Riders crest Snow Mountain (elev 7,146 feet) during the 2018 Skull Gravel 120 race in Harney County. The local chamber of commerce won a $27,000 grant for the event.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Oregon’s tourism commission Travel Oregon has just announced $2.4 million in economic recovery grants to help create more Covid-safe tourism opportunities. Among the 60 winners, many of the awards will improve cycling trails and riding destinations all over the state.

Here are the projects (emphases mine):

Central Oregon Trail Alliance ($25,000) to construct a new multi-use trail near Sunriver to help disperse crowds from heavy-use areas and accommodate the use of adaptive mountain bikes.

Cog Wild Bicycle Tours ($7,962) to upgrade outdoor meeting areas in Bend and Oakridge to provide ADA accessible porta-potties and hand-washing stations.

Coos County ($100,000) to construct five miles of trail, improve physical distancing by building one-way loops and increasing signage on the Whiskey Run Trail System on the South Oregon Coast.

Harney County Chamber of Commerce ($26,869.80) for outdoor infrastructure to support a COVID-19 safe outdoor Skull 120 gravel mountain bike event.

Newport Trail Stewards ($79,500) for phase I of a project that will construct a series of multi-use and bike-specific trails, improve parking access, add restrooms and install wayfinding and trail signage at the Big Creek Trail System in Newport.

Port of Cascade Locks ($99,998) for parking lot and trail improvements to ease congestion on the Easy CLiMB family-friendly mountain bike trail in Cascade Locks.

Prineville-Crook County Chamber of Commerce ($11,622) to install a bike hub at the visitor center at the Prineville Crook County Chamber of Commerce.

And these are just the projects that focus specifically on cycling. Several I didn’t list here will improve the experience of visiting many of the small towns and other destinations that make Oregon such a magical place to ride a bicycle. Have a look at the full list here.

Last week we shared how the City of Portland won a $47,600 Travel Oregon grant to improve their outdoor dining street plazas.

An analysis by Dean Runyan & Associates of how the pandemic has impacted the Oregon tourism economy found that employment related to travel declined by 22% last year and total travel spending declined 50% between 2019 and 2020.

Do you part to help Oregon recover: Plan a bike trip today!

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Masked racers roll out at the Shasta Gravel Hugger race that kicked off the season on March 6th.
(Photo: OBRA)

It appears bike racing — even mass start events — can happen safely despite the lingering presence of Covid-19 and its variants.

The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association announced this week that after hosting four large bike races so far this year, they’ve had zero reported cases of the virus.

“It has been inspiring to see how much work our professional race promoters put into their events to make them safe while maintaining the raw excitement and energy we all feel at a bike race,” OBRA Executive Director Chuck Kenlan said in a statement Thursday.[Read more…]

Two fresh opportunities posted this week.

Learn more about each one via the links below…

– Bike Tour Guide/Shop Staff – Cycle Portland Bike Tours and Rentals

– Bike Valet Ambassador – Go By Bike

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Cover of ODOT’s new manual.

Here’s some good news on a little thing we care a lot about: The power of words.[Read more…]

(Photos: Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University)

Did you know the vaunted urban planning department at Portland State University hosts a free, week-long summer camp for high school students? [Read more…]