33 questions that’ll shape Portland bike news in 2015

Burn Road Loop in Vernonia-17

Will race promoters suffer from the
allure of the open (gravel) road?
(Photos: J. Maus unless otherwise noted)

As we wrote this time last year, predictions are for suckers.

It’s way cooler (and much safer, if anybody happens to look back with hindsight) to list the things you don’t know yet. So, once again, we’ve done our best to anticipate the questions that’ll shape Portland’s next year of biking news.

Are we asking the right ones? Which have we forgotten? Add your own in the comments. Or, if you’re a daredevil, try laying down some answers in advance.

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Event: Portland Skatepark Benefit

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Details:

TEAM SHRALP is proud to present a Portland Skatepark Benefit Showing of Tim Burton’s bicycle comedy classic, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. The Portland BMX/Skate Community has been advocating for a master plan of 19 public skateparks for over 10yrs. 6 parks down and 13 to go. Come join us as we make Portland the SKATEPARK CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!!!

This benefit screening takes place on Friday January 2nd 7:30pm at Velo Cult (1969 NE 42nd Ave Portland, OR 97213). Raffle, Prizes, Drinks, & more! All ages event with a $8 suggested donation at the door. Also featuring BMX shorts provided by: Bone Deth, Goods BMX, and Boicott.

Spread the word and join in on the FUN!!! Hope to see you then!

Flyer Art By: Ben Hucke

shralpevent

Police search suspected Springwater chop shop, find stolen frame (video)

stolen-cops-still

PPB officers on the scene.
(Photo: Guthrie Straw)

The Portland Police Bureau swung into action after hearing about a suspected bicycle chop shop on the Springwater earlier this week.

On Tuesday we highlighted an encampment just south of the Ross Island Bridge that was overflowing with bike parts and frames. The person who sent us photos for our story suspected that the parts and frames were stolen. After hearing about the encampment a day later, Portland Police Bureau Officer Dave Sanders and his partner Officer Bryant went to take a closer look.

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Event Guide: Two great rides to ring in the new year

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BTA New Year's Day Ride-11

A scene from the 2010 BTA New Year’s Day ride.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Welcome to your menu of weekend rides and events, lovingly brought to you by our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery.

Riding a bike is one of the best ways to start out a new year. The health, happiness and camaraderie one taps into while pedaling a bicycle is something with positive impacts that are both tangible and symbolic.

I know many of you will grab a bike and head out on a ride of your own in the next few days. But for those of you who prefer — or need the motivation of — an organized group ride, there are two excellent options to choose from.

And one comes with a money-back satisfaction guarantee…

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Hawthorne Bridge bike trips up just 0.4% in 2014

Summer bike traffic-8-8

Over 1.7 million trips in 2014.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

As of yesterday, there were 1,712,172 bicycle trips across Portland’s Hawthorne Bridge in 2014. That’s an impressive number — but it represents just a paltry 0.4 percent increase over last year’s total.

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Job: Sales and Operations Manager – Stites Design – FILLED

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

Job Title
Sales and Operations Manager

Company/Organization
Stites Design

Job Description
This position calls for a highly organized, engaging professional who can build strong relationships with customers and represent core values of Truck Trike. Creating sales is the primary responsibility, though the successful candidate will be expected to wear many hats, work independently, and play a leadership role in the organization’s development.
Truck Trike remains a small company poised for big growth, and we present a rare opportunity for ground floor participation on our team.
An appreciation for high quality and high service levels should be part of your DNA.

• Based at
Stites Design shop at 738 SE Washington Street, Portland, OR. 97214
• Position reports to
CEO [Bill Stites]
• Job Purpose Summary
Coordinate all aspects of company operations, with an emphasis on marketing and sales.

Key Responsibilities:
Work with the CEO to develop Sales Goals for generating revenue flow toward formidable growth.
Develop a Marketing Strategy to meet Sales Goals.
Research transportation and business trends to identify sales opportunities.
Develop protocols for engaging sales contacts, and follow through with sales leads.
Create contacts with potential new customers on a daily basis. Telephone work preferred.
Work with Production Manager to ensure sales are fulfilled in a timely fashion.
Develop metrics for measuring success.
Participate in weekly meetings to review progress toward goals, present new ideas, and ensure thorough communication among employees.
Maintain basic accounting standards using QuickBooks. Bookkeeping and accounting duties may be reduced or transferred, at the CEO’s discretion.
With such a small company, other tasks will be required from time to time.

Compensation
First year salary will average $30,000 to $36,000, commensurate with experience and performance. Benefits currently include 2 weeks of paid vacation.

Person holding this position should have most or all of the following qualifications:
Required:
Educational requirement – Bachelor’s degree or higher
Sales and Marketing ability [min. 3 years experience]
Organizational Skills, with high attention to detail
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strategic thinking and planning skills
Fluency with Social Media
Self-motivated and Innovative
Desire to get in on the ground floor and grow with our business.
Embraces diversity in the work force
Honesty
A passion for Truck Trike’s mission and values
A good sense of humor
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, meeting deadlines while maintaining a healthy work-life balance
Experience working with databases, websites, and other online communications tools

Preferred, but not Required:
Experience in the bike/trike/ebike/eV industry
Experience working in a small business environment and being creative with limited resources
Familiarity with bicycles or cycling world
Commitment to values that include sustainability and resilience

How to Apply
Truck Trike is an equal opportunity employer. Please apply no later than January 15, 2015. Send cover letter and resume via email to info@stitesdesign.com with subject line “Sales and Operations Manager.” We will review applications as they are received and may begin interviews as early as the week of January 19th. All applicants will receive confirmation of receipt, and notification via email when a final decision has been made.
Thank you

Job: Bike Mechanic – Western Bikeworks – 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
Bike Mechanic

Company/Organization
Western Bikeworks

Job Description
Bike Mechanic/Assembler – Full Time

Western Bikeworks is seeking a skilled mechanic/bike assembler to join our team. Certification is preferred, but not required. Preferred applicants should have at least two years of experience working on a variety of different bikes.

This is a full time position with a competitive hourly wage, DOE, with a generous benefits package.

How to Apply
Send your Cover letter telling us a little about you and your resume to Jobs@velotech.com

Bike parts spill out of encampments on Springwater path

chops-lead

Seen on the Springwater.
(Photo: Mike Skeels)

We’ve addressed the issue of suspected stolen bike chop shops several times; but we’ve never seen photos quite like the ones sent in by two readers in the past few weeks.

John Howe was riding along the Springwater Corridor path just south of the Ross Island Bridge yesterday when he saw bike parts literally spilling out of bins and boