🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏

Portland Farmer’s Market debuts ‘Produce Pedaler’ cargo bike mini-mart

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A cargo bike mini-mart debuted at Buckman
Farmer’s Market yesterday.
(Photos: Portland Farmer’s Market)

Portland’s love of cargo bikes just took another big step. And I mean big. The folks who run Portland Farmer’s Market debuted their new “Produce Pedaler” cargo bike at the Buckman market yesterday. The bike is an old-fashioned style, extra-large, classic Dutch bakfiets. It has a load capacity of 660 lbs and it’s nearly 12 feet long.

The bike will travel to the eight different Portland Farmer’s Markets around town throughout the season. It’s set up as a mini-market and will offer vegetables and produce, flowers, and assorted goodies from market vendors. PFM Operations Director Jaret Foster says, “Having a mobile market bike has been a longtime dream. The Produce Pedaler not only creates another sales opportunity for our vendors, it’s also the perfect way to bring together Portland’s celebrated bike culture and regional bounty in a fun and memorable way. We hope this beautiful three-wheeled vehicle becomes a Portland icon…”

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Job: Sales/Customer Svc Associate – Cyclepath – FILLED

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Sorry. This job has been filled.

Job Title
Sales/Customer Svc Associate

Company/Organization
Cyclepath

Job Description
Cyclepath Bike Shop has immediate openings for one full & one part-time sales employee. 3+ years of prior experience required. Must be neat, clean, punctual, able to work with a variety of customer demographics (age, gender, type of riding) and have appreciation for delivering the highest-quality customer service. Our work week is Monday-Saturday. Working Saturdays (1pm – 6pm) would be a requirement (it’s typically our busiest day). Retail often moves fast so you’ll be on your feet most of the day.

Familiarity with most things high-end in the bicycle world required. Enthusiasm to learn and be a part of this team is essential. We enthusiastically sell mountain, road and cyclocross bicycles, generally from the frame up (our motto is Custom Bike Love).

We are looking for long-term employees but have room for someone available through the summer only. Health care provided to f/t employees after 90 days; significant employee discounts begin at 30 days. Competitive salary based on experience.

How to Apply
Respond by email and tell us why this job would be a good fit for you. Please provide references (or attach resume). Michael(at)Cyclepathnw(dot)com

For Blake Hicks, bike tricks are ticket to the big time

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Blake Hicks at Salmon St Fountain-17-17

Blake Hicks is a fixture in Waterfront Park,
where he can be seen nearly every day
working on his tricks.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

For the past four years, southeast Portland resident Blake Hicks has focused his entire life on two things: Perfect his bike tricks and share them with the world. Now, after countless hours of hard work, the 28-year-old professional performer is about to embark on the biggest summer of his young career.

I first came across Blake’s amazing riding skills in 2006, when I photographed him practicing his moves in Waterfront Park. Yesterday I was riding through the park and there he was again — working on his awe-inspiring, spinning, rolling, and balancing act. And I’m glad I stopped to talk because he’s about to leave for a three-month performance gig at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida.

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Book event tonight: A chronicle of life in Amsterdam, the ‘City of Bikes’

Pete Jordan, a former Portland resident who lived in Amsterdam for the past eleven years, has written a book about the experience. In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist (Harper Perennial 2013) came out a few days ago and Jordan is back in Portland tonight for a reading.

Here’s more about the book from Powells.com:

“When Pete Jordan arrives in Amsterdam to study how to make America’s cities more bicycle-friendly, he immediately falls in love with the city that already lives life on two wheels. His new bride, Amy Joy, joins Pete, and despite their financial hardships and instability, she eventually finds her own new calling as a bicycle mechanic as Pete discovers the untold history of cycling in Amsterdam.

From its beginnings as an elitist pastime in the 1890s to the street-consuming craze of the 1920s, from the bicycle’s role in a citywide resistance to the Nazi occupation to the White Bikes of the 1960s and the bike fishermen of today, Jordan chronicles the evolution of Amsterdam’s cycling.

Part personal memoir, part history of cycling, part fascinating street-level tour of Amsterdam, In the City of Bikes is the story of a man who loves bikes, in a city that loves bikes.”

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ODOT, State Police step up safety push for Reach the Beach ride

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“It was a tragic situation that we want to avoid this year. Greater awareness may help us do that.”
— Louis Torres, ODOT Region 2

After a traffic collision claimed the life of a 65-year-old Camas man during the Reach the Beach ride last year, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Oregon State Police (OSP), race organizers and other officials are being proactive about safety this time around.

