New York Times notices Portland’s bike culture

Bike parking on SE Belmont
makes the front page of NYTimes.com.

The Monday (11/5) edition of the New York Times features a story on Portland’s bike culture.

The article, In Portland, Cultivating a Culture of Two Wheels, is currently (as of Sunday night) featured on the home page of NYTimes.com and is also accompanied by a video titled, The Business of Biking.

Along with a nod to Portland as “Bike City USA”, the article and video focus primarily on Portland’s custom framebuilders and the City’s effort to promote and encourage bike-related businesses.

Featured in the article are builders Tony Pereira, Andy Newlands, and Sacha White. Also quoted are Commissioner Sam Adams and former PDOT bike coordinator Mia Birk, who, as a principal with Alta Planning completed an analysis of Portland’s bike economy in June of 2006.

Currently there are 12 framebuilders plying their trade in Portland (see a list of them on my links page) and several of them have gained national and international acclaim for their work. Portland builders took home four awards at the 2007 North American Handmade Bicycle Show held in San Jose, CA back in March.

Andy Newlands of Strawberry Bicycle held a gathering of local framebuilders at his shop in Southwest Portland last October. From L to R: Andy Newlands, Natalie Ramsland (Sweetpea Bicycles), Tony Pereira (Pereira Cycles), Joseph Ahearne (Ahearne Cycles)
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

My favorite quote comes at the end of the video. It’s from framebuilder Natalie Ramsland. She says, “Here, it’s like, if you’re riding a bike, you’re really traveling in the vernacular…it’s what people do here.”

Oh, and the article also mentions a little web site. Guess which one ;-).

Check out the article and the video.


Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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erin g.
erin g.
16 years ago

This is huge! Congratulations to everyone who fosters and participates in our bike culture. I am so proud of our community! We’ve set a precedent that other American cities could follow. This caliber of national press helps to show leaders and citizens in other communities what is possible when conditions are right, when people get inspired and commit. Life is just so good by bike. The front page of The Times is a pretty darned good way to spread the word! Let’s all take a moment to step back and realize how far we’ve come, how progressive and promising a place this is. Whenever I muse about moving elsewhere, I remember that there is no other place like Portland, that the bike-friendly life that I lead here results in a quality of experience that I couldn’t find anywhere else in the U.S. Not until some other cities catch up with us, that is. But something tells me we\’re laps ahead…!

Mary
16 years ago

Congratulations, Portland! The video was the first thing I saw on the NYTimes home page this morning, and the article was already number 6 in the most-e-mailed. I think I\’ll e-mail it to a couple people, too. It would have been nice to see a Bakfiets, though, now that Newsweek has published a little blurb on them. Gotta go — I\’m headed out for work at 42 degrees, dropping to 27, with snow in the forecast, and winds gusting from the north at up to 40 mph. It\’s the other great biking city — Minneapolis, and if we keep getting better at riding through the winter, we figure we can catch up with Portland.

peejay
peejay
16 years ago

Congratulations Jonathan, Tony, Natalie, Sam, etc. The Times was actually well-informed and struck the right note with balance about our successes and our setbacks. Now, if only they could have been as smart in 2002 about Iraq!

Adams Carroll (News Intern)
16 years ago

As of this morning (Monday), the article is #2 on their \”Most Emailed\” list!

Daisy
Daisy
16 years ago

Yah Tony!
Yah Jonathan!
Yah Portland!!

bluecommute
bluecommute
16 years ago

This was GREAT to read this morning before I ride off to work… (Jonathan we know here that you deserve the national coverage). The NY Times just can\’t get enough of Portland, and I can understand that love affair! Hopefully this can help spread bike culture elsewhere. I bet sometime today this story will become the #1 emailed story of the day!

Patrick Mc
Patrick Mc
16 years ago

\”A little website\”? A little website that could!! Congratulations, Jonathan, and many thanks for the timeliness and dedication.

Donna
Donna
16 years ago

Super cool. I\’m not surprised to hear it\’s #2. I know I\’ve been emailing it all over creation.

bluecommute
bluecommute
16 years ago

7:47am pacific time and it\’s #1, it\’s #1 (this means most Portlanders haven\’t even seen the story yet)… now lets make sure it stays there for a while!

Darren
Darren
16 years ago

I wonder is BikeSnobNYC jealous?

Natalie Ramsland
16 years ago

I would never have guessed, when the training wheels came off my first bike and I hollered, \”Look at me Mom, I\’m biking!!\” that the NY Times would someday think it was news-worthy, too. Well, look at Portland everybody – we are biking.

The article points out the help that the city has given to small local bike businesses, but none of that would have been possible with out the support of everyone in the cycling community. And of course, you Jonathan. Thanks.

Klixi
Klixi
16 years ago

Nice. Biking really does feel \”alive\” in Portland right now. It\’s great to be part of that.

Zach
Zach
16 years ago

Always nice to see articles about Portland in the national media… the NYT does this approximately once a month (and anything they write about us ends up \’most emailed\’ for at least a day)…

a.O
a.O
16 years ago

Congratulations, indeed. This really is big time. And I really hope it reminds all you creative and entrepeneurial folks that you\’re building something great here in Portland (if you needed any reminding).

I particularly like, \”It’s what people do here.\”

Matt Picio
16 years ago

Congratulations, everyone! I think one of the great things about Portland is that local people find something about bikes that inspires passion and they run with it. The bike culture and infrastructure here has garnered enough notice that it\’s gathering people from all over the country now who are moving here specifically because of biking.

To everyone who is a part of that, and doing whatever they\’re doing to promote that – thank you. Thank you very much.

Hanmade
Hanmade
16 years ago

happening this Saturday (11/11).

Saturday or Sunday, John?

tonyt
tonyt
16 years ago

It\’s why I moved here.

Nothing wrong with patting ourselves on the back every once in a while.

Congrats on BP making it into the article Jonathan.

Paul Tay
16 years ago

EATcha heart out, PDX! Guess who\’s taking NOTES!

SkidMark
SkidMark
16 years ago

Oregon Handmade Bike Show is next weekend! Stoked!

Ian Clemons
Ian Clemons
16 years ago

I hope this article inspires more bike enthusiasts to move here. Now, if we can just have enough affordable housing so they\’ll have a place to live when NOT biking!

Everyone who gets on a bike should be proud of all they do for this city. I can\’t imagine living anywhere else!

-Ian Clemons

erin g.
erin g.
16 years ago

The article is now ranked #1 Most Popular/Emailed of the day!!

Joe
Joe
16 years ago

GREAT JOB!! we all thank you for keep
everyones dream alive.. car free to some
point.. now if i could only get people
little more south to follow.. 🙂

compassion goes along way..

Adams Carroll (News Intern)
16 years ago

\”happening this Saturday (11/11).

Saturday or Sunday, John?\”

Sorry. it\’s this Sunday November 11. I corrected the story.

joeb
joeb
16 years ago

The day I read this particular article – Day 3 – of the outstanding coverage of Cycle Oregon 2007, I got a feeling in my gut that Jonathan should be expecting a 7+ figure offer from the East Coast. This site has grown into a de facto source of information and a personal addiction. Bikeportland is my bike community else I’d just be another happy guy on a bike. So I clicked over and made a significantly less than 7 figure contribution to bikeportland and set myself a reminder to do so again in 3 months.

IMO… the best site online!

brandon cabezas
brandon cabezas
16 years ago

congrats portland. I\’m down here in LA trying to build a bike culture. wish me luck!