In case you missed Bike Snob’s latest paean to Portland

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

“Obviously the most coveted employer in Portland is Chris King Precision Components, which is why they’re widely referred to as the “G*ogle of the Willamette.”
— Bikesnobnyc

I don’t usually put something on the Front Page that I’ve already shared via Twitter and that I know many of you have likely already read yourselves; but Bike Snob’s latest post is something no one should miss. Bike Snob is no stranger to Portland, but this time he’s taken it to a new level. He’s moved here, albeit only “virtually”…

I’ve transported my consciousness to the soggy utopia that is Portland. I’ve done this by transcending the material plane and by realizing that physical existence is merely a state of mind–or by completely deluding myself, depending on how you look at it. It was surprisingly easy, too. First, I created an artificial Portland habitat in my home by purchasing a humidifier which I fill with Stumptown coffee instead of water. Then, I set all my clocks back by three and a half hours. (Portland is an additional half hour behind the rest of the western United States.) Finally, I completed my microenvironment by making Bikeportland my homepage and pretending it was the local news.

Read more

Black Kona DewDrop 2009

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2009
Brand: Kona
Model: DewDrop
Color:Black
Size:54 cm
Serial: F902K2024
Stolen in Portland, OR 97239
Stolen:2011-03-28
Stolen From: At the bottom of the Tram terminal outside OHSU CHH building at 3303 SW Bond Ave.
Neighborhood: Southwest
Owner: Lindsay Hilken
OwnerEmail: lindsayanne2010@gmail.com
Description: Commuter type bike 24speed with disk brakes, 700x37C tires, black commuter fenders with small flaps, a Transit seat post rack, and small Cat eye front light. It also has a silver water bottle holder on the down tube.
Police record with: OHSU Campus Security/Portland PD
Police reference#: 2011-000209
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

blue Trek mountain/commuter 80’s-ish

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 80’s-ish
Brand: Trek
Model: mountain/commuter
Color:blue
Size:16″
Stolen in Portland, OR 97211
Stolen:2011-03-28
Stolen From: Potato Champion parking lot se 12th and Hawthorne
Neighborhood: Buckman
Owner: Miranda Harnish
OwnerEmail: milmilly@hotmail.com
Reward: 250
Description: spray painted blue with purple and green accents near the crank and a dragonfly on the seat tube. silver rack, fenders, and components
Police record with: portland pd
Police reference#: T
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

On eve of Summit, a look back at Oregon’s bike bill

As many of you head to Salem for the Oregon Active Transportation Summit (it begins tomorrow!), I thought it’d be fun to take a step back in our history.

40 years ago, on June 19th 1971, dozens of Portlanders got on their bikes and rode to Salem for the signing of HB 1700, the Bicycle Bill. Passed by Southern Oregon lawmaker Don Stathos (who passed away in 2005), the bill was the first in the nation to mandate that highway funds get spent on bikeways.

Local citizen activist Ted Buehler recently came across an old news clipping from the time of the bill’s passage. The article below appeared in the December 1971 issue of Boom in Bikeways, the “Newsletter of the Bikeways explosion” published by the Bicycle Institute of America.

Read more

BTA gets behind first “Bicycle Industry Night” at local pub

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Many of you might have already heard of “Service Industry Nights” at local pubs and eateries. Here in Portland, many local establishments have one night a week where they offer special deals for folks who work in the service industry.

Tonight*, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is teaming up with a local bike company for something similar but geared toward people who work in the bike industry: Bike Industry Night.

Read more

Save the dates: World Naked — or Clothed — Bike Rides

World Naked Bike Ride - Portland-14

WNBR 2009.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Our friends at Shift have set the date and time for the 2011 World Naked Bike Ride. If you want to bike in the buff, mark June 18th at 8:00 10:00 pm down on your calendar (Facebook event listing). New this year, someone has decided to offer a competing ride for those who don’t care for biking naked. Yes, now you can choose from the World Naked Bike Ride or the First Annual World Clothed Bike Ride.

