Features
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What Not to Wear: Dressing for a Fall Century
By Gary Medley Weather makes gear selection a key decision on rides. In the Pacific Northwest, autumn announces crisp mornings, sunny afternoons, and a color palate unmatched by other seasons. Few cyclists would argue that fall is one of the best times of the year, as it typically stretches toward Halloween, and October riding can offer ideal cycling weather ... whether you’re hammering in an impromptu peloton or casually pedaling with your family, the clothes you wear can make the difference between an enjoyable ride or a frigid, soggy sojourn. Read More
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Riding for Remission, Collecting for a Cure
By Katie Hawkins On September 10 and 11, Sharon Dodge, along with her 17-year-old son and her 12-year-old twin girls, will join 2,000 cyclists on a ride along the scenic figure-eight courses of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), Greater Northwest Chapter’s Bike MS Ride and fundraiser. Sharon Dodge has multiple sclerosis — a disease to which her father, Walt Rogers, a former Navy A-4 Skyhawk and American Airlines pilot, lost his fight at the young age of 48. Read More
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Ergon PC2 Pedals
By Darren Dencklau Ergon, the makers of all things ergonomic, recently released a new flat pedal called the PC2. They are designed to fit the natural curvature near the balls of the feet, allowing for better power transfer and comfort. We received a pair to try out and I put them on the office bike, a Breezer Uptown 8. From the moment my feet hit the PC2s I noticed a difference. The wide platform and concave shape cradled my soft-soled shoes and made for a pleasant ride. Read More
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Bikes vs. Cars: Traffic Riding Safety
By Katie Hawkins We are currently at war, but not the type that first comes to mind. These days it seems that two- and four-wheeled commuters are commonly battling on the streets. In shedding some light on traffic safety for both bicyclists and motorists, we hope to reduce the conflict, taking drivers’ hands off the horn and placing riders’ middle fingers back on the handlebars. Read More
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Nokomis Jacket and Pants
By Darren Dencklau I hate to say it, but it’s true. The dreaded changing of the seasons is nigh and soon it will be back to long sleeves, pants and wet weather gear. Luckily, there are tons of options to keep one dry during the inescapable moisture laden fall and winter months. O2 Rainwear™ sent me a set of their Nokomis jacket and pants this past spring when I had ample opportunity to test them out. Read More
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BMX Flatland Revives with FlatWebTV
By Amy Vance A 20-inch bike circles the pavement. The rider, not with feet on the pedals or rear end planted on the seat, is “dancing” with the bike in fluid motions across a completely level surface. This is Bicycle Motocross (BMX) flatland, where artistry, balance and agility thrive more than speed or catching air. Flatland riders remain passionate, diligently working to regain greater recognition from the BMX and other bicycling communities. To assist in getting the sport out of semi-obscurity, Portland resident Justin Hoey created FlatWebTV, an online show dedicated to sharing the inner workings and news of the flatland scene. Read More
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Bikes: The “Green” Machines that are Moving Vancouver toward Sustainability
By Katie Hawkins Metro Vancouver, B.C. has a vision, and everything is looking green. Named the most eco-friendly city in Canada for the past two years by Corporate Knights magazine, the city is establis hing itself as the “Green Capital” in their 30-year strategy that focuses on sustainability through creating a compact urban area, supporting an ecological economy, protecting the region’s ecosystem and responding to climate change impacts, developing complete communities, and supporting environment-friendly transportation choices. But Vancouver isn’t satisfied with being named the greenest city in Canada; they’re going global, and hope to do so before the end of the project in 2040. Read More
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Summer Heat at the Velodrome
By Amy Vance In the words of Hyun Lee, director at the Marymoor Velodrome in Redmond, Wash., “Track racing is like NASCAR on two wheels.” Think of it as “the last 20 minutes of a road race,” cutting the four-hour warm-up and getting straight to the competition. The sport has many forms, with mass starts such as the Miss and Out, the Scratch and Points races, individual races like the Sprints and Keirin, as wells as other events like Team Sprints and the Madison.Riding a track is unique, bearing few similarities to road cycling. Read More
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Portlanders Shine and Shatter Records in Rain-Shortened AVC
By Dave Campbell When the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge (AVC) began in 1999, it became one of the richest, competitive, most anticipated and prestigious track races in the country. Riders, including many Olympic medalists, world champions, and countless national champions, have gathered annually to race at the unique and steeply banked 268-meter track nestled in Portland’s southwest hills. The major change witnessed over the past thirteen years has been the increased performance level of the locals. Read More
Opinions
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Saturday’s Club Ride
