 "Photo: Aaron Marineau")
In September 2008, the Bike Loan Program started with fewer than 50 bikes. Eight months later it is 100 bicycles strong and presenting a week of bike education and entertainment.
Bike Loan Program Coordinator Briana Orr said this is an important week for the program.
"These events are celebrating the fact that we do have a lot of bikes on campus. We want to give out more information about bikes to help support bike folks," Orr said. "We want to help keep (bicycles) maintained in order to keep students biking."
From scholarly lectures and scenic rides to a concert run completely by pedal-generated electricity, the Bike Loan Program has come together with UO Live Move and the Survival Center to present a week of environmentally conscious events celebrating bicycles.
The central event of the week is Thursday's third annual Bicycle Faire. The celebration, starting at 10 a.m. in the EMU Amphitheatre, includes screenprinting T-shirts, gear raffles and bike-blended smoothies. Bike Loan Program mechanics will offer free minor bicycle repairs, and the California band The Ginger Ninjas will perform a bicycle-powered concert.
The band tours completely by bicycles and uses pedal-generated electricity from audience participation to power its sound system.
To Dave Villalobos, the Outdoor Program's trip facility manager, The Ginger Ninjas offer more than great music - they provide a good example for everyone in this 'green' generation.
"They have a great message that we don't need that much energy and power to live by as people think we need," Villalobos said. "When we started the Bike Loan Program we didn't know where it would go. I had hoped, but never really dreamed, it would grow as much as it has and allow The Ginger Ninjas to come back to Eugene."
Combined with the other events this week, Orr hopes The Ginger Ninjas will demonstrate "how people can live without cars, without electricity, and show that it's not as hard or 'out there' as people think it is," while providing more information about this environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
On Tuesday, Brian Ladd, a visiting professor of urban studies, will lecture on "How Cars Conquered Our Cities" in the Gerlinger Lounge at 3:30 p.m. The lecture will cover a century of literary, scholarly and political reactions to what Ladd says was the invasion of cars into cities, and how the progress of traffic flow resulted in suburbs and entire cities being rebuilt around motor travel.
Wednesday's Ride of Silence is a chance for fellow cyclists to show respect for local riders who have been killed or injured in bicycle accidents. The ride will begin at the EMU Amphitheatre at 6:30 p.m. and tour Eugene at 12 miles per hour to mourn fallen cyclists and raise awareness of cyclists' legal right to public roadways.
On Friday afternoon, Jan Spencer of the Eugene Permaculture Guild will host a tour through sites around Eugene that demonstrate sustainable living in action. The walk will highlight residences that use solar energy and urban agriculture. The event will start at the EMU Amphitheatre at 4 p.m.
The independent film "Veer" will premier locally Friday evening in 177 Lawrence Hall. The film takes an intimate look at Portland's bicycle culture and profiles five people whose lives are inextricably tied to bicycling and bike-centric social groups. The film will start at 7 p.m. and is $3 for students or $5 for general admission.
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