In between summer and the teacher strike I wrote about recently, I went to an event called Made. This event exists to honor, appreciate and demonstrate the ingenuity of people who make bikes. However I forgot to remember it. Now November, I am starting to remember that I did some cool things in the waning hours of summer that I’ve neglected to share.

Maybe you’ve done this too. You’re reviewing your photos and you see a chunk of pics that you know you took but they were eclipsed by a thousand other things happening on and around the very same time. For me, the time we went on strike feels surreal. Literally the time has been put back into our school calendar to “make up” the strike days. Ηοςεωερ the other happenings were sidelined. That time has left me feeling flat even though they were very cool events. It all feels like a bike stuck up on the top of a car lying on its side and forgotten about completely.

As I was looking for photos from the strike for a collage, I saw these other moments digitally preserved and I was remembering the day I went to Made and how I hitched myself up on a pennyfathing and actually rode it in place for a few minutes. I remembered how amazing the event was and how I was itching to blog about it. I remembered that I forgot to share the adventure.

MADE is described on the ticket as “an industry/consumer bike event highlighting the craft of handmade bicycles.” There were 200 or so builders and brands sharing their creations.

As we say in a post Covid world, it’s been awhile since we’ve even had this event in Portland, Oregon, so I was as excited as a kid hyped up on Halloween candy to attend. I could not contain myself.

As I walked into the area I felt like everything was possible. I knew I would see some builders I remembered from past shows and I knew I’d see cool gear and unique builds and I was ready and raring to go.

The venue was spacious and buzzing with activity.

Pennyfarthing bikes a.k.a. High wheel bikes are so odd and iconic. Most of my sources say that these bikes were notoriously difficult to handle and I can see why. Getting aboard them requires a leap of faith and you literally have to hop up and hang on.

At first the gentlemen asked if I wanted to take a spin. The bike is stationary but on a platform so you can try riding it. I dismissed the opportunity outright. “No thank you, I’d prefer to not risk my safety.”Wait? What did I just hear coming out of my mouth!? Is that doubt mixed with fear? I lingered a bit and wondered why I said that.

I love bikes. I love opportunities. Why, yes, I think I do want to try it. I mean in all my time on planet Earth I have never had an opportunity to ride a Pennyfarthing. Yes, I want this!

There are these pegs on the rear little wheel and you step on it and then hop just as I was told. With the hop up you also lean forward enough to grap the handlebars and then you scoot your caboose up on the saddle and you ride. It’s very smooth, but not because you’re on air (which I was) it’s because the big front wheel allowed for higher speeds on the flats. I was told that it was a smoother ride before the invention on pneumatic tires.

I couldn’t believe I was riding and gliding and generally loving the experience. I’ve never been on a tall bike, but I imagine it’s a similar feeling. The handlebars were odd and you can see in the video that it was as if I was holding myself up while pedaling down. I felt like I needed longer legs, but I was pedaling long enough to get a sense for how difficult it would be to ride this out and about in the olden days. What a great moment in time and lots of fun to actually give it a spin.

There were bags and all sorts of beautiful bike related gear but the spotlight was on the stars of the show, the bikes, all made, engineered and created like works of art you ride. Everything you can imagine and some things you didn’t even know you wanted to see.

Overall it restored my faith in humanity because it’s all impressive and clearly some people are ingenius and inventive and they know how to make cool things. They got it MADE and I feel ebullient because I got to witness it all in one place.

Plus, the pennyfarthing. Right?

As I listen to the rain thrash against the house and I watch the leaves swirl around in colorful cyclones I recall that hot August day and how beautiful it was to see bikes forged from imagination into reality. Do you have any favorites? If you had a bike custum built what would you do to make it the perfect bike for you? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading my blog. I wish you a wonderful week and I’ll see you in the next post.

Thanks for being here. Get out there and ride.

Gratefully,

Bike Goddess