(Photos © J. Maus)
The six-week Oregon Manifest has showcased handmade bicycles, bike fashion, art, and more. On Sunday, the headline act is family biking.
Families are the new fixed gears. Don’t believe me? Consider this: The number of families out on the bikeways grows by leaps and bounds each year; new products to service the growing niche are coming out all the time; and it’s becoming the thing all the cool families do.
But there are still many moms and dads who are yet to take the plunge. Not only are safety concerns more acute for some folks when kids are in the equation, but there are a lot of bike configurations and product questions that come up.
Thankfully, the folks at Oregon Manifest have made this Sunday (10/25) Family Bicycle Transportation Day. Sponsored by Metro’s Drive Less. Save More. campaign, the event will feature a “huge selection” of family bike products that will be free to demo all in a “fun atmosphere” and all in one place. Here’s more from the event description:
“We’ll have many easy and flexible options on hand, including bakfietsen, cargo bikes, trail-a-bikes, front-loading child seat options, bike trailers, tandems, electric-pedal assist electric-assisted bikes, helpful accessories and more.”
There will also be information and resources on everything from safe routes to school (and work), tips on riding with kids, bike maintenance, and a prize raffle with proceeds to benefit the Community Cycling Center’s upcoming Holiday Bike Drive thrown in for good measure.
Here’s a list of exhibitors signed up so far:
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Bike Gallery
Blue Moon Bakery
Clever Cycles
Co-Motion Cycles
Community Cycling Center
Company Tonight Catering
Joe Bike
Metro – Drive Less Save More
Metrofiets Custom Cargo Bikes
Northwest Federal Credit Union
OHSU Think First – Nutcase Helmet Fittings
Pedal Bike Tours
Portland Bureau of Transportation
RAD Innovations, LLC – Kid’s tandem
Taco Del Mar
Wells Fargo
It all happens this Sunday at the Oregon Manifest Bike Union (539 NW 10th at Hoyt)
The product demo and info-sharing portion of the event goes from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm and will be followed by a Family Transportation Solutions Workshop from 4:00 to 7:00. The workshop requires an RSVP and spaces are still left. We’ve posted more information on the workshop here.