Portland’s most prolific bike thief steals again, gets 25 months in prison

Bikes found at Parsons’ camp in inner northeast Portland late last month.
(Photos: Multnomah County DA/PPB)

“I think it’s a big win for the community.”
— Officer Dave Sanders, PPB Bike Theft Task Force

A man who has been booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center 80 times over a 20-year career and is considered the kingpin of bike theft in Portland is behind bars.

Again.

Leroy Parsons, who once boasted about his bike theft skills in a local television interview, has been given a 25-month prison sentence for violating the terms of his probation.

“I think it’s a big win for the community,” said Portland Police Bureau Bike Theft Task Force Officer Dave Sanders, in a statement published by the District Attorney’s Office today. “For the last 10 years, he’s been one of the pillars in downtown who networks stolen bikes.”

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2018 BikeCraft dates set, vendor sign-ups open

Treasures await at BikeCraft.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

So much has changed in our community in the past 13 years that I now cherish long-standing traditions even more. One of those is BikeCraft — Portland’s homegrown, bike-centric holiday marketplace that showcases locally made, cycling-inspired arts, crafts, components, and accessories.

BikeCraft 2018 will take place December 15-16th at a new location (Tabor Space at 5441 SE Belmont) and organizers are gearing up to make it better than ever. We’re grateful to our friends at Microcosm Publishing (famous for their great books and stickers like, “Put the fun between your legs”) for taking the reins of the event. Their commitment means BikeCraft will endure into the future!

We’ll share more coverage of this event when the time is right. What you need to know today is that the deadline for vendor space is September 1st.

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Opinion: Scootering is very popular and hasn’t destroyed Portland

I, for one, welcome our new scooter overlords.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus)

Sorry to break the news to all the local journalists and civic pundits who are desperate for juicy scooter headlines; but so far the predicted scooterpocalypse has not materialized.

We’re almost three weeks into the City of Portland’s electric scooter pilot program and things seems to be going very smoothly. The injuries and deaths many predicted would befall reckless scooter operators haven’t happened. And the sidewalk obstructions and right-of-way issues appear to be no worse than before the scooters got here. Yes, there have been some immature people who’ve destroyed a few of them and we hear there are people downtown stripping them for parts, but those are expected outliers and not a really big deal.

On the flip side, the scooters have given thousands of people a new mobility option — a way to get around that is a million times better for our city than using a car or truck.

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Family Biking: Sidewalk cycling can be a savior

Riding on the sidewalk on the “wrong” side of the street to get to the MAX station.
(Photos: Madi Carlson)

When I lived in Seattle I often said the best pieces of bicycle infrastructure were sidewalks.

Our Family Biking column is sponsored by Clever Cycles.

➤ Read past entries here.

I stuck to streets for the most part, but there were several places we regularly biked that required covering a couple blocks where I didn’t feel safe in the street, and in those instances, thank goodness for sidewalks! These were fast, four-lane streets with no bike markings whatsoever. No bike lanes. No sharrows (not that sharrows on arterials are great, don’t get me started).

As I’ve written previously, my routes differ whether I’ve got the kids with me or if they’re riding solo or attached via a trail-a-bike or cargo bike. This also affects the amount, if any, of sidewalk riding I do.

Here are more of my thoughts and experiences on sidewalk cycling…

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Watch how ODOT’s Rose Quarter freeway project will expand right into Harriet Tubman Middle School

Still from video created by Cupola Media> shows how ODOT’s new freeway lane would encroach even further into the neighborhood it destroyed when it was first built in the 1970s. That’s Harriet Tubman Middle School on the right.

The Oregon Department of Transportation and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler have justified the I-5 Rose Quarter freeway project as a way to “restore” the traditionally African-American neighborhood that the freeway runs through.

But a new animated video released today by the No More Freeways coalition shows that a wider freeway will not only encroach further into that neighborhood, it will bring toxic fumes from cars and diesel trucks even closer to students and staff at Harriet Tubman Middle School.

