Doing the World Naked Bike Ride this year? Read this first

World Naked Bike Ride 2007

Riding naked. Oh what a feeling.
(Photo © J. Maus)

It’s less than one week from one of the most epic rides on Portland’s bike calendar (and with all the amazing rides we have, that’s really saying something).

Yes, the annual World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) commences this Saturday night. In 2007 we had about 800 people on the ride. Last year, the crowd was so large I don’t think anyone was even able to count it. My estimate put the number of riders at 2,000 or so.

This year, organizers estimate about 3,000 people will join the fun.

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The Monday Roundup

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

High speed rail, the demise of the car in the US, its rise in China, Bush’s transportation policies, free bikes, carfree in Canada, a repealed bike license law, disgustingness reduction strategies

Welcome to Monday. Here are the headlines from around the Web that caught my eye last week…

– The NY Times waxes nostalgic about the rise and fall of General Motors. Michael Moore’s take on the matter is less reverent — more scathingly jubilant.

– P.J. O’Rourke misses the automobile age already and in a Wall Street Journal essay he blames environmentalists for its demise. In a counterpart piece for NPR, he blames feminism and Facebook instead.

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Weekend Guide and Open Thread

Puppet parade bike move

Get those bungees ready. There are
two bike moves scheduled
this weekend.

Welcome to the weekend guide. From racing to a blessing, bike moves to bike camping — can you tell bike season is heating up?!

If we’ve left something out, please feel free to spread the word via the comments. Also, don’t forget to use the comments to share your adventures (or mis-adventures).

All Weekend Long

Mt. Hood Cycling Classic
This premier racing event started earlier in the week and it runs through Sunday. The action happens out near Hood River and the Dalles, so if you’re headed out that way, add this to your plans. There’s a time trial in the Gorge tomorrow (6/5) and then two tough road stages over the weekend.

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‘Bike Love’ show opens tonight in downtown Vancouver

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Poster for the event.

Tonight is First Friday just over the river in Vancouver and Angst Gallery (1015 Main Street) opens their new “Bike Love” show.

The show features bike-inspired artists from Portland and Vancouver and and it runs through June 27th.

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Gallagher’s “Monument” to bike shoes.
(Acrylic on canvas)

One of the artists invited to the show is Portland-based Erin Gallagher. Gallagher moved to Portland from Alaska about two years ago and has been duly inspired by our bike-loving ways. From her blog:

“It has been only two years since the move and yet in that short period an immense love of cycling seems to have captured Erin’s heart. This city’s collective enthusiasm for all things bike-y has spurred Erin to recreate it in her paintings.”

See more of Gallagher’s work on her blog.

Bike Love runs through June 27th at Angst Gallery on 1015 Main Street in Vancouver.

At Velo-City, it’s Portland’s ‘bike fun’ that wows the world

Portland Mayor Sam Adams at
the opening plenary of the
Velo-City conference last month.
(Photos: Greg Raisman)

With Pedalpalooza just a week away, it’s fitting to do a story about how Portland’s legendary bike fun created quite a stir at an international bike conference held last month.

Portland Mayor Sam Adams, along with his Chief of Staff Tom Miller and Bureau of Transportation traffic safety specialist Greg Raisman recently returned from the Velo-City conference in Brussels, Belgium. Velo-City brings together the top bike planners and experts from around the globe. With representatives from nearly 50 countries and numerous, high-level politicians from Europe in attendance, it is the premier bike conference in the world.

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Bike locker rental fees set for big increase on July 1st

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Prices are going up on lockers
managed by the City of Portland.
(Photo: PBOT)

Beginning July 1st, prices to rent a bike locker from the City of Portland will go up by over 100% — from $45 to $95 at the six-month rate.

The increases are a part of a slew of higher fees on everything from sidewalk cafe application fees to towing services in the City’s 2009-2010 budget that they expect will generate over $2.3 million in revenue in the coming fiscal year. According to budget documents, the City provides many services whose current fees do not “provide full cost recovery for the programs they support.”

