In Seattle: An update on the U.S. Bicycle Route System

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Ginny Sullivan, routes coordinator for the
Adventure Cycling Association.
(Photo © J. Maus)

During a morning poster session (where bike and ped professionals offer up their latest research in science-fair style) here at Pro Walk/Pro Bike, I ran into Ginny Sullivan, the new routes coordinator for the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA).

Sullivan stood in front of an attractively designed new poster for an exciting project, the establishment of the United States Bicycle Route System. Once completed, the system will be a complete network of officially recognized, interstate bike routes.

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Tabor to the River Bike Ride

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What: “Tabor to the River” Bike Ride
Location: Mt. Tabor down through SE Portland to the Willamette at Clay Street
Meet at: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, SE 55th Ave. and Belmont St.
Date: Saturday, September 6 – 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Description: The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and the Portland Department of Transportation will lead a bike-based tour of some of Portland’s most sustainable approaches to stormwater management and bicycle transportation. Participants will convene at 55th & Belmont and bike west seeing rain gardens, bioswales and ecoroofs as well as bicycle boulevards and related art projects. Learn about how these will be put to use in the City’s new Tabor to the River: Brooklyn Creek Basin Program and new bicycle transportation programs to make our neighborhoods and watersheds healthier.

For more information about the ride, including a route map, visit the ride website.

DA drops Reckless Driving charge in Stark Street collision

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“We couldn’t support the mental state required for a criminal prosecution.”
— Gresham DA Ben O’Glasser on his decision to not seek a Reckless Driving charge against Lance Waddy

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office has elected not to proceed with a Reckless Driving charge against Lance Waddy, the man who let his car veer into Steven Volz while Volz rode his bicycle on SE Stark Street in Gresham.

The collision happened on July 31st on SE Stark Street (just outside Portland city limits). According to reports, Waddy grabbed something from the floor of his car prior to the impact, which threw Volz nearly 140 feet into the air.

Waddy was initially cited at the scene with a host of charges. The most serious of those charges was Reckless Driving, a Class A Misdemeanor crime (which can carry a maximum sentence of one year). (Waddy was cited and then released at the scene after his car was towed. For more information on that, see my follow-up story about enforcement policies).

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Clear Channel wants to work with bike community

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Clear Channel has 20 of these
billboards up in the Portland area.
(Photo © J. Maus)

A few days ago, I shared a story about the new “Share the Road” billboard campaign in Portland.

As I suspected in that story, the billboards are the work of the Portland-based office of Clear Channel Outdoor. The manager of that office is Brad Parsons. I spoke with Brad the other day to learn more about the origin and plans of Clear Channel’s Share the Road campaign.

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Kruger’s Kermesse

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Race Schedule (Sunday 9/7)
11:00am – Beginners, Juniors, Women B, Master Wmn (40 min)
11:45am – Kiddie Race (Beginner 2 min, Expert 5 min)
12:00pm – Men B, Men C (45 min)
1:00pm – Mstr Men B, Mstr Men C, Mstr Men 50+ (45 min)
2:00pm – Men A, Mstr Men A, Women A, Singlespeed (55 min)

***More info here***

Kermesse ~ 1. annual, local celebration, typical for the Low Lands and northern France, accompanied by feasting, dancing and sports of all kinds.
2. (a.k.a. kermiskoers) Belgian style summer bike race, staged during local kermesse festivities. Good times, on and off the course!

On Sundays August 24, September 7 and 14, Portland Racing brings you the Kruger’s Kermesse Farm Crit Series, a fun and novel bike race series held at Kruger’s Farm, located in the beautiful countryside of Sauvie Island (only 20′ from downtown Portland). This series will be the perfect segway into the upcoming cyclocross season and make for a great training opportunity for novice and seasoned cross racers alike. And a fun one to boot…

Connecting Green Trail Tour

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The Connecting Green Summer Trail Tours continue this Saturday, September 6, with a bike ride in Vancouver. (see attached map)

If starting in Portland the ride will begin at 9:00AM at the Expo Center MAX Station. Go to www.trimet.org for the MAX schedule. The group will join riders from Vancouver at 9:30 AM at the Columbia Renascence Waterfront Trail and the entrance to Old Apple Tree Park.

