Two very different and uniquely Portland bike events are happening this weekend…

Saturday, get to know your local bike cult, CHUNK 666 for the Organ Donor Invite, a tall-bike jousting tournament beginning at 3:00 at Colonel Summers Park on SE Belmont and 20th. (I would leave the kids home on this one).
Pretty Dress Ride
On [...]

You’ve probably heard of Critical Mass…the sometimes controversial always misunderstood bike ride that traverses, amoeba-like through the usually auto-dominated city streets. I’ve been on several of them myself and have always had an inspiring time. Last month I brought along my 2 year-old daughter and I even met Mayor Potter on one back [...]

…this just in off the Shift email list newswire…

The Oregon Transportation Commission approved a $1.2M Transportation Enhancement grant to the City of Portland for construction of the Waud Bluff Trail to Swan Island! This project will upgrade an existing “made trail” down the bluff from Willamette Blvd to the north end of Basin [...]

Local bike messenger Ira Ryan (center in photo) won the first-ever Trans-Iowa endurance mountain bike race on Sunday. Ira beat a field of top-notch riders in the 2-day, 300+ mile, self-supported event. A downtown ticker-tape parade is scheduled for next weekend (just kidding)!
Visit the Trans-Iowa event blog for more information.

This Saturday and Sunday (29-30th) is your chance to catch one of the all-time great sports movies, Breaking Away. It’s being screened (on the eve of National Bike Month!) at 5th Ave Cinemas, 525 SW Hall St. @ PSU. Tickets are $3 or free for PSU students…and everyone gets free popcorn.
More info call, [...]

Get out your calendar because bike season is in full spin. Check out these hand-picked rides and events that will keep you pedaling every day of the week.
MONDAY: 
The mythical Noon Time Ride from downtown Portland is a regular ride that brings together the city’s sharpest minds and strongest legs.  Be ready for a short, fast [...]

If you’re wondering where this sign is so you can avoid the fate of that poor silhouette man…it’s across from Rocco’s Pizza downtown looking toward Powell’s. Be careful out there and watch out for large, tire-eating square holes in the ground!

Hey all you earth-loving bikers…we’re riding down to the big Earth Day festivities at Sunnyside School tomorrow and you’re invited to join us.
Meet at 6617 N. Michigan Ave., 9:00AM (just North of Portland Blvd east of I-5) and we’ll ride for about :45 minutes to Sunnyside Elementary on SE 34th & Taylor.
We’ll [...]

Know of a bike lane that needs sweeping?  Or a place without bike racks?  How about a gaping pothole that needs filling?  For any general concerns that would improve biking on our city streets, put all the numbers below in your cell phone’s speed dial.
Portland Bikeline - (503) 823-CYCL
-Press 1 for bike lane/path maintenance
-Press 2 [...]

Like bikes? Like pubs? Hate smoke? You’re in luck. The first ever “Smoke Free Bike Pub Crawl” happens tomorrow night (Fri.) at 7:30. Meet at Roots Brewing on SE 7th Ave…and ride responsibly!

Aaron Tarfman - who was recently profiled in the Oregonian - has put together a new website with tons of great, bike-related info and resources. Take a stroll through Body Power! and you’ll learn about everything from how to haul more stuff with your bike to tips on cycling in cold weather. Enjoy!

Track season starts next week (!) and the annual Alpenrose Velodrome clean up is happening this Saturday, 4/23. Join in and help re-paint the track surface, pull weeds, put up sponsor signs…and do whatever it takes to make the track ready for racing.
The clean-up starts at 9 AM. Lunch will [...]

There’s nothing like a full day of riding through town that mixes coffee, work, friends, family, and of course, bikes! How did I manage all that in one day? Well, for starters I cruised from North Portland to Sellwood to meet a potential client…and the ride to get there had me grinning the [...]

Right now, until 8:00PM tonight the Ben & Jerry’s on SE Hawthorne and 36th is giving away free ice cream!…but only if you ride your bike…OK, just kidding. Anyone that shows up will get the free cone…but just think, if you ride your bike you won’t have to look for parking and you’ll [...]

