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I recently visited Portland, Oregon, and really enjoyed the availability of the public transportation system and seeing the volume of bicycle traffic around town. One major difference from Leavenworth is that most of the bikes used for in-town transportation were cruisers or hybrid bikes and not expensive road bikes.
I am certain that the use of less expensive bikes is due to the threat of theft. Here in Leavenworth I can ride a very nice road bike to work and put it in my office. I would not ride that same bike to go shopping, of course, even here in the Midwest.
When I was stationed in Germany, they had numerous bike racks that were made of half-tubular metal, cup-shaped to hold the bike in an almost end-on-end position and into which you could easily lock the bike. Each rack, which held quite a few bikes on each side, also was covered with a metal roof to protect the bikes from rain and snow.
I believe that the lack of security is one reason that many more people do not ride bikes to go shopping, even in Portland. I did see several bikes with BOB trailers, so I assume that some people do go shopping with their bikes. A BOB, or Beast of Burden trailer, is a one-wheeled trailer that connects to the rear hub and that can hold quite a bit of weight and certainly could be used for grocery shopping.
A BOB is normally used on long-distance self-supported rides instead of mounting all of your gear on racks built onto your hubs. Either system would work well for grocery shopping if there was security for the bikes and trailers at the store.
As we were walking to the Portland Saturday Market along the Willamette River Park, we passed through a huge bike festival apparently put on by the brewery that produces Fat Tire beers. We were heading to the Saturday Market and did not take too much time to check out the party, but there were hundreds or maybe a thousand or more bikes parked and being ridden.
Many of the riders were dressed in party clothes. We saw witches, clowns, bears, and all sorts of characters on bikes. I assume that it was some part of a contest, but you have to remember that a very popular bumper sticker says to ‘Keep Portland Weird.’ This may have been normal for a Portland bike ride on a Saturday.
After all, this is the city that allows naked bike riding as long as it is done as a protest and is therefore considered to be a form of free speech. It is also the city of the Zoobomb. Bikers take the train to the world’s deepest commuter tunnel and ride the elevator up to the Zoo entrance from which they careen down city streets to the bottom and go back up via the train again.
Many ride kids’ bikes and usually do not use their better street or road bikes. They sometimes do this at night and on Sundays. So, knowing that Portland is very proud of its weirdness, I am not certain that the costumed bike riders were out of the ordinary.
It is also a city with plenty of opportunities for half-marathons and besides the bike riders at the park along the river, we saw many runners. Our son and new spouse participate in several of these events not only in Portland, but also in other cities on the coast.
That is one reason I was so pleased that Leavenworth now has a half-marathon of which it can really be proud. Last year’s event was so well-accepted by the runners that people were asking to register for the next year’s event while they were still at Warren Middle School. As you know, our summer kids’ bicycle racing program is complete for this summer, but we have the Buffalo Bill Century ride coming up in September. You can ride any one of several lengths from 19 miles to 100 miles, so it is an easy ride for most everyone.
There is a good reason that people in Oregon are more healthy than people in the Midwest and it is at least partially because they bike and run a lot, both for fun and for competition. We certainly have the potential here in beautiful Leavenworth County to replicate a lot of what’s happening in Portland.
Matt Nowak lives in Lansing and works as a natural resources manager.
I recently visited Portland, Oregon, and really enjoyed the availability of the public transportation system and seeing the volume of bicycle traffic around town. One major difference from Leavenworth is that most of the bikes used for in-town transportation were cruisers or hybrid bikes and not expensive road bikes.
I am certain that the use of less expensive bikes is due to the threat of theft. Here in Leavenworth I can ride a very nice road bike to work and put it in my office. I would not ride that same bike to go shopping, of course, even here in the Midwest.
When I was stationed in Germany, they had numerous bike racks that were made of half-tubular metal, cup-shaped to hold the bike in an almost end-on-end position and into which you could easily lock the bike. Each rack, which held quite a few bikes on each side, also was covered with a metal roof to protect the bikes from rain and snow.
I believe that the lack of security is one reason that many more people do not ride bikes to go shopping, even in Portland. I did see several bikes with BOB trailers, so I assume that some people do go shopping with their bikes. A BOB, or Beast of Burden trailer, is a one-wheeled trailer that connects to the rear hub and that can hold quite a bit of weight and certainly could be used for grocery shopping.
A BOB is normally used on long-distance self-supported rides instead of mounting all of your gear on racks built onto your hubs. Either system would work well for grocery shopping if there was security for the bikes and trailers at the store.
As we were walking to the Portland Saturday Market along the Willamette River Park, we passed through a huge bike festival apparently put on by the brewery that produces Fat Tire beers. We were heading to the Saturday Market and did not take too much time to check out the party, but there were hundreds or maybe a thousand or more bikes parked and being ridden.
Many of the riders were dressed in party clothes. We saw witches, clowns, bears, and all sorts of characters on bikes. I assume that it was some part of a contest, but you have to remember that a very popular bumper sticker says to ‘Keep Portland Weird.’ This may have been normal for a Portland bike ride on a Saturday.
After all, this is the city that allows naked bike riding as long as it is done as a protest and is therefore considered to be a form of free speech. It is also the city of the Zoobomb. Bikers take the train to the world’s deepest commuter tunnel and ride the elevator up to the Zoo entrance from which they careen down city streets to the bottom and go back up via the train again.
Many ride kids’ bikes and usually do not use their better street or road bikes. They sometimes do this at night and on Sundays. So, knowing that Portland is very proud of its weirdness, I am not certain that the costumed bike riders were out of the ordinary.
It is also a city with plenty of opportunities for half-marathons and besides the bike riders at the park along the river, we saw many runners. Our son and new spouse participate in several of these events not only in Portland, but also in other cities on the coast.
That is one reason I was so pleased that Leavenworth now has a half-marathon of which it can really be proud. Last year’s event was so well-accepted by the runners that people were asking to register for the next year’s event while they were still at Warren Middle School. As you know, our summer kids’ bicycle racing program is complete for this summer, but we have the Buffalo Bill Century ride coming up in September. You can ride any one of several lengths from 19 miles to 100 miles, so it is an easy ride for most everyone.
There is a good reason that people in Oregon are more healthy than people in the Midwest and it is at least partially because they bike and run a lot, both for fun and for competition. We certainly have the potential here in beautiful Leavenworth County to replicate a lot of what’s happening in Portland.
Matt Nowak lives in Lansing and works as a natural resources manager.
