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You’ve likely noticed all the orange bicycles scattered across Portland — some positioned conveniently on the sidewalks outside your office, some situated in parks and local green spaces, and unfortunately some carelessly thrown into ditches or halfway down the embankment of the Willamette River. Since launching officially on July 19th, 2016 Biketown’s bright orange bikes have become a common talking point for both locals and tourists alike. While some love the widespread availability and convenience of the Biketown program, others raise skepticism and concerns. To create clarity over which is right for you, we thought it’d be helpful to outline some of the legitimate pros and cons for tourists and casual recreators when deciding between a bike share or a local bike shop rental: [Read more…]
Folks: This is not in Portland, but in Bellingham, but I want to point out the good news for you is that in the fourteen years I was in Portland, I have not seen anything as bad as this one. The location is Meridian and I/5 for those of you familiar with Bellingham, Washington.
Article by Asa Redfield, evo Portland. evo Portland is a BikePortland Business Subscriber. We offer free article postings as part of that program! Sign up to today to take advantage of this great benefit.
Mountain bikers have a tendency to do things their own way, personalizing all aspects of their participation from their cars, to their bikes, to their riding kits. With that said, one thing that all mountain bikers can unanimously agree on is that there are a handful of essentials that you ought to bring along on every ride. Mountain bikes are great machines, but things happen out there on the trail, these items will help you to be prepared no matter what happens. Thus, without further ado we’ve compiled a comprehensive collection of tools for the trail. Run through the list, gear up, and make sure you don’t leave the trailhead without ‘em.
Trail Pack Whether you prefer a mountain bike backpack or a biking fanny pack or waistpack, you’re going to need a pack of some sorts to haul everything efficiently and effortlessly from Point A to Point B. Do you need a special mountain bike specific pack? Not necessarily, but having something that cinches down securely against your body and also allows your back to breathe is imperative.
Multi-Tool A good bike multi-tool is absolutely essential. Whether you need to tighten up your bike’s hardware, fix a broken chain, or perform any number of on-the-go bike maintenance, your multi-tool will likely have you covered. A couple key characteristics to ensure your multi-tool has are: a chain tool, 4 / 5 / 6mm hex keys, T25 Torx, and screw drivers (flat head & Phillips).
Portable Pump There are a couple important things to consider when choosing a mini/portable bike pump. First, is the valve connection compatible with your tires? Most modern mountain bike tires use Presta valves, but this is something you’ll want to verify before purchasing and pedaling off. Second, is the maximum pressure enough to adequately inflate your tire? Different pumps have different psi capabilities and whether you’re running tubeless or not will dictate your needs.
Spare Bike Tube This one doesn’t need much explanation other than this; sometimes tubeless tire seals fail and for those of you who are still running with bike tubes, pinch flats are still the most common repair. Pushing your bike out isn’t fun — pack an extra tube.
Tire Levers Ever tried to fix a flat without tire levers? If you have, you won’t forget to bring tire levers ever again.
Chain Quick Link Whether you crash, experience a wonky shift, or just haven’t lubed your chain in months, your bike chain can break and it tends to do so at a single point (hence the term “weakest link”). Having a multi-tool with a chain tool and a spare link that you can replace the break with might just save you from a 14-mile hike-a-bike push back to the trailhead.
Water Stay hydrated. Over 50% of our bodies are water… Need we say more? Fill up a water bottle or bike hydration pack and bring it along!
Snacks After water, snacks are both literally and figuratively a lifesaver. Whether it’s a classic PB&J, a snackbar, trail mix, or something else, you’ll never be upset that you brought snacks.
Extra Layer(s) This one is a bit arbitrary but it never hurts to be prepared, especially when you’re riding somewhere where the weather can be a bit fickle. With modern bike jackets, windbreakers and rain shells being as lightweight and packable as they are nowadays, you’d be wise to stash one of these in your pack too.
About evo We are evo Portland. We are a bike shop, ski shop, snowboard shop, wake shop, skate shop, surf shop, and clothing retailer all under one roof in Portland, Oregon. In addition to retail, we provide bike repairs, bike rentals, ski/snowboard waxes & tunes, and ski/snowboard rentals. Visit our store in the Central Eastside neighborhood where our knowledgeable staff will happily assist you with all of your outdoor gear and action sports needs.
Back in 2009 Portland International Raceway (PIR) decided to create a special night when only bicycle riders would be allowed to circle the 2-mile track to take in the extensive Winter Wonderland display. This event is called Bike the Lights, and it has been held every year since. I’ve been to all nine of the previous occurrences and thought a recap would be nice for this 10th anniversary coming up on November 27 from 5:30 to 9:30 pm.
For me, the most memorable year happens to be the first, when the temperature was 25 degrees with a 15 mph wind blowing. But even under those conditions a huge crowd showed up. Portland bike ride leaders Carye Bye and Ester Harlow had a group ride up to PIR for the well-publicized event. And Pedal Bike Tours also had a group ride to the event that same year, thus starting another new holiday tradition. Every year since there has been at least one group bike ride to Bike the Lights where Portlanders are greeted by a parade of holiday decorated bikes and sound systems on their way to the lights. It’s like a Pedalpalooza ride, just six months later.
