Sam Adams makes another good move

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pedalpalooza05 Transportation Geeks Ride

That Sam Adams guy really knows how to pick a good team. He has just added none other than bike fun dynamo Elicia Cardenas to his staff. It’s a smart move by Sam because Elicia is the type of person you want with you, not against you. She’s sharp as a tack, sits on all sorts of important committees, works for the BTA and is a great asset to the community.

Here’s a photo of Elicia I dug up from the archives. It shows her in a “bike box” while leading the Transportation Geeks Ride during this year’s Pedalpalooza.

Bike stolen at Chunkathalon – Recovered!

[UPDATE! This bike has been recovered! Read about it here]

Amid the chaotic merriment of the recent Chunkathalon, some guy got this really nice bike stolen. I saw him make the sad announcement at the event and he’s pretty broken up about it. He’s even put up this website to help find it. Here are the details:

“On or around 5 P.M. thieves used some sort of tool to cut through my Kryptonite brand u-lock. They took the bike, an attached helmet, and the bulk of the u-lock. All that was left was a straight chunk of the U, cut just at the start of the curve. The bike had been locked to a utility pole support wire. There were plenty of other bikes locked up in the vicinity and people were milling around. Chunkathon was taking place about 1.5 blocks away. Large reward for information leading to safe recovery. “

Come on BikePortland readers, let’s help this guy find his bike. If you’ve got any info call Nick @ 503.819.6324 or email nick[a]emilive.com.

desalvo_stolen

823-SAFE success story

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Two visitors recently commented that the signal at N. Broadway and Larrabee was too short to make it across the intersection on time. Then, the ever-present Jessica Roberts (from the BTA) urged them to call 823-SAFE to get the signal timing changed.

One of them took her advice and here’s what happened:

“Just wanted to let everyone know that I called the 503-823-SAFE number today in regards to the intersecton at N Broadway and Larrabee and Todd Rosenbaum with the city called back within a couple hours. He apparently rides the same route and was familiar with the problem. He told me that he went ahead and changed the timing of the light from 5 seconds to 10 seconds. Hey look, sometimes the “city that works” actually does work! Props to the city of Portland for being so responsive. “

As a reminder, here’s what you can call 823-SAFE about:

  • Intersection safety (pavement markings, signals, stop signs)
  • Pedestrian & bicycle safety (crosswalks, bike lanes, ramps, sidewalks)
  • School safety (crossing, education, safe routes, school drop-offs)
  • Speeding (enforcement, speed zones, traffic calming)
  • Visibility (lighting, pruning, signage)
  • Parking (limited parking/no parking)

And a few other numbers you should program into your cell phone:

  • 503-823-CYCL for bike lane/path maintenance, bike maps & cycling information, and bike rack installation request
    OR call the maintenance dispatch line (24-hr) to request sweeping directly: 503-823-1700
  • 503-823-BUMP for pavement repair & potholes
  • 503-823-5195 for parking enforcement
  • 503-962-7644 for TriMet info on bikes & buses/MAX

Bike data charts are posted

I’ve just posted some interesting charts from the City of Portland Office of Transportation on my new “Bike Safety” page if you’re into that sort of thing.

Here are the titles of the charts:

  • “Combined Traffic over Four Main Portland Bicycle Bridges Juxtaposed with Bicycle Crashes”
  • “Portland Bicycle Use, Crashes, & Bikeways”
  • “Average Daily Bicycle Traffic: 4 Main Willamette River Bicycle Bridges”
  • “Combined Traffic over Four Main Portland Bicycle Bridges Juxtaposed with Bikeway Miles”

Visit the Bike Safety page to see them all…and don’t forget to vote on the Bike Safety poll while you’re there.

bridges_crash_rate


Toyota helps keep eyes on the road

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

In light of several recent fatal car/bike incidents I thought this little news story was eerily coincidental. Perhaps technology can play a role in making our streets safer.

    Toyota Computer Makes You Watch the Road

    TOKYO (AP) – Japanese automaker Toyota has developed a safety technology that it says will keep the driver’s eyes on the road. An image-processing computer system developed by Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and a Toyota affiliate uses a camera near the steering wheel to detect when the driver stops looking straight ahead.

