I know I’ve been harsh on ODOT in the past, but now I applaud them.
A few weeks ago I posted something about a couple riding a tandem that had slipped on wet paint laid down by ODOT road crews. The paint had just been applied and no signs or cones were placed to warn of the slippery substance.
PDOT and Portland Streetcar, Inc. are embarking on a major project in the South Waterfront district. This new area will be like another Pearl District; complete with a streetcar line, tons of retail shops, and high-density, super expensive condos. Sounds great right?
Ran into Joe Kurmaskie at the store the other day. Joe has just returned from a cross-country bike ride with his two sons, Quinn (7) and Enzo (5). Many of you might know him as the “Metal Cowboy“, regular contributor to the Bicycle Paper and Backpacker Magazine just to name a few.
Yesterday I met with Bill Sinnott, Commander of the Traffic Division of the Portland Police. First, I want to thank everyone who emailed and left comments with questions for him. I printed them all up and left a copy with him so he could see first-hand what’s on your mind.
You might be thinking…isn’t this site about bikes? What do cops have to do with it? Good question. The fact is that the cops – especially the Traffic Division – effect our experience as cyclists in many ways; they interact with us at Critical Mass, they try and keep our streets safe, and they’re involved if/when we get in a serious crash with a motorist.
Just picked them up yesterday. They look super cool. The print came out very clean and the “sienna brown” ink looks great with the natural organic cotton fabric. I’m glad I went with American Apparel shirts because they’re amazingly comfy and quite nice feeling. Find out more on my Stuff page.
Remember, $1 from each shirt goes to Shift and the rest helps to support this site!
I tried to get Bill Sinnott to model one for me yesterday but it didn’t happen.
Someone stole my bike two days ago. It is a specialized hard rock sport grey 2005. It is stock but it looks like it has been used a good bit. I was at wired coffee shop 39th and lincoln when a man with bolt cutters took my bike and started heading SEish.
Please help I have no car and no cash to buy a new one. If you have any advise about hot shops I can check out or any segestions where I can look please help.
The S/N is P4EE42048…
PLEASE if you see it will you call the cops and send me an email at UrbanDrops@gmail.com, or put a post on here.
Thank you all so much,
Jon
It was in the low 30s this morning. Ouch. Without a good pair of gloves for your morning commute, it makes it awfully easy to climb into the car.
Resist the tempation! Embrace the cold, morning air!
Ayleen over at the ORBike Blog is collecting comments and recommendations about which gloves work for both cold and rain. Good tips. Check them out and check back for the complete list in a few days.
Check out this letter in the recent Portland Tribune:
Bicycles are nuisance, and their riders rude
The bicycle’s contribution to clean air is at best infinitesimal and is probably negative because bicycles, bicycle lanes, etc., slow traffic and increase congestion. However, the bicycle lobby continues to receive the support of city, county and state politicians, a tribute to the power of small, vociferous, self-serving, special interest groups. By the demeanor and actions of the majority, bicycle riders could best be described as aggressive, arrogant, freeloading outlaws.
Don Robison
Southwest Portland
I’ve been having all sorts of internal struggles with my feelings about cops lately. Part of me is holding onto my long-held distrust of them and my feelings that they just “don’t get” cyclists and therefore treat us with negative bias. I’ve had my confrontations with them on Critical Mass and have generally not cared much for them in the past.
But another part of me says maybe it’s time to bury the hatchet. As I’ve talked directly with them and with other people in the bike community whose opinions I respect, I’m starting to think they might make better friends than foes.
Vanilla Bicycles, a small Portland-based framebuilder is supplying bikes to some of the best cyclocross racers in the country. In the current standings of the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross Rhonda Mazza (shown in photo) is currently ranked 6th in the Elite Women’s field and Shannon Skerritt is ranked 7th in the Men’s Elite field.
Another Vanilla rider, Molly Cameron is riding very strong in her first year as a pro and is currently ranked 32nd in the Elite Men’s field (read Molly’s great race reports on her blog!).
These riders are up against teams from the largest bike companies in the world like Kona and Giant.
A former bike messenger and relative newcomer to the custom framebuilding world, Sacha White has carved out a reputation as one of the best. His eye for aesthetic detail and finish, combined with technical precision and an appreciation for classic lines has won his bikes many fans and races [Disclaimer: I’m biased because Sacha is a friend and a client.].
TWO Bikes stolen Saturday Nov. 5th in NW Portland from Royal Arms Apartments on Lovejoy:
2005 Gary Fisher Tassajara GS Women’s Mountain Bike, silver with blue decals, cat eye computer on handlebars, covered in Wonder Woman stickers. Stolen with it was a 2005 Gary Fisher Mullet, blue, 19.5″, big tires, disc brakes, scratches on top tube. Both bikes have small “Alpine Shop Kirkwood, Missouri” stickers on lower frame area beneath seat, but of course all stickers and identifying marks could have been removed by now.
My wife and I are offering $100.00 reward for any info leading to us getting our bikes back. Contact peg_n_jamie@ yahoo.com with any and all info. Please keep an eye out and remember, cable locks aren’t to be trusted. I wish they would’ve just stolen our car. Stealing someone’s bike is some cold sh*t to do to a fellow human being.
At a meeting last week between the BTA, the Portland Police Traffic Division and citizen bike advocates, Commander Bill Sinnott told us about a cool new program they’ve started.
In recent weeks they have carried out undercover “bike missions” that put officers on bikes in order to observe and ticket motorists that violate laws and make unsafe maneuvers.