Month: May 2006

Creepy cyclists and women on bikes

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The amount of women on bikes is a key indicator of how bike-friendly a city is (there have been studies on it). The City of Portland Office of Transportation Options is well aware of this fact. They’ve got a Women on Bikes program solely devoted to getting more women to ride by helping them gain confidence out on the roads.

In fact, the City has partnered with Bridge Pedal to offer the first ever women-only start at this year’s event.

That all sounds great. But two things I’ve seen and read lately have got me wondering about what’s really going on out there.

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Meet artist and cyclist Matt Cardinal

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Artist Matt Cardinal

34 year-old Matt Cardinal has had two life-long passions; bikes and art. He’s been drawing and riding as long as he can remember.

I first saw Matt’s chalk drawings at the downtown Bike Gallery during the Trek Portland launch party. Ever since then I’ve been trying to connect with him and learn more about his work.

If you’ve ever been into the Hollywood Bike Gallery store (on Sandy Blvd.), you’ve probably seen Matt’s chalkboards drawings all around the shop. He’s done six of them since last summer. He’d like to do more, but his job as one of the shop’s mechanics keeps him too busy.

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Lieutenant gives advice on recovering stolen bikes

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A recent bike theft recovery story spurred a debate about what to do if you see a stolen bike in your neighborhood or for sale online. In the story, someone approached a thief and paid them $150 for a bike they suspected was stolen. Some people were happy the owner got his bike back, while others said paying ransom was a terrible idea and would only encourage the thief to steal again.

I asked the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division Lieutenant what he would recommend doing:

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I’m taking a short break

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Just want to let you know that I’m taking a few days off and I won’t be around to moderate comments, post stolen bikes, delete spam from the Forums, or return emails until later this week.

I’ve post-dated a few stories that will automatically publish over the next few days.

Over and out.

Local pro on the mend after European trip

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Doug Ollerenshaw and his new ride

[Doug’s new ride.]

Like many serious bike racers, Doug Ollerenshaw always dreamed of racing in Europe. Last month he finally got his chance. He traveled to Belgium with his Team Health Net/Maxxis teammates for his first and long-awaited foray into European racing.

It was a harsh introduction. His first race, the Trophee des Grimpeurs,was a technical city circuit in a suburb north of Paris. It was cold, rainy and the course was full of slick cobbles, dreaded traffic circles, and some of the fastest bike racers in the world.

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The Clown House celebrates a wedding

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Clown Wedding

[The newlyweds on
their new tandem.]

Tonight I attended a special event at the Alberta Street Clown House, the wedding of Roadkill Racoon and Reddish Raddish (their real names are Carol Banner and Morgan Nilsen).

I have to admit, when I first heard about this I thought it was just another excuse for a party and some typical Clown House antics (mini-bike races, mud wrestling, tall-bike jousts, etc…). But it turns out this was the real deal.

The ceremony was even presided over by a real justice of the peace…the honorable Reverend Phil.

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Stolen: Trek 5200

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[Posted by “JoanS”]

Trek 5200, 52 cm size, charcoal black with maroon and silver decals. Shimano Flite Deck Computer, Terry Butterfly seat, Shimano 959 pedals, lizardskin chainstay protector, Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons Tires, Specialized Stem, Trek seat pack.

“Watchdog” blog hopes to keep tabs on TriMet

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Ira Flowers is a local film producer and daily TriMet user. He hasn’t owned a car for the past 10 years and rides the bus twice a day to and from his office.

He recently got in touch to tell me a story about an experience his girlfriend had with a TriMet bus driver:

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Full account of citizen initiated complaint process

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Cyclist Mike Reuter was the first person to utilize a little-known legal procedure known as the Citizen Initiation of Violation Proceedings. This legal process allows crash victims to take the law into their own hands. It was first brought to light by Portland lawyer Ray Thomas and I posted about it back in January.

Back on April 6th of this year Reuter successfully used this procedure to issue a citation to a driver that hit him back in September 2005 yet was never charged with wrongdoing at the time of the crash.

In order to help other people that might find themselves in a similar situation, Reuter has provided a detailed account of his experience. I have published it below.

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Portland presence in NYC messenger ‘zine

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MESS is a new magazine from New York City that covers the messenger scene. The zine is written by veteran bike couriers with over 30 years experience riding in the streets of New York, DC, Houston, Minneapolis, and of course Portland.

In clicking around their website I noticed a familiar name on the byline of several articles, BillDozer. I don’t know this guy personally, but I know he used to be very active in the Portland messenger scene. He also happens to be a talented writer. I especially like this opinion piece he wrote titled, In Praise of Riding Like a Jerk.

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