You’ve probably heard by now that despite last month’s conflagration in the Columbia River Gorge, Portlanders’ worst fears about the destruction didn’t come true.
But keeping track of where you can and can’t hike and bike through the Gorge right now is more complicated than usual. That’s where the Friends of the Columbia Gorge come in.
This is the fifth installment of our Women’s Bike Month interview series written by Steph Routh. This content is sponsored by the Community Cycling Center and Gladys Bikes.
The role of consultant in transportation planning and advocacy is inherently behind the scenes, yet the stiff competition associated with landing the next project contract creates a unique working environment delicately balancing self-promotion and service to agency clients (and, ultimately, the communities they serve). Add the implicit biases of gender, race. etc., and the waters of transportation consulting can be tricky, indeed.
Sumi Malik has been a transportation planning consultant with CH2M for over a decade, managing an array of projects in communities across the country. She also was instrumental in developing a mentorship program with Women in Transportation Seminars (WTS).
I had an interesting opportunity to visit Quito for a long weekend with my bike. I spent 6 weeks in Quito 10 years ago while finishing a motorcycle trip, so I was excited to go back and explore it from a bicycling point of view.
Editor’s note: Gal by Bike columnist Kate Johnson has been a local bike commuter and biking advocate for years, but had never been to The Street Trust’s annual Alice B. Toeclips awards gala until Friday. Here’s her take.
This is a subscriber post by Armando Luna.
PDXCoffeeOutside is a group of bike riders and coffee lovers who meet every Friday to grind, brew and enjoy their coffee in the great outdoors of Portland. The organizers pick a different spot each week, which you can learn about on their Instagram feed, @pdxcoffeeoutside. I’ve attend a few of these gatherings this summer and asked one of the organizers, Will Christenson, a few questions.
What started PDXCoffeeOutside?
PDX Coffee Outside started because a group of friends had a desire to meet up in the mornings before work (hence the 7am start time), make coffee, and socialize. Most of us have a bunch of camping gear anyways, so it’s a good excuse to use that, and we’re also pretty passionate about coffee.
Here are the bike-related links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:
Car-free Paris: For one day, the City of Light banned non-local private cars from all its streets Sunday for the first time ever. Related news: Car trips from one location within city limits to another are down 30 percent in the last decade.
Outlawing chop shops: San Francisco may be close to banning sales or distribution on public land of bikes and bike parts.
Delaware stops: The Eastern state is posed to become the second (after Idaho) to make it officially legal for people biking to treat stop signs like yield signs.
Suspended licenses: In most of the United States, losing the ability to drive sends anyone who needs income into a “hellhole of desperation.” Maybe that’s why three in four Americans with suspended licenses choose to keep driving, even though that can lead to a crushing debt burden if they’re caught.
James Buckroyd is a professional product designer who happens to be addicted to cycling and is always seeking out the perfect route and the perfect piece of gear. He blogs at BuckyRides.com. His last review was Chrome’s Hondo backpack.
Last week I headed to Interbike Vegas 2017, where cycling industry veterans gathered to show off the latest trends and technology in cycling. The first two days of Interbike were the “Outdoor Demo,” where cycling industry pros get to view and ride new bicycles, followed by three days of trade show. With three exhibition halls full of gear, Interbike gives you a glimpse of the future.
This is the fourth installment of our Women’s Bike Month interview series written by Steph Routh. This content is sponsored by the Community Cycling Center and Gladys Bikes.
Black Girls Do Bike is a national organization with over 75 local chapters. The organization was created to champion efforts introducing the joy of cycling to all women, but especially black women and girls.
Keyonda McQuarters stepped up as the Portland Chapter’s admin for about a year now and has been leading two rides on average per week ever since. She is so excited about BGDB that she was willing to spend time with me on her birthday at Bipartisan Cafe talking about it.
Why did you decide to lead the Portland chapter of Black Girls Do Bike?
I’ve been leading Black Girls Do Bike for a year now, and I think one the of the challenges is overcoming barriers, real or perceived, that inhibit Black women from being present and involved in the bike community. Every time I’m on my bike, I’m always looking for me. I’m looking for women who look like me. While I do see them, they are few and far between. One of my goals is knocking down those barriers, of creating a community that welcomes Black women.
Job Title *
Customer Experience Specialist Full Time
Company/Organization *
Velotech
Job Description *
This position is responsible for responding to customer phone calls, emails, and for working directly with customers in our store. Customer Experience Specialists provide product information, advice and order assistance. Qualified Customer Experience Specialists also review orders and price match requests and assist with site content, including product reviews, photos and descriptions.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
Answer product questions & assist with the order process
Analyze customer questions, troubleshoot, and provide clear answers in an efficient and professional manner
Develop trust and loyalty with consumers and build value in our brands
Navigate a sophisticated order processing system
Generate performance reports and recommend improvements
Coordinate with Returns to assist customers with returns and exchanges
Assist walk-in customers with product questions and purchases
Retrieve products from the warehouse to assist walk-in customers
ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES:
Navigate a sophisticated order processing system
Work with Marketing to assist with customer-facing content, including site maintenance, product images and descriptions
Increase sales by genuinely helping customers learn about additional/alternative product options
MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS:
Basic computer skills
Strong knowledge of cycling
Previous customer service experience is a plus, as is sales, service and mechanical experience in the cycling industry
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:
Excellent communication and organizational skills
Solid knowledge of cycling products
Ability to work in a high volume, fast-paced environment
Ability to work independently or with others to manage multiple task with minimal supervision.
How to Apply *
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/index.php?/job/apply&clientkey=4C6D7027145254251F7D24DAA9BDF3F7&job=13303&jpt=
A quarter-mile of Portlanders lined Southwest Naito Parkway’s temporary protected bike lane Thursday evening to form bollards with their bodies and call for the next “Better Naito” to be permanent.
As Portland prepares to remove a temporary protected bike lane on Monday and biking advocates prepare to call for permanent improvements with a human-protected bike lane demonstration tonight, a separate discussion has been going on.
As part of last year’s voter-approved Fixing Our Streets program, the city has promised to reconstruct and repave Naito Boulevard between the Hawthorne Bridge and Interstate 405. But state law requires reconstructed roads to add bike facilities — and that stretch of Naito has never had bike lanes.
The result: The city has worked up a rough engineering concept that includes a bike path and protected two-way bike lanes between Salmon Street and Harrison Street, including on-street protected bike lanes beneath the Hawthorne Bridge onramp that would permanently repurpose one of Naito’s four auto traffic lanes for biking, at least at this crucial pinchpoint.
This is a subscriber post by Kiel Johnson of Go By Bike.
At 6 p.m. tonight, join me and your fellow bike enthusiasts for what could be, if we want it to be, the biggest bicycling demonstration in Portland’s history. Together we will stand against the complacency that has told us that more biking is inevitable if we only do nothing.
We all know how to get more people biking, but it will only happen when enough people in Portland stand and demand it as loudly and as often as they can.
Each bike lane that we add or take away tells a story about who we are and what kind of place we want to live in. Are we a city that fosters health, community, and environmental stewardship? Or are we a city that breathes the same polluted air and sits in the same traffic as most of the rest of the United States? Tonight, I choose to help make a city where biking is accessible and safe for all; where we prioritize people who move through our city in ways that make us appreciate one another; where we build bridges that connect communities instead of rivers of cars to separate us.