Finding MTB fun in Forest Park

No joke.

Is it possible to have fun on a mountain bike in Forest Park? Ask five different people and you’re likely to get five different answers. In the end, I think it depends on what you consider fun.

On Sunday, I ventured out to discover some new (to me) roads and found that the park — despite having only 1/3 mile of singletrack open to bicycles — still has something to offer knobby-tired visitors.

I first considered exploring Forest Park’s northern reach nearly three years ago. Back in February 2010, I joined a park ranger to survey damage of an unauthorized bike trail that had been carved south of where BPA Road intersects with Newton. On Sunday, I returned to that locked gate, which is right off Highway 30 less than a mile north of Linnton. My plan was to stay on BPA Road and connect up to Skyline Rd about 1,000 feet and 2 and 1/2 miles up.

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Blue Matte TREK 820 2009

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Year: 2009
Brand: TREK
Model: 820
Color:Blue Matte
Size:size 13
Serial: WTU173CS118D
Stolen in Portland, OR 97206
Stolen:2012-11-26
Stolen From: Franklin High School bike rack
Neighborhood: South Tabor
Owner: Phelan Van Deren
OwnerEmail: vanfam4pdx(A T)gmail.com
Reward: $50
Description: 2 silver metal water bottle cages and LED light on the handlebar
Police record with: portland Police
Police reference#: T12010107
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Join us for Wonk Night on December 5th: NACTO, NYC, LOS, and more

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Get Together in Multnomah Village-6

Let’s talk about bikes!

If that headline made any sense to you at all, you should join us next week for Wonk Night. On Wednesday, December 5th, BikePortland (that’s me) and Lancaster Engineering (the nice, smart folks I sublease my office from) are hosting an event where we’ll discuss lots of fun and interesting topics.

The night’s agenda will include:

  • A recap and sharing of my recent trip to New York City. While Sandy dominated much of my coverage, I also learned a lot at the NACTO Designing Cities conference that preceded it. I’ll share a bit more about both of those things as well as answer any questions you’ve got about biking in the Big Apple.
  • As reported back in July, Portland is in the midst of finally changing their level of service (LOS)/performance standards. The new standards will go beyond motor vehicles and Lancaster’s Todd Mobley thinks it should be on everyone’s radar screen. Lancaster put in a bid to to work on the project, and even though they weren’t ultimately selected, they appreciate what a big deal this is.

    • Read more

A response to the pro-car perspective

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“Cars — in whatever their future form may be — are here to stay. But so are bikes, transit and walking.”
— Op-ed in The Oregonian

A strange thing happened after Metro released a major new household travel survey last month. Despite the survey showing big increases in the rate of bicycle and transit use for central city residents since the last time the survey was done in 1994, The Oregonian seemed to frame it as proof that cars are still king in our region. The O’s Commuting reporter Joseph Rose also accused Metro of trying to spin the story to further their, “smart-growth battle against the unhealthy, polluting, life-sucking automobile.”

And then, right on cue, The Oregonian Editorial Board weighed in with this headline, People like their cars, a fact that Portland planners must take into account.

To counter that framing of the issue, local transportation expert Chris Smith and real estate developer Randy Miller penned an op-ed of their own. It’s now several weeks later, but it was finally published in the opinion section of Sunday’s paper.

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light blue Trek 2200 2004

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Year: 2004
Brand: Trek
Model: 2200
Color:light blue
Size:51cm
Stolen in Portland, OR 97206
Stolen:2012-11-22
Stolen From: 5803 SE Woodstock Blvd.
Neighborhood: Woodstock
Owner: Ashley Park
OwnerEmail: ashleypark102989(A T)gmail.com
Description: It’s light blue sometimes light purple depending on lighting, Shimano Ultegra shifters, derailleurs and brakes, Look KEO pedals(grey), carbon fiber fork and seat stay, Bontrager stem, Gatorskin tires, cosmetic damage to top post, right side of Specialized brand saddle 155-mm width, and right handlebar tape.
My phone number is 225-975-1273
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 12-157350

Collision: N Greeley and Sumner at Adidas campus

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Note from publisher: I’ve long wondered how best to handle all the reports I receive about collisions. They usually do not merit a full story on the Front Page; but I think they have value for the community in exposing problem intersections, sharing experiences, and so on. Years back, we developed a Close Calls Map and data tool; but it is no longer supported. So for now, I’m going to start posting collisions here on Page Two. I hope you find them more useful than frightening. — Jonathan

——

Several readers reported a collision this morning around 8:30 am on N. Greeley at Sumner — which is right near the Adidas campus in north Portland. Here’s a description from someone who was driving by:

nw entrance to the adidas campus on greeley. large black suv in driveway – could have been a right hook (purely speculative)? i passed (by car) in the opposite direction just as the firetruck/ambulance arrived. saw a person lying on the ground next to the suv and a bike in the bushes. another cyclist had stopped and was still there when i passed.

And another reader:

Saw a rider on the ground next to black Escalade w/ group crowded around. Looked serious.

