About

Disaster Relief Trials Portland 2012: Rough Terrain Element [Will Vanlue]

Disasters deliver infrastructure disruption and human suffering. The former exacerbates the later. We have limited money and we have limited political will to invest in “stand-by” disaster response resources. We are left vulnerable.

Nowhere exists a local government with a stockpile of supplies and cadre of response professionals big enough to adequately deal with Hurricane Katrina or Haiti Earthquake-scale disasters….and no one is able to predict that big disasters are behind us. On the contrary, earth science professionals from many disciplines are willing to predict that climate change is increasing the likelihood of disasters. Within this state of imperfect and imperfectable preparedness, facing a growing need in growing population centers, what can we do to soften the blow of disaster-damaged communities? How can we reduce the future suffering and death created by fuel shortages, clogged and damaged roads, electricity outages, water and food scarcity, over-taxed first responders, and communication system failures?

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Superstorm Sandy Relief, NYC 2012 [Brennan Cavanaugh]

ANSWER: we invest in resilience. Disaster resilience is largely about infrastructure grid independence, but also about smart urban development, education, and strong coalition among community groups. Prime tools of grid independence  (and therefore resilience) are solar panels, gardens, rainwater collectors, and bikes. These tools not only prepare a community for disaster, but also create more livable communities, save money, and reduce carbon footprint: resilience is attractive in the short-term, invaluable when disaster strikes.

“Community resilience” is a fresh concept that is being promoted and embraced in modern society, but the movement is young. Not dialed-in. Now is the time to refine and expand the definition. Disaster Relief Trials is a dramatic visual statement arguing for the relevance of cargo bikes to the resilience movement. In peace time and disaster time, cargo bikes work.

Cargo bikes are light, small, and inexpensive yet highly capable of hauling big loads with relative ease. They operate efficiently without any power or sophisticated transportation infrastructure. They not only transport relief goods, but also people and messages. These disaster response-compatible qualities need to be proven in dramatic style over and over again before we can permanently erode the “bikes are toys” paradigm. Once we achieve “toys and tools”, we can start to make practical steps to incorporate cargo bikes into municipal disaster plans.

Disaster Relief Trials makes the case with exuberance and fun: cargo bikes are powerful tools for community resilience.

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5 thoughts on “About”

  1. Jamie

    What is the gear requirement to participate? Do you have to have an actual cargo bike? What if you just have a pannier rack? If the pannier rack is not rated for the full weight amount, can two people with pannier racks share the duty as one entry?

    Reply
    • antload

      Categories: Family, Mixed Vehicle Pairs, E-bike, Open, Citizen. To be thoroughly defined soon! The main point of DRT is to demonstrate substantial load-hauling, the likes of which are not possible without a cargo bike or trailer. The Mixed Vehicle Pair, Open, and E-bike categories will handle full DRT payload accumulation: 50kg (per Essential Elements page).
      The Mixed Vehicle Pair class involves one person on a cargo bike and one on a regular bike, with load-hauling, navigation, and terrain challenge techniques to be designed by the respective teams! Big advantage for the One Meter Barrier.
      The Family and Citizen Categories will not visit all the relief supply pick-up Checkpoints, thus will accumulate less than a 50kg payload, but a cargo bike or trailer payload, nonetheless. We like awkward bulky Relief cargo which necessitates true cargo bike capacity.

      -Mike Cobb
      Steering Committee

      Reply
  2. Jay Monk

    Do you expect bike riders in drt to work together in teams, or as individuals? How big can a team be?
    What kind of cargo items can we expect to carry? I saw on another page there will be fragile items in an egg carton. What else to expect composition of the 50 kg load? Is this a load we pick up and drop off at the sites? What do we need to provide from our personal equipment (besides a bike)?
    Are bikes with trailers included in the same category as bikes with panniers?
    Thanks for responding. This ride competition sounds really interesting.

    Reply
    • antload

      Jay,

      Thanks for writing. I think your questions are answered at the disasterrelieftrials.com landing page. The actual fragile and/or heavy and/or unwieldy relief cargo objects are revealed 1 hour prior to 11AM start via amplified radio message and laminated Map/Manifest. Check out Essential Elements page for more clues as to the nature of the DRT supply run challenge.

      -Mike

      Reply
    • Mike Cobb

      You’ll find a Registration Invitation at the disasterrelieftrials.com landing page. I hope we see you on June 11!
      Weekly Tuesday 6:45-10:15am Coffee Klatches at Cully Park provide face-to-face orientation and load-lashing practice up until DRT! Off-grid coffee provided.

      Reply

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