Visited a sort of "town hall meeting" for active transport advocacy in Eugene this weekend. A host of familiar local and non-local businesses and groups were present as well as some newer ones. There were also several large maps of the city posted up for community members to point out portions of the city which could be improved for bikers and walkers with better infrastructure.
(See this one big and read people's comments)
The most entertaining part of the event for me actually took place afterwards, when I had the opportunity to ride some of the unusual bikes built by the students of the alternative high school and apprenticeship programs at the Center for Appropriate Transport.
The apprenticeship program's chaise-lounge cargo bike. I can't decide whether it was more fun to ride or drive this one. I spent the better part of an hour doing both.
The alternative school's sidecar-equipped-BMX, which they called the "sidehack." The youngsters were really good at throwing it into epic powerslides.
By the way, I had a lot of fun at last Wednesday's Bike Appreciation Day, which I think really helped to promote awareness of the UO Bike Program's DIY shop and maintenance classes. Here, comrade and co-worker Jeff re-cables his brake during a lull in campus traffic. The next one's on Wednesday, Feb. 11, and we hope to have some shiny goodies to hand out.
Finally, I would like to ask you all to remember the importance of dressing up as a robot:
Because, sometimes, you just have to look silly, dammit.
