Like bikes? Like pubs? Hate smoke? You’re in luck. The first ever “Smoke Free Bike Pub Crawl” happens tomorrow night (Fri.) at 7:30. Meet at Roots Brewing on SE 7th Ave…and ride responsibly!
Great new bikey website
Aaron Tarfman – who was recently profiled in the Oregonian – has put together a new website with tons of great, bike-related info and resources. Take a stroll through Body Power! and you’ll learn about everything from how to haul more stuff with your bike to tips on cycling in cold weather. Enjoy!
Alpenrose clean-up day
Track season starts next week (!) and the annual Alpenrose Velodrome clean up is happening this Saturday, 4/23. Join in and help re-paint the track surface, pull weeds, put up sponsor signs…and do whatever it takes to make the track ready for racing.
The clean-up starts at 9 AM. Lunch will be provided. Alpenrose is located at 6149 SW Shattuck Rd. For more information contact Mike Murray at OBRA.
Wi-Fi and Ice Cream
There’s nothing like a full day of riding through town that mixes coffee, work, friends, family, and of course, bikes! How did I manage all that in one day? Well, for starters I cruised from North Portland to Sellwood to meet a potential client…and the ride to get there had me grinning the whole time. Here’s the route: Michigan is a great, low traffic N-S corridor…I took it down to Fremont then down the Mississippi Hill to Interstate. From there I quickly jumped on the Eastbank Esplanade and took it all the way to the end at Umatilla. A few spins of the cranks later I was in Sellwood! Just about 25 minutes total from one end of town to the other.
Then, I took advantage of great coffee and free wi-fi at The Ugly Mug on SE 12th until I got the call to meet my ladies for free cone day at the Ben & Jerry’s on SE Hawthorne. mmmm…it was good. But, work beckoned so I set up shop at Fresh Pot next to Powell’s on Hawthorne. (The sun was shining nicely so I made sure I took a table in the back with no view of the outside). Then, it was off to another meeting at the Red & Black Cafe on SE Division…to discuss, what else?, Bike Fun at Pedalpalooza in June….and of course mooch yet another free wi-fi signal.
Finally, after the sun had set, it was time to ride home in the beautifully dark spring night….and as a major bonus my daughter was still up so I got to hang with her a bit before bed. Hope you enjoyed my trip and I’ll see you out on the streets.
Free ice cream!
Right now, until 8:00PM tonight the Ben & Jerry’s on SE Hawthorne and 36th is giving away free ice cream!…but only if you ride your bike…OK, just kidding. Anyone that shows up will get the free cone…but just think, if you ride your bike you won’t have to look for parking and you’ll burn all the calories from the ice cream on the way home…what a deal!
I was just there and they’ve got live music to keep you entertained while in line…and did I mention, it’s absolutely fabulously beautiful outside today! Have a great ride and be careful if you ride on Hawthorne!
Be a part of Pedalpalooza 2005
Pedalpalooza isn’t happening ’til June…but the organizers are already going full pedal getting everything ready. A great thing about Pedalpalooza is that anyone can be a part of it by hosting their very own bike fun event….but the deadline for getting on the oh-so-important printed calendar (watch for it around town!) is just a few days away. So…if you have an idea for a bike event – perhaps a family neighborhood ride that ends in a picnic? – simply send an email to bikefun2005@riseup.net and a friendly volunteer will help you out.
Oregonians at Sea Otter Classic
Last weekend I attended the Sea Otter Classic…a "celebration of cycling" that is like Woodstock for bike lovers. Oregon based cyclists had a great showing. Most notable was Portland’s own Doug Ollerenshaw who won the Pro Road Race! You can read more about his amazing ride here.
I also ran into Molly Cameron (owner of VeloShop in downtown Portland) who had a great showing in the Semi-Pro field.
Other Oregonians in attendance included racer Evan Plews, Dan Houghton, the mechanic for Team Subway and Doug from BicyclingHub.com.
Pancakes, bikes, and bring the family…
Just got a great tip about a yummy-sounding family bike ride happening in Vancouver on Saturday:
This Saturday is the annual Blueberry Pancake Ride in Vancouver. There’s free blueberry pancakes and an easy 8-10 mile, flat, family-oriented ride starting at Vancouver Lake. For more serious riders, they can join the Wheelmen from Wilshire Park in NE for a 50-miler that stops by for pancakes, or there are other ride distances from the pancake feed site.
Blueberry pancakes!? ..as if you needed an excuse to go check out Vancouver Lake with the family. Have fun!
Tax day ride and a bike swap meet
If tax time’s got you down, or if you just want something fun to do on your bike tomorrow night, then the “Tax Day Pub Crawl” should be in your future. Here’s the details
Meeting Point: Federal Building (1220 SW Third Ave, Portland OR)- 6:00 First Stop: Kelly’s Olympian – 6:30 Leave for next stop – 7:30 Ride ends at Clinton Street Theater in time for Filmed by Bike III (Doors @ 8:45). More info? bikemore@gmail.com
…and it gets even better on Saturday…Join a crowd of bike-lovers
at a Bike Swap Meet. It’s happening this Saturday from 5-9PM at the Eagle’s Lodge on 4904 SE Hawthorne. You can score some used bike parts and revel in bikey nirvana while enjoying the full bar and DJ. There’s a $1 admission and $10 vendor fee with proceeds going to help North Portland Bikeworks remain a vital community resource.
Bad fit = bad news
When you’re not comfy on your bike, you ride less, and that’s not good. There’s no reason to settle on an uncomfortable position. The smart folks over at the American Physical Therapy Association have just released a nice bit of info about how to stay happy while riding and avoid common pains and injuries. Here’s an excerpt that sums it all up:
"Proper bicycle fit will minimize discomfort and possible overuse injury, maximize economy, and ensure safe bicycle operation. Proper bicycle fit will make your ride a lot more pleasurable."
This applies to everyone on a bike; from newbies just giving it a try to seasoned, lycra-clad pros. Here’s another nice article with basic bike fit tips.
And remember, your friendly local bike shop will be more than happy to help you with your set-up.
Filmed by Bike III
This Friday night is your chance to see some cool bike-culture flicks at “Filmed by Bike III“…”a festival of bike themed movies” It’s happening at the Clinton Street Theater and it starts at 9:00. The best part is that it’s a fundraiser for The Multnomah County Bike Fair happening later in the summer…and word on the street is that paparazzi fashion photogs from The Oregonian will be looking for velo-fashionistas…so don’t hold back you cool biker ladies. I wish I could be there but I’ll be at the Sea Otter Classic Bike Festival in Monterey…bummer.
Get your fix from the library
If you’re a cycling junkie on a budget and you’ve got a library card, check this out…
In a recent post to the OBRA email list, someone explained how they made a successful request to the Multnomah County Library to carry more cycling DVDs. Here’s an excerpt from the post.
The Multnomah County Library maintains an online purchase request form that we can use to ask for more cycling DVD’s. Several months ago, I used it to point-out to them a glaring hole in their collection. They had no bicycle racing DVD’s, and I encouraged them to purchase some European pro racing DVD’s …The thrust of my argument was that there would be plenty of demand for these DVD’s in Portland…and that TV coverage was extremely rare, the cost of these DVD race documentaries were prohibitive to many and unavailable at video/dvd rental stores.
He also pointed out that it’s helpful to point them to a website where the materials can be purchased.