The people, clubs, and culture that make up Portland’s bike scene.
[Tom Knipe] Last week I sat down with Tom Knipe, interim director of the Community Cycling Center (CCC). For the uninitiated, the CCC is known for their great programs, parts recycling, used bike shop, and their Holiday Bike Drive which donates bikes to kids. When I got there, programs manager Gabe Graff gave me the … Read more
[Dingo on his mini tall-bike] The Sprockettes and the Zoobombers left their mark on Saturday night’s roller derby season opener at the Expo Center. Their half-time extravaganza including some gnarly derby action with plenty of thrills and spills by an amped up Zoobomb crew. Then, the Sprockettes did their thing and and were met with … Read more
The Rose City Rollers (Portland’s all-female roller derby league) open their season this Saturday night at the Expo Center. But for me, the most exciting thing on the schedule has nothing to to with roller skates. I’ll be there for the “mini-bike extravaganza” planned for half-time. What’s a mini-bike extravaganza? According to Handsome Dave (the … Read more
[Reverend Phil] Renowned bike funnist Reverend Phil recently found his beloved “Duff#5” (full story here) and was moved to write this touching ode: She has returned to me. Let it ring from the depths of the Shanghai Tunnels to the heights of Council Crest. Let it ring from every bridge, from the Freemont “bikelane” to … Read more
[Tori Bortman] Here’s something I could really use…Tori Bortman has started a mechanic school in her basement. An experienced mechanic (most recently at North Portland Bikeworks) and teacher, Tori is offering both structured courses and one-on-one tutoring. According to Tori: “…there seems to be a need for folks who are looking to learn how to … Read more
Clicking through my feedreader today I came across a great post and inspiring photos by local cyclist and inventor Todd Fahrner. Taking advantage of a glorious break in the weather, Todd followed his neighbor to the store to pick up groceries with her two kids…all by bike. The trip was was made smooth and easy … Read more
[eriktonkin.bikeportland.org] I’m happy to announce that local professional ‘cross racer Erik Tonkin will be publishing a weekly column here on BikePortland.org. Well, not exactly here…I went and made him his own space. He’s gotten off to a great start with this article about how his friends help beat him up in mock races around Reed … Read more
[Erik Tonkin – more photos here] Local racer and co-owner of Sellwood Cycle Repair, Erik Tonkin has just been named to the U.S. team for the 2006 UCI Cyclocross World Championships. He joins his wife Rhonda Mazza who was recently named to the women’s team. Congrats to the world’s facest ‘cross couple! The big race … Read more
[An Ira Ryan frame at Chunkathalon] [via GravelTech] Ira Ryan has added his name to the growing list of Portland frame builders. Ira is one of the founders of Magpie Messenger Collective, is the reigning champion of the Trans-Iowa endurance mountain bike race, and apprenticed with Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles.
Yesterday I had an earth-shattering realization: Recumbents are just bikes and the people that ride them are normal, friendly people. OK, I’m exaggerating a little…I never actually thought they’d be abnormal or mean or anything….it’s just that we all know how a certain stigma exists between ‘bent and upright riders. I have long been curious … Read more
[Carlo Delumpa] Portland’s great cycling community just got even better. Local cyclists Carlo Delumpa (right), Susan France, David Kelly, Ty Lambert, David Russell and Rick Smith have launched Portland’s newest recreational cycling club, Portland Velo. Portland Velo was formed because the founders felt no existing group filled the growing need for organized road rides in … Read more
Last Sunday’s Christmas Zoobomb became tense when a motorist tried to pass the riders on a curvy downhill section of road. According to reports on the Zoobomb forum and Shift email list a gold Toyota Camry attempted to pass the Zoobombers on the left on a dangerous section of the road. When the car was … Read more