Riders of the Eugene Disaster Relief Trials will take over the city with fully loaded bikes while navigating obstacle courses to demonstrate the capabilities of cargo bikes in a disaster situation. The annual trials will take place from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Oct. 17, starting and finishing at Alton Baker Park.
Rather than a designed course by the event planners, riders can create their own route through Eugene. Participants must fulfill the standards of the trials by stopping at designated checkpoints with their fully loaded cargo bikes. At the check points, riders learn about ways they can help in the event of a local disaster by going through obstacles or executing a variety of response team tasks.
Clara Schneid, the University of Oregon Bike Program coordinator, recommended going to the trials to learn about the benefits of bike ownership. “I recommend checking out the relief trials because they’re a really great way to realize what you can do with only a bike,” Schneid said.
“If you don’t have a car, and you don’t have other means of transportation in an emergency situation, then you will be educated on what you are capable of with just two wheels,” she added.
Senior Lee Miller will be a volunteer for Saturday’s event, assisting with set-up, take-down, and general “grunt work”. Miller is also a part of the university’s Planning, Public Policy, and Management (PPPM) Department.
“It’s like mocking a disaster, so you need to get supplies from area to area. In the event of a disaster, if there’s roads or things that are in disrepair or if a bridge goes down or something, then cars can’t transport stuff around, so it’s kind of an event to bring awareness to the ability of bicycles to help in these situations,” Miller said.
“There are different classes, like a family class, and there are different lengths. The longest length is thirty miles, and it’s all around the city. You can carry up to 75 pounds of cargo with you. That’s like the top class. There’s another route that’s 20 miles and maybe 50 pounds,” Miller explained.
In addition to the official trials, there will be a Resiliency Fair with booths selling and displaying emergency preparedness supplies, bikes, resiliency gear and “information to people interested in living a sustainable and prepared lifestyle,” according to the event website.
The Resiliency Fair will also include music, food vendors and activities for families. An awards ceremony for the winners of the trials will be held at the park at 5 p.m.
The event is a fundraiser for Eugene-Springfield’s Safe Routes to School Bicycle Education Program.