I’m becoming downright fond of the new Green Line. By hopping on a MAX at lunchtime, I can visit entirely new food carts, carts previously unattainable given the state of my ancient and creaking knees and the temporal limits of my lunch hour.

I was on such a mission today, visiting the carts at SW 3rd and Ash, when I ran into Ben.

This is Ben. Ben Rossiter, to be precise. Ben is a likeable young man who is out there spreading the gospel of Portland Pedal Power, a gospel of entrepreneurial spirit, local and sustainable practices, and the Way of the Bike.

Put simply, Portland Pedal Power will deliver. They will deliver piping hot meals from several of Portland’s finest food carts over a respectably large chunk of downtown. They are also adding deliveries from local businesses, like Trailhead coffee, and I have to believe that this aspect of their delivery business will continue to expand.

I believe that because Ben is earnest about this gig. He pointed out the cargo box on his bike, noting that he had a hot box for food deliveries that kept the food nice and hot anywhere in PPP’s delivery area. But that’s not enough. He wants to put an oven on the bike, just to make sure no one gets disappointed. He wants to expand across the river just as soon as PPP grows a bit more. He may be a bike rider, but he takes Business Development pretty damn seriously. They’re adding new partners all the time, he notes, both for deliveries and for marketing opportunities.

And don’t worry about Ben’s bike — That’s a Yuba Mundo cargo bike. Ben assures me the frame is built to take a combined load (cargo plus rider) of 450 lbs. He didn’t tell me if he could actually move the bike with that kind of load, but at least the bike won’t fail him.

So, if you’re a food cart that wants to reach a larger customer base, or you have goods you need delivered downtown, or you just want to see your logo zipping along the Broadway bike path, head on over to Portland Pedal Power. I think these folks will be going places.

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• May 11, 2009 -- Low-Car Lifestyle Clinic @ Portland Farmers Market (0)
• February 22, 2010 -- “I Thought Of That While Riding My Bike”* (2)
• June 19, 2009 -- Father’s Day on a bike – Sunday Parkways (0)
• August 4, 2008 -- Cyclists: The Next Generation (2)
• July 7, 2008 -- Dependence Day (2)

I’m afraid it’s that time again. Time to dust off your rhyming dictionary and bust out some locally-themed limericks. The last time we did this we got some great responses. So, to get you started:

The mayor has damaged our trust,
The AG’s report was a must.
But their romping in bed
was just “he said, he said”
Whether Breedlove or Breedlust.

Most media sources are bitter,
They mock online content and titter.
but watch “Live at 7″,
It feels like geek heaven:
A news show that finally “gets” twitter.

As one stop on her two-year–long trip,
“The World” stopped at the home of the hip.
But we saw hair nor hide,
Of the rich folks inside,
‘Cause they didn’t set foot off the ship!

Most folks enjoy a nice backrub.
Others like a soak in a hot tub.
But if it’s your thing
to strip down and swing,
“The Hedgehog” has opened a sex club.

When Betsy first gathered this nerd horde,
The web love from Portland soared skyward,
But after a year,
what we usually hear
is: “Who let those clowns near a keyboard?”

Ready, Steady, GO!

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• December 31, 2009 -- PDX Limericks – New Year’s Eve Edition (6)
• October 13, 2009 -- Portland Pedal Power (2)
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• July 3, 2008 -- You know you live in a bike town when… (5)
• June 25, 2008 -- Awesomebots! are awesome (1)

Welcome back, my fellow `merikuns, from your Fourth of July holiday. Don’t you just love the Fourth? It’s the one day of the year when the citizens of the United States get to beat their collective chest with vigor and flip their collective bird over the vast seas. Yes, we have plenty to be ashamed of these days (thank you Bush Co.), but even the most cynical among us understands that we wouldn’t even have had the opportunity to elect the world’s most impressive dolt (twice) to the office of Decider were it not for the diligence, guts and massively flamboyant script of our founding fathers.

For those of you in secondary school and unfortunately devoid of an objective, fact-based education (did someone say evolution?), the Fourth of July commemorates this country’s adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. You may be more familiar with the holiday for its excessive embrace of fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States… and beer.

But this year I think we need to look back at the Fourth of July as an opportunity to see just how far we’ve strayed. In 1776 they celebrated independence. In 2008, we have very little independence to celebrate. Yes, our country’s government is ‘independent’ from Great Britain, but in today’s world, I’m far from convinced that this detail should bring us a considerable amount of comfort. After all, we’re dependent on everyone else for just about everything else. We’re so darned hooked into the global economy that it’s a joke to blast a bottle rocket in honor of our independence.

