Some friends just moved by bike. Not entirely by bike, a pickup truck was drafted to help with a refrigerator and some other big heavy objects. But it was wonderful to see the rangy, lanky Tom pulling away from the curb with the massive hide-a-bed sofa riding a trailer behind him.

The move, about 17 blocks between Southeast and Northeast Portland near 82nd Avenue, was engineered by members of an ever-metamorphosing group called Shift to Bikes, and they were all volunteers. Sixteen of them on a chilly day threatening at every moment to rain! Some of the items being moved were masks and other stage clothing, so some of the movers decided to put them on. They made two trips and then fueled up on pizza and beer -- plenty of food being the only payment they required.

It's all pretty splendid, and makes me a little ashamed that my bike has been parked in the dining room since approximately October. There's a lot more about the swell things they do aboard bikes here: www.shifttobikes.org/