🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏

Year: 2010

Bike racing is the new football: High school teams ride wave of momentum

National Bike Summit 2010 Day 2-10

Gary Boulanger is Board President of the
National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
(Photos © J. Maus)

One of today’s many excellent breakout sessions focused on youth cycling programs. When I popped my head in I saw a familiar face at the lectern. It was Gary Boulanger, former bike industry journalist, PR guy, and entrepreneur behind the now defunct bike brand Cycles Gaansari (and the eponymously named bike shop in Dayton, Ohio).

Boulanger is now the recently elected Board President of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). NICA is a new organization (they held their first board meeting just last month) working toward the ambitious goal of developing competitive high school mountain biking leagues from coast-to-coast by 2020. So far there are just three states with leagues — California (NorCal and SoCal), Colorado, and Washington. But, with an impressive list of big-time corporate sponsors (Specialized, SRAM, Trek among others) and partners, the future looks very bright.

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Bike-friendly Omaha? “You’d be surprised!”

National Bike Summit 2010 Day 1-2

Advocates from Omaha, Nebraska.
L to R: Tammie Dodge, Kerri Peterson,
Julie Harris.
(Photo © J. Maus)

One of the great things about being at the National Bike Summit is the feeling that biking, as a movement, is growing. And each year I’m reminded that it’s growing far beyond the typical, bike-friendly cities you always see on top ten lists.

Last night I met Julie Harris and a few of her friends from Activate Omaha.

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A few last notes and a mini-Q&A with Google Maps product guy

Peter Birch from Google.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Earlier today, I got he opportunity to speak with Peter Birch, the product manager for Google Earth (and world traveler) who spearheaded development of their new biking directions feature.

Before I get to the Q & A with Birch, here’s a recap of his comments from this morning’s Opening Plenary.

“The challenge we face is, how do we get more people on bikes…. A lot of people don’t feel comfortable on a lot of the routes they’re on with busy roads and unfamiliar streets. We wanted to figure out, how can we scale this up, so we can handle every ride? At Google, we love problems of scale.”

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Job: Bicycle Mechanic (The Bike Gallery)

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title
Bicycle Mechanic

Company/Organization
The Bike Gallery

Job Description
The Bike Gallery is seeking outgoing and dynamic individuals for positions in our service departments. Qualified applicants will have a minimum of two years experience creating lasting customer relationships in a technical specialty retail environment. Applicants must also have a minimum of two years experience in a high volume repair shop and formal training at either UBI or Barnett’s Bicycle Training Institute. Formal training requirement may be waived if extensive shop experience can be verified.

The Bike Gallery is an equal opportunity employer. If you are friendly, outgoing, and committed to creating outstanding customer experiences, then we want to hear from you.

How to Apply

Send a resume and cover letter to resumes(at)bikegallery(dot)com.

Alison Graves named new leader of Community Cycling Center

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Alison Graves.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Alison Graves is the new executive director of the Community Cycling Center. She takes the reins from Susan Remmers, who took over leadership of the non-profit four years ago. Remmers has been on medical leave since December (the medical issue is not related to this decision).

Graves was formerly the organization’s director of community and programs and she’s married to Bike Gallery owner and uber-advocate Jay Graves.

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White Gary Fisher Paragon 29er 2009

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Year: 2009
Brand: Gary Fisher
Model: Paragon 29er
Color:White
Size:21″
Stolen in Portland, OR 97239
Stolen:2010-03-9
Stolen From: My bike was stolen from the basement of my apartment building on SW Gaines and 9th. This is on top of Marquam Hill across the street from OHSU Campus.
Neighborhood: OHSU
Owner: Michael Schuller
OwnerEmail: michaelschuller@hotmail.com
Description: This is a Gary Fisher Paragon frame that was actually a waranty frame to replace my cracked 2007 Fisher Xcaliber frame. So all of the components correspond to the 2007 Xcaliber.
Police record with: Case #10-019380
Police reference#: Portland Bureau of Police, Central Precinct
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Blumenauer, FTA head: “We need you!”

[The big Google bike directions announcement also happened at this Opening Plenary, but I’ve decided to separate that out into a different post and combine it with a short interview I did with the product manager.]

National Bike Summit 2010 Day 2-17

Nearly every seat was filled.
(Photos © J. Maus)

I’ve got a front row seat at the big Opening Plenary session at the National Bike Summit. There’s even more excitement than usual because there are a few guys standing around with blue Google t-shirts. In addition to a big announcement from Google about their new bike directions feature, there is an excellent panel of speakers on tap.

The opening session is billed, “The Next Decade” and Congressman Earl Blumenauer is first to speak.

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black motobecane super mirage 1979

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 1979
Brand: motobecane
Model: super mirage
Color:black
Stolen in Portland, OR 97206
Stolen:2010-03-9
Stolen From: Se 58th and se Holgate, right off my front porch.
Neighborhood: foster/powell
Owner: Leticia Fregoso
OwnerEmail: ticigoso@yahoo.com
Description: Gold writing, schwinn rack, Partial fenders, red stripes on vertical bar
Police record with: 10
Police reference#: 19499
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Day one slideshow from the Summit

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National Bike Summit 2010 Day 1-6

Mr. Armstrong gave us a personal
welcome and thank you at the
opening reception party.
-Slideshow below-
(Photos © J. Maus)

First day is in the books here at the 2010 National Bike Summit — and it was a big one. Lots of excitment, record attendance, the launch of a major national promotional campaign, big news from Google, a guest appearance (via video) from Lance Armstrong, and lots more.

Check out the slideshow below (or browse the gallery). It contains all my best shots from today, including a visit to Bikestation D.C., a few snaps of the local bike-sharing solution, Smartbike DC, and photos of advocates from around the country:

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Adams says Green Streets funding plan a “double-win” and won’t increase sewer rates

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“Over the past two years, actual contract costs have come in much lower than the estimates on which rates were based. These significant savings mean we can make these Green Streets investments without impacting rate payers.”
— Mayor Sam Adams

Last week, the City released the ordinance language behind Mayor Sam Adams’ plans to find $20 million to “kickstart” funding of the 2030 Bike Master Plan. According to the ordinance, the $20 million would be allocated from the capital project budget of the Bureau of Environmental Services and directed into bike boulevards via BES’s Green Streets program.

Also released last week was a memo from BES stating where the $20 million would come from. That memo grabbed a lot of headlines because it said the $20 million would come, in large part, from funds set aside to fix old, leaky sewer pipelines. As you can imagine, that idea rankled some Portlanders.

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League confirms: Google Maps now has biking directions

There it is.

The League of American Bicyclists has just sent out a press release confirming what I speculated (and all but confirmed) earlier today — Google has turned on biking directions for Google Maps.

Google will publicly announce the big news at Wednesday morning’s Opening Plenary Session. About the announcement, the League’s Andy Clarke says, “… It is a game-changer, especially for those short trips that are the most polluting… This new tool will open people’s eyes to the possibility and practicality of hopping on a bike and riding.”

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