Signs of Life Elsewhere

On a recent trip to Portand, this colorful image of the giant gothic P smacked my visual cortex. This extraordinary endeavor is an enormous replica of the Portland Art Museum logo made entirely from bicycle helmets. It is hanging above their entrance in observance of the show Cyclepedia, an exhibition of iconic bicycle design. The exhibit inside was pretty dang fun to see, though difficult to photograph. Probably my favorite was the Capo Elite "Eis", a remarkable hybrid bike and ice skate design developed in 1930 by Otto and Walter Cap, complete with an ice skate blade in front and a studded tire in the rear.

The cycle collection is from more than 200 functioning bicycles belonging to Michael Embacher, an architect in Vienna. Unfortunately it just closed on September 8th, however you can learn more about Embacher's collection here, and see many of the bicycles here or pick up the book or iPad app of Cyclepedia available in many languages. And here is the iPad trailer for Cyclepedia:

Bike of the Week

During my visit, the bike(s) of the week feature had several handbuilt cycles from local artist, Joseph Ahearne of Ahearne Cycles. He custom bulids steel bikes with love and fury, according to his tagline, but I would amend that with good humor as well. My favorite was the touring bike with the spork and flask attached. All sparkling shiny steel and picnic-ready. Simply remarkable work!

Ahearne's Flickr pages are chock full of more bicycle goodness. I love his mash-up of truck cycles which you can see pedaling all over Portland.