Vanilla Bicycles

Vanilla Bicycles is a small shop in Portland where Sacha White handcrafts bicycles for people all over the US (and I think they’ve even shipped internationally). I met Sacha two weeks ago at a wedding of some mutual friends.

But before the wedding, because the wedding couple had asked for one as their wedding gift and I wanted to see them for myself, I decided to drop by his workshop on SE 35th, only two blocks away (it turns out) from my loft building. It’s simply inspiring to see the seven-year old business Sacha and his team have built, creating bikes one at a time for enthusiasts and racers both who love the bikes that they ride.

On another bike front I got an email today letting people know about an upcoming bike commute challenge in Portland and a couple of free workshops teaching people about things like how to build confidence as a bike commuter, what you need to know about rain gear (a special topic in Portland), and how to carry clothes, groceries and kids. The one I like the best: What to do about your hair.

For years biking has been a fringe activity in most cities. But it appears that, at least in Portland, biking, for racing, for exercise, for commuting, for exploration, for style, is crossing into the mainstream. Apparently, at one of the big bike shops here, River City Bicycles, they are selling tons of road/mountain hybrid bikes, according to an article in The Oregonian.

If we’re lucky, this will be a trend akin to the mainstreaming of organic food.

Oh, if you want to see more photos of Sacha’s shop and Vanilla Bicycles, there’s a ton on Flickr.