working on a bike during the
Cycle Oregon weekend ride last
summer.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Bike Gallery — a company that runs six bike shops in the Portland area — has been named a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Business by the League of American Bicyclists.
The family-run shops, now headed by Jay Graves, are one of only two businesses in the country to achieve the Platinum designation, which — similar to their Bicycle Friendly Community program — is the League’s highest honor (the other is New Belgium Brewing based in Colorado).
The Bicycle Friendly Business program is in its second year and 34 businesses have been chosen so far. Other Portland area businesses that have been recognized through this program are; Alta Planning + Design (Gold), Portland Providence Medical Center (Silver), and Beaverton-based Easystreet Online Services (Bronze).
Bike Gallery has been a Portland staple for 35 years and according to a statement released by the League they “serve as an example for best practices and innovations in bicycle friendliness at the workplace”.
The Bicycle Friendly Business program evaluates business in four main areas: encouragement (benefits for bike commuters), education (safety programs, how-to clinics), engineering (facilities and safe bike access), and evaluation (assessing current conditions and having a plan for the future).
— Learn more about the League’s Bicycle Friendly Business program here.