BikePortland

Downtown church to dedicate permanent bicycle shrine

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Flyer for the event.

St. Stephen’s Church in downtown Portland wants to create a place to “remember those who use bicycles as transportation, and to remember those who have died while cycling.” Next week, they’ll dedicate the Madonna del Ghisallo Portland Bicycle Shrine.

Madonna del Ghisallo was originally the patroness of vulnerable travelers. In 1949, she was recognized as a patroness of cyclists and a shrine currently exists today in Lake Como, Italy, the town where her apparition was first witnessed.

Looking north towards SE Division
from I-205 path.
(Photos © J. Maus)

TriMet is close to completion of their $3.8 million, stimulus-funded project to add lighting and other improvements to a seven-mile stretch of the I-205 multi-use path. The path is also the subject of an online survey and study being conducted by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Alta Planning and Design that seeks to identify problem spots and prioritize improvements.

TriMet re-opened a portion of the I-205 path back in July. The final section — extending south to Clackamas Town Center — was scheduled to open along with the Green Line MAX last month. However, TriMet now says the path is scheduled to re-open on November 7th.

Slippery. Muddy. Fun.
-Slideshow below/Gallery–
(Photos © J. Maus)

On Sunday, the Cross Crusade brought its legendary brand of bike racing to the Washington County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro, just a few miles west of Portland. Along with another stellar turnout of racers and spectators, Mother Nature made an appearance in the form of rain, much to the excitement of all the true cyclocross fans.

Marks in the mud from tires and fingers.

There wasn’t anything close to the steep and long climb of last weekend, but the course was still just as challenging. Unrelenting bumps and slippery mud took their toll on racers. One corner in particular became packed with spectators (as corners where people crash often do at bike races). It was an extremely tricky, 90-degree turn. The approach was off-camber and there was a short, steep pitch that had to be negotiated along with the right-angle bend.

Year: ?
Brand: Trek
Model: Touring, 520 or 620?
Color:Darkest Green
Size:large
Serial: ?
Photo: ?
Stolen in Portland,, OR
Stolen:2009-10-25
Stolen From: Fred Meyer on Interstate and Lombard
Neighborhood: Kenton
Owner: Peter Williams
OwnerEmail: pkwsbw@q.com
Reward: $50
Description: The green color looks black in most light. It had funky 70s aluminum fenders. I got it refurbished from CCC, but it had a Bike Gallery decal down low.
Police record with: 09-96215
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Blue/White Trek Fuel EX5 2009

Year: 2009
Brand: Trek
Model: Fuel EX5
Color:Blue/White
Size:17.5?
Serial: WTU170G0049E
Photo: http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/trek_fuel_ex_5xl.jpg
Stolen in Astoria, OR 97103
Stolen:2009-10-24
Stolen From: Downtown Astoria, OR. On 10th and Commercial
Owner: Seth McNeil
OwnerEmail: sethmcneil@hotmail.com
Description: I’ve removed all the reflectors, and added Treck brand head and tail lights. There is some minor damage to the front gear set’s outer ring, which I filed back to smooth.
206-940-4716 is the way to reach me. Thanks!
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Gray/Orange Novara Big Buzz 2009

Year: 2009
Brand: Novara
Model: Big Buzz
Color:Gray/Orange
Size:19″
Serial: U8XK13284
Photo: http://media.rei.com/media/jj/c085d88e-f2b2-4305-b4d6-ab096247e96e.jpg
Stolen in Portland, OR 97201
Stolen:2009-10-26
Stolen From: The back of Science Building 1 (chem, physics, biology) at PSU, SW 11th and Mill.
Neighborhood: PSU Campus
Owner: Ben Turner
OwnerEmail: benzonite@gmail.com
Description: Brand new Big Buzz. Has disk brakes, grip shift gears (2×9 gears). Blue crank brothers candy pedals.
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Eugene celebrates Gold bike-friendly rating

Riding some of Eugene’s
downtown bikeways.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Last week, Eugene transportation planners and bike enthusiasts got some exciting news; the League of American Bicyclists announced they were a “Gold” level Bicycle Friendly Community.

