It was a packed out for the 2nd annual
Transportation Trivia fundraiser last night.
(Photo: Mary Nichols)

Portland is full of transportation wonks (a.k.a. geeks or nerds) and last night it seemed like nearly every one of them was packed into the Radio Room. The event that brought them all together was Transportation Trivia Night, a fundraiser for the Community Cycling Center.

Dozens of local transportation experts, consultants, researchers, engineers, bureaucrats, students, advocates, citizen activists — and even a few members of the local media (including yours truly) — donated $10 to join the fun. Among the many smiling faces in the crowd were: ODOT Pedestrian and Bicycle Program Manager Sheila Lyons; citizen activist extraordinaire and former City Council candidate Chris Smith; BTA Executive Director Rob Sadowsky; Portland State University Associate Professor Kelly Clifton; Filmed by Bike Founder Ayleen Crotty; and Portland Mayor (and former City Transportation Commissioner) Charlie Hales. (more...)

Alison Graves at the 2010 Oregon Bike Summit.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortand)

Alison Graves announced to staff this morning that she is leaving the non-profit Community Cycling Center. Graves has been with the organization for seven years, serving the last three as executive director. Her last day will be March 14th. Current Deputy Director Anne Lee will be the CCC's interim director and the organization will begin the search for a new leader in March.

Alison is married to Jay Graves, the former owner of Bike Gallery who sold his stake in the company back in November. "The time has come to move on," Alison shared with us yesterday. She said she intends to take advantage of the "opportunity of a lifetime" to join Jay on a long ("a couple months") trip to explore other cities, to visit family, and to, "Find out what our next chapter is."
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Taking the new rig for a spin.
(Photo: Greg Lee)

The Community Cycling Center's annual Holiday Bike Drive took place on Sunday. The event is a cherished tradition here in Portland as it brings together the community in a way that no other event does. Beyond simply giving out free bikes, the CCC carefully chooses recipients based on those in need. All the families that take part are referred to the event by a partnering social service program and the kids are given a full complement of accessories and skills education to go along with their bike.

According to CCC Communications Manager Melinda Musser, 412 children received bikes on Saturday and — underscoring the CCC's success in broadening the reach of bicycling in our community — there were 18 languages represented. (more...)

Community Cycling Center Executive Director Alison Graves speaking at the opening of the Bike Hub in New Columbia yesterday.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

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The Hub as of Sunday.
(Photos: Community Cycling Center/Flickr)

The Community Cycling Center and their partners are busy in North Portland today putting on the finishing touches to the new "bike hub" coming to the New Columbia neighborhood. The design/build project began just two weeks ago and the big grand opening is slated for tomorrow evening.

Dubbed simply "The Hub," the CCC says the new building will, "provide affordable repairs, free advice, and act as a community resource center for all sorts of bicycle-based activities at New Columbia." (more...)

Future home of the Bike Repair Hub!
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Community Cycling Center has finalized their plans to build a 'Bicycle Repair Hub' in the New Columbia neighborhood of north Portland. According to a statement released this morning, the CCC will build the facility this month with community-led design charrettes beginning August 20th and final construction expected to be completed 11 days later.

The quick construction turnaround is made possible through a partnership with graduate students from a joint MFA program in Applied Craft and Design at the Oregon College of Art and Craft and the Pacific Northwest College of Art. The Bike Repair Hub will be the graduating class's intensive design/build project that turns empty spaces into "dynamic and creative learning centers." (more...)

The Community Cycling Center's (CCC) work to bring the power of bicycling into new communities has led to the formation of a new advocacy group, Andando en Bicicletas en Cully (ABC) – which translates to "Riding Bikes in Cully."

ABC is a group of people who live in Hacienda CDC, an affordable housing non-profit in northeast Portland that the CCC first began working with in 2009 as part of their Understanding Barriers to Bicycling project. (more...)

Waiting for new owners.
(Photos: Britt Appleton/CCC)

The Community Cycling Center held their 16th annual Holiday Bike Drive yesterday. The event connected over 400 kids from low-income families with a newly refurbished bike, a helmet, basic safety education and most importantly, the freedom and sheer joy that comes with having your own two wheels.

We weren't at the event this year, but the CCC shared a few photos of the happy kids (taken by Britt Appleton): (more...)

Thanks to the Community Cycling Center, this vacant lot in the New Columbia mixed-income housing neighborhood will soon be home to a bike skills park, pump track and repair center!
(Photo © J. Maus)

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Bench at NE Prescott and 68th.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Community Cycling Center is taking their "I ride" campaign to new places. The non-profit that sees bicycles as "vehicles for social change" announced today they have purchased bus bench advertisements at 15 locations in north and northeast Portland.

I spotted one of the ads yesterday on NE Prescott Street, right across the street from Harvey Scott School. (more...)