Today: Meet the man riding 2,000 miles with a 350-pound rhino (statue) named Lunar

Matt Meyer and Lunar the rhino in Portland yesterday. You can meet up with him today at Irving Park.
(Photo: Joe Rowe)

I’ve seen a lot of people use bicycles to raise awareness for various causes over the years, but this one just might take the cake for its combination of eye-catching stunt and serious issue.

Matt Meyer was born and raised in the wilds of the South African bush — but now he’s doing something that’s in many ways even more adventurous: Riding 2,000 of the west coast pulling a life-sized rhinocerous sculpture. Matt’s “Rhino Ride” aims to raise awareness and funding to save wild rhinos from exctinction. And he’s in Portland today for a meet-and-greet.

“I have been a full time safari guide my entire professional life,” writes Matt on his website. “My job has taken me to many of the major parks throughout multiple countries in Southern Africa and I have witnessed the devastating decline of the rhino population over the past few years. I know that if nothing is done about this soon, the wild rhino will be extinct in the next decade. I am only one person, but feel I can begin to change the course of this devastation.”

Matt’s route is taking him from Blaine, Washington to San Diego, California.

If you’d like to meet Matt and Lunar and learn about his journey and efforts to save rhinos they’ll be at Irving Park today (4/27) from 3:00 to 4:00. Bonus points if you show up in a rhino-themed costume for the ride that’ll leave after the event.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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Job: New Inventory Coordinator – The Community Cycling Center

Job Title *
New Inventory Coordinator

Company/Organization *
The Community Cycling Center

Job Description *
The New Inventory Coordinator is responsible for the purchasing, inventory management, and distributor relations for the Community Cycling Center bike shop. With the support of the shop management team, the New Inventory Coordinator will help to ensure that customers and shop staff have a great selection of what they need and want. The position will require a team-building approach, the ability to anticipate demands, and a customer-focused approach to purchasing. Experience in a high-volume retail environment, clear communication methods and constant refinement of systems will be crucial to the success of this position.

How to Apply *
Please submit cover letter, resume and three references by email with “New Inventory Coordinator” as the subject title to jobs@communitycyclingcenter.org.

In the one-page cover letter, please include a description of how and why you are interested in fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.

The application deadline for this position is open until filled.

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Weekend Event Guide: Ronde/Doyenne double, architecture, Kelley Point, a poker ride, and more

Get high this weekend on the Ronde and/or Doyenne.
(Photo by J Maus/BikePortland)

Our event guide is brought to you by Abus, makers of fine bike locks. Thank you Abus!

Ready to shed that workday stress and escape into bike adventures? Good. Because we’ve got some fun rides on the menu this week — especially if you’ve been training those legs.

The weather looks like typical spring — some clouds and rain are likely but it looks like there will also be plenty of dry spots.

Saturday, April 29th

Ronde PDX – 10:00 am at Pyramid Brewing (2730 NW 31st)
It’s baaack. Portland’s infamously unsanctioned hill-climbing sufferfest will once again shove off from northwest Portland and ascend the steeping inclines in town. Show up if you dare. 51 miles, 7,300 feet of climbing. More info here.

Biking About Architecture – 11:00 am Beaumont/Roseway Edition
Do you fancy yourself as an residential architecture buff? Spend more time looking at interesting homes than the road ahead of you while you ride? Than you should join ride leader Jenny Fosmire for this tour of hidden gems along the Alameda Ridge. More info here.

Bike Loud PDX Pedalpalooza Planning
The bike activists from Bike Loud want to make a big impression on the month-long Pedalpalooza festivities in June. Come help them plan fun and interesting rides. More info here.

Sunday, April 30th

Kelley Point Park Social Ride (Friends on Bikes) – 9:30 am at Ristretto Roasters (3808 N Williams)
This will be a “beginner-friendly, conversation paced,” 23-mile loop from inner north Portland out to Kelley Point. Much of the route is on carfree paths and Kelley Point is a must-know destination for escaping the city. First eight riders get free socks from The Athletic and a 50-cent coffee discount! More info here.

La Doyenne – 10:00 am at Cartlandia (Springwater and SE 82nd)
If you didn’t get enough climbing at De Ronde, “do the double” by adding its sister ride to your weekend. La Doyenne ventures up and down the steepness of Happy Valley (southeast of Lents) for 50 miles and 7,300 feet of climbing. It’s not easy, but it sure feels good when you finish! More info here.

Bear Springs Trap (MTB Race) – 11:00 am at McCubbins Gulch/Bear Springs Campground (Mt. Hood National Forest)
Have fun on big tires as you test your fitness and bike handling skills on fine Mt. Hood trails. More info here.

Joe “Metal Cowboy” Kurmaskie presentation – 2:00 pm at Central Library (801 SW 10th Ave)
Be entertained by the always enthused and funny local author Joe Kurmaskie as he regales you with tales from his latest books. More info here.

