Come visit Golden Pliers and our neighbors on Thursday October 31st from 3-6 PM.

Dress in costume. Walk Alberta Street from NE 12th - 31st. Get Treats!

Join us for a chill group ride to help purchase and distribute food and mutual aid supplies. Meet at Golden Pliers at 1:00pm / 1:30 rollout. The 20 mile ride will stop to pick up groceries, and loop back to end at the shop. After the grocery stop, we’ll distribute to free fridges/pantries throughout Portland. Buying/donating food is not a requirement to join the ride.

Brittany Morris is organizing this ride, which will be no-drop and at a social pace. Capacity to carry some groceries on your bike is a good idea—backpacks, baskets, cargo situations, trailers are very much encouraged. You don’t have to kick in money or supplies to join the ride, but we’d love your help with the distribution! Don’t forget a lock, lights, and dress for February weather.

Ways to participate:

• Venmo @Brittany-Morris-30 if you’d like to contribute money. Britt will use the funds to buy food, hygiene products and other essential items for folks in need.

• Join in the ride, help carry some stuff, and learn about your local free fridges!

• Bring food or supplies. Readymade fresh food is always welcome at the fridges, just be sure it’s unexpired, packaged and labeled according to Community Guidelines.

Suggested donations:

• Hygiene products (dental care, hand sanitizer, deodorant, soap, wipes, period products)

• Canned/dry goods

• Fresh produce

• Quick meals such as ramen, mac n cheese, canned soup, cereal

• Fresh single-packaged snacks like boiled eggs, string cheese, yogurt

• Homemade single-serve meals (be sure to label). PB & J sandwiches are a great option!

• New socks, gloves or underwear

• Soft foods are a priority (for folks experiencing dental issues)

Thanks for joining!

The Ramble Bar is BACK!

Last year we released the Ramble Bar—a super wide up-or-down swept-back alt bar made by Nitto for Sim Works. It sold out pretty quickly, but now it’s back so let’s have a little party and celebrate.

The Ramble Bar will be available for purchase at the event (and thereafter, until it’s gone), and our buds from Sim Works will be in the shop with a selection of attractive and well-made bike goodies, too. Snacks and drinks will be available. Hope to see you there!

Our pal Spencer (@nomadpatches) will be in the shop on Sunday with his very cute and creative collection of patches and stickers. His items run in the $2-$10 making them perfect small gifts for all your buddies. Come support a very kind member of Portland’s cycling community while picking up some sweet, quirky patches.

https://www.spencerhawkes.com/nomadpatches

We invite you to join us for a dual maker pop-up on Saturday, December 9. Laura and Isaac Davis will be in the shop with a variety of handmade wooden wares from Davis Co. Laura is also the creative mind behind Slowpoke Quilt Co., offering unique quilted items that are as beautiful as they are functional.

Join us for a chill group ride to help purchase and distribute food and mutual aid supplies. Meet at Golden Pliers at 1pm / 1:30 rollout. The 20 mile ride will stop at Grocery Outlet to pick up non-thanksgiving themed food, and loop back to end at the shop. After the grocery stop, we’ll distribute to free fridges/pantries throughout Portland. Buying/donating food is not a requirement to join the ride.

Brittany Morris is organizing this ride, which will be no-drop and at a social pace. Capacity to carry some groceries on your bike is a good idea—backpacks, baskets, cargo situations, trailers are very much encouraged. You don’t have to kick in money or supplies to join the ride, but we’d love your help with the distribution! Don’t forget a lock, lights, and dress for November weather.

Ways to participate:

• Venmo @Brittany-Morris-30 if you’d like to contribute money. Britt will use the funds to buy food, hygiene products and other high-need items for folks in need.

• Join in the ride, help carry some stuff, and learn about your local free fridges!

• Bring food or supplies. Readymade fresh food is always welcome at the fridges, just be sure it’s unexpired, packaged and labeled according to Community Guidelines.

