[What a healthy street looks like.] “What about ambulances?” a friend who is visiting from New York asked recently as I was excitedly telling her about our bike community and recent car-free activism. I had no idea what she was referring to. “And what about handicapped people?” she added by way of explanation. I was … Read more
[City bike coordinatorRoger Geller.] You’re not officially a bike geek until you’ve spent an evening with the 13 super-volunteers that make up the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC). The BAC advises City Council and various city bureaus on bike-related matters and holds monthly public meetings “to review projects of interest to cyclists and discuss bike … Read more
My recent story on a traffic court decision that upheld a ticket to a local messenger for not having a “separate braking device” on her fixed-gear bicycle has quickly spread around the web and seems to have struck a nerve in cyclists everywhere. This morning the article was linked to from BoingBoing.net, one of the … Read more
[The following ode was written by new contributor Elicia Cardenas and was originally published to the Shift email list almost one year ago. She wrote it in response to someone who questioned why some cyclists act like heroes or “holier than thou” once astride their bicycles. In the future Elicia will be writing about bike … Read more
Cycling, delicious food, and great people all come together for the Bite of Oregon. Come out and help promote biking to the Bite of Oregon by volunteering to park bikes with the BTA. To sign up for a shift, please contact Katherine Wilson, Katherine@bta4bikes.org or 503-226-0676 x 16. Friday August 11th Opening Shift: 10:45- 1:45 … Read more
Portland’s youngest bike shop owners look to serve a busy route right outside their door.
Swanky lifestyle magazine Portland Monthly has given props to bikes in its current “Best of the City” issue. Sneaking into the top five is none other than Shift’s Breakfast on the Bridges. This free-pastry and coffee tradition has become a hallmark of Portland’s bike friendliness and a gateway drug that leads many local bike enthusiasts … Read more
The Northeast Portland based Community Cycling Center (CCC) has just announced that they plan to close their retail store in downtown Vancouver (WA) on August 2, 2006. According to an official statement from the CCC, the Vancouver location (which opened in April 2005) has, “not performed as well as planned.” Founding board member and current … Read more
[Ayla Holland (L) and Mark Ginsberg (R)] Yesterday at the Multnomah County Courthouse the law came down against fixed gear bicycles. On June 1, 2006 Portland bike messenger Ayla Holland was given a ticket for allegedly violating Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 815.280(2)(a) which states, A bicycle must be equipped with a brake that enables the … Read more
[Mural designer Sara Stout with Hawthorne Auto Clinic owners Liz Dally and Jim Houser.] I love that headline. Imagine…an auto clinic that believes so strongly in the health and safety of our streets that they put a mural full of pedestrians and cyclists on the wall of their parking lot. At the dedication party last … Read more
I got a surprising phone call yesterday from ODOT regional manager Charles Sciscione. He was responding to my post back on June 15th titled, St. Johns Bridge still unsafe after 75 years. I wrote that post out of frustration that ODOT was celebrating the 75 year anniversary of the bridge by touting the recent renovation … Read more
Sorry, just kidding. But just for fun’s sake, I’d like to share these doctored photos sent in by City of Vancouver transportation planner and bicycle advocacy renaissance man Todd Boulanger (click to enlarge):