Community rallies to raise funds for injured racing star

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Leia Tyrrell.
(Photo © Pat Malach/Oregon Cycling Action)

Oregon’s bike racing community is rallying around one of its rising stars, who sustained a serious injury following a crash at a race earlier this month.

21-year old Portland native Leia Tyrrell is recovering from a severe brain injury at her parent’s home in Sellwood after crashing during the criterium stage of the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic on April 2nd. Friends and supporters have put together a fundraising event on April 28th to help Tyrrell pay for the medical attention during the long recovery that lies ahead

Read more

Are Oregon bike funds headed back to D.C.?

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Thanks to budget wrangling on Capitol Hill, the threat of federal recissions have reared their ugly head once again. Recissions are when the federal government takes back unspent transportation funds. This time around, it looks like about $2.5 billion is set to go from state coffers back to Washington D.C.

The fear is that when state DOTs decide which funds to send back, they’ll disproportionately grab funds already set aside for biking and walking projects. This threat has caused national biking and walking advocacy groups to send out calls-to-action with messages like, “Your state Department of Transportation is getting ready to take away millions of dollars in pedestrian and bicycle funding” and “Your DOT will likely try to empty out the funds that pay for your sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, and education programs.”

Is Oregon susceptible to such shenanigans? Depends on who you ask.

Read more

Jobs of the week

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

For your consideration, this week we feature job opportunities from three thriving local bike-oriented businesses, each of which is now headquartered in Southeast Portland.
Don’t forget to say you read about them here. Best of luck!

For a complete list of available jobs, click here. If you’d like more information about the BikePortland Job Listings, contact us, or visit the Job Listings page.

You can sign up for all the latest job listings via RSS, email, or by following us on Twitter.

E-bikes up for legal test in Oregon

“If you’re in court, they’ll look at the body of statutes, and it is not crystal clear.”
— David House, Oregon DMV

There’s a case brewing in Springfield (near Eugene), Oregon that could set a precedent and clarify several legal issues around the operation of electric-assisted bicycles. We broke down much of the legal morass around e-bikes in a post last year, but adding complexity — and confusion — to the issues are cases where the bicycle operator has a suspended or revoked driver’s license.

Here’s a snip from the Register-Guard, which reported on a case involving Springfield resident and e-bike rider Paul McClain earlier this month:

Read more

Metro owns trail easement rights at location of Marine Drive collision

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

The bike/car collision this morning on NE Marine Drive happened in a location where Metro owns an easement for a future trail that would place the bikeway off the main road.

In a rare blend of advocacy and communications, Metro has posted a story on their website about the crash, saying that the collision, “highlights the importance of Metro’s work to close trail gaps” (but unfortunately calls it an “accident”).

Read more

Weekend Event Guide

Alpenrose track clean-up day

You think the old track at
Alpenrose fixes itself?
(Photo © J. Maus)

Tons of volunteer opportunities this weekend to help maintain and build a fabulous bike scene whether your preference is mountain, track or just tootling around dressed like a bunny rabbit.

Enjoy the weekend!

Saturday, April 23rd

    9:00am – 1:00pm: Stub Stewart Trail Fest work party
    Join the Northwest Trail Alliance to maintain and develop the trail system at Stub Stewart State Park. Bring your bike! No experience necessary. Some food provided so sign up in advance over at NWTA. This is one of the most important things you can do to improve mountain biking in the region!

    Read more

Video: From Portland to the coast, on folding bikes

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

There are a lot of things to love about the new, Small wheels to the coast video from Russ Roca.

Russ, and his cohort Laura Crawford, are planning another big bike tour in May. The premise of the tour is to combine trains and folding bikes to “redefine the American road trip.”

To test out their new Bromptons and other gear before the big trip, they took an overnight jaunt from Portland to Cape Lookout state park on the Oregon Coast earlier this week. Russ, a professional photographer and gifted storyteller, has now added videography to his tool kit, and the result is the video below…

Read more

‘Cartlandia’ food carts on Springwater Trail opening May 1st

The lot is almost ready.
(Photos: Patrick Croasdaile)

‘Cartlandia,’ the bike-centric food cart pod on the Springwater Corridor Trail we told you about back in January, is about to open.

I caught up with the man behind the development (who also did the Mississippi Marketplace in North Portland), Roger Goldingay, to get an update and learn more about this exciting project.

Cartlandia is set to open on May 1st, and will have the capacity for around 35 food carts — all accessible directly from the Springwater Corridor Trail through dedicated, paved entrances along the path.

Read more

Collision on Marine Drive results in citations – UPDATED

View eastbound on Marine Drive approaching 122nd.

An early morning collision on NE Marine Drive at 122nd resulted in injuries to a woman riding her bike and two citations for a man operating a motor vehicle who police say turned left in front of her.

The crash happened at about 6:36 am and was initially reported as a crash involving someone walking. Upon further investigation, the Portland Police Bureau realized that the woman that was hit was on a bicycle prior to the collision.

Read more

Purple Trek 1220 1997

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 1997
Brand: Trek
Model: 1220
Color:Purple
Size:57
Stolen in Portland, OR 97207
Stolen:2011-04-18
Stolen From: Portland State University
Neighborhood: Portland State University
Owner: Takashi Higuchi
OwnerEmail: tomomih79@hotmail.com
Description: made in the U.S., 3 speed in front (newer), 7 in the back, rack on the back
Police record with: PD
Police reference#: Case# 11-0201