June 2009 Archives

Weekend Guide and Open Thread

Get those bungees ready. There are
two bike moves scheduled
this weekend.

Welcome to the weekend guide. From racing to a blessing, bike moves to bike camping — can you tell bike season is heating up?!

If we’ve left something out, please feel free to spread the word via the comments. Also, don’t forget to use the comments to share your adventures (or mis-adventures).

All Weekend Long

Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
This premier racing event started earlier in the week and it runs through Sunday. The action happens out near Hood River and the Dalles, so if you’re headed out that way, add this to your plans. There’s a time trial in the Gorge tomorrow (6/5) and then two tough road stages over the weekend.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Poster for the event.

Tonight is First Friday just over the river in Vancouver and Angst Gallery (1015 Main Street) opens their new “Bike Love” show.

The show features bike-inspired artists from Portland and Vancouver and and it runs through June 27th.

Story continues below

Gallagher’s “Monument” to bike shoes.
(Acrylic on canvas)

One of the artists invited to the show is Portland-based Erin Gallagher. Gallagher moved to Portland from Alaska about two years ago and has been duly inspired by our bike-loving ways. From her blog:

“It has been only two years since the move and yet in that short period an immense love of cycling seems to have captured Erin’s heart. This city’s collective enthusiasm for all things bike-y has spurred Erin to recreate it in her paintings.”

See more of Gallagher’s work on her blog.

Bike Love runs through June 27th at Angst Gallery on 1015 Main Street in Vancouver.

At Velo-City, it’s Portland’s ‘bike fun’ that wows the world

Portland Mayor Sam Adams at
the opening plenary of the
Velo-City conference last month.
(Photos: Greg Raisman)

With Pedalpalooza just a week away, it’s fitting to do a story about how Portland’s legendary bike fun created quite a stir at an international bike conference held last month.

Portland Mayor Sam Adams, along with his Chief of Staff Tom Miller and Bureau of Transportation traffic safety specialist Greg Raisman recently returned from the Velo-City conference in Brussels, Belgium. Velo-City brings together the top bike planners and experts from around the globe. With representatives from nearly 50 countries and numerous, high-level politicians from Europe in attendance, it is the premier bike conference in the world.

Prices are going up on lockers
managed by the City of Portland.
(Photo: PBOT)

Beginning July 1st, prices to rent a bike locker from the City of Portland will go up by over 100% — from $45 to $95 at the six-month rate.

The increases are a part of a slew of higher fees on everything from sidewalk cafe application fees to towing services in the City’s 2009-2010 budget that they expect will generate over $2.3 million in revenue in the coming fiscal year. According to budget documents, the City provides many services whose current fees do not “provide full cost recovery for the programs they support.”

Blumenauer in Portland on May 11th.
(Photos © J. Maus)

A few weeks ago, in the Rose Room in Portland’s City Hall, U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer hosted an invite-only, roundtable discussion about biking. Around the large conference table sat electeds (like Metro President David Bragdon) and representatives from a variety of local, regional, and statewide agencies, universities, non-profits, and businesses.

Besides hearing the latest bike news and ideas from the experts in his home district, Blumenauer’s main goal of the meeting was to share and hear feedback on three specific initiatives he’s working on.

The Portland Water Bureau will host a three-hour event to spotlight safety concerns of bicycles and large trucks sharing the road.

The event will take place in the parking lot at the Safeway Supermarket, 16409 SE Division Street and SE 162nd Avenue, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

The public will have an opportunity to see the view from a dump truck driver’s seat, and learn more about blind spots and other dangers of riding near large vehicles. The Water Bureau will also display information about its Powell Butte Reservoir 2 construction project, scheduled to start this summer.

Be an “Intersection Superhero” at Sunday Parkways

The new Sunday Parkways bandanna.
I know you want one.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The first of three Sunday Parkways events is right around the corner and the City of Portland is looking for a few good “Intersection Superheroes” to make sure everything goes smoothly.

At the North Portland event on June 21st the City will open up 7.5 miles of streets for the community to enjoy. The route — A 3.2-mile loop through Kenton and Arbor Lodge neighborhoods and a 4.5-mile loop connecting Arbor Lodge and Piedmont neighborhoods — will be completely carfree from 9am to 4 pm.

