The Monday Roundup: Senator scofflaw, self-driving slowdown, women racer challenges, and more


Happy Monday everyone. I was out of town visiting family for a few days last week (you might have noticed the lack of posts), so this week’s Roundup is a bit spare.

Here are the best stories I read and bumped into thanks to reader submissions…

Adding immunity to injury: An interesting legal case from Illinois found that municipalities don’t have blanket immunity to lawsuits for poorly maintained bike paths (but it’s still hard to find them liable).

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It’s BikeCraft weekend: Here are a few fabulous finds from opening night

Makeshifter bags, Sketchy Trails art, 1 by Liz clocks, panniers from Market Mule. Oh my!
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

BikeCraft is back and we couldn’t be happier. This event — which is open all weekend — celebrates local, bike-inspired arts and crafts. It started in 2005 and has come roaring back this year thanks to an organizational boost from our friends Elly Blue and Joe Biel from Microcosm Publishing and Brian Echerer from Velo Gioielli.

Last night was a special preview party and benefit for event host The Bike Farm (1810 NE 1st, two blocks from Broadway/Williams). I swung through to chat with vendors and see the wonderful things they make and sell.

Below is just a sample…

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Straw poll – Keep existing diverter on SE Clinton?

Please take this poll.
Vote with the Facebook Link below
or
Vote with a reply on these bikePortland comments
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/293708270840115/permalink/753470884863849/
..
URL Above

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Diverter Straw Poll. –
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Residents near SE 50th are very eager to continue having cars blocked both East/West on Clinton. Construction has done this the last 18 months.

a) Yes divert cars both East/West, keep what we have
b) No accept PBOT offer to open up to cut through drivers one way
c) I need more info and have read the Google Groups
d) I need more info, no time for G groups reading
.
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End of straw poll
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PBOT map https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-_lkfRp66-0bW5ZbGdkWWdOeW1VQjR5Y2JRX2Y2ay0zRHRN/view?usp=sharing

MAP from people who use this daily on a bike
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-_lkfRp66-0djE5eEtHb2ttRG1ZQjlfamU3OWcwb0ZWX3RZ/view?usp=sharing

I care about this because my close friend and her 2 kids live on Clinton, and I have over 50 people I love who use it every day. I use it every day on my bike. Thanks for your support comrades. Signed, Joe

Meet the BikeCrafters: Liz Carlis, Tomas Quinones, and Chris Chapman

Just three days until the big Friday preview party and BikeCraft weekend!

In case you haven’t heard, Portland’s bike-centric holiday gift fair is back. BikeCraft 2017 is December 15-17 at the Bike Farm (1810 NE 1st Ave.) and it’s powered by Microcosm Publishing.

To get you ready, our friend Elly Blue (Microcosm’s co-owner and marketing director) has been profiling the fantastic people behind the crafts (see the all of them here). Below are three more BikeCrafters you’ll get to meet at the big event. (Note: This is the final post in this series. See you at the event!)

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Guest post: Embracing fear (and tips to feel it less often)

Happiness is a new bike. 1990.
(Photos courtesy Eva Frazier)

This post was written by Eva Frazier, co-owner of Clever Cycles.

“I’m tired of being told to be safe/ride safe/stay safe. I want to have fun.”

I grew up in a quaint little town called Rhinebeck, about 90 miles north of New York City in the Hudson Valley. I started riding a bike as a little girl, somewhere around 3 years old. As soon as my folks let me, I started riding my bike to school. Most days I could beat the school bus, though, in the winter, my freshly washed hair would freeze on the way in. The bicycle was my ticket to freedom. Because I was living in a small town, I was allowed a wide territory to roam by myself, no questions asked. As long as I made it home by dinner, I could ride my bike anywhere I pleased. Most summer days I would go to the pool. Some days my dad, brother and I would take an 8 mile loop out to Rhinecliff and back. Sometimes I would ride up the Knollwood hill and then come flying back down, seeing how far I could coast before pedaling. I didn’t wear a helmet and all I carried was a puny little chain lock wrapped around my seatpost. Perhaps I was naive, or maybe I lived in some sort of paradise, but I never felt unsafe or scared.

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Oregon bike tax is coming: Here are a few quirks in the law and how shops feel about it

Final days at The Missing Link bike shop-3

(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Oregon’s infamous $15 bicycle excise tax goes into effect in just 20 days.

