4/25: Hello readers and friends. I'm still recovering from a surgery I had on 4/11, so I'm unable to attend events and do typical coverage. See this post for the latest update. I'll work as I can and I'm improving every day! Thanks for all your support 🙏. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
Help keep this Portland bike institution rolling! Kidical Mass PDX is entering its 10th year (wow!) and we’re looking to add to our small eager group of volunteer ride leaders as well as assign a new organizer or co-organizers to keep the finely-tuned KMPDX machine running smoothly.
Kittie Knox is surfacing again with welcome arms.
Knox is a cyclist from Boston who lived in the late 1800s and died early at age 26. There are few facts and one might think she is a token to be bandied about. But this is not true. And thanks to Lorenz Finison who published The Boston’s Cycling Craze, 1880-1890, we receive greater insights into who she was. Her life and treatment by other cyclists forces us to ponder, have we changed?
The Racial Divide feels ever great everywhere. Having our America build United States-Mexico border walls heightens the Berlin Wall of Eastern Germany ethic of xenophobia. In our town, we have a huge melting pot of 40 plus languages in the Gresham-Rockwood area, the large disparity of those who are insured vs. no insurance, the homeless sprawl, the face of younger people without prospects to equal equity comforts of their parents; the largest economic class disparity since 1929…the list goes on for those who are subject of disparities in addition to more often mentioned racial disparity.
With all the doom-and-gloom news about local retail lately, I’m eager to share good news from the bike shop front.
Golden Pliers on North Skidmore and Interstate has been a bright spot ever since they opened two years ago. For a very small shop where the owners still put in most of the hours, Golden Pliers seems to have found a workable niche.
This week they announced news that will help expand that niche a bit: Golden Pliers is now an authorized Rivendell Bicycle Works (adding to their current offerings from Crust, All-City, Velo Orange, and Surly) dealer. Rivendell is a small but mighty brand from northern California that has retained its culture and values through many changes in the bike industry. Their steel bikes offer ride qualities and designs you can’t find from any other company, are wonderful for unpaved adventures and urban rambling, and they have a devoted Portland fan base. Their previous Portland area dealer, Rivelo, passed along the business when owner John Bennett decided to retire late last year.
We love Gateway Green, but it needs a lot more love to reach its potential.
TriMet’s new SW Corridor light rail line will have a vast impact on how we get around the region — not only for where it will take us (without a car), but for how it will change the streets and neighborhoods it runs through.
There’s a good reason why the Oregon Department of Transportation abhors delay when it comes to their freeway expansion megaprojects: Because the longer reporters and advocates have to dig into the details, the more dirt they find.
10 years ago next week Portland City Council passed the Bicycle Plan for 2030. Now scrappy local bike advocacy group Bike Loud PDX wants to make sure they don’t forget about it.
A couple summers ago, our family would go on big bike outings down and around the Smith & Bybee Wetlands area (it’s fun, you should try it!). My tweens and husbeast would go speeding up ahead of me, while I struggled behind, pulling the hard-bottom Burley trailer, our picnic stuff, and our kindergartner. It was easily over a hundred pounds.
I’d get home afterwards and my husbeast and I would compare notes and it would just irk me that Strava recorded me having a leisurely bike ride with minimal effort while it recorded him, half as sweaty, as having a vigorous one. I looked all over the app trying to find a way to change some sort of effort or cargo-pulling settings, but there was no such thing.
I have no plans on going pro. I realize I am privileged to say I don’t diet or track much of anything health-related in any earnest effort, but data sure is fun. Why is it that just because the data is there to observe, we need it? Or we need it to be correct? It’s not like I was going to change anything in my life if the data was accurate. I just wanted my little gold star, dammit
Part Time Mechanic
WashCo Bikes
Servicing customer bikes, refurbishing used/donated bikes for sale or giveaway, retail service, and educating the public on how to repair their own bikes and/or educating them on what is necessary to fix their bikes. Support shop operations and help achieve the organization’s goals.
Applicants for the Mechanic position must:
* Have strong mechanical and diagnostic skills centered around working on bicycles of all makes and conditions – at least one year of working in a bike shop environment and/or mechanic certification preferred.
* Value building community through our shop, and be able to serve a diverse customer base (diverse in terms of income, bike knowledge/experience, age, ethnicity and cultural background). We don’t go for the classic surly bike mechanic thing.
* 25 hrs a week
Mechanic Primary Responsibilities:
* Perform repairs, maintenance, and walk-in services on customer bicycles of all types and conditions.
* Communicate, diagnose and make estimates clearly and thoroughly with customers and then deliver professional level repairs within budget restraints.
* Deliver professional, accessible, and helpful customer service.
* Share factual, accurate and up-to-date bike knowledge with patrons and volunteers.
* Recondition and overhaul used bicycles of all types and conditions for resale.
* Support daily Bike Shop operations
*Knowledge of POS system Lightspeed a plus.
* Represent WashCo Bikes well to the neighborhood and act as a resource for the community.
Salary and Benefits:
Competitive Salary
Paid Time Off
Potential Training Reimbursements
Bonuses
Email – ed@washcobikes.org
Full Time Mechanic
WashCo Bikes
WashCo Bikes is an ascending nonprofit serving 16 cities in Washington County with bike advocacy, education and service. We need a few great mechanics to join our family. Servicing customer bikes, refurbishing used/donated bikes for sale or giveaway, retail service, and educating the public on how to repair their own bikes and/or educating them on what is necessary to fix their bikes. Support shop operations and help achieve the organization’s goals.
Applicants for the Mechanic position must:
* Have strong mechanical and diagnostic skills centered around working on bicycles of all makes and conditions – at least one year of working in a bike shop environment and/or mechanic certification preferred.
* Value building community through our shop, and be able to serve a diverse customer base (diverse in terms of income, bike knowledge/experience, age, gender, ethnicity and cultural background).
* Work 40 hrs/week – Shop open 7 days so weekend availability needed.
Mechanic Primary Responsibilities:
* Perform repairs, maintenance, and walk-in services on customer bicycles of all types and conditions.
* Communicate, diagnose and make estimates clearly and thoroughly with customers and then deliver professional level repairs within budget restraints.
* Deliver professional, accessible, and helpful customer service.
* Share factual, accurate and up-to-date bike knowledge with patrons and volunteers.
* Recondition and overhaul used bicycles of all types and conditions for resale.
* Support daily Bike Shop operations
*Knowledge of POS system Lightspeed a plus.
* Represent WashCo Bikes well to the neighborhood and act as a resource for the community.
Salary and Benefits:
Competitive Salary
Paid Time Off
Employee Discounts
Potential Training Reimbursements
Bonuses
Email – ed@washcobikes.org
