What is BikePortland?
BikePortland is a daily, interactive news source. From street-level activism to the backrooms of City Hall — we cover the culture, personalities, businesses, breaking news, and important advocacy issues that impact bicycling in Portland, Oregon and beyond.
What do you do? What are you all about?
We are an independent publishing company (our business name is Pedaltown Media, Inc.).
Our mission is to inform the community and to inspire productive dialogue about bicycling through the production of thoughtful, independent journalism.
Are you an advocacy organization?
We believe in the power of information and inspiration to change the world, but we just write the news and provide the tools; what you do with it is up to you.
Who are your readers?
BikePortland receives 8,000 visits and 16,000 – 20,000 page views every day. About half our readers are from the Portland area, and the rest hail from around the U.S. and the world.
As our 125,000 plus comments testify, our readers are a diverse bunch who share an interest in bicycle-related issues — but that is where the commonality ends.
How did BikePortland get started?
BikePortland was created by Jonathan Maus as the Bike Fun blog on OregonLive.com (the website for the Oregonian newspaper) in April, 2005, and launched independent news site BikePortland.org three months later. Maus is a self-trained journalist and photographer who formerly worked as a PR and media relations consultant.
BikePortland was a labor of love until 2007, when Maus decided to quit his consulting business and devote himself to to the site full time. Now, with thousands of daily subscribers and visitors, the site has grown into one of the most influential and authoritative bike news sources in the country.
Can you help me with my school project/blog/amazing idea?
There are a lot of resources in Portland for bike-related projects from the professional to the DIY. To tap in and meet people with similar interests, check out the Shift email listserv, Umbrella, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, and the Carfree Happy Hour on the third Thursday of each month at Floyd’s Coffee Shop on NW Couch and 1st in downtown Portland.
If you’re working on something bicycle-related that you think we might like to write about, get in touch. We’d love to hear about it.
Will you link to my business/blog/organization on your sidebar?
If you do work relating to bicycles in Portland, Oregon, then we’d love to consider adding a link to our sidebar. Just Drop us a line and we’ll be happy to make it happen.
Where can I get information about how to bike safely or how to drive a car around bikes?
Check out Shift’s Bicycle Education Resources page for general information as well as Portland-area resources. The BTA has an excellent list of guidelines on Bike Safety for Drivers.
I am coming to visit Portland and want to enjoy the city by bike! Can you tell me where to go and what to do?
We are asked this all the time! Here are some good resources to get you started:
Can I use your story/photograph in my blog/magazine/project?
Our content is covered by Creative Commons / Attribution – Noncommercial – No Derivative Works license. When making reference to original information from this site, please give full credit to “BikePortland.org” and the author or photographer whose work you are referring to.
If you would like to use one of our photographs online or in print, please email (jonathan at bikeportland.org) to discuss our sliding scale licensing fees and preferred attribution.
When in doubt, ask!
How do you support yourselves?
Our primary source of income is from banner advertising partnerships with businesses and organizations. Many of our individual readers also generously support our work. If you find this site valuable, please consider contributing.
I’d like to advertise on your site
Great! Our advertising partners make our work possible, and we love working with new ad partners. Get in touch with JR (info at bikeportland dot org or 971-285-6286) for all the details.
Can I donate?
Yes! This is greatly appreciated; please consider chipping in if you find our work valuable. Readers who are able to contribute in small or large amounts really help keep us going.
We are an LLC so donations are unfortunately not tax deductible. Think of it as an investment, or even a subscription (our local daily paper costs $17/month for home delivery; consider contributing $5/month to BikePortland). You can donate using our paypal button here:
Or you can make out a check to BikePortland. Our mailing address is 6617 N. Michigan Ave. Portland, OR 97217.
Are you hiring?
Not right now, but we accept editorial and news contributions. Email jonathan at bikeportland dot org to talk about your ideas.
What is your comments policy?
We have no set in stone policy about comments. If your comment doesn’t show up right away, it may be because you haven’t registered with the site (registration is free), or it may have been caught in WordPress’s filter (reasons for this can be mysterious). We moderate comments as quickly as possible. We ask that you respect our work by keeping your comments civil and avoiding personal insults.
I signed up for an account on the Forums but it hasn’t been approved.
Email us if your forums account hasn’t been accepted in a couple of days.
I emailed you and never heard back.
Sorry. We try to respond to everything, but sometimes things get crazy and emails will slip through the cracks. If you got in touch a while ago, please try again. We couldn’t do this work without you.