(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)
How does Biketown, Portland’s bike share system, stack up against other modes of travel during extreme weather? How would it work — or would it work at all — during a major snowstorm?
Those were the questions that have been on my mind after my brief foray on a Biketown bike late last night.
This morning I wanted to give it a real test. With twice as much snow on the ground as there was last night, I rolled over to my local Biketown station. My goal was to get downtown and back. Here’s what I learned…
Biketown is the most reliable public transit system we have
From a system perspective, Biketown is much more reliable than our buses, light rail, or streetcar. Throughout all this crazy snow and rain and ice we’ve had over the last few months, the system has remained online. There might have been a station here or there (out of 100) that was taken out of service due to ice or equipment damage; but there have been no systemwide shutdowns. And unlike those aforementioned modes of travel, since each Biketown user is also the operator of their transit vehicle there are never any delays in service.
When I walked up to rent a bike and saw about 10-inches of snow piled on top of the keypad display on the rear rack, I honestly didn’t expect it to work. Surely the freezing temps and all that ice and water would have gummed up the works right? I swiped away the snow, pushed the green button, waited a few seconds, and voilá! It woke right up. As I swiped my membership card I then figured the network might be down or slow; but a few seconds later I was entering my PIN number and the bike was ready to go.
Getting the bike unlocked and then locked again when I was done was very easy. This is another advantage of our dockless system. Other bike share systems require the entire front wheel to be rammed into a dock in order to finish a ride. Those often get jammed up with snow (thanks to Michael Andersen for pointing this out). The Biketown system uses a simple u-shaped locking bar that has to fit into two holes. Even with all this snow it worked without issue.
With snow piled high, the hardest part was wheeling the bike out of the parking spot and into the street.
The riding experience
Being able to check out a bike is one thing, but if the bike doesn’t work in extreme conditions the system would be useless.
I’m happy to report that the Biketown bikes worked very well. Not perfectly, but adequately. I did a nine-mile loop from N Interstate Avenue in the Overlook neighborhood down to SW Naito Parkway. I crossed the river via the Burnside Bridge (opting for the bridge with the least amount of elevation gain/loss) and used Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Grand Ave, North Williams and Killingsworth.
As I was warned by the Biketown folks, the 8-speed internal rear hub where the shifting happens tends to freeze up in cold weather. My shifter didn’t work at all. Luckily the bike I chose was in an easy gear so it worked fine for my entire trip. The bike itself was very sturdy. The hefty weight and upright riding position are not just great for seeing city sights and civilized commuting, they also do well in bad conditions. I notched my seat down a few numbers so that I’d have a lower center-of-gravity and so I could step off quickly if needed.
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A note of caution: Because of their weight, slick and relatively narrow tires, you won’t go very far on streets with significant snow accumulation. I quickly realized that I would have to stay on major (plowed) routes if I wanted to get anywhere efficiently. Riding the main roads is much easier in snowy conditions, but of course they also have more motor vehicle traffic. Traffic was light today, but I was still constantly looking back over my shoulder to see if someone was coming. Sometimes I would pull over and nod to the approaching driver to pass me. Other times I would ride slowly and they would pass safely. And then of course some people drove past way too fast and close — but that also happens in normal weather conditions!
As for riding tips, there are a few things to keep in mind*. I would recommend lowering the tire pressure just a bit. The roads are very bumpy due to chunks of ice and snow being spit up by chained tires. Also don’t be too proud to put your feet out to gain balance. Coming down the big Interstate Ave hill toward Russell and coming down the Burnside Bridge into downtown I had both feet out and was using the bike sort of like a sit-down ski!
A few more equipment notes: The bell didn’t work too well because of some ice accumulation and the pedals sometimes slipped off my boots for the same reason. The front basket was a great place to stow my gear, but only after I scooped out all the snow to make some room.
*Please keep in mind that the assessment above comes from someone with a lot of riding experience (including racing) in all types of conditions. Your mileage may vary.
Plowing and potential
The problem isn’t that bikes are difficult to ride in these conditions, it’s that the conditions of our roads make it difficult to ride.
My biggest takeaway from my two hour ride was how much more potential Biketown has in conditions like this. I already feel like Biketown (and cycling in general) is a very resilient transportation mode; but it could be vastly improved. Unfortunately the City of Portland and other local road agencies don’t do anything to prioritize cycling routes during extreme weather events. None of the major cycling routes are plowed. Neither are major walkways.
While official messages tell people to stay home and not use cars, a lot of effort is made to ensure driving is still safe and convenient.
Is it unreasonable to ask that — in America’s best big city for biking — that at least some major bikeways get plowed? Even the bike lane on North Williams Avenue was still covered in snow today. I had to pedal the slight uphill and have people in cars whiz by just a few feet away from me.
If PBOT, Multnomah County and the Oregon Department of Transportation would commit to plowing a few key bikeways, Biketown would become a much more viable transit option.
The problem isn’t that bikes are difficult to ride in these conditions, it’s that the conditions of our roads make it difficult to ride.
According to Biketown folks, I was one of only 27 people to use the system today (so far). There’s no reason that number should be so low. The system works. The bikes work. This city is full of bike riders. If we had a bit more space to ride and some bike-specific plowing, Biketown would be a much more viable option for many more Portlanders.
And the winner is?
Not gonna’ lie. Using Biketown in these conditions wasn’t easy. In the end Biketown wins. Not by a knockout, but by points after 12 rounds (that’s a boxing reference). There’s a lot of snow out there and it took all my wits to make it home in one piece. The system itself is a champ. It has proven to be mighty strong and ready for anything. If our roads were maintained a bit more with cycling in mind, Biketown would have scored a knockout in the first round.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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