The ride is on May 18th and it attracts nearly 3,000 riders who pedal to the coast from four different starting locations (including Portland).

In a statement released today, ODOT urged people driving on the route to consider other options because there will be, “several thousand bicyclists who will be sharing space with motorists on rural highways in Washington, Yamhill and Tillamook counties.” In particular officials are concerned about OR 22 and OR 130 (Little Nestucca Road) because they are “narrow and can be a challenge when motorists and bicyclists are sharing the road.”

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ODOT wants your thoughts on Mt. Hood travel options

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Mt. Hood could use more
travel options.
(Photo: ODOT)

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has released an online survey that seeks input to inform their Mt. Hood Multimodal Transportation Plan. As reported back in March, ODOT wants to make it easier and safer to bike, walk, and hop on a bus around Government Camp, Timberline Lodge, and all the other popular recreation destinations on Mt. Hood. The plan focuses specifically on reducing auto trips on highways 26 (Sandy) and 35 (Hood River).

ODOT Region 1 Project Planner Mike Mason told us in March that, “What we’re hoping to find are good ideas to reduce the number of people who feel they need to drive cars up there.”

In a statement released today, Mason said, “People travel along the Mount Hood highway corridor for many reasons… We want these people who use the highway to help shape the future of transportation on the mountain.”

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People on Bikes: North Vancouver Avenue

Welcome to the latest installment of People on Bikes.

This morning I rolled over to North Vancouver Avenue to take a closer look at who’s riding. My location was just north of Shaver and a few blocks south of the Going Street neighborhood greenway. The bikeway on this section of Vancouver is pretty nice; even though from an engineering standpoint it’s decidedly low-tech. The bike lane here is just a standard white stripe. No green paint. No protection of any kind. However, because PBOT made it extra-wide — at some spots it’s a comfortable 6 1/2 feet — it feels much nicer than other bike lanes in town. The Vancouver bike lane is also very popular (the most popular according to a 2007 PBOT survey) and feels relatively comfortable because it’s downhill and the speed differential between people on bikes and people in cars is minimal.

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Light Blue Schwinn Broadway

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Brand: Schwinn
Model: Broadway
Color:Light Blue
Size:L
Photo: http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11472593/schwinn-schwinn-broadway-mens-hybrid-bike-blue-reviews/reviews.htm
Stolen in Portland Oregon, OR
Stolen:2013-05-01
Stolen From: SE 89th and Division.
Neighborhood: SE 89th and Division.
Owner: Sam Speer
OwnerEmail: sam.s.speer( atsign )gmail.com
Reward: $100.00
Description: Light blue Schwinn Broadway with black bike planet fenders, black rack with black tire rubber cords on it. Also had a black bell front light as well as a bike planet rear light.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 13-152661
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Guest Article: Urban mountain biking in Portland – What it could be

Typical “flow” singletrack on the Beginner Trail in
Lebanon Hills.
(Photo used with permission of
Dakota County Parks, Minnesota)

This article is written by Joshua Rebannack. Joshua contacted me after he read our recent coverage of mountain biking in Forest Park. As a way of helping Portland see a different vision for urban, off-road bicycling access, Joshua wanted to share how the issue has evolved in riding areas around Minneapolis, Minnesota. — Jonathan
—

My name is Joshua Rebennack. I’m a “Dirt Boss” at the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails and a member of the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew. I am writing this guest article in response to some of the controversy surrounding the possible inclusion of mountain biking at Forest Park.

Below I’ll discuss an example trail in an urban setting, Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan, Minnesota, and the lessons the citizens of Portland can learn from it.

While it might seem an odd choice comparing a West Coast location with Midwest, there are more similarities than one might think. Both Portland and Twin Cities (including Eagan) are at similar latitudes. While Portland prides itself on its rainfall, actually, the Twin Cities receives somewhat similar amounts of precipitation, though far more of it in snow. They both have similar political climates. And both are biking hot- spots.

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Black/orange Electra Verse 24 2013

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Year: 2013
Brand: Electra
Model: Verse 24
Color:Black/orange
Serial:ELT1E48213
Stolen in Portland, OR 97202
Stolen:2013-04-29
Stolen From: Stolen from driveway
Neighborhood: Westmoreland
Owner: Catherine Alexander
OwnerEmail: divatcat@comcast.net
Reward: yes
Description: Black and orange color, distinctive curved Electra frame
Police record with: Portland
Police reference#: 13-152629
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike