Citizen bike advocate Susan Otcenas just forwarded along an email response she got from Beaverton mayor Rob Drake. The email (full text is below) was also sent to several other citizens who had written Drake about their questions and concerns regarding the recent death of Mike Wilberding. Most notable is the mention that the “failure … Read more
[Jason Atkinson, Oregon State Senator.] Republican Oregon State Senator Jason Atkinson read about Ayla Holland’s court case on CyclingNews.com and was furious. Atkinson—who was elected to the Oregon State Senate at the ripe age of 30—is an avid cyclist and traveled through Oregon on a fixed-gear bike during his campaign for Governor in ’05. Atkinson … Read more
Usually when I go to an event like Bridge Pedal I’m running and riding around like crazy, trying to get good photos and talk to as many people as I can. I enjoy that tremendously, but this time I brought the family along to savor the spectacle with them (and 18,000 or so fellow Portlanders). … Read more
[The action heated up as the sunwent down.] Last Friday night, downtown Portland got a taste of big time bike racing at the Portland Twilight Criterium. Thousands of spectators jammed the sidewalks around the South Park Blocks to gawk at the high-speed action. It was hard not to feel the adrenaline as the racers swooshed … Read more
[BikeAds.org screenshot] 28 year-old Southeast Portland resident Mika Lepisto was frustrated after his recent search for a used bike. He scoured Craigslist and local newspaper classifieds to no avail, “Everyone uses a different word to describe something, and it’s hard to find what you want. As an example, for a mountain bike, it’s either written … Read more
[Michael Wolfe enjoys the view.] Michael Wolfe is an unabashed bike nut. About the only thing that gets him more excited than riding, is discovering and sharing new bike routes with others. Last winter, he showed me a whole new perspective on the Sandy River when I joined him for my first-ever recumbent ride. Then, … Read more
[Mike Wilberding, 1948-2006]Photo: Dayn Wilberding The crash in Beaverton last week that claimed the life of Mike Wilberding has sparked outrage and spurred action from citizen activists. The incident has caused some cyclists to question the priorities of bike advocates and city planners. One commenter asked, “what is the more important fight at this time: … Read more
[Action from last year’s event.] The South Park Blocks will be taken over by super-fast cyclists tomorrow night at the fifth annual Health Net Portland Twilight Criterium. I went last year and had a great time. The spectating is awesome. These guys come whizzing by, inches away from you…and as darkness falls, things get crazy. … Read more
Last week—in the middle of the fixed-gear fiasco—I got an email from an employee of The Bicycle Business, a bike shop in Sacramento, California. They had stumbled across the story and thought the judge and the police were being, “completely ridiculous” so they decided to flex their capitalist muscles and do something about it:
[Alan Koch in December] Back in December I shared the story of my ride with Alan Koch. Alan is a retired photographer who’s on a quest to ride every single mile of paved road in the City of Portland. Despite some setbacks—including a fall from his bike which took him out for 5 weeks—he has … Read more
[Mike Wilberding in May 2006] I received a sad email yesterday. It was from a reporter, looking for someone to interview about the death of Mike Wilberding last Saturday in Beaverton. I had to double-take at the name, but quickly realized it was the same Mike behind Cycle-Pak, one of my first advertisers here on … Read more
[NE Alberta St. duringLast Thursday ArtWalk.] “Cars are in the way!” goes the refrain from one song by local bike-punk band The Pheramones. The first time I heard the song this seemed pretty far out in left field, but the more I think about it the less crazy it sounds. Cars take up a lot … Read more