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The Monday Roundup: NYC’s special sauce, right-hook research, a moral dilemma, and more

Welcome to Monday!

Hope you had a chance to pedal through the nice cool weekend. Who got caught out on a ride without a jacket?

This week’s Monday Roundup is sponsored by Efficient Velo Tools: From inflators and wheel-building tools, to the EZ-Lift Repair Stand, Portland’s Efficient Velo Tools offers tools for the pro and home mechanic! Learn more about their great products here.

And with that, here are the most noteworthy stories we came across in the past seven days…

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When moms escape: Tackling the unpaved Trask River Road route to the coast

Team Sundress ready to hit Trask River Road (after an hour-long ride on the MAX).
(Photos: Madi Carlson)

“It was by far the hardest thing either of us have ever done, but we’d both do it again…though only after some rest and time to forget some of the details.”

While the kids are away the moms will play.

For me that means riding my bike much farther while carrying a bit less stuff than when I have the kiddos in tow. And ideally with a mom friend at my side. My friend Elle of Tiny Helmets Big Bikes came up from Sacramento, tasking me to find us a multi-day bike trip. I decided we’d take Trask River Road to Tillamook on the Oregon Coast.

Here’s the scoop on the route via Oregon Bikepacking:

While not technically easy, this the most straightforward, easiest dirt route to the coast from Portland. Starting from the end of the MAX line in Hillsboro, we route you through the least pavement possible to Mount Richmond and then on gravel up to the Barney Reservoir and along the North Fork of the Trask River directly into Tillamook.

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Local retailers respond to Trump’s 25% tariff on electric bikes

E-bikes, like this one crusing on the Eastbank Esplanade, have become very popular in Portland. A new tariff could chill the market.
(Photo: Will Vanlue for BikePortland)

“Our forecasts predict that a 25% tariff will cause a 65-75% drop in sales as consumers postpone their purchases until sanity returns to our trade policies.”
— Wake Gregg, The eBike Store

In their ongoing effort to achieve more “fair and balanced” trade conditions with China, the Trump Administration has finalized a list of $16 billion worth of products that will be hit with a 25 percent tariff that will go into effect August 23rd.

Among those products are electric bicycles and e-bike motors. Bikes imported from China previously had no tariff. The tariff on motors will be 29 percent as the new tariff will be added to the existing one 4 percent. People for Bikes, a national bike industry advocacy group, fought the move, but has so far been unsuccessful.

This is bad news for the e-bike market. As we shared last week, sales of the pedal-assisted bikes have been a major bright spot for bike companies and retail shop owners. Here in Portland, we have a thriving e-bike scene and shop owners report brisk sales. There’s been a sense that — after years of challenges due to an educational and cultural bottleneck — the U.S. market for e-bikes had finally matured. And like many bike trends, Portland is at the tip of the spear.

Here are reactions to the new tariffs from three local shop owners:

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Weekend Event Guide: Bridge Pedal, Velo Cult bike sale, Street Trust bike raffle party, and more

Bridge Pedalers taking over I-405 back in 2010.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The Weekend Event Guide is sponsored by Abus Bike Locks. Thanks Abus!

The weekend is almost here. And thankfully, the weather gods have planned a reprieve from the heat.

The annual Bridge Pedal happens on Sunday. The event has lost a bit of its epicness as organizers continue to wrangle with a new approach by the City of Portland to limit the scope of large-scale events in the public right-of-way. The full route includes just six bridges these days (down from ten); but lucky participants still get the chance to experience a carfree ride atop the Marquam and Fremont bridges. That’s an opportunity you can only get during this event!

Here are the rest of our picks for the weekend (see the full calendar for more suggestions).

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Latest Headlines

Transportation commissioners grill Interstate Bridge project staff

Lawmakers eye Safe Routes to School funding to backfill maintenance hole

Road diet, new crossing coming to deadly section of Cesar Chavez Blvd

New plan to boost cycling would capitalize on existing infrastructure

From the Archives

With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike