🚨 Please note that BikePortland slows down during this time of year as I have family in town and just need a break! Please don't expect typical volume of news stories and content. I'll be back in regular form after the new year. Thanks. - Jonathan 🙏

A few things we’re looking forward to in 2018

Sunday Parkways NW-46

Sunday Parkways will return to downtown this year — for the first time since 2011.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

I looked back at 2017 and decided it’s probably best to start looking ahead.

Not everything about last year was bad. We (and by “we” I mean BikePortland and our community in general) had some triumphs and we learned a great deal about important issues; but it was not our best year.

Looking ahead however, we see plenty of reasons for optimism.

The four things below are infrastructure-related. And yes, I’m fully aware that a city’s transportation culture is defined by much more than roads and bridges. I’m thinking about those other issues as well, but I’ll save those thoughts for a different day.

Here’s my list…

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Portland filmmaker raising money to shoot Cyclocross Nationals on ‘Super 8’ film

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Drew Coleman in a still from his GoFundMe campaign video. Watch it below.

Sellwood neighborhood resident Drew Coleman has a vision for his next project. But he needs a bit of help to realize it.

Coleman is a filmmaker who started shooting local cyclocross races this summer. He’s also started a YouTube channel under the Local Cycling Network banner. Now he wants to cover the biggest race of the year: the Cyclocross National Championships which take place in Reno, Nevada next weekend. This time around he wants to do try something new: Coleman wants to shoot the race and the culture that surrounds it, on film. He’s bought a 1983 Canon 814 xl-s camera and he’s looking for support to buy the film which runs about $1.53 per second.

He’s launched a GoFundMe campaign and hopes to raise $2,500 for the trip and the film.

Here’s more from Drew about the project:

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Weekend Event Guide: Rock Creek explorations, Cross Nats training race, OMTM social, and more

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Vernonia Overnighter

Discover the network of paved paths on the west side during Puddlecycles’s Rock Creek Ride on Saturday.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Weekend Guide is back after a brief hiatus. To keep it coming on a weekly basis, we need a new sponsor. If your company is interested in supporting this content, please get in touch.

Without further adieu, here’s our selection of rides to consider this weekend…

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There’s a new full-service bike shop near Mt. Hood

George Wilson (left) and Kevin McCarthy outside the new shop.
(Photos courtesy George Wilson)

The Mt. Hood area has been maturing as a cycling destination for years now with the establishment of the Sandy Ridge Trail System, the popularity of unpaved forest road riding, the mountain bike trail riding opportunities, and the much-improved (and bike-friendly) bus service. But one thing has been missing: a bike shop.

We’re very happy to report that that is no longer the case!

George Wilson, a former retiree who we’ve featured in the past for his bicycle advocacy in the Mt. Hood area, is opening Mt. Hood Bicycle this month in the Hoodland Shopping Center in Welches. Wilson is partnering with Kevin McCarthy on what will be a full service shop that will cater to locals and visitors alike. Both Wilson and McCarthy are certified bicycle mechanics and have decades of cycling experience between them.

We contacted Wilson via email today after reading about the shop in the Mountain Times. He said they’ll have a soft opening January 16th and are planning a grand opening in March.

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Guest post: A Swede’s view on cycling in Portland

The author, still smiling after an “ice rain”.
(Photos by Anders Hedlund)

Note: This post is from 34-year-old Anders Hedlund from Linköping, Sweden. I planned to publish this piece today before I decided to run this morning’s post about Mikael Colville-Andersen’s view of Portland. At first I thought it would be strange to post them one after another, but then figured they’d work nicely as a productive comparison. Thanks to Kiel Johnson for making this happen. – Jonathan

One year ago my wife and I left our home, two cats and all of our bikes in Sweden to move to North America ́s premier bike city for a year. Here ́s an attempt to sort out my experiences and thoughts about the PDX bike culture, and compare it to the way cycling is known in Scandinavia.

My wife Elin is a medical researcher and during the years there have been many suggestions and offers for different places to go for an exchange year. When Portland was mentioned she caught my attention – even in Europe Portland is known as a progressive hub for biking. To me, the deal was perfect: her boosting her career and me riding and working with bikes for a year.

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Colville-Andersen: “Portland is completely overrated as a bike city”

One of the most well-known bicycling and urban planning consultants in the world had harsh words for Portland after a visit over the holidays.

