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Happy Holidays!

This year is flying by faster than Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! You know what they say; time flies when you’re delivering sustainably! Here at Portland Pedal Power we’re gearing up for winter weather and getting ready for the holidays. As we get closer to the end of the year, we are serving up the best winter comfort foods Portland has to offer, to warm your bellies and make your day extra jolly.

Pacific Pie Co

 

Wintertime Winners:

  • Soup is the classic comfort food. Our friends at Supa have a mean Thai Ginger Chicken that is perfect for a cold winter day, along with plenty of other great flavors. 
  • Pacific pie has some amazing pies, both sweet and savory, that will make you feel like you’re back at your grandma’s on Christmas Eve!

    Supa

  • Any time of the year is a good time for sandwiches, but with the cold winds a blowin’, let a hot sandwich warm you up. Charlie’s Deli and Theo’s have what you need!
  • Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say… bring some sunshine to these cold winter days by ordering Ate-Oh-Ate Hawaiian Favorites!
  • Hot tamales! Be a holiday hero by ordering the office Tamale Boy or Mi Mero Mole.

 

Happy Holidays from Buddy!

There are plenty more great foods out there to warm you up this winter. Feel free to reach out for suggestions if you are stumped on what to serve for your holiday celebrations. We are happy to help you select the perfect meals to suit your specific situation. All you have to do is fill out a catering request form and the PPP team will make sure your team is elated with the holiday spread. Just let us know!

We hope these suggestions are helpful to maximize feel-goodness for your holiday feasting, and we at PPP wish you all very happy holidays! Be safe, have fun, and share lots of good soul-warming comfort food!


GoGreen Conference 2016

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Our team is going to be out with our bike at the GoGreen Conference is this coming Wednesday, October 5. Last year was really inspiring, so we recommend registering quick if you haven’t already; it is a great opportunity to network and brainstorm with leading community members committed to sustainability.

The conference, created and organized by B Corporation Social Enterprises, is a sustainability learning experience for business and government decision-makers. Featuring regionally targeted content and recognized leaders from the community, GoGreen works across industry silos to foster peer-to-peer learning and collaborative solutions. The conference operates in the firm belief that sustainability in the business setting is a powerful and indispensable tool for navigating the tumultuous waters of today’s global economy and solving our climate woes. GoGreen aims to empower attendees with the strategies, tools and connections through networking opportunities to advance the triple bottom line. See you there!

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The PPP Team at GoGreen 2015

 


Design Week Portland

Makers and Visionaries Light Up Portland with Design

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DWPs opening night party is Saturday April 16.

Over the last ten years, the city of Portland has emerged as a leader in creative industry — building a vibrant community of makers and designers. Design Week Portland is a “week-long, citywide series of program exploring the process, craft, and practice of design across all disciplines.” DWP is on a mission to increase awareness of the effects of design on our culture and community. In the nine days between April 15-23, there will be over 100 events, 200 open houses, and many other events sprouting up across the city. See the full schedule here.

DWP is an awesome opportunity to get exposed to the behind-the-scenes thinking of designers and creators, from the main stage presenters on April 15th and 16th to the smaller gatherings at interior design studios, architectural firms, creative marketing agencies, and more.

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Vicki Simon Interior Design + Kat and Maouche

The creative community has conceived of a dazzling assortment of inspired and whimsical events, including: Unabashedly Colorful Interiors, Letterpress Printers Fair, University of Oregon Product Design Exhibition, Sustainable Design Practices with the Joinery and Design Museum, IDL’s Design Fight Club, Tender Loving Empire’s From Craft to Career: How to Make it Once You’ve Made It, Fashion Forward with Portland Sewing and the Portland Fashion Institute, and ASLA and Depave’s Identity, Space and Design – The Portland Way, to name just a few.

Snøhetta presents an exhibition called People Process Projects, will be open all week for people to experience firsthand the detail and materiality of the workshop space. It’s a great opportunity to learn about Snøhetta’s projects around the world including Portland: The James Beard Public Market and Willamette Falls Legacy Project.

