Year: 2011

Blue/orange Pacific Explorer 1998

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Year: 1998
Brand: Pacific
Model: Explorer
Color:Blue/orange
Stolen in Portland, OR 97205
Stolen:2011-09-01
Stolen From: Portland City Grill.
Neighborhood: Old town/China townish
Owner: Carol Klingsporn
OwnerEmail: sneeekr@msn.com
Description: It has an orange Vortex suspension in the front. New bell pedals. It had 2 seat covers on and a front handle bar pack with bike lube and a wrench in it.
Police record with: Portland Police Bureau
Police reference#: T11006197
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Short, temporary closure of Springwater starts tonight

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This just in from Portland Parks… An unplanned and temporary closure of the entrance to the Springwater Corridor. Effective 7pm tonight and should be done by the morning (“will not affect tomorrow’s commute” they say).

Read the statement below for more details and detours…

Portland Parks & Recreation Announces Temporary Closure of Springwater Trail on the Willamette:

PGE Work Tonight will Force Detour

(Portland, OR) –
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) announces an unplanned closure of a portion of the Springwater Trail on the Willamette, between Oaks Park & the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade.

Beginning at 7pm tonight, September 1st, 2011, PGE utility workers will replace a small number of power poles at SE 4th & SE Ivon [main northern entrance to Springwater Corridor at Ross Island Sand & Gravel.]

This work will block the entrance to — and passage on — the Springwater Willamette Trail.

Southbound bicyclists, walkers and runners are advised to proceed east on SE Division Place underneath 99E to detour.

Northbound bicyclists, walkers and runners should avoid the Springwater Trail on the Willamette north of SE Spokane St. & SE Oaks Park Way. This is a good deal south of the actual construction zone; but there is NO WAY OFF the Springwater Trail between Oaks Bottom north access trail and SE 4th & Ivon!

PGE will be putting signs in place indicating the temporary detour at those locations and at Oaks Bottom, and SE 4th & Ivon.

Work is planned to start at 7pm tonight, Thursday, September 01, 2011. PGE anticipates the work will be completed this evening and not affect tomorrow’s commute.

For more information: contact Mark Wilson, Portland Parks & Recreation City Nature Division at 503.823.6736

light green Trek Allant Women’s 2008 – Recovered

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Woohoo! This bike’s owner has notified us that she has recovered the bike.

Here’s her story

Nine months after it was stolen, I recovered my Trek Allant, after a good samaritan saw it advertised on Craigslist, then checked it against the listings on your site. I set up a “sting” with the police to confront the guy who was selling it, and easily recovered it, since I had all receipts and documentation. I consider my case lucky, and unfortunately, rare.

Year: 2008
Brand: Trek
Model: Allant Women’s
Color:light green
Size:17.5
Serial: WTU058C0156F
Stolen in Portland, OR 97211
Stolen:2011-07-26
Stolen From: By backyard at NE 21st and Sumner
Neighborhood: Alberta
Owner: Kate Carney
OwnerEmail: lipsink@gmail.com
Reward: $100
Description: Gray metal basket in the front, back rack, modified handle bars (longer/more forward) than the ones that were installed initially
Police record with: yes
Police reference#: 11-153971
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

A few ideas on how to improve streetcar track safety

On the Cherry Ave Bridge in Chicago, the tracks
are filled with rubber so bicycle riders
can roll over them without worry.
(Photo: Steven Vance)

As we continue to discuss the ongoing problem of streetcar tracks causing people to crash while bicycling in Portland, I thought it might be helpful to share some potential solutions.

Many of the current issues (track-straddling on the Lovejoy ramp, tracks in the curbside shoulder (former bikeway) on the MLK/Grand couplet, the craziness in the Pearl District) have to do with a new streetcar line not that’s not even slated to open until fall of next year. However, much of the track is already in the street and has already claimed a lot of bike-riding victims.

The way I see it, PBOT and Portland Streetcar Inc., (the private non-profit that builds and operates the streetcar under City contract) must look to some interim fixes in the short-term and a more permanent solution in the long term.

