Part of any tradition is recognizing the history of the tradition. Cranksgiving is not an event native to Portland. However, it fits nicely into Portlandy style and was embraced by a variety of bike enthusiasts this year. But to cement Cranksgiving into the bike culture of Portland, I believe it is necessary to understand its past. In this way, it won’t become just a ride. There is a message. The message is of hope and help.

And this message was originally brought by some unlikely heroes--bike messengers.

Cranksgiving started in New York city in 1999 by Antonio Rodrigues, was run under his leadership for 8 years, and continues on as a tradition within the New York bike community. It is a charity food drive with bike messenger flair. Originally participants raced to multiple stops at grocery stores, taking any route they wished, and met at the selected charity for the finish. The Portland event was not competitive. The idea is to replicate the day of a bike messenger while collecting food for donation at the same time.

About 3,000 miles west of New York on Sunday, November 23^rd,  we had Portland’s first Cranksgiving. The day's event was not a race, but a group of bicyclists on a specific route, stopping at 5 locally owned grocery stores before going to the Clark Center men’s shelter. We had 16 adult Cranksgivers, and 3 kids in tow. Attached to the bikes were trailers and bucket panniers in which to carry the food.

There was a feeling of community as we traveled between stores and shared stories. It was a superb ride and a great day to be out—a crisp, sunny northwest day. We traveled all over Portland, seeming to hit all the great stretches of the city on which to ride. The ride was well planned thanks to the organizer, Lisa.

An unexpected benefit of the ride was that I had not been to most of the stores on our route. We started at People’s Food Co-op, a well stocked store that boasts many eco-friendly building designs such as being the nation's first commercially zoned building to feature cob walls. Then on to Food Fight!, a total vegan grocery store that solves the problem of where to go to find vegan vitals, plus they play cool music. Next, Alberta Co-op Grocery, providing your every want from bike-delivered baked goods to having resource articles on their homepage. From there we went on to the hidden jewel in my neighborhood, Cherry Sprout Produce Market, which is like a well-stocked farmers market, but indoors (I’m headed back there). The final stop was Food Front Co-op Grocery, a high-end co-op with a deli and wine aisle.

I am for any bikey activity, especially because I am trying to instill in my sons that bikes are viable means for transportation. In addition, I am for traditions that help the community. I hope that Cranskgiving comes up again next year.

Part of the allure of the ride had to do with the desire to get together as a group of bicyclists, but there was a deeper desire to promote helping.

What started out as an email in my box from a bike list-serve to which I belong, SHIFT, will hopefully turn into a city tradition. Sign up at SHIFT and join us next year.

Get Involved

Read more about how to plan a Cranksgiving for a local charity.

Use your Chinook Book coupons for any of the stores listed above. To view the coupons, click the links.

Sign up for the SHIFT bike list-serve for bike event notifications.

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