Download program (JPG)

The seventh annual Bicycle Film Festival is gearing up for its first-ever stop in Portland next week. About halfway through its worldwide tour, the fest has already made stops in Paris, Los Angeles, New York, and other cities.
For Portland, organizers have planned a four day feast of bike culture that [...]

Former BTA staffer and volunteer Eric Lundgren is hard at work piecing together Portland’s bike history. He’s currently researching the topic for an upcoming book.
I’ve read what he’s uncovered so far and I find it fascinating. Given how much bicycling is woven into the fabric of Portland, it’s exciting to learn more about [...]

Coming to Portland this weekend.

A “Zeppelin of Love” full of fun-seeking cyclists is on its way from Los Angeles to Portland and they call themselves the Midnight Ridazz.
The Midnight Ridazz began in 2004 when eight friends got together to ride the streets of Los Angeles. Or, as one of the Ridazz — who goes [...]

Illustration by Portland artist Shawn Granton and story by Portlander Mykle Hansen.

The current issue of the always excellent Vancouver BC-based Momentum Magazine has some notable Portland coverage.
There’s a great story titled Bicycle Dream Date by local writer (and much more) Mykle Hansen. Its a great account of a full day on a bike and [...]

Crowds gathered one last time at the Alberta St. Clown House on NE 25th Ave.(File photo)

This month’s Last Thursday on Alberta was notable for several reasons: the clowns, the cops, and the crowds.
First and foremost, it was the last month in a long run of action at the Alberta Street Clown House (they’re moving soon). [...]

Just a quick post (I’m in Oakridge right now at MTB Oregon!) to share my photos from Last Thursday on Alberta.
It was a great night out there. Don’t have time to share more, but hopefully the slideshow below will tell part of the story.

I didn’t say too late at the Clown House, so if [...]

Dingo Dizmal, captain of the Clown House.(File photo)

Yes folks, it’s true. Tonight at Last Thursday on Alberta Street, the Clown House (at NE 24th and Alberta) will play host to hijinks and fun for the very last time.
Due to rents that have shot far beyond a clown’s wage, Dingo, Pinga, Chlorine, Will, and the [...]

Agent Crush never got a chanceto flex her muscles in Ashland.(File photo)

The Sprockettes tour is off to a memorable start.
The ladies rolled into the southern Oregon city of Ashland last Thursday hoping to liven up the town with an impromptu performance in Lithia Park.
Unfortunately, a few of Ashland’s men in blue didn’t think [...]

Rachel in her studio.(Photo courtesy Rachel Siegel)

Portland artist Rachel Siegel wants to celebrate what she refers to as Portland’s, “astonishingly diverse and unique community of cyclists” with a juried, photographic exhibition.
Siegel is still in the planning stages but she already has a working title, Cycle Seen: Picturing Portland’s Bike Culture, and she has met with [...]

“Mourning ride” byMargaret Beeson

For many people, bicycles are far more than a tool for transport and recreation; they’re an inspiration for art.
Here in Portland we’re fortunate to have a rich culture full of examples. Last July I put together an art exhibition at City Hall that featured bike-themed paintings, photos, sculptures, and [...]

Newlyweds Tiago and Adriane led the bike parade in a chariot.(File photo)Full slideshow below

Yesterday evening on the top of Mt. Tabor we celebrated the wedding of Tiago Denczuk (I wrote about his bike paintings last year) and Adriane Ackerman. After the ceremony, the newlyweds boarded a chariot pulled by Gabe’s tall-bike and led a [...]

A winged devil jousting on a unicyclewowed a packed crowd at the Clown House.View gallery(File photo)

Despite an increased police presence after last month’s unfortunate incident, Last Thursday on Alberta got back to business last night.
The street pulsed with energy and creativity from street performers, local art, and of course bikes and cyclists of every persuasion [...]

Captain Ace Hole, Tall Bike Superstar.

Don’t let dancing mobs and “anarchy” scare you away from Last Thursday on Alberta tonight. If you do, you’ll miss a chance to see the Clown House at its best.
This month they’ve got a very special guest. Captain Ace Hole from Chicago, Illinois will perform “high-flying stunts” on [...]

Event poster.Click to enlarge

As part of their “Artist Originals” campaign, messenger bag manufacturer Timbuk2 is hosting an art charity event at the newly opened Ace Hotel in downtown Portland.
The event will coincide with the First Thursday art walk on June 7th.
Three artists will use Timbuk2’s Artist Canvas bag as their canvas to create original, one-of-a-kind [...]

Marko MuellnerPhoto: Marko Muellner

Last Christmas, Marko Muellner’s wife bought him a 10-week course in documentary filmmaking.
Long before that, he was walking down NE Alberta Street when a locked-up bike caught his eye,
“When I started to look more closely I was amazed, it was beautiful, and the details were really really interesting.”
The bike was [...]

