[Jessica Roberts,photographed lastweek.] Jessica Roberts started her bike advocacy career as a volunteer stuffing envelopes for the BTA. Her dedication and smarts quickly landed her a permanent position and she was most recently the BTA’s metro area advocate. Last week Jessica announced that she has accepted a new position with Alta Planning+Design, a local consulting … Read more
[Graphic from cover of winning proposal to renovate the Sellwood Bridge.] An employee for the civil engineering firm that won the bid to renovate the Sellwood Bridge* is working on the Sellwood Bridge project has forwarded me a graphic from the cover of their winning proposal that shows a generous 14 foot wide path for … Read more
This morning Portland cyclist John Boyd successfully defended himself in a Multnomah County traffic court trial for a ticket he received for riding a fixed-gear bicycle without a hand brake. Boyd, a 40 year-old architect and resident of Northeast Portland, was given the ticket by Officer Barnum of the Portland Police Bureau’s Traffic Division. Barnum … Read more
[Who would have thought?] Last Friday in Beaverton, just across the street from a Share the Road demonstration, there was a strange car/bike crash that I still can’t figure out. When I first saw the scene, it looked pretty simple. An older lady sat flustered in her big Town Car while an adrenaline-pumped cyclist gathered … Read more
PDOT is close to releasing their 2006 bridge counts and so far the results are very exciting. In 2005, the average daily bicycle traffic over the four main downtown bridges was up over 10,000 for the first time ever and showed a three-fold increase from 1995. This year, preliminary reports show a 20% increase over … Read more
[The media helped us spread the word.] Concerned citizens from Portland and Beaverton came together last Friday for a traffic safety awareness action. The event took place just a few yards from the intersection where Mike Wilberding was killed on August 1st. Mike’s death sparked heated emotions from many people in the community who were … Read more
If you haven’t already noticed, the Portland Bike Forums are back online! After I posted a call for help last month I received some advice, donations and technical help. I didn’t get quite enough cash to purchase the forum software I wanted, but I decided to pony up for it anyways…and I’m glad I did. … Read more
Tonight is the big Last Thursday celebration on Alberta Street in Northeast Portland. If you head out there, here are two special happenings you don’t want to miss. First, those kooky clowns at the famous Clownhouse on NE 25th and Alberta Streets are holding their first ever talent show. Dubbed “Shmanarchist Idol,” beginning at around … Read more
[Freightliner employees kick off the Bike Commute Challenge.] The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) kicks off their annual Bike Commute Challenge tomorrow and organizers say an estimated 700 companies (view list) from Oregon and Washington will participate. The event promotes bike commuting by encouraging companies to compete against each other to see who can get more … Read more
[Update: According to a rep from Friends of Forest Park—who were instrumental in making this trail happen—some minor work remains to complete this trail.] Last Saturday was the second of two trail work parties to complete a new mountain bike trail in Forest Park. The trail, which extends off an existing firelane, is the first … Read more
[Jeff Bernards, founder of Get Lit] For the last three years, Jeff Bernards and his Get Lit program have distributed over 1500 free bike lights and 500 helmets to Portland cyclists. His program—which was initially funded by an ODOT grant—has become such a success that it has garnered national media attention, earned him an Alice … Read more
[Editor’s note: I got this all wrong! This event is not being organized by messengers and while the format is modeled after messenger races, most of the participants are not messengers and the event is open to all ladies and transgendered riders. According to one of the organizers, “This is a fun race for all … Read more