Reverend Phil, a fixture on Portland’s bike fun scene, has added an bright new feature to his infamous “Door Prize” tall bike.
First, the bike is so named because its main frame includes an actual door off of a crashed-out Portland Police car. As if that’s not enough to attract attention, now Phil has wired up and attached a full set of flashing lights — also off of a patrol car.
Thankfully, he doesn’t have a siren hooked up. Yet.
Check out a short video of the flashers in action:
Thanks for reading.
BikePortland has served this community with independent community journalism since 2005. We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to survive. Your financial support is vital in keeping this valuable resource alive and well.
Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
Best bike ever.
Oh, Phil: I got your hat. Want it back?
Healed in the bike temple shop by brother Josh!
Lemme guess, Rev Genius is going to be surprised and complain when he gets singled out for special attention from the Portland Piggotry again.
Riding with Phil feels bizarrely safe when he’s on that bike. I’m all for it. (Not a siren, though. That’d get annoying.)
A siren would also violate ORS 815.280(2)(b) if mounted on this bicycle. 🙂
along with red and blue flashing lights being illegal. I had some small red accent lights on the front of my car at one point, and had an officer tell me that I could be cited for impersonating a police officer.
110 percent awesome.
I don’t say this often, but this is one project of Phil’s that I will support (with the disclaimer so long as the lights didn’t illegally come off a patrol parked for the night).
The lights may pose a bit of a distraction for drivers, but it will be eye catching–maybe too much. Let’s see how long it takes for the police to cite him for something while on the bike. I will bet one voodoo doughnut that he gets another love note from the PD by this time next month. Any takers?
I’ll take that bet, Marcus.
don’t give him a taser, for josh’s sakes
Phil: 1; Santa: O.
I question the legality of that thing. And if it is legal, it should be made illegal.
The blue lights ARE ILLEGAL, and you will get popped for having any blue light on any vehicle.
Marcus and Dan: He’s out of town for over a month. Maybe hold off on the bet for a bit?
April, you blew my inside information, but a bet is a bet and I want that donut!
you bring up an curious notion that i had to wrangle with for a bit. When does the police get to decide how we get to express ourselves is kind of important. Walmat will sell 1000s of police uniforms over the next 2 weeks… probably not much public outcry about that.
This is more than just being able to feel good about reusing a waste product into something cool, fun and functional. Being safe and seen while in traffic seems like it ought to trump the laws about color ownership.
John Thomas #3, anyone who has seen me interact with police knows that I treat them with at least as much respect as they treat me. The vast majority of cops I have dealt with have been very professional. But thanks for your concern my brain is pretty sweet!
Marcus you own Dan a donut.
Those Halloween police uniforms are all fake and don’t come with official badges.
In your case the lights come from a real police car and could be considered “official”.
and if they came from a junkyard?
if the police don’t want them reused, they should ‘decommission’ them before disposing.
but skid is right, blue lights are illegal on anything but an official emergency vehicle, it’s in the statues somewhere.
I’ll just repeat this since I think it bears repeating: Being safe and seen while in traffic seems like it ought to trump the laws about color ownership.
I guess if 100s of cyclists were using blue lights there MIGHT be a problem, but instead 100s of cyclists are being hit by cars while in traffic.