Sunday, February 11th, beat the band in Portland, OR, must say! Bad weather is to the Rose Festival as gorgeous climate is to the Worst Day of the Year Ride, and this year did not disappoint. And if that weren't enough, the final day of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) was an ogle-fest of epic proportions.
For those who have never had the great pleasure of partaking in the most enjoyable and fun-loving organized bike ride of the year, the Worst Day of the Year Ride is a wonderful 18/40 mile urban route whose population benefits the Community Cycling Center. For those with visions of Bridge Pedal crowding dancing in your heads, please note that the ride caps at 2000.
I was there at a little before 7am for morning registration volunteering. Now this may sound like the short-straw volunteer position, but it's my absolute favorite: I have the great pleasure of meeting the intrepid and well-costumed folks as they sachet in for their ride numbers and maps. It's great! We set up bike parking, got the donuts and coffee ready for the masses, and checked folks in and out as best we could. The ride itself dipped into all quadrants with stops at REI, the CCC, the Bike Gallery, and back to the Luck Lab for cornbread and chili. And did we mention the incomparable weather? I think so. But did we mention the bee swarm?
But was THAT the end of the day? Not on your life, my friends my friends. No, because then it was incumbent upon us to travel to the Oregon Convention Center where we became overwhelmed over the next few hours by the exquisite craftspersonship of handmade bicicletistas from both near and far. Portland was well represented by local framebuilders such as
Jones,
Sweetpea,
Ira Ryan,
Pereira Cycles,
Renovo, and others. Like all handmade endeavors, the stories are rather as important as the work itself (at least to my mind). Here's a few eavesdrops for the road:
For Renold of
YipSan Bicycles, Portland offered a hospitable venue for his first-ever exhibition. He was born and raised in Hong Kong and currently build bikes in his home of Fort Collins, CO. His shop's logo is a simplified version of his last name, Yip. When asked about his overarching artistic ethos, he replied that, "I want a bike to be practical, simple, and comfortable". Yip focuses on the custom fit of the frame to the rider, but Matt and I agreed that he was rather humble about the look of his custom frames. His firecracker design was particularly apropos for a bicycle exhibition coinciding with the Spring Festival.
Matt Picio, my cohort, and I were both rather taken with locally grown
Renovo Hardwood Bicycles and owner Ken Wheeler. If I remember correctly, they opened shop about 5 months ago with a healthy history of aircraft design. If you check out the slideshow, please allow me to point out the joints from tube to tube. The whole bike costs less than 19 lbs! Ken is a charming fellow who was quick to invite us to his shop anytime. Give them a buzz and check out their craft! You'll be an instant convert, guaranteed.
Imagine an intricate scaffolding system propelling you to a destination with nothing but gravity and a few muscle-gleaning pedals to keep you going. You would be riding an Arantix frame from
Delta 7 Sports. This carbon fibre with kevlar threading system was created over the year by structural engineering students at Brigham Young University.
I won't tax your patience by going further, but here's a slideshow from a few friends' slideshows:
That's all from me, folks. Thanks for your patience, and see you in the bike lane.
steph