Weekend Event Guide: Charlottesville solidarity, eclipse rides, Sunday Parkways & more

East Portland Sunday Parkways-16

Escape the madness and enjoy the smile-filled carfree streets of outer northeast at Sunday Parkways.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

The big Eclipse Weekend is here. Events related to this celestial phenomenon are already causing backups and the big show doesn’t start until Monday.

The Weekend Event Guide is sponsored by Abus Bike Locks. Thanks Abus!

Regardless of what’s happening in the sky — and in some cases because of it — people want to ride bikes on weekends. That’s why we do this guide.

Our featured event this week is the Chrome Warehouse Sale. This major apparel brand originally from San Francisco recently completed a move to Portland and they want to say “hello” by offering a bunch of great clothing, bags and other accessories at killer prices. They were also smart and nice enough to purchase an ad campaign here on BP to promote it. Thank you Chrome! Show them you appreciate their support of our community by dropping by the big sale Friday through Sunday at the old Shleifer Bldg in the central eastside.

Here are the rest of the best events this weekend…

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Portland-based Chris King ceases production of Cielo frames

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An employee puts finishing touches on a Cielo frame at the factory in 2013.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

If you were waiting to order a Cielo, it’s too late.

Portland-based Chris King Precision Components (CKPC) announced yesterday that they’ve ceased production of all Cielo frames, forks and stems effective immediately.

In a statement, the company said, “After reevaluating marketing and sales goals for the coming years, Cielo unfortunately did not fit into our plans. We are quite proud of the product that the brand has produced over the years, but will be focusing our attention and resources on our core product families (headsets, bottom brackets, and hubs).”

Cielo was started by Chris King in Santa Barbara California 1978. By the mid 1980s King’s headsets had become so popular that he stopped making bikes to keep up with the demands of his fast-growing company. As his headset (and later hubset and bottom bracket) business grew he added staff and moved his business from Santa Barbara to Redding (CA) and then ultimately to Portland in 2003. Once settled into a large manufacturing facility in the northwest industrial district and with a healthy business (the company now employs over 130 people), King rekindled the Cielo brand in 2008.

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How can our community support the fight against white supremacy?

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A sign from a protest in February 2012.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Like many of you, I’m struggling to focus on anything but the sorry state of our nation.

The events in Charlottesville and their aftermath have made it clear that the white supremacy movement is alive and growing in America. And now that Donald Trump has cleared a space for hate to flourish, we’ve reached a new and dangerous place in the fight against it.

Why am I bringing this up on a bike blog?

BikePortland plays an important role in our community. As an independent media outlet, our relatively large audience is one of the smartest, most engaged, and most civically active groups of people in Portland. Because of that — and because of the privileges and safety I personally enjoy as a comfortable, independent, middle-class, business-owning white male — I have a responsibility to listen to the community and do what I can to help fight this cancer of hate and prevent it from metastizing.

I have some sense about what to do as an individual. What I need your help with is what to do as publisher and owner of this platform we’ve all created together here at BikePortland.

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Riders duel for fastest quarter-mile at new sprint race series

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Some riders go as fast as 30 mph on the same track used by racecar drivers.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

It’s the essence of racing: Line up next to your competition; point your bike down an open track; pedal as fast as you can; winner moves on to the next heat. No variables. No crowds. No excuses. It’s simple, but it’s far from boring. And it’s a tough workout.

The quarter-mile has always been a staple of auto racing. Now Portland has a drag race series for cycling.

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Governor Brown reverses veto threat: The SW Capitol Hwy project is safe

We did it!

You raised your voices. Oregon Governor Kate Brown heard them. And she has changed her mind.

The Governor just announced she will not go through with her threatened veto of over $2 million in funding for the SW Capitol Highway project. The project will build a crucial biking and walking connection between Multnomah Village and Taylors Ferry Road that the neighborhood has worked for since 1991.

