Richard German, a noted bike advocate, former bike shop owner, and a fixture in Portland’s bike scene for several decades passed away on Friday (6/25). According to friends, German suffered from an aortic aneurysm while bicycle camping in the San Juan islands. He was 63 years old.
Known as the “unofficial mayor” of Multnomah Village, German was a member of the City of Portland’s Bicycle Master Plan Steering Committee as a representative of Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. He had worked at Annie Bloom’s bookstore in Southwest Portland since it opened in 1978 and was also co-owner of Multnomah Bike Shop.
Richard’s friends at Annie Blooms have put up a memorial page about him. A wake is planned at O’Connors Restaurant (7850 SW Capitol Highway) at 6:00pm on July 5th – which would have been his 64th birthday.
Rest in peace Richard. I appreciate all the smiles and words of encouragement you gave me whenever we crossed paths.