The tour will travel north crossing the newly constructed Confluence Land Bridge and east through Vancouver’s Officer’s Row in the Historic Reserve. The tour will continue north to the Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway Trail and travel east to the Devine Road trailhead. The tour will then head south for about 1/8 mile up Devine Rd (walking is OK) and west on Macarthur Blvd before heading south down Blanford Canyon Rd and ultimately connecting back to the Columbia River at Wintler Park.

The last leg of the tour will travel west along the Columbia River Renascence Waterfront Trail prior to finishing at Esther Short Park, the location of the Vancouver’s Farmer’s Market. The total ride is approximately 13 miles with several speaker stops along the way.

RSVP to: robert.spurlock@oregonmetro.gov or (503) 813-7560

See you on Saturday!

Robert Spurlock,
Assistant Regional Trails Planner
Metro Parks & Greenspaces

11 fatal traffic crashes in Oregon over Labor Day Weekend

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The Oregon State Police are reporting that during the 78-hour Labor Day Holiday, 11 Oregonians were killed in traffic crashes. That’s up from an average of 7 fatalities that have occurred each holiday weekend since 1970.

Here’s the sad list of carnage (read the full press release on the OSP website):

* On Friday, August 29th, at approximately 8:10 p.m. a 39-year old female died when her sport utility vehicle left the highway in the 35000 block of South Sawtell Road in the Molalla area and struck a power pole. The victim was using safety restraints and alcohol is a possible contributing factor. Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office is the lead investigating agency.

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Portland chef, restaurant featured in Bicycling Magazine

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Bicycling Magazine has a nice little story about Higgins restaurant in their Cycling Nutrition section this month.

Here are a few excerpts:
“…Higgins, 50, is the owner and head chef of Higgins Restaurant and Bar, a Portland, Oregon, mainstay that’s home to bistro-style dishes that feature organic, sustainably grown, locally sourced food. And the restaurant sits square in the central downtown area–the most bike-centric part of the most bike-centric city in the United States–so it’s no surprise that Higgins is a cyclist.

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Looking for a team? Rides help you decide

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Racing at PIR

Wanna race? Meet the Team
rides are a great way to start.
(Photo © J. Maus)

If you’re new to Portland’s bike racing scene and you want to ride with a team, you should consider hooking up with the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association’s (OBRA) “Meet the Team” rides.

So far, eight rides are planned on consecutive Saturdays beginning with a special Ladies Ride this weekend.

OBRA’s Meet the Teams Ride coordinator Uma Kleppinger says the women-only ride will, “give unattached [without a team] riders an opportunity to speak with several coed or women-only teams and get a sense of the culture and opportunities each one provides.”

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Women-only Meet the Team Ride

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Calling all women cyclists looking for a team!

Next Saturday is the women-only Meet-The-Team ride. A perfect opportunity to come out for a mellow, social ride at a conversational pace and get to know some of the teams who are looking for more women racers.

WHERE: Kettleman’s Bakery
2235 SE 11th Avenue
WHEN: Sat, Sept 6 @ 9am
WHO: ALL women riders looking for a team and
ALL teams looking to recruit more women

Teams, please send no more than 2 representatives. Be prepared to offer support for flats, etc. This is a no-drop ride, about 35 miles, rolling terrain through the Oregon City/Lake Oswego loop.

Please arrive early in order to roll out in a timely fashion.

Please help spread the word to others who may not have access to (or the inclination to read) OBRA chat!

For further information contact:

Uma Kleppinger
velodevi@comcast.net

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Protestor blocks bus and bike lanes on Division with his car