Grab your pooch (or your chicken or goat or pig or cat or whatever), and join Bike Loud’s pet-themed ride on Friday evening. (Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)
Our event guide is brought to you through a promotional partnership with Abus, makers of fine bike locks. Thank you Abus!
Looks like we’ve got a typically mixed forecast for Friday through Sunday — with Friday being sunny and over 70-degrees! Whether you like clouds and rain or are ready to dry out and be warm, chances are you’ll be happy with the weather. Our menu of rides this week is also varied — from a fun animal-themed jaunt to serious racing and a healthy dose of activism.
Whatever you do, have fun out there this weekend (and pack a rain jacket)!
The City of Portland and bike share operator Motivate were caught off-guard by the scope of the vandalism. Sources told us they didn’t have enough parts on-hand — or enough labor to repair them. Thankfully, our community stepped up to help. Local bike business owners and employees lended a helping hand by rebuilding wheels and doing whatever it took to nurse the bikes back to full health.
In an email sent to members today, Biketown said, “We would like to extend a huge thank you to you, Portland. The support you’ve shown for bike share in this city is overwhelming. The team at Biketown is very grateful to know that the work we do is appreciated by so many of you. Now, let’s ride!”
Ikea wants to make their new Sladda bike easier to use and own.
Ikea knows Portland is a place where bikes — and especially utility and cargo bikes — are taken seriously. With that in mind, the global home furnishings giant plans to launch a pilot program aimed at encouraging people to ride and share their new Sladda bicycle.
The Sladda is aimed at people who use bikes to get things done. They offer it with front and rear racks and even a rear cargo trailer. Given how solid the bike looked and Ikea’s unique ability to distribute it to the masses, we thought its launch back in January was noteworthy.
This Saturday (April 22, which happens to be Earth Day) Ikea will announce a lower price for the Sladda and details of a new partnership with Spinlister, a bike sharing platform that allows people to list and rent bikes.
We’ve been in touch with Ikea Portland spokesperson April Minister to learn more.
Don’t worry! Those cars are driving themselves. (Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
Hoping to get out in front of what many see as an inevitable tidal wave in vehicle technology that will transform our streets, the City of Portland has announced the Smart Autonomous Vehicles Initiative (SAVI).
The announcement was made this morning at the Portland Business Alliance’s April Forum Breakfast event. Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioner Dan Saltzman spoke at the event and formally launched the initiative via the Portland Bureau of Transportation (which Saltzman oversees). By the end of this year the city will develop a suite of policies and review proposals from private companies that want to test AVs on Portland streets.
“My goal is to have an autonomous vehicle pilot program in Portland, working for Portlanders, by the end of the year,” Wheeler said in a statement. “To the inventors, investors and innovators, I’m here to say that Portland is open for business. By working with private industry, we can make sure that cutting edge technology expands access to public transit and reduces pollution and congestion.”
Company/Organization *
Western Bikeworks- Tigard and NW Lovejoy Locations
Job Description *
Western Bikeworks – looking for Part Time Sales Associates.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
• Operate store Point of Sale equipment
• Assist customers with product selection by spending the time to learn about the customer’s needs and then suggesting appropriate product to satisfy those requirements. This will extend (but not be limited) to bicycle selection and sizing, nutrition selection, and accessory selection
• Provide higher than expected (by the customer) customer service including but not limited to assisting with removal of bicycles from their vehicle, searching all possible avenues for special order or out of stock product, expediting all service and transactions as much as possible, and hand writing thank you cards
• Prepare the retail store for normal operations at opening time (lights, signage, setup PCs, etc) and handle End of Day procedures
• Assist with the setup and teardown of marketing events at the store (movie premieres, vendor presentations, etc)
• Work on receiving, placing product on the floor, store cleanliness, etc. at the discretion of the store manager
• Answer incoming phone calls and respond to incoming customer email
• Has basic level mechanic capabilities (change a flat tire, operate quick release)
How to Apply *
Please Apply by clicking on company link below:
The Intertwine — a regional coalition of governments, and advocates for parks, paths and trails — has released a smartphone app. Daycation is a “nature exploration app” designed to inform and inspire you about fun things to do in Portland and Vancouver-area parks and natural spaces. It was developed in partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Trailhead Labs.