The League cited Eugene’s “remarkable commitments to bicycling”, their 5.5 percent bicycle mode share, and their new, human-powered only bridge over I-5 as reasons for upgrading them. Eugene had been a Sliver level city since 2004. They’re one of seven cities in Oregon to be recognized by the League (the others are Bend, Beaverton, Ashland and Salem with Bronze, Corvallis with Gold, and Portland with Platinum).

“If we had $50 million in hand, would we spend it developing one corridor or do we want to spread the love around the city?”
— Roger Geller, City of Portland bike coordinator

Trail advocates are polishing up their comments on the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030.

Backers of the Sullivan’s Gulch Trail — a path still in planning stages that would run from I-205 to the Willamette River along I-84 — say they’re concerned that the new plan does not give off-street paths the respect they deserve.

The Sullivan’s Gulch is now just a line on a map.
(Graphic: Sullivan’s Gulch Trail Committee)

Just a reminder:

The Portland Planning Commission will take public testimony regarding the draft Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 at a hearing on Tuesday, October 27, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The hearing will be held in Room 2500A at 1900 SW 4th Avenue in Portland. Members of the public may sign up to testify for three minutes at the hearing by filling out a testimony card. Written testimony can be submitted to the address below, whether or not you plan to testify in person:

Planning Commission
c/o Bureau of Planning
1900 SW 4th Ave., Suite 7100
Portland, OR 97201-5380
503-823-7700
Fax: 503-823-7800
Email: planningcommission@ci.portland.or.us
The public comment draft of the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 is available for download online

(If anyone visited the site and had trouble with large file sizes, please check the site again as we’ve been able to reduce some file sizes and provide more options for downloading portions of the plan.)

If you received a print copy of the plan or downloaded the plan documents before October 19, please be aware that we have corrected two substantive errors that made it past our proofreaders! Corrected pages 53 and A-34 can be downloaded from the errata page linked to the above URL.

We will be accepting public comments on the plan through November 8. You may submit comments by e-mail to bicyclemasterplan@pdxtrans.org, or in writing to the address below. We also have now added an online comment form for your convenience. You will find a link to the form on the download page.

Portland’s new ‘Bike School’ opens doors to community

United Bicycle Institute (UBI) has only been operating a campus in Portland for a few months, but they’re already giving back. On Saturday, UBI threw open their doors and welcomed the community with a day full of free food and drinks, a prize raffle, an expo area, and framebuilding demonstrations.

On Saturday, about 1,000 Portlanders joined rallies around the globe to raise awareness of climate change. The 350 Climate Action Rally was part of the 350 campaign, which bills itself as a “global grassroots campaign to stop the climate crisis.”

Not surprisingly, many people came to the rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square by bike. About 40-50 of them met beforehand and rode over en masse to show their support for the cause.

Portland resident Simon Walter-Hansen joined a few others in quiet meditation in Waterfront Park, flanked by 350 banners before riding coming to the rally. He said it was a sign of solidarity for the cause and that it made people stop and think about why they were doing it.

Streetcar funding, ciclovias, contraflow cycle tracks, carrots and sticks, cycle speed bumps, pro-bike Republicans, anti-bike bloggers, a bike hearse, and rude drivers

– The National Resource Council has released results from a study conducted in 2005 on costs stemming from health effects of manufacturing cars and burning fuel. The result: $56 billion.

– The NY Times auto section has a long article on a growing trend in the U.S. — cutting back on car ownership, or going carfree entirely. Explanation of this trend is followed by an interesting look at how automakers are looking to cater to the carfree-minded.

– The US Senate is poised to pass a Climate Bill that includes 3% for clean transportation — a threefold increase over the version passed by the House.

Downtown church to dedicate permanent bicycle shrine

I-205 path update: Lighting project almost done and a study to make it better

Teams, slick mud keep things interesting at Cross Crusade #4

Darkest Green Trek Touring, 520 or 620? ?

Blue/White Trek Fuel EX5 2009

Gray/Orange Novara Big Buzz 2009

Eugene celebrates Gold bike-friendly rating

Trail backers want more respect in Bicycle Plan

Bike Master Plan set for hearing tomorrow

Portland’s new ‘Bike School’ opens doors to community

Thoughts and images from the 350 Climate Action Rally

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From the Archives

Portland’s invisible machine: Behind the scenes at the World Naked Bike Ride