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PUMP MTB Ride – Scappoose

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Meet at Rocky Point Rd. off Hwy. 30

6:00pm, Every Friday

Join the PUMPp Friday night ride on tight single track in Scappoose. Intermediate to Gonzo technical trails. Bring Lights if you have them. 6:00 p.m. Take Highway 30 West from Portland. When nearing Scappoose, make a left on Rocky Point Road, just past the truck scales. Follow Rocky Point Road 1.1 miles & meet at the first blue gate on the right. Contact John Joy [at] 503.708.5752

John Joy, newsletter at pumpclub daht oh are gee, www.pumpclub.org, 503-708-5752

Bike Lunch

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Meet at
Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave, Portland

(I usually bring a bike helmet with a 3 leafed clover on it to help newcomers find the right table)

12:15pm – 1:15pm, Every Friday

Make friends with bikey people on your lunch break. 12:15PM Friday’s

If it’s cold, or raining at Backspace coffee shop (they sell a mostly vegan menu, and Stumptown coffee).

If it’s warm, and dry at the battleship Oregon on the waterfront (between pine, and oak).
Daniel Patrick Johnson (teknotus), teknotus at gmail daht comm, 503-409-1735

Women-only Bike Commuting Workshop

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Meet at The Portland Building, 2nd floor, Room C, 1120 SW 5th Ave

A workshop focusing on the nuances of bike commuting for women: wardrobe, safety, biking with kids, and more. Lunch provided, all levels welcome. RSVP required by Tuesday, May 6. Call Bethany at 503-823-7878. Part of the Bike to Work Month Events.

SmartTrips Downtown

Updated: City of Beaverton recommends walking your bike across busy streets

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Cover of the newsletter.

“Public Safety” is the theme of a special edition of the City of Beaverton’s Your City newsletter (Beaverton is about 7 miles southwest of Portland).

When BikePortland reader Alan Bennett read through it he was shocked to see that under the heading of, Riding Safe: Bicycle Tips, it was recommended that when biking, you should, “Stop at all intersections and be sure to walk your bike across busy intersections and streets.”

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Adams: Final thoughts on Sauvie and the “massive new transportation challenge facing our City”

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Sam Adams interview-2.jpg

Commissioner Adams during an
interview in October 2007.
(Photo © J. Maus)

In a letter sent out this morning to subscribers of his email newsletter, City Commissioner Sam Adams summed up PDOT’s budget woes and made some final statements on the defunct Sauvie Island Bridge re-use plan (I think the statement will also be published as an Op-Ed in the Oregonian but haven’t confirmed that yet).

In the letter, Adams writes that the combination of high fuel prices, the increasing cost of materials and declining Gas Tax revenue (because Oregonians are driving less) has created a “massive new transportation challenge facing our City.”

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Commissioner Adams on the Sauvie span and PDOT’s budget crisis

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Here is the complete text of a letter sent from City Commissioner Sam Adams about the budget crisis at PDOT (read the full story on the Front Page):

Friends,

I want you to be aware of impacts of massive new transportation challenge facing our City.

Gas prices are up 17%.

Bio-diesel is up 20%.

Yesterday, crude oil went for a record $120 a barrel.

You feel the impact on your household budget of these higher fuel prices. So does the Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT), although in a different way than Portland families do.

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Dozono says he’s the reason Adams scrapped Sauvie span plan

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“If I was not running for Mayor and challenging City Hall’s spending, my opponent would have continued to ram-rod this pet project through”
–Sho Dozono

Not surprisingly, Commissioners Adams’ opponent in the race for mayor, Sho Dozono, has issued a statement in response to Adams’ decision to pull the plug on the plan to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span as a bike/ped bridge in Northwest Portland.

Here’s the statement (emphasis mine):

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Vancouver: Burnt Bridge Creek Trail closed for improvements

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This just in from City of Vancouver:

Improvement work to begin on west end of Burnt Bridge Creek Trail

Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Contact: Terry Snyder, (360) 619-1118
E-mail: terry.snyder@ci.vancouver.wa.us

Vancouver City Council awarded a bid Monday, May 5, to Integrity Excavation & Construction of Battle Ground, for improvements to the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail between Fruit Valley Road and Hazel Dell Avenue and new trailhead improvements at Fruit Valley Road and Bernie Drive.

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Portland ponders PSAs and some inspiration from Hungary

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I’ve got a thing for Hungary. My wife Juli was born there and we’ve visited her family several times (they live in Budapest). The old-world romanticism, the food, the history — I just love being there.

I also like catchy, bike-related PSAs that use creative hooks to get the message across. I’ve highlighted several in the past months — one from London that brings a bike lane symbol to life, the uber-popular Awareness Test video, and even an effort from the Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT).

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Obama spoke cards — get them before he gets here

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An Obama spoke card in Portland,
via Los Angeles and New Orleans.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Local news outlets are reporting that Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, is headed to Portland.

No specific details about his visit have been announced but he’s expected to be in Portland later this week.

Sen. Obama delivered a rousing speech to a packed Memorial Coliseum during his last visit to Portland back in March.

Obama is expected to do very well in Oregon — and especially Portland since he’s the only candidate so far who has mentioned bicycles in an official policy statement (a fact that was first uncovered right here in Portland).

Which brings me to the spoke cards…

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