For those of us in Portland, many of us giggle at this notion… I mean, if any group of green fleece-wearing, cargo bike-riding locavores has the potential to be independent, it’s those eco-snobs in the Rose City. As I crossed over the Hollywood pedestrian bridge on my way to not-at-all local Trader Joes, the freeways were packed with my fellow stump-thumpers. Perhaps they were heading off to barbecues or family reunions, or firework shows in suburban Washington. Whatever the case, I envisioned that the selfish masses were off to pollute the sky with the patriotic bile created by millions of dollars of Chinese fireworks. Yes, my green-state brothers and sisters were far from independent as they blissfully sucked down smooth Saudi crude in their maybe US-built (but globally sourced), earth-menacing Griswald family trucksters.

Oh, it feels so good to be smug. I grinned ear-to-ear thinking about the joy of not driving an inch or planning to drive an inch over the weekend. Oh, the big tasty smug pie –how sweet it is. But wait, what was that I was preparing to toss on the grill? Oh nothing… just my central California-sourced portobello mushrooms. Oh, I can’t wait to wash them down with that bottle of smooth Mexican tequila. You know, the bottle I picked up using my German-built utility bike? You know, that bike that rolls on Kenda tires crafted with love in the People’s Republic of China?

But hey, I’m a real independent `merikun. I mean, at least I wasn’t going to burn those toxic Chinese fireworks. I would do the far more patriotic thing and toss a Taiwan-pressed DVD into my Japanese-designed plasma TV. You know, the one built in Mexico using parts from all over the world? Damn straight. I’m independent, baby.

After coming back to earth, realizing that Portland can’t insulate me from the truth of today’s independence, I sat down to appreciate the opportunity to consider how far I have to go, and how far this country has to go. But at least Portland has a head start. I only wish the race course wasn’t so damned long and treacherous. With this I sulked back into my lawn chair, chewing on a leaf of lettuce from last week’s CSA share. Thank goodness for opportunity. Thank goodness for independence.

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• October 13, 2009 -- Portland Pedal Power (2)
• June 23, 2009 -- More PDX Limericks (5)
• July 21, 2008 -- Dino-Might (2)
• July 3, 2008 -- You know you live in a bike town when… (5)
• June 25, 2008 -- Awesomebots! are awesome (1)

It takes 3 weeks to get a service appointment at City Bikes. Now I know why I own 5 bikes. I could take my business elsewhere but there is something so satisfying about supporting an employee owned cooperative.
Ride your bike. If you don’t own one, buy one. From a local shop. We are fortunate to live in a town that still values the service and expertise that only the (and in some cases, not so little) guy can offer.
Handy links to local shops (courtesy of bikeportland.org)

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• October 13, 2009 -- Portland Pedal Power (2)
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• June 1, 2009 -- Dear PDX Advice Guy (5)
• April 7, 2009 -- Portland band “Blind Pilot” on NPR (2)

Awesomebots!

Originally uploaded by Tinymeat™

I’m proud of Gabriel! I’m also proud of Mikey and Mona for encouraging Gabriel’s drawing. Mikey and Mona own Tinymeat, a local “design house creating readymade and bespoke accessories constructed of vinyl, art and love.” They make these cool vinyl wallets, card cases and passport cases. In the last couple of years, they have been collaborating with artists around the world who want to show their wares on Tinymeat’s wallets and that my friend has done them wonders. One day, Mikey saw the art in their son Gabriel’s drawings and began posting them on flickr to much fanfare. An artist from Chicago – Frank Chimero – offered to color in one of the drawings – Awesomebots! – and voila, we have the Awesomebots! wallet. So cool.

To make this story even better is that Chicagoist, a Chicago city blog, profiled the wallet and gave praise to Frank, Tinymeat and especially Gabriel.

Way to go peeps. Congrats Gabriel on your first success in the fickle art world. (Did I mention that Gabriel is 7?) Check out all of Tinymeat’s wares at their Etsy shop.

Photo courtesy of Tinymeat.

Related Posts

• October 13, 2009 -- Portland Pedal Power (2)
• June 23, 2009 -- More PDX Limericks (5)
• July 7, 2008 -- Dependence Day (2)
• July 3, 2008 -- You know you live in a bike town when… (5)