Yesterday morning, four foggy-breathed individuals stood around a table between Smith Memorial Student Union and Neuberger Hall handing out free coffee and breakfast to any student who commuted by bike. These cold individuals were representing the Portland State University Bicycling Advocacy Collective (PSUBAC), a student group promoting a cycling culture.
Breakfast for Bikers is the official name of the event, which the PSUBAC puts on twice a month. From approximately 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., two Wednesday mornings a month, the group lays out bread and pastries donated by Grand Central Bakery, donuts donated by Voodoo Doughnut and coffee from Food for Thought Café.
“We had a pretty good turnout this week,” said Peter Buco, PSUBAC coordinator. “Last time we had like 60 people, but today, we had way more than that.”
The breakfast kiosk is simply a table on the sidewalk among the sea of parked bikes in the racks between the SMSU and Neuberger.
“Every Tuesday night before the event, a bunch of us ride up to Grand Central Bakery on Fremont [in North Portland] and stand in line to receive the day-olds,” Buco said. “We do it all without cars or anything—it’s great.”
Portland State students enjoy the Breakfast for Bikers events.
“I love this,” said Jason Pearson, Portland State student and bike commuter. “It’s such a great idea to promote the two-wheeled commute for students. Breakfast is my favorite meal, [bike commuting] is good for the environment and [the PSUBAC] needs people to eat donuts—it’s a win-win-win.”
“The event will be put on during the first week of next term, and then once a week every week after that,” said Tim Keller, another coordinator of Breakfast for Bikers and the PSUBAC.
Breakfast for Bikers is only one of many social events the PSUBAC puts on. For example, every Thursday they play “bike polo”—an adaptation of the classic game of polo but with bikes instead of horses—at 6 p.m. in the tennis courts on top of the Stott Center. Participants bring a helmet and a bike, and balls and mallets are provided.
“It’s a little rough right now,” Keller said about bike polo, “because it gets pitch black at 4 p.m., but we have a glow-in-the-dark ball that we’re trying to mess around with.”
Another regular social bicycling event that the PSUBAC hosts is an easy ride every Saturday morning. They meet at the Millar Library around 11 a.m., and Keller leads the group on a ride around town.
“The max we’re going to go is like 5 miles,” Keller said, “So it’s good for if anyone just wants to chat about what gear to use or what routes to take. It’s really slow paced, anyone is welcome—we’re just trying to get people out. People commute, but they don’t always go for a ride, and vice versa.”
The PSUBAC also launched a new Web site, at www.psubac.weebly.com, this past weekend.
“The new [Web site] brings together the PSU Cycling team and the advocacy collective,” Keller said. “We’re really excited about it. It’s got a good forum based on it and a good calendar of events.”