One remarkable occurrence (at least for Portland) is that it has not rained during the event over the past nine years. But there were times when it rained earlier in the day, so the track was still wet. And one year it started drizzling just after the event was over. In 2013 Portland had a good snow the Friday before, but it was gone by the Monday evening of Bike the Lights. And there was another year (2015) where it would have been raining, but it had been raining so hard that the racetrack was flooded. PIR thus canceled the early December date and rescheduled Bike the Lights for December 28 of 2015. That made for a pretty light attendance, perhaps because fewer people were interested in taking in holiday lights after December 25. We’ll have to see if the rain-free weather holds out for another year! For reference, here are the weather conditions on each of the previous nine years. Thanks to Jonathan’s extensive archives, you can click on the year link for information pertinent to that particular year.
Year Date Weather – Temp, Wind, Conditions 2009 Mon, Dec 7 25 F, 15 mph, Clear 2010 Mon, Dec 6 44 F, 10 mph, Overcast 2011 Mon, Dec 5 32 F, 5 mph, Overcast 2012 Mon, Dec 3 50 F, 10 mph, Overcast 2013 Mon, Dec 9 28 F, 5 mph, Overcast 2014 Mon, Dec 8 47 F, 15 mph, Overcast 2015 Mon, Dec 28 39 F, Calm, Mostly Cloudy 2016 Tue, Nov 29 47 F, 10 mph, Overcast 2017 Tue, Nov 28 46 F, 1 mph, Mostly Cloudy
A substantial change in Bike the Lights took place in 2016 when the event was moved backward in time to be in late November rather than in December. This meant that it was over with before a lot of people even had it on their radar. And this happened the year after it had been rescheduled to December 28. So that pent-up demand over two years’ time caused a lot of people to come to Bike the Light in 2017. It was the biggest crowd I remember seeing since 2009.
This year Puddlecycle is leading a group ride to Winter Wonderland that will follow a flat/downhill 4-mile route to PIR using quiet streets and the Columbia Slough Trail. Meet us in Dawson Park at 6 pm if you’d like to ride along!
‘Tis the season, again. Bring us new or nearly new socks, and we will give you one of our current all-cotton/USA-made bandannas in exchange.
During the fall & winter, we make regular runs to the local homeless shelter to deliver socks, gloves, scarves, knitwear, and ANY articles of clothing that might help keep people warm during the coldest, wettest months in Portland, Oregon.
The Springwater Corridor was open this afternoon (Sunday, Oct. 21), one week early. The work, which had closed that section since July 9, isn’t finished (cabling the posts and fencing in the bumpout), but a lot of people were walking and riding it. Don’t know if it will remain open this week while they finish.
Friend and Rivelo shop regular Joel needs a new front tooth, and we’re hoping to raise the necessary funds to make that happen. If you’ve been to Rivelo, you may have met Joel.
When Joel was still a teenager in Florida, he crashed his VW Microbus and sustained a closed head injury that left him in a coma for almost a month. After he emerged from the coma, the trauma to his brain had unfortunate and lasting consequences. Joel’s memory and ability to concentrate were severely impacted, and he has not been able to maintain regular employment because of it. The State of Oregon awarded him permanent disability status a few years ago.
Joel is a friendly and helpful guy who has spent the last 15 years volunteering in Portland at The Friends of Trees; The Street Trust/Bicycle Transportation Alliance (where he was named Volunteer of the Year); Food Not Bombs; and Cycle Oregon…to name but a few.
Joel’s volunteer work continued through a period of homelessness, during which he was living in his van. He now has his own studio apartment, but he has not forgotten this time in his life. I recently saw him on a well-traveled bike path with his portable repair stand set up, fixing bicycles for homeless cyclists. Classic Joel.
His monthly disability check takes care of most of his basic expenses, but it doesn’t begin to cover something like a dental implant.
We’re hoping that if all of our regular Instagram and Facebook friends and followers make a donation, even a small one, the cumulative cash will mean we can send Joel to the dentist’s office.
Dental procedures like the one that Joel requires are expensive, and we’ve set a goal of $6,000 to cover all aspects of the surgery and replacing his tooth.
Please consider chipping in. This is one time when even a few dollars can go a long way toward improving someone’s life.
Portland Design Works is looking for some fresh faces for our fall photoshoot!
The shoot will take place in various neighborhoods around Portland on Monday October 8th from 10-6pm. We are seeking members of the bike community who are interested in modeling for the shoot. All ages genders and ethnicities are encouraged to apply! The entire day will not be required for all models.
This is a paid gig. Use of your personal bike is not required.
If you’re interested and would like more details please shoot us an e-mail at: marketing@ridepdw.com with the subject line: Model for PDW Fall Photoshoot
Feel free to share this post, we look forward to hearing from you!
My daughter was just hit by a driver who failed to stop on SE Milwaukie. They were both south-bound between Knapp and Flavel, This occurred between 5:30 and 5:45PM, Tuesday , Sept 25. She was not seriously hurt, fortunately–a little bruising and scraping– the car sped off ,a woman driving a newer black SUV. She was unable to get the license plate ,but she wanted to alert ppl to the area as it seems to be accident prone.
