🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏

Fatbiking Ross Island without a boat (video)

*Please see the note below this article: Since posting this video I’ve been informed that, while public access is technically allowed below the high-water mark, there are serious concerns by some people who feel that any encouragement of biking and/or unregulated public access is not advisable on Ross Island due to its status as a natural area.

I figured this video of Dan Kaufman and Nathan Jones floating their fatbikes across the Willamette to Ross Island was the perfect way to head into the weekend.

Read more

Wonk Night recap: Calls for a coalition and more cooperation

lunapicCKpKlO8UEAEvLS8

(Photo: Armando Luna)

Special thanks to Lancaster Engineering for hosting and to Omission Beer for donating drinks.

You know that point in a relationship when something starts feeling a bit off and you’re like, “Baby, we need to talk.” That’s how I’ve been feeling about the bike advocacy scene here in Portland. And that’s why I figured it was time to get some people together to hash a few things out.

We didn’t solve everything at Wonk Night last night and I’m sure people left with more questions than answers; but it was a great conversation and I think we’re all better off because of it.

Read more

Woman sues for over $670,000 after collision caused serious injuries

lawsuitlead

via The Oregonian

Cindy Lewellen, a 45-year old Portland resident who’s well-known in the local riding scene, filed a lawsuit this week against two people that she believes are liable for a collision that caused her serious injuries back in November.

It happened on NW St. Helens Road near that notorious intersection of Kittridge and Yeon (where the new Forest Park entrance is slated to go).

According to the lawsuit Lewellen was riding south in the bike lane. As she approached a driveway that led to United Rentals, a person driving in the adjacent lane had stopped for someone who wanted to turn left into the driveway. Here’s what happened next (according to the lawsuit, emphasis mine):

Read more

City and state working to help bicycle users get the green

greensensor

PBOT’s new pavement marking.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The transportation agencies at the City of Portland and the State of Oregon want users of bicycles to have more success in triggering green lights at intersections.

At ODOT there’s concern that the passage of SB 533 might create dangerous situations. That bill, signed into law by Governor Kate Brown on May 21st, allows people riding bicycles and motorcycles to proceed through a red light if they’re undetected after one cycle. At PBOT, they also want to increase the number of people who know how to trigger green lights after a 2013 study showed half of Portland’s bike riders don’t know how to use the existing sensors.

Read more

Job: Morning Bike Valet Attendant – Go By Bike

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title *
Morning Bike Valet Attendant

Company/Organization *
Go By Bike

Job Description *
Looking for morning bike valet attendant to assist during summer rush. Job responsibilities include parking bikes and taking in repair orders. No bike mechanic skills necessary.

Must be morning person and friendly.

Job is from August to the end of September
Monday-Thursday 6:30-9:30 am

$10/hour plus bike transportation reimbursement.

Go By Bike runs the largest bike valet service in the country at the bottom of the aerial tram. We look forward to hearing from you!

How to Apply *
Please email gobybikeshop@gmail.com with paragraph saying why you think you would be a good candidate and two character references.

Thanks!

Job filled! Congrats to the new employer and employee.

Weekend Event Guide: Parkways, architecture, bikepacking, and more

Sunday Parkways northeast 2014-35

Explore the streets of Northeast Portland at a biking pace at Sunday Parkways.
(Photo © J.Maus/BikePortland)

This menu of delicious rides and events is brought to you by our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery. Their support makes BikePortland possible.

Friday, July 24th

Sprockettes Monthly Ride – 9:15 pm at Irving Park (NE 7th and Fargo)
Ride with the Sprockettes, Portland’s mini-bike dance team. Costumes encouraged and be prepared to swim “with a bathing suit or your birthday suit” if it’s hot. More info here.

Saturday, July 25th

Saturday Morning Medley – 9:30 am at Wilshire Park (NE 36th and Skidmore)
This is a choose-your-own-adventure ride hosted by the Portland Wheelmen Touring Club. Route options include a flat excursion of 35 miles out to Kelley Point Park, a Lacamas Lake loop, or a jaunt into the West Hills. More info here.

Biking About Architecture – 11:00 am at Bipartisan Cafe (7901 SE Stark)
Jenny Fosmire is back and she’s ready to share the wonderful residential architecture of the Mt. Tabor neighborhood in southeast Portland. Expect a 7-mile ride at a laid-back pace while viewing about 25 homes. The ride will end on Hawthorne Blvd so bring some money for post-ride food and drinks. More info here (FB).

Read more

Riding the latest e-bike system from Bosch

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Bosch e-bike system test ride-4.jpg

Murdered out e-cargo bike.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Electric bikes have a very bright future in Portland. There are many reasons why: Many Portlanders love cycling and our city encourages it, we have hills and steep bridges to pedal up, our expensive housing is forcing longer bike commutes, and e-bike technology — as technology tends to do — is always getting better/lighter/cheaper.

On that note, I had the opportunity to test ride the Bosch eBike System last week. From what I’ve heard around the industry, their new mid-drive system is the best on the market. As the largest automotive parts supplier in the world and with over a century of experience, it’s not hard to fathom that Bosch could jump into this market and deliver a solid product.

I also noticed that Xtracycle decided to spec the Bosch system on their Edgerunner cargo bike. That alone is a good sign that the Bosch system is worth paying attention to.

Read more

Learn more about Portland’s new bi-weekly ‘Rush Hour Alleycat’

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
alleycatposterdates

The bike scene in Portland is a wonderfully dynamic thing. It never stops evolving and there are always new people, ideas, and events coming into it. As they do, they keep the scene healthy by forcing it to re-invent itself and absorb new perspectives.

Part of my job is to monitor this ecosystem and understand the role that each piece has on the greater whole. One such piece that I’ve recently heard about is the Rush Hour Alleycat.

Like many new things that appear on the Portland bike scene horizon, it starts with some tweets or maybe at text and email or two from the organizer. Then it might gain a Facebook page or website. The event might fizzle out. Or, if enough people link into it, it might sustain itself and build into something special.

(Side note: Have you noticed how big the weekly Thursday Night Ride has gotten? Organizer Nathan Jones (proprietor of Ride Yr Bike bike shop) started it as a way to keep the Pedalpalooza spirit strong. Now it attracts well over 100 people every week. It meets at 7:30 tonight at Salmon Street Fountain if you’re curious.)

Now, back to this Rush Hour Alleycat…

Read more

Talk of a disastrous earthquake got you down? Just keep on biking

together

People who bike together, stick together.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Bikes won’t save you after the Big One, but the community built up around them just might.

There’s been a lot of unease in Portland since the publication of a fascinating yet gut-wrenching article in The New Yorker that laid out the impending Cascadia earthquake in excruciating detail.

After I read the piece, I was sort of numb for a while. Then my mind wondered (as if often does) and I started to ask the default question I ask myself around any seemingly intractable issue or policy, “How can bikes fix this?”

Read more

Latest Headlines

My journey to that ‘Hard Rock glow’

Off-Road Cycling Master Plan: A decade later, what has changed?

A rad Plaid Century

MADE Bike Show hits Portland this weekend

From the Archives

The 10 busiest bicycling spots in Portland