Racing eBikes: At Least My Jacket was Yellow

A few weeks ago the professional bike racing world was aghast at the accusation that an elite racer used an electric motor to pull ahead and later win a stage of the Giro de Italia. In this context, electrifying your bike is clearly cheating - but what an interesting bit of technology the Gruber Assist is!

That weekend also saw the Oregon Human Powered Vehicle Association sponsored ePower Challenge. Held at Portland International Raceway, it's a great opportunity to check out other people's ebikes, talk about the latest in ebike technology, and meet new riders. Auto racing is a test bed of cutting edge automobile technology; from what I saw, the same holds true for ebikes.

I entered the race in the unmetered, upright unfaired category. The velomobile racers are an intense lot - I was lapped several times during my 7 lap race. Other than the occasional passing, I was largely riding by myself for the majority of the race. PIR's a great course; even if you're not competitive (and I wasn't), it's fun to ride. Years ago, my grandfather got to drive his Ford LTD around Indianapolis Motor Speedway; it's nice to carry on a family tradition of sorts. It would be great to see a bigger "upright unfaired" class next year, even if we're not very competitive.

The eBike Ride Report 2010

(I was working on this longer post with pictures, but if you rode with us, please comment below! Thanks all, I had a great time!)

We assembled between noon and 12:30 at The eBike Store, caffeinated, chatted a bit about route selection and other considerations, and headed out. With as diverse a mix of participants as ebikes, we found a large vacant lot, and played musical ebikes, getting to try out as many as we liked. I liked the tandem recumbent, with the highest number of freewheels per rider as I think I've ever seen. I also got to ride a new Ohm ebike, and rode a 48v ebike for the first time. Which bikes did you like?

We left the tests, and headed into the Pearl via the Broadway Bridge. Traffic was light as the Rose Parade had already ended, though we missed couple parade riders in the confusion. We managed to stay fairly well together, and arrived at our next stop, Kalkhoff USA's showroom. Water and gummy bears enjoyed by all, we waved goodbye to a portion of our recumbent riders, and headed downtown.

I'd heard there was going to be a Steel Bridge lift; unfortunately we were just in time for it. Rather than waiting, we opted for a slow meander down the west bank path, and returned to find the Steel Bridge down and traffic cleared.

We had a minor technical issue with an overheated motor controller; while futzing with a cold pack from the first aid kit, the controller cooled off enough to resume our trip. We ducked into Sol Pops on Williams for a quick refreshment, and eventually returned to The eBike Store.

As you see in the comments below, it sounds like everyone had a great time! We'll have to try to all get together again soon.

Sunday Parkways Preview: North Portland Sunday Parkways

The second of five iterations of Sunday Parkways arrives in North Portland on Sunday, June 27. Having a full battery and some time on my hands, I recently set out to check out the route. I've also added some highlights I'll be checking out along the way.

Overall, I really like the route. It does a good job of largely sticking to signed bike boulevards, highlighting existing bike infrastructure you may not be familiar with, and connecting the parks with very convenient routes. The route itself is flatter than the NE version, so I didn't really see a preferred direction to ride.

I began heading W on Ainsworth. The MAX tracks shouldn't be a big issue, but for inexperienced riders, it's worth being careful. The Delaware-Willamette Blvd section is wide and tree-lined. Willamette Bluff is not to be missed - the view is incredible, and the folks at North Portland Greenways will be soaking it in, and sharing their vision of an Esplanade-like bike trail from downtown to Kelly Point Park. Kaiser Permanente will also be handing out free pedometers, to help you track your recommended 10,000 steps/day.

The transition from Willamette to Villard and Bryant may be a bit tricky, but there will be police manning the intersection. The west end of Bryant is probably the roughest pavement on the course; indeed, there are freshly paved alleys within view of the cracked roadbed of Bryant that are in better shape. The long northern leg on Wabash is a wide and sharrowed bike boulevard. I'd highly recommend a stop halfway for a refreshing Mug'o'Pickles at the Mock Crest Tavern on Lombard Street.

There isn't anything published regarding activities planned at Trenton Park, but I imagine it will be crowded. Winding through the northern vestiges of Portland brings us to Kenton Park. Kenton Park was crazy-busy last year; I'm sure it will be again this year. The eBike Store and Kalkhoff will be there demoing electric bikes, and the CRC will be giving away Portland/Vancouver bike maps. If I don't make the Fort/Ford/Fort Ride during Pedalpalooza, I plan to pick up a map and finally make the ride across the Columbia.

Leaving the fun craziness that will be Kenton Park, the route parallels downtown Kenton for a ways; these are some of the narrower streets on the route, but they feel wider than 37th Street on the NE route last month. Realigning with the east end of Bryant (which is in remarkably better shape than the west end), we arrive at Arbor Lodge Park. Singing Planet will be here demoing their Pedego electric bikes, and talking ebike tours.

Heading east on Bryant, there are a couple turns that bring us to the Bryant Street pedestrian overpass. This bridge is frequently a choke point on other rides, but I think its worth it for the cars on I-5 below to see the segregated bike traffic. And if you're looking for off-road riding in Portland, the alleys in the area offer some challenging double-track trail riding.

