maroon Free Spirit ladies 3speed

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Brand: Free Spirit
Model: ladies 3speed
Color:maroon
Stolen in Portland, OR 97212
Stolen:2011-08-03
Stolen From: A driveway shed at Mallory and Shaver.
Neighborhood: North Portland (between Williams and MLK)
Owner: Maria Lalli
OwnerEmail: mariadora.lalli@gmail.com
Reward: $50
Description: the name "Sasamoto" is etched into the bike near the gear cover. There is a black and white "Working Bikes" sticker on the frame. Seat is tan vinyl. There is a silver double wire basket on rear of bike (sits on either side of rear tire). Brass bell.
Police record with: Portland PD online
Police reference#: 11-154147
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

From Sydney, a look at the future of NE Holladay?

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NE Holladay street-4

See image below for how NE Holladay
could be transformed with an
enhanced bikeway.
(Photo © J. Maus)

As I shared on Monday, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is still trying to figure out how to move forward on a project to make NE Holladay Street a high-quality, east-west bike route through the Lloyd District. The initial plan was to make the entire, southern side of the street carfree (the northern side is already taken by the MAX train) — but that idea fell victim to compromise due to opposition from real estate developers and other powerful stakeholders concerned about any loss of motor vehicle “circulation” and on-street parking.

This morning, a friend (Matt Haughey) shared a photo of a new bike facility in downtown Sydney, Australia…

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Shop launches ‘The Ambassadors’; a team for urban riders

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Ambassadors logo

Sponsoring race teams and events has been a standard way for bike shops to “support the community” for years. But what about people who don’t race? What about people who just ride in the city to get from A to B?

Yesterday, a shop based in Northwest Portland, 21st Avenue Bicycles, launched The 21 Ambassadors program, “to directly support the urban cyclist.”

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Black Fuji Touring 1980

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Year: 1980
Brand: Fuji
Model: Touring
Color:Black
Size:53-ish
Stolen in Portland, OR 97211
Stolen:2011-07-30
Stolen From: 28th Ave & Aberta St
Neighborhood: Alberta Arts
Owner: Amanda Seal
OwnerEmail: amanda.seal@gmail.com
Description: Black 1980’s Fuji Touring series, back brakes didn’t work, bike lights and orange Kryptonite U-Lock were attached as well as a rear tire rack.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 11-154133
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

White Trek Portland 2008

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Year: 2008
Brand: Trek
Model: Portland
Color:White
Size:63c
Serial: WTU199SI3570C.
Stolen in Portland, OR
Stolen:2011-08-2
Stolen From: Zell’s cafe in Southeast Portland
Neighborhood: Inner Southeast
OwnerEmail: gooteer@odscompanies.com
Reward: Bounteous
Description: Classic Trek Portland set up for urban commuting complete with lights, fenders, etc. Flat pedals.
Police record with: Portland PD
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

BTA leads growing push for Portland Bikeshare project

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SmartBike DC-5

In Portland’s future?
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is making a big push to bring bike sharing to Portland. They’ve launched a petition campaign to demonstrate public support for the project, they are actively searching for the estimated $4 million in start-up funds, and they are gathering support from heads of transportation agencies and elected officials.

The project would blanket the Central City (on both sides of the river) with at least 74 rental stations and 740 bikes that could be used by the public for free or for a nominal fee. Project backers say they expect 500,000 new bicycle trips in its first year of operation. Start-up costs are estimated to be just under $4 million and annual operations costs would be about $1.5 million ($500,000 of which would be paid for through user fees, and $1 million would be paid for by sponsors).

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White/Red Giant Iguana 2002

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Year: 2002
Brand: Giant
Model: Iguana
Color:White/Red
Stolen in Portland, OR 97212
Stolen:2011-08-2
Stolen From: Outside of my house on NE Thompson Street (between MLK and Williams).
Neighborhood: Boise-Eliot
Owner: Brian Cappella
OwnerEmail: briancappella@yahoo.com
Description: 2002 Giant Iguana Mountain Bike. White with red accents on front end. Small black and red saddle bag attached to seat. Broken front reflector.
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Pearl/Lime Schwinn unknown 2011

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Year: 2011
Brand: Schwinn
Model: unknown
Color:Pearl/Lime
Size:26″
Stolen in Portland, OR 97213
Stolen:2011-07-15
Stolen From: The bike was stolen from the garage at 5819 apartments on NE Glisan St. The cable lock was cut.
Neighborhood: NE Glisan and 60th
Owner: Megan Harris
OwnerEmail: megmcharris@gmail.com
Reward: will provide reward
Description: My women’s Schwinn 700c Trail Way Hybrid was stolen between 7/15 at 10pm and 7/31 at 5pm. The rear relector has been removed so the seat will go down further. There is a head light bracket mounted on the handle bars. The rear light bracket is mounted below the seat post on the bike frame. There are small scratches on the side of the frame from leaning the bike on signs. There are black smudges on the frame below the seat from a U-lock. Otherwise the bike looks brand new. The Schwinn decal on the front still has plastic on it.
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Bike Law 101: Take care when crossing the foot lane (a.k.a. sidewalk)

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Respect the foot lane.
(Photo © J. Maus)

As the weather warms and the sun becomes more reliable, sidewalks seem to blossom with all manner of human traffic; from strollers to skateboarders to joggers and everything in between. And these days, much of that traffic is distracted by their phones or music pumping in their ears.