In support of the makers, creators, and the ever growing design community here in Portland, PPP is offering $10 off delivery with the code DWP16 during design week (April 15-23). Order up.


Been a Little Bad? Give Back!

Capture 2If you’re looking for that special someone — to donate your money to — the Willamette Week Give!Guide is a great place to start. They’ve handpicked 143 of Portland’s most impactful nonprofits and put them all in one place, making it easy to browse categories and donate.

Willamette Week makes it a point to include a range of organizations in the categories of Animals, Arts, Community, Education, Environment, Social Action, Health & Wellness, and Youth. They also work to include both large and small organizations.

CaptureGiving through the Give!Guide offers incentives too, you’ll receive free and discounted products from your favorite local brands via the Chinook Book mobile app (I use this and there are A LOT of really good deals available). Portland area residents who give will receive thank you bags as well, while supplies last.

The Schlesinger Family Foundation is also posing a challenge to donors: nonprofits with the most individual donors 35 and under in each category will be awarded $1000. Get an up-to-the-minute count of each organization’s donors 35 and under here. Willamette Week realizes that if young people begin supporting non-profit organizations at a young age, even at smaller levels, they are likely to continue to give as they get older, and the amount of their support is likely to grow with their incomes.

You’ve been working hard all year, time to put some of that money back to work in the community! Donations are accepted through December 31st.


Green Up Your Biz Practices at GoGreen 2015

Here at Portland Pedal Power, our delivery network was grown from a simple commitment: use bikes to fulfill an existing need in the urban core. We’ve worked to sustainably fill the gap of last mile delivery needs. What does sustainability mean to a business run by bikes? It means reducing congestion and green house gasses on our downtown streets, it means helping businesses to up their sustainable businesses practices, it means encouraging our vendors to think differently to access the growing market demand for green services, it means building a business that provides healthy and active employement for our riders. It’s a holistic approach that we are constantly working to improve.

The challenge many local businesses face is how to incorporate sustainable practices holistically and profitably. We are committed to promoting this goal, and that’s why we’ll be at the GoGreen Conference this year. We encourage you to join us, to continue thinking about how you can green up your business and build connections to help make it happen.

GoGreen Portland is Tuesday, October 6 at the White Stag Building. Now in its eighth year, GoGreen Portland has established itself as the largest regional conference bringing together business and government decision-makers to advance sustainability best practices.

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GoGreen Portland 2014. Flickr: Photosbykim.com

Keynote speakers include: Governor Kate Brown; Gifford Pinchot III, President and Co-Founder of the Bainbridge Graduate Institute; Deborah Kafoury, Multnomah County Chair; and Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Director of Community Affairs, New York City Department of Environmental Protection. The event features many more local leaders, listed here.

According to the GoGreen website and presspacket, the conference, created and organized by B Corporation Social Enterprises, features regionally targeted content and recognized leaders from the community. GoGreen works across industry silos to foster peer-to-peer learning and collaborative solutions. Sustainability in the business setting is a powerful and indispensable tool for navigating the tumultuous waters of today’s global economy and solving our climate woes. GoGreen’s mission is to empower attendees with the strategies, tools and connections to green their organizations with profitability in mind.

GoGreen

Get Empowered. Get Inspired. Get Connected.

Last year’s conference included over 350 attendees and 60 speakers — business leaders and pioneering thinkers from regional public sector agencies, nonprofits, and educational institutions — with a focus on a diverse array of private sector companies from fields especially strong in Oregon. Attendees discussed new ideas and tackled the big issues facing sustainability efforts locally and globally. In workshop and lab sessions, attendees were exposed to hands-on strategies for improving employee engagement, increasing commitment to climate action and best practices for closing the waste loop, growing equity and maximizing social investment capital. Regional leaders shared their innovative approaches, challenges and accomplishments of their progress with their peers to move us towards a more sustainable future.

We hope to see you there!


