(had a little technical trouble this post was supposed to be up on Monday… oops.)
Went to the Joustdown. Here’s a video of the trophies we made.Good natured carnage! A brief appearance by the Sunny Nekkid Ride. It was hard to not stare in an impolite fashion! Had to get back to the shop and didn’t get to see who won.
Sunday I did the Zoobomb Century. Since I was a sponsor for the race I wasn’t officially competing but I did my full 100 miles! Exhausting but exhilarating.
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Had a blast at the Foster ride Thursday night. A small but fun group of neighborhood folks crashed through several local bars. Good times I’ll be sure to make next years as well.
Today at 2pm is bike jousting down at Col. Sumners park. Meticon has the honor of providing the trophies for the event. We’ll be there to witness the carnage.
Tomorrow is the grueling Zoobomb Century ride. I did it last year but didn’t actually track my mileage (I definitely quit before the full 100). This year I’ll see if I can do a proper 100 miles. Meticon is providing some sweet prizes for the winners and some swag for all the racers. We might be able to provide a ride to the park and or a loaner bike and helmet for any last minute folks who want to pit themselves against the slog….
It’s here! The official kickoff ride is tonight. I can’t make that ride myself. Gotta work… but I will be attending the later Foster bar cruise! If you like bikes and bars come on down to Smokey’s at 10pm. Mayhem may ensue!
Local artist Frost brought in a selection of his work today. Made mostly from recycled tubes and tires they range from notebook covers to belts, wallets, and more… I think I’ll have to grab one of those sweet notepad covers for myself! I’m already using one of his excellent cell phone packs.
We are about half way through at the bike fix it fair. The morning started pretty gloomy but mother nature couldn’t run us out with her rainy day. A ton of people have been showing up and its great to see kids excited about their fixed bikes. There are constant Raffles for lights, locks and helmuts.
Saturday the bike fix it fair mentioned below is happening, rain or shine! There will be plenty of canopies and if it’s really nasty I believe there is a back up indoor location of some sort. Maybe at the nearby school? As long as you dress accordingly it’ll be fun!
See you tomorrow!
I was just looking over the Shift2bikes.org Pedalpalooza calender and noticed amongst all the many fun events planned a “3rd annual Foster Road Night Ride Tavern Tour” I had no idea such a thing has been going on!
I was actually thinking of doing some sort of similar thing myself…
Instead I’ll just help promote this existing event! First night of Pedalpaooza (Thursday, June 10th) at 10pm meeting at 56th and Foster in Smokey’s Bar.
This Saturday from 9am to 1pm at Harrison Park there will be a free bike fix it fair! Organized by the Marshall SUN Center with several shops including Meticon and CCC and other volunteers providing parts, tools, expertise, and more. Focused mainly on kids of all ages, it’s about making sure their rides are in good repair so they can utilize those bikes for health and transportation. Also lots of helmets, locks, and lights will be given away so come on down!
Today is our three year anniversary!
I won’t get too sappy but we’ve been beaten the small business failure odds, while even in the midst of a terrible economy! How?
I’ll tell ya:
The support of you the customer! You’ve come out and spent your money here, you’ve been patient as we have learned and grown, and just in general made it pleasant and fulfilling to be your local bike shop!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I was down at 14th and Alder helping load bikes into the container. A lot of nice people donated their old bikes, but unfortunately by the end of the day we only had around one hundred bikes. The shipping container can hold up to 400! So an emergency second pickup is now scheduled for tomorrow. Same place from 1pm to 4pm. Shipping a large container like this costs a lot of money. Sending it over 2/3 empty is a huge waste!!
Spread the word!!
If it still isn’t full after tomorrow there may be another pickup on Monday but that would blow the planned schedule so clean out the garage and bring in your extra bikes this Sunday. Even small kids bikes are needed, anything with a fat tire! Even just bike parts, tubes, tires, etc.
A little note from Jenny who is organizing the Bicycles for Humanity collection:
Bike collection for South African schoolchildren at Washington High School TOMORROW 10AM! Look for the pretty blue shipping container on SE 14th and Alder. Pass the word along!