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Blumenauer shares his national bike priorities

Blumenauer in Portland on May 11th.
(Photos © J. Maus)

A few weeks ago, in the Rose Room in Portland’s City Hall, U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer hosted an invite-only, roundtable discussion about biking. Around the large conference table sat electeds (like Metro President David Bragdon) and representatives from a variety of local, regional, and statewide agencies, universities, non-profits, and businesses.

Besides hearing the latest bike news and ideas from the experts in his home district, Blumenauer’s main goal of the meeting was to share and hear feedback on three specific initiatives he’s working on.

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Water Bureau Bike/Truck Safety Event

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The Portland Water Bureau will host a three-hour event to spotlight safety concerns of bicycles and large trucks sharing the road.

The event will take place in the parking lot at the Safeway Supermarket, 16409 SE Division Street and SE 162nd Avenue, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

The public will have an opportunity to see the view from a dump truck driver’s seat, and learn more about blind spots and other dangers of riding near large vehicles. The Water Bureau will also display information about its Powell Butte Reservoir 2 construction project, scheduled to start this summer.

Be an “Intersection Superhero” at Sunday Parkways

The new Sunday Parkways bandanna.
I know you want one.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The first of three Sunday Parkways events is right around the corner and the City of Portland is looking for a few good “Intersection Superheroes” to make sure everything goes smoothly.

At the North Portland event on June 21st the City will open up 7.5 miles of streets for the community to enjoy. The route — A 3.2-mile loop through Kenton and Arbor Lodge neighborhoods and a 4.5-mile loop connecting Arbor Lodge and Piedmont neighborhoods — will be completely carfree from 9am to 4 pm.

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Wend Magazine bash will benefit World Bicycle Relief fund

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Free beer, schwag, bikes, music. Dang. This sounds like a great event. Here’s the scoop direct from Wend (notice bold text for bike-specific awesomeness):

Join Wend magazine and Lizard Lounge for a benefit ping pong tournament and party to celebrate the release of Wend’s spring issue. Ten bucks gets you into the ping pong tournament, and all proceeds will go to the World Bicycle Relief (a national non-profit that brings bikes to developing countries).

We’ll be giving away two gift certificates to Lizard Lounge as well as a NAU jacket to the evening’s ping pong masters. Oh, and we’ll also raffle off a bunch of sweet bike swag from Surly, Planet Bike, Timbuk2, Chris King, Keen, Ortlieb, Teko and others.

Arrive on two wheels and score a voucher for 20% off your next regular price purchase at Lizard Lounge.

Also on deck is the Bike Lounge, where we’ll be showcasing the work of some of the finest frame builders and designers in Portland. Support green, independent media, and help raise money for a great cause. Free beer from Deschutes Brewery. DJ beats will make for booty shaking into the evening.

Note: to sign up for the ping pong tournament, send an email to anna@wendmag.com. We’ll be keeping a few spots open for signup on the night of the event, first come first serve. Please RSVP to anna@wendmag.com

What: Wend’s Bicycle Bash
When: Friday June 12, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Where: 525 NW 10th Ave, PDX
(Between Hoyt & Glisan on 10th)

May 2009 site stats and top stories

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Here are BikePortland’s traffic stats from the month of May:

Visits – 162,464
Average visit length – 00:03:19
Pages viewed – 370,073
Stories posted – 88 (front page only)

Top Five Stories (*In terms of pageviews analyzed by Google Analytics):

1. Rush hour crash on Hawthorne Bridge raises questions about bike traffic
2. Fatal bike/car crash on NE Prescott at 57th
3. Hawthorne Bridge rider comes forward to correct “inaccurate depiction of events”
4. Rider injured on Hawthorne Bridge shares her side of story
5. In-depth: Could Portland be America’s bike manufacturing hub?

Check out our past traffic stats and top stories here.

Latest Headlines

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From the Archives

With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike