Back in October, transportation advocates and concerned citizens attended a Transportation Safety Summit hosted by Commissioner Sam Adams. The goal was to identify specific strategies that would make our streets safer.
Based on the summit, PDOT created an action plan and released it for public input. Only problem is that no knows it exists. Turns out it was released just before the holidays and has since become buried in a far off corner of Sam’s blog…until now.
I never realized Cycle Oregon had its headquarters right here in North Portland. I visited them today to talk top secret business stuff and was impressed by what I saw. I especially liked this nifty bike rack.
Here’s a photo of their top guy, Jerry Norquist (thanks for lunch!). He’s been in the bike industry (Specialized, Trek) for over 30 years and brings some serious vision and connections to his position.
The Bicycle Paper has been covering the Pacific Northwest bike scene since 1972. It’s distributed free on over 500 newsstands throughout British Columbia, Washington, Idaho and Oregon (70 of those are in Portland).
They’re looking to expand their coverage of Portland and Oregon, so starting with the March issue, I’ll be writing a news column for them on a regular basis. The only problem is, we can’t think of a good name.
Got any ideas?
Chris DiStefano, former PR director for Shimano and board member of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), has been hired to the sales and marketing team of Portland-based bike part manufacturer, Chris King Components.
According to the official press release, King has a unique way of breaking in new office staff:
The civil trial against Lindsey Llaneza came to an end today. After several interesting twists and turns, the judge decided to award Angela Leazenby’s family $500,000 (plus funeral expenses), the maximum amount allowable.
But this trial wasn’t about money (and besides, Llaneza doesn’t have any). This was more about principles and symbolism…and in that respect the trial was a success.
The best news for the family is that Llaneza finally confessed sorrow and remorse about what he had done. Llaneza also viewed graphic photos of the scene for the first time. Ray Thomas (who worked this case pro bono) said this fact alone “justified the trial”.
**UPDATE: For a great recap of the day’s events, read this article in the Oregonian.
Yesterday I had an earth-shattering realization: Recumbents are just bikes and the people that ride them are normal, friendly people.
OK, I’m exaggerating a little…I never actually thought they’d be abnormal or mean or anything….it’s just that we all know how a certain stigma exists between ‘bent and upright riders. I have long been curious to experience the ‘bent scene and finally got my chance yesterday.
Back in November I met Michael Wolfe at the PUMP Swap Meet. Michael is a bike nut. He’s got all types of them and he’s especially fond of recumbents. When he realized I’d never ridden a recumbent he offered to loan me his and show me what they’re all about.
The Voices section has gotten some great contributions lately. I want to highlight a few of them in case you haven’t had a chance to check them out. By the way, anyone can post a Voice and pretty much anything goes – from classifieds to haikus – as long as it pertains to biking in Portland.
If you’ve got some bikey thoughts you’d like to share, or just something that you need to get off your chest, it’s easy to register and join in the fun.
On June 25, 2003 Lindsey Llaneza’s mini-van plowed into three cyclists in SE Portland. Orion Satushek and Angela Leazenby were killed instantly and Caroline Buchalter was critically injured.
Llaneza was going nearly 70mph (twice the posted limit) and had a blood-alcohol level of .224 – three times the legal limit. Also, according to an article in the Oregonian, Llaneza had been driving with an invalid license for nearly 17 years and continued to drive despite multiple traffic infractions and a DUI three months before the crash.
This Monday at 9:30AM Llaneza will stand trial in the civil case (he has already been convicted in the criminal case). The three-day trial is open to the public and it would be great to have a show of support from the bike community. Here are the details:
Carlo Delumpa has been a busy man. In addition to being one of the founders of the new club, Portland Velo, he has also combined his passions for technology (he works at HP) and cycling into a new website, PortlandCycling.net.
Portland’s great cycling community just got even better.
Local cyclists Carlo Delumpa (right), Susan France, David Kelly, Ty Lambert, David Russell and Rick Smith have launched Portland’s newest recreational cycling club, Portland Velo. Portland Velo was formed because the founders felt no existing group filled the growing need for organized road rides in a fun and sociable atmosphere.
According to Carlo, here’s what Portland Velo is all about: