Tomorrow (7/13) Portland Open Studios and Weir’s Cyclery are having a special party to roll out the 2006 ArtBike.
The ArtBike is part of a unique cycling and art event created four years ago by Portland Open Studios’ organizer and artist Bonnie Meltzer and Weir’s Cyclery.
Portland Open Studios is non-profit that puts on an annual tour of artists’ studios in the Portland Metro area each October.
Portland bike lawyer Ray Thomas, a tireless defender of cyclist’s rights, is at it again.
His latest initiative is a grassroots project to bring accountability to the court system from the consumers of the system, those who appear in traffic court with bicycle related cases.
According to Thomas, the impetus of this initiative comes from accounts he has heard from citizens that judges are routinely impolite, disrespectful and have even blocked cyclists from submitting evidence in their own defense at trial. Here’s more from Thomas:
[Submitted by baamin]
A green Gary Fisher Tassajara was taken from the southeast corner of NW 10th and Couch on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 5, 2006. The bike was locked to a post with cable (U-lock malfunctioned), but that was taken too, so I’m assuming the cord was clipped. Body Geometry seat, new inset-tread uber tires, two water bottle mounts and discernable scratch along the top of the frame at time of theft. Handlebar hub is red and inscribed with “ALL WORK AND NO PLAY IS NO GOOD AT ALL” along the circumference. Please write or call with any information: baamin@yahoo.com, 5zero3-4zero7-7318.
Thanks.
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is in the midst of a two-year bicycle boulevard campaign. They’re trying to figure out where to put them, how to educate other advocates about them and most importantly, they’re trying to come up with a clear vision for what these boulevards will actually look like.
To that end, they’re on a bike boulevard tour that has already taken them to Davis and Berkeley California in recent weeks and they have future trips planned to Vancouver, BC among other places.
On Monday I joined the BTA Bike Boulevard Team on a trip to Eugene to see what planners in that city are doing to create low-traffic bikeways.
There’s a new bike shop in Southeast Portland called Atomic Sprockets. They’re nestled in an old building at 627 SE Morrison (between 6th and 7th).
They’ve got a fun mix of new and vintage cruisers including bikes from classic brands like Schwinn, Monarch, Hawthorne, JC Higgins, and Western Flyer and new cruisers from Nirve, Manhattan, Dyno and Schwinn. They also do custom bikes, restoration, bike motors, painting and repair.
The SK Northwest case is getting messier by the week. There has just been a second appeal (links to PDF) filed against the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) decision to not allow their permit. SK Northwest is seeking to build their business on a key section of the Springwater Corridor Trail and not grant the city any trail access across the property.
This Wednesday The 700 Club – a 40 year-old news program produced by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) – will feature a segment on bike commuting that was filmed entirely in Portland.
*Given the CBN’s extremely conservative (and sometimes controversial) stance on many social and political issues, the fact that they’re devoting time on The 700 Club to focus on bike commuting in one of the country’s bluest states is yet another sign that bike commuting is reaching a Tipping Point of acceptance into many new segments of the U.S. population.
The highlight of the recent Multnomah County Bike Fair (MCBF) were the jousting competitions. This year they even had a few unicycle jousters.
In case you missed it (or if you didn’t get enough of it) I present a few video clips from the day’s action…
Instead of the same old baseball and football coverage, our local FOX-TV station decided to “go inside the strange and unusual world of bike jousting,” for their Oregon Sports Spotlight segment.
Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to The Night Ride last night. Luckily, BikePortland.org reader John Boyd did.
Here’s his report and photos:
A full moon followed us on a blast of a Night Ride which wound 15 miles through North Portland. Everything about the ride was incredibly well organized, pocket maps, free tuneups, snacks and water, many crossing guard volunteers and signage, but the best part was the route of course itself. It covered new territory for me and included miles of off-road paved trails.
After months of gathering community feedback (which included a mural tour by bike), and jumping through a few hoops for the permit, paint is finally flowing on the new Share the Road mural. This new mural is being painted on the side of the Hawthorne Auto Clinic (4307 SE Hawthorne).
Meet 38 year-old Mike Colhour. He runs a successful scrap metal recycling business by bike. He rides around the neighborhood, collecting scrap metal and plastics from dumpsters and from the side of the road.
He’s been doing this for 10-15 years all over Vancouver and Portland. He recycles all kinds of stuff including glass, wire, stereos, toasters, and so on.
Once he fills his custom-made dual trailer system he cashes in his load at Metro Metals Northwest.