BikePortland

Portland’s new surge in bike commuting is real – and it’s gas-price proof

Rush hour on Williams Avenue in May. Once again in 2015, 7 percent of Portlanders said their main commute to work is by bike.
(Photos: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Gas prices? What gas prices?

The great gasoline plunge of late 2014 hasn’t cut the rate of Portlanders biking to work, at least not in 2015.

In fact, drive-alone commuting among Portland residents hit a modern-day low last year — the fifth such record in six years — and public transit commuting jumped to a modern high of 13.4 percent.

Redesigning big streets is a major thrust of the plan.

Over one year after Portland City Council unanimously supported a commitment to Vision Zero, the task force assembled to help lead us there has released its action plan.

I’ve seen a lot of elected officials on organized bike rides over the years. Usually they look uncomfortable and their bike doesn’t quite fit: As if it’s obvious they’re doing it mostly for the photo-op.

Brookings Mayor Ron Hedenskog is different.

Today on Cycle Oregon, Mayor Hedenskog joined us for the ride from Gold Beach to Brookings. The last time he did the ride was 1988 — the inaugural edition.

I accompanied him for about 30 miles and got a personal tour of the route. Hedenskog knows the area well. He moved to the coast in 1966, his dad was a commercial fisherman and his father-in-law ran a 400-acre sawmill on the coast in the 1950s — a full decade before the Coast Highway was even built.

Bonfire on Gold Beach to end day three.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

We’re joining Cycle Oregon a bit late this year. The 2,500 or so people that make up this ride (about 2,000 or so riders and hundreds of volunteers, supporters, and staff) are now settled into a beachfront camp.

Racing through tall corn stocks, an Oregon cyclocross tradition.
(Photos by Daniel Steinle.

Liepold Farms in Boring, Oregon (yes that’s the name of the city) is a working farm 364 days of the year. But for one day each year it’s also a cyclocross race venue.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Welcome to the weekly video roundup! There were some interesting videos this week, but I felt like none were feature-worthy. So I’m going back to the vault. This is 1976’s “A Sunday in Hell”. It shows 100 minutes on the Paris-Roubaix race including Eddy Merckx. Enjoy. I’m watching it again as I’m posting this. (also: this race is alluded to below- +3 internet points for the first person to spot it)

New rendering of Gateway Green’s Dirt Lab shows the view from the northern end of the site.

The time has finally come to grab our shovels and turn on the trail-building machine. If all goes according to plan we’ll be riding two miles of fresh singletrack trails at Gateway Green, a 25-acre parcel of land in east Portland between interstates 84 and 205, by this winter.

The dark side of Portland’s legendary food cart ecosystem are the thousands of plastic, paper, and styrofoam food containers that are tossed into the trash every day. Laura Weiss, founder of GO Box, is doing her part to make that ecosystem a bit healthier.

This week her business will mark a major milestone: The elimination of 100,000 disposable food containers.

Weiss has been pedaling her bike with a trailer full of re-usable containers since 2011 and will also celebrate her fifth year in business this Wednesday.

Wilsonville-based Otto Design Works thinks most bike locks are too big and clunky – especially for people riding fast and light road bikes who want something slim and compact.

Job Title *
Mechanic/ Salesperson

Company/Organization *
Crank

Job Description *
We are looking for a new mechanic that is happy to work in an open shop and assist customers with both service as well as the purchase of bikes, parts, and accessories. Major value is placed on mechanical aptitude and less on previous shop experience; creative problem solving is key here. Extra bonus points if you build wheels. Commitment is 30 to 40 hours per week, wage starts at $12/hr and is dependent on skills/ experience.

How to Apply *
Stop by the shop Monday thru Saturday 10am to 6pm to drop off a resume and introduce yourself.

Riders battle epic sand trap at Het Meer cyclocross race

You’ve probably never tried to ride your bike through deep sand. Why would you? Sand and bikes (unless they’re fat) don’t go together.

That is, of course, unless you are a cyclocross racer.

Welcome to Monday. Here are the stories that caught our eyes last week…

Take notes: A diverse mix of experts — a consultant, a planner, an advocate, a politician — share how to make cycling safer in Montreal, and the insights can be applied to almost any serious cycling city.

Anti-bike bingo: Create your own anti-bike rant with this convenient form! All you need is a desire for inane clickbait.

The End of Road Riding: We’ve been discussing this on Twitter lately: The idea that some vehicle operators have become so irresponsible that many long-time road riders are so afraid they are giving up and finding other things to do — or other, off-highway places to ride.

Portland’s new surge in bike commuting is real – and it’s gas-price proof

City releases draft of Vision Zero Action Plan

A tour of the coast with Brookings Mayor Ron Hedenskog

Cycle Oregon takes over the southern coast

‘Corn Cross’ takes racing to the farm

Weekly Video Roundup: A Sunday in Hell, the science of steep climbing and more

Funding campaign launches for singletrack and ‘Dirt Lab’ at Gateway Green

Bike-powered GO Box has kept 100,000 food containers out of the trash

Local company wants to make bike security a cinch

Job: Mechanic/Salesperson – Crank

Riders battle epic sand trap at Het Meer cyclocross race

The Monday Roundup: Slower trucks, MAMILs, bikeway band-aids, and more

Latest Headlines

Reminder: No riding through River View Cemetery during Memorial Day Weekend

Guest Article: Demand a pause on PBOT’s SW Alder decision

Guest Opinion: The bike beat lives on in all of us

Our 20th Anniversary Party is this Wednesday

From the Archives

The 10 busiest bicycling spots in Portland