April 2006 Archives

Bike to Blazers 2006 update

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

We’re set to have a great time Saturday night at the Bike to Blazers Ride. I just heard that we’ve sold about 40 tickets so far. That means we’ll not only have a fun group but it also means we’ve raised $200 for the Get Lit program! That money will make our streets safer for everyone by providing free lights for visibility-challenged cyclists.

There’s still plenty of time to buy tickets. The online ordering is closed, but our friend Lisa at the Blazers is standing by to take your order. Call her at (503) 963-3966 to get your tickets. Here’s a brief rundown of the ride…

[Submitted by “therev”]

I got a rear flat tire and locked my yellow Miyata bike w/ very obvious blue-black handlebar wraps outside the Science 2 building at PSU yesterday around 5 pm. I came back for it today @ 1 pm and it was gone. I had it locked with a cable and keyed master lock through the rear wheel and frame. There was no sign of the lock/cable. It also had a cateye light and a crank brothers pump w/ pressure gauge. I am so broke, there is almost no way I can afford another bike. This sucks. Any info: brettd@pdx.edu. Should I contact any other bike shops/websites where it might be sold?

Alberta Street gets even more bike art

[Greeting card by Redbird Studio]

The other day I went to the opening of Tour de Crepes on Alberta Street. This is the new joint opened by a supporter of the bike community and devoted cyclist, Brenda Drain.

The visit confirmed that Alberta Street is perhaps the most bikey in the city. Besides being home to icons of the Portland bike scene like the Community Cycling Center and the Alberta Clownhouse, more bikey businesses and art are popping up all the time.

While I was eating a very tasty crepe on the patio of Tour de Crepes, I looked up and noticed a new mural right next door. I smiled when I saw a self-portrait of Dingo the Clown and his friend Frank atop their tall bikes (see photo).

[Meet your new Sheriff (maybe).
Click to enlarge]

Last week, the Willamette Week ran a photo of Multnomah County Sheriff write-in candidate Paul Van Orden holding a helmet. Since then, several people have emailed and called me saying this guy is the real deal and that I should interview him. I eventually heard from Paul himself. He sent this photo of him and five of his bikes (he owns eight).

The photo is great, but there’s a big difference between being a bike geek and making an impact on Portland cyclists from within the Sheriff’s office. I figured, if this guy really stands a chance of winning (which apparently he does) the bike community should know specifically, in writing, how he felt about several important issues. So, I sent Paul some questions that I hoped would shed light on how he sees bicycles in the mix of law enforcement and safety issues.

[Coming to the Westside]

With all the talk of bicycle tourism in Oregon, here’s a three-day itinerary that would give someone a fantastic look into Portland’s creative and fun bike community.

It would start early Friday morning with Breakfast Off the Bridges. Yes, the B on B crew is going to the Westside for the first time ever, spreading the love to bike commuters with free pastries, coffee and smiles.

Then, after a relaxing day you could make your way to Filmed by Bike at the Clinton Street Theater. After taking in some bike films you’d be ready to warm the flask and join the Midnight Mystery Ride.

[Captain Marty Rowley]

According to a statement on the Police Bureau website, Interim Police Chief Rosie Sizer has just named Central Precinct Captain Marty Rowley the new Commander of the Traffic Division. Rowley takes over for a retiring Bill Sinnott and the change is effective April 13.

The Commander of the Traffic Division is a very important position to the bike community. Sinnott, the outgoing Commander, had a positive impact on many issues including Critical Mass, traffic violation enforcement, bike safety and crash response. In addition to this, he was open and sincere in his dedication to traffic safety and worked to build effective working relationships with many citizens and advocates.

[Click to enlarge]

SK Northwest, a seller of boats and personal watercraft currently located on NE Sandy Blvd, has filed an application to construct a new building on the Willamette just south of OMSI between SE Caruthers and SE 4th Ave. (see map). In their application to the Bureau of Development Services the company has requested an exemption from an existing greenway trail easement that runs across the property on the riverfront.

According to a representative from Portland Parks and Recreation, SK Northwest has “several concerns with the trail and trail users.” These concerns likely stem from the fact that they want to build a new dock to store their boats and they don’t want to deal with trail users coming onto their property.

Six Portland Police officers from the Traffic Division recently underwent a comprehensive, 40-hour pedestrian and bicycle crash investigation course offered by the Institute of Police and Technology Management (IPTM) in Jacksonville Florida.

According to IPTM literature, the course addressed the special dynamics involved in pedestrian and bicycle traffic crashes. From reaction times to victim injury analysis to environmental factors. In addition to classroom instruction, the officers participated in staged crash situations that gave them hands-on experience.

Fat Tire Farm is hosting the premier of “Roam”, a new movie from The Collective, a group of filmmakers, photographers and mountain bikers from British Columbia.

Far from a couple of riding buddies with a camcorder, these guys do amazing work. They do for mountain bikes what the BBC does for nature, combining stunning visuals with innovative camera techniques and an engaging soundtrack.

Hard to believe it’s been a year since my first post.

740 posts later I want to say thanks to all of you for your support and feedback.

Because of your participation, this site has had a real impact on the bike scene. Here are just some of things we’ve accomplished in the past 12 months:

[Wyatt and Lauren
have reason to smile.]

Lauren Donohue and Wyatt Baldwin of byCycle.org just released a very cool feature of their Trip Planner that lets webmasters and bloggers copy/paste a bit of HTML code into any website to give visitors street-by-street, bicycle-friendly directions.

It’s just like Mapquest or Google Maps…for bikes!

You can give this a try over in my sidebar right now. Or, if you’re a webmaster or blogger, here’s the page with the code you’ll need to put it on your own site.

[Karla Keller makes her case,
under the watchful eyes of Evan Manvel
and Mark Ginsberg.]

Karla Keller, ODOT’s Maintenance Manager for Portland, brought along all sorts of stuff for the presentation of her proposal to ban bicycles on metro area highways. She passed out 18 pages of impressive, full-color aerial photos, maps, and internal memos. But unfortunately she forgot the most important thing of all…sensible justification for her proposal.

Bike to Blazers 2006 update

Stolen: Yellow Miyata

Alberta Street gets even more bike art

Sheriff hopeful wants to ride into the job

Weekend of bike fun begins with breakfast

Interim Chief names new Traffic Division Commander

Springwater development may nix trail improvement

Six officers get certified in bicycle crash investigation

MTB movie to premier at Clinton St. Theater

BikePortland.org turns one!

Major development in byCycle’s Trip Planner

Bike ban proposal back to the drawing board

Latest Headlines

Opinion: Portland needs more cul-de-sacs

Monday Roundup: ‘Social safety’ for women, remembering Donald Shoup, and more

Weekend Event Guide: Illuminated, All Bodies on Bikes, new library and more

Portland will daylight 200 intersections over next two years

From the Archives

Escape from Portland with this easy loop on quiet forest roads above Trout Lake