, and cargo bikes) , the Summer Solstice Ride (which begins at 10:00 P.M. and goes all night in celebration of the shortest night of the year), and the Bike Kiss-in (in which bikers ride to the most attractive part of the city and stage a kiss-in for the pleasure of homebound commuters-mints are provided, although kissers must bring along their own kisses).

For more information or to order a copy of the book, visit ParadigmPublishers.com.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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a.O
a.O
16 years ago

Sounds like an interesting book. Does he explain why he stole Ray Thomas\’ book title?

joe adamski
joe adamski
16 years ago

From PAHBAG to BikeSummer 2002 to Shift to Pedalpalooza to today.. I think everyone involved has a lot to be proud of,and a lot of fun at all points in between. and the recongnition is icing on the cake!

Scott Mizée
16 years ago

and do I remember correctly that you were one of the people who helped establish shift, Joe?

el timito
16 years ago

This quote about MoveByBike seemed especially interesting: I told a non-biking friend of this service, and she immediately asked, “Why do people do this?” A reasonable question, with a complex answer. In its abbreviated form, the answer is “Because they’re crazy bikers.”

An equally concise answer, and perhaps just as accurate, would be \”Because it\’s fun as hell!\”

Matt Picio
16 years ago

That totally rocks! I\’ve had so much fun being a part of Shift for the last 2-1/2 years, and to see any recognition of the things that all Shifties have done over the 5-1/2 years that the group has been around… well, that\’s just awesome.

Move by Bike is such a great example of the grass-roots nature of Shift, and it\’s so awesome to see the concept spreading to places like Brooklyn, NY. Now if we can just get somebody in Detroit to agree to such a move…

Lisa
Lisa
16 years ago

Unfortunately the \”Crazy Bikers\” acronym is sticking. I rang my bell on my way down Davis nearing 41st the other night because someone dressed in dark clothes had just stepped into the street without looking and I wanted to alert both him and my boyfriend who was riding right behind me. The person talking to the dark-dressed man said in a loud voice, \”Watch out for crazy bikers\”. I stopped and said, \”We\’re not crazy, we\’re having fun\”, not thinking he would understand, but I prefer not to see that stigma perpetuated.

joe adamski
joe adamski
16 years ago

Scott Mizee.. I was there at the beginning, along with a lot of others.. and Bikesummer and Shift and a lot of the \’bikey\’ stuff taught me a zillion things about community building and organizing.. i had some great teachers just watching the magic happen!

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
16 years ago

Yes…and it is that time of year again to plan more bike fun for the 08 Pedal Palooza…get those events in soon! (And we need more Vancouver events too!)

Dr. Benjamin
Dr. Benjamin
16 years ago

Multnomah County Library:
3 of 13 holds on 2 copies

Get your copy back to the library, it\’s my turn 😉