“If the Governor can get on a bicycle and ride this summer it is a symbol to the rest of us… we all have to change.”
— Gov. Kulongoski
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski rode a bike to work this morning. Afterward, he delivered a brief speech in his office where he said he was trying to “send a message to every citizen in this state.”
The Oregonian published a video (watch it below) of the ride and his speech.
On Saturday, I decided to put the Yuba Mundo through a few paces.
When he dropped it off last week, local Mundo man Jeremy Towsey-French said the bike excels at carrying awkward loads. With that in mind, I decided to use it to pick up a few things I needed around the house — two large wooden screen doors and a 50-pound bag of chicken feed.
TriMet is installing new tracks on the Steel Bridge for the MAX Green Line. The construction started on June 1st and will last through August 30.
Bus, MAX, and auto traffic on the bridge will be affected but bike and pedestrian access will be maintained.
On Friday, a massive parade of Portlanders helped Voodoo Doughnut celebrate their new store opening. And, not surprisingly, many of them showed up on bikes.
Among the crowd was an eclectic and interesting mix of people and vehicles — from roller derby girls to a fleet of hearses. Even Mayor Potter and his wife showed up and seemed to be enjoying themselves.
One friend said that someone stopped in traffic, waiting for the procession to go by, asked “What is this? A peace march?”, to which the reply was, “No, it’s for the opening of a doughnut shop!” Only in Portland.
In an effort to “create the best park system in the world,” Metro is zeroing in on trails.
They’ve formed a Blue Ribbon Committee of regional leaders who are tasked with figuring out how to fund and develop new trails and connect and improve existing ones. Part of that effort is a series of five Trail Tours.
The first tour in the series is on Wednesday, June 11 and it will focus on the North Portland Greenway Trail (map below).