Bryant and Congress bring us to Peninsula Park, after a policed dogleg crossing over Rosa Parks Way. Peninsula Park, like Kenton, is going to be hopping. While there, check out Best Buy's tent, where they are demoing electric bikes and scooters.

"Sweet!"
Its a Sunday Parkway.
Maybe the rain will have stopped!
___(insert your favorite here!)___

"Maybe next time"
None. What's not to like? (that said, be careful on MAX track crossings, at the Bryant St Ped bridge, and the Congress/Rosa Parks intersection).

Sunday Parkways Preview: North East

(I'm a big fan of Sunday Parkways; I have been since they started 2 years ago. This year, I'm planning on doing a preview of each of the 5 routes, sharing my experience and opinion on the route, as well as ebike-related points of interest along the way. Conveniently, I was test-riding a Pathfinder ST ebike over the weekend, and had a chance to check out the NE route. Also, please consider volunteering to be an Intersection Superhero - it's fun and a great way to help out!)

Sunday Parkways, Portland's signature summertime neighborhood event series, launches May 16th. The Northeast version is one of my favorite routes. Last year, we hosted a backyard bbq for the extended family and fielded a crew of ~25 on a wide variety of bikes, skateboards, scooters, etc.; logistics prevent a big production this year, but we're still planning to ride. You certainly don't have to ride to every park on the route, but here's what I'm looking forward to.

A big change for this year's NE Sunday Parkway is the new Woodlawn Park loop - adding a 4th venue and additional mileage is a great change to this route, so I'm starting there this year. With a well-developed play structure, ample picnic tables, and wide grassy lawn, Woodlawn Park and the cluster of restaurants on nearby Dekum St. is a little-known but much-loved part of the neighborhood. While here, be sure to check out Soup Cycle - Jed and Shauna will venture out of Souplandistan to offer the best in soups and salad. They also deliver weekly via ebike. Entry and exit to the park across Dekum St will be interesting; I'm sure the SP team will have it under control.

I'd recommend riding south up 8th Ave to Ainsworth; 8th is a little wider than 13th, and it maximizes your time on Ainsworth. Ainsworth can be a challenge to share with cars, as there's not much room to pass, but car-free, its a divided 2-way dream to ride. If this year is like last year, there will be Otter Pops in the median.

I think Alberta Park is going to be the center of the action this year - it's central on the route, has a solid roster of vendors and musicians, and will again feature the bike skills course. The skills course is fun to watch, but challenging to ride. It seems there's always one spot I can't get past, but I've been practicing. While in Alberta Park, check out The eBike Store, and grab a free map from the Columbia River Crossing folks.

From Alberta Park, I'd recommend back-tracking to 17th and heading south. This will take you by the Community Cycling Center on Alberta Street, a great chance to top off your tires, or grab something you didn't know you needed from their dollar bin. Beyond Alberta, we start climbing to Going St, then turn east to follow the ridge. The roads are wide and fairly shady, and as I recall from last year, a fun ride. An intersection mandala at Shaver and 37th marks the turn to Wilshire Park.

Wilshire Park offers the most food vendors of any of the parks on the NE route. Best Buy will be there, talking about their electric vehicle offerings. Pedal Bike Tours, who offer ebike rentals and ebike options on their tours, will also be in Wilshire Park this year.

From Wilshire, I'll head north up 37th Street to Fernhill Park. This is the longest straight leg of the route, and traverses the tricky s-turn at the intersection with Prescott. It's nice to pass through this intersection while heading downhill, so I'd recommend the counter-clockwise route on this loop. Also, 37th isn't as shady as 17th; last year I recall it got pretty warm riding uphill, ie southbound, on 37th.

Fernhill has a great off-leash section for the dogs; for Sunday Parkways, they'll have food vendors and an array of vendors, including a climbing wall. Be sure to check out Singing Planet's electric bike rentals. As the picture shows, the grass is filling in quickly at Fernhill.

Logistically, Wilshire and Woodlawn Parks have the most picnic tables, but last year there were temporary tables set up in several parks, so seating shouldn't be an issue.

"I Love This Route!"s
Alberta Park
The bridge in Woodlawn Park

"Keep an Eye Out For..."
Intersection at Prescott and 37th
Intersections at Dekum/7th and 13th

The 2nd Annual Portland eBike eRide

As part of Pedalpalooza, the 2 week bike-chanalia every June, I'll be leading the 2nd annual eBike eRide on Saturday, June 12th. After a great ride last year, I'm excited at the chance to lead it again.

As we did last year, we'll meet at noon at The eBike Store at 201 Alberta and Vancouver(gotta love the coffee!), and leisurely wind our way through Portland, stopping at various locations of ebike-related note. We'll wind up at a charger-friendly pub to top off our batteries, then head back to the start. Total distance will be less than 12 miles.

Mark your calendars now - the Pedalpalooza calendar fills quickly, and I know I've already got some difficult decisions to make. I'm still working out the route, but if you've got any ideas, I'm eagerly open to them!