Patrons at the Handmade Bicycle Show were tempted by the smells of barbecue as they made their way from booth to booth in the Staver Locomotive Industrial Building.

Image: Kerosene Rose, Kerosene Rose

Crowded into the Staver Locomotive Building over Halloween weekend, was transportation of a different and more sustainable sort. Handmade bicycles were perched atop the toy train tracks that permanently reside in the venue. On this day, the tracks snaked through dozens of booths, home to sleek rides and their designers, along with a plethora of cycle-centric gadgets and garments. This gathering of some 2000 interested bike geeks marked the second installation of the Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show in the past three years. The event is presented by the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association, a nonprofit organization that came into being two years ago, and whose founders were showing their own bicycle designs alongside fellow artisans. Because custom-made cycles are a niche market, these bike engineers need as much publicity as they can get. The show is an effort to promote marketing and production of the commissioned cycles, an industry in which cultivating a relationship with the designer is just as important as coming away with a bicycle to fit your every need. And what a host of characters the would-be cyclist might meet…