Month: December 2007

Guest article: The Citation Odyssey

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Christopher Heaps

The article below was written by Christopher Heaps. Heaps is a lawyer with Stoel Rives who has volunteered to carry out the “citizen-initiated citation” process (as outlined in ORS 153.058) to retroactively cite Lisa Wheeler (the woman who hit Siobhan Doyle at N. Interstate and Greeley back in October) for “failure to yield”.

The article below chronicles his experience in making the first significant step in that process. It’s a fascinating look into the challenges a citizen can face when trying to work for justice within the system.

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Holiday Lights Ride

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Get yourself in the holiday spirit on the Bike Gallery’s annual Holiday Lights Ride.

A slow paced, fun, family ride from our Hollywood store to the ever-popular Peacock Lane, the street where Portlanders have turned holidays lights into an art form. Helmets and lights are a must, decorations and bells are encouraged. We’ll be back at the store around 8:30 pm.

Holiday Caroling Ride

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Yes it’s happening after all. We’ll bike to some Christmas-y lit-up locations and spread the tidings of holiday pedal-power. We’ll
sing in all our off-key glory to popular tunes, but with cycle-centric lyrics. This is to be: a fun holiday ride, a chance to see holiday
lights with your favorite people, and an effort to Subvert the Dominant Paradigm by Having More Fun Than.

Let’s meet at Pioneer Courthouse Square and move on to some nearby destinations. We’ll sing a carol or two at each location. Feel free to put that Santacon outfit back on, or decorate the bike with ornaments. Light strings, yes! Hot chocolate, YES!

WHERE: Pioneer Courthouse Square, NW corner @ SW 6th & Morrison
WHO: YOU + bike and as many lights as you can put on it
WHY: how could we pass up the chance to sing “Bicycle Rock”?

Check out all the bikey carol lyrics hear.

Don’t worry about the song sheets, we’ll take care of that.

“Spinning and grinning, it’s baskets of fun… Now the biking age has begun…”

Stolen Specialized Crosstrail Pro

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2007 Specialized Crosstrail Pro – stolen from secure parking garage.

Stock equipment:
RockShox Tora suspension fork
Carbon seatpost/handlebars
Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic disc brakes
Avid brake levers
Shimano LX front/Deore XT rear derailleurs
Shimano LX shifters
Specialized Borough XC 700c (hybrid) tires

Add-on equipment:
Mounting bracket for frame pump was attached to lower seat tube
Mount for bike light was attached to handlebars
Mount for computer was attached to handlebars with wireless sensor on fork/front rim.
Had River City stickers on it

More Info on Finetoothcog

TriMet looks into three-bike rack options for buses

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
TriMet bus with rack

Current TriMet buses
can hold two bikes.
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

Looking for ways to add capacity for riders that like to bus and bike, TriMet officials say they’re currently testing racks that would hold three bikes (current racks have room for two bikes).

However, according to TriMet stategic planner Eric Hesse, initial testing has given them reason to pause. He says they have evaluated two different models and that “unfortunately, neither yet meet our needs.”

Hesse says the major challenge is that the wider and deeper three-bike racks significantly reduce the turning clearance, or what he calls the “dynamic envelope” of the buses. “The amount of this change is much greater than we can safely incorporate on a number of our routes.”

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Kids remind speedy traffic that ‘Students are Crossing’

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The BTA’s Stephanie Noll at E. Burnside and 16th.
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

Students at Buckman Elementary School in Southeast Portland have taken traffic safety into their own hands.

Carrying signs that read “Students are Crossing”, the third and fourth-graders have held several awareness actions to draw attention to the unmarked intersection of East Burnside and 16th Avenue; a high-speed intersection that is just four blocks from their school.

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A Better Cycle opens on SE Division

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Inside A Better Cycle
(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

A new bike shop has opened its doors in Southeast Portland.

Last Saturday was the first day of business for A Better Cycle located at 2324 SE Division Street (just east of Seven Corners intersection).

I stopped on my way to work this morning and met co-owners Aaron Truman and Tim Weeks. Aaron and Tim are just two of six co-owners, (five of which are former employees of The Recyclery bike shop). The other owners of the shop are Clinton Garner, Ian Mitchell, Rachel Dominguez-Benner, and Ben “Sauce” Applebaum.

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Vanilla Bicycles founder gets into the paint business

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Painter Jason Varney
in the Coat shop.
(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

For small, independent framebuilders, each bike that rolls out of the shop takes months to create. From getting to know the customer and purchasing and prepping the frame tubes, to welding and laboring over all the details.

Then, at the end of that process, the frames are usually boxed up and shipped out to one of a handful of painters nationwide that are capable of delivering a reliable and high-quality paint job.

Unfortunately that last step is often one of stress and frustration for both the builder and the customer — who has likely been waiting months or even years for their frame. Frames sometimes don’t get painted within agreed upon timeframes and often, even when they do, the quality of the paint does not live up to the standards of the builder.

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