Oregon Cycling Magazine

by Karl Benedek

The other day, someone asked me about the “target” audience for Oregon Cycling. Hardcore cyclists? I thought about it for half a second and then thought, “of course not! Oregon Cycling is the voice of the everyday cyclist!” That is what I have strived for in editing Oregon Cycling since 2002. Sure, some articles might appeal to racing geeks, others to policy wonks, but in general, my goal for Oregon Cycling was to put together a publication that would appeal to anybody who rides a bike. Unfortunately, the last few months have been rough, and we are no longer able to produce Oregon Cycling as a labor of love.

In some ways, the culture has outgrown the need for a hard copy bike news magazine. Information is everywhere online if you know how to look for it. Print can’t compete with the web in that department. Often the newspaper you receive in the morning is out of date by the time it hits your doorstep. In the sluggish world of semimonthly publishing, this news delay is particularly noticeable. At one time, much of the information on cycling that you can get online was all underground, not really a part of the mainstream media, and Oregon Cycling was the organ for that expression of culture. Now that the internet IS mainstream, the poor old print magazine seems like an anachronism. Despite everything, the decision to shutter Oregon Cycling was a difficult one. Should the magazine continue online? As a quarterly? An annual? There are models for all of these, yet we finally decided that it would be best to go out with a final print issue rather than take the magazine in a new direction. The potential exists for Oregon Cycling to make a comeback, but we decided that leaving the magazine “as-is” would be the best way to preserve it. I hope that someone will want to take the reins (or the handlebars) and breathe new life into Oregon Cycling, but until then, we want to thank you for reading and we wish you many happy rides.

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Filed under: News, Opinion, Personal Stories

by Tom Baldinger

I have worked as the ad rep and occasional writer for Oregon Cycling Magazine since 2005. It has been a long road these last few years and I learned an immeasurable amount. Although my articles sometimes would not make it to print because of space issues, I have loved the opportunity to write for the magazine. Some of the articles I have written forced me to really think, to delve into my heart and the share the best of what I have to offer.

Writing about mountain bike technique makes me realize I have a lifelong commitment and I am glad to have been able to share that with our readers. I am not strictly an off-road rider though, and have a pretty varied background. My article, “Try Something Different” was one of my favorites. Bicycling as a whole encompasses more specialization than almost any other sport. Skiing for instance, does not compare. Yes, there are different types of skis, different techniques, etc but skiing does not have nearly the variety that bicycling does. We have recumbents, mountain bikes, road bikes, BMX bikes, cargo bikes, etc. The list goes on and on. My point in “Try Something Different” was to encourage people to take up road biking if they are mountain bikers, to try a 24” wheel BMX cruiser if they are road riders, to try recumbents if they are trail riders. Variety keeps us fresh and interested.
Another one of my favorites was the article about snow bikes. Snow bikes are strictly downhill vehicles, with skis instead of wheels. They are so much fun they are probably immoral or illegal, but nobody has given me a ticket yet! This winter my stepdad and I built a “custom-made” set of skis to use on my suspension bike. I cannot tell you what a good time I had this winter schussing down the hill hanging onto the same handlebars that traverse these slopes during the summer. If you have not tried it, go snowbiking! If it’s too late this year, keep it in the back of your mind once winter rolls around again.

Back in 2002 a frame builder friend said to me, “Don’t work in the industry Tom, it will sap your desire to just ride your bike.” Pat was right in some respects, and wrong in others. My passion for the sport is what drew me to the Center For Appropriate Transport in the first place. That passion has kept me focused and helped me to write and sell ads. Working for Oregon Cycling has been a really special opportunity and I am glad to have been a part of it! Thanks for picking up our magazine, pedal hard, and ride safe!

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Filed under: News, Opinion, Personal Stories

EUGENE – The Center for Appropriate Transport (CAT) and Human Powered Machines (HPM) is offering a series of workshops on building high-quality bicycle trailers. Participants will learn basic fabrication skills and come away with a finished trailer frame and hitch. Read more…

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Filed under: Cargo Bikes, Framebuilding, News

by Karl Benedek

James Winkelman knows that multi-use paths are not necessarily a utopian alternative to the toxic gridlock of the auto-centric road system. In fact, he knows from experience that user conflicts are common on these important transportation and recreation corridors. Perhaps it’s because for all the good they represent, multi-use paths could be considered a transportation ghetto—where pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, rollerbladers, wheelchair users and non-motorized scooters are all crammed together and expected to get along. Winkelman has witnessed or been a part of path confrontations often enough that he wanted to speak out to ask for a bit of courtesy from all path users. Read more…

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Filed under: Interviews, Personal Stories, Safety, Willamette Valley

by Ray Thomas

Would Oregon benefit from a law, similar to the one in Idaho, allowing bicyclists to slow down, yield to traffic and then travel through stop signs without coming to a complete stop or to stop, yield and then travel (when safe) through red lights?   Many if not most cyclists tend to behave this way at stop signs already and some, though fewer do the same at red lights.  Does it make sense to punish cyclists for slowly and safely riding through a stop sign when no cross traffic or pedestrians are approaching?  Would cooperation and good will between cyclists, motorists and law-enforcement improve if these common sense bicycling practices were made legal?  To answer these questions, it might help to consider the reasons bicyclists often choose not to stop fully at stop signs or to wait all the way through certain red lights. Read more…

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Filed under: Advocacy, Bikes & The Law, Personal Stories, Road Riding, Road Rules, Safety, Travel