BikePortland

Locals unveil new work at hand builders show

[Vanilla Trike! (Photo: MTBR.com)]

The North American Handmade Builders Show was held in San Jose, California from Friday to Sunday. The show’s intent is to highlight the work of small, custom bike builders. Portland had an impressive contingent on hand, showing off a tremendous flair for craftsmanship and aesthetic detail. Notably present were Joseph Ahearne of Ahearne Cycles, Tony Pereira of Pereira Cycles, and Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles.

I really wanted to be there, but I was tied up with other things. Fortunately some photos have found their way onto the web.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

There’s a new “Share the Road” mural coming to southeast Portland. Volunteers working as part of a Community Action Project with the Northwest Service Academy have earned a grant through the Community Cycling Center to paint the mural on the wall of the Hawthorne Auto Clinic at 4307 SE Hawthorne Blvd. According to project directors Sheri Earnshaw and Drew Englehorn, the “main theme will be Share the Road, with images of automobiles, bicycles, pedestrians and mass transit with riders/ drivers showing awareness of each other.”

A truly public project, there will be a series of meetings with community groups to gather ideas on the final imagery. The entire project will take about 3-4 weeks and organizers hope to be working on it during Pedalpalooza in June.

Bike stars shine at Alice Awards

[A stylish Chris King]

On Saturday night the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) held its 11th annual Alice Awards at the Oregon Convention Center. The sold out event hosted 600 Oregon bike advocates, politicians (past and present), industry leaders, and business owners. The event was a fundraiser for the BTA and a chance for them to honor Oregon’s “bike heroes.”

Here’s a few highlights from my perspective:

[Posted by “reedma”]

my bike of nearly 20yrs has been stolen 🙁 Stolen from N Portland and Albina area on Mar 3 or 4
Klein pinnacle circa 1988 primer grey with black forks. Drop-down bars that have black/silver reflective bar tape. Old-style below the chain rear U brake. Long seatstem to accomodate 6′ rider on this 19(?) inch frame. xt rear and deore front deraillers. 2 light halogen Cateye system mounted with switch on handlebars and large rechargeable battery pack in waterbottle cage. Slicks on Araya hard anodized RM20 rims. Blackburn rear rack. Black front/rear fenders. Clipless shimano pedals. Three small stickers include Earth, Bad Dates, and Powerbar. Please help if you know anything.
Matt at freeheel@quik.com

Stolen: Blue/Silver Specialized

[Posted by “chelsea747”]

I had my Specialized Crossroads Sport 2004 model stolen at NW 13th and Johnson (Pacific NW College of Art) on March 1st sometime between 11am and 5pm. It is Blue and Silver, has black front and rear fenders, a rack, a bottle holder, and a big silver bell on the handlebars with the “I (heart) MY BIKE” sticker on it. It looks like the one in the picture but slightly used and well loved.

Thanks!

Bikes and pipe bombs

[Not a pipe bomb]

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.

Mini-bikers ride inside Lloyd Center Mall

[Click for animation]

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.

Home from D.C., now onto Alice Awards

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.

Our day on Capitol Hill

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 ;-).

Bike Summit: Day one in the books

[Blumenauer and his Trek]

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.

Locals unveil new work at hand builders show

New share the road mural for southeast Portland

Bike stars shine at Alice Awards

Stolen: Klein Pinnacle

Stolen: Blue/Silver Specialized

Bikes and pipe bombs

Mini-bikers ride inside Lloyd Center Mall

Home from D.C., now onto Alice Awards

Stolen: Purple Kona

Our day on Capitol Hill

Bike Summit: Day 2 quicky update

Bike Summit: Day one in the books

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