Suggested donations:

• Hygiene products (dental care, hand sanitizer, deodorant, soap, wipes, period products)

• Canned/dry goods

• Fresh produce

• Quick meals such as ramen, mac n cheese, canned soup, cereal

• Fresh single-packaged snacks like boiled eggs, string cheese, yogurt

• Homemade single-serve meals (be sure to label). PB & J sandwiches are a great option!

• New socks, gloves or underwear

• Soft foods are a priority (for folks experiencing dental issues)

Thanks for joining!

Join us for a no-drop Spooky Ride! We’ll explore some of the best and spookiest Halloween houses of North & Northeast Portland at a social pace. The ride will take 2-3 hours in total but of course you can peel off early if you need to.

Gather at the bike shop 6-7pm with a sharp 7pm rollout. Normally we’re closed on Tuesdays, but we’ll open for a bit so folks can come inside and pick up snacks, drinks or other supplies before the ride. Masks are greatly appreciated inside the shop; let’s keep us all safe!

Costumes are a must! Bike lights too, and warm gear—it’s gonna be a chilly one.

Here’s the route that Charley made, via Ride with GPS. It starts at the bike shop and ends at Irving park.

Update Monday, March 16: this event has been postponed indefinitely.

Spring cleaning time!

We’re opening up the shop on a (normally closed) Sunday and welcoming in folks who’d like to clean out their parts bins, let go of a bike or two, or pick up some hot deals. Here’s the deets:

• To sell, you must reserve table space. We’re charging a fee to ensure people follow through and show up for the event. Click the link below to register…space is limited!

• Anything bike related is fair game—parts, bikes, trailers, bags, clothing…

• How you take payment is your own responsibility. Bring cash change and/or a device (Venmo, Square reader) for taking bankcard payments. Or resist currency…trade!

• For items leftover at the end of the swap, we encourage you to donate them to a bike nonprofit. Bike Farm is an excellent place.

• Anyone is welcome to shop!

• Setup begins at 11:30, open to the public at 12:00.

The bar will be open for your breakfast/coffee/beer/snacking needs, and the rest of the shop will be open-ish (maybe a bit crowded) if you need to make a purchase.

EVENT CANCELLED— STAY TUNED FOR A POSSIBLE RESCHEDULE.

The 2,700-mile Wild West Route is designed to offer bikepackers a non-technical, expeditionary-scale riding experience that immerses one in the vast expanses of wild and public lands in the Intermountain West.

Our pals Molly & Skyler spent nearly 3 months riding the Wild West Route in the summer of 2019. As well as being avid bikepackers and route planners, the couple are designers and illustrators, and will share creative works inspired by their journey. They’ll share photos and highlights from the trip and take questions from attendees.

The Wild West Route was developed by Bikepacking Roots—a nonprofit “dedicated to the support and advancement of bikepacking and the conservation of the landscapes through which we ride.” Molly sits on the the Bikepacking Roots board and will answer questions about the organization.

Skyler created bandanas and tapestry artwork inspired by the trip, which will be for sale at the event with 50% of proceeds going to BPR. They’ve also created Wild West Route stickers, which you can snag for free at the event!

We love it when you RSVP so we can try to make room for as many folks as possible. Please RSVP here—you can also let us know if you require a seat.

Our local shred comrades Dirt Surfers are hosting a screening of the mountain bike film Return to Earth in the shop beginning at 6pm. This is a free event open to all. Come early to secure a seat for yourself. We’ll get the popcorn going and offer our usual lineup of snacks, sammies, beers and other refreshments.

Refresh your closet—bring any clothing, shoes, cycling & outdoor gear you're ready to part with. Sort through others’ piles and get yourself some new garb! We’ll have a changing area available, and refreshments for purchase. Any leftover items may be left for donation at the end of the night.

This event is open to all self-identifying Femme / Trans / Women & Non-binary folks. All styles, genders and sizes of clothing encouraged.*

Any leftover items may be donated—we’ll take them to a local charity/shelter/clothing donation site. If there’s a charity you like, let us know, we’re open to suggestions.

*This is intended to be a non-transactional event, so only bring items you’re ready to part with freely.

