Cutest bike rack in Portland

Awwwww. This little fella stands ready to snuggle with your bike at the Oregon Humane Society.


With all the heavy news around here lately, I thought some of you might enjoy something a bit more light-hearted.

The other day during a visit to the Oregon Humane Society (a place my oldest daughter would move in to if she could), I snapped a few photos of their bike rack. Isn’t it cute?…

On a similar note, I would love to hear about more good news and other cute bike things in Portland. If you’ve got something to share, get in touch.

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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9watts
9watts
12 years ago

Very cute, but I wonder how easily a bike locked somewhere in the middle could be unlocked and extracted by it’s owner if adjacent bikes had been locked on either side of it in the meantime.
The flip side of course (if my suspicions are correct) is that it makes those bikes very theft-proof

thefuture
thefuture
12 years ago
Reply to  9watts

That’s assuming that you first made it across Columbia Blvd. alive enough to lock up your bike. Four lanes without a stoplight nearby equals cars and big trucks going really fast there.

Adams Carroll (News Intern)
Reply to  thefuture

I agree it’s a harrowing place to bike or walk or exist outside of a car… But come on, this is supposed to a happy post! 😉

thefuture
thefuture
12 years ago

Awe man…should not have harshed the mellow of this post. On a more positive note the OHS adopted over 11,000 animals in 2011. What? Awesome.

sorebore
sorebore
12 years ago
Reply to  thefuture

Yeah, it is REALLY difficult to cross there. I stopped my car one day to assist two VERY YOUNG girls tryin to go pick out a real kitty cat! Cant cast a stone on being a buzz kill, ’cause I have been that guy, but for realz!!??!!

notimpressed
notimpressed
12 years ago
Reply to  9watts

I think it’s “cute” but that does not mean good. This is a great example kitch. It looks like its supposed to be a cat but looks more like the skeleton of a dachshund. I don’t mean to offend because someone spent time and money on this but it’s not good. Our streets are cluttered with this type of hideous bike rack. They get installed without regard to the surroundings. Functionally the top bar (spine in this case) likely makes it impossible to secure a taller bike. It wouls also be very difficult to lock the wheels with this rack. There is a reason why the staples are so ubiquitous and that’s because they’re simple and function really well for all sizes of bikes and tend to blend into the surrounding landscape. What’s wrong with a basic bike rack and why would we want to emulate a tacky Reno, NV environment? Less is more in this case.

Robin Canaday
Robin Canaday
12 years ago
Reply to  notimpressed

Well, looking at it another way… it basically has two staples on either end, with a bit of room in the midsection for a few shorter bikes. Not great and not as many as envisioned, but given the lack of bikes on the rack, probably sufficient bike parking. (That is assuming that there is clearance for bikes on the unpaved side of the rack.)

Randall S.
Randall S.
12 years ago
Reply to  9watts

Heh, that was my exact same thought: “Aww… no how the heck am I supposed to actually lock my bike to that thing?”

Champs
Champs
12 years ago

I like this one. It’s attractive, and not functionally ambiguous. In practice, it probably works just as well as Dero’s campus model.

Oh, and speaking of racks that don’t look like racks, thanks to Breakside Brewery for covering that strange bike corral.

PomPilot
PomPilot
12 years ago

I suspect that OHS only had ‘bicycle rack’ listed on their donations wish list. So, someone had to step up to the plate, and provide something other than your basic staple rack. To the donor(s), thank you.

Andyc
Andyc
12 years ago

I like it. I’m full of piss and vinegar this week, and it’s nice to have a happier post to even things out sometimes.

K'Tesh
K'Tesh
12 years ago

Just keep that kitty away from the fish (rack)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/6154903638/in/set-72157627563253873

(I’ve got a better photo somewhere, but with 18400+ photos I’m having a hard time finding it)

Opus the Poet
12 years ago
Reply to  K'Tesh

Cute, but it’s a wheel-bender…

I seem to recall a staple centipede rack from somewhere, or was I just imagining one? As I recall it was just a collection of regular staple racks in a s-curve with a bent round-stock “head” on one end and a “tail” on the other

Toby
Toby
12 years ago

I loved the cuteness of it until I locked my bike to it, not very practical or user friendly. The similar type that looks like bikes, such as the ones at the Loyd Center Advantis Credit Union. They look fun and spread the message visibly to passing cars that they are a bike friendly place, but are a pain to use. I agree with the above; the staples are ubiquitous for a reason.

Seager
12 years ago

Is it even possible to lock your front wheel and frame with a u-lock on that rack?