Just when you thought it was safe to leave the house, Rev Phil announces his latest film event…

Bike Porn event flyer by Rev Phil

Here’s the official word:
“A series of short films from various artists on the theme of bike porn. People often talk about the “pornography of violence” as a way of describing the [...]

Detail of Mike Russell’s CulturePulp comic featuring the Sprockettes. View more on his blog.

Each Friday in their A&E section, the Oregonian features the work of artist and journalist Mike Russell. Last week, the subject of his CulturePulp comic was none other than the lovely and talented mini-bike dance troupe, the Sprockettes.
Not only does [...]

With just one month before the kickoff of Pedalpalooza, Shift has unveiled this year’s event poster:

Pedalpalooza poster, designed by Gabriel Amadeus.Larger version

The poster was designed by graphic artist Gabriel Amadeus and depicts a unicyclist with a jousting lance, riding high atop the St Johns Bridge.
Pedalpalooza is the largest event of its kind in the world, [...]

If you’re new to this site, you might have missed my coverage from Cycle Oregon last September. I posted daily reports (when I could find a signal) and uploaded hundreds of photos from the road.
One of my shots, taken from the saddle while riding into the small town of Union on day four, was [...]

This installation debuts in Portland tomorrow.Photo: Vanessa Renwick

There will be a provocative, bike-themed video installation at the upcoming PDX Film Fest. Filmmaker and artist Vanessa Renwick of the Oregon Department of Kick Ass, says people will be offered a new way to appreciate her classic film, The Yodeling Lesson.
If you haven’t seen The Yodeling [...]

The man behind the eventaboard “Juggernaut”.File photo:6/24/06

With Pedalpalooza just around the corner (June 7-23), I thought I’d feature some of the interesting events already on the calendar.
The first one is the inaugural Stumptown Joustdown. Jousting is nothing new on the Portland scene, but what makes this one different is that it’s open to all [...]

Ayleen Crotty of Filmed by BikeFile photo: 4/11/07

You can’t go to far in Portland’s bike scene without running into Ayleen Crotty. She’s the spirit behind such beloved institutions as the Midnight Mystery Rides, the KBOO Bike Show, the Multnomah County Bike Fair and more.
And after this weekend she’ll be best known for her role [...]

Voodoo Donuts awaited us at the rest stop.

Despite rainy skies, well over 100 bicycling bunnies joined the fourth annual Bunny on a Bike Ride yesterday. Head bunny Carye Bye and her trusty crew of volunteers led us on a circuitous route through northeast and southeast Portland.
Highlights of the route included a spin [...]

Where else can you see grown men dressed as clowns, racing around a mud pit on mini-bikes?File photo: 4/26/06

I got an email the other day from Dingo the Clown, ring leader of the famous Alberta Street Clown House. For the uninitiated, the Clown House is home to all sorts of fun bike antics, especially [...]

The Bicycle Film Festival (not to be confused with Portland’s own Filmed by Bike) has chosen Portland as one of the cities it will visit in 2007. The event is scheduled for September 5-8th.

Festival DirectorBrendt BarburPhoto: CICLE

The festival starts in New York City in May and then moves onto 15 other cities including stops [...]

If I told you about a collective of cyclists and artists that started a movement called PINK to spread love by delivering notes around the city while wearing pink jumpsuits and pedaling pink bicycles, you might think it’s a natural fit for Portland.
After all, this city has serious penchant for pink, bikes, and [...]

Local couple Patrick Barber and Holly Maguire want to infuse a heightened fashion sense into cyclists everywhere.
They recently started an online community — via the popular photo-sharing website Flickr — to unite fellow velo-fashionistas. Check out some of the fantastic cycling styles on their Velocouture photo group.

Here’s a great shot of Patrick and Holly [...]

[The scene from inside last year's event.]

Filmed by Bike founder and promoter Ayleen Crotty has announced that the event will expand to seven screenings this year.
That’s up from two screenings at last year’s event when over 250 people were turned away from a packed Clinton Street Theater.

The shows will run at 7:00 and [...]

[A popular shirt available through Microcosm.]

Recently on a local cycling email list, news surfaced that Microcosm Publishing and founder Joe Biel, were leaving Portland.
Microcosm is the company behind most of the bike stickers, zines, t-shirts and general bike propaganda that is a common sight on backpacks and messenger bags throughout the city.
But beyond [...]

[Photo: Ben Salzberg]

Ben Salzberg, a local computer expert and guitarist for bikey band the Trash Mountain Boys, has finally shared his secret knowledge of how to make rear-view cycling mirrors out of a spoke and a beer cap.
He calls them “beer-view” mirrors and has published detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to make them on the [...]