Mayor of The Dalles, Stephen Lawrence. (Photos by J. Maus/BikePorltand)
The Dalles' Mayor Stephen Lawrence described himself as a "Blumenauer bike freak" when I met him in City Hall on Monday. I'm used to elected officials boosting their cycling credentials when they talk with me; but in Mayor Lawrence's case, so far he's actually backing it up.
You've simply got to watch this new video put out by the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation. PBOT is just over a one month away from their first Sunday Parkways event of the year (May 11th) and the video was made to kick off their fundraising efforts.
Renderings created with Streetmix by BikePortland (top) and Terry Dublinski (bottom).
A neighborhood transportation activist backed by the North Tabor Neighborhood Association is looking for volunteers to help him research the effects of adding buffered or parking-protected bike lanes on Burnside.
Portlanders have created some ingenious ways to store and secure their bicycles at home.
Portlanders have known for years that we're blessed with some of the best public and commercial bike parking in the country. But our private residential bike parking goes unsung, simply because it's harder to photograph.
Last week, we asked readers to share shots of their residential bike parking setups, and got a big response. Unsurprisingly, some folks have put in some pretty impressive efforts. I've collected a gallery of noteworthy ones below.
Start with image (1) at the top from Brandon, whose "six-adult household in Lents" makes room on an interior wall for six bikes, one trailer and a bike pump.
And here's what looks like an apartment setup (2), from Mike in Southwest Portland. Notice the precise placement of the red hooks on the ceiling joist:
Pioneering Portland bike advocate Sam Oakland received a Bud Clark Award for lifetime achievement from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in 2001. (Photo courtesy BTA.)
An often-forgotten forefather of Portland's street-level bike advocacy movement died last week.
Sam Oakland, an English professor, poet and author who rode his bicycle to work at what was then Portland State College, started rallying bicycle riders to attend City Hall hearings in the late 1960s and led citizen actions in support of Oregon's groundbreaking 1971 Bike Bill.
"There just wasn't a lot of advocacy going on at that time," said Karen Frost, who followed in Oakland's steps 25 years later as the first executive director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. "He was really kind of a prime mover."
He called his volunteer network the "Bicycle Lobby," and referred to himself only as its "clerk."
Several murals in downtown The Dalles depict the area's rich history. (Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)
While most of the attention for cycling in The Dalles is focused on the stellar roads outside the city, you'll be missing a lot if you don't explore the town itself. Put another way; you don't have to wear spandex or be ultra-fit to explore the cool things this town has to offer. From history, to local watering holes, to big views of the Gorge, a bike is all you need to take it all in.
After being here a few days, I heard about several "must-see" destinations over and over again. So today, I headed out and connected a bunch of them up into a tour. I had a great time doing it myself, so I figured it'd be worth sharing.
Breakaway Promotions owners Chad Sperry (right) and Lori Waters (center), with employee Tony Kic outside Baldwin Saloon in The Dalles. (Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)
It seems like every notable bike city has its unofficial bicycle ambassador. Sometimes it's a blogger and consultant, like the case of Mikael Colville-Andersen in Copenhagen; or it can even be a city official, like when Mia Birk led the cycling charge in Portland in the 1990s. Out here in The Dalles, the position rests with a man named Chad Sperry.
Sperry is co-owner of Breakaway Promotions, one of the largest and most successful bicycle race event production companies in Oregon. Sperry runs the business with wife and business partner Lori Waters. Together, they're responsible for an impressive list of events; from mountain biking to elite-level road races and national championships. In total, they put on over two dozen events with over 60 event days in Idaho, Utah and Oregon. His Gorge Roubaix is one of the reasons I decided to come to The Dalles. And it's an event with extra meaning because Sperry lives here and he's an unabashed advocate of cycling in his home town.
NE Broadway and Vancouver Avenue in 2011. (Photos by J.Maus/BikePortland)
An 800-person phone poll that wraps up tonight is offering some new insight on the city's leading ideas for raising money for transportation projects.
BikePortland reader Ethan Jewett, who received a call Friday on his family's land line, said the "main options" presented by the pollster were an $8-per-month flat fee on each household to pay for road maintenance and safety improvements, and a $12-a-month fee that would also pay for better bus service in low-income areas.
Lawsuit incentive: People on foot or bike who win civil lawsuits against people in cars would get minimum damage awards — $1,000 plus attorney fees — under a proposed Oakland law.
