Cycle Oregon Adventures
Cycle Oregon is all about connecting people and supporting communities. Their work is similar to our work in north and northeast Portland, but with a focus on rural communities, and on a statewide scale. That’s why we are so proud to partner with Cycle Oregon, which (fun fact!) also provided the first grant to launch the Community Cycling Center in the mid-1990s.
For nine years, Community Cycling Center staff and volunteers have added our unique flair to the event while raising funds for our programs in the process. This year we continued to detail bikes and charge electronics, but with a new twist. Stalwart volunteers John Beaston and Susan Hayden connected us to super-engineer Tom Ullmann and his portable wind and solar-powered generator. Our green setup was a huge success and we charged more devices than ever before this year!
Other highlights included:
- Detailing a bike for Cycle Oregon founder Jonathan Nicholas. It was a treat to polish up an uber-fancy carbon fiber Trek Postal bike autographed by Eddy Merckx and Lance Armstrong. Luckily, we didn’t scrub off the signatures, but we did clean the bike like new and in the process, eagle-eyed volunteer Evan found some mechanical issues that we promptly sent to bike whisperer Brett Fleming at the Bike Gallery tent.
Commiserating with Betsey Ames, Nick Fish’s chief of staff, about the endless rollers between Waitsburg, WA and Pendleton, OR.
- Pendleton. The Pendleton Round-Up parade, rodeo, and Happy Canyon Indian pageant and the thousands of people whose lives are so deeply bound to the old west image that feels so distant in Portland. Eastern Oregon is alive and well. Spend time there.
- The four staff and twelve volunteers who charged hundreds of cell phones, digital cameras, and GPS units and detailed 165 sweet bikes, raising $23,000 to help kids in Portland learn to bike safely and get on the road to a lifetime of healthy activities.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Community Cycling Center tent along the way. Your support makes a huge difference and we are so grateful for it. Ride safe and I’ll see you on the road.
Written by Alison Graves, Executive Director