Pedaling in Portland

LRBC wall
Originally uploaded by Katherine H.

Searching for something fun to do that will allow you to savor the summer sun that has finally arrived? May I suggest visiting some of the local cafes and coffee shops that are currently hosting the Cycle Seen art exhibit. There are nine locations, and the exhibits will be up through July 2nd.

I first found out about this effort through a chance visit to the Art Institute of Portland where a flyer announced an open call for submissions that depicted the bike culture around Portland.

I hastily looked through my photo files at home, and selected five from last year's Pedalpalooza festival. Not familiar with such a festival? Well, they like to tout it as 2+ weeks of bikey fun with a calendar of over 200 events. There's a ride to suit everyone's tastes. A quick perusal of tomorrow's events yields a tandem bike race, a zombie cycle rampage, and a NoPo bike in movie just to provide a sampling of the bicycling craziness that feeds off of Portland culture.

I was surprised by an email a few weeks later indicating that two of my photos had been selected for inclusion, and then just plain excited when I received my artist's packet and learned that one of my photos would be hanging at the Little Red Bike Cafe.



The LRBC is owned by Ali and Evan, the kind of local business you'd wish would open up in your neighborhood (they have a bike-up window, for heaven's sake!), and root for to prosper and thrive. I became a fan of the blog they keep about the cafe before I was ever able to visit it. And since I live out of town, it keeps me up to date and salivating about the new ice cream flavors they're creating like Salted Caramel with Candied Bacon Bits and Burnt Orange Honey Blossom. Yum!

My second photo is hanging at Stumptown Coffee Roasters on SE Division Street.



I was able to stop by and see the installed exhibit last Saturday, and let me tell you, this is the one not to miss! I am honored to have my amateur snapshot hanging amongst such talent.



Stumptown is also the location of the pieces that will be auctioned off in support of Bikes to Rwanda, a local nonprofit whose mission is to provide cargo bicycles for farmers in Rwanda to help them meet basic needs and improve their quality of life.

I just might be tempted to bid on one those photos myself!

Six Pic Saturday: Bikes, bikes, bikes!

My Saturday was mapped out with errands, but then a curious sight caught my attention...



A couple of weeks ago a large red-covered billboard appeared across from the city library. And today, the old City Center Motel property was crawling with bikes, bikes, and more bikes. Of course, I stopped.



Rooms 101-104 had been converted into small art galleries:



This is Dave. He's an art student at Western Oregon University. He and his wife, Rachel, happily demonstrated their participatory bicycle art.



The second floor balcony was a showcase of bicycles from the past. One of my favorites was the 1977 Schwinn Lil' Chik.



I did get to my errands, eventually. Befitting the day's theme, they were also bicycle-related. Two weeks ago I was invited to participate in the Cycle Seen exhibit that will take place in Portland during Pedalpalooza. Here's a preview of the two photos that will be shown:



Toes not included.

Chicago on Two Wheels

Chicago bike tour
Originally uploaded by Katherine H.

When doing a little research prior to my trip to Chicago, I happened across a company that does bike tours of various neighborhoods.

I thought this sounded like an engaging way to see parts of the city that were new to me, and get some physical activity before spending the rest of the day on a cramped airplane.

We covered 7 miles on our Schwinn city cruisers in three hours. A leisurely pace, to be sure, but a fun to way to meet others visiting the city and learn a little history along the way.

Six Pic Saturday: A Ride Along the Rail Trail

sunflowers
Originally uploaded by Katherine H.

Fat Tire

red bike
Originally uploaded by Katherine H.

Today I went out on my bike.

As I bumped through the alley and onto the street I waited to feel the almost imperceptible click of my cleats as shoes connected with peddles. I skimmed down the hill and headed toward the park. An easy warm up, with my sights set on exploring a new neighborhood today.

In Salt Lake City I lived on the edge of the Avenues. I could hop on my bike, roll down the driveway onto A Street, turn the corner onto Third Avenue, and in less than a minute be at the entrance of Memory Grove to begin the climb up City Creek Canyon.

My favorite city ride followed Eleventh Avenue east along the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, a panoramic view of the valley stretching out around me as I passed above the rolling hills of the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Most evenings, I timed my arrival at Popperton Park to coincide with the waning daylight. I would pause to rest and watch while the valley was blanketed in twilight hues as the sun slipped over the edge of the Great Salt Lake and behind the Oquirrah Mountains.



When I moved to Salem it was a daunting task to reconstruct my social network, my professional network, and my day-to-day life in a new locale.

I had a lot of empty afternoons. So as an anecdote I would hop on my bike three or four times a week. It was how I familiarized myself with my new surroundings. I began to piece together the patchwork of incongruent side streets of suburban Salem – discovering a pocket park on a hilltop or a hidden path between houses connecting one neighborhood with another. In time, I cobbled together a route that never required me to ride on a main thoroughfare.

That fall I moved to another neighborhood in Salem. I put my bike in the basement. And I stopped going out. For two years.

I lost that tactile connection with the earth and the air. That feeling of being propelled forward by my own power, my only limitation the strength of my lungs and my feeble knees.

Last summer, I finally ventured out on a few short rides near my house. And today it became easier still to reclaim the link between movement and reward – the satisfaction of a tired body but invigorated spirit.

So today I went out. On my bike. With the cool breeze against my skin, in search of new adventures.