Bike Bling

The great thing about bike towns is the variety. There are so many different types and styles people choose to ride. Portland runs the gamut of sleek and custom to just pure wacky. Once you start to appreciate the shape, make, model and style of bikes, you simply can't stop. I get a kick out of seeing just how far people go to customize their ride, what color grip tape is used, handlebar setup, components. . .an ocean of detail. Once your radar is tuned to it, every bike is up for inspection.


My latest interest are the art bikes. Much like the art cars (The clapped-out Volvo with hundreds of matchbox cars glued to it) art bikes are for people to scratch their heads at and wonder who would ever do such a thing to a perfectly good bike. But that's just it. Bikes are so damn versatile, custom and easy to upgrade. . .yet they almost always retain their original purpose as reliable transportation.



Oh yes. Bullets beneath the bananna seat. Ape hanger bars, huge mirror, squeeze ball bike horn and festooned with stickers. This bike is ready for anything. It probably starts with a sticker or two. My favorites are, "Death to bike thieves" and "It will be a great day when the schools have all the funding they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber." Ok, that second one seems impossible until you take an X-acto knife to the words and spill it all over the frame.


A holiday trip to Seattle also produced some good specimens. This particular beauty was parked at an independent coffee house (big surprise, right?). There is something cool about seeing a kids toy, wonder woman and a coiled-wire impression of a mummy all hanging out together beneath the rider.


Bring on the bike bling! More is sure to follow.