BikePortland is eight years old today

Eight years ago today I posted to BikePortland.org for the first time. Since then it’s been an amazing journey to where we are today.

When I made that first post, I had written about 150 short posts under the “Bike Fun” banner at OregonLive.com. Since then, we’ve published 9,273 stories here on the Front Page. In total — when you figure in job and stolen bike listings, Page Two stories, and everything else that doesn’t get posted to the Front Page — there have been 16,335 posts.

That’s nothing when you consider how many comments have been left: 219,688. That’s a lot of opinion, facts, debates, clarifications, and so on.

Today we’re as strong as ever and I’m trying to push the site into a new era. The addition of Michael Andersen as our news editor is part of that effort (which reminds me, he still needs a formal introduction here on the Front Page doesn’t he?). I think Michael and I are working very well together and his presence has allowed us to start working on some cool new stuff. Some of it isn’t ready to announce; but it’s mostly simply doing what we already do — provide informational and inspiring content every day — even better.

I have my eyes set on the 10-year mark. By July of 2015, I want BikePortland.org to be a much stronger business and resource. I’m very proud of this site; but for it to reach its potential (and for me to keep my sanity), some things have to change. I’ll also turn 40 that same year, so that milestone is causing even greater personal reflection about what all this means and what I want to do with it.

Thank you to everyone who contributes to BikePortland, either as a reader, newsmaker, commenter, fan, supporter, or all of the above. And a special thank you to our advertisers whose support makes this site possible.

Here’s to eight more years!

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Richard Masoner
10 years ago

Happy Birthday to Bike Portland! You should at least mention your old blog too 🙂

david
david
10 years ago

Congrats on eight years, Jonathan!

TOM
TOM
10 years ago

Don’t sweat 40 , it’s just a number. I worked 8-5 for 35 years and feel better at 64 than anytime in the last 30. 3,200 bike miles a year must be helping. CONGRATS !!!

pdxpaul
pdxpaul
10 years ago
Reply to  TOM

At 42, I gotta say I agree, 40 is no big deal. Keep up the good work.

John Lascurettes
10 years ago

Congratulations, Jonathan. BP is invaluable to Portland and the greater biking community. Thank you for making this city and biking in general better.

9watts
9watts
10 years ago

Can’t say it better myself! Thanks, Jonathan.

michael downes
michael downes
10 years ago

Thank you Jonathan! You are in part to blame for why I am living here. Many years ago when I worked at Giant Bicycles I embarked on a research trip around the country to better understand emerging markets in cycling and your blog led me to add Portland to the itinerary. I was impressed enough to bring my family back for a vacation (a week in Portland and a week on the coast). On the basis of that trip we decided to sell our two cars (we lived in LA), pull up stumps and relocate. That was six years ago and I have never regretted it for a moment. We never did buy another car but we did get a Bakfiets to haul our son and everything else around. In the process I lost 25 pounds and now wear the same pant size I did when I fourteen. Throughout all of this BP has been our constant reference and hardly a day goes by that I don’t check in and see whats happening from a two wheeled perspective. Over the years the site and your reportage has only gotten better. So let’s raise a glass (or three) to another eight years.
Oh, and don’t worry about 40. I’m 53 and just hitting my stride (or is it pedal stroke?).

Chris
Chris
10 years ago

Congrats, Jonathan and THANKS!

Paul in the 'couve
Paul in the 'couve
10 years ago

Thanks Jonathan for having the drive to run this site. The 8 years is showing in the what you post and how you post it. This blog has been good from day one but it keeps getting better.

Katie Proctor
10 years ago

Thank you thank you thank you Jonathan. This site has inspired me, informed me, motivated me, and made me re-think, re-consider, re-analyze. Again and again. I am immensely grateful.

zed
10 years ago

I have always been a fan and about the same time you started Bike Portland, I started SaltCycle. I always tell people it is the Bike Portland of Salt Lake City.

They get it.

A toast to you, good friend of the bikes, that we all may grow together this beautiful tapestry known as bicycle culture!

z.

🙂

BFF
10 years ago

Yay for BikePortland!

Joe
Joe
10 years ago

happy bday 🙂 awesome work

gl.
gl.
10 years ago

congratulations and thank yoU!

stasia:)
10 years ago

Hey, BikePortland and I have the same birthday! 🙂

Congratulations on 8 rockin years!

Ian
Ian
10 years ago

Happy Birthday and ta muchly from Brisbane Australia

AndyC of Linnton
AndyC of Linnton
10 years ago

Happy birthday. You do some great, invaluable stories on this site.
Thanks for all of your hard work.

Dave Miller
Dave Miller
10 years ago

Congratulations Jonathan! The choices you’ve made regarding what to cover, how to cover it, when to weigh in with opinion, and your careful attention to language and tone, have really been impressive. I am certain your work has been a significant contributor to the thriving bike ecosystem in Portland which affects the quality of life for so many people.

