🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏
There’s a ridiculous but true story circulating on the web. The title alone is enough for a laugh: “Bike Band Sticker Causes Bomb Scare.”
It reminded me of a cute little bike I saw downtown last October. I loved the juxtaposition of the little blue birdie and the “This bike is a pipe bomb” sticker.
While in town for the recent Mini-Bike Winter Olympics, several Canadians went for an impromptu ride through Lloyd Center Mall. Here’s an account from one of the riders:
“It was a pretty awesome experience. People were DOWNRIGHT OFFENDED that we were in the mall with our bikes, even though we were very respectful and didn’t bump into people or anything. We could see some people physicallly freezing up or wringing their hands. The mall is supposed to be SAFE. They’re not supposed to have to DEAL with these THINGS. They were nervous and pissed all in one and they wanted to lash out at us. A few people did. The security guards definitely did. We took the escalator, the elevator and some stairs. It was great.”
Here’s a bunch more great photos. Thanks to Ayleen Crotty the tip.
Finally back in Portland. It feels great to be home. The last day of the Summit was another whirlwind. I attended a workshop about Davis, California, the only “Platinum” level Bicycle Friendly Community. Evan Manvel (Executive Director of the BTA) attended it with me and wrote a great recap on the BTA Blog.
I also went to a workshop about online route mapping, which is a topic I’ve covered several times in the past few months. Online bike trip planning is the next big thing. There are tons of cool features you can build into it and I think it will bring many new people into cycling. I’ve got to find out the latest on what’s happening here in Portland…it’s been a while since I checked in with Wyatt’s Trip Planner at ByCycle.org and with the GIS guys at the City of Portland. I’ll try and find out the latest and report back what I hear.
Stolen – Kona Cinder Cone ~2000 purple, Scott handle bars, black fenders, cat eye computer, brass bell, bike pump, red saddle bag under the seat. Clipped from Office Max on SE MLK mid February.
Not sure where to begin…it was such a full day and now it’s nearly 2:00 AM and I’ve got to be at it again tomorrow morning at 9:00…but it was such a memorable day that I want to share a few things…
Today was all about lobbying the OR members of Congress and the Senate. We started the day with an inspiring pep talk by the #1 cycling advocate in Washington DC, Jim Oberstar. He (like all of us) is very excited about the money and momentum for Safe Routes to School and in reference to that he said we “have the chance to change the habits of an entire generation…it’s now in your hands.” Hearing stuff like that from a member of Congress in the House Office Building gave us all great confidence heading into our meetings.
Full day on Capitol Hill today. Great successes for us and for everyone. Many things to tell you about! More photos and updates coming soon…but I have to go and no time right now…the work must continue…even if it happens in a pub ;-).
Finally back to my hotel room after the first full day at the Bike Summit. My head is sort of spinning from all the new things I’m hearing and seeing. There’s something surreal to me about looking down the street at the White House U.S. Capitol Building (it’s just a few blocks from my room).
The day started out with an opening panel discussion all about Portland. Jay, Jerry, Evan and Mia got to gush about what a great bike city we live in. Jay kept everyone smiling with his anecdotes, especially the one about Commissioner Randy Leanord‘s metamorphosis from brawny firefighter tough-man to bike commuter. The Trek Portland also made an appearance when Congressman Earl Blumenauer rolled his out on stage.
Interesting bits from the Bike Summit this morning:
In his opening comments of the Bike Summit, Andy Clarke (Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists) said that Portland is not really competing with Davis (CA) or Boulder (CO) for bike friendlines, but that we’re on an international level now. He then announced that Portland will receive a “Gold” award at the upcoming Velo Mondial conference taking place in Cape Town South Africa next week. Very cool.
He presented the award on stage to Mia Birk, who was filling in for City Commissioner Sam Adams. Adams was slated to speak on behalf of Portland, but didn’t show up due to an apparent bout with food poisoning.
(Due to a glitch, this post was supposed to publish last night.)
It’s midnight here in DC and it’s been a long day. We arrived this evening and after checking in we went straight to dinner. We ate at a place called Coppi’s Organic, named for none other than famed Italian bike racer and Tour de France Champion Fausto Coppi. It was a fitting locale to kick off the Summit, which starts bright and early tomorrow morning.
Hard to believe that less than 8 hours from now I’ll be on a plane to Washington DC for the National Bike Summit. I’m all packed (I think) and right now I’m printing up a copy of the BTA’s Blueprint for Better Biking to read on the plane.
Officials from Travel Oregon, Cycle Oregon and other bike groups are behind a movement to establish Oregon as a major destination for two-wheeled tourism. Working behind the scenes for about 2 years now, they have announced a day-long “Bicycle Oregon Summit” in Eugene this March April.
The goal of the summit – which will feature a keynote speech by congressman Peter DeFazio – is to introduce their vision to industries that stand to gain from the economic impact of “bicycle destination travelers.” These industries include bicycle and parts manufacturers, bike shops, bike clubs, bike tour companies, local tourism boards, wineries, breweries, hotel companies, airlines, and so on.
Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls of all ages…the world’s largest festival of bike fun is set to commence June 8-24th. That’s right folks, planning for Pedalpalooza 2006 has officially begun.
What’s Pedalpalooza? It’s two weeks of creative, fun, bike craziness that has happened every year since Portland hosted BikeSummer back in 2002. To get an idea of how big and amazing this event is, look no further than last year’s calendar, which included a Bike Kiss-in, a Clown House Circus, and an Atomic War Preparedness Ride just to name a few.
There’s always an official Kickoff Parade and the whole thing is capped off by the Multnomah County Bike Fair, a “one-day carnival of mayhem, music, a midway of activities and an arena of events.”