An Open Letter from “Mayor” Craig

It is astonishing to me that so much time has already slipped by since this year’s Left Coast Velomobile Gathering. I have memories of quite a fine gathering of velomobiles and, more importantly, of the opportunity to meet you as riders and participants. There was a delightful sense of excitement on that Saturday morning as more and more velomobiles arrived and I gather from the photos taken that I was not the only one enjoying that “meet and greet” session.

I do want to announce the awarding of the Blue Velo LCVMG Mileage Award to Ian Hoffman (Zyzzyx) for riding his Quest 5,000+ miles in the previous 12 months. Ray at Blue Velo provided much-appreciated support of our Gathering through the donation of funds for this award to recognize the rider(s) who have helped demonstrate the viability of their velomobiles as a form of alternative transport to the automobile by riding the most “everyday” miles in the previous 12 months. Congratulations to Ian and thanks to Ray for all he has done to boost Velomobiles in North America. Next year’s Blue Velo LCVMG award will very probably include new riders with large mileage totals. So, keep track of your mileage and ride…ride…ride your velomobile!

Ray has also provided some funds to help with “non- enthusiast” advertising for next year in order that we might reach out to publicize our event to those others who might not be tuned into our usual enthusiast-oriented communication/announcement conduits in an effort to further broaden the appeal of these practical machines. If any of you have some suggestions or contacts who might be able to help this effort, please take a moment to drop me a note. All assistance is appreciated!

As a final item, now that this time has passed since Memorial Day, I am asking you for any suggestions for what you would like to see or to participate in if you were to return to Portland for next year’s LCVMG. Specifically, which events did you find useful and satisfying and which events did not work for you. What did you learn from the Gathering that has helped you with your Velomobile? What alternative events would you like us to consider as we plan this fall for next year’s Gathering? The response need not be elaborate or time-consuming, but if you will take a couple of moments to share your thoughts and impressions, your help can make the event evolve into a better occasion for all.

I also wish to take this occasion to extend my over-due thanks for the great support and assistance received from each of those who helped make this year’s LCVMG the biggest yet. In particular, my heartfelt thanks go out to Tom Breedlove, Bill Bates and Rob Mackenzie for their many hours of organizing help. These people rock!

Cheers,

Craig Johnsen
LCVMG “Mayor”

Left Coast Velomobile Gathering 2010 Update:
Friday evening with the Princesses, List of Attendees, Symposium News

Friday evening with the Princesses
In Portland, Oregon on May 28th, 2010 through June 13, 2010 the Waterfront Village portion of the Portland Rose Festival will be in full bloom. Their kick-off is May 28th which coincides with the start of the combined OHPV Human Power Challenge at PIR (Portland International Raceway) and the, by now, world famous Left Coast Velomobile Gathering.

On Tuesday, May 25th, 2010, Mayor Craig sez:

“If you are planning to join us in your velomobile and you are planning to drive to the start of the Parade, the organizers have provided a grassy field for us to park our VM-transporting vehicles during the Parade. It is a small field just south of the fountain, on the river (east) side of SW Naito Parkway. You will need to arrive headed northbound on Naito Parkway and then you will turn right onto a crosswalk/sidewalk alongside the field.

If you have Google Earth, enable “street Views” and then type in this location: 1100 SW Naito Parkway, Portland, OR. The parking field is just to the SE of this photo site and the best way to get here, if you arrive westbound on the SW Hawthorne Bridge, is to be in the left lane just after crossing the river and then turn left onto SW First Street. Proceed 3 blocks and then turn left again onto SW Columbia Street. Go the single block to SW Naito Parkway and make a final left. Proceed under the Bridge overpass and get into the right lane. When you get to the white painted stripes of the crosswalk, you will turn right (off of Naito Parkway) onto that sidewalk and will be directed to the parking area. We will have a sign for your dashboard to (hopefully) keep your vehicle from being towed away.”

Plans had been contemplated for a Buskers’ Parade but those plans have been supplanted by a new idea. Festival organizers would like to open their festivities with a little live coverage by Portland’s ABC affiliate (that is the folks at KATU to the best of my knowledge) so… they are arranging to have the flotilla of Festival Princess candidates to parade around the Waterfront Park in pedal-surreys, escorted by (you guessed it) our velomobiles from the LCVMG event.

