Cargo Bikes

post by: Eric  October 8, 2011

tags: uncategorized | permalink |

Break apart the Automotive Mind on the Backyard Farm Tour Ride

post by: bendvelo  August 25, 2011

We're Americans, our sense of place has been defined by the Automobile.  We have been conditioned to see travel as something that an automobile does on our highly developed road system.  People, who for instance get a J. Livingston bicycle to get about, are likely to ride in the same routes and patterns,  after all that is all we have ever known.  You know straight off that you are not going to ride on freeways, that is first divergence. After you ride awhile you realize that you do not want to ride where the cars are.  You keep on looking for a new way to go.  Your mind starts changing and you start looking at things in a whole different light.  This is the breaking apart of your automotive mind.  The BendVelo group ride of the Backyard Farm Tour is as much about tweaking the automotive mind as it is visiting the backyards farms. We aim to show some different ways to go and some different ways to think about how and where you go.  Attaining this mindset you can find adventure, discovery and beauty.  Just going somewhere can be a very enriching part of your life.  Compare that to sitting and waiting for the light to change at Franklin and 3rd St.

About the ride:

• Its about 21 miles
• or 15 miles if you want to keep it short
• visits 8 Backyard Farms or 6 for the shorties
• It costs $5 and all proceeds go Neighborhood Impact
• We will try to ride as a group
• If the group splinters you have a sheet of clear, concise instructions on where to go that includes all the options
• The Ride goes on park trails, dirt trails, canal roads, bike lanes, roads, the whole gamut
• Everything is ridable by a semi-confident bike handler even with skinny road tires(except maybe 1 place)
• There is always an option, spelled out in the instruction sheet, if you want to stay on the road
• The Backyard Farm Tour continues Sunday too.  The instruction sheet has info on other stops that the bike tour missed and the shop has some tour booklets for your perusal
• Also at Celebrate The Season there is a party Saturday from 5 to 8.  BendVelo will have some tickets for sale.  More info at http://celebratetheseason.net

tags: groupride, farmtour | permalink |

Do The Backyard Farm Tour on Bike with the BendVelo Group Ride

post by: Dale, Bendvelo Webmaster  August 13, 2011

Please join us Saturday August 27 at 10:00 am at the BendVelo Shop, where we will depart on a group ride of The Backyard Farm Tour.  This is the second year of The Backyard Garden Tour. The tour visits gardens from commercial organic farms that sell at Farmer's Markets to people making it happen in small spaces and everything in between.  Last years was a smashing success, interesting and fun for hundreds of participants.  There was one glaring problem with last years tour though, only 1 person did it by bike.  That person had a better time than everyone else!  By the way, I was that person.  This year we will remedy that.  For short distances and frequent stops, like The Backyard Garden Tour, a bicycle is the way to go.  Cars are often not even faster for this kind of travel.

BendVelo will put together a bike friendly route, designed not only to get the best out of the tour but to open your eyes to new and interesting ways to ride through Bend.  The cost is $5 per rider or family.  That's half the price of the car burdened crowd(and you get so much more out of it too).  The event is a fundraiser for Neighborhood Impact.

The Tour also includes an after-party Saturday evening($10 extra) and a second day to explore local gardens on Sunday, Aug. 28th. More info is at http://celebratetheseason.net

tags: groupride, farmtour | permalink |

Gas hits a fricken $4 per Gallon

post by: Bendvelo  May 17, 2011

For the first time since 2008, the price of a gallon of gas has gone over $4/gal in Central Oregon.  In 2008 the price ramped up quickly due to Speculators and it shocked people.  You saw people riding golf carts on the streets and weird retrofits in the bike lanes like lawn mower motored skateboards.  In addition many people began bike commuting and many have stuck with it.  This time the price came more gradually and people are adapting more like frogs in gradually heated water who don't even notice when it is boiling and kills them. 

While speculation has something to do with it this time, it isn't exactly the same.  After trillions of dollars basically evaporated from the economy from the recession of  '08, the Federal Reserve and the US Government pumped trillions of dollars back into the economy to stabilize and stimulate it.  This effectively devalued the dollar making real goods, or commodities the choice of investors.  All commodities, not only oil, have gone up in price dramatically.

The Dollar looks to remain weak suggesting that gas prices will not drop dramatically like they did after the spike in 2008.  Other factors such as diminishing supplies and increasing worldwide demand from emerging economies do not bode well either for the American motorist. 

The cheaply fueled joyride of American living looks to be heading for difficulty.  In the history of mankind, the modern American easy motoring lifestyle has only been an anomaly and it may be on its way out.  You can choose to ease your dependence away from it by using a J Livingston Bicycle to commute to work, shopping trips and just getting around town.  We are lucky in Bend that is small enough where nothing is too far to bike to, we do not have vast multi-lane expanses of traffic that are totally intimidating to cyclists and the drivers here are laid back and generally accommodating to cyclists.

Not only is the J Livingston ride an enjoyable and healthy form of transport, it is an adaptation to the future that is on its way.

tags: gas prices, bendvelo views | permalink |

Chicken Coop Tour Video

post by: Eric  May 17, 2011

The first annual Tour de Coop was a real good time, thanks to all those who attended:

A little short on film

tags: chickens, groupride, tourdecoop, video, featured | permalink |

Tour de Coop Slideshow

post by: bendvelo  May 9, 2011

tags: tourdecoop | permalink |

Change the World Riding the Chicken Coop Tour Saturday

post by: bendvelo  May 5, 2011

Bend Velo bike riders are changing the way they transport themselves and the Bend chicken coop-ers are changing the way they feed themselves.  It's a natural to bring them all together with the Bend Velo group ride of the 2nd Annual Bend's Chicken Coop Tour--aka "The Tour de Coop".

We hope you join us.  Meet at 10am at the shop.  The $5, or 3 cans of food, cost go to local charities and you get a tour map of specially selected stops that has been pre-ridden andfine tuned that will take you off the beaten path for enjoyable riding and interesting stops, people... and chickens.  The ride is around 25 miles and just about pancake flat.  Even if you find yourself lingering too long at the Coops and perhaps feel slightly lethargic from the homebrew samples that are at one of our stops towards the end, there is a bailout option that will trim 5 miles off the ride.

There is also a shorter close to town ride suitable for people with kids in trailers and for those with moderately ambitious legs.  This ride will be about 17 miles and it too has a shorter option that will make it 13 miles.

tags: chickens, groupride | permalink |

Comp Coffee Arives at BV

post by: Eric  May 4, 2011

BACKPORCH at BV

The long awaited day has arrived, Bend Velo is now serving up, piping hot Backporch coffee to all. The BV lounge is coming together and thanks to Dave at Backporch we now have fresh coffee to offer, free of charge. Come in, check out the new leather couch and enjoy a cup on us. Needless to say we are expecting a surge in production based on this new offering. Cheers !

tags: coffee | permalink |