Portland pandemic news roundup: Free media, Free Hot Soup needs our help, free stickers, and more

Now available for free via snail mail from Portland Design Works.

It’s strange that while many things have slowed down or paused during these virus-impacted times, there seems to be more news than ever coming toward us. Even as owner of a niche transportation media outlet, I’m working overtime to keep up with everything.

In an effort keep you informed and entertained in your at-home existence, here’s a roundup of coronavirus-related news tidbits and other fun things I’ve collected in the past few days.

Free Hot Soup needs bicycle delivery volunteers

Free Hot Soup is an all-volunteer, grassroots community group that feeds hungry people. Since they’ve been barred from distributing meals at all but one local park, the group has made their operation mobile. We heard from an FHS volunteer that this means they need a lot more people to make deliveries — especially folks with bikes that have cargo capacity. Here’s the message:

Free Hot Soup needs more volunteers. We’re looking for bikers with trailers, who can team up to deliver along the I-205 corridor. We will have vehicles to transport meals to trailheads, to be taken from there to camps along the trail by bike.

We’ve had to curtail our direct service at a downtown park, so we’re shifting to a mobile soup kitchen model. We will be drafting a bicycle brigade to deliver to camps. We need ingredients, cooks, and volunteers who are not (like many volunteers) vulnerable to Covid-19.

If you want to help, get in touch with Janice Leber at web@choppedliverproductions.com or plug into their Facebook page.

Free and fun media for you

Content creators of all stripes are at their best right now as many of you have more time than usual to kill. Here are some excellent goodies for your reading and watching pleasure…

Broken & Coastal Vol 1.

— Portland-made quarterly magazine Broken & Coastal has made their first four volumes free for your viewing pleasure. Immerse yourself in beautiful photography and insightful stories from some of the most creative and talented people around. Download the issues here. (Before you do, learn more about Broken & Coastal publisher Christopher San Agustin’s work on our local trails in this Singletracks.com interview.)

— Cargo bike documentary Motherload is full of fun Portland connections and is now streaming for free.

Free activity book from Tern is great for the kiddos.

— Tern Bicycles, makers of the ever-popular GSD cargo bike, has a fun activity book available to print for free.

— Filmed by Bike not only has released some of their best films for viewing during lockdown, they’ve just launched a new game where you can earn points for helping promote their digital Global Film Festival coming April 4th.

— Portland Design Works wants to brighten your day with cool free stickers and patches. Just share your address on their website and wait by your mail box.

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Ride With GPS offers route “Collections”

Powerful organizing with Collections.

The best route finding and planning tool on the planet has a new cool thing. Ride With GPS has a new “Collections” feature where you can organize your routes into different categories. Put all your fave local urban routes into one collection, your epic weekend rides into another. You can also share collections with others. Check it out at RideWithGPS.com.

Shop online to support the CCC

The Community Cycling Center is so much more than a bike shop on NE Alberta Street. This nonprofit is a part of Portland’s cycling legacy that must remain strong and vibrant no matter what crisis faces us. They’ve been scrambling to fill an expected $75,000 funding hole due to the closure of the shop. Now they’ve launched an e-commerce store where you can find all types of CCC-approved products. Each purchase helps the CCC survive!

Discounts on Chrome gear

Portland-based Chrome industries has a cool new “Give 20/Get 20” program where you can choose to either save 20% or donate 20% of your online order to help service workers. And if you’re a newly minted professional courier (meaning you deliver things for money), Chrome has expanded their pro deal purchase program to all delivery workers — whether you do so on foot, by bike, or by car. If you qualify (apply here), you can get 40% off all gear through the end of 2020.

OK that’s it for now. If you have virus-related local news or other useful tidbits to share with our community, please get in touch. BikePortland is ready and willing to spread the word!

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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— Support this independent community media outlet with a one-time contribution or monthly subscription.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Josh G
3 years ago

Motherload doc. has never been free

Jason
Jason
3 years ago
Reply to  Josh G

Yeah, I’ll be watching that. The trailer has some very rage inducing segments. I still don’t understand why people hate bicycles so much.

Toby Keith
Toby Keith
3 years ago

It’s a scary time with unprecedented power given to Kate Brown and Ted Wheeler. But we shall overcome this crisis and be better for it. Keep riding!

Chris I
Chris I
3 years ago
Reply to  Toby Keith

What are your thoughts on the amount of power Donald Trump has at the moment?

Jason
Jason
3 years ago
Reply to  Chris I

He is weak sauce dictator. A real authoritarian would have taken this opportunity to lock the country down super hard. He basically did a “not me” hand wave and scurried away.

Ron Williams
Ron Williams
3 years ago

No powers have been GIVEN to Kate and Ted. They’re using the powers that have always existed for them in their roles as Governor and Mayor. Don’t pass along misinfo like that. They’re wielding the same power they did in February, they just didn’t have to use certain things until now.

David Hampsten
3 years ago

Sorry for asking, but how exactly does one transport large amounts of hot soup on a bike?

Nesting_Monkeys
Nesting_Monkeys
3 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

Bike trailer or cargo bike, I would imagine.

From their public blurb on Facebook, “Generally, volunteer cooks prepare 3-5 gallons of soup, depending upon resources and supplies. The soup is stored in a large cooler and served individually in a disposable cup.”

Unfortunately, the do not have presence outside of Fakebook.

Jon
Jon
3 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

I’m not so sure I’m happy about supplying soup to people along the 205 corridor if they are camping along the bike path. How about supplying food if they are NOT taking up some of the very few car free travel lanes for bikes and pedestrians. I’ve already seen a lot of homeless taking advantage of fact that our government is not enforcing camping laws. The tents and mountains of trash are already taking over some of the bike/pedestrian paths that were clear before the Covid crisis.

Toby Keith
Toby Keith
3 years ago
Reply to  Jon

A typhus outbreak is a very real possibility.