Kidical Mass – GEARs

Category: Kidical Mass

Cargo Bike Roll Call- Eugene

Posted on August 20, 2012 by RideCoordinator

This Saturday was the first Cargo Bike Roll Call (CBRC) in Eugene. It was held in conjunction with Kidical Mass, where several families use cargo bikes everyday to haul their kids around. Cargo bikes range from these everyday family vehicles to job specific work bikes. Over 100 people showed up to the CBRC to both show off and admire utility bikes of all types. What stood out was the diversity! There were all sorts of bikes (and people) from the funky to the polished and everything in-between. From simple bikes with baskets to an electric assist trike & trailer that can haul over 700 pounds there was something for everyone to marvel at. There was some great networking going on as well as general ogling and talk has already begun about the next event!

KVAL did a nice story about the event:

There are also some pictures posted here.

Arriving by Bike was the main sponsor of the event. They hosted us at the Hideaway Bakery with a yummy spread of food; wood-fired oven pizzas, cookies, bread, strawberry lemonade and more. Oakshire Brewing provided some excellent Line Dry Rye Pale Ale and several other sponsors helped fund the food and beverages as well. Thanks to everyone who helped make the event happen, it was such a success we look forward to doing it again!

Weekend Event Guide

Posted on August 19, 2010 by RideCoordinator

There are a lot of great events happening this weekend! Come join the bikecentric fun:

Mountain Bike Oregon– This event is sold out but if you’ve already registered it looks like a fun weekend of Mountain Biking up in Oakridge. Registration for 2011 will open in 2011 so if this sounds fun be sure and sign up early:

Three full days of unequalled single-track riding in Oakridge, Oregon will leave you both exhausted and replenished. Each day offers supported ride options. The campground is on over nine acres along the bank of the refreshing Willamette River. Hundreds of miles of the world’s best singletrack trails. Three delicious squares meals each day. LOCAL BEER nightly in the FREE beer garden. Free mechanical support. Free demo bikes.

Bike to Shop– Join BikeLane, Market of Choice, PeaceHealth and PacificSource Health Plans for the Bike to Shop Challenge. Stop by Market of Choice at 29th and Willamette, Saturday 11 AM to 4 PM for a chance to win $150 in prizes, healthy food tastings, information on staying healthy, classes on bike maintenance, bike safety, commuting and shopping by bike. Drawings for the “Most Loaded Bike” contest. Special thanks to Wheel Works, VeloGuy and Arriving by Bike for their support of the bike classes and prizes. More information HERE

Kidical Mass Adaptive Rec & Swim Ride– Saturday, Noon at Hilyard Community Center (2580 Hilyard). It’s the last ride before school starts, let’s make it count! We’ll be meeting at the Hilyard Community Center to check out some of their cool adaptive bikes, do a ride around the neighborhood, and then end up back at Amazon pool where we’ll get a special FREE & EARLY entry into the Rec. swim! Come check out a family tandem, a handcycle, or other interesting adaptive bike- you can even take it for a spin on our ride! Then join us for a special Kidical Mass swim and BBQ! Hot Dogs, buns, and fixings will be provided (as well as the grill), bring along a food or drink item to share if you can! Thanks to the City of Eugene Hilyard Community Center and Amazon Pool staff for supporting the ride!
Register HERE so we can make sure we have enough food and pool passes

Car Free Party– Celebrating three years of being free from personal motorized vehicle trappings the Adkins family is hosting their annual car free party again this year. Come celebrate with tunes, smiles, laughs, stories, and Oakshire beer. Just be sure and leave that fossil fueled vehicle at home… I mean they even have their own bike rack out front and no driveway so it only makes sense. If you want to bring something – bring it, if not, that is OK too. Bring your bike lights and a friend though.
Saturday night, 7:30 p.m. 180 N. Polk St.

