Cranksgiving this Saturday, Transition at OBRA: Newsbits

Looking for some bikey fun this weekend? It's Cranksgiving time, organized by the Northwest Hub.

Here's the facebook event and description:

Each year Cranksgiving is held in November as a way for messengers and other urban cyclists to socialize, compete, and enjoy themselves while also raising food for local soup kitchens or food pantries in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. It is one of the only alleycats focused on raising donations for good causes.

Where: 1230 Broadway St. NE
When: Saturday Nov. 18th
Time: 10:00 am show up, 10:30 am roll out

Bring a bike, a bag, a lock, and about $15-$20 to buy food. All of the food collected at grocery stores will benefit Marion Polk food share.

PS There will also be Coffee provided by Steel Bridge and Sweet Bread

Here's news coverage from 2015.

Transition at OBRA

Even if you don't race, you might have seen Oregon Bicycle Racing Association Director Kenji Sugahara around.

Sugahara in "There's Something about Salem"

He's a fixture and personality in biking circles in Salem and statewide.

Sugahara's piece from 2012
"My Passion: Cycling Offers Many Benefits"

BikePortland reported yesterday that he's resigning from OBRA and intends on pursuing the new Parks and Recreation Associate Director position.

Racing is not a great focus here, and it's hard to say what really is the significance for racing. BikePortland notes that participation and membership numbers are down. It's certainly the sense here that club rides and road racing together are increasingly a niche activity rather than the dominant way people enjoy or use a bike.

In some ways the need for specialized bike clothing and expensive bike gear is actually an impediment to making bicycling more widely popular.

MassDOT Separated Bike Lane Guide

There's a reason the silhouette is immediately clear in identifying the bikey 1%.

So from a general transportation perspective, it is good to see racing decentered, and for bike shops and the industry and marketing to see that other ways of bicycling need to be more central.

At the same time, diverse, mixed ecosystems are the most resilient and healthy, and it is good to have a healthy racing scene that complements the other bikey subcultures. The more ways we have to use and enjoy a bike, the better off all we are.

So this is a transition to register.