This article is the eleventh in a series profiling the varied and amazing nominees for the 2008 Alice B. Toeclips Awards, which will be presented to five winners at the Alice Awards & Auction on March 22nd. We won't have time to interview everyone, so be sure to check out their descriptions online. This profile was written by BTA correspondent John McLaren

Brian Manning is equally at ease helping a kid repair her bike or engaging in a philosophical discussion. He is a mechanic at the Community Cycling Center where his devotion to bicycling is reflected in the care he takes in preparing bikes for children and adults. But he is also a “master presenter” in a lecture series at the Waypost Café, a bistro on North Williams Avenue.

“Brian is one of the most kind-spirited, giving individuals we have working for us today,” says CCC Chief Executive Susan Remmers. “He is very giving, very committed to helping people get on bikes.” Remmers, a fellow Alice Award nominee, says she also appreciates that Manning was “developed from within,” working his way up from an apprenticeship to full mechanic status.

Manning, 29, holds a master’s degree (in liberal arts) from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., best known for the Great Books Program that forms the heart of its curriculum. Eventually he would like to be a writer but for now his focus is on bicycling, for his own convenience and as well as a way to help others.

Manning has given six lectures as part of the Live Journalism and Experts series at the Waypost. Only three of his talks dealt with bike maintenance. The others were on such esoteric topics as The Myth of the Giants.

“Brian is a great teacher whom we've hosted several times for so many subjects. He happens to work at the Community Cycling Center and fixes bikes all the live long day,” Waypost owner Michael Newman says.

Manning signed on with the CCC soon after arriving in Portland three years ago. He spent much of his spare time at his home in the Woodlawn neighborhood helping local kids maintain their bikes and do minor repairs but, more importantly, showing them how to do it. “When they hop on their little bikes and ride off laughing and having fun, I know it was because Brian took the time to give them a little acknowledgment, attention, and love,” says his wife, Carrie Rondo.

Manning has been a leading figure in the CCC’s Holiday Bike Drive, which distributes hundreds of bikes to needy youngsters every year for the holidays. A couple of years ago he was dubbed “Chief Elf” by BikePortland.org . He also is involved with the Earn-A-Bike program that provides low-income adults with commuter bikes complete with accessories. Manning takes special pride in the way he and his fellow techs prepare old, donated bikes for sale. “Selling reconditioned bikes helps finance other programs,” he says. “I get excited when customers ask if they are new. That shows how hard we work on these bikes.”

Next nominee: Kim Curley of Commute Options in Bend, Oregon

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