Why You Should Switch to a Credit Union ASAP

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Bike your way to a better bank!

Back in 2011, during all the activities related to Occupy Wall Street, I took my money out of my big bank and switched to a credit union as part of Bank Transfer Day. It was a small move in the right direction for me. I have never regretted this choice.

Credit unions are not-for-profit organizations that exist to serve their members rather than to maximize corporate profits like big banks. I can always get someone on the phone, there are no wonky hidden fees, and they have a really usable phone app.

By nature of being member-driven, credit unions tend to be involved in the community and are run under the philosophy of “people helping people.” One of our current partners USAgencies, was founded in 1936 under this foundational philosophy.

Over the years USAgenices has grown to be one of the best member-driven cooperative credit unions in the Pacific Northwest.

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People helping people

As a member, you’ll receive super convenient, anytime-anywhere banking with personal one-on-one service, with access to thousands of ATMs and shared branches, online and mobile banking, and 24-hour phone access.

Over the years, USAgencies has expanded their field of membership to serve many more groups in the Pacific Northwest including: active and retired military personnel; state, county, city and municipal employees; Native Americans; and family members of any eligible member.

USAgencies works to be a consistent resource for members along the path of their financial life. Through the USAgencies Community Giving Team they support the social mission of credit unions – to assist with meeting basic needs and to invest in programs to strengthen and enhance the community.

They also offer some pretty smart tips and tricks for managing home maintenance, encouraging members to use the CU as a resource for putting home equity to work. If you have equity in your home, you can use it for nearly any purpose: remodeling, vacations, debt consolidation, and even education expenses. It’s a way to maximize your assets so you can meet your financial goals.

Look into working with USAgencies and switching to a credit union ASAP, you won’t regret the move!


Top 5 Ways to Spark Creativity in Portland

There isn’t a better time than summer to step outside and expose yourself to art. We’re a city of creatives and now more than ever the city is buzzing with creative events and artistic enclaves. The best way to spark creativity is to get out and witness it in person. Take yourself out one of these summer days and get exposed. Here’s our top five favorite ways:

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    PPP team members being artful at the museum

    Portland Art Museum (PAM): Located smack dab downtown on the park blocks, PAM is a quick hop and a skip for those who work and create downtown. It is the seventh oldest museum in the United States and the oldest in the Pacific Northwest. The Museum is internationally recognized for its permanent collection and ambitious special exhibitions. We recently took a daytime team outing to the museum, taking a moment away from deliveries and promotions to witness the dramatic Gods & Heroes Exhibit (and to take some silly photos inspired by the lush paintings and sculptures). Hot tip: The museum is now offering a Creative License for just $40 a year, which is a total steal. You can use it to access the Museum and the NW Film Center all year long. You’ll also get the inside scoop on programs, lectures, events, and opportunities. This is by far one of the best ways we can think to keep the creative fuel burning during the lazy summer months and into the more focused fall and winter days. On August 21st, the museum will host its first ever Monster Drawing Rally (MDR), a live drawing event and fundraiser featuring more than 75 Portland-based artists. Part performance, part laboratory, part art bazaar, the Monster Drawing Rally is a great opportunity to watch some of your favorite Portland artists create original drawings from a blank page. Inspiration strikes!

  2. Rooftop Cinema at NW Film Center: Experience great films under the stars in the warm evenings, films like Almodóvar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (showing August 6th), as well as kitchy drive-in movies at Zidell Yards. The Film Center is currently in the middle of a Paul Thomas Anderson program called “The Art of Reinvention: Paul Thomas Anderson and His Influences.” The film center also hosts a variety of film festivals year round; next up is the Fresh Film NW, a festival celebrating young filmmakers. Getting a Creative License from PAM also gives you reduced tickets to the NW Film Center and it’s unique offerings.
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    Our bike out at First Thursdays in the Pearl.