Map:

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The Monday Roundup

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Welcome to Monday. Hope you enjoyed the holiday. Let’s get right back to it shall we?

— The big news (just hit this morning) is that Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford — a bike hater who will live in infamy for ripping out a bike lane — was removed from office for improprieties surrounding a conflict of interest case.

— We’ve had 15 stolen bike listed since Thanksgiving, so you might want to check out this solid roundup of bike locks as shared by the Brisbane police department.

— Speaking of bike thieves, did you see what happened to the guy in Ft. Lauderdale who got caught stealing a $600 bike? A serious beatdown.

— Last week I shared a link to a story picked up by media outlets all over the world saying how the “cycling utopia” of Amsterdam had become choked with bicycles and that it was “a big problem.” Well, it turns out that’s not exactly the case, at least according to the Bicycle Dutch blog. Read their breakdown of what’s actually going on.

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US Forest Service approves permit for Timberline MTB Park

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A major new mountain bike park on Mt. Hood is all set to move forward. The United States Forest Service (USFS) has just approved the permit for the Timberline Mountain Bike Park, concluding that the plans are in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and that as proposed would have “no significant impact.”

The new mountain bike park was proposed back in 2010 by RLK & Company, the same company behind the Timberline Lodge Ski Area. To create the new park, RLK has already hired the same consulting firm that developed the world famous Whistler Mountain Bike Park in British Columbia.

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Blue/Teal Raleigh Super Grand Prix 1978

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Year: 1978
Brand: Raleigh
Model: Super Grand Prix
Color:Blue/Teal
Size:60cm
Photo: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/406834_452781268111352_1800105320_n.jpg
Stolen in Portland, OR 97217
Stolen:2012-11-25
Stolen From: MY BIKE WAS STOLEN November 25, 2012It must have happened sometime today between the time that I got home about 4am this morning to when I got home from Maryhill this afternoon.Stolen from my fucking porch at 5835 N Concord Ave.It has CAUTION tape all over it but the thief probably removed all that.If you find my bike locked up somewhere, please throw your lock on it and call the police immediately!If you see someone else riding it, call the police immediately and follow them if you can!Please also call me at 503-421-2267I’m filing a police report tomorrow.
Neighborhood: North Portland, one block west of Interstate Ave and one block south of Ainsworth Street.
Owner: Dan Oviatt
OwnerEmail: danamerica1906@hotmail.com
Description: 1978 Raleigh Super Grand Prix
10-speed
Blue/Teal
brand-new Continental Touring+ tires
Yellow bar-tape
bar-end shifters
black cable housings and silver cable housings
Chrome-tipped fork
Selle Itali Royal seat
Tour de France World Champion sticker on the downtube just below the head-tube.
Bill’s Bike Shop (Idaho Falls, Idaho) sticker on the seat-tube near the top of the seat-tube.
All ALLOY RALEIGH-STAMPED/MARKED COMPONENTS!
Police record with: Portland Police Bureau
Police reference#: T12010082
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Black GT

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Brand: GT
Color:Black
Size:Medium
Stolen in Portland, OR 97202
Stolen:2012-11-24
Stolen From: The bike racks in front of the Mercycorps headquarters at the intersection of Naito Parkway and SW Ankeny. Address 43 SW Naito Parkway, PORTLAND, OR 97204.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Owner: Russell Bohr
OwnerEmail: rnbohr@gmail.com
Reward: $25
Description: It’s an almost entirely black mountain bike with a GT frame. A Fat Tire Farm sticker is on the frame near the gears. It has a lot of scratches on the frame and the decals are mostly worn off. It has (brand new) Hemisphere "flak Jacket" tires, Planet Bike fenders, and new PDW headlight and rear light. The bicycle seat has a big hole in the side that looks like someone took a bite out of it!
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 12-157366

orange santa cruz blur xc

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Brand: santa cruz
Model: blur xc
Color:orange
Size:small
Photo: http://www.mtbr.com/cat/bikes/xc-suspensio/santa-cruz/blur/prd_363225_1526crx.aspx
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2012-11-21
Stolen From: garage
Neighborhood: SE PDX
Owner: cathy ormerod
OwnerEmail: cathyo13( atsign )gmail.com
Reward: 100
Description: bright orange dual suspension mountain bike with Fox Talas RLC fork
Police record with: portland
Police reference#: 12-102138
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Blk/red Redline Asset 200X

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Year: 200X
Brand: Redline
Model: Asset
Color:Blk/red
Size:18″
Stolen in Hillsboro, OR 97123
Stolen:2012-11-22
Stolen From: Preston Meadows neighborhood in Hillsboro, near Baseline and SE 58th
Neighborhood: Preston Meadows
Owner: Reed Martic
OwnerEmail: Rjmartic(at sign)frontier.com
Reward: $50
Description: Black 18″ park bike, white Snafu sticker on left side of top tube, red chain, red bars, red fork, red pedals
Police record with: Hillsboro PD
Police reference#: 123270574
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

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From the Archives

Protestor blocks bus and bike lanes on Division with his car