First openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport: NBA center Jason Collins comes out
Online and in the May 6, 2013 Sports Illustrated NBA center Jason Collins writes: Continue reading
Culture: Page 259
A Day in the Menagerie
Trout Creek to Rooster Rock
The Menagerie Wilderness is relatively unknown to those who aren’t rock climbers or from nearby, and the Trout Creek Trail showcases a good taste of what the Menagerie Wilderness outside of Sweet Home has to offer. This area was protected primarily because of the plentiful rock pinnacles, which are favorites of climbers and threatened birds. Even if you aren’t a rock climber, the unique forest that blankets the area is reason enough to visit. Towering Douglas fir, western hemlock, Western redcedar and Pacific madrone all surround the trail. Continue reading
Earth Day On Wheels
Bicycles make the world go round, or at least they will as more and more people see them as essential transportation rather than a toy. There are a lot of great ways to celebrate Earth Day (for events check out the Earth Day listings in Calendar), but if you want to celebrate Earth Day every day then park your fossil-fuel guzzler and start biking. Critical Mass: It’s all about the bike community Continue reading
Bus then Bike
Biking through beauty on the Aufderheide
One of the pleasures of living in Eugene is the accessibility of the outdoors and recreation within a relatively short distance. As an enthusiastic cyclist, I am always intrigued with the many possibilities for outdoor rides in our own backyard. Continue reading
Critical Mass
It’s all about the bike community
We’re living in a golden age of cycling. And we might have a bunch of loud, traffic-stopping cycling activists with anarchistic tendencies — better known as Critical Mass — to thank for it. For the uninitiated, Critical Mass (CM) is a quasi-organized monthly bike ride that takes place on the last Friday of the month in cities across the globe. Founded in San Francisco in September 1992, the ride is part-rolling street party, part-pro-cycling demonstration, often chaotic and a heck of a good time — minus the occasional arrest — but, hey, even those can have side benefits. Continue reading
Bike Couture
Innovations in helmets and attire for your commute
Attention all car commuters! Your excuses for pushing the gas pedal instead of the bike pedal — at least from a fashion perspective — won’t be worthy much longer. Yes, we all know it’s better for the environment and our health if we bike, but often it’s superficial justifications that keep us from trading four wheels for two. Here are some nifty tricks and cycle-centric designers who are making roadblocks like helmet head, or stuffing a change of clothes in your pack while pedaling to work like a spandex-encased sausage, obsolete. Continue reading
Cycling Oregon
Cycle Oregon’s weeklong ride takes bikers to Eastern Oregon
In its 26th year, the annual bike ride Cycle Oregon is as popular as ever and, come Sept. 7, riders will pedal their way through Eastern Oregon in the crisp fall air. Mountainous views and vast, lush valleys await 2,200 bikers on the 380- to 505-mile route that features John Day and Steens Mountain. Continue reading
Riders Ed
Safety beyond the helmet
Many Eugeneans have long felt relatively safe (around most drivers, that is), cycling for transit or pleasure, but others are so intimidated by the safety concerns of urban cycling — and not knowing what to do in a scary situation — that their fears prevent them from cycling to save the planet. Continue reading
Bike Shorts
Brief bike news items
• Some Eugene-area bike racks take parking a step further than simple functionality. The woodland creatures in front of the Kiva come to mind, and so do the intrauterine device (IUD) bike racks outside the new Planned Parenthood on Franklin in Glenwood. The more cool bike parking opportunities the better. • Sundays at Falling Sky are extra friendly for bicycle commuters. Ride a bike and save a buck. Continue reading
Winter Bicycles
The name might be “Winter Bicycles,” but that’s probably because “Clean, Beautiful Bikes Customized for Absolutely Anything” is too clunky and long. Eric Estlund has been building custom bikes in the Eugene-Springfield area for six years, and he’s created everything from a knife-sharpening bike to bikes for commuting in the Chicago winter to bikes designed for riders with physical disabilities. Continue reading