fun new options for riding in outer northeast Portland.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Trying to get caught up on emails after my 10-day break and I’ve come across two exciting project updates — both of which are located east of 82nd Ave.
First, some major news. The indoor bike park known as The Lumberyard is slated to open tonight!
Whitesel (L) and Heiberg.
It’s been just over one year since business partners Michael Whitesel and Will Heiberg announced a multi-million dollar renovation of a former bowling alley across the street from Madison High School. Since then they’ve been busy designing and building jumps and trails, and jumping through hoops to secure all the permits. The facility will be open from 5:00 to 10:00 pm tonight and 11:0 am to 10:00 pm through the weekend. And since Sunday is Mother’s Day, moms get 50% off for a full day of riding.
For more on The Lumberyard, see our coverage of an event they hosted back in February.
And just about one mile away, there’s more good bike news to share.
Nearly four years after we first reported on Gateway Green — a 35-acre, ODOT-owned parcel at the intersection of I-205 and I-84 that is slated to be developed for off-road bike riding and other recreational uses — the project has just entered a key negotiation phase. Here’s more from a story yesterday from the Daily Journal of Commerce,
“After years of negotiating, ODOT and Portland Parks and Recreation are now working on a deal to convey the underused property to the city, which will be necessary in order for Gateway Green, as the park will be called, to become a reality. Though no agreement has been signed yet, project supporters are celebrating the negotiations as a significant step forward.”
It’s great to see progress on both of these projects. Kudos to citizen activism and entrepreneurs. Now we just need the City to get the Sullivan’s Gulch corridor built so we can give folks from nearby neighborhoods a safe and direct way to get to these attractions by bike!
I’d like to see the Lumberyard in action but I live south of it and there’s a huge hill right there… don’t want all the bike nerds laughing at me as a struggle up a hill… (:
besides, it conflicts with the free opening party at Velo Cult which then continues to the Midnight Mystery Ride… awesome weather for an MMR…
Nice work entrepreneurs and activists!
And free entry for Moms is a nice touch.
Ted Buehler
I got to go to the Lumberyard tonight! What an amazing place, and impressive accomplishment.
I didn’t actually get a chance to ride because I took a five-year-old and the balance bike he’s just getting the hang of, so the night was his. Holy cow, he took to some of those lower rolling sections like nobody’s business. I was running along side him everywhere until I realized that in some segments my hovering was more hazard than safety net; once I stepped back he more intuitively got the hang of it. And rode over the teeter-totter, repeatedly. I think I just witnessed a kid learn how to ride. At the very least I was a witness to the birth of a hardcore mountain biker.
For my own part, I haven’t been mountain biking in years, but now I’m feeling the tug. I’m going back.
This is the kind of place the current crop of candidates should be praising, loudly. It hits a lot of the themes from the current campaigns: East Portland, active transportation, and Portland-grown business.
Well done, you guys! This is entrepreneurism in its purest form. Can’t wait for the grand opening party.
Congratulations Michael and Will. I can’t wait to get out there. It looks awesome!