To my fellow readers here, I’d like to send out an appeal. As a techie who works on web apps, I noticed that, technically, the paint is peeling in spots on the site. A few months ago, I contacted Jonathan and arranged an afternoon get-together with my employer’s tech team and BikePortland’s sysadmin, Ryan Aslett. We got a peek under the hood and made a tweak to get the home page loading a little faster. In order for BikePortland to handle its business requirements as it grows, some significant technical infrastructure work is going to have to happen to replace or extend the bootstrapped system that Ryan and Jonathan currently use. I am curious if there other techies like me who value the site enough to contribute some expertise. LAMP, WordPress, and PHP are the relevant buzzwords. If you or your company have resources to spare, please contact me at dwmiller@umich.edu. I’d love to facilitate a discussion around BikePortland’s business needs and people/companies who are interested in helping to fill them, so the site can continue having a positive influence on our city for another 8 years and more.

Alan 1.0
Alan 1.0
10 years ago
Reply to  Dave Miller

In that same vein and similar skillset, and not to take any wind out of Dave’s generous offer but simply to leverage it for more bikey goodness, Bryan Hance and his stolenbicycleregistry.com site could also use some coding cycles:

http://bikeportland.org/2013/07/11/coder-wanted-to-help-with-stolen-bike-recovery-tool-90213

(Full disclosure: I have no connection whatsoever with Hance or SBR, I just think it’s a great tool with enormous potential, for example wiring it in with other stolen bike serial number databases.)

Dave Miller
Dave Miller
10 years ago
Reply to  Alan 1.0

Thanks Alan. I missed that post.

Yes. If I knew more PHP devs I’d send them his way!

DaveML of PNW
DaveML of PNW
10 years ago

Great job. I am an avid reader of your site. You do a great job of covering all things bikes. I know I am more interested and active due to your coverage.

Spiffy
Spiffy
10 years ago

happy older!

Slo Joe
Slo Joe
10 years ago

Happy B’day BP !! Every day I look forward to reading BP and learning more about the cycling scene in Portland. I no longer live in Portland, but the city holds a special place in me heart.

Also thank you for the work you’ve done. You are the heart and soul of this site. Plus your kindness whenever meeting you on the road is greatly apreciated.

Ride Long and Prosper

P.S. At close to 70 I still feel under 40.

justin
justin
10 years ago

keep up the great work!

Paul H.
Paul H.
10 years ago

Thank you, Jonathan! I was an editor for three-plus years in advertiser-supported media, so I have some mild sense of the craziness of your last eight years. Your work is much appreciated.

ShareTheRoad
ShareTheRoad
10 years ago

Jonathan, you and your talents for bringing us all together are remarkable. Thank you for your efforts and Happy Birthday BP!

Curt
Curt
10 years ago

Well done! Thanks for all the great work, and I look forward to the best years still to come on BikePortland!

Alan 1.0
Alan 1.0
10 years ago

Thank you, Jonathan! Amen to all the good words of others, too.

Sean
Sean
10 years ago

Thanks for your good work on the site. Its one of my go-to sites!

JRB
JRB
10 years ago

Congratulations and thanks for your service to the community. Bike P is one of my must reads.

P.S. You are not supposed to stress 40. 30 is the last birthday you stress. By the time you reach 40, you realize that there is no yesterday or tomorrow, only today and that is something to be embraced and appreciated.

Nathan Broom
Nathan Broom
10 years ago

Congratulations on building a top-notch resource, Jonathan. One suggestion as you keep developing the site: how about a separate RSS feed for stories of national interest, for readers outside Portland?

Ted Buehler
10 years ago

Reposting my comment from the http://bikeportland.org/2013/07/02/what-caused-portlands-biking-boom-89491 post

* Jonathan Maus
Daily news. Up to the minute news. In depth. Accurate. Unabashed. Engaging. Covering all aspects of bicycling with passion and style. Safety, commuting, recreation, competition, entertainment, business, academic research, wonkiness. Following up when projects slow down, diligently and with a solid institutional memory. And its ordered, searchable. And it supports comments from the public which add additional depth and perspective.

BikePortland has enabled anyone with interest to become well informed in whatever elements of biking they like.

Elected officials and city staff know that they need to follow through with their commitments because the day the project opens, pics, commentary and criticism will be on the top of the page at bikeportland.org. With hotlinks to the original promises from months or years past.

Do other cities have this asset? I’m pretty sure none did in 2005, I hope some have it now. San Francisco has http://www.sfbike.org/ which covers a fair bit of news, but its not the same as having a full-time reporter on the scene.

Thanks, Jonathan!

Drew
Drew
10 years ago

I always find thoughtful, informative, and well crafted articles at bikeportland. I would rank the comments very highly as well. I read a lot of them, and I feel that has helped me become a better commenter when I think I have something to say.

Phil Latz
10 years ago

Congratulations from Australia!
Yes, I still read your column regularly even from Down Under.
I particularly find the Monday Round up a useful summary of what’s happening around the world.
Thanks also for your support of Where to Bike Portland, which has been doing very well.
Keep up the good work Jonathan.

Tony Pereira
10 years ago

Congrats Jonathan. Thanks for the hard work you’ve put in and for helping me grow my business. I’ve been reading every day for almost 8 years!

Pete
Pete
10 years ago

Jonathan Maus
That’s nothing when you consider how many comments have been left: 219,688.

…and I bet that’s nothing compared to how many were left before they were moderated out! 😉

Happy Birthday and KTRSD.

Michael Nover
Michael Nover
10 years ago

Awesome job Jonathan! A great link for those of us in the Portland diaspora.

Adams Carroll (News Intern)

Thanks everyone for the kind words. It’s great to hear from all of you. Been a long time Michael Nover!