Bike Farm Pre-Party

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At the Bike Farm, 305 Ne Wygant and Garfield
7:00pm
Join us for food and drinks in celebration of Bike Farm’s brand new home! We’ll be hosting a pre-party (or just party for non-show goers) to the Okkerville River Band concert at the Crystal Ballroom. We’ll be leading a bike ride (to help show goers cut down on carbon emissions) leaving at 8:30 from Bike Farm to the Crystal Ballroom downtown, where we’ll be raffling off a sewing machine bicycle!
Ariel Raymon, bikefarm at gmail daht comm

Updated: In case you were wondering: Xtracycles are taking over

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[See end of story for updates.]

A family ride to IKEA-5.jpg

Kids, cargo, or both; longbikes rule.
(Photos © J. Maus)

I can remember a time not too long ago, when Xtracycles were an oddity. They first started showing up at bike industry trade shows in the late 1990s and they were a novel, fringe product that only true bike geeks really knew about. At that time, the industry was still completely enamored with cliff-hucking downhill bikes and road racing machines (Lance was just getting started).

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Portlanders head to Vegas for annual trade show

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Portland-based Chris King Precision
Components will officially launch their
new bottom bracket at Interbike in Las Vegas
next week.

It’s that time once again when the entire bike industry converges on Las Vegas for the annual Interbike trade show. For many Portlanders, that means a trek out to the desert to cavort with friends and business partners, get the latest on all the hot new products, and revel in pure bike geekdom for a few days.

Here’s what a few Portlanders and one local company will be up to.

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Branches in the bike lane? Parks wants your help

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Put some clippers in your
panniers and help out.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Portland Parks and Recreation is looking for help in clearing overgrown trees from bike lanes and sidewalks. A few mornings ago, I rolled by a flyer for an upcoming event they’re hosting called, “Prune by Bike”.

With a plea to “Help keep the bike lane clear” the flyer promises a morning full of free tree pruning tips along with the fringe benefit of nicer biking conditions.

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Portland-based company will design, produce Castelli team apparel

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a visit to Castelli

Castelli USA President Greg Cowan
at their headquarters in
downtown Portland.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Castelli USA, the American arm of the high-end Italian cycling apparel brand, is set to announce next week that they’re now the sole provider of custom Castelli team apparel in the United States.

The new division, dubbed “Servizio Corse” (which means ‘home for team equipment’ in Italian) will design and produce all custom team apparel in Portland.

Castelli is known throughout the bike industry as having one of the highest quality, most technically advanced lines of clothing available. This new agreement will, for the first time ever, allow teams and clubs to order custom-designed apparel made with the same Italian fabrics and chamois materials used by teams in the professional peloton (like Saunier Duval).

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Unicycles get their due in The Oregonian

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Front page of the O’s How We Live section today.

The How We Live section of today’s Oregonian features an article about Portland’s growing unicycling scene. In, It’s a whole new UNI-verse, reporter Melissa Navas introduces us to all manner of one-wheeled bike lovers and even gives it a go herself.

Navas calls unicycling “an emerging sport” and she includes a quote from the sport’s big superstar Kris Holm (of Vancouver B.C.) who says that Portland is perfect for unicycling because, “the area’s rugged landscapes and the weird image it likes to cultivate.”

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And then there were four; PDOT installs bike corrals downtown

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“These corrals… are intended to serve the high volume of people arriving by bicycles at these locations.”
— from a PDOT media advisory about new bike parking downtown

The streetscape of downtown Portland has been forever altered.

Thanks to four new on-street bike parking facilities (a.k.a. bike corrals), PDOT has hastened a shift in the balance of roadway space away from motor vehicles and toward the growing number of Portlanders who choose to get around by bike.

After getting my first glimpse of them yesterday, I went out and photographed the three other new corrals this morning.

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Press Release: PDOT to officially unveil new bike parking tomorrow

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Here’s the press release from PDOT:

Four new on-street bicycle parking locations unveiled on National PARK(ing) Day – September 19

(PORTLAND, OR) – The Portland Office of Transportation will be celebrating National PARK(ing) Day on Friday, September 19, with its four newest on-street bicycle parking facilities. National PARK(ing) Day is a nationwide event sponsored by the Trust for Public Lands, in which individuals create park-like settings in 8 x 20 feet parking spaces as a way of recognizing the large amount of land that is devoted to auto use.

When:
Friday, September 19, 2008 – 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Where:
Four new bike corral locations
Ace Hotel, south side of SW Stark St at SW 10th Ave
Bijou Café and Stumptown Coffee, east side of SW 3rd Ave at SW Pine St
Powell’s Books, south side of NW Couch St at NW 11th Ave
Southpark Seafood Grill and Wine Bar, west side of SW 9th Ave/SW Park at SW Salmon

The new on-street bicycle parking facilities (a.k.a. bike corrals) will provide parking for 16 to 24 bicycles in two motor vehicle parking spaces. These corrals, joining the 5 existing corrals already in place in Portland, are intended to serve the high volume of people arriving by bicycles at these locations. They also greatly improve the sidewalk environment and reduce the number of bicycles that lock onto signs and railings. The above named businesses advocated for this increased bicycle parking and were integral in the decision to swap the auto parking spaces for bicycle parking.

For more information about the project, contact either Tom Miller at 503-823-1121, Sarah Figliozzi at 503-823-0805, or Roger Geller at 503-823-7671.

Bikes, transportation and Oregon’s ‘Big Look’

The Big Look is Oregon’s
effort to review statewide
land-use planning laws.

Oregon’s Big Look Task Force was appointed by the governor and legislature in 2005 with a mission to review Oregon’s statewide land-use program. A major part of that group’s effort is to travel the state and hear testimony from Oregonians on how our state should grow.

Oregon’s strict land-use laws are generally lauded for encouraging compact growth and preserving rural areas from sprawl.

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Big Look Town Hall Meeting

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More about the “Big Look” here/

The Big Look Task Force is conducting 10 public town hall meetings this fall throughout the state. At each of these meetings, attendees will be able to view presentations about land use issues, watch a captivating documentary short film, discuss their ideas, and speak with task force members. The meetings will be interactive and provide opportunities to weigh in through polls and surveys. Take the opportunity to share your thoughts and become part of the process.

University of Portland
Buckley Center
5000 N Willamette Blvd.
Portland

Former OBRA director set for induction to Sports Hall of Fame

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Racing at PIR

(Photo © J. Maus)

For over two decades, Candi Murray has dedicated herself to the development and promotion of bicycle racing in Oregon.

She was the director of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) for 22 years before stepping down from that post in 2006 (she remains an active volunteer). During her tenure, OBRA has matured into one of the premier bike racing organizations in the country and it is the backbone of flourishing, year-round racing scene that has a very bright future.

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Council votes to keep Colwood green

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Portland City Council voted 4-0 (Mayor Potter was absent) in rejecting a proposal to rezone a large swath of open space in Northeast Portland (that’s currently home to Colwood Golf Course) for industrial development (I reported on this story last week).

After the vote, Commissioner Nick Fish told the Oregonian, “This is an historic opportunity…We have a chance to look to future generations… This is a regional resource.”

The plan now is for Council to re-convene on October 22nd for a final vote, after giving the applicants (owners of Colwood Golf Course who want to sell the property) time to present new evidence.