Pedalpalooza isn’t happening ’til June…but the organizers are already going full pedal getting everything ready. A great thing about Pedalpalooza is that anyone can be a part of it by hosting their very own bike fun event….but the deadline for getting on the oh-so-important printed calendar (watch for it around town!) is just a [...]

Last weekend I attended the Sea Otter Classic…a "celebration of cycling" that is like Woodstock for bike lovers.  Oregon based cyclists had a great showing.  Most notable was Portland’s own Doug Ollerenshaw who won the Pro Road Race!  You can read more about his amazing ride here.
I also ran into Molly Cameron (owner of [...]

Just got a great tip about a yummy-sounding family bike ride happening in Vancouver on Saturday:
This Saturday is the annual Blueberry Pancake Ride in Vancouver. There’s free blueberry pancakes and an easy 8-10 mile, flat, family-oriented ride starting at Vancouver Lake. For more serious riders, they can join the Wheelmen from Wilshire Park in NE [...]

If tax time’s got you down, or if you just want something fun to do on your bike tomorrow night, then the “Tax Day Pub Crawl” should be in your future. Here’s the details
Meeting Point: Federal Building (1220 SW Third Ave, Portland OR)- 6:00 First Stop: Kelly’s Olympian - 6:30 Leave for next stop [...]

When you’re not comfy on your bike, you ride less, and that’s not good.  There’s no reason to settle on an uncomfortable position.  The smart folks over at the American Physical Therapy Association have just released a nice bit of info about how to stay happy while riding and avoid common pains and injuries.  Here’s [...]

When you’re not comfy on your bike, you ride less, and that’s not good. There’s no reason to settle on an uncomfortable position. The smart folks over at the American Physical Therapy Association have just released a nice bit of info about how to stay happy while riding and avoid common pains and [...]

This Friday night is your chance to see some cool bike-culture flicks at “Filmed by Bike III“…”a festival of bike themed movies” It’s happening at the Clinton Street Theater and it starts at 9:00. The best part is that it’s a fundraiser for The Multnomah County Bike Fair happening later in the summer…and [...]

If you’re a cycling junkie on a budget and you’ve got a library card, check this out…
In a recent post to the OBRA email list, someone explained how they made a successful request to the Multnomah County Library to carry more cycling DVDs. Here’s an excerpt from the post.
The Multnomah County Library maintains an [...]

If you’ve ever wondered what traffic looks like from the view of a bike messenger but you’ve been afraid to ask…check out this amazing video (50MB QuickTime). It was shot from the helmet of a messenger racing between cars in gridlocked Manhattan.
Want to hire a messenger for your office document deliveries? [...]

The Paris-Roubaix is a legendary race that’s been held for over 100 years. Riders thrash over ancient cobblestoned streets through small country villages in the French countryside. It’s a race of attrition as riders abandon and crash out from start to finish. The cobbles are unrelenting at times and the race is [...]

May sound like a crazy idea to some people…but not to the bikey folks here in Portland. There have been several “bike moves” in the past few weeks and I’m more and more impressed each time I see one. I really wanted to check the latest one but I couldn’t make it…luckily [...]

Rode to the farmer’s market for the first time this spring with my two ladies today. The weather was cool and in and out of sun and clouds….just right for hanging at the market eating treats and listenin’ to some folksy music. It’s so easy to get downtown on a bike from NoPo. [...]

(From Jessica Roberts of the BTA)
Did you know that

Oregon has the most bike shops per capita of any state?
Oregon is one of only two states to have every Congressperson be a member of the Congressional Bicycle Caucus?

Oregon brought the largest per-capita delegation to the National Bike Summit last week of any state?
Congressman Peter DeFazio used [...]

and that means bike season is in full spin….just what is bike season? well, depends on who you’re asking. To a bike racer it means driving all over the state to races every weekend; to a commuter it means it’s finally warm enough to not wear tights and a bellaclava; to families it [...]