Report: Eastside Theater History Ride

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From Shawn’s Urban Adventure League Blog
Wed 22 June 2005

While the weather wasn’t perfect for this Urban Adventure League ride (there was the imminent threat of rain for most of the ride’s duration, and it actually DID rain for a moment), it didn’t deter seventeen people from showing up at the starting point of Ladd’s Circle at 6:30pm for this unique tour. Introductions were given, the zine for the ride handed out, and the bicycle ride headed south-eastward on Ladd Av towards the first destination, the Clinton Street Theater. I gave a brief history of the theater, and the crowd gawked at the new addition to the cinema–Portland’s smallest brewpub (as of this week!)…

Click here to watch Clarence Eckerson’s movie of the ride!
Click here to continue reading the full report!

Memorial Ride Tonight

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Tonight’s Critical Mass will be a special memorial ride for cyclists killed by cars on the streets of Portland.

If you ride a bike and you want to show your support, please consider joining us on this ride. Their will be several stops along the route (PDF of route) where we will hear from friends and families of the fallen. Permits have been granted for these stops so there is no fear of problems with the cops.

I hope to see you out there.

Meet at 5:45, ride at 6:00
North Park Blocks off of Burnside

Report: Gorge Ride

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Gorge Ride – 6/22/05

Reported by Kiran:

Brief showers did not keep 5 intrepid riders from MAXing to Gresham and riding to the Vista House on the Historic Columbia River Hwy (The easternmost point of Pedalpalooza).

Photos by Dat:
http://homepage.mac.com/datn/PhotoAlbum66.html

Stats:
Top Speed-39mph
Detours-1
HelmetCams-1
Muddy pints of $3 strawberries-2
Espresso Drinks-3
Flats-1
MAX trains-3
Buses-2 (flat recovery)

After caffeination in Troutdale the sun came out and riders who still had air in their tires opted for the extended return to Portland via marine drive.

Local biker chronicles his commute

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Local commuter John Beaston loves his commute and his city. Over the past year, he has ridden his bike to work 99 times, and snapped a photo of the same spot each time.

He shared his just finished photo gallery, “A year of morning commute pictures” with me the other day and I thought I would pass it on to you guys.

Here are some comments from John about the photos:

“99 days” represents how many times I actually managed to bike commute over the last year. After moving to NPDX I’d been commuting the route (NPDX to Beaverton) for a few months and I remember thinking one day about how beautiful the river is no matter what the weather and what a wonderful job Portland has done to celebrate it downtown. I was struck by how it changes from day to day and season to season. I’ve always loved time-lapse photography and I guess I was inspired by the “A Year in the Life of….” books and websites. I decided to give it a shot and see what came out of it.”

I think it’s a beautiful statement on bikes and our city. I’m glad you’ve taken the time to put this together and If I had the connections and/or money, I’d help you with that book deal!

Oregon MTB Groups Release Mt. Hood Proposal

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In an effort to retain access for mountain bikes in the backcountry, the Oregon Mountain Bike Alliance (ORMBA) and the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) have teamed up on an innovative plan that suggests new ways to look at “wilderness” designations in Mt. Hood National Forest.

At issue here is how the Feds define “wilderness”. The fear for mountain bikers is that the current definition excludes mountain bikes completely from all “wilderness” areas. If the Feds expand the wilderness boundaries, it means less places to ride. Therefore, this new plan is a huge development because it is an effort to revise how the Feds define wilderness areas. If successful, this plan might influence other decisions happening all over the country.

At stake is the sport of mountain biking itself. If they’re completely excluded from large backcountry areas where they’re currently allowed, it would have a severe effect on the health of the sport, tourism, and the cycling economy in the region.

But it’s not a matter of saving the economy. I think preserving wild areas are much more important that the health of the economy(!). However, I do think that there is a misperception of the effects responsible mountain bikers have on the trails. When ridden properly, bikes can co-exist peacefully with other trail users.

…but it all starts with a plan and I’m excited by the great work ORMBA and IMBA have put into this. Stay tuned for more developments.

Here’s a summary of the proposal.

A map detailing how the proposed designations for Mount Hood might be administered can be downloaded from IMBA’s web site.

Report: Bike to Tennis Ride

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Reported by Carye:

Bike To Tennis, Monday the 20th, 6:15 – 8:30 pm

8 bicyclists (3 men, 5 women) = 4 teams of doubles on two courts at Sellwood Park (We had the competive side – whoa Sara Stout sure can whoop it up with the fellas – and the not so competive side — Isn’t a cute white skirt enough? Joanna, where on earth are you putting those balls?)

Perfect warm sunny Summer evening, lovely ride on the East Esplande from Hawthorne Bridge to Springwater Corridor to Sellwood Park. After game drinks at Red & Black.

Cutest on the Court goes to Joanna Dyer. Meow!

Cutest Accesory: Sponge Bob Squarepants wrist band. Thanks Elicia

Worst Player goes to Carye Bye, that’s me, who had plently of time to practice for her event, but did not.

4 out of 8 were new to PP/Shift events. Hooray!

Photos soon I hope!

-Carye

Report: Hash Ride

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Reported by Jim:

We had about 25 of portland’s most fun riders band together to chase the hares last night. After about an hour of dead-ends, mindless hills and loops, we ended up at the park for some snacks. The snack kitty was refilled (thanks!) and next month’s hash has a participant list waiting to go! wheee!

1 rider happened upon us at the start and stayed for the whole event.

See you next month! longer faster harder!
–Jim

Bakery gets into Tour de France spirit

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This just in:

St. Honore Bakery to host live Tour de France coverage and collect used bikes for the Community Cycling Center on July 2nd.

St. Honoré Bakery will pay tribute to the Tour de France and collect bikes for low-income youths and adults. Cycle or stroll down to the bakery on Saturday, July 2nd starting at 6 a.m. and watch the live coverage and enjoy new summer tastes. St. Honoré will continue to broadcast live coverage throughout the three-week race. Also on July 2nd, the Community Cycling Center and St. Honore’s own women’s cycling team, Sorella Forte, will collect used bicycles for the center’s bicycle education programs.

Jonathan Nicholas, Oregonian columnist and founder of Cycle Oregon, will be on hand to help collect bicycles.

Report: Shortest Night of the Year Ride

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26 traversed mt tabor

12 rode the springwater

10 climbed powell butte, listened to the guitar and harrmonica sounds of Ali; ate tasty pasta al pest and drank champagne

9 saw the sunrise at 5:30

8 are riding home on MAX right now

the shortest night of the year ride has been the longest of Pedalpalooza, lasting from 21:54 to 06:00.

Report: Framebuilding workshop

60+ eager bike lovers descended upon a non-descript garage door near 38th and Belmont to get a glimpse at the magic of framebuilding from Sacha White, master craftsman of Vanilla Bicycles. Their wait was rewarded with compelling, behind-the-scenes information and cold PBR and Hansens (Vanilla Cola flavor of course).

The crowds were thick so Sacha and Ben ferried crowds of 10-15 at a time through the tour.

Sacha explained the intricacies of turning cold, hard, steel tubing into smooth, gorgeous, functional bicycles that are truly custom. I think it’s great to know that in this day and age, there are still guys like Sacha…dedicated to his craft and good enough to do it full time (he’s got a 1 year backlog).

Check out my Vanilla Workshop Slide Show!

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From the Archives

With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike