Celebrate handmade bikes! The 2009 Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show, presented by The Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association (OBCA), takes place over Halloween weekend. The event features forty exhibitions showcasing bicycle craftsmen and women from Oregon and beyond. These master builders will display their artistry in a celebration of the handbuilt bicycle. This two-day exhibition takes place in the Staver Locomotive Building in industrial Northwest Portland.

On Saturday, the show is open to the general public from 9am to 6pm with food by Madison's Grill and beverages by Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland's premier sustainable, organic brewery. Entrance to the show is $8. If you can't make it out Saturday, SundayÕs exhibition is open from 11am to 4pm. To celebrate Halloween, OBCA is throwing a costume party on Saturday from 8pm to midnight ($5 entry) with live music by the Russian-inspired energetic, dancey fun band Chervona. There is also a costume contest with a $100 cash prize for the winner.

The OBCA is a non-profit organization that unites bicycle manufacturers in the state of Oregon for professional development and the promotion of the Oregon bicycle industry.

( More info ) ( Full list of exhibitors )

We're here for you.

It's time to stand up tall and face the fact that summer is over. It's time to close the windows, put fenders on your bike, check your rain gear, and keep riding. Yes, keep riding.

There is a wealth of momentum for cycling across the nation, and Oregon is at the forefront. Yes, we have the rains, but still it is absolutely feasible to ride through Oregon winters without being hardcore (unless you live in a snowy area).

That's why we started our #KeepRiding informational campaign. We're sharing stories of people riding through the winter and offering tips for staying safe, keeping dry and having fun. We're offering gear advice, riding suggestions and plenty of information on events so you don't have to ride alone.

Stay tuned to the front page of our website or ride with us on Twitter.

( Search #KeepRiding on Twitter ) ( Winter riding on our blog )

Once upon a time, winters in Oregon were lonely times for bicycles. Dangling wearily from a hook, piled high with random junk in the garage, tires flat, chain dirty and looking for love, bicycles yearned to be taken out for a ride. But, alas, winters were not the time for such bold activity.

Then along came 2002 - a formative year for Oregon cycling. Portland hosted BikeSummer, an international traveling festival of free events, and a whole new movement of organized free bike activities was born. BikeSummer was in August, and the momentum was too strong to die down by winter time. Bicycles rejoiced, so did their owners, as the excuses to ride with others continued.

Sure, we can ride solo through the winter. And sure, some people have been doing it for decades (way to go, hearty souls!), but in reality it is much easier to get out on your bike when you know that other people are doing it to. Last winter in Oregon, the streets were still filled with cyclists and some even braved the snow storm, or at least attempted to.

For 2009, the fun just doesn't stop. There are still 24 more days of Oregon Manifest, the celebration of the art, craft and community of bicycling. Cyclocross is just starting to knead the mud. BikePortland is hosting a their BikeCraft fair on December 5th. Many club are still holding their weekly rides. Bike polo continues to rock the courts of Portland and Eugene. Advocacy groups are still meeting across the state to make riding conditions better, rain or shine, and of course the wild bikers of Zoobomb are still riding down the west hills of Portland wickedly fast.

You have no excuse! Join other. #KeepRiding. Make it fun. Your bicycle (and your body) will thank you.

( Event calendar ) ( List your own event )

Oregonians are pretty good about keeping secret our Hawaiian summers (those weeks on end of gorgeous sunny days with cool breezes), but we're not so good at keeping our bike friendliness a secret. Why should we? It would be selfish! The rest of the world deserves a chance to experience the cycling beauty of Oregon, even if just for a visit.

So Travel Oregon launched the Ride Oregon website, an extensive and growing resource of scenic rural routes, ride ideas, tips and stories. The site is a handy tool for anyone who wants to explore Oregon on two wheels, even if you live here.

Travel Oregon calls what Oregon offers a "big ol' slide of bike heaven... pretty much the perfect place to pedal." There is seemingly no end to the gorgeous exploring you can do on two wheels: quiet beaches, breathtaking (literally, if you're on a bike) mountain passes, quaint rural hamlets and of course Crater Lake National Park. "Not to brag," the website says, "but we've got it all." Indeed.

To celebrate, Travel Oregon is hosting a party with an opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the new website and talk with team who created it. Following the presentation you can hop on your bike for a Portland Bicycle Tours-led ride down the East Bank Esplanade, winding your way to Hopworks Urban Brewery for the Ride Oregon Reception. Light appetizers and refreshments will be served and you'll have a chance to taste Hopworks' new Bike Beer.

( Launch Party info ) ( Ride Oregon website )