In an Instagram post yesterday, Mikael Colville-Andersen wrote that, “Portland is completely overrated as a bike city” and that “It is a car city that squeezed some bike facilities in. Almost reluctantly, it seems.”

Colville-Andersen was in Portland to visit family; but he couldn’t resist sharing what he saw while walking our streets. The lack of people on bikes in general is what seemed to stick with him most. “In the course of 6 days I counted 26 people on bikes and I was all over town. TWENTY-SIX. Even in half-ass bike cities like Oslo (cold, hilly) and the like you would see more,” he wrote.

Colville-Andersen is known for his Copenhagenize blog, which rose to prominence about 10 years ago for its documentation of the people and infrastructure of one of the world’s most bike-friendly cities. Colville-Andersen has since built his blog into an urban design and planning firm that has completed projects around the world. He has also recently launched a TV series called “Life-Sized City”.

In 2009, Colville-Andersen visited Portland as an emissary of the Danish Embassy. He spoke at an event where he shared the stage with then Mayor Sam Adams. At that event nine years ago, Colville-Andersen said it would only take Portland 5-10 years to achieve what it took Copenhagen 30 years to achieve in part because all the (planning and engineering) mistakes have been made and the case for bicycling is stronger now than it has ever been. He also pointed out that to do that it would take, “visionary political decision-making.”

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Job: Entry-level Production Artist – Castelli USA – FILLED

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Sorry, this job has been filled. Browse more great jobs here.

Job Title *
Entry-level Production Artist

Company/Organization *
Castelli USA

Job Description *
Castelli is an internationally recognized cycling apparel brand that provides race apparel to the pros as well as to everyday cyclists and teams around the country.

We’re looking for a production artist to join our custom team graphics department to help create production-ready files.

This position is ideally suited to someone who has a high tolerance and appreciation for detailed work. Tasks are repetitive and are performed in a fast-moving environment. The creative component of this position is very limited.

For recent graduates from art/design school, this is a great opportunity to get hands-on experience in the sports apparel industry.

This is a full time position.

We’re looking for someone who:
• Has an exceptional eye for detailed work
• Applies problem solving and tactical thinking to production tasks
• Can interact professionally and comfortably with colleagues
• Thinks and acts quickly and calmly on deadline

Requirements:
• Proficiency with Adobe Illustrator
• Familiarity with apparel and cycling culture a plus

Employees enjoy a range of benefits, including:
• Retirement savings plan
• Health/Vision/Dental plans
• Employee product allowance

How to Apply *
If you share our passion for cycling, we hope you’ll consider applying.

Send a brief cover e-mail, and three examples of work done with Illustrator* in PDF format to: jsunderland@castelli-us.com

Check out our website at castelli-cycling.com

*Combined file size must not exceed 5MB.

New wayfinding signs will help guide neighbors to Gateway Green (PBOT)

This just in from PBOT…

Friends of Gateway Green achieves major milestone in increasing access to park.

Gateway Green wayfinding signs have been installed! Many thanks to Tom Badrick, Linda Robinson, and the army of community volunteers who saw this project through. Funding for preliminary planning and siting was provided by Prosper Portland. The signs were designed by Propel Studio. The last $5,000 to print and install the signs came from People for Bikes community engagement grant as part of PBOT’s Gateway to Opportunity project. Throughout these past 2 years, Friends of Gateway Green have been championing this effort to provide increased signage to help Portlanders more easily access Gateway Green Park by foot and bicycle. This was truly a team effort and we are so appreciative for all who made these 20 signs possible.

Pictures are courtesy of Tom Badrick.

Portland’s adaptive bike rental program will return in 2018

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Portlander Diedre Hall at the launch of the service in July.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

After its initial run, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is calling their Adaptive Biketown program a success and plans to bring it back this spring.

The program launched in July of last year and ran through the end of October. According to PBOT stats released last month, there were 59 total rentals to 27 unique participants.

One of the people who used the service was Chris Pangilinan. He was profiled in a PBOT blog post and said the experience, “Opened up a whole new world for me to explore Portland, spend time with friends, and get exercise.” Here’s more from Panilinan via PBOT:

Chris surprised himself when he and his friend Jeff Mack rode all the way to Milwaukie and back (over 11 miles!). For Chris, being able to ride is “hugely important… It’s indescribable what the freedom is like to get on a bike if you’ve never been on one before. Most people take it for granted, because they grew up on one, but to go from wheelchairing and riding buses to actually riding a bike is just a whole new level. And I’m not even going to even try to describe it, because I can’t, you have to go do it yourself to understand!”

