The people, clubs, and culture that make up Portland’s bike scene.
[John Canda, head of the Mayor’s Office on Youth Crime Prevention] On Wednesday I met with John Canda to hear his perspectives on how bikes might play a larger role in community policing. John is the Mayor’s youth crime prevention czar. Prior to that, he led the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, one of six coalitions … Read more
[Hold on Danica!] After all the drama last week, I looked forward to a weekend of good, old-fashioned bike fun. Taking advantage of a dry, non-freezing day, I finally got our new trail-a-bike (a Burley Piccolo) up and running. I did it “family limo” style with the trail-a-bike attached to a trailer. I was happy … Read more
This Sunday is your chance to take in one of the finer pleasures of Portland’s bike culture. Artist, historian, and urban lore afficionado Shawn Granton will lead the Wintertime Palm Tree Ride. Shawn and his Urban Adventure League are well-known in bike circles for leading interesting and informative rides that give participants insight behind seemingly … Read more
The Willamette Week has the scoop on a full-length documentary in the works about Portland’s bike scene. The film’s creators — Greg Fredette, Jason Turner and Aaron Douglas — added more information in an email to the Shift list yesterday:
Filmed by Bike is Portland’s very own, homegrown bike film fest that gets bigger and better every year. The lady behind the action is Ayleen Crotty. She has just announced the esteemed jury that will help select this year’s films: Allan Folz – Shift, Breakfast on the Bridges Caroline Colon – .83 Seattle Janis McDonald … Read more
Many cyclists in and around Portland are aware of the survival imperative of being visible while riding at night. But there are two guys I’ve come across recently who take it to a whole new level. [Tomas and his lights.]Photo: Tomas A few days ago I discovered the blog of local cyclist Tomas Quinones. I’ve … Read more
[Commander Marty Rowley] After just nine months on the job, Marty Rowley, Commander of the Traffic Division of the Portland Police Bureau will retire on January 17th. In the interim, Lieutenant Mark Kruger will take his place until a new Commander is named. According to sources, Chief Sizer will keep Kruger in that position, “for … Read more
New to Zoobomb’s Mini-Bike Winter this year are the much-anticipated Chariot Wars (yes chariots, as in Ben Hur). To help ready the masses for this series of competitions a chariot building workshop was held over the weekend. Attendees were given a handout that covered all the various design and welding issues one might face when … Read more
[Joseph Ahearne, Ahearne Cycles] When I walked through the door of Joseph Ahearne’s new shop in North Portland, he didn’t even look up. Hunched over and deep in concentration, he gazed into a white-hot flame and danced around a frame clasped into the stand; constantly tweaking it to get just the right angle for his … Read more
[A photo from inside DeFazio’s officeon Capitol Hill.] If you’re a bike geek, the November elections were like that Christmas when you got your very first new bike and you were brimming with excitement at the potential of good times that were sure to come. With so much bike-friendly mojo in Congress, it’s hard to … Read more
For local cyclocross racers Molly Cameron and Erik Tonkin, the “holidays” consisted of a grueling schedule of races against the best talent in the world, thousands of miles from home. They both just returned from an action-packed trip to Belgium where they experienced all the drama and difficulty of world class bicycle racing. Luckily for … Read more
[Emily Gardner is theBTA’s new Policy Advocate.] The BTA has hired several new staffers in the last few months, but the one you’ll probably be hearing most about is their new Policy Advocate, Emily Gardner. Emily comes to this position after former Metro Area Advocate (notice the different title, more on that later) Jessica Roberts … Read more