    The system flashes a light on the dashboard display and emits a beeping noise when the eyes start to wander. If the driver still doesn’t respond, brakes kick in, Toyota said Tuesday. The feature will be offered in Lexus luxury models set to be sold in Japan in spring next year. Toyota won’t comment on whether it will be offered in models sold abroad, company spokeswoman Keiko Nakajima said.

    Research shows that most accidents happen because the driver isn’t paying attention, according to Toyota.

We’ll take any help we can get at this point…but I wish they’d spend their resources on driver safety education instead.

Bike Commute Challenge is on!

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Pedalpalooza 05 - Hash RideIf you rode your bike downtown this morning you might have noticed even more bikes on the streets than usual. Why? Because the BTA’s 1oth Annual Bike Commute Challenge has brought hundreds of Portlanders out of their cars and onto their bikes. This event gets local companies competing against each other to see who can log the most bike commuting miles in the month of September.

It’s free and any company can register. There are prizes for companies and individual riders (in case you work with a bunch of stiffs). There’s really no reason not to enter, because you’re probably riding to work already.

Don’t let the 500 workplaces that have already registered have all the fun! It’s not to late to register your company and start keeping track of your rides. Good luck!

Jonathan Nicholas to take over “Bike Fun” blog

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Cycle Oregon/Scenic Bikeway ride[Update: Jonathan Nicholas will only be a temporary blogger. OregonLive.com is still looking for a permanent replacement.]

Many of you might remember, that before I launched this site, I did the “Bike Fun” blog on OregonLive.com. Since my departure, they’ve been looking for a replacement. Well apparently they’ve found their man and it’s none other than esteemed columnist for The Oregonian and President of Cycle Oregon, Jonathan Nicholas.

Hopefully Jonathan will blog from the road of the upcoming “Discover Cycle Oregon” ride. That’d be cool. Welcome to the blogging world Jonathan!

Chunkathalon: Creativity, Carnage, Chaos

Chunkathlon, Portland 9/4/05
chunkathlon, Portland OR
Chunkathlon, Portland 9/4/05

Words can’t do justice to the Chunkathalon. I’ve seen some of the Chunk crew here and there throughout the summer, so I had an idea of what to expect. But when I showed up to Freegeek on Sunday, I was totally blown-away. It was an awesome display of kinetic art and energy and one of the most inspired pursuits of bike fun I have ever witnessed.

The crowd was massive and the competitors were out in full regalia with costumes ranging from Mad-Max-meets-Tarzan to nothing but pink panties. Beer cans and limbless dolls littered the street as mutant bike gladiators with names like “Iron Lord” battled for supremacy in events like the Beer Run Time Trial, the 40oz Relay, the Baby Rescue, and of course, the all-important essay contest (with bonus points for limericks).

Thanks to Oso at Freegeek who hosts this “Burning Man on wheels.” He kept his cool, threw a great party, and let me climb up on the roof to take photos. And of course, a big shout out to Chunk for pulling off the event. You guys make me proud to live and ride in Portland! I’m just bummed I left before nightfall, because I’m sure things got even more out of hand once the fires started blazing. Oh well, guess there’s always next year…

For more of the people and bikes from Chunkathalon 2005, check out the rest of my photos.

Updates:

  • For a cool write-up and a few more photos, check out News4Neighbors.
  • Here are some photos of what happened after the sun went down uploaded by “benkay” on Flickr.
  • Just came across these really awesome, professional quality photos.


    • Sharing the road with headphones on

    Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

    There’s a great “Mr. Portland” comic strip by Joe Spooner in the Living section of today’s Oregonian. Here’s the text:

    “Bicyclists listening to music while they ride! Herumph! Why, I’ve had to put my latte AND my cell phone down SEVERAL times to avoid inattentive bicyclists! What are they doing in those narrow lanes anyway?!“

    spooner comic

    All joking aside, wearing headphones while riding or driving is a terrible (yet too popular) idea. For a serious discussion of the legality of headphones, see this recent column on VeloNews.com by Porltand’s own biking lawyer, Bob Mionske.

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