The new event will need to see our velomobiles gathering at the Salmon Street Fountain area ( same place as the famous fountain shot) at 3:30 – 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 28th, 2010, and from that point we will saunter and sashay around on the boardwalk, parading our bevy of beauties (oh, and the young ladies too) for the throngs of onlookers. We would then escort the royalty back to the Fountain area for a “timed arrival” ( between 5:00 and 5:30 ) for the Live newscast to see our entrance and subsequent opening ceremony interviews / speeches.”

In other LCVMG news from “Mayor” Craig Johnsen, he says “Velomobile riders should register at the LCVMG Tent upon arrival Saturday morning, pick up their posters and pay the $20 per rider PIR-access insurance fee (This covers the whole weekend). If a rider also wishes to race in any of the track events on Saturday or Sunday, there will be an additional $25 fee paid to the HPC registration. Please check at the registration table on Saturday morning for any necessary updates.”
List of Attendees
Our list of potential and committed VM attendees has grown to over 30 and consists of the following rigs and riders:

AAW – Ed Gunderson, Cresswell, OR

Aurora – Brian Kuns, Beaverton, OR

Aurora – Rex Loy, Eugene, OR

Avatar Supervelo – James Blank, San Jose, CA

Borealis – Steve Schliecher, Maple Ridge, B.C.

Borealis – Rob English, Eugene, OR

Borealis – Mark Greenwald, Long Beach, CA

Borealis – Tim Horton, Fort Langley, B.C.

Cab-bike – Kelsey Bower, Ashland, OR

Glyde – Russ Pillard, Santa Rosa, CA

Glyde – John Yount, Santa Rosa, CA

Go-One – Mitch Shults, Portland, OR

Go-One3 – Greg Thomas,  SF Bay Area, CA.

Home-built – Ronald Courtney, McMinnville, OR

Leiba – Todd Ritchie, Tacoma, WA

Mango – Rob Mackenzie, Olds, Alberta

Mango Sport- Duncan Watson, Woodenville, WA

Pod – Daniel Rasmussen, Klickitat, WA

Quest – Ian Hoffman, Richland, WA

Quest – Craig Johnsen, La Quinta, CA

Quest – John Williams, Albany, OR

Quest – Dave Ruigh, San Jose, CA

Quest – John Mottl, Orcas, WA

Team – Joshua Brann, Olympia, WA

Team – Mark Damiani, Santa Cruz, CA

Tripod – Phil Rush, Portland, OR

Velocity Velo – Taylor Wilhour, Cottage Grove, OR

Velocity Velo – – TBD — Cottage Grove, OR

Velokit – Kyle Banerjee, Monmouth, OR

Velokit Tandem – Joel&Jane Anderson, Four Lakes, WA

WAW – Alan Hoffman, Vancouver, B.C.

WAW – Bill Bates, Portland, OR

WAW – Stuart Gherini, Sacramento, CA

While a large majority of the listed riders have indicated that they will be attending, there are a few we have heard little from. If you are planning to attend with a VM and you are not on the list, please drop me a PM and I’ll add you to the list. If you are listed, but know that you will not be able to attend, please let me know as well and we will then be more accurate in our planning.

Velomobile Symposium News
The topics for Saturday afternoon’s Velomobile Symposium will include a discussion about next year’s LCVMG location and dates as well as a (possibly-related) discussion concerning Josef Janning’s, “Roll Over America (ROAM) 2011 group VM ride from Portland, OR to Washington, D.C. , which is scheduled to commence in mid-July, 2011.

• Steve Schliecher, builder of the Aurora and Borealis VM’s, will give a talk on the use of composites.
• We hope to have either Ian or Mick Simms present to give a talk on the trials and tribulations of developing the Greenspeed Glyde.
• Tom Breedlove will give us the latest details on the opportunity to ride your VM in front of 400,000 people (plus TV coverage) in the Rose Festival Parade two weeks after our LCVMG on Saturday, June 12th. This is a huge parade, viewed by some 400,000 people and well-covered by TV and it presents an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our Velomobiles as a viable and interesting form of transportation. There will be no fees required, so if you are in the area or can return to Portland for that weekend, please put it on your calendar.
• In addition, for the dealers and manufacturers present, Doug Oates will be hosting a discussion concerning the establishment of a Velomobile Industry Association (VIA).

Poster created and generously donated by C. Michael Lewis