[Red Bat sighting at’05 Tour de Fat.] It’s no easy task for an out-of-town group to come into Portland and throw a bike party that rivals our own…but the folks at New Belgium pull it off with their traveling cycling circus known as the Tour de Fat. Last year’s event is still etched in my … Read more
[This Friday (8/4) from 7-9AM there will be a traffic safety education action at NW Lovejoy and 9th Ave.] [Looking west on Lovejoy approaching 9th.] The intersection at NW 9th and Lovejoy (just west of the Broadway Bridge) is rife with traffic safety red flags; cyclists blowing the stop sign, cars turning without signaling, a … Read more
Several cyclists out on the streets in the last few days have relayed their concerns to me about what they perceive as increased police enforcement of fixed-gear riders. Given the recent court decision and heightened awareness of this issue, I asked Traffic Division Lieutenant Mark Kruger for an official stance on how the Portland Police … Read more
[PSU instructor Brent Zenobia] On a recent Sweet Summer Cycle Ride (photos) I met an interesting guy named Brent Zenobia. He was passing out a flyer about a research project he is undertaking as part of his Ph.D. candidacy in the Engineering and Technology management department at PSU. What intrigued me about him was the … Read more
I have had several phone calls and emails about the enforcement mission being carried out by the Portland Police Bureau on the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge this morning. I have heard reports of up four cyclists being pulled over at one time. This was a planned enforcement mission and I remember an email … 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
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