But this is sidewalk stuff. You ride a bike on the road. What’s this got to do with bicycling? Did you know that there’s an Oregon Statute that applies to crossing a sidewalk?

If you are not aware of it and wind up on the wrong side of it, you might find yourself in a position of shared liability for involvement in a crash.

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Job: Account Executive (Brompton)

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Position title: Brompton Account Representative
Hours per week: 40 (flexible)
Reporting to: Ed Rae, North American Agent
Salary: $35,000 – $45,000 p.a., depending on experience/qualifications (Health Insurance and expenses additional)

About the Company
Brompton Bicycle Ltd manufactures in its factory in West London a bike that is generally considered the best portable bike there is. The Company is privately-owned, successful and profitable, and we have good relationships with our distributors and users.
Sales have grown steadily from the outset, and the Company won Queen’s Awards for Innovation and International Trade respectively in 2010. About 2/3 of output is exported, with Germany and the Netherlands historically being the largest overseas markets, but sales are growing strongly everywhere, especially in North America, Asia and other parts of Europe.
Demand often exceeds our ability to supply, though great efforts have been made to raise output over recent years; production stood at 26,000 bikes last year, but should exceed 30,000 this year.

Job purpose
The Brompton Representative, in conjunction with our existing North American Agent, represents a critical link between our UK-based HQ and our markets in Canada and the United States of America. The Brompton Representative is to support the North American Agent in his two principal roles: acting as intermediary between Brompton and our dealer base in those territories, and presenting our brand to consumers at national levels; the former will include dealer relations, technical support and acquisition; the latter will include market monitoring, customer consultation, co-ordinating with cycling organisations and exploitation of opportunities to present the brand to national audiences.

This is a wide-ranging brief and the candidate will need to be well organised, a self-starter and have some experience of sales and/or marketing. He/she should have a good knowledge of the bicycle industry, and mechanical competence is essential. The role will be flexible but will certainly require effective communication and IT skills, a good deal of transcontinental travel, and a willingness to spend some time in the UK every year for training and reporting.

Responsibilities
To identify, liaise with and visit prospective customers;
To maintain and develop relationships with existing customers via meetings, telephone calls and emails, gaining a clear understanding of their businesses and requirements;
Identifying and resolving customer queries
Advising on forthcoming product developments and discussing special promotions
To offer remote technical support on product maintenance and in-house training for sales staff and, especially, mechanics;
To represent the company at trade exhibitions, events, demonstrations and seminars in North America;
To communicate new product and service opportunities, special developments or feedback gathered through field activity to the relevant colleagues in the UK; to be communicated as appropriate.
To communicate product news and sales/marketing opportunities from colleagues in the UK to trade customers in North America;
To act as a contact for press and PR enquiries in North America;
To act as a contact for enquiries in North America from cycling organisations and in response to any other advantageous opportunities that present themselves (viz. film and television appearances);
To conduct or support, as directed by Brompton, market research amongst trade;
To complete and submit reports as directed by Brompton/the North American Agent.

Knowledge/Qualifications Required
Passport
Driving licence

Skills/Experience Required
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, to include experience of report writing
Attention to detail and accuracy in all communications
Good working knowledge of Windows-based packages (particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
Problem solving and lateral thinking
Experience of the bike industry
Mechanical aptitude

Personal Qualities
The successful candidate will also be:
Well organised, keen and able to learn about the company quickly
Passionate about working with people and empathetic to their needs
A good team player, able to build rapport with people at all organisational levels
Able to work on own initiative
Customer-focused
Culturally aware and able to interface well with customers and consumers from around the world
Able to work and thrive in a small-company environment that can be hectic
Professional in both their attitude and manner
Flexible in terms of variety of tasks asked of post holder and of hours worked (social engagements with dealers/distributors, weekend bike fairs, etc.); overseas travel will occasionally be required.

To apply, please send your resume, together with a letter application, to: michelle [at] bromptonbicycle [dot] com.

Should you have any queries regarding the role, please contact Ed Rae, North American Agent: 503 236 1313 or 503 703 7626

Application deadline: 25th September 2011
Interviews: Expected to take place at Interbike Show, Las Vegas where possible.

Why I’m moving to Vilnius, Lithuania

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In the Lithuanian capitol of Vilnius, they respect their bike lanes.

Check out the PSA below that features the city’s mayor, A. Zuokas driving a tank over expensive cars illegally parked in the bike lane.

I love that he not only destroys the Mercedes, but he sweeps the bike lane afterwards. And he rides too! Another highlight was that he shook the car owners hand afterward. Of course, I’m sure this was staged, but as far as public service announcements go, this is one of the best I’ve ever seen.