freshly brazed forks by Joseph Ahearne,
are just one part of Portland’s emerging
bike economy.
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)
Portland’s National Public Radio affiliate, OPB, has a story today on the connections between Portland’s bike culture and our fledgling bike economy.
The piece is titled, Portland’s Bike Culture Creates Market.
The story, likely spurred by a similar article in the New York Times back in November, starts out with an obligatory mention of Zoobomb (they should get royalties every time a media outlet drops their name) and includes a brief interview with a local bike news publisher, and an employee from Beaverton-based rack manufacturer, Yakima.
In his story, Lindsey probes the question of just how big of an economic player bicycles could become in Portland. I told him that we’re already on our way, with the recognition of bicycles from the Portland Development Commission as a “target industry” subset of the athletic shoes and apparel sector. To that, he wondered:
But is this dream a reality? Could Portland become to bikes what Detroit was once for cars?
I’d sure like to think so.
Read and/or listen to the entire story on OPB.org (it will be streaming audio later today). The story will also be heard nationally next week on the NPR program “Marketplace” which airs weekdays on 91.5 FM at 6:30.