The first day of the Gorge Roubaix is in the books. It was a fantastic day of racing, with dry and party cloudy skies most of the day. There was some rain for the later races. And the wind was howling; but that's to be expected out here in the Gorge.
Personally, I'd rather forget what happened. Long story short: I got dropped early by the Cat 3 field and never caught back on. Oh, and the only guys I passed all day had gotten flats. It was my first road race since 1998, so I didn't expect much. But still, being last and riding slow and alone for three hours in a "race" is never awesome.
But enough about me, let's take a look at some photos from the day.
I got an unexpected treat this morning and was able to hop in an official media car to do some photos of the early races. It was beautiful out there. Before we headed out on the course, I got a few shots in the parking lot and registration area. Have a look...
A new bike shop coming to downtown The Dalles. (Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)
Ever since a reporting trip to Washington D.C. a few years ago, I've begun using a soup analogy to assess a city's bike-friendliness. A good bowl of soup, like a successful cycling city, requires many different ingredients, and just as importantly, the right people to blend them together. In D.C., after spending a few days cycling on their impressive protected bike lanes, my impression was that they had added many excellent ingredients to the soup, but the taste wasn't quite right. It was like an inexperienced chef who knew where to buy the good ingredients, and was able to plop them in the pot — but wasn't yet skilled enough at blending them all together into a tasty final product.
Here in The Dalles, to continue the soup analogy, the kitchen is full of chefs excitedly prepping ingredients, and there's a lot of buzz about what they'll create; but the pot isn't even boiling yet.
Bridge work by city crews this summer will block off the Thurman Street Bridge over Balch Creek in Lower Macleay Park from Tuesday, April 1 until Labor Day.
The closure includes all of Northwest Thurman Street between 28th and 32nd, including stairway access from the bridge to Lower Macleay Park. A signed detour will be in place for local residents and visitors to Forest Park, the Leif Erikson Drive trailhead and Lower Macleay Park, the city said in a news release.
River City Bicycles ad creator Andrew Reed in a cyclocross race. (Photo courtesy Reed.)
He's co-created major TV ads, like this one launching Apple's iPad Air. He led the team that came up with Oregon Humane Society's "End Petlessness" campaign and the concept for Oregon Public Broadcasting's signature news show, Think Out Loud.
One year, in a gig he's still sheepish about, he commuted weekly from California to Detroit to do ad work for Chevrolet.
But about 20 times each year for the last decade, Andrew Reed has sat down with Adobe Illustrator to put together River City Bicycles' quarter-page black and white ad for page 3 of Willamette Week.
"I can't think of another bike shop in the country that does this," said Reed, a freelance creative director who moved from Portland to Los Angeles in 2012, in a phone interview Thursday. "It's kind of a life's work kind of thing."
NE Cully at Killingsworth, looking northwest toward the spot where the collision took place. (Image from Google Street View)
The Portland Police Bureau's major crash team is investigating a collision between a bicycle and car at Northeast Killingsworth Street and Cully Boulevard at 7:48 pm Thursday night.
Police said the man on the bike, described as being in his 20s, suffered "traumatic injuries" and was transported to a Portland hospital for treatment. Police did not release his name, and his current condition isn't known.
Hope you're ready for another great weekend of bike events and rides in and around Portland. In this edition of our guide, we've got quite a diverse selection for you. From racing (both off-road and on) to culture, fun, and education. It's truly amazing how many worlds open up when you get into bicycling.
And I've added a special, non-weekend bonus event because there's something on Monday night that was definitely worth including.
Whew! Spring is definitely upon us. I can't remember the last time we had six Job Listings posted in just one week. The pace of hiring has heated up with the season. If you're looking for a great opportunity in Portland's vibrant bike scene, check out the latest jobs posted to our Job Listings via the links below...
Picture-perfect cycling roads are as abundant out here as the cherry orchards. This view is looking west on Emerson Loop Road just east of downtown. (Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)
Before today I had never stopped in The Dalles (population 14,000) for more than a quick pit-stop at Burgerville during a family road trip. Now, after spending my first full day here, I realize I've been missing a lot.
A Wall Street Journal report last week that New York City's wildly popular bike share system has been operating in the red has, understandably, rattled the Portland transportation world as we wait for a similar system here.
I'll start by rounding up the burst of media coverage, then offer some quick analysis.
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