Free beer, schwag, bikes, music. Dang. This sounds like a great event. Here’s the scoop direct from Wend (notice bold text for bike-specific awesomeness):

Join Wend magazine and Lizard Lounge for a benefit ping pong tournament and party to celebrate the release of Wend’s spring issue. Ten bucks gets you into the ping pong tournament, and all proceeds will go to the World Bicycle Relief (a national non-profit that brings bikes to developing countries).

We’ll be giving away two gift certificates to Lizard Lounge as well as a NAU jacket to the evening’s ping pong masters. Oh, and we’ll also raffle off a bunch of sweet bike swag from Surly, Planet Bike, Timbuk2, Chris King, Keen, Ortlieb, Teko and others.

Arrive on two wheels and score a voucher for 20% off your next regular price purchase at Lizard Lounge.

Also on deck is the Bike Lounge, where we’ll be showcasing the work of some of the finest frame builders and designers in Portland. Support green, independent media, and help raise money for a great cause. Free beer from Deschutes Brewery. DJ beats will make for booty shaking into the evening.

Note: to sign up for the ping pong tournament, send an email to anna@wendmag.com. We’ll be keeping a few spots open for signup on the night of the event, first come first serve. Please RSVP to anna@wendmag.com

What: Wend’s Bicycle Bash
When: Friday June 12, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Where: 525 NW 10th Ave, PDX
(Between Hoyt & Glisan on 10th)

May 2009 site stats and top stories

Here are BikePortland’s traffic stats from the month of May:

Visits – 162,464
Average visit length – 00:03:19
Pages viewed – 370,073
Stories posted – 88 (front page only)

Top Five Stories (*In terms of pageviews analyzed by Google Analytics):

1. Rush hour crash on Hawthorne Bridge raises questions about bike traffic
2. Fatal bike/car crash on NE Prescott at 57th
3. Hawthorne Bridge rider comes forward to correct “inaccurate depiction of events”
4. Rider injured on Hawthorne Bridge shares her side of story
5. In-depth: Could Portland be America’s bike manufacturing hub?

Check out our past traffic stats and top stories here.

PBOT film reminds road users that “Every corner is a crosswalk”

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation has released a new, 3 1/2 minute animated film about Oregon crosswalk laws.

The film, “Every Corner is a Crosswalk” was created to help educate Portlanders about their responsibilities when driving and walking. According to PBOT, 72% of pedestrian collisions in the Central Business District are a result of driver error and 49% of pedestrian injuries happen in a crosswalk.

At PIR last night, teammates of
Kristin McCarthy rode two laps
in her honor.
(Photo: Pat Malach/Oregon Cycling Action)

Warm weather has buoyed the collective mood of riders throughout the Portland area in recent weeks. But for some, thoughts unfortunately have turned to friends and riding partners involved in a spate of recent crashes.

I’m not sure if there have been more crashes this year than in previous years, or if I’m just hearing about more of them. Either way, I feel the need to share a few of the more serious ones if for nothing else than to rally our good thoughts for their quick and full recoveries.

Author and reporter Jeff Mapes is living the first-time authors’ dream. His book, Pedaling Revolution, is winning popular and critical acclaim, he has become a sought-after speaker, and it is selling at an unexpectedly brisk pace.

Last week, the book found its way into the prestigious Sunday Book Review of the New York Times where it was reviewed by none other than bike-lover and musician David Byrne (who’s coming out with his own bike book this fall). Byrne, not surprisingly, sang the book’s praises.

After just three months since it was released, the book’s publisher, Oregon State University Press, is already calling it “a smashing success.” OSU Press Associate Director Tom Booth told me yesterday that the book is their fastest-selling title ever.

Weekend Guide and Open Thread

All Weekend Long

‘Bike Love’ show opens tonight in downtown Vancouver

At Velo-City, it’s Portland’s ‘bike fun’ that wows the world

Bike locker rental fees set for big increase on July 1st

Blumenauer shares his national bike priorities

Water Bureau Bike/Truck Safety Event

Be an “Intersection Superhero” at Sunday Parkways

Wend Magazine bash will benefit World Bicycle Relief fund

May 2009 site stats and top stories

PBOT film reminds road users that “Every corner is a crosswalk”

Community rallies for fallen riders

Mapes rolls with success of ‘Pedaling Revolution’

Latest Headlines

With unanimous support, Portland reaffirms commitment to Vision Zero

Driver runs over LEGO bollard, shatters calm of greenway park

Advocates for Vision Zero and immigrants will come together for safe streets today

Parking fees lead to safe street upgrades in northwest

From the Archives

Portlanders show solidarity with Palestinians at ride for para-cycling team