BikePortland

Converted school bus is home to new bike repair shop in North Portland

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Sherifa Roach, inside an old school bus,
which is home to her new bike repair shop.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

There’s a new bike repair shop that’s open for business just a half-block off the busy N Williams Avenue bike corridor. Sherifa Roach, a nearby resident, recent United Bicycle Institute graduate and veteran volunteer at local bike shops, has opened Black Bird Bicycle Repair at 104 N. Failing Street (between Williams and Vancouver).

I’d heard from a few sources that someone was operating a bike shop out of an old school bus, so I swung by yesterday for a closer look. Sure enough, there was Sherifa, giving away bags of popcorn as part of the RAD event, and smiling in her apron in front of a big purple bus parked in the alleyway behind her. She was proud to give me a tour of the inside (which I found surprisingly roomy).

Sherifa pointed out how her partner had completely remodeled the inside of the bus. He wired it up with new electrical outlets, built wooden work benches, installed new lighting, added some security bars for the windows, and built a ramp off the rear door so people can roll their bikes right on up.

Still from TriMet WES video.

TriMet is trying to get the word out about safety when it comes to WES Commuter Rail trains and conflicts between buses and bikes. As part of a summer safety campaign that kicked off Monday, the agency has released five videos showing close calls between people crossing tracks in front of WES trains. They have also sent out a new, in-depth training bulletin to all bus drivers that is focused specifically on bicycling.

One of the videos shows a person on a bicycle crossing the path of an 80-ton WES train that’s a mere 60 feet away. According to TriMet, WES trains traveling 55 mph take about a half-mile to come to a stop. The incident with the bicycle rider happened on September 15th near SW Scholls Ferry Road in Beaverton. Here’s the video:

Businesses on Williams Ave. made it
clear yesterday: They love bikes!
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Tired of reading headlines about local business owners and associations coming out in opposition to bike access improvements, the folks at Portland Design Works wanted to change the narrative. They knew that on N. Williams Avenue, there are numerous businesses that love all the bike traffic on their street. To demonstrate the support for cycling on N. Williams, they organized an event called Rider Appreciation Day (RAD).

During yesterday evening’s commute, 22 businesses on Williams rolled out the red carpet for people on bikes. They offered gifts, discounts, food, drinks, and even live music — all simply to show Portland that there’s at least one street where businesses love bikes and the people who ride them.

Officers look for a serial number before loading a stolen
bike into a truck in Old Town this morning.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Police Bureau served a search warrant early this morning in Old Town and among the confiscated property was 18 stolen bicycles. The bust happened at 211 NW 3rd Avenue. I was able to snap several photos of the bikes before they left the scene (see if you spot your bike below).

According to a PPB statement, the search warrant is part of an ongoing Federal drug trafficking investigation being conducted by the Metro Gang Task Force. Several arrests were made this morning.

According to Officer Terry Colbert, whom I spoke to at the scene. This is just one of several recent busts where the police have confiscated multiple stolen bikes. A recent sweep of a homeless camp near the Hawthorne Bridge and Eastbank Esplanade (near the Vera Katz statue) resulted in 20 stolen bikes in what the PPB believes was a mini chop-shop operation.

Year: 2012
Brand: TREK
Model: 3500
Color:13IN
Size:PLATINUM
Serial: SWTU057C7638G
Stolen in PORTLAND, OR 97213
Stolen:2012-07-12
Stolen From: NE 38TH & NE BROADWAY IN FRONT OF NE COMMUNITY CENTER
Neighborhood: HOLLYWOOD
Owner: DANA HOGAN
OwnerEmail: DANAHOGAN83@GMAIL.COM
Description: FRONT BONTRAGER TILE, PLAIN BACK TIRE
Police record with: PORTLAND POLICE
Police reference#: 12-60242
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

white Motobecane Single Speed 2010

Year: 2010
Brand: Motobecane
Model: Single Speed
Color:white
Size:700 cm
Photo: http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/9854/bikeow.jpg
Stolen in Portland, OR 97210
Stolen:2012-07-10
Stolen From: Was stolen from the basement of my house on NW 21st and Everett
Owner: Jordan Dilts
OwnerEmail: dintares@aol.com
Reward: 200
Description: Everything is white on this custom sigle speed with white deep dish wheels
Police record with: Portland PD
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Caught in the middle, PBOT tries to hammer out design compromise on NE Multnomah project

PBOT project manager Ross Swanson
explains the plans to BAC members.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is trying to broker a compromise between real estate owners and developers in the Lloyd District and concerned citizens who want high-quality bicycle access on NE Multnomah Street. When staffers brought the latest plans for the Multnomah Street (NE) Main Street Pilot Project to the monthly meeting of the PBOT Bicycle Advisory Committee last night, several committee members expressed skepticism and objections to the philosophical underpinnings of the project, saying that PBOT was giving away too much in terms of bike access in order to meet the Lloyd TMA’s demands for auto parking.

At issue is how to allocate roadway space on NE Multnomah. PBOT is looking to transform it from a boring, 1980s-style, five-lane thoroughfare with no auto parking (and rarely used four-foot bike lanes), to a more vibrant and welcoming three-lane cross-section with protected bikeways and dozens of new, on-street auto parking spaces. (More background on the project here.) The street is already slated for a new 900-unit residential tower and other developments are expected in the future.