Read more

Black Kona Dew 2011

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Year: 2011
Brand: Kona
Model: Dew
Color:Black
Size:about 17
Serial: AJ11031554
Photo: http://sellwoodcycle.com/consign/2011-kona-dew-425/
Stolen in Salem, OR 97301
Stolen:2011-08-30
Stolen From: Downtown salem in front of Venti’s and Great harvest bread. It was locked to a fixed street bench that was bolted to the ground. This was on court st and commercial.
Neighborhood: downtown salem
Owner: Scott Stolberg
OwnerEmail: stephy_spanks@hotmail.com
Reward: $100
Description: Black Kona Dew bike, White writing, has a bell on it and a bracket for a flashlight on front and one of back for reflector. Memory foam seat cover.
Police record with: salem police
Police reference#: 11-33084
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

dark blue Trek Valencia 2010

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Year: 2010
Brand: Trek
Model: Valencia
Color:dark blue
Size:17.5″
Serial: WTU235C1077D
Stolen in Portland, OR 97220
Stolen:2011-08-31
Stolen From: Gateway Fred Meyer
Owner: Brenda Reddaway
OwnerEmail: brendareddaway1@comcast.net
Description: 2010 dark blue Trek Valencia 17.5″. hybrid style. back rack. fenders.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: T11006174
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Historic news footage of “klunking” MTB pioneers

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Gary “the Fish” Fisher circa late 1970s.
(Still from CBS Evening Magazine)

Thanks to the wonders of Twitter, I just finished watching one of the most satisfying bike video clips I have ever seen.

Uploaded last month by YouTube user frenchjr25 (a self-described “TV history fanatic”), the segment — which was created to be aired on CBS Evening Magazine — recounts the sport of “Klunking” in Marin County, California and the famous “Repack” downhill races from the late 1970s. I’ve seen photos and read books of these exploits for years, but to see video footage and to hear interviews from the likes of Charlie Kelley and Gary Fisher from this long ago was a real treat.

Read more

New book is a ‘Survival Guide’ for bicycling in American cities

I got a review copy of The Urban Cyclists Survival Guide in the mail the other day. It’s a new book by Los Angeles based author James Rubin and published by Chicago-based sports book publisher Triumph Books.

I haven’t delved completely into the 250 or so pages of advice and tips; but the book’s packaging has already caught my eye due to how it makes bicycling seem like a risky and life-threatening proposition.

At the very least, the book sends mixed messages to potential riders (and buyers). On one hand, the book’s success relies on more people choosing to ride bikes. The headline of the back cover reads, “Shed Pounds and Save Money by Riding Your Bike to Work.”

However, the cover image shows a man doing a full, over-the-bars endo into the side of a car. The image echoes the tone of the title itself, with its focus on “survival.” Is that the type of words and imagery that will encourage someone to ride?

Read more

White Scott Speedster 2009

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Year: 2009
Brand: Scott
Model: Speedster
Color:White
Size:56 inch
Serial: H9LZ71011
Photo: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/834/bikeh.png/
Stolen in Portland, OR 97212
Stolen:2011-08-30
Stolen From: Out of car which was parked on street in inner NE Portland on NE 41st Ave.
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Owner: Berit Gann
OwnerEmail: beritgann@gmail.com
Description: White Scott, style is Speedster, road bike. Gold and silver font on bike. One silver spoke on back tire, the rest are black. White wrapped handle bars and white seat. Black race tires.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: PP1174988
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Editorial: Signs of traffic culture on paths vs. roads

Sign on I-205 path-1

A common sign on multi-use
paths. Why don’t we use these
on other transportation facilities
that are narrow and have users
that need to use caution around
one another?
(Photos © J. Maus)

The other day I was riding out to Southeast Portland along the I-205 multi-use path and I came across a sign I’d seen many times before.

“Bicyclists” it read, in large, all-caps font across the top, “This is a multi-use path. Reduce speed. Watch for pedestrians.” (The exact same sign is also on the Eastbank Esplanade just south of the Hawthorne Bridge overpass.)

I’ve shared thoughts about sharing paths with people on foot several times on this site in the past; but recent discussions about the safety and lack of space for bicycles and cars on rural roads put this sign into a new light.

Read more

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From the Archives

The good, the bad, and the ugly on the Oregon Coast Bike Route