Jenny
more info at blog.travelwithbread.com
I’ll be there as well helping load or whatever is needed. Come down say hello and bring an unwanted bike to donate!
Manning the register is Simba (aka Sable aka Simble ) . Actually he is more the neighborhood mascot but he does spend a lot of time in the shop just hanging out.
Just a reminder that this weekend is the big bicycle collection event for the Portland chapter of Bicycles for Humanity.
Saturday, April 24 at the old Washington-Monroe High School on SE 14th and SE Alder from 10am-4pm. Do a little spring cleaning and bring down that old clunker you don’t ride anymore! Check the above link and the blog for details!
This actually is the first retro-direct bike I built. Some folks have been quite interested in these builds so I posted a video of this one as well on youtube
Checked out the event. Very well done. If you’re into bikes it is well worth the $7. Might go back tomorrow to see some of Sundays Dual Stunt event at noon.
Today and tomorrow is the Pedal Nation event down at the convention center. Looks like all sorts of stuff is going to be on display. Numerous events and vendors local and non-local. If I can I’ll be sneaking away from the shop later to check it out!
A couple weeks back Chrome (the makers of the bags) announced that to promote their new line of shoes if you sent them a an old pair of crappy shoes they would send you a free pair of their’s. It was for two days only and after looking at the specs and seeing that they were specifically designed for city riding and using toe clips and straps, I sent an old pair off just before the deadline. Apparently they were overwhelmed getting many thousands of pairs sent to them instead of the few hundred the expected so I’m still waiting to receive mine.
I’m awaiting them eagerly as I very much dislike clipless pedal and shoe systems for daily use. These are the first non-clipless bicycle kicks I’ve seen in ages that are affordable. I’ll post a review when I get them.
Here is a fun little project we put together last week. Two speeds, no shifter, no internal gears.
You can check out a video of it here
A worthy cause is Bicycles for Humanity. Our local chapter is getting ready to do a collection to send to South Africa. The idea is to take unused or unwanted bicycles (fat tires please!) and relocate them to where people usually have only one transportion option: walking. Walking is good for ya but is awfully slow if you have many miles to go. Go here to read about the local chapter of B4H. The collection day is planned for April 24th at Washington High School. You don’t have to wait till then, you can donate money or bikes right now. Follow the above link for the local chapter to see how…
If you’ve watched or read any local news lately you’ve probably noticed some stories about the Portland Bike Plan. Yesterday it was passed by city council! Hurrah! The only thing is that it is just a “plan” and plans once approved are not automatically funded. Fortunately things look good for this one as there is a lot of momentum for the plan and Mayor Sam Adams has pledged to come up with a substantial fund to get the ball rolling….
Actually over here in the Foster Road area we know a lot about approved plans that don’t get funded. The Foster Streetscape Plan has been around for quite a while but without any dollars to implement it. About a year or two ago Foster was added into the Lents Urban Renewal Area. This made our area eligable for, and many have made use of, the Business Loan and the Store Front programs. It also meant possible funding for various improvements as well as for the Streetscape plan. No funding had actually been put aside for it until recently. On Wednesday night the Lents URA Transportation Task Force voted to fund several projects one which is the Foster Streescape! There isn’t enough money to do the whole plan right now but it raises my hopes that there is at least some actual money actually committed to infrastructure improvements on Foster!!
For more info on the Bicycle Master Plan check the site
Of course bikeportland.org has good coverage and commentary on this and other bike related stuff
If your interested in the Lents URA check here
To see the Foster Streescape Plan go here and download the pdf from the top list.
Great times at the tweed ride! If you missed out you check it out next year. To see some pics hop on Flickr here
If you live in the deep south east and don’t want to ride to skidmore fountain all by your lonesome, come meet up with meticon and friends to ride to the tweed ride meet up spot.
- We will be departing meticon bikes no later than 10:15. Join us!
- (There’s a coffee shop next door if you need a pre-pre-ride pick me up.)
- whats with the tweed ride, you ask… http://www.tweedpdx.com