    First and Last Thursdays: First Thursdays are a monthly art event in the Pearl, well-known and well attended. Ambling in the Pearl in and out of the galleries is a sure fire way to spark the art bug. We’re usually out with our bikes, cruising the galleries and drinking free wine. The Last Thursdays on Alberta is definitely not-to-be-missed. A community grown event, Last Thursdays is a great place to view and buy local art, get activated to create, and listen to live music.

  4. Portland Opera: If you need more drama in your life and swelling emotions welling up in the center of your chest, visit the Portland Opera. Guaranteed to make you sigh heartily and make your eyes gleam. One of the more creative programs out there, the Portland Opera often re-imagines traditional Operatic styles, like the current offering The Elixir of Love.
  5. Literary Arts/Portland Arts and Lectures: Just as summer is waning, the Portland Arts and Lectures season begins, spewing inspiration all over the stage. In addition to live events that are broadcast statewide on OPB, this program connects renowned authors with readers and writers of all ages through classroom visits and writing workshops. The coming 31st season features some of the most influential writers at work today; novelists, journalists, essayists, and poets who have won the most prestigious awards in their profession. Influence your own scribbles with literary exposure. Full speed ahead!

 


Maximize Your Weekend, PDX

Hope to see you this weekend at Sunday Parkways!

Summer in Portland means patios, rivers, bikes, and beer. It means: get busy and get outside. This weekend Portland Pedal Power will be out in maximum, cruising our big bikes round a handful of hot summer happenings. On Saturday we will be hitting the Saturday Market and the Oregon Brewer’s Festival riverside at Waterfront Park. You can easily do both on Saturday and still have time to hit the PSU Farmers Market to shop for dinner (if you’re not too sauced!).

On Sunday, we’ll be riding the Sunday Parkways NE route in style with our Point West bikes. Sunday Parkways is an excellent event for the family or a daytime date and you’ll score lots of free stuff from vendors along the way. We will be stopping occasionally to hand out sunglasses and blinky bike lights to spread the word about the #DriveHope Campaign. There’s always a good smattering of yummy food cart options too.

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Get your golf on at the Portland Classic, coming up

Summer in Portland also means planning ahead. Weekends fill up quick! We will be cruising all these events to help promote the upcoming Cambia Portland Classic, the longest-running non-major tournament on the LPGA tour, returning to Columbia Edgewater Country Club August 13-16. This will be the 44th year that the LPGA has come to Portland, and it’s getting better every year.

Last year some of Portland’s most iconic food carts were added, including KOi Fusion and Retrolicious, returning this year. The Craft Beer center will also return this year, featuring some of the Northwest’s best microbrews. The tournament promises to feature many of the worlds best golfers.

This year they’ve added the Portland Classic Sprint to the Green 5K, a race on the golf course prior to the final round on Sunday, August 16. Tickets for the event are available online at portlandclassic.com. Weekly passes are $25 and daily tickets are $10, and children 17 and under are free. All ticket proceeds go to charity.

Get crackin’ Portland! Summer doesn’t last forever!

 


Introducing…New People at PPP!

Howdy folks! I just joined Portland Pedal Power as the new Marketing Specialist, and I couldn’t be more excited to be working with the fabulous team here. So far I’ve toured the town on the big bikes, attended a Sundown Concert with Ecotrust, visited the new exhibit at the Portland Art Museum with some of our team, and have met with several of our great sponsors and partners. I’m excited to help grow social media, strengthen partnerships, and further develop our marketing strategy. The amazing Peter Wang also just joined the team as the new Vendor Relations Manager, and we took a moment to interview each other. This is the magic that happened:

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Peter being techy in the shop.

MD: So Peter, tell me why you are an amazing person.
PW: I am not so much an amazing person. I am just amazed a lot.

MD: Are you excited about joining the PPP team?
PW: Yeah, I mean, I get to ride bikes and get paid for it. It’s like a reverse gym membership.

MD: What background do you bring to Portland Pedal Power?
PW: I graduated from Oregon State University with a business degree, but I am also interested in tech stuff like the cloud and user experience. I’m halfway between computer nerd and business bro.