By Maynard Hershon I’m standing in a parking lot with a half-dozen other cyclists, ten minutes until ride time. A young woman rolls up on a road bike and tells us this is her first club ride. She says she’s not sure she can cope with the pace. I’m surprised to hear her say that, but I shouldn’t be; I’ve heard it countless times. I wonder if when she rode up, she looked at us ... No one’s embarrassed about their “slow” bicycle, not in this club. Read More
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The Peculiar Power of The Bike
By Joe Kurmaskie There’s a revolutionary living under your roof. It doesn’t chant slogans or engage in armed resistance, but it’s a power to be reckoned with all the same. It bunks down in the garage or waits patiently by the door. To some it’s disguised as a child’s toy, a deceptively simple device for recreating on the weekends. In truth, your bicycle is lightning in a top tube, a rebel with a cause just waiting to change your life. Read More
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Nice Wheels
By Maynard Hershon Unwilling to believe what he saw, Bob stared at the box. He looked up at the shelf where the hubs should’ve been, and by golly they weren’t there. No. Until a moment ago, they were in the dumpster. “Only someone working for me would leave this box in the dumpster after sneaking it out of the store. Anyone else would’ve taken these hubs right home. An employee might leave them out there, then come back after closing, after midnight maybe, and grab them when no one would see,” he reasoned. Read More
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Return Of The Native — Part 2
By Joe Kurmaskie I decided to return to the scene of the crime. I grew up riding a bicycle in Florida in the 1970s and know beyond a doubt that I’m lucky to be alive, lucky in the way people are who attended Woodstock, rushed for California gold, marched on Selma or laid the country’s first railroad tracks. To be inside something as it’s becoming, something organic and ad hoc, dangerous and beautiful ... It made me fast, hard and confident, but only because I knew no other way. I had to ride. I needed it, even if I had to steal it from a deep place. Read More
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Memory Lane — Bunny Hop Century
By Maynard Hershon About 15 miles out of Ventura I asked the guy next to me in the paceline how far these rides usually went. I’d had in mind around 30 or 40 miles. After a moment of confusion, he told me that I had connected with an event called the Bunny Hop Century ... “Our group,” he said, “is headed for downtown Santa Barbara and back, about 72 miles.” ... I thought, “Hey, I can ride 72 miles, especially in the big ring at 20-plus mph.” I also didn’t believe I could find my way back to the start by myself. So it was Santa Barbara or bust with the hard-riding Mystery Cycling Club. Makes you tired just thinking about it, doesn’t it? It does me. Read More
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The Return of The Native
By Joe Kurmaskie To verify my cycling credentials I could offer a wall of bib numbers, flash team sponsored jerseys, talk about the continents I’ve toured by bike or show a video of an elephant chasing my rear wheel in Zimbabwe. What I usually say is that I grew up riding a bicycle in Florida in the 1970s. The room always goes quiet. I’m lucky to be alive, but I’m also lucky in the way that people who attended Woodstock are, or those who rushed for California gold, marched on Selma or laid the country’s first railroad tracks. Read More
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George’s Story
By Maynard Hershon George and I met in Tucson six or seven years ago when Tamar and I still lived there — and while George was still racing. He and I lost touch for a few years. Tamar and I moved to Denver; George moved to Denver. I ran into him here a few months ago and since then we’ve become better buddies than we’d ever been. Coincidentally, he and I have independently become a little disenchanted with cycling, looking elsewhere for fun and fitness. Because cycling played such a vital part in both our lives, we couldn’t believe we’d lost our taste for it, even for short periods. Read More
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Cyclists: It Takes One To Know One
By Joe Kurmaskie Wild animals know their own — from something as slight as a scent on the wind or a growl in the night — and cyclists aren’t that much different. Maybe it is the guy in the business meeting who notices your distinct biker glove tan lines and looks down at his own, then gives you a nod. Perhaps it is that woman rushing out of the elevator who whispers, “On your right” as she shoots by or the guy in line at the bank with the chainring grease marks on his calf. We know our own. Or we should. Why? For lots of reasons, such as camaraderie, sense of self, and because it is fun to see your tribe uncaged and rolling around out there in the wild. But the biggest reason that jumps out for me is that if we champion all forms of riders, it will help build a more livable community. Read More
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I Like My Coffee Bitter
By Maynard Hershon I’ve never aimed any of my work at the new cycling commuter or the fixie crowd. I don’t think of those folks as my readers. I imagine my readers as men and women who were riding before Rapha, before Surly and before cheap ‘70s Peugeots became New Century icons. I picture them to be cyclists with brakes; cyclists aware that they’re not alone in the world and that other people exist ... If it’s true that an idea is not responsible for its adherents, then it’s not cycling’s fault that many promote anarchy on our streets and our sidewalks. Read More
