Today’s front page. The Oregonian published a front page story today on the 2030 bike plan titled, Two-wheeled vision carries hefty price tag . In my opinion, the article (which was also sold to the Associated Press and is being picked up nationwide) frames the plan as a massive expenditure that’s being shoved down the … Read more
“The bicycle soldiers of Portland are as giddy as a cabal of neo-cons plotting regime change in 2002, and with good reason. There is a good chance that this week the City Council will approve the 20-year bicycle master plan…” — Letter to the Editor in The Oregonian With just a few days before Portland … Read more
Mr. Weir.(Photo: Kat Marriner) Renowned two-wheeled explorer, travel writer, bike advocate, speaker and radio commentator Willie Weir recently took an unorthodox adventure. The man who has pedaled the most exotic locales across the globe loaded up his bike, joined his trusty companion Kat Marriner, and spent a week (short by Willie’s standards) exploring the bikeways … Read more
At the start of the De Ronde.(Photos © J. Maus) Oregon Public Broadcasting will air coverage of Portland’s cult ride the De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia on their Oregon Field Guide program tonight. The ride — which is a loosely organized, grueling bike ride/race that traverses many miles of Portland’s steepest hills — attracted over … Read more
Cover of Oregon Cycling Magazine. Oregon Cycling magazine — a free, newsprint publication that covered bike news, racing and culture throughout the state — will no longer be published. But according to sources — and a job listing on Craigslist — it might be already set for a comeback. Oregon Cycling had been published since … Read more
Deminski and Doyle A radio station in Detroit Michigan aired very dangerous and inflammatory remarks against people who ride bikes during a morning talk show yesterday (listen/download mp3 here). The situation reminds me of when a similar incident occurred on a local Portland station back in July 2006. “How many people have seen a bicyclist … Read more
Cover of PSU’s Metroscape magazine. The Summer 2009 issue of Portland State University’s Metroscape magazine features a cover story titled, “Bike Wars: Hostile forces — drivers and riders — go wheel to wheel in the streets. Can’t we all just get along?” The 17-year old magazine is published twice yearly by PSU’s Institute of Portland … Read more
An “ultra-hip bike culture effete” and her fashion accessory.(Photo © J. Maus) I noticed an interesting opinion piece in The Oregonian this morning that claims that the “newest local outdoor must-have fashion accessory” is the “walked bicycle.” In the article, author/journalist/bike commuter Lawrence J. Maushard of Southeast Portland, seems almost perturbed by the number of … Read more
Screenshot of KGW video. It was big news last week when the American Automobile Association (Triple A) announced they would begin offering roadside assistance to people on bicycles*. Triple A is not the first company to offer such a service, but given their past of lobbying for automobiles (often at the expense of biking) the … Read more
Tall bikes, yeah!– Watch video below- (Photo © J. Maus) Wow. It’s been amazing to watch how much publicity The Irondelles have gotten since their big public debut last week. Since then, they’ve been on the Willamette Week blog, featured in a live, prime time news segment on KGW-TV (NBC in Portland) and they got … Read more
Let’s hope Rep. Oberstar’s love of biking seeps into his thinking on federal transportation policy.(Photos © J. Maus) On Thursday (6/18), U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) is expected to release a white paper outlining his plans for the forthcoming re-write of the federal surface transportation bill (Oberstar is Chair of the House Infrastructure and Transportation … Read more
Mapes, seen here at the ’07 National Bike Summit, spent four years working on the book.(Photos © J. Maus) Author and reporter Jeff Mapes is living the first-time authors’ dream. His book, Pedaling Revolution, is winning popular and critical acclaim, he has become a sought-after speaker, and it is selling at an unexpectedly brisk pace. … Read more