Jen Sotolongo, Sora, and Dave Hoch pedaling across a bridge in the O’Higgins region of Chile. (Photos: Long Haul Trekkers) — This post was edited by Jonathan Maus based on an article by Jen Sotolongo
After two years on the road pedaling across Europe and South America with their adopted Australian Shepherd, Sora, Jen Sotolongo and Dave Hoch of the Long Haul Trekkers will be returning home to Portland.
If they sound familiar, it’s because we covered their story about their ride from Oslo, Norway to Athens, Greece via the Balkans and Turkey last year. Since that piece was published, Jen, Dave, and Sora finished another continent: South America. They started in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, in Argentine Patagonia and finished in Medellín, Colombia. The adventure took them through six countries in South America (Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia), 23 in total and some 6,000 miles over the two years of their journey.
The original plan was to ride all the way back to Portland, however, two years of bicycle travel left them in need of a break and wanting to explore other aspects of life than just cycle touring. The constant up and down of the Andes with steep grades can wear out even the hardest of souls. “We spent entire days pushing up steep mountain passes that brought me to tears,” said Jen. “I certainly had moments wondering whether I would prefer to be back in my old life behind a desk. Then I’d look around me at the beautiful view and shake my head that the thought had even entered my mind.”
Using a cell phone while driving is a dangerous, selfish, and illegal behavior that has become far too common. (Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland) — via Streetsblog USA
A company that uses sensors in smartphones to study driving behavior has revealed startling — yet unsurprising — facts about Americans’ selfish attitudes while behind the wheel of their cars: People use their phones during 88 out of 100 trips. When extrapolated out for the entire U.S. population, that number shoots up to about 600 million distracted trips per day.
In what they bill as the “largest and most robust driver phone use study done to date on the planet,” Zendrive analyzed three million drivers and 570 million trips over a three-month period.
While what they found is unnerving to say the least, Oregon drivers came in as the “least distracted” in the entire country. By calculating the average amount of time drivers use their phones everyday divided by the average time they drive everyday, Zendrive determined that Oregon drivers used their phones while driving 3.7 percent of the time. The most distracted state was Vermont, whose drivers used their phones 7.4 percent of the time.
Close to town and carfree, the 2-mile laps of Portland International Raceway are a perfect place to race. (Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)
At the end of thge 2016 season, when promoter Jim Anderson walked away from the Race Monday Night series at Portland International Raceway, it could have been the end of a 20-year Portland tradition.
New fork made in north Portland. (Photos courtesy Echos Communications)
Portland-based builder Chris Igleheart has teamed up with another bike industry legend on an old fork design made new again. The Yo Eddy! Road Fork is based on the 1995 version first released by Chris Chance of Fat Chance. Now the two bike-making veterans have updated its design to modern standards.
Igleheart works out of his shop on Page Street in North Portland where he specializes in frames and forks. Check out the official release below:
Doug Klotz voiced opposition to the plans at Tuesday’s Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting. (Photo: J Maus/BikePortland)
Two influential City of Portland advisory committees oppose plans by the Portland Art Museum to create a new structure that would limit public access on a downtown block.
As we reported on March 29th, the Portland Art Museum’s $50 million Rothko Pavilion plans would further restrict public right-of-way between Southwest Park and 10th Avenues. On March 14th, at a joint meeting of the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee and the Portland Pedestrian Advisory Committee, members overwhelmingly opposed the plans in an informal straw poll. Before taking an official position on the matter, the chair of the bicycle committee invited a representative from the museum to a subsequent meeting.
Here are the most noteworthy stories we came across last week…
A politico’s Pronto post-mortem: Former Seattle City Councilor Jean Godden said fear of not appearing progressive enough was part of the political “hubris” to blame for the system’s failure.
Clear and present bias: A perfect (and perfectly sad) example of police and media bias in a case where a driver was initially exonerated without facts, only to be found guilty of distracted driving after a court hearing.
A new terror: Terrorism is the new frontier of motor vehicle violence, and it’s also the latest impetus for street infrastructure that protects vulnerable road users.
The problem with technology: Elon Musk and his acolytes like to think they can solve any transport problem with futuristic tech. That’s why it’s sort of funny that auto parking is such a mess at Tesla HQ.
Looks like we’ve got a typically mixed forecast for Friday through Sunday — with Friday being sunny and over 70-degrees! Whether you like clouds and rain or are ready to dry out and be warm, chances are you’ll be happy with the weather. Our menu of rides this week is also varied — from a fun animal-themed jaunt to serious racing and a healthy dose of activism.
