Month: September 2005

Portland featured in bike trade mag

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A local bike shop owner and a local entrepreneur are featured in the October 1 issue of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News Magazine. Bike Gallery owner Jay Graves is featured in an ad for Electra Bicycles. The ad appears in Bicycle Retailer & Industry News magazine and features Jay aboard an Electra “Townie” bike. Jay is highly involved with the bicycle industry so it’s no surprise they chose him for the ad. Also, Jay happens to be the President of the Board of Directors of the the National Bicycle Dealers Association, which publishes the magazine.

In the same issue, local entrepreneur Chad Krueger is featured as one of the “Fab 5 Freshman” to attend this year’s Interbike trade show for the first time. Chad is the owner of Portland Cyclewear. He used to run a retail space in SE Portland with discounted, closeout cycling apparel. In a recent change of direction Chad has decided to close his doors and focus on a new business of making custom, vintage wool cycling jerseys. See you at the show Chad!

(Click images to enlarge)

Stolen: Kona Mountain Bike

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(posted by a registered user)

Blue/Purple/Yellow Kona Kahlua 15-16″ mountain bike stolen from outside the Plaid Pantry on NE Glisan and 28th in the early morning hours of Sunday 9/17. If you have any info on this please get in touch.

See more stolen bike listings.

Bridge bike traffic up in ’05

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Just released from the City of Portland are impressive stats for daily bike traffic over the four main Portland bridges. These stats are from this summer and they reflect the largest jump in bike traffic since records started being kept back in 1992 and how a nearly 15% jump since last year alone.

The bridges surveyed are the:

  • Hawthorne
  • Steel
  • Broadway
  • Burnside

Here’s a quick comparison:

  • 1992 – 2,855 total bike trips
  • 2004 – 8,875 total bike trips
  • 2005 – 10,192 total bike trips

[Click here to enlarge chart]

bridgetrafficsmall

Congratulations to everyone that helps make Portland a great place to ride a bike. These numbers are the fruit of your efforts! If you like charts and graphs, I’ve posted a few others on my Bike Safety page.

Stolen: Electra Rat Rod cruiser

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(This post was entered by a registered user)

Stolen in close-in SE over a month ago. Police report filed with serial number. Bike was all original and had a bell and light mount.

Read more

Just Out profiles queer bike scene

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just_outRebecca Ragain, a local freelancer, has written a terrific piece on bike culture in this week’s Just Out newspaper. It’s a cover story titled, “Feel the Love: Queer bicyclists roam the roads, trails and tracks of Portland and beyond.”

It’s rare to have such quality writing and in-depth coverage of a specific bikey sub-culture. The piece mentions many local cyclists and it highlights the diversity of the Portland bike scene.

Cheers and kudos to both Just Out editors and to Rebecca for a great article. To grab a copy of your own, here’s a list of Just Out distribution locations.

“Broadside Johnnie,” a biking pirate

jollyOK, I completely goofed on this one. I know today was Talk Like a Pirate Day and this is being posted sort of late. Oh well.

I thought it’d be fitting to post something about “Broadside Johnnie”. You may have seen this guy around town. He dresses like a pirate and flies a bikey-inspired Jolly Roger flag (see photo). I met Johnnie when I parked his bike at the Blues Festival earlier this summer.

He’s hung up his cutlass and now he makes his way by selling these flags for $8-10 depending on the color. Here’s a bit more about them from Johnnie himself:

“The design is an adaptation of the Jolly Roger flown by Henry Every. Keep yer weathereye open because I usually carry inventory with me when I ride. If you see me on the road and want to see what I have, shout out “Broadside!” Yeah, the copyright notice in the picture is the one my parents gave me, but my performing name, Broadside Johnnie, has also been adopted by friends as my nickname.

I also carry inventory when I busk on Hawthorne, along the water front (Riverplace) and at farmers’ markets, festivals, and other events. You may have seen me on the sidewalk, or at the Festival de Piratas. If you run across me in mid-tune while I’m busking, I’d prefer to finish the tune before answering questions or making a sale.

You can also send email to broadsidejohnnie@comcast.net, and expect a response within a day. At present, I can only accept cash or money orders. If I can’t make change, I’ll make up for the inconvenience by delivering a flag to you when I have change.”

Stolen -White Motobecane Bike

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(This post was entered by a registered user)

Hi, I live in SE Portland (Clinton area), and my white Motobecane bicycle was stolen yesterday. I just bought it used, and spruced up the tires, had a tune-up etc. Only had it a few weeks, before some thief snuck into my yard and took it. If anyone sees it or sees someone selling it, please contact me at: caramello22@hotmail.com. THANKS!

Just what the world needs…more stickers!

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sticker_randomacts
sticker_platinum
sticker_bplogo

[UPDATE 9/25/05: I’ve decided to ditch Cafepress and get some stickers printed locally. They’re free! Check them out…]

I thought I’d do my part to keep the long and rich Portland bike sticker tradition alive. So without further ado, I’m excited to present the following stickers for your enjoyment:

Express your love of the Portland bike scene and be the first on your block with these fresh new stickers. Thanks for checking them out and if you have any feedback (good or bad!) I’m all ears (or should I say eyes). Thanks!

Tall bike racing at the Clownhouse

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Clownhouse tallbike race

Ever wondered what a bunch of clowns racing tall bikes looks like? On Saturday, as part of the Alberta Street Fair, the Clownhouse hosted such an event. Check out this photo of Dingo the Clown as he rounds a bend in the yard. For a few more photos of the tall bike craziness, check out the rest of my photos.

Sprockettes take over the streets

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Sprockettes at the Clownhouse 9/17
Sprockettes at the Clownhouse 9/17

The Sprockettes put on a great show Saturday at the Alberta Clownhouse. It was Danica‘s first time seeing them but I think she slept through it. Oh well.

After the show I listened while a freelance writer from Venus Magazine interviewed them for an upcoming article. Having seen them many times, it was cool to finally learn more about the ladies behind all that pink. Turns out, they’re just regular chicks who share a love for riding bikes, getty funky in the streets, and spreading positive vibes about women through music and movement. I’m glad they’re starting to get noticed.

By the way, they’re hoping to embark on a college tour…so If anyone out there’s got a diesel bus they’re not using I know what you can do with it…

See more of them in the rest of my photos.

Stolen bike found!

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Remember that guy I posted about who got his really nice bike stolen in broad daylight at the Chunkathalon? Well, I just got this email from him:

“I just wanted to let you know that, thanks to you and all the other people that got the word out, I got (most of) my bike back. You can read the rambling story here.”

It’s a great story and I recommend reading it for an inside look into a bike theft operation and the lengths a guy will go to get his bike back. Wow, it’s great to know that my little site just might have helped out!

(By the way, anyone can register and post their stolen bike information on this site. See this post for more information.)

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