“These corrals… are intended to serve the high volume of people arriving by bicycles at these locations.”– from a PDOT media advisory about new bike parking downtown

The streetscape of downtown Portland has been forever altered.
Thanks to four new on-street bike parking facilities (a.k.a. bike corrals), PDOT has hastened a shift in the balance of [...]

Download the 2-page report (PDF)

A new report has found that the total economic activity generated by bike-related industry in Portland totals approximately $90 million, a 38% increase in value since 2006.
The report — which was conducted by Alta Planning and Design (whose principal Mia Birk is the former bicycle program manager for the City of [...]

Reader Donna just send me this Craigslist posting from a new bike repair service based in Southeast Portland:
I’m a small shop owner specializing in service and sales of vintage bicycles. I’m a recent graduate of United Bicycle Institute and have been working on classic bikes for over 6 years, performing everything from custom builds to [...]

You can rent this bike: Now there’s no excuse not to give ‘cross a try!

In the latest sign that Portland is gearing up for another crazy cyclocross season, a downtown bike rental business has announced they’ll offer cyclocross bikes as part of their fleet.
Eric Roden, the manager at Waterfront Bicycles (now at 10 SW Ash [...]

Allan Folz is focused on his new Portland Sag Wagon business.

In the realm of bike touring, you’ve got fully-supported options (like Cycle Oregon) on one end, and on the other, you’ve got the D.I.Y. option (load up those panniers, grab a map and hit the road).
But what if you fall somewhere in the middle? [...]

Chris King’s marketing director Chris Distefano (L) and Jay Sycip at an event in Portland back in May.(Photos © J. Maus)

Portland’s reputation as a hotbed for custom bike building has just taken another major leap forward with news breaking over the weekend that Chris King Precision Components has hired SyCip Designs co-founder and renowned framebuilder [...]

Coming to Portland October 10-12.

The Oregon Manifest show has come a long way since I last reported about it back in May.
Organizers have nailed down exciting venues, a new presenting sponsor, and an impressive list of over 40 exhibitors (that includes several surprises).
As the official media partner of the event, I’m proud to [...]

While riding down NE Alberta Street yesterday I noticed a new cafe with some fantastic bike parking.

The Radio Room has devoted a considerable portion of their property at NE 11th and Alberta to bike parking.(Photos © J. Maus)

The place is called the Radio Room (NE 11th and Alberta) and according to a posting on Portland [...]

(Photo: PedaltoProperties.com)

Pedal to Properties, a Boulder, Colorado-based real estate company that shows homes by bike, plans to open up an office in Portland.
Co-founder Chris Sweeney told me via telephone this morning that they’ve already met with commercial real estate agents in Portland and they hope to nail down an office space in the next month [...]

Tony Pereira in his shop.(Photos © J. Maus)

This afternoon I stopped by the shop of local bike builder Tony Pereira.
Tony has come a long way since I first made note of his arrival in Portland (via Salt Lake City) back in November of 2005. Since then, his business has matured, he’s moved [...]

Detail from event poster.(Large version here)

A custom bike show in Southern Oregon will feature builders from Oregon, Washington and California, including the debut of two new builders from Portland.
The first-ever Southern Oregon Custom Bicycle Show is a joint effort between the Ashland-based United Bicycle Institute (UBI) and the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association (OBCA, a non-profit [...]

Inside the Sapa factory.(Photo: Sapa)

A company based in Northeast Portland that produces tens of thousands of bicycle frames per year might be on its way to Vancouver.
A story published on July 30 in the The Columbian, Aluminum company might bring 900 jobs to Vancouver, details that documents filed with the City of Vancouver for a [...]

It seems I jumped the gun with my story about the former McCall’s Restaurant site in Waterfront Park being turned into a cafe and bike retail, rental, commuter facility operated by Bike Republic.

I published my story after reading a story in The Oregonian that I interpreted as meaning it was a done deal. I [...]

[Editor's Note: Please read my follow-up to this story. It seems I jumped the gun a little bit and the deal isn't quite "official" yet. Sorry for any confusion.]

Ken Nichols, seen here at Bike to Work Day in 2007, is the man behind Bike Republic.(Photos © J. Maus)

According to The Oregonian, the [...]

A sign of the times in Portland.

Portland real estate broker Kirsten Kaufman knows that in order to sell a home, you’ve got to first sell the neighborhood. And increasingly, in addition to the quality of local schools and proximity to parks, Ms. Kaufman’s clients want to live in a place that is bike-friendly.

To capitalize [...]

BikeRacker is a new business that has sprung up to meet the local demand for temporary bike parking.(Photos © J. Maus)

A local bicycle and pedestrian planning firm has announced plans to update a groundbreaking study on Portland’s bicycle-related economy.
Back in March of this year, I reported that Mia Birk, a principal with Alta Planning & [...]