Year: 1968
Brand: Black Arrow
Model: Black Arrow
Color:Black
Photo: [URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/585/bikeqf.jpg/][IMG]http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/43/bikeqf.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Uploaded with [URL=http://imageshack.us]ImageShack.us[/URL]
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2012-07-9
Stolen From: Dresdent Apartments located next to Chopsticks Karaoke off of E Burnside and 25th
Neighborhood: Kerns/Laurelhurst
Owner: Sarah Canfield
OwnerEmail: hellosarahrose@yahoo.com
Reward: Yes
Description: Black single speed vintage bike with yellow wrapped drop bars. Bike has coaster breaks that are in fairly poor condition. There is a Voodoo Donuts sticker on the stem, the words The Black Arrow stenciled on the frame and a red parking permit sticker also on the frame.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: not yet sent to me
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Teal green Bridgestone CB-1 2012 rebuild

Year: 2012 rebuild
Brand: Bridgestone
Model: CB-1
Color:Teal green
Size:large mens
Serial: M7-A3513
Stolen in Portland, OR 97217
Stolen:2012-07-4
Stolen From: ON N Michigan ST (near the Q center on N Mississippi) between N Skidmore and N Mason. This person came through the alley behind my house- went on my driveway back there and onto the door sealed back porch and took the bike. I feel the bike is still in the neighborhood within blocks of the address.
Neighborhood: N Mississippi near Mississippi studios and Q center
Owner: Jeff Ryerson
OwnerEmail: ecotinters@hotmail.com
Reward: $100
Description: Distinctive looking bike w/ silver eco rack, water bottle holder, krypto lock holder, front and rear push on lights, strap type toe clips. A rebuilt bike form Alberta bike Co op recently purchased. Jeff 503-839-0504.
Police record with: Portland police
Police reference#: 12-154094
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Red Specialized Allez 2009

Year: 2009
Brand: Specialized
Model: Allez
Color:Red
Size:not sure
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/avincent/7547788820/in/photostream,
Stolen in Seattle, WA 98133
Stolen:2012-05-15
Stolen From: Public Storage Shoreline
14900 Aurora Ave N
Shoreline WA 98133
(206) 457-2721
Neighborhood: Shoreline WA 98133
Owner: Anthony Vincent
OwnerEmail: avincent98122@gmail.com
Description: carbon fibre frame road bike
Police record with: Shoreline WA
Police reference#: A4-12-111100
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

The ‘best e-bike ever’ soon available to the masses

The Faraday, shown here at the Oregon Manifest
field test in Portland last September,
will soon be available as a production bike.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Back in September, when the entries in the 2011 Oregon Manifest Design Challenge competition were revealed, one bike in particular caught my eye. It was the “Faraday” electric-assist bike built by a California-based team made up of design firm IDEO and bike company Rock Lobster.

With its drop-dead good looks (inspired by French porteur bikes from the 1940s and ’50s), functional utility features, and super e-tech wizardry, I went out on a limb and dubbed it the “best e-bike ever”. Today I learned that the bike has become the first ever Oregon Manifest entry to go become a full-fledged brand and go into production.

According to the Faraday Bikes website, the bike will be available for purchase on July 18th. I haven’t heard what the retail price will be, nor do I know who’s behind the brand; but to me, the larger significance is that this bike could catapult e-assist into the mainstream, and it was born at the Oregon Manifest.

The Steel Bridge, which turns 100 this year, has worked its
way into the hearts of many bicycling Portlanders.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

One of the attractions to city cycling often left out of policy debates is how simply being on a bike lets you to interact with your environment in a completely different way than being cooped up in a car (allowing you to “smell the roses” as this excellent NY Times piece illustrates). It sounds sort of cheesy, but it’s common to hear daily bike commuters talk about how they love certain streets and bridges.

I think that feeling comes from the much more visceral way you experience a city while bicycling.

Two Portland icons that often get that type of praise — the Steel Bridge and Terwilliger Parkway — are celebrating their 100th birthdays this year.

Last weekend the PDX Bridge Festival toasted the Steel Bridge with a big party. With its dedicated bike/walkway just above the Willamette River away from auto traffic, the Steel is a fantastic bridge to cross on a bike. With connections to paths through Waterfront Park on the west side and the Eastbank Esplanade to the east, it’s an extremely popular place to ride.

Converted school bus is home to new bike repair shop in North Portland

TriMet focuses on safety with close-call videos, bus/bike training bulletin

Williams Ave businesses show the love at first ever ‘Rider Appreciation Day’

18 stolen bikes seized during Old Town drug bust

13IN TREK 3500 2012

white Motobecane Single Speed 2010

Caught in the middle, PBOT tries to hammer out design compromise on NE Multnomah project

Black Black Arrow Black Arrow 1968

Teal green Bridgestone CB-1 2012 rebuild

Red Specialized Allez 2009

The ‘best e-bike ever’ soon available to the masses

Steel Bridge and Terwilliger Parkway celebrate centennials

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