Southeast]
It might be Fall but I’ve got to say this that last weekend was so festive it reminded me of Summer. There were tons of opportunities to dress-up, ride and have fun on bikes.
Some folks got an early start on the weekend at the annual Superhero-themed Breakfast on the Bridges. Check out Carye Bye’s great photos of the action.
Later on Friday was the traditionally spooky Critical Mass ride as well as a new ride this year, the People’s Ride. I joined the People’s Ride at Ladd’s Circle Park and we rode all over Southeast before meeting up with the Critical Mass group amidst hoops, hollers and flashing lights under the Hawthorne Bridge.
at the ‘cross race
on Sunday]
I peeled off that ride to join a gathering of local framebuilders hosted by Andy Newlands of Strawberry Bicycles (report coming soon, photos here).
Then on Saturday I checked out the Portland Transportation Film Fest at the Bagdad. It was a great turnout and the highlight of the show was a 1960s-era propaganda film from General Motors produced to instill fear into Americans that we didn’t have enough roads and freeways.
Come Sunday I ventured out to the Flying M Ranch in Yamhill to participate in the fourth race in the Cross Crusade series. Now that was a fun race! Lots of hilarious costumes, a kick-ass course to race on, plenty of beer and good times all around. My report is coming soon, but here’s a sneak peek at my photos.
I know there was a lot going on this weekend and I’d love to hear what you did!
[*NOTE: I am still having server problems. To help ease pressure on the server, I’ve disabled some features in my sidebar. I hope to have everything solved soon.]
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A pretty tame weekend here – went out for a short ride on Saturday afternoon looking for really steep hills and found ’em. On the way out I stopped by the new location of 7 Corners to give Corey a hard time about all the new space. Actually, it was pretty exciting to see the new shop and I am sure all that space will soon be filled (with customers, I hope!). Met Aaron while I was there and we discussed the merits of steel vs. aluminum frames and it once again came down to “I guess it’s all about personal preference.” 🙂
Saw all the bikers gearing up for the People’s Ride on Friday while walking my dogs – it sounds like it was as much fund as it looked like it was going to be . . .
I really wanted to go to the transport films but chose instead to go on a ride with a friend to oak bottom and around various leafy SE ‘hoods. ’twas gorgeous! I hope someone will show the transport films again, like at whitsell (art museum) or another artsy house or pub theatre.
Hey where’s the Hawthorne superheroes??
Here they are
My weekend was fantastical! Saturday morning I was off to a late start(if 8:30 am is late on the weekend) and so I could not meet up with the good riders on my team for a road ride.
Instead I headed up to Tabor with my new(used) mountian bike. I have no skills with mountain biking, hence the need to learn myself how to ride. Suspension is a funny thing! Going over everything is easy as pie with it, but it tugs at funny moments,causing mini panic attacks in my soul. I like to not break things(myself, bikes) so my ride was not very risk taking.
When I finally admitted to myself that I was not going to conquer riding downhills on trails with walkers and dogs and fear in my heart(on a bike that I was unfamiliar with)I headed over to Annie’s Donuts and grabbed some delicious donuts for me and a pal. I went to my friend’s house to make him get out of bed(but hey its ok to accost people if you bring donuts,right?)and then him and his roommate and I rode on down to the Fresh Pot to meet up with a crew for the Noise Ride 2006, put on by last year’s winner of the belt,R.Kelley.
We(a crew at least 20 strong,probably more) weaved our way around and through NE and N. Portland, eventually ending up at Pier Park where a test run of the race loop was rode by all.Then the race consisted of two laps for the serious contenders of the belt-but you haad to be a single speedster to win, so I just did one lap and commenced to wait to see who would win. Victory went to Tad. I was especially stoked for his win because the belt is black on the outside-but pink on the inside: Veloshop team colors, and while we were at the coffee shop earlier I had told him he had to win it.
I was contemplating the Zombie Ride, which I heard was lots of fun, but remembered I had plans so I had to wait until Sunday to get back on the bike.
Cross Crusade #4, out at the Flying M ranch, was the order of the day. It being the Halloween ride I came prepared to just have fun, being a ballerina, and not to get too nervous about the actual race. This worked out well for me. Though I can’t say I feel that I did stupendouosly, I had a good time,and atcually felt the course was fun. A week ago I woulda had some other adjectives to use, but I think maybe I am getting the cross fever(oh, sure, maybe purchasing a cross bike was the first sign of the illness, but that is a minor detail)…I got to meet Jonathan and he even took a nice pic of me riding by. Action shot! Finally proof that I actually rode a race. (Jonathan-those are swell pics, by the way-I’m looking forward to the whole race report!)
As far as I’m concerened the highlight of the race was when a certain nice bike mechanic decided to ride in the buff for his final lap. I guess he took that “Expose yourself to cyclocross” banner pretty seriously…
Costumes, free pancakes (provided by the spectacular folks at Chris King) and warm drinks, kegs o beer, and a naked rider all add up to fun in my book.
New bruises amassed, legs cold and tired but spirits high, I headed back into town with my friends and sadly had to go home to do homework. All I really wanted to do was get back on a bike and ride. Education is important and all but…yeehaw-bikes are fun!
I came out to Portland for 48 hours! Yeehaw!
I wished the transpo film fest PSA would have included mirrors. It’s a legal requirement for cars and a much more efficient tool for a cyclist, especially when helmet- or glasses-mounted. It’s my #1 safety item, and I will not ride without one. Me am defensive, aware bike driver. Hulk not crash.
Enrique Penalosa is my hero.
The funny thing about that PSA was that I put it together in such a short period of time without much thinking about it, I just threw together “like” items. Number six I think had a lumped together category of safety items like bells, reflectors, etc. so I figured that would cover just about anything else.
This past weekend they showed my Enrique Penalosa video in Toronto and I already have three requests from people for DVDs of it!
Mirrors can make it more dangerous at times.
Exercise your brain my moving your head and looking around, instead?
Rode 21 miles Saturday morning with my best girl on our favorite ride which ends up at the top of Bingham Hill. It’s in Fort Collins, CO, BTW. That afternoon, rode another 25 miles on a route I call the “Great Circle of Fort Collins.” Sunday, the two of us rode 60 miles, north of town to a coal-fired power plant, east a bit, then south to a neighboring town pizza joint for a slice and two twist cones. Great weekend. Thanks for asking.
—
Howard
Dabby,
I know you don’t like mirrors. That’s ok with me. I would, however, like to challenge your claim that mirrors “can make it more dangerous.” I do not claim that mirrors are a substitute for good old fashioned eye contact, but rather a supplementary tool for maintaining an informed roadway perspective.
Does anyone have a “bad mirror” story/experience?
I, too, would be interested in learning the basis of the “mirrors can make it more dangerous at times” theory.
Back in my motorcycle days I learned not to trust mirrors. They just don’t give you the whole picture. A car could be lurking just past the edge of your mirror. They are great as a supplement to looking over your shoulder but they should never be a substitute.
I checked out the Zombie Cult Massacre results over at PUMA. Sounded excellent. I’d be interested in a recap. Anyone partake?
So what SKiDmark really meant was that relying on a mirror alone can be dangerous, because of blind spot issues or such. That’s understandable.
That’s not the same as making it “more dangerous,” though – I would hate for folks to be discouraged from adding a mirror to their vast repetoire of safety devices and tactics because they were led to believe that to do so would put them at greater risk of harm . . . 🙂