The Hopworks Oregon Handmade Bike and Beer Festival, Portland, OR

This past Saturday I spent the larger part of the afternoon at the Hopworks Oregon Handmade Bike and Beer Festival, a celebration/expo of local custom framebuilders and craft brewers.

I'm not much of a beer drinker, so after a couple tastes, my wife got the rest of the drink tickets, and I headed off to lose myself in fillets and lugs.

The expo was a little different this time around, not just in how it was configured, but also in my mindset going in. After a year putting torch to metal in my spare time, I was looking at more fine details, processes and configurations, and less pie-eyed about being around some of the builders who've made it in the business.

I was also drumming up some interest in a 2-day ride I'm planning for next summer, kind of a builder's secret ball, if you will, of riding around Capital Forest and surrounds. More to follow about that one in the coming months. Routes are set, location, mostly I just haven't set a date yet.

Anyway, I cruised mostly, letting things catch my eye.

Like the paint on the Machine mountain bike that was a repetition of their logo and had the effect of looking like tire tread. And the TIGHT welds on their stainless steel frame.

The narrow seat tube slot on the Breadwinner road bike.

The segmented fork crown on the Igleheart road bike. Chris had been in a bad crash not long after last year's show, so it was good to see him back in full swing again.

Likewise the segmented fork on the Ahearne rigid MTB.

And the Best-in-Show Winter Cycles.

There were also things like a Huffy Huck, which my wife participated in (and being the bad husband I am, I totally missed getting any of that on film), and adult-sized tricycle slalom races. A break dancing demo provided a break (haha) from staring at tubes as well.

And Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches. Good call!

While I was there, I saw a lady getting really up-close-and-personal to the bikes with her camera. I figured she was with a cycling magazine or something. Well, turns out it was Amy Sakurai, who goes by the handle LovelyAngel on Velocipede Salon, and she posted the link to her album from the day's photography and blog post. Great shots!

I'd been invited by Dave Levy of TiCycles Fabrication to bring my bikes down to the show. Being as I really only had one ready, and several more in-process, I decided that I'd pass on it this year. But I'll make my public announcement now -- I'll be there next year, even though I'm not an Oregon builder, and join in the fun from the other side of the booth.

Makes me excited and nervous at the same time.