April 2010 Archives

Remembering five years of a Portland bike blog

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Thought I’d take a minute to remember five years ago today, when I wrote my first blog post about biking in Portland.

Back on April 8th, 2005, I emailed some text to an editor at OregonLive.com (the website for The Oregonian newspaper) and they published what became the first post on their “Bike Fun” blog. Just over three months later, I left OregonLive.com and started posting on BikePortland.org.

To say a lot has happened since then is an understatement. I could very easily get all emotional and start reflecting on a lot of stuff, but I’ll resist that temptation for the time being. Suffice it to say this has been an amazing journey — and I’m nowhere near the end yet!

Tracey Sparling’s ghost bike, as it
stood on the corner of W. Burnside and
14th from October 2007 to October 2009.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The ghost bike that served as a memorial to Tracey Sparling, the 19-year old art student who was struck and killed by a cement truck on W. Burnside back in 2007, will become part of a permanent shrine in St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in downtown Portland.

The bike will be installed along with a plaque in the Portland Bicycle Shrine that the church dedicated last year. A ceremony will be held in conjunction with the event this Tuesday (4/13) at 5:30 pm.

This weekend is the big Pedal National Bicycle Show at the Oregon Convention Center. There will be lots to do and see, but I wanted to remind everyone that BikePortland is hosting a special section for local BikeCrafters. We’ve reserved two exhibitor booths and will host six local artisans and business owners who will share their wares with all in attendance.

Here are the six BikeCrafters you can meet at the show (and a look at the excellent, Portland-made, bike-inspired items they’ll be selling):

Year: 2006
Brand: Felt
Model: SR72?
Color:black
Size:54cm
Serial: unknown(!!)
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2010-04-7
Stolen From: 38t & yamhill St
Neighborhood: sunnysde
Owner: Scott Buntin
OwnerEmail: scott@asapmacpc.com
Description: Felt SR72(?)
Black frame, road bike, yellow logos. scratched finish, some red primer/rust showing through, I think.
Rack and fenders attached. Had two sets of fenders – older damaged fenders, new half fenders.
Rear sprocket cassette had been replaced for lower gearing.
wrap-around LED light mounted on left front fork.
Yellow pannier attached one side.

Bicycle was carried off porch.
Police record with: submitted, no # yet
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Blazers look to “Make it Better” with bikes

In just the latest sign that the Portland Trail Blazers are looking to lead the NBA in biking, I just came across a great ad put together as part of their Make it Better campaign. It features Blazers front office employee Steve Farnsworth and their reserve point guard Jerryd Bayless.

Check it out:

Rob will be in Portland next week.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The newly hired top gun at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Rob Sadowsky, won’t officially take the helm until July 1st, but you can meet him and hear him speak at our big Bike to Blazers Rally in Waterfront Park on April 14th.

Sadowsky will be one of the featured speakers at the rally, which will take place at the Salmon Street Fountain amphitheater, just north of the Hawthorne Bridge on the west side of the Willamette River. The rally starts at 5:30 and we leave for the Rose Garden Arena at 6:00 — so don’t be late!

In Forest Park, near location where Land
Rovers were spotted.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Back in February, dogged by intense media attention and reprimand from Portland Parks & Recreation, mountain bike advocates were forced to defend an illegal trail that was discovered in Forest Park.

Now comes word that a pair of Land Rover SUVs were caught illegally driving on a trail in Forest Park and it’s likely that you haven’t even heard about it.

According to Stephen Hatfield with the Forest Park Conservancy, on March 17th one of their board members, Barbara Nelson, was running on the upper section of the Saltzman Road fire lane when she heard a strange sound. Hatfield says, “She happened to hear some activity over the side of the trail and she looked over the edge and there were two Land Rovers on a connector trail – a short piece of single track.”

Screenshot from Alice Awards site.

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) has unveiled a new website and theme for their 2010 Alice Awards and Auction event. They have also confirmed this year’s list of nominees.

“Alice lifts off: Soar with us on two wheels” is the tagline on the new website, which features a vintage aviator aesthetic (due to the hangar-like feel of the Bison Building where it’s being held).

The 15th annual event is the most important fundraiser of the year for the BTA (in 2008, they raised $150,000). In addition to ticket sales (which go for $100 a piece), it also includes both a silent auction and a live auction. Attendees dress in their off-bike finest and are treated to dinner and a night full of toasts to Oregon’s bike advocacy movers and shakers.

Detail of Tickle Creek Trail from map
in Bi-State Regional Trails System plan.

I caught an article in the Daily Journal of Commerce yesterday about an effort by the City of Sandy to fund and build a new trail that would connect to the Springwater Corridor Trail and result in an unbroken path all the way from downtown Portland to Mt. Hood. And then I got all excited.

I hadn’t heard much about this so I went digging for more info. The trail is known as the Tickle Creek Trail and it’s part of what Metro calls the “Mt. Hood Connections” project.

For a first-year event, there’s a lot of buzz in the bike scene about The Bicycle Show, which is coming to the Oregon Convention Center this weekend (and I’m not saying that because they’re an advertiser).

Aaron McBride with Pedal Nation events has packed the schedule with all sorts of cool stuff. He’s also got over 100 bike companies and organizations signed up to display there wares. And it’s a diverse lot too: Attendees will get to kick the tires of e-bikes, cargo bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes and all the latest gear and parts you can imagine.

Detail of Oregon portion of
new Sierra Cascades Bicycle Route.

The Adventure Cycling Association will officially launch their new Sierra Cascades Bicycle Route tonight at the REI store in the Pearl District. As I reported back in February, the new route stretches nearly 2,400 miles from Canada to Mexico. It will also give Oregon a nice boost in bike tourism because it rolls through the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River before heading south through Sisters, Bend, and then onto Ashland.

Adventure Cycling’s executive director Jim Sayer says about 250 people showed up to the Sierra Cascades route launch event in Seattle last night.

Year: 2003
Brand: Trek
Model: 4500
Color:Red/Silver
Size:18″
Serial: WW 1794907
Stolen in Portland, OR 97231
Stolen:2010-03-31
Stolen From: Home 12915 NW Skyline Blvd Portland OR
Skyline near Cornelius Pass Road
Neighborhood: Rural Multnomah County
Owner: Craig Kinnie
OwnerEmail: craigk@easystreet.net
Reward: $100
Description: Red/Silver Trek 4500 Mountain Bike. Has dock for trip computer and ladies Gel Seat and new hand grips.
Police record with: Multnomah County
Police reference#: 10402223
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Remembering five years of a Portland bike blog

Church will give Tracey Sparling’s ghost bike a permanent home

Don’t miss BikeCraft at the Bike Show

black Felt SR72? 2006

Blazers look to “Make it Better” with bikes

New BTA leader will make first Portland address at Bike to Blazers rally

Conservancy reports Land Rovers drove on Forest Park trails

BTA’s Alice Awards set for “Lift Off”

From Portland to Mt. Hood, on a bike path? Yes.

Bike show will take over Convention Center this weekend

Sierra Cascades bike route launches in Portland tonight

Red/Silver Trek 4500 2003

Latest Headlines

An homage to Portland’s bikeway network signs

Exciting progress on Willamette Blvd project

Jobs of the Week: Bike Clark County, Metropolis, Cycle Portland, and more

Guest Opinion: Portland needs more protected bike lanes — and we need them now

From the Archives

With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike