A Kalkhoff Open House

Last night I went to the Kalkhoff open house, coinciding with the Pearl District's First Thursday art walk. I had a great time; my observations follow.

First, a bike is The Way to get to First Thursday. With traffic backed up over the Broadway Bridge, I was able to ride by almost unimpeded. Between bike lanes and a handy Copenhagen left or 2, I arrived easily and quickly. Bike parking was at a premium; I had to use a sign. This might not be a bad spot for a bike corral.

Once there, I soon found Kalkhoff employees Todd and Prinelle, who directed me to beer and bratwurst.

The sales floor was dense with people enjoying the refreshments and checking out the bikes. I worked my way through the crowd (full messenger bags don't really work in crowds, do they? I quickly stashed it.), got a beer, and queued for a bratwurst. Imported from Wisconsin and cooked on an Evo grill, the brats were great.

Hunger sated, I mingled. Mrs. PDXebiker and I fortuitously met Miriam of Nutcase Helmets, and had a good chat - we all agreed that the best helmet is the one you actually wear, so their fun designs are great. Throughout the night, a video rolled on a large screen of ebiking in both Portland and Germany (I assume; it didn't look like Portland). I also managed to catch a shot of Prinelle by the grill (in yellow and green).

Later, I ran into Wake of The eBike Store, Eric of Greenlight Bikes/KalkhoffUSA and David of NuVinci, deep in discussion about ebike technology and the upcoming Pedal Nation show. Its great to be a fly on the wall during discussions like these - big things on the horizon, and insight into the cutting edge of ebike technology.

A light rain began, so I grabbed some gummi bears (Mrs. PDXe is a big fan) and made my exit. Thanks, Kalkhoff, for a fun night!

Updated, 4/2:
At the open house, they were distributing launch promotion coupons for a discount of $500 (yep, five hundred dollars) off any ebike in stock; they've given me permission to post the offer code here - enter code "LAUNCHPROMO" at checkout to redeem online. Of course, some restrictions apply - see them for details. I understand they may have these coupons at upcoming Pedal Nation as well.