“We have learned how to survive, now we really need to learn how to live.” –Gil Penalosa at the Carfree Conference last Tuesday
I have finally gotten a chance to upload my audio recording of Gil Penalosa’s keynote address to the Towards Carfree Cities Conference at Portland State University last Tuesday.
Penalosa’s speech and presentation garnered a standing ovation from a room full of the best and brightest minds in the international livable cities movement. His words — spoken in the context of a major shift in the transportation mindset of city leaders throughout the world — were the perfect way to kick off the five-day conference.
Mountain bikers will be the main event at Portland International Raceway (PIR) tonight when the Mountain Bike Short Track Series kicks off. The series will continue each of the next six Mondays through the end of July.
Organizer Kris Schamp says given the event’s popularity he’ll keep the racing format the same as previous years. Racers and spectators love the motocross-style courses (which change each week) with their double-jumps, roller-coaster whoop sections, sharp turns, berms, and even a bit of singletrack.
About 70 people joined us for the start at Salmon Street fountain (including this insanely large, trike tall bike). After getting wet at Salmon Street, we paraded to Skidmore Fountain. It was packed with people before we got there and the scene was crazy. Pedalpalooza-ers took over the smallish fountain much to the delight of tourists and everyone around.
Lots of interesting and fun rides to consider today/tonight. Do you like urban history? Graffiti? Gelato? Pizza perhaps? If so, there’s a ride for you.
The Unnecessarily Fun Ride
Col. Summers Park, SE 20th and Belmont
1:30pm
A Bring your own Bike Rodeo and Circus Fun Bike-stravaganza! Bring toys, games, food, and friends. Meet other humans passionate about having fun, learn to juggle, or have a picnic. For kids of all ages. Free!
It’s like Critical Mass without the attitude or the age.
Portland’s first Kidical Mass ride (an import from Eugene) was a big success tonight. About 40 people (and about half were little ones!) showed up for a short loop through downtown.
Ride organizer Angela Koch, the Safe Routes to Schools director for the BTA, led us from the North Park Blocks, up NW Johnson to 21st, across Burnside to Alder, and then back to the Pearl District for ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s.
A large group of fashionable bike riders gathered in the South Park Blocks in downtown Portland this evening for the annual Sexy Cyclists Ride.
Participants showed up in all manner of outfits — from sequined pants, and saucy dresses (worn by boys and girls) to fishnets and, well, barely anything at all.
Here it is folks, your weekend Pedalpalooza lineup.
Peruse the list below with your Saturday morning coffee and head out for two full days of bike fun the likes of which have never been seen.
Whether you like to roller skate, race tandems, build and ride chariots, splash in fountains, rage like a zombie, Zoobomb for 100 miles, swing both ways, or camp with your bike — there is something for you.
Check out the full schedule below and don’t forget to share your ride reports and adventures in the comments… see you out there!
Sunday Parkways — the City of Portland’s first-ever, large-scale carfree event — is all set for this Sunday (6/22) from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.
PDOT’s Transportation Options division first unveiled their plans for the event nearly one year ago. Since then, they’ve executed a comprehensive and strategic plan to make sure the event is a success. They’ve met with hundreds of neighborhood groups, they’ve had meetings with leaders of churches along the route, and they’ve lined up a myriad of performers, live music, food, and other activities to keep things interesting.
Yesterday, after the final day of programs at the Carfree Conference, I took a ride on the riverfront with Gil Penalosa (we were joined by Ian Stude, transportation options coordinator at Portland State University).
Penalosa was Bogota, Colombia’s parks commissioner when that city underwent a massive urban transformation and he is now sought worldwide for his expertise on how to create vibrant and successful public spaces. He has also observed the bikeways and urban design of many cities throughout the world (for more, read this bio).
We rode from PSU, over the Hawthorne Bridge, then north on the Eastbank Esplanade to the Steel Bridge.
“I find it amazing that there is so much conflict between bicyclists and pedestrians. We should be best friends.”
Penalosa — dressed in a coat and slacks — rode at a snail’s pace, snapping photos and stopping to observe things along the way.
As we rode, he directed a steady stream of questions at Ian Stude and I. It was as if he was trying to create a mental inventory, going down a checklist of things that would help him better understand the context of bicycling and public spaces in our city.
He wanted to know: if congestion on the Hawthorne and Esplanade paths was an issue (it is), when the Esplanade was built, why it was so narrow, if we allow drive-thrus (he said some cities have banned them), what kind of mayor Sam Adams will be, what the bike mode share is at PSU, whether or not the students get a parking subsidy, were homeless people a problem, was bike theft a problem, and so on.
At the end of our ride, I asked him about his impressions of the Eastbank Esplanade and about the perils of mixing bikes and pedestrians on such a high-volume facility.