(Image: Google Maps Streetview)

Gateway Bicycles, located at NE Halsey and 119th, has decided to close their doors.
A reader forwarded me an email sent out by the shop’s owners. Here’s the message (also posted on their website):
We are sorry to say that the time has come for us to change paths and we are shutting [...]

Travelers take in bikes at an exhibit at PDX airport.(Photos © J. Maus)

An exhibit of Oregon-made bicycles currently on display at the Portland International Airport has proven to be so ppoular with travelers that it will be extended through the busy holiday season.
The exhibit, Handmade: Bicycles Designed and Built in Oregon debuted in April and [...]

A Cascadia Cab at work in Seattle.(Photo: Cascadia Cabs)

Seattle news outlets are reporting that a pedicab carrying two passengers ran through a red light at a downtown intersection and collided with a scooter and then a minivan, killing one of the people in the cab and causing serious injuries to the other passenger and the [...]

“Custom frame building is both a science and an art. It is an ever-evolving process of geometry, wizardry and psychology… “– from Rapha’s website

High-end cycling apparel company Rapha chose two Portland-based framebuilders to build bicycles for their “Rapha Continental” campaign.
The Rapha Continental — which is part team, part documentary, and part corporate marketing strategy [...]

Hardwood bicycles from Renovo will be among the locally produced bikesat the event.(Photo © J. Maus)

Members of the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association (OBCA) have been invited to display their work at the upcoming Bridge Pedal Health and Wellness Expo.
The event takes place the day before Bridge Pedal and according to OBCA member Ben Farver of [...]

The BikeTiresDirect crew.(Photo: Velotech Inc.)

Linda Watts is the marketing manager for BikeTiresDirect.com, the company whose headquarters in Northeast Portland fell victim to a large fire late Saturday night.
BikeTiresDirect is primarily an Internet mail-order business, but they also had a retail store that was frequented by local customers.
Ms. Watts drove out to their warehouse at NE [...]

Keen’s Commuter, an SPD-compatiblesandal released last year, was their first bike-specific product.

Keen Footwear, who moved their headquarters to Portland in 2006 (and didn’t waste any time featuring us in their product catalog), has just announced an expanded line of cycling products.
Keen unveiled an SPD compatible sandal (the “Commuter”) in early 2007 and now plan to [...]

David Darby next to his company vehicle.(Photos/video © J. Maus)

Portlanders love their gardens, their bikes, and their Mother Earth, so it’s no wonder that David Darby’s new business has taken off.
Darby is the man behind Fossil Fuel Free Lawn and Garden Care, a bike-powered business based in Southeast Portland that he started just four months [...]

Handmade, leather bicycle touring shoes… and they’re also good for dancing.(Photo: Jeff Mandel)

Remember Jeff Mandel of ExIT Shoes?
Back in January I shared photos and a story of his handmade leather bicycle saddles.
The other day, I came across his latest creation — a bicycle touring shoe.
According to his blog (Mandel posts an entry for each pair [...]

Rapha will host a roller racing competition — like this one in Portland last February — at Lance Armstrong’s shop in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Dat Nguyen)

Rapha, the UK-based high-end cycling apparel maker who recently established their U.S. headquarters in Portland, is wasting no time sharing the bike culture that brought them here.
According to the company’s [...]

[Update 7/9 **SPOILER ALERT -- SEE BELOW***]

American star George Hincapie flying the new blue Team Columbia kit.(Photo: Team Columbia)

A team flying the logo of Portland-based Columbia Sportswear is having one heck of a Tour de France.

Team Columbia has been near the front of several stages and, after four stages, the team ranks in second [...]

The Clever Cycles storefront on SE Hawthorne Blvd.(Photos © J. Maus)

It’s been just over a year since Clever Cycles open their doors in Southeast Portland, and now they’ll be closing them.
Co-owner Todd Fahrner says that a lack of business is not in the problem. In fact, it’s just the opposite.
During a recent visit to [...]

A PDX Pedicab in action.(Photo by dvanhorn/Flickr)

Here’s a cool, pedal-powered activity for your summer house guests…
PDX Pedicabs and the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association have teamed up to produce a 45-minute audio tour that they say will take pedicab passengers, “back through the layers of Old Town history”.
This new “eco-tour program” is made possible [...]

James Thomas of the Bicycle Design blog introduces us to the “Trek Stop”, a convenience store for bikers…

(Photos courtesy of James Thomas/Bicycle Design)

According to Thomas, this is a test unit that has been set up outside of a bike shop in Madison, Wisconsin (the nearest big city to Waterloo, home town of Trek Bicycles). [...]