We’re pleased to once again host Our Mother the Mountain’s third annual season kickoff social ride.

Expect plentiful pre-ride snacks, coffee and good times, a 24.8 mile urban adventure ride through the cutty byways and stumbletrack of North Portland. We'll finish up at Lucky Lab in NW (1945 NW Quimby) for pizza. 

Here is the finalized route for Sunday's OMTM/GP Winter Social ride: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31724888

We've got three buried treasure caches, the general locations of which are embedded into the GPS route as cues. For those of you following along on paper maps, they will appear at miles 7, 10.7 and 17.4 respectively. These glory-troves may include delicious fruit snacks, patches with which to adorn your liveries and vestments, derailleurs classiques, front or rear and a possible vessel of energy tonic to restore one's fortitude. 

Meet at Golden Pliers at 11:00am for pre-ride coffee and snacks. We’re serving breakfast burritos and a variety of breakfast and baked goods for the occasion.

JJ Fournier (@SquigglyBastard) is a full-time Tattooer and freelance Story Artist. We’ve come to know JJ as a friend and client of Golden Pliers over the last year. They’ll have prints and merch available, come on out and support them!

Check out JJ’s work: www.squigglybastard.com

Jack Supply Co. is the up-and-coming collection of handmade bike bags by Cody Jack Forsythe. Cody developed his skills working as a contract stitcher over the years, including at Chrome Industries and Makeshifter Canvas Works. Jack Supply Co.’a clean line features well-built bags for commuting, touring, bike packing and everyday use.

Check out Cody’s work: @jacksupplyco

Our pals next door at Untapped came up with this fun open-house event for our building. Here’s the details:

Need to complete your holiday shopping? Looking for that perfect gift to satisfy the artist, biker, outdoor enthusiast, yogi, or craft beer-loving friend or family member? Then come shop The Prescott on Friday, December 20th between 5-7 p.m. for a veritable smorgasbord of spectacular goodies to stuff your stockings with, or wrap up tight for the holidays. We’ve got fun, last-minute shopping opportunities for everyone on your list… yourself included.

Complete your “Prescott Passport” for a chance to win up to $100 in gift cards. That’s a $25 card from each participating business! In every shop you make a purchase, you’ll receive one passport entry into the drawing. When you’re finished, return your passport to Untapped for your chance to win. Passports (with any amount of stamps) should be submitted, by 11:00 p.m. PST December 5, 2019 to count for the drawing.

All participating businesses are located on the ground level of The Prescott Apartments at Prescott and North Interstate Ave. The Prescott Apartments are located at: 1450 N Prescott St, Portland, OR 97217. Information for each participating businesses (address, website, and Instagram accounts) are located below.

Shop Small. Shop Local. Shop The Prescott.

Participating Businesses:

Golden Pliers -- Bike repair, custom builds, good folks, beer & coffee, well-made things. Golden Pliers was founded by Kevin Purcell, a bicycle mechanic and outdoor enthusiast with 20+ years in the industry, and Becky Newman, maker of bicycle bags under the name Makeshifter Canvas Works.
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Website: https://www.goldenpliers.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/golden_pliers/
Address: 1451 N Skidmore St, Portland, OR 97217

Oak Iris Tattoo -- Oak Iris Tattoo was opened by tattoo artist Bex Flaum in 2019 and features prints and art from a variety of Portland artists.
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Website: https://www.oakiristattoo.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bextattoos/
Address: 4330 N Interstate Ave, Portland, OR 97217

Untapped -- Opened by Lisa McArthur in September, 2014, Untapped is a craft beer taproom, growler fill house, and bottle shop, with 28+ rotating taps of beer, hard cider, kombucha, hard-seltzer, and wine. Nominated for “best beer selection on tap” in Willamette Weekly’s 2018-2019 Best Of Portland guides.
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Website: https://untappedpdx.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/untappedpdx/
Address: 4320 N Interstate Ave, Portland, OR 97217

Flex & Flow -- Flex & Flow is a community-centered yoga, bootcamp, and fitness studio based in Portland, OR, founded by Jamie King and Alyse Mason Brill, creators of Sweat Pink, a popular online fitness community and the Flex & Flow HIIT & Flow workout. The Flex & Flow community helps unleash your inner athlete through fun, upbeat and dynamic yoga and fitness classes.
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Website: http://flexandflowyoga.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flexandflow/
Address: 1461 N Skidmore St, Portland, OR 97217

Fostering a community for women, trans and gender non-conforming *BIPOC who love riding bikes. 

BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color

FriendsonBikes.com

Friends on and off bikes, celebrate the end of the year with us on Thursday, Dec 19, from 5:30 - 7:00 pm. Get fresh Friends on Bikes stickers and learn about what FOB has planned for 2020. We will be providing pizza too! All rider levels and W/T/F/N-B people of color are welcome. ✌🏾
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*Please respect we reserve this event for self-identified women, trans and gender non-conforming BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color)
**RSVP via FB or email at friendsonbikes@gmail.com, so we know how much food and drinks to provide.
*This is a meet up only. We’ll have upcoming rides announced soon! ✨

Mary Lytle is the very talented illustrator behind Golden Pliers’ logo and t-shirt graphics. They draw inspiration from bicycle adventures, cats and cannabis. Mary will be in the shop with an assortment of prints and gift items printed with their illustrations, just in time for the holidays! Come support a rad local artist and see what Mary’s been cooking up.

See Mary’s portfolio: www.maryroselytle.com

Double Darn has been synonymous with Portland-made cycling caps for over a decade. Misia Pitkin offers classically-styled caps in wool, cotton, chambray and even a line of kids caps in fun prints. Come snag a locally made gift or a little something for yourself!

See the collection: www.doubledarn.com

Here’s a topic we feel passionately about. Ever stumble across someone’s improperly dealt with poo on a camping or hiking trip? Yeah, it’s the grossest thing ever, a real bummer. Learn the basics of outdoor etiquette and best practices for dealing with waste while enjoying wild areas. Get your burning questions answered by a pro.

Laura Platt is leading this presentation. Laura loves to study forest ecosystems and the organisms that call them home. She’s done field work for nearly a decade in public lands across the US on various wildlife and natural science projects, including northern spotted owl monitoring in Olympic NP, carnivore tracking in the Okanogan, and a fire history reconstruction in the Blue Mountains (current work). She holds a B.S. in Biology and is currently working toward an M.S. in Geography at Portland State University. During her time at PSU (fall 2017-present) she’s worked as a trip leader for the campus outdoor program. She leads weekend adventures in hiking, backpacking, skiing, snowshoeing, etc. for college students and the public. Laura’s LNT experience/education began with a National Outdoor Leadership School semester in India in 2011, and she’s since been implementing these principles into many aspects of her life.

A friend and co-worker of Laura’s is the founder of an organization that raises awareness about disposing of human waste properly at climbing areas (number2protection.org). We’ll be accepting donations for this organization at the door, so please bring cash for this purpose!

Our pal Geoff Thorpe (@warningware) will be in the shop with a collection of handmade bike bags. From basket bags to musettes to hip packs, he’s got a variety of thoughtfully designed, well-made gear suitable for commuting, touring and bike packing. Check it out, snag a gift or a lil something for yourself!

It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and the shop will be closed. We’ll open up by 5pm to serve beers and snacks and get ready for a social ride to Portland International Raceway for Ride the Lights! Roll out at 7pm.

Each year around the holidays, Portland International Raceway turns into a “Winter Wonderland”—think the Griswolds’ house x1000 spread out over the entire length of the race track. It’s tacky and stunning and the number of giddy children and grown ass adults wearing Santa hats are enough to make you giggle too. It’s fun. Normally families drive the track, but one night a year, it’s open only to bike traffic. Here’s their site for details.

This will be a social ride to PIR—about 4 miles, at a friendly pace.

