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Year: 2008

Popularity of ‘Short Track’ race series skyrockets

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Short track MTB racing

Short Track series organizer
Kris Schamp.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The Portland Mountain Bike Short Track Race Series, which wrapped up its six-race series at Portland International Raceway (PIR) last night, has tallied a record number of participants.

Event founder and organizer Kris Schamp reports that for the first time ever, there were over 400 entries into last night’s event and that he tallied a 65% increase in the amount of unique racers (some folks race more than once per event) from last year.

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Portland’s bike-friendly rep garners plenty of attention too

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Suli Yu, a reporter for Voice of
America, working in SE Portland
this morning.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Even though recent local and national headlines have portrayed an image of uneasiness and tension between bikes and cars on Portland’s roadways, our bike scene is also getting plenty of positive attention.

I just spent a few hours with Suli Yu, a video journalist with the Chinese bureau Voice of America. Founded in 1942, the VOA is a U.S. taxpayer-funded news service that broadcasts to a worldwide audience of 134 million people.

Mr. Yu was in Portland to produce a feature on our bike culture for Cultural Odyssey, a weekly news magazine program. Yu said the show will be translated into 44 languages and shown via satellite in cities around the world (in addition to being piped into every major hotel in China).

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Neighborhood, city, move toward a carfree Last Thursday

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“The city is allowing us to discourage cars from using Alberta with signs and posters asking them not to drive on the street during Last Thursday.”
–Magnus Johannesson, Alberta Street neighborhood activist and business owner.

The City of Portland, TriMet, and a neighborhood activist are moving forward on an effort to discourage cars from driving on NE Alberta Street during the monthly Last Thursday event.

Last month, Alberta Street neighborhood activist and business owner Magnus Johannesson drove two junker cars onto the street and created a temporary carfree zone before tow trucks and the Police Bureau showed up.

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Trail Blazers star: Biking is “My funnest time of the day”

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“I remember being the type who would say ‘Get out of the road you bike rider’, but now every time I do something, it’s like ‘I’ll ride my bike over there.’ It’s definitely something I know I’m going to do for the rest of my life.”
— Brandon Roy to Oregonian reporter Jason Quick

OregonLive.com has published a video and several stories about the biking exploits of the Portland Trail Blazers’ NBA superstar Brandon Roy.

Roy, who earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2007 and is considered one of the NBA’s best players, has been incorporating a bicycle ride into his weekly workouts during the offseason.

He told the Oregonian’s Jason Quick that, “At first, I was like, wow, this isn’t fun,” but as he got used to the thigh-burning, he now thinks, “It’s probably my funnest time of the day… that’s the time I get to get away from everything.”

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Bike to Berry Ride

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Ain’t no berries in your bucket? Join Exchange Cycle Tour’s Bike to Berry ride Saturday August 2nd. We’ll ride out to Sauvie Island and
pick blueberries and raspberries at Kruger’s Farm, hang out in the grass swapping berry crumble recipes, eat lunch (Kruger’s typically has a grill going with dogs and burgers, but you may want to bring something else to eat), then we’ll head back to town no later than
2ish.

Departure: For SE folks: 10:00am from Madison Plaza under the
Hawthorne Bridge, For NE folks: Peninsula Park at 10:30
Return: Should be back in Portland by 2-3ish, maybe in time to catch
the end of Flugtag!
Distance: 31 miles round trip
Forecast: Bee-ew-tiful!
Route: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/ECT-Bike-to-Berry

Ride Leader and contact information:
Heather Williams
ptownpeach [ at] gmail [dot ] com
503.504.9294

Community Exchange Cycle Touring Club and Bike School
http://www.exchangecycletours.org

Good morning Portland; it’s nice to be home

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The Sprockettes in Truckee-3.jpg

The Sprockettes at the Tour de Fat
in Truckee, California.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Last night I drove from South Lake Tahoe to Portland and it feels great to be home.

Now comes the gargantuan task of trying to get back in front of the stories and emails that have backed up in my mind and inbox for the past week-and-a-half.

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Customer Help Desk Technician (Chris King Precision Components)

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Job Title
Computer Help Desk Technician

Company/Organization
Chris King Precision Components

Job Description
Computer Help Desk Technician
Chris King Precision Components™, manufacturer of precision bicycle components, is seeking a full time Computer Help Desk Technician to assist with maintenance of a carefully controlled all Macintosh computer network for our design & manufacturing company. 1 yr. help desk experience required. Excellent customer service and troubleshooting skills required. Documentation skills are critical. Experience with physical and logical network management, Mac OS X, Apple Remote Desktop, LDAP/OD and Workgroup Manager is strongly desired. Familiarity with open source software and Unix shells are a definite plus. Ability to quickly learn new technology while still getting things done is critical.

The successful applicant will be team oriented, a fast learner, positive and have a strong commitment to community, the environment and excellence in general. We offer competitive pay and a full benefit package .

How to Apply
Please furnish a letter of interest and resume by e-mail to people@chrisking.com (no attachments accepted). A drug free environment and equal opportunity employer. Visit our website at www.chrisking.com.

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