Bike Move– There is a Bike Move scheduled for Sunday August 22nd. The Liebhardt Family, 2 adults and 2 kids, are moving from South Eugene – to Lower River Road neighborhood. We’ll be moving a lot of furniture and boxes of stuff. Annette and Steve will have everything packed up and ready to go. So bring your work bikes, cargo racks, trailers, Xtracycles, or other hauling devices, and tie-down straps and lets do the Bike Move. We need everyone we can get. We are planning to get going by 10AM or so. Fuel and refreshments will be provided. Contact Paul for more details 541-255-2478 or Paul (at) eugenegears.org.

Fun & Important Gatherings Over the Next Two Weeks!

Posted on January 8, 2010 by RideCoordinator

Winter in the Willamette Valley doesn’t mean hibernation for cyclists. Recreational rides are happening and important advocacy projects are still prevalent. There are several GEARs rides happening each week. Check out the Rides section of the site to see those or download this months ride list here.
The coming two weeks hold even more fun events for the local cycling scene.
Here’s a run down on some of them:

January 16th:

The Tweed Ride has happened a couple times in Eugene already. This winter bundle up in your finest for this dapper ride. Leave from Wandering Goat and wander around town showing off your cycle chic style.

Street Skills for Families is a bike course directed at students living in the 4J school district and is part of the Safe Routes to School program. Class attendees will not only learn about basic traffic skills but also learn how to perform a bicycle safety check, how to properly fit a helmet, how to size a bicycle for a child, and how to properly carry things on a bicycle. The class will be held at McCornack Elementary from 12-3 pm. A light lunch will be available beforehand (11:30 AM) and afterward we’ll meet up with the Kidical Mass group for Soup and a Unicycle show (see below). More information and registration at the Eugene SRTS site.

This months Kidical Mass ride will meet at its usual spot (Monroe Park) at 3:00 p.m. and then ride West to meet up with the group from the Street Skills for Families class. Then the group will ride back to McCornack Elementary to enjoy some free hot soup and a Unicycle show from the McCornack unicycle team. See the Kidical Mass site for more information on those rides.

January 20th

The City of Eugene will be holding a hearing on the Riverfront Research Park Conditional Use Permit that has been approved but which has been appealed. Come to this hearing to give your input on the importance of this area as a vital connection for cyclists from the University area to the river path system. You can find more information at the Connecting Eugene website.

January 24th

The Fourth Annual Eugene Walking & Biking Summit!!!
Why go?! How about:
Free Off the Waffle breakfast & Full City Coffee
Free Child Care
Great speakers
Important input on Eugene’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan
An awesome Fashion Show
Informative and interesting booths
Raffle Prizes
…Need you more?!
Join the event on Facebook

As we reach these events we’ll be doing more in-depth stories on each event and some wrap-up as well.

Eugene Celebrates 111th Anniversary of Bike Lights Parade of July 4, 1898

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Paul Adkins

Greater Eugene Areas Riders (GEARs), Eugene Celebration, and the City of Eugene present the 3rd Annual Bike Lights Parade on Saturday September 5th. This year is also the 111th Anniversary of the first “Illuminated Parade” held on July 4, 1898 in which 300 bicyclists (or ‘wheelmen’ in those days) decorated and lit their bikes with lanterns.

Eugene, Oregon – August 7, 2009 – Started three years ago to promote safe night riding by using appropriate lighting, this parade turned out to be enormous fun with more than 150 bikes going all out to light up the night. The Bike Lights Parade has become a popular feature of Eugene Celebration, the annual downtown music, arts and sustainability extravaganza.

This year we will be offering 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes for the categories of “Best Illuminated and Best Decorated Vehicles.” Gift certificates donated by local bike shops in the amounts of $122.59, $73.55, and $49.01 will be awarded in each category this year to reflect the 1898 prizes of $5, $3, and $2 – adjusted for inflation. All human powered vehicles are welcome to participate. Those officially registering for the parade will receive numbers and be eligible for prizes.

Eugene Celebration admission bracelets, and/or parade registrations can be purchased online. All proceeds from sales through the GEARs website will be used to support Bicycle Safety Education courses in local elementary and middle schools.

Eugene Celebration admission and Bike Lights Parade registration HERE.