MD: So you call yourself a nerd. What’s the nerdiest thing about you?
PW: I play StarCraft. I know the characters and I am sad that they are concluding the story after 17 years this winter. On the other hand, I did get into beta fairly quickly. I have that going for me, I guess. One thing to be sure, though, is that a part of me will never be the same once the Legacy of the Void (the final part of the story) ends. That’s the day I will have to carry on my own journey without the Protoss fighting along with me. En taro Tassadar!
(Maria blinks uncomprehendingly)

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Don’t worry, I always wear a helmet.

PW: Maria, let’s start with a story. What was it like riding the big bike in high heels?
MD: Well here’s the thing, biking in heels is easier than walking in heels, and even though the guys in the office raised their eyebrows, I did take the big bike out the first time with a new pair of wood heeled wedge pumps, and I looked FANTASTIC. Or at least, I felt like I did.

PW: I know the words wood, heeled, wedge, and pumps on their own, but I have no idea what they mean when they come together.
MD: That is the number one reason I am needed here at PPP.
(Peter blinks uncomprehendingly)

PW: What did you study and why did you choose your major?
MD: I was a Literature major at UC Santa Cruz and I chose it because I like to read and write things.  I then went on to get a graduate MFA degree in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Then somehow I ended up working in Marketing (which I dig). I still write stuff; I am working to finish a novel.

PW: What made you want to work for PPP?
MD: I come from a recent longtime marketing job working with urban planners and transportation nerds. I was a bikey person already but I got even more bikey working with them. I really like the idea of working for a bike-based business, I love the food in Portland, and I’m excited to engage more with the community. There are so many awesome partners and sponsors and restaurants and food carts working with Portland Pedal Power. So, this job really rests at the intersection of several of my passions.
(Peter and Maria end the interview abruptly to eat pizza)

***

Both of us are super excited to join the excellent group here at PPP. Say hi if you see us on the bikes or at the food carts!


The GenZe – How eBikes should perform

MVA2897You’ve got to love electric bikes. You’re staying away from the use of petroleum, but you’re not killing your legs while you’re going uphill. It’s a nice compromise between getting around on your own power and accepting some assistance when necessary.

But sometimes,that compromise is a bit more apparent when you use an electric bike. Sometimes you have a very limited range.  Other times, it might not give you the power you need when you’re really tackling those hills during your commute. And while the bike runs well while the batteries last, that extra bulk can add a lot of extra weight when you are in need of a recharge. So is there really a happy medium between electric assist and leg power?

There is now. The creative minds over at Mahindra have created the newest revolution in the eBike community, called the GenZe. When the creators first sat down to design this bike, they had one thing in mind: Relentless Practicality. They wanted to create a bike that fit to your needs, not something that you would have to adjust your own riding style to use.

The result was a bike that doesn’t compromise performance just to boast about its electric assist. Instead of a clunky electric motorcycle that happens to have pedals, the GenZe is first and foremost a bicycle. Only better.

ebike2I actually had a chance to ride a GenZe bike during the Eco Lloyd Fair a few months ago, and let me tell you – it was a blast! When I first got on the bike, I was told to take it for a spin around the walkway a bit, just to get a feel for the ride. I did the loop on what felt like a perfectly average bike – It wasn’t incredibly heavy, and it didn’t feel like a chore to get up to speed.

Then I was told to crank up the assist and start pedaling, and all of a sudden, I was moving.

I had control over my speed like any other regular bike, and that electric assist gave me that extra umph that really gets you rolling. While I was moving at a pretty good clip beforehand, I felt like I was flying with the extra power behind me. And best of all? The transition from my legs to the electric assist was so smooth, I could barely tell where the pedaling stopped and the assist began.

I wasn’t riding a clunky electric bike – I was riding a bike that just happened to have electric assist.

Check out GenZe eBike when you’re ready to see what an electric bicycle should really feel like.