Here’s the official word via a letter from the Governor’s office (full PDF of the letter here):

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‘No Veto’ campaign update: Governor expected to make decision today

Pressure on Oregon Governor Kate Brown to reverse a threatened veto on the SW Capitol Highway Project has increased significantly over the past week.

As we await word on her final decision, here’s a recap of what’s happened since we first reported the story six days ago:

➤ Stats from an email we sent to BikePortland supporters (paid subscribers and donors) show that over 60 people have clicked over to Governor Brown’s feedback page so far. That’s in addition to many people who’ve told us — via Facebook, Twitter, and on the BP blog — that they took action and made their voice heard. Thank you for all your support!

➤ Respected nonprofit organizations like Oregon Walks, The Street Trust, and the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association have all boosted our campaign by linking to our action alert and stories.

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New ‘Bike To The Eclipse’ website offers routes, tips and inspiration

We’re just one week out from the total solar eclipse and many people are freaking out about potential traffic jams. If you believe the Oregon Department of Transportation and local newscasts, roads will be clogged from Portland to Ashland for days.

What if instead of carmageddon, the eclipse spurred the largest mass bike ride Oregon has ever seen?

After all, this is Oregon! We love bikes and the outdoors and we’re not afraid of a little adventure. What if thousands of people scrapped their awkward and inefficient automobiles and rode their bikes into the path of totality? Imagine bicycle riders streaming happily by on highway shoulders as people sit idling in bumper-to-bumper traffic. (It’s not hard that to imagine since the same phenomenon plays out twice a day during Portland rush-hours.)

A new website created by a Portland man aims to make biking to the eclipse more doable for more people. “Don’t become traffic. Join the movement” reads the top of BiketotheEclipse.com.

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Neighbors will hear City plans to reduce driving on Lincoln-Harrison greenway tonight

These signs have been plastered up and down Lincoln-Harrison in advance of tonight’s meeting.
(Photo: Amy Wren)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation wants fewer people driving on the Southeast Lincoln-Harrison neighborhood greenway.

The Lincoln-Harrison greenway is a major east-west bikeway between Mt. Tabor and inner southeast. The problem is that it’s also a popular route to drive cars on. A 2015 traffic analysis by PBOT showed it was one of the worst-performing greenways in the system in terms of auto volume, with traffic well above national standards. PBOT aims for greenways to have only 1,000 average daily cars per day; but portions of Lincoln between 30th and 50th have 2,500 to over 3,500 cars per day.

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Bicycle rider dies in collision with auto user in Oakridge Sunday night

Oregon State Police are looking into a fatal collision last night in downtown Oakridge (east of Eugene) that involved a man riding a bicycle and a man driving a car. The bicycle rider has died. Statement from OSP below:

(Photo: OSP)

OSP INVESTIGATING FATAL CRASH INVOLVING VEHICLE VERSUS BICYCLIST – LANE COUNTY (PHOTO)

News Release from Oregon State Police
Posted on FlashAlert: August 14th, 2017 10:30 AM
Downloadable file: Photo
Oregon State Police (OSP) Troopers and emergency personnel responded to the report of a passenger car versus bicycle collision on State Route 58, at milepost 34 in Oakridge.

On August 13, 2017, at about 9:38 p.m., a black 1984 Pontiac Fiero, operated by Stephen Bradley HERRICK, age 57, of Westfir, was traveling eastbound on State Route 58 at milepost 34, when a male bicyclist crossed the roadway in a southbound direction and in the path of the Fiero. The bicyclist sustained major injuries and was transported to River Bend Hospital by Oakridge Fire and EMS. He was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival.

One of the eastbound lanes of the highway was blocked for approximately four hours while the on-scene investigation was being conducted.

Preliminary information indicates that the bicyclist was not wearing a helmet and the bicycle did not have any lighting.

Efforts are still ongoing to notify next of kin of the deceased. The Oregon State Police is the lead investigating agency and is being assisted by Oakridge Fire and EMS, Oakridge Police Department and the Oregon Department of Transportation. This in an ongoing investigation and more information will be released when it becomes available.

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