On January 1st, bicycle retailers across the state will have to be registered with the Department of Revenue (DOR) and have systems in place to collect and record the fee. To help make sure shops are ready, DOR has sent notices in the mail and has set up a website with more information.

We’ve been in touch with many Portland-based bike shops to hear how they’re feeling about it. So far we’ve heard a range of opinions. Some shop owners disagree with the tax in principle and/or have concerns about how it will impact their business, while others don’t think it’ll be that big of a deal.

As for the tax itself, the first order of business from the State’s perspective is to educate retailers. In a letter (PDF) sent to shops on December 4th, the DOR laid out the basics of the tax and offered answers to several frequently asked questions.

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The Monday Roundup: Bike highways in London and Cleveland, blaming bad driving, a bike racing lifer, and more

Here are the best things we came across last week…

This week’s Monday Roundup is sponsored by Tigr Lock, a strong and lightweight solution to protect your bike from thieves.

A bike racing “lifer”: Bill Elliston’s lifelong dedication to racing bikes and helping other people get into the sport is worth every word of this longform piece from Peter Flax at CyclingTips.com.

Meet Seattle’s top advocrat: Seattle’s chief traffic engineer Dongho Chang got a profile in the Seattle Times for his work to, “to make Seattle’s streets safer, more efficient.” (He’s also a fun follow on Twitter at @dongho_chang.)

Blame it on the rock: I’ll just leave this here: “Drivers can’t seem to stop hitting a giant rock in a suburban parking lot, despite it being an inanimate object surrounded by yellow-painted curbs.”

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New ownership for Worst Day of the Year and other popular Portland rides

Worst Day of the Year Ride 2011-1

Start of 2011 Worst Day of the Year Ride.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Portland-based Axiom Event Productions has purchased four major local bike rides.

The company, which launched in 2013 when it earned the exclusive contract to manage the City of Portland’s Sunday Parkways events, is now in charge of putting on the Worst Day of the Year Ride, Petal Pedal, Tour de Lab, and the Portland Century. They’ll be operated by Events by Axiom, LLC.

Axiom purchased the events from their previous owner, Good Sport Promotion. Also in included in the sale is ORBike.com, a website that promotes cycling and events statewide. Good Sport’s owner Porter Childs has started a new business selling custom bike jerseys.

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Job: Promotional Email Coordinator – Velotech

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title *
Promotional Email Coordinator

Company/Organization *
Velotech

Job Description *
JOB OVERVIEW: This team member is responsible for the construction of promotional email campaigns for all Velotech properties, updating and maintaining email subscriber lists, testing email campaigns to ensure they are ready for public consumption, assisting the marketing team in promotional email planning and organizing.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
● Maintain and update email subscriber lists per website, per customer group utilizing Velotech Admin and Mailchimp
● Operate Mailchimp to author subject lines, construct, and send sales emails based on existing email templates
● Check all marketing emails in the send queue are free of typographical errors, broken and/or missing links and are ready for public consumption the moment they land in subscriber inboxes
● Recommend and implement graphical and/or sales copy changes/additions as needed throughout the campaign creation process
● Schedule and send email campaigns in line with active sales and promotional windows–quadruple check through Velotech Admin that links work per individual campaign per site
● Learn the ins and outs of the Velotech admin system while utilizing the latter to build email landing pages
● Work directly with the marketing team on select product sets, discount code links, and featured products as needed per email campaign
● Communicate weekly with the Marketing Department at large regarding upcoming sales and promotions
● Work with the marketing team to track performance of individual campaigns
● Contribute to marketing department efforts as needed (homepage content, social media posts, item descriptions, discount code building, analytic tracking)

MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS:
● Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Journalism, Public Relations, marketing/Advertising, Business or Public Administration
● Two to five years of increasingly responsible relevant work experience

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:
● Working knowledge of basic HTML & CSS
● Familiarity with Mailchimp
● Experience authoring informational content for publication
● Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to multi-task
● Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication
● Ability to work effectively, prepare and present information to various groups
● Ability to work independently or with others to manage multiple task with minimal supervision.

$15.50-$16.75/hr

We offer excellent medical, dental and vision benefits, generous PTO accrual, and 401k including paid holidays. We offer a multiple company discount program. We provide a positive and supportive approach to development and training daily, and encourage opportunities for both professional and personal growth.

How to Apply *
Please apply by clicking on link below

https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/index.php?/job/apply&clientkey=4C6D7027145254251F7D24DAA9BDF3F7&job=15427&jpt=