The All In Poker Ride – 2:00 pm at Village Ballroom (700 NE Dekum)
A benefit for Unite Oregon (a nonprofit that supports people of color, immigrants, refugees, rural communities, and people experiencing poverty), this ride will test your knowledge of Portland while you draw clue cards and hustle to checkpoints around town. There’s also a big raffle and silent auction. $12 proof-of-donation to Unite Oregon is required to enter. More info here.

Did we miss anything? If so, give it a shout out in the comments.

For more fun events, including great stuff next week and beyond, visit our full events calendar.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @bikeportland on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

BikePortland is supported by the community (that means you!). Please become a subscriber or make a donation today.

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New Belgium Brewing now offers a 3-day, $300 “Oregon Ramble” ride

The promotion of bikepacking in Oregon just went up another notch.

Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Company — the eighth largest brewery in America — now offers a $300, three-day ride through rural, unpaved backroads of eastern Oregon. The Oregon Ramble (June 8-11) is one of three “Ramble Rides” the company offers (along with title sponsor Blackburn, a maker of racks, bags and other accessories).

Here’s the teaser from New Belgium’s website:

“Kick Off The Ramble Ride Trio With A Three-day Cruise Through Central Oregon. A fun and challenging fully-supported bikepacking adventure through Central Oregon’s scenic Ochoco mountains and the Painted Hills.

With snow in the higher elevations, we’re choosing a stunning route through Central Oregon. Following the Central Oregon Backcountry Explorer route pioneered by Sarah Swallow. We’ll be starting in Prineville, OR and looping over three days through 150 miles of the Ochoco Mountains and the John Day River Basin.”

You can learn all the details at Bikepacking.com. You’ll note that the route shares a few miles with the Oregon Outback route outside of Prineville. But what the Ramble doesn’t share with the Outback is the need to carry all your own stuff. This is a fully supported ride — meaning you don’t have to schlep everything. That’s likely to please some and irk purists.

The whole ride is fully catered and camp is “fully stocked thanks to New Belgium Brewing.” Also note the ride is limited to 50 people. You can learn more and register here.

With the massive success and popularity of the Oregon Outback and the soon-to-be legendary Oregon Timber Trail on the horizon (with detailed GPS route map likely to be released in May), and numerous other routes and rides, Oregon is becoming one of the premier bikepacking destinations in country.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

BikePortland is supported by the community (that means you!). Please become a subscriber or make a donation today.

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Shaved Asparagus and Potato Pizza

This time of year, asparagus begs to be used in all sorts of ways. Shaving the spears with a vegetable peeler produces a lovely green tangle that I like to put on top of a pizza.

Add some roasted potato slices and gouda cheese, and you have a winning combination and a winning start to spring.

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Easy No-Knead Pizza Dough

It seems that every time I decide to make pizza at home (usually on a Friday night) my well-laid plans are disrupted by a last-minute impulse to go to the movies or to meet with friends.

That’s why I love this dough recipe.

You can make it and let it rise, then use it — or change your mind and leave it in the fridge for the next day. Or even the day after that. It is very forgiving.

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Willamette Week’s bike issue looks to spice up Portland’s cycling complacency

The cover of the Willamette Week’s bike issue aims to show that biking is sexy.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

It’s an annual tradition we look forward to every year: When one of our local weekly news outlets devotes an entire issue to bicycles and the people who ride them. This morning the Pulitzer Prize-winning Willamette Week released its Bike Issue and newsstands around the city are now adorned with this provocative cover. And under the covers of the issue is a suite of articles that will hopefully make people think critically — and positively — about biking’s role in Portland.

The lede is all about how Portland has gotten complacent:

“… don’t you kind of feel like we’ve been in a rut?

The percentage of bike commuters in the city has been stuck for the past three years. Adding more bike infrastructure has been a battle. Vandals felt empowered to destroy bike-share stations earlier this month.

It’s not just drivers to blame — Portland cyclists have become complacent… It’s time to spice things up.”

This isn’t a new idea, but the Willamette Week has approached it in an interesting and pragmatic way. The theme of the articles is all about considering new alternatives. For their readers that primarily drive, there’s a piece about how great cycling in Portland is in light of how much it sucks to drive a car here (unfortunately it’s not as bad as it should be). The issue also features an interview with Peter Walker, the Guardian (UK) reporter and author of the excellent new book, How Cycling Can Save the World. Walker goes over some of the basics about Portland and cycling advocacy in general.

And for Willamette Week readers who already see themselves as “cyclists,” there are articles about how great Biketown is for locals (not just tourists), why you should seriously consider an electric bike (with several quotes from yours truly), and reviews of interesting new products.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

BikePortland is supported by the community (that means you!). Please become a subscriber or make a donation today.

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