Culture – Page 2

Category: Culture

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.

Did You Miss the Prom?

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Paul Adkins

Sunday, July 19 from 1 PM to 5 PM will be a slightly different kind of Prom. Its the Riverbank Path Promenade. This exciting Sunday occasion will be a unique event along the River Bike Path and Greenway in River Road and Whiteaker Neighborhoods. The popular bike path will become a three mile long mix and mingle Piazza.

Other than two modest clusters of information and activity at River House and Maurie Jacobs Park, there will be no central venue, rather people will be the players, invited to walk, bike, push strollers, skate, picnic, hang out any way they care to. Imagine along the bike path people showing art work, doing tai chi or yoga, engaged in spontaneous performance with passers by welcome to join in.

Bike Path Attractions – There will also be information tables and displays scattered along the path so people can learn about and appreciate the good works that make this such a great bike path. Check out environmental restoration projects, community gardens, points of historical significance, recreation areas, neighborhood projects and more.

The goal of the Prom is to have a free, local, participatory, low impact, creative, positive occasion at an existing and accessible public location. Times are changing and people can look to each other to have fun, build community and do it closer to home. This is a Prom you won’t want to miss! Please tell your friends. For more info, go to http://www.eugenegears.org/promenade or call 686-6761.

Bike Day wrap-up & Meet in the Street Meeting

Posted on June 15, 2009 by RideCoordinator

The GEARs table was hopping at Bike Day with the main focus being the Flat Tire Fix-Off. Folks stopped by to see how fast they could change a flat. The top three finishers took the stage at the end of the day and to make it more exciting they competed blind folded!
Paul (GEARs President) stomped the competition by changing the flat in just over 2 minutes. David Roth, from the City of Eugene Transportation Planning department came in second, and Andrew from Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life came in third.
There were a lot more great events and items to wrap-up but for now I’ll pass on some links to some photos and videos from various Bike Day participants and also pass on the word that a Meet in the Street meeting is happening tonight.

Flickr set of Bike Day from Katura
and
YouTube videos of Bike Day from Katura

Here’s the latest from Heidi on MITS:

Meet in the Street is moving along in it’s organization. We have a
date (10/4), a time (8 am -2 pm), a route, and a nearly complete
budget (about $20k), an approved parks permit, dialogue with the
university, outreach to the Whiteaker neighborhood, and more.

We’ll meet on Monday evening to finalize some more details and move
the event organizing along. Hot topic is the deadline to meet
sponsorship application with Point2Point. And discuss the event
theme…how do folks feel about Makin a Splash (in case it’s rainy
that day)? Of course we’d like it to be hugely successful. 🙂

Please come help! Monday evening (6/15) at Keystone Cafe from 7-8
pm…we’d love to see you there.

Thanks!
Heidi

Local Alice Award Winner- GEARs Advocacy & Education Director

Posted on March 9, 2009 by RideCoordinator

Last night at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s Alice Awards our
local award nominee brought home the hardware and was recognized as a
leader in bike advocacy this past year.

Shane Rhodes was the final recipient of the Alice Awards last night in
Portland, where four other recipients were recognized. We had a table
of 10 folks up from Eugene to help represent GEARs, the City of
Eugene, and the energized bike culture here. Shane is the Safe Routes
to School program coordinator in the 4J School District as well as a
member of the City’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Council, and the
GEARs Education and Advocacy Director.

We will celebrate his success and achievement with Cake and Coffee,
during the GEARs Member Meeting on Monday March 9th,
at 8pm at the Keystone Cafe at 5th and Lawrence. The GEARs Board
Meeting with preceed this Member meeting at 7pm.

Here is the profile for Shane that the BTA provided.
http://www.bta4bikes.org/btablog/2009/03/03/alice-award-nominee-shane-rhodes/

Congratulations Shane! Thanks for all your hard work to make Eugene a
better place to bike.

Eugene's 2009 Walk and Bike Summit

Posted on February 2, 2009 by RideCoordinator

This years summit was a great success! More than 2o tables from community groups, bike shops, bike builders, and city organizations lined the perimeter of South Eugene High School’s cafeteria and more than 150 people showed up to hear from the Rails to Trails Conservancy, City Council Member Alan Zelenka, Congressman Peter DeFazio, the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC), and city officials about the state of biking and walking in our community and the plans and hopes for the future.

A great lunchtime entertainment break provided a debut performance of a Bicycle Tango by the local bike dance troupe, The Bottom Brackettes and an amazing bike fashion show with models from Revolution Cycles, Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life, Human Powered Machines, Bike Friday, Proletariat Cycles, UofO’s Bike Loan Program, and Cetma Cargo Bikes. The fashion show is a must repeat for next years event and really showed some great local builders, bikes, and styles.

The day wrapped up with workshops on Bike Commuting, an update on the Bike & Ped Strategic Plan, Car-Free Recreation, Safe Routes to School, and a basic Bike Repair class.

Here’s a bit from KLCC with an interview with David Roth:
[audio:walk-bike-summit-on-klcc.mp3]

Leave a comment on what your favorite part of the conference was.

bb-tango