Inner SE Get Together recap and photos

The crowd listens to PBOT’s Ellen
Vanderslice for an update on the
bike master plan.
(Photos © J. Maus)

We had another great Get Together in inner Southeast last night. A very solid turnout of readers, local bike business owners, event promoters, advocates and planners showed up to learn, network, and drink some very good beer.

Each one of our Get Togethers (this is the fifth) has taken on a different feel. Last night we didn’t talk much about road conditions and bikeway highs and lows. Instead, with the amazing amount of active bike people in Southeast, the night turned into a great opportunity for business-to-business networking and for people to put faces to the names and projects they read about everyday here on BikePortland.

After a bit of mingling with friends old and new, I did my usual bit of calling on people in the crowd randomly and asking them to share a bit about what they do (sorry if I embarrassed anyone).

Below is a round-up of who spoke up (many thanks to volunteer reporter Lindsay Epstein for this!):

Bike builder (and BikePortland intern) Jonathan “JR”
Reed (R), chats with lawyer and former BTA
board member Craig Bachman.

• Ellen Vanderslice, Project Manager for the City of Portland’s Bike Master Plan for 2030, shared that the plan will be revealed in the next month or so. The plan increases the goal of the previous 2016 Master Plan from 650 miles of bike paths to 925 miles. Learn more here.
• Officer Robert Pickett spoke about the World Naked Bike Ride, and the leaps and bounds of relations between cyclists and Portland police. Pickett insinuated bike theft is on the rise, and urged cyclists not to use flimsy cable locks, noting that no back yard or front porch is safe for an unlocked bicycle.
• Beth Hamon shared that Citybikes Coop celebrates its 20th birthday next year – making it one of the oldest worker-owned bike shops in the U.S.!
• Joe Doebele of Joe Bike which opened its doors almost 7 months ago, gave an update on business.
• Edwin Skaug talked about his plans to open a mobile convenience store catering to bike needs.
• Renovo Bikes brought their gorgeous, eco-friendly, 100% hardwood framed rides for display. Creator Ken Wheeler (who previously built composite aircraft, lest you should question the safety of a wood frame) invites all to stop by the shop at SE Harrison and 8th to learn more about wood and bamboo bikes.
• SoupCycle co-founder Jed Lazar talked of the trials and triumphs of the inaugural year of running a bike-based business and about the newly formed Bicycle Business League. The League strives to be a bike business incubator, offering tips and tricks to like-minded upstart endeavors, plus lend each other a hand. Recent meetings had representatives from approximately 18 different bike-related businesses.
• Matt Picio and Tomas Quinones – intrepid leaders of bike camping adventures through CycleWild – urged folks to come out for the next trip, August 1st through 2nd. The trek to Alder Flat is in conjunction with BARK – an organization promoting quiet recreation in our national forests, and working to preserve such areas from the destruction of logging, LNG and off-road vehicles.
• Jocelyn Sycip, director of Oregon Manifest mentioned that this year, the Constructor’s Design Challenge (October 2-3) is to create the best and most innovative commuter bike.
• Clever Cycles co-owner Todd Fahrner also mentioned Oregon Manifest; wife and Clever Cyclist Martina is working on a symposium for families biking with kids in tow.
• Bike Temple founder Deacon Amos preached about cycling spirituality and its new home at The Lotus Seed Ashram at 9th and Going.
• Jude Kirstein, the one-woman wonder behind Epic Wheelworks at SE 8th and Main, finds salvation and community in bike wheels and the building thereof. She gave an eloquent salute to the secrets of elders and learning from others.
• Sean Small of Ruckus Components gave an open invite to stop by his shop at SE 17th and Holgate to tour his shop and “play with carbon and kevlar”.
• Chris Smith, a citizen activist and transportation expert, chatted about the proposed street car line from the Pearl to OMSI. A significantly more bicycle friendly design than previous lines, Smith spoke of avoiding animosity between two groups (cyclists and street car-ists) who ultimately have the same goal: fewer cars on the street and a more human-scaled, eco-friendly, vibrant community.
• Rex Burkholder, Metro Councillor, talked about how much has changed since he co-founded the Bicycle Transportation Alliance — at a time when Hawthorne Bridge bike counts netted 15 daily riders.
• Margaux Mennesson, the new advocacy assistant at the BTA, spoke up about the national Safe Routes to School Conference coming up this August.
• And last but not least, Bike Portland’s Elly Blue surveyed the group, wondering “who would be willing to pay for a subscription?” Look for donation and subscription services to be finessed in the near future….

It’s a huge thrill to be able to connect people that have shared interests. Listening to the hum of conversations throughout the event, I could just feel the community getting stronger. I hope everyone had a great time, learned a bit, and was able to meet someone new. Thanks for coming out.

Browse a few more photos here.

We’re busy planning our next Get Together so stay tuned. For links to reports of previous events we’ve had in St. Johns, Outer Southeast, Milwaukie, and Multnomah Village, check out our Get Together page.