Tickets are available at the gate at $7 per person – children 12 and under are free. Ticket sales benefit the Sunshine Division, who since 1923, has been providing food and clothing relief to Portland families and individuals in need.

Helmets required on children 16 & under (including passengers in bike seats and trailers), and highly encouraged for all other ages. Proper lighting on your bike is also required please. Holiday lighting is encouraged!

Food carts onsite if you work up an appetite!

We’ll be showing the recently released film “I Just Want to Ride” , here’s what Bikepacking.com has to say about it:

The 2019 Tour Divide was set to be truly unique race as Lael Wilcox attempted to be the first woman to win overall. Directed by Rue Kaladyte and filmed by Rue and Jay Ritchey, I Just Want to Ride follows Lael and other riders along the most notable bikepacking route in the world. It tells the story behind Lael’s ambitious attempt and why she had to put records aside to embrace the true meaning of the ride.

Come by and hang out, but if you can make it, you can watch it HERE.

Join us for DIY Show & Tell—a get-together where everyone can share their bike/outdoor related tips, show off their hacked/modified/handmade gear, and inspire others to tackle their own projects. 

Over the years we’ve come in contact with so many excellent solutions, customizations, “hacks” if you will, and we’d love to bring folks together to share their DIY gems. Handmade gear, camp stoves, made-over bikes, smart ways of cooking or packing food for the backcountry…we want to see it! If you’ve got something cool you built on a budget, fixed, modified, or even just a tip or creative way of doing something, come on in and show us what you got!

We’ll setup our projector, so if it makes more sense to show photos, diagrams or video, we can do that. Or bring your actual thing. We encourage you to share materials related to your project, too—drawings, recipes, instructions are all welcome. Participants will get about 5 minutes each to show & tell, followed by a social hour where you can connect individually and share your cool idea with others.

This event is free, all-ages and open to the public. Snacks and drinks available for purchase at the event.

Please let us know if you’ll be joining us!

The Spooky Ride is a tradition that predates Golden Pliers. It was always Kevin & Becky, 2 or 3 friends, terrible weather, and awful costumes built around rain gear and bicycles. Last year it didn’t rain and a million people showed up. We’ll continue our tradition with a ramble through dark, foggy, haunted locations around Portland, ending with boozy thermos drinks and ghost stories.

Here’s the LINK to the Route!!

Meet at the shoppe for olde timey spiced cider and donuts before we ride to the pumpkin patch to select the perfect pumpkin. We’ll have a cargo bike and a trailer so we can help y’all bring your pumpkin back to town. Big bags, big baskets, platform racks, cargo bikes and trailers are encouraged, but make do with what ya got! Our favorite part of this ride is the problem-solving and camaraderie that happens within the group as people select their pumpkin and figure out how to carry a crazy load back into town.

This is a social, no-drop ride, and all are encouraged to attend. Make yourself visible ⚠️ with daytime lights and reflective stuff. We will ride together at an intermediate pace and take advantage of safety in numbers. No one will be left behind.

This year we are headed to Rossi Farm in Northeast Portland, and there’ll likely be a stop at Level Brewing for snacks and drinks (they host several food carts at the brewery). It’s about 20 miles round trip. The weather is looking typically rainy, so dress accordingly.

We are hosting a hangout with the folks from @pathlesspedaled . They’ll be in town for the Chris King Open House and what-have-you. Come to the shoppe on 10/11, from 4-6, in REAL LIFE!

Come on down to meet Rie of Sim Works USA—purveyor of fine handmade Japanese fenders—and Kevin aka the Fender Wizard to talk about how to not get all soaking wet on your bike this rainy season. As is customary for business discussions in Japan, Rie will be serving green tea and homemade green tea sweets. She’ll also have a wide range of fender sizes and finishes for you to touch and smell.

Here is a very cool collection of photos illustrating the Honjo fender manufacturing process.

Since this round of shop tees are white, we thought it’d be super fun to tie-dye some. Join us in the shop after hours for a tie-dye party!

You can reserve your spot and your shirt size here.

We’ll supply all the materials. Beer and snacks will be available for purchase.