CrankMyChain! Cycle TV

Here are some video snapshots from last Saturday's track racing (and John Howe's sugar shorts parade/race) at the Alpenrose Velodrome in Portland.

PORTLAND, Ore. - I love collaborating with Clarence Eckerson, Jr. You may remember our Sasquatch video. We have a ton of fun talking shop and rollin' tape. In this video are cool bike wheels, Clarence, Greg Raisman, Elly Blue, and bikey SE people (plus a brief shot of the Disco Trike rollin' slow). Here's more stuff from Streetfilms.org The first time you visit Portland, Oregon, the gaggles of cyclists streaming over the Hawthorne Bridge during rush hour is a sight you will never forget. It's something other cities need to see and be inspired by. On a recent vacation there, I couldn't resist cranking out a Streetfilms shortie, so I naturally hooked up with Crank My Chain's Dan Kaufman to capture the essence of the PM rush and talk to cyclists about what it feels like to be a part of the mass of cyclist humanity in Southeast Portland, Hawthorne corridor. As Greg Raisman from Portland's Bureau of Transportation pointed out: 20% of all traffic on the Hawthorne Bridge is bikes. And, Portland's number of cyclists has risen 600% in the last fifteen years and shows no sign of letting up.

Here is a video tour of the latest listing from BikeRealtor.com. It's in the Colonial Heights neighborhood in Southeast Portland, which is a great location for anyone wanting to drive less and live more. Find out more at Bike Realtor.com!

Animation by Spencer Boomhower. http://boomhower.com The Oregon Legislature is considering passage of a law that would allow bicycle riders to treat stop signs as yield signs. These "rolling stops" would allow bike riders to preserve some of the momentum they depend upon for efficient travel, just so long as they don't infringe on the safety and rights of others. The law is based on one that's been successful in Idaho for the last 27 years, so it's come to be known as the "Idaho Stop" law. There's some controversy - and whole lot of misunderstanding - surrounding the proposed Idaho Stop law. Spencer Boomhower ( http://boomhower.com ) does a great job helping clear thing up with the magic of animation. Music: "Celebrated Shoo Fly Galop" by W.L. Hayden, performed by Lucas Gonze (soupgreens.com and gonze.com). Used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license.

Sunday’s Citizen’s Opposition and Alternatives to the Columbia River Crossing rally felt like a sea change. Participants were we greeted by warm spring weather, excellent speeches, and solidarity in opposition to the I-5 CRC crossing as it’s being presented currently. Several groups and governments from both sides of the river (and aisle) were represented and spoke to the large crowd at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, Oregon. Find out more at http://SmarterBridge.org

In our third snippet from the Bridge Shopping Network things go “all-CSPAN” as the show is hacked live into the Joe Cortright’s formal testimony at the Jan 29th Portland City Council meeting on the Columbia River Crossing (CRC). It's surely not what the BS Network hosts have in mind, as things become wonky and counter-productive to their sales pitch. Ride you bike to this Sunday’s Citizen’s Opposition and Alternatives Rally 12-noon at Tom McCall Waterfront Park Near the Morrison Bridge. Semi-Organized Rides to the rally are posted here. Find out more at smarterbridge.org. You can also stay up to date at bikeportland.org. See you Sunday!

Thursday, March 26, 2009 Have We Got a Bridge to Sell You! "The CRC Cures Cancer" Watch Video & Read StoryTeaser Photo"Cures Cancer" is the second in a series of spoofs by the Bridge Shopping Network (BSN) made to promote the Citizen's Opposition and Alternatives to the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) rally, which is being held noon Sunday, April 5th at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park (north of the Hawthorne Bridge). To find out more about the Columbia River Crossing and see better alternatives see smarterbridge.org. The video was produced by Dan Kaufman crankmychain.com and Joe 'Metal Cowboy' Kurmaskie metalcowboy.com.

Building Like it's 1959 is the first in a series of spoofs by the Bridge Shopping Network (BSN) made to promote the Citizen's Opposition and Alternatives to the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) rally, which is being held noon Sunday, April 5th at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park (north of the Hawthorne Bridge). To find out more about the Columbia River Crossing and see better alternatives see http://smarterbridge.org/

PORTLAND, Ore.- This video is about a year old so the information about the National Hand Built Bicycle Show is out of date, everything else is pretty relevant. It features Natalie Ramsland of Sweetpea Bicycles (Portland, OR) and interview with Jonathan Maus of bikeportland.org. Video directed by Daniel Sharp, filmed by David McMurry, edited by Alden Morgan. I really like the commentary and shots.

What does it mean that Portland, one of the best North American cities for cycling, has virtually no Critical Mass? Is it no longer relevant in the evolution of cyclists or has the police crackdown just been so successful? What are the new goals of cyclists?

Portland, Ore. - Pinky Gets a Powder Coat is a short documentary/infomercial about how my sister got her tired looking bike repainted. Actually, the frame and fork were powder coated -- a different process than painting -- which involves baking a very durable plastic-like coating onto steel, aluminum, and other metals. Powder coating has become very popular option for giving new life to motorcycles, bicycles, car parts and other metal items like lawn furniture. Brooker Enterprises specializes in powder coating. Find out more at BrookerEnterprises.com or drop by 3714 SE Powell in Portland (503-236-2565 ). This video was produced by CrankMyChain.tv in association with BikePortland.org for Brooker Enterprises. Video and music by Dan Kaufman.

Somewhere in Canada - David James recycles bicycles and turns them into objects of art. Enjoy the slide show and music. Want to see more? Check out David's YouTube Channel or the Bikengruvin blog.

A song inspired by President Obama's inauguration speech. Music By Dan Kaufman.

