Don't worry about winter: get on your bike! That's what the organizers of the Worst Day of the Year Ride are saying with their annual, quirky event. This ride, a benefit for the Community Cycling Center, takes riders on an 18- or 40-mile tour of the Portland area, including a challenge loop over the West Hills to Hillsboro. But don't wait to sign up, this ride will sell out.

Is your costume ready? Are you putting a wig over your helmet? Every costume contest entrant will receive a free set of Tireflys wheel lights and will vie for great prizes like rain gear from Showers Pass. And better yet, when you come in costume, you join a gigantic group of decorated riders who will be circling the city - perhaps the largest bike parade to ever hit Portland.

The Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers are ready to kick off the ride with their beats, there will be hot beverages and snacks at every rest stop and the well-marked course guarantees a smooth ride around the city. You'll even get a ride guide with maps, turn-by-turn instructions, bike shop discount coupons and a cool section with facts about sights along the route. There so much more to this ride, and if you've never been on it you'll just have to come and see for yourself. It's definitely THE ride to be on in February. Suit up, head out, we'll see you there!

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When spring arrives, all roads lead to the beach! That's what 2,000 cyclist are thinking as they make their way along the spectacular course of the 17th annual Reach the Beach Clean Air Bicycle Challenge. Participants come from all rides of life. Some are slow, some are race-trained veterans and some are only occasional weekend riders. But they all have two things in common: they will follow any one of five gorgeous rural routes to picturesque Pacific City and they will be pedaling for a good cause.

Reach the Beach is the major fundraiser for the American Lung Association of Oregon (ALAO). Every pedal stroke helps promote clean Oregon air and lung health. This year the early registration fee is only $25. Every rider is required to achieve a modest fundraising goal of $50, and the Reach the Beach website features easy-to-use fundraising tools that make it fun to meet and exceed that goal. If you're a motivated fundraiser you may qualify for amazing prizes - including REI panniers, a Trek bike and a free pass to Cycle Oregon - and you can feel great knowing you're supporting the ALAO.

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Just how DID Oregon get to be such a great bicycling state? It hasn't been easy. Cyclists like you have taken the time to attend meetings and speak up on issues related to cycling, sometimes just one person at the back of a crowded meeting hall - the lone voice supporting cyclists. Cities across Oregon are making great strides and they need your support. Check our calendar to find the meeting time of your area's bicycle advocacy group. These are the people to get to know if you have ideas for how to improve biking conditions, or if you just want to know what projects are being worked on in your community.

( Calendar ) ( ORbike site )

Grab a video camera, and get to work! There are only 22 days left to get your bike movies in to the Filmed by Bike festival for 2007. Spread the word and tell your biking friends across the nation. Filmed by Bike, a festival of bike-themed movie shorts, offers a unique peak into the creative minds of cyclists around the world.

On the festival opening night, April 13th, the street in front of the Clinton Street Theater in Portland will be packed with cyclists. Last year 500 people made it into the screening and an additional 250 were turned away for lack of space - so this year the festival will run all weekend long. You'll find yourself watching in amazement, the awe and glory of bikes on the silver screen. But perhaps it won't be until the movies end and the lights come on that you'll realize next to you, laughing with you all along, is a bike rider of different stripes: a racer, a freak bike builder, a new commuter, etc. On this most special of bike culture nights, all bikers come together under one roof for an evening of entertainment. Relax and enjoy! You've pedaled miles, you've earned it.

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Can you really dress up a Burley rain jacket? The annual Alice B. toeclips awards dinner tries to do just that as they bring together a room full of cyclists for a night of honoring each other. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) put out the call and 31 of your fellow riders across the state were nominated for their stellar bike advocacy efforts.

The awards are named in honor of Alice Toklas. Before becoming the famous companion of writer Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas escaped some of the constraints of early-20th century girlhood by means of the bicycle, which allowed her to "go further, faster."

Doors open at 5:00 PM for complimentary wine, hors-d'oeuvres and a lush silent auction. The BTA website has a list of the auction items, but here are a few of the highlights: a Bakfiets Dutch cargo bike (they're all the rage right now), Cycle Oregon wrist band number one and complimentary porter service, Trek Travel North America bike tour and a custom-built-in-Oregon Ira Ryan frame and fork. The night is a chance to rub Lycra-covered elbows with the people who are making great strides to transform Oregon into the world's best place for cycling.

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