🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏

Report (and photos): Unicycle Noobs

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
unicyclists

Eddie Skaug was a beginner
at last year’s clinic;
this year he rode with only a few wobbles.
(Photos © Elly Blue)

On the waterfront tonight, in a light drizzle, you could see a dozen people at a time mounted atop unicycles, in various stages between scooting around expertly and clinging to the railing for dear life.

Unicycling is harder than it looks, and in unexpected ways, as I found out when, with some patient advice from another beginner, I gave it a try. Just staying upright uses every leg muscle you have, and it takes a while to relax enough to stop wobbling. And that’s just basic balance — pedaling is altogether a more terrifying proposition.

Read more

Report (and photos): Portland City Tour

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Portland City Tour ride -5

Ride leader Evan Ross goes over
the basics before we started.
– Slideshow below –
(Photos © J. Maus)

Evan Ross, owner of Portland Bicycle Tours, led about 15 of us on an adventure through the streets of downtown Portland… and beyond.

We met at the Vera Katz Statue on the Eastbank Esplanade. Before we got rolling, Evan stood up and gave us a little ride intro. He said the purpose of the ride wasn’t just the tour, but that he wanted each rider to get more comfortable riding on downtown streets.

Read more

Pedalpalooza Daily: Saturday, June 13

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

[Welcome to your daily Pedalpalooza rundown. We’ll post each day’s events and rides here, so you can plan, email them to your friends, etc…

See all our Pedalpalooza coverage here and follow the latest updates on Twitter.

Click ride title for full details… have fun out there!]


9:00am – 1:00pm: Cycle the Well Field
See where Portland’s water supply comes from and learn about big issues in H20. Meet at the Aloft Hotel at Cascade Station, 9920 NE Cascades Pkwy (one block from the Cascade Station MAX stop on the red line)

10:00am – 2:00pm: Springwater Division Line
Adventurous fat-tired mountain bike trek along the long-defunct Springwater Division rail line. Meet at Linnemann Station, 3804 W Powell Loop, Gresham

10:30am – overnight: Sans Dérailleur Camping Tour
A mellow, gear-free jaunt out to Stub Stuart State Park. Reserve that campsite asap. Meet at Hillsboro MAX Station, 333 SE Washington St, Hillsboro

10:30am: Bike2Market Bike Ride
Ride to the PSU Farmers Market in good company. Meet at Couch Park, NW Glisan St and 20th Ave

Noon: Destination DIY
Gardens! Zines! Chickens! Fruit! Art! Meet at the IPRC, 917 SW Oak St, #218

Noon: Cirque du Cycling
An art bike parade, a criterium race, a family bike ride, a street fair, good beer. The event benefits progressive education program SEI. The parade starts at 2:30. It all goes down right in front of the Laughing Planet Cafe, 3765 N Mississippi Ave.

Noon: Myth Busters Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt to test your mental powers and knowledge of Portland. Ends with the premier of a new movie by a local filmmaker. Starts at Liberty Hall, 311 N Ivy Street

12:30pm – 4:30pm: Grass Hut Discovery Ride
“Join Grass Hut art collective as they take you on a wonder-filled discovery joy ride to the Bins, to feed nutria, to Elk Rock Island, to swim in the Willamette River (upstream from the poop), and to make art out of driftwood.” Meet at Grass Hut, 811 E Burnside St, Portland

1:00pm – 3:00pm: Yehuda Moon at Clever Cycles
Meet Rick Smith, creator of the popular Yehuda Moon comic. Clever Cycles, 908 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

2:00pm: WNBR Sunny Nekkid Ride
Not planning on staying up till all hours tonight? Ride naked in the light and warmth of day. A Portland tradition. Leaves from Coe Circle, NE 39th and Glisan

4:00pm – 6:00pm: Native Ecosystems Restoration
Visit several restoration sites, learn to identify native and non-native plants, learn the ins and outs of ecosystem restoration. Meet at PSU’s Smith Memorial Student Union (Park Blocks side).

