(Photo © J. Maus)
The City of Portland’s excellent monthly “Bicycle Brown Bag” discussion series continues tomorrow with a presentation titled ‘Bike Train Lessons’.
Kiel Johnson, who has spearheaded a flourishing local bike train movement will give the talk. Johnson will talk about, “his successes and struggles in building a bike train movement and how his experiences can be applied to other efforts to promote active transportation.”
Kiel is the consummate citizen activist who took a passion for making a difference and turned it into a sustainable program that has gotten widespread notoriety not just for himself, but for bike trains in general. And the amazing thing is that he did it almost completely DIY-style, with very little funding or resources.
Given that city budgets are shrinking and “extras” like helping families bike and to school might not survive the axe, Kiel’s work is more important than ever.
PBOT Bicycle Brown Bag: Bike Train Lessons
Thurs, Nov. 17, Noon – 1 pm, City Hall Lovejoy Room (1221 SW 4th Ave., 2nd Floor)
But wait, there’s more…
If Kiel’s talk gets you excited for bike trains, the City of Portland’s Safe Routes to School program is hosting an event titled, “Successfully Starting a Bike Train” that will take place on November 21st from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at Rigler School (5401 NE Prescott).
From the event description:
Join other parents from around Portland to learn specific skills for organizing and leading a Bike Train at your school. Build first aid kits, get resources, get riding assistance, share stories. Refreshments provided. Childcare provided upon request.
Well done Kiel. Keep up the good work.
This is one of the most important bike-cenric things going on in Portland. Start ’em young!
You rock, Kiel! Kiel has been instrumental in getting more families on bikes at Beach School.
This is fantastic. My wife and I are spearheading a grassroots movement to (eventually)turn Centralia into a car free city(or at least parts of it) and this is an excellent idea/resource for us. Started by building 2 giant bins on a cruiser bike and have been out there 4/5 days a week picking up litter. So far we’ve gotten nothing but positive attention and seem to have gotten the ear of city hall and the downtown businesses. Keep up the fine work Kiel, it’s inspiring to see people doing good things for the community on bike and will do far and away more for bike public relations than critical mass kind of stunts!
Bummed that I have prior obligations. Should be a good talk.
Sorry but I have to ask: What is a bike train?