Excerpt of Representative John Boehner (R-Ohio) from "Face the Nation" - 1/11/09 See more on the story at BikePortland.org http://bikeportland.org/2009/01/12/rep-john-boehner-widen-highways-for-american-families/

Yeah it's rusty. It's time to bust out. How about submit a movie to the Filmed By Bike Film Festival. Also stay tuned to CrankMyChain for live webcasts. Follow twitter.com/pdxktv to see when we are live. Have a great 2009!

PORTLAND, Ore. - Craftmaster Independent Films is taking their web series the Bicyclist to the big screen with a feature length film called The Bicyclists. The main characters are the same but the story is slightly different. Here is the blurb from their site: Conrad Miller came to Portland to live free, to meet people and to make memories...The Bicyclists coming to the big screen in 2009. Stay tuned. I'll post again when they screen it.

Portland, Ore. – The US Grand Prix of Cyclocross made the last stop of the tour last weekend for the Stanley Portland Cup. Mostly dry ground was found Saturday at the Portland International Raceway but Sunday it poured, especially the hour before the Elite Women’s race. Katerina Nash took both Sunday’s race and the 2008 USGP Championship Trophy while local heroine Sue Butler was cheered to a third place finish and the Sram “Most Aggressive Female Rider” award. Ryan Trebon of Bend took that $250 prize home and won the day’s race. Tim Johnson claimed the series trophy. I took home a pair of very wet and muddy boots, some videotape, and inspiration for the song “Head Down”, which is the score for this video. Eric Todd Keeney provided additional footage. http://crankmychain.com http://usgpcyclocross.com http://erictoddkeeney.com

This post is quite a bit longer than typical but I hope you will take the time hook this up to your TV, get comfortable, and watch the whole thing - especially if you have been thinking about going car free or are an advocate for driving less. Car-free living is a lifestyle choice that yields abundant rewards: freedom from the economic burdens of personal motorized transportation, improved physical and emotional well-being, reduced noise and pollution, and traffic structures that are gentler on the land and its citizens. Communities are brought closer together as people increasingly interact face-to-face, rather than from within steel shells. Liberation from private motorized transportation makes us a richer, healthier, happier people living in cleaner, quieter, friendlier neighborhoods. In this multimedia workshop, Obbie and RoZ describe the steps on their trail toward Transportation Liberation, and discuss a multitude of pragmatic ideas on how to make driving optional. The program is punctuated by personal narratives (including sights and sounds) of good and bad transportation methods witnessed during extensive research in North America and Europe. During ten years as a traveling campaigner for sustainable lifestyles, Obbie learned about transportation by experiencing nearly every major American city as a driver, bicyclist, and transit rider. Since RoZ joined him in 1993, they've sworn off car-dependence and have been car-free since 2003. They are based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where they are outspoken advocates for the rights of bicyclists and pedestrians, and for the types of community design that make car-free living both possible and pleasant. This is the synopsis of the presentation from the the Zs website purplearth.net. I recorded this audio at their presentation the CarFree Conference at Portland State University last June. If you would like to book the live presentation please contact purplearth.

Cyclocross Crusade Finale - There Will Be Mud Hillsboro, Ore. – The final race of the Season for River City Bicycle’s Cyclocross Crusade earned double points for the riders and you could tell by the way they were racing. Both the women’s and men’s category A races were very competitive with several lead changes each. It was a fast and level course at the Washington County Fairgrounds but water from last weeks rain created a monster-slog section through the rodeo arena. I was able to cover the entire course on my bike and decided to ditch the tripod for the Men’s race and really concentrate on following the leaders as much as possible. I pieced that footage together to create start-to-finish race video of the Men’s category A race and I’m interested to hear what you think about this type of coverage. Please make a comment on the video. I want to thank River City Bicycles for sponsoring this video (not to mention being the title sponsor for this series and owner Dave Guettler came up with the title of the song for this video). My eternal gratitude and respect goes out to the Cyclocross Crusade promoters, sponsors, and all the officials from the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association. Video, Edit, and Music – Dan Kaufman Here are the results for race 8: Cat A: 1 Kevin Hulick Vanilla Bicycles 2 Sean Babcock Team S&M 3 Molly Cameron Vanilla Bicycles Women A: 1 Rhonda Mazza Team S&M 2 Wendy Williams River City Bicycles 3 Emily VanMeter River City Bicycles And the Cross Crusade/OBRA Cyclocross Championships: Cat A 1 Jason Sager SagerSports.com 2 Sean Babcock Team S&M 3 Chris Sheppard HPChrio Bike n’ Hike Giant Women A 1 Wendy Williams River City Bicycles 2 Emily VanMeter River City Bicycles 3 Rhonda Mazza Team S&M

Portland, Oregon - Apparently the Halloween Races in Astoria was not enough insanity for this years Cross Crusaders. After some excellent traditional cyclocross racing at Portland International Raceway the bike-fun crowd went wild for single speed. Thousands of spectators watched as Sue Butler took away honors for the womens A racers and the prize for unofficial womens single speed world champion. Mens SSCXWC honors were awarded to Drew MacKenzie who hails from the Great White North. Prizes included a Vanilla SpeedVagen, a Pereira Cycles custom frame not to mention gold Speedos and required championship tatoos. Also, Raleigh Rainier frame went to the Sit-Up Champ. Special mention goes to Ryan Trebon of Bend who won the mens A race, and the regular single speed race. Trebon, a top cyclocross racer, was told he had to win all three races in order to take the SSCXWC. He may have been handicapped on the raceway, as well. The song Steam Powered was written especially for this race. Music and Video by Dan Kaufman for http://crankmychain.com and http://www.bobsredmill.com http://crosscrusade.com http://sscxwc.com