7:30pm – 8:30pm: Fig Leif Naked Ride/Run
Portland’s first off-road naked bike ride, and a naked 5k run! Forest Park, NW Leif Eriksen Drive (500 yards beyond the NW Thurman Street gate)

9:00pm – 2:00am: Pedalpalooza Kickoff Dance Party
The biggest kickoff party yet! Theme: Where the Wild Things Are. Come in costume but prepare to shed it — the World Naked Bike Ride leaves from here at midnight! Free admission (with bike), cheap beer. 2181 NW Nicolai St. Watch out for the tracks!

Midnight: The World Naked Bike Ride
Epic. Massive. Historic. Come out and ride as “bare as you dare.” 2181 NW Nicolai St. Watch out for the tracks.

silver Raleigh Competition GS (these stickers gone) 1978

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 1978
Brand: Raleigh
Model: Competition GS (these stickers gone)
Color:silver
Size:63 cm
Photo: email me for photo
Stolen in Portland, OR 97204
Stolen:2009-06-4
Stolen From: Stolen from inside 3rd floor of office(!) – Henry Failing building on SW 1st and Oak, right above original McCormick & Schmicks.
Neighborhood: Old town
Owner: Andrew Holder
OwnerEmail: andrewjholder@hotmail.com
Reward: $100 for bike or info that directly leads to it
Description: Silver Reynolds 531 lugged frame, very tall. Small dent in top of top tube. Toro bullhorn bars, new Velocity Aerohead rims on original Campy hubs, original Campy 10-speed drivetrain, leather Ideale saddle.
Police record with: Portland Police
Police reference#: 0949418
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

‘Portland Bike Station’ coming to downtown?

The mystery storefront at 515 SW 3rd.
(Photo: Dana Troy)

Several readers have alerted me to a mysterious sign posted on a vacant storefront on SW 3rd that reads, “Coming Soon… Portland Bike Station”.

I made a few calls and couldn’t find out much about it. One source did confirm for me that it is legit and that something is in the works. I’ll have more as soon as I find out.

One other thing I’ve confirmed is that it won’t be a Bikestation, as in the officially trademarked name of the non-profit organization that has its branded facilities in Seattle, Santa Barbara, Long Beach, and other cities.

Read more

Bikes and the Blazers: Two things that go great together

Blazers and bikes -1

I still don’t know who’s responsible for
this stencil. I spotted it on the bike
signal loop detector at the corner
of NE Lloyd and the Steel Bridge.
(Photos © J. Maus)

It seems like an eternity has passed since I put together the Bike to Blazers ride. And in Blazer terms, it is.

Back in April 2006, our local team was at the bottom of the NBA barrel. They had huge problems on the court (couldn’t win games) and off (couldn’t stay out of trouble). I remember when I announced the ride, several openly commenters scoffed at the idea.

Fast forward to today. Now there’s a much different vibe coming from the Rose Garden. The Blazers are one of the hottest teams in the league and they’ve got players who inspire both on the hardwood and in the neighborhood.

Read more

Parade gets Pedalpalooza off to spirited start (Video/Slideshow)

Pedalpalooza Kickoff Ride 2009-32

Jacqueline Authier honks
Stephen Upchurch’s horn.
– Slideshow and video below –
(Photos © J. Maus)

The 2009 Pedalpalooza got off to a rollicking start last night as an estimated 300 people turned out for the traditional Kickoff Parade.

The ride met at St. Francis Park in southeast Portland and then meandered through main streets (including a jaunt down Hawthorne) and alleyways before ending up at Colonel Summers Park.

Pedalpalooza Kickoff Ride 2009-38

A purple dinosaur-costumed
lady smoking a pipe on her bike.

Before the ride got started, I had the chance to chat with old friends and meet a few ones as well.

I bumped into 51 year-old Brett Stern, who was just on his second day back on the bike after a bout with cancer. Brett said he plans to also do the Naked Bike Ride. He did his first one last year because it fell on his 50th birthday, “And what better way to spend your 50th than to actually get into your birthday suit with a few thousand other people!”.

It was nice to see Vancouver, B.C. resident Ron Richings back in town. He plans to stay for the duration of the festivities before heading home.

Read more