Read more

From the Archives: Opinion: Diverging trends for distracted driving (2011)

Distracted driving is arguably the most important traffic safety issue facing America today. Amazingly, while we have many advocates and other smart people working to address the issue, the auto industry seems to be promoting it by turning cars into rolling computers.

A few things came across my desk this morning that show how these two trends — getting tough on distracted driving on one hand, while promoting it on the other — continue to be at odds with each other.

Read more

Salem Watch: ‘Crosswalk Safety Bill’ up for hearing, possible vote

Crosswalks in action-3

SB 424, the ‘Crosswalk Safety Bill’ that’s intended to improve the safety of people attempting to cross the street, will get a public hearing and possible vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow (3/29) at 8:30 AM.

We shared some background on this bill last month. In short, it “Clarifies that pedestrian is crossing roadway when any part or extension of pedestrian’s body moves onto roadway with intent to proceed.”

Below are some bullet points being shared by local walking advocates:

Read more

Company seeks artist for bike-themed mural

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Northwest Portland based parts distributor Cyclone Bicycle Supply is looking for someone to paint a bike-themed mural on the side of their warehouse. Company staffer Ashley Brewer contacted us recently to share that they want to spruce up their “big ugly gray” headquarters building at NW 21st and Vaughn.

Here’s more from Ashley:

Read more

The Monday Roundup

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Here’s the news that caught our eyes week…

– In NYC: The clowns have come out to defend an embattled bike lane alongside Prospect Park, police have been ticketing anyone on a bike riding over 15mph in Central Park, and more momentum builds to make both those parks permanently carfree.

Why is there so much road rage (not to mention internet comment rage) towards people on bicycles? One writer takes on the task of explaining the hate.

Read more

Black/white Kona Jake 2008

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2008
Brand: Kona
Model: Jake
Color:Black/white
Size:52cm
Serial: F706K2024
Photo: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8F0pvn2DBIw/Ruy__t6NA8I/AAAAAAAAEQw/SYaHM5nq9uQ/IMG_4043.JPG&imgrefurl=http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hQ4N642P2sPwP2LBiMruFw&usg=__oDQda3iDRxpxkQIGE2Jak8M4DGY=&h=480&w=640&sz=236&hl=en&start=23&zoom=1&tbnid=vvivKxwVz1TDkM:&tbnh=109&tbnw=146&ei=jlyPTbmoD4T6swON9a2PCQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dkona%2Bjake%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7GWYE%26biw%3D1313%26bih%3D544%26tbm%3Disch0%2C408&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=588&vpy=255&dur=1513&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=99&ty=160&oei=hFyPTbOkGIK4sAOdoIiBCQ&page=2&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:23&biw=1313&bih=544
Stolen in Seattle, WA 98122
Stolen:2011-03-27
Stolen From: Details: My bike was stolen on Friday from the Seattle University campus in capitol hill. I locked it up at 8:45am and by the time I had returned from class at 5:45pm, it was gone.
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill, Seattle
Owner: Cleo Peterson
OwnerEmail: cleo_peterson@yahoo.com
Reward: good karma or some $
Description: Specs: Black & white 2008(?) KONA cyclocross bike with yellow-outlined words (model is Jake), 52cm, silver rack on back, yellow bottle holder, toe straps and light on front.
Police record with: Seattle PD
Police reference#: T11001310
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

PBOT director in full support of carfree SW Ankeny

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Portland Car Free Days (Day 2)

Carfree SW Ankeny, as seen during
a special event in 2006.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Director of PBOT Tom Miller told us today that he supports making a block of SW Ankeny Street carfree.

Miller said he met with business owner Dustin Knox yesterday and the two, “sketched out a potential pathway to success.” Knox owns a bar on the stretch of Ankeny between SW 2nd and 3rd and he was featured in a story in Willamette Week on Wednesday. In that article, Knox said he and other business owners wanted more space for tables and chairs for their customers, but that people on the street are too cramped by cars. (This stretch of Ankeny is very narrow (therein lies its charm) and has a parking lane and one through lane.)

Read more