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The Monday Roundup: MAMILs not so bad, auto pollution reality, and more


Big plans: Berlin is the latest city to unveil a bold infrastructure plan that will vastly improve bicycling conditions. By 2025 the city will aim to build 62 miles of “cycle superhighways” and 100,000 new bike parking spots. Existing bike lanes will be “rigorously protected by bollards.”

Welcome to 2018! Hope everyone had a fruitful and fun holiday.

Here are the best stories we came across over the past week or so (keep in mind I haven’t kept up as carefully as usual since before Christmas).

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Job: Safe Routes To School Program Coordinator – Community Cycling Center (FILLED)

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Job Title *
Safe Routes To School Program Coordinator

Company/Organization *
Community Cycling Center

Job Description *

Start date: January 16th, 2018
Reports to: Ira Dixon, Program Manager
Status: Hourly, part-time (20 hrs/week) through June 2019
Location: Portland, OR
Compensation: $15.50-$17.00/hr
Benefits: PTO; Employee discount & Used Parts Allowance
Organizational Overview

We love Portland and bikes. So we put our two loves together over 20 years ago, creating a nonprofit organization on a mission to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits.

Our vision is to help build a vibrant community where people of all backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy and connected. We believe that all Portlanders—regardless of income or background—should have the opportunity to experience the joy, freedom and health benefits of bicycling. This is the motivation behind everything we do.

In addition to delivering dynamic programs that benefit underserved communities, we operate a full-service bike shop in NE Portland that is staffed by highly experienced mechanics from diverse cycling backgrounds. Combined, our programs and shop services help riders build their skills and confidence; empower young people to ride to school and adults to ride to work; offer educational opportunities for teens to earn school credit; and support everyone in riding for health and recreation. We also collaborate with numerous community partners to generate pathways to employment and engagement within the growing bicycle movement by training new educators, leaders, advocates and mechanics.

Our goal is to help create a healthy, sustainable Portland for all community members.

The Community Cycling Center is an equal opportunity employer and strongly values diversity, equity and inclusion. Individuals with diverse backgrounds, abilities and experiences are encouraged to apply.
Job Summary

We believe there is a better way to deliver programming with our partner communities. We believe in asking the community themselves instead of prescribing solutions.

The Safe Routes to School Coordinator will work closely with the Collaborations Program Manager to deliver on the goals of the Regional Travel Options’ Community Centered Safe Routes to School grant. They will collaborate in and with the communities of Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez Schools to assess current barriers to safe access to school and after-school programming. From the information gathered, they will help adapt and update curriculum to fit the needs of the community. They will then work with instructional staff to deliver biking, walking, and transit education and programming for youth and families of the schools.
Essential Functions

Please note that the percentage indicators below represent an estimate of how much time each week will be spent fulfilling these functions. In terms of importance, all areas are valued equally.

Outreach (15%)

Collect surveys and aggregate data on the current conditions of school access to inform our program development
Communicate regularly with school staff, service providers, parents, and student stakeholder groups
Support focus groups with stakeholders to better understand the conditions and barriers to active transportation

Program Development (15%)

Work closely with department leads to adapt existing programming and develop new programming to meet the needs of Rosa Parks and Chavez families
Work with partners to identify appropriate curriculum and activities for walking and transit programming
Package curriculum for delivery

Deliver Bicycle, Walking, and Transit Programming (70%)

Support hiring process for additional instructor(s)
Participate in the lesson planning and delivery of programming
Provide support for Instructors
Track outcomes and learning objectives
Participate in quarterly grant reporting

Qualifications & Characteristics

Required

Proficiency in Spanish and English; Ability to speak, read, and write Spanish and English
2 years of experience in service delivery or program coordination
2 years of experience in education with school age youth up to 12 years old from immigrant and/or Black/African-American families
Experience engaging the school community beyond the student
Oriented towards teamwork and community building
Love of bikes and active transportation
Demonstrated commitment to the progress of diversity, equity, and inclusion

Preferred

Lived experience with mixed income housing, Title 1 schools, immigration, and/or communities of color
Existing relationships with Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez schools and communities or other North and Northeast School communities

How to Apply *
Please submit cover letter and resume with “PT SRTS Coordinator” as the subject title to jobs@communitycyclingcenter.org.

Please apply by 5:00pm Pacific Time on Wednesday, January 10th.