🚨
6/20: Hello readers and friends. I am having my second (of two) total knee replacement surgeries today so I'll be out of commission for a bit while I recover. Please be patient while I get back to full health. I hope to be back to posting as soon as I can. I look forward to getting back out there. 🙏. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
This Friday through Sunday, Portlanders will get a taste of Europe when a small section of downtown will be closed to cars. The occassion is the Portland Carfree Days, organized by an emerging group of advocates, who are working with local businesses and non-profit groups to promote alternatives to motorized vehicles in the city and to reclaim public space for people.
Traffic safety specialists at PDOT are working with Transportation Commissioner Sam Adams, the Portland City Council, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, and the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition to beef up their legal toolkit with new laws that will make it easier to sanction motorists who are involved in fatal traffic crashes.
PDOT Traffic Investigations Manager Mark Lear said they are “currently reviewing potential options” to introduce bills similar to Washington state’s vehicular homicide laws in their legislative package for the upcoming session.
A local TV station recently ran a news segment on the notoriously tricky I-5 bike path. A bicyclist was interviewed. He sometimes has a rough commute, though overall he seemed fit and cheery and enjoyed his choice of transportation.
For some reason, the words “Bikes vs Cars” blared on the corner of the screen throughout the segment.
“Bikes vs Cars:” You hear it everywhere, though, particularly since the Randy Albright case against TriMet became public. One can question whether it’s anything more than a sound byte, but the idea certainly has galvanized media commentators and much of their audience, as we found during the 95.5 fiasco.
All-black, Kenda 2.3 rear tire, Crank Bros. Mallet-C pedals, black Yeti grips
Cherry apple red front triangle and dark blue rear triangle aluminum frame full suspension bike. Front was spray painted cherry apple red, very obvious! Dark blue rear triangle says “SHIMANO” on it.
Shiny silver Steel wheels. Bike seat says “NEXT” on it in dark letters. Black Pedals. Steel triple cranks. No kick stand.
White and Black 50cm Univega Modo Vivere Steel frame front carbon fork road bike.
Cateye bike computer,green seat bag, black ulock clamped to seat tube, women’s Serfas seat, homemade rear fender only. Campy componets with triple crank.
Chris King, founder of Portland-based King Cycle Group will be inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame later this month at the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas.
King, who moved his company to Northwest Portland a few years ago, developed his first headset in 1976 in Santa Barbara, California. Since then Chris King headsets and hubs have become known as the standards by which all others are measured.
BTA director Evan Manvel has had enough with the way some journalists report on traffic crashes involving bicycles. He has just published the “Top Ten Things the News Gets Wrong About Crash Reports.”
Here’s his list.
After 32 years, the owners of Northwest Bicycles have decided to move on. The well-loved shop in the heart of Northwest Portland (21st & Lovejoy) has been sold and a new bike shop will open in its place November 1st.
According to co-owner Ron Hinckley, the shop has been pruchased by the owner of Fat Tire Farm, a nearby mountain bike shop on NW Thurman. The new owner will renovate the space but will maintain the basic product mix and feel that has worked for Northwest Bicycles for over three decades.
I visited the shop last week and asked Ron a few questions: