🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏
I don’t care how you get to a ballot box today, just do it.
If you haven’t voted, make sure you swing by one of the ballot drop-off sites, get in line, or do whatever it takes to make it happen. And, while you’re at it, drag your friends, co-workers and neighbors along with you.
While riding into work this morning, with thoughts about the future of our country, a billboard I’ve passed by for several weeks took on a whole new meaning…
The Monday Web Roundup is a new weekly feature that will serve as a catch-all for all the cool and interesting news, sites, and ideas we come across from Portland and around the country. Email your web tips to elly@bikeportland.org, or use the tag “bikeportland” in del.icio.us.
Wednesday’s regularly scheduled KBOO Bike Show will host the BTA’s public affairs director Karl Rohde for some post-election analysis.
Post election woes and victories. Guest Karl Rhode will discuss current pro-bicycle legislation, what passed, what didn’t pass and what’s coming down the bike lane.
9-10AM, Wednesday, November 5th
KBOO FM 90.7
Streamed live at KBOO.fm
Podcast here later that day
The Ace Hotel is throwing a big election night party that will raise a glass to a new era in American politics and will raise money for a few local non-profits; including the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA).
Politico published a story today about who might get cabinet-level appointments in a Barack Obama presidency (if he’s elected on Tuesday night of course).
Politico reporter Ben Smith and ABC’s Jonathan Karl (who used “well-positioned Democrats” as sources) have put two familiar names in the running for Obama’s Transportation Secretary — Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN).
Back in May we wondered out loud whether Blumenauer (who campaigned for Obama) might get the nod, but this is the first time I’ve heard Oberstar’s name come up.
It’s been a while since I left an open thread up over the weekend. Hopefully you haven’t forgotten the drill.
Do you have bikey Halloween plans tonight? The hot tip is North Freak’s Freak Friday Halloween Party Ride (oh man that’s going to be good).
Will you take on the Barton Park gravel course with the rest of the Cross Crusaders on Sunday?
Whatever adventures you’re up to, feel free to share them in the comments below.
For a bit of Halloween and cyclocross inspiration, check out the fun (and very well made) video below from last weekend’s Crusade craziness in Astoria. (Video by Dan Kaufman of CrankMyChain! CycleTV:
As we move into the 2009 legislative session, and with an update to our Bicycle Master Plan finally on the horizon, I’ll be covering the future of bikeway funding a lot in the weeks and months to come.
One of the over-arching themes that should seal the case for more aggressive funding of bike projects in Portland is that it’s such a “cheap date” (in the words of PDOT’s Roger Geller). For a tiny amount of financial investment in biking, Portland has reaped vast benefits. Biking offers the best return on transportation investment our city can make.
Widely-read New York Times op-ed columnist and regular NewsHour pundit David Brooks penned a column today that urged our government and leaders to put infrastructure projects on the fast-track.
Calling it a “National Mobility Project”, Brooks thinks that the wisest way for government to hasten an economic recovery is through shifting the paradigm on how America plans and builds transportation infrastructure projects.
By all accounts, the recently concluded Cycle Oregon was one of the best ever.
From what I’ve heard, it had perfect weather, epic routes, majestic vistas (the Wallowa Mountains), welcoming towns, and great live music — all the ingredients that make Cycle Oregon one of the world’s premiere supported rides.
Kids aren’t the only ones who need to stay dry and visible while riding. Portland is set for wet weather for the next week or so (at least) and, combined with darkness falling over rush hour, rain can make things a bit more tricky out there.
Here are some tips taken from a list of wet and dark weather riding tips put together by the City of Portland Office of Transportation:
Stay Dry and Warm
You don’t need the latest and greatest cycling gear to get around town by bicycle. A decent rain jacket and pants are your best defense. They both cut down on wind and keep you dry. If you can afford it, GoreTex or other breathable fabric will keep the rain out and keep you from feeling clammy.
A new promotional campaign launched by North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) founder Don Walker recognizes the “Original Six” group of frame builders that have exhibited every year since the show began in 2005.
Among the Original Six is Southeast Portland-based builder Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles.
The NAHBS show was a pioneering effort that helped create a category and bring awareness to handmade bicycles in America.
