In my line of work, it’s easy to get excited about how bicycling is taking off in Portland.
From congested bike lanes to brisk sales (and expansions) at local bike shops and daily media coverage, I hear and see constant signs of this city’s velo vitality from many perspectives.
Cases in point:
While reading a story on the Oregonian’s website the other day, I came across this ad from Home Street Bank…
Then, just a few days later I got an advertising inquiry from the marketing person for a local credit union. She said they’re hoping to “build a relationship with this (the bicycling) community”.
These (and many other) examples make it clear that bicycling is tightly woven into the fabric of Portland. Like concentric circles radiating across a pond, the appeal of bicycling and the visibility of the bike community is expanding and touching many parts of our city.
The excellent work of our advocates, bureaucrats, activists, and volunteers has clearly begun to push bicycling into the mainstream.
I hope we continue to make cycling not just “the new golf,” but push toward making it as normal, accepted, and respected as our four-wheeled friends.
Does your CEO/boss ride a bike to work? (On that note, has your company signed up for the Bike Commute Challenge yet?)
Wow, I might be switching my bank…
I\’ve had a great experience with mortgages at Homestreet Bank. And they\’re local. They don\’t have a lot of branches, but who needs that most of the time. I want to put as much of my business through credit unions and local banks. Just one more way to stick it to huge corporations… i hope.
Very clever marketing! I wonder who they\’ll be challenging for the Bike Commute Challenge?
And speaking of the Bike Commute Challenge – we will be! Come on down to the Portland Bldg on Thursday, Aug 16 at noon, and hear real, live BCC workplace coordinators talk about how they helped their companies and coworkers get to bike commuting.
Details? : http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=34816&a=144945
Ooo, and just when I was getting sick of my old bank. In any case it\’s great to see that there are enough of us that non-bike centric companies are beginning to advertise to us.
It really has been great riding all summer long and seeing all the cyclists on the road. I can\’t help but feel a sense of hope as I see the number of cyclists on the road rising.
But can we ride through the drive-through service windows?