people like to bike in Portland.
Portland’s valuable biking brand continues to pay dividends for our city as two new pieces of bike-positive media are circulating the Web this morning.
The first is from Fox News. Yes Fox. While the abundance of love for Portland from the New York Times is nothing new, to have Fox put bikes front and center in a travel piece is a bit of an eye-opener. In their 10 reasons to fly to Portland, Oregon right now, Fox cites seeing “bike lovers” as one of the things to cross of your bucket list while here. Then, after you’ve eaten all our food and guzzled all our beer and spirits, the Fox piece reminds visitors to “Work it off” with a group bike tour, “… anywhere from an easy spin around downtown or a day out in the Gorge or up in wine country…”
And Kona Bicycle Company released a new video this morning in their ‘How Bikes Make Cities Cool’ series. While it was produced to help sell their new line urban bikes, the video doesn’t feel like an advertisement at all. It’s actually one of the most inspirational and well-done videos in the popular what-makes-Portland-so-great-for-bikes genre that I’ve ever seen. The interviews with kids are a highlight, with one of them saying he bikes because it helps prevent climate change and “Polar bears are epic!” You’ve just gotta watch this…
Both of these bits of publicity for Portland are much more than just nice pats on the back. This type of stuff boosts our city’s bottom line by bringing tourists here and by perpetuating our strong brand for bicycling — a brand that encourages business and the talented employees they rely on to move here.
I like the interview questions: “So what is with Portland and everyone riding their bikes and having fun?”
Enjoying one’s self is antithetical to the “Greed is God, Profit is #1, work yourself to death” lifestyle that American culture has become.
If you show Greed-ites that happiness and lifelong fulfillment can be acheive without worshipping The Almighty Buck you make them face some very uncomfortable truths.
So Fox “news” presents us as crazies and kooks.
“This type of stuff boosts our city’s bottom line by bringing tourists here and by perpetuating our strong brand for bicycling — a brand that encourages business and the talented employees they rely on to move here.”
Boom!
or… Whoop there it is!
Very nice to see my son’s elementary school (Sabin) featured! Thanks for highlighting this Jonathan.
I was just thinking “I wish I could interact with more Fox News viewers.”
OK, how did that awesome bit of Portland bucket listing land on the Unfair and Unbalanced website? Don’t get me wrong, I think most of us will gladly take it, it’s just a huge surprise!
As for Kona, WAY TO GO! I love how the father is trying to answer the question and the kids response is to say look up (at the birds). Classic how it’s the kids who really get it and the adults who muck it up (I might be an adult, but I’m a kid at heart;).
Love both articles, esp. the Kona video. I saw a gentleman I share a wave with everyday on our commutes in that video. We travel opposite directions and exchange a friendly wave each time we cross.
The kid who liked polar bears was awesome. Polar bears ARE INDEED epic!!
I’m a sucker, but I thought the Kona piece was well done, enough so to put a little tear in my eye. I love Portland dearly and while I appreciate the publicity, a part of me wants to keep all the badassness our little secret.
You know…it does rain here all the time. I really wouldn’t recommend riding a bike here at all 😉
Yeah, somehow hearing the term “nopo” ok’d by a fox writer makes me think of NYC, and I sure don’t want THAT to happen to our non megaopolis Community
Yes, nice work to Bill & the Sabin Bike train team. I saw a glimpse of my daughter there as well.
I think those two kids that look up and see the birds flying prove the point perfectly–riding is a much more natural experience, more connected to the actual world. I ride with my daughter everyday precisely because she points out all the cool things we see along the way!
loved the birds (even if they were probably those rascally starlings). Nice work, Kona!
Great video, but— I wish there could’ve been one sunny scene in there somewhere……..
Thanks, Kona!
I kept wondering if they were going to show a *rainy* scene. This is Portland after all! Fun video!
Don’t be fooled by this phony piece, just keep repeating the mantra, “Fox News Lies , Fox News Lies.” Eventually it will have a calming effect and help you past this confusing moment.
Great to see the Sabin Bike Train featured. Last year their bike train leader Bill, the person whose voice you hear, was named the bike train conductor of the year.
Awesome video. I love that other bike brands are extremely visible and not edited out. Next up: video of the many people outside 205 who ride for more diverse reasons. Trek and Specialized are sleeping at the wheel here…..
I guess things sure have changed from the ’70’s, cars would sport bumper stickers that read “Welcome to Oregon. Now go home.”
I was just fine watching the Kona video until the kid said “Gas. My family struggles a little bit and it helps if I get myself to school”. That broke me, and there was a little dampness in the eyes. Awesome kid.
I thought that was the best comment, and really would appeal to non-riders.
I hope this encourages Kona to rethink their warranty arrangements for their Ute and redesign it to make it more kid seat friendly.
Someday I hope to have a job that pays me to visit a city and then misspell the businesses highlighted in my article. Sigh.
Well, in their defense, most of the misspellings were after the section where they talked about beer and spirits, so perhaps the note-taking suffered a bit. They could have used some more coffee. But really – Coapa, Exacto..that whole paragraph it terrible, and please don’t refer to my neighborhood as NoPo.