CAT

by Jason Moore
Photos by Bridget Carroll and Dan Long-Coogan
RAIN 14-3
Spring 1993

It's a new home for cycling activists in Eugene, Oregon, and the city's only bike repair collective. Inside this 8,000 sq. ft. former sheet-metal shop, one can find Oregon's largest cycling newspaper, the state's most eclectic and thought-provoking cycle shop, the base for a workbike courier service, the country's only facility for teaching workbike design and manufacture, and one of only a handful of intermediate-scale workbike factories in North America. A non-profit community organization ties all these projects together. After years of development, the Center for Appropriate Transport (The CAT) opened its doors to the public November 20th, 1992, and hundreds attended the party.

The primary emphasis of the center is cycling. Nonetheless, other alternative transportation groups are finding a home here: light-rail, car co-ops, et cetera. The hope is that anyone interested in sustainable transport will get involved with the CAT. Here they meet fellow enthusiasts and advocates. The point of putting all these cycling projects in one building is of course to make the center a catalyst for action. It's intended as a prototype for communities that need to push alternatives to the combustion engine. As project founder Jan VanderTuin says, "we want this to serve as a practical model that can be used anywhere."

VanderTuin studied workbikes and projects like the CAT while living in Europe. He found postal workbikes in Great Britain, built trailers to haul fresh produce in Switzerland, and visited German shops where apprentices studied bicycle production and design. In Europe bicycles are recognized as the appropriate vehicle for many jobs, while in the US motorized transport is used for everything. "If you think about it, there's a lot of overkill in our transportation system. A van will go out to deliver just one pizza, or someone will drive their car to deliver an envelope ... that is overkill."

After trying to start this project in other locales (e.g. New York City), VanderTuin was finally able to create the center in Eugene. The city has an unusually strong bicycle manufacturing infrastructure, as well as the University of Oregon: a veritable fountain of cyclists. And while the city's bikeway system doesn't compare to many in Europe, it is probably the best in the US. VanderTuin points out, though, that many of the city's inhabitants have become apathetic about cycling. He hopes the CAT will sweep away the cynicism and lethargy in this old hippie town.

After settling in Eugene in 1990, VanderTuin began laying the ground work for the center. He built workbikes under the name Human Powered Machines (HPM), and taught a class in Workbike Design and History in cooperation with the University of Oregon. His attractive workbikes, easily demonstrated and clearly useful, were excellent hooks on which to hang proposals for the non-profit center. When a local business-person donated a very appropriate building in April of 1992, the CAT really began to take form.

The upstairs has apartments, which were renovated first. One is home to VanderTuin, and another is for guests of CAT. The other rooms upstairs house Auto-Relief, Eugene's only bicycle advocacy group, and Oregon Cycling, Oregon's monthly bicycle paper. Both groups are part of the CAT project, which is under the non-profit Rain Umbrella.

The downstairs area was quickly transformed from a dark and almost windowless cavern to a lightened, livable working area. Corrugated plastic "windows" were removed, and real windows and skylights added. A wall covered with mirrors, remnant of a previous owner's attempt to build a nightclub, was left alone, because no one could think what to do with mirrors the size of garage doors. One storage room has been converted into a darkroom, for photowork related to Rain Umbrella projects, and another into a non-circulating library on bike construction and transportation.

With all these projects in one space,

the center becomes a catalyst

for community action.

The CAT houses Pedalers Express, a courier group using workbikes to haul everything from newspapers to photographs, pasta to paste-ups. Pedalers Express has grown quickly, and became self-sustaining after only six months in operation.

Human-Powered Machines is the manufacturing sector of the CAT. A symbiotic relationship exists between it and Pedalers Express: HPM provides the bikes, and the builder is on site should any problems arise. Pedalers Express in turn provides high-profile exposure for the bikes, and therefore the whole CAT project.

The CAT intends to stress the benefits of such close, cooperative relationships for community work. When bikes are built and used locally, the manufacturing process is decentralized and the communal element is added. The workers and consumers involved begin to understand more than just a corner of an economy. This education through broad, fair relations makes the CAT a force which can affect deep social and economic change.

Reaching out to the community isn't so difficult. Pedalers Express has one bike with an insulated container for ice cream sales. On summer evenings and weekends, it rolls onto the nearby river bike path. Its distinctive appearance and chiming bell have become well known, and the ice cream sells well on hot days. People are very responsive, and often stop the riders just to talk about the bike. One rider has taken an unusual angle, dubbing himself the Short Order Poet. He sells ice cream and poems, which he creates on the spot.

Bringing the community inside the CAT is a form of outreach. There's a large meeting room that can be used by any appropriate activist group or club in town, where even films or slide shows can be shown (there's a popcorn popper, and a ping-pong table for breaks). The space itself thereby makes connections between existing groups that might otherwise not interact. For example, a local touring club's newsletter, on browsing tables and bulletin boards, share space with activist literature, racing news, and recumbent newsletters. People from every bike subculture become familiar with each other, making alliances possible.

Eugene Bicycle Works (EBW) is one of the most ambitious of the many difficult projects in the CAT. Its goal is to help the community learn about bikes: their design, use, repair and construction.

EBW runs a repair collective modeled after The Bicycle Repair Co-op in nearby Portland, Oregon. Members of the co-op pay a small yearly or hourly fee, in essence renting a large number of tools, from the most basic wrench to expensive professional specialities. Skilled mechanics are on hand to assist with any repairs or answer any questions. Soon people with wheelchairs will also be repairing their own equipment in the collective.

The shop is packed with human-powered vehicles of every description, in an attempt to introduce community members to a diversity of designs. Recumbents, tandems, tricycles, folding bikes, trailers and workbikes in all price ranges from around the world can be examined, bought or rented. EBW is the community entrance to the design work done by other projects in the CAT: eventually, rentals and sales will include bikes that can be produced either by people coming to learn bike construction, or by apprentices involved in the school.

EBW and the Hands-on Project will soon host classes, focusing on repair and framebuilding. Anyone wanting to build a human-powered vehicle will be encouraged to get involved in the design/manufacture process. The hope is that the costs of special bikes, that would be prohibitively expensive to develop within the "free market", will be defrayed by the labor of students and volunteers in these classes.

As with any non-profit organization, funding is always a challenge. Most of the money so far has come from private donations and the sweat equity of dedicated volunteers. Some money is now generated through membership fees to the CAT, as cyclists realize that it's working as a powerful cycling advocate for the benefit of the entire community. The projects and their workers pay some rent, and must be self-sufficient either through community support, classes or activity-related products. Every project coordinator is financially responsible for their role in the non-profit.

The CAT is fast becoming a vital part of the community, and has built momentum which will not easily dissipate. By pointing out the hidden costs of the automobile and the wonder of the alternatives, the CAT hopes to transform our car-dominated transportation system. The CAT is not alone. Groups in New York, San Francisco and Santa Cruz are already taking inspiration from the project. Soon there may be CATs everywhere!