Month: May 2015

Industry Ticker: North St Bags expands with new retail location and sales reps

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There’s nothing we like better than seeing a Portland-born and raised company make it big. It seems like yesterday that Curtis Williams showed up at BikeCraft with some great bags and panniers. Since 2009 he’s built North St. Bags into a successful business that just keeps chugging along.

Check out the press release below for his latest exciting news.

PORTLAND, Oregon—MAY 4, 2015—North St. Bags is proud to announce the launch of a new retail concept storefront in Southeast Portland. Nearly tripling its existing showroom area, the North St. Bags SHOP HQ will showcase on-hand inventory from its line of Made-in-Portland convertible pannier bags and other cycling accessories. “Knocking down a couple of walls really opened the place up,” mused North St. Bags Founder, Curtis Williams who recently took over the entire first floor of their building to accommodate the retail expansion.

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Newswire: Upper portion of Larch Mtn. Road will re-open May 6th

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If you’re a serious rider who has tackled the epic Larch Mountain climb, we’ve got some good news: The upper portion of the road is being officially re-opened for the season on May 6th. If you’ve been going past the gate illegally, then this is probably bad news since now there will be people driving on the last 4 miles.

Check the statement below from Multnomah County for all the details:

Upper Larch Mountain Road to reopen afternoon of May 6

Multnomah County will reopen the upper section of Larch Mountain Road on Wednesday, May 6 by 3:30 pm.

Larch Mountain Road is the highest road in Multnomah County’s jurisdiction, reaching an altitude of 4055 feet in east county. Each winter, the county closes public access to recreation areas off upper Larch Mountain Road by installing a snow gate near milepost 10. Opening the mountain road for recreational users happens each spring. Reopening the gate provides vehicle access all the way to the view parking lot at milepost 14.5 and the walking trail to Sherrard Point.

Eastmoreland residents organize against wider bike lanes that would remove parking

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Some people bike on Woodstock Boulevard’s sidewalk to avoid the door-zone bike lane that would be upgraded as part of the 20s Bikeway Project.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

The Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association is trying to stop Portland from widening the four-foot door-zone bike lanes along four blocks of Woodstock Boulevard.

The four blocks would be a key link in the planned 20s Bikeway, the first continuous all-ages bike route to stretch all the way from Portland’s northern to southern border. But Kurt Krause, chair of the neighborhood association’s bike committee, said the benefits of a continuously comfortable route aren’t worth the costs of removing curbside parking in front of seven large houses that overlook the Reed College campus across the street.

All seven houses have private driveways and garages on their lots.

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Exploring new connections between Marine Drive and the Historic Highway

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New path along Sandy River in Troutdale. Sure beats dodging semis near freeway on-ramps!
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Marine Drive is a valuable gem in our regional biking network. Its combination of off-street paths and bike lanes make it an excellent way to connect to Troutdale, the Sandy River, and the gorgeous roads in around the Columbia River Gorge.

Unfortunately, the route most people take from Marine Drive through Troutdale to the Historic Columbia River Highway is a real pain. For years I’ve ridden through that section by going under I-84, then riding a sketchy bike lane adjacent to a huge truck stop and the busy driveways of shops and fast food joints. Now, thanks to a mix of old paths and trails (forgotten sections of the 40-Mile Loop), combined with a recently completed Oregon Department of Transportation project, there’s a much better way to make this connection.

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Touting ‘Platinum’ status, Commisioner Novick proclaims Active Transportation Week

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Bureau of Transportation staff have had their say about grumblings in the community that Portland doesn’t deserve its “Platinum” bicycle-friendly status*.

Now it’s City Hall’s turn.

In an statement to kick off National Bike Month in Portland, PBOT spokesperson Diane Dulken said Portland Mayor Charlie Hales will announce next week that May 10-16th will be Active Transportation Week in Portland. The proclamation was written by PBOT Commissioner Steve Novick and will cite, “Portland as a Platinum bicycle-friendly city, Sunday Parkways’ popularity and that bicycling has changed commute choices, reducing single-commuter trips from 64 percent to 57 percent since 2000.”

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Job: Mechanic/Wheel Builder – Universal Cycles

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Job Title
Mechanic/Wheel Builder

Company/Organization
Universal Cycles

Job Description
Are you looking for a job with a great company? Then look no further as Universal Cycles is looking for a new employee to join our team. Our ideal candidate is one who does not mind wearing many different hats as they will be working in the repair shop, building wheel, working the retail floor sometimes and for good measure we may put you into the warehouse every now and then too. We are hoping to find a candidate that has a couple of years of bicycle repair work already under their belt, as we run at a fast pace and need somebody who can start off the first day running full gas. A basic knowledge of disc brakes, suspension and dropper posts would be nice, but is not something that you must have. Knowing how to build wheels is a must as we build up several sets per day. We are open seven days a week and this position would require working on weekends. We like a clean shop, so candidate shouldn’t mind cleaning restroom. We are a team here , managers clean too!

We have four shop cats, so the candidate should like cats.

-We offer high wages for qualified candidates.
-Medical after 90 days.
-Paid vacation is one week after a year, and 2 weeks after 3 years.
– 3 paid sick days.
-Paid closed days for our business are New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
– We are a locally owed business that takes pride in providing a great job for great employees!

How to Apply
Please apply in person and ask for Meiko, Brian, Brad, or Mary

At Portland event, Spinlister CEO touts plan for private bike-share system

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Spinlister CEO Marcelo Loureiro, center, with two other
“sharing economy” executives at OMSI Thursday for
a Tech Fest Northwest panel.
(Photo: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

The user-owned bike share system due to launch in Portland in September says that participants won’t have to pump the tires in any bikes shared on their network.

That was one of several tidbits shared Thursday by the CEO of Spinlister, the Santa Monica-based peer-to-peer platform that is planning a first-of-its-kind bike sharing pilot program in Portland.

As BikePortland reported in March, Spinlister says it will buy a line of custom “Smart Bikes,” give them to selected Portlanders for free, and let them float freely around the Portland area like so many car2gos.

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Latest Headlines

Last night’s winner? Single transferable vote

Keith Wilson on road to victory, and I’ll see you at Bike Happy Hour tonight

City swaps signals for stop signs to slow speeders on NE Prescott

City bans e-scooter riding downtown core due to protest concerns

From the Archives

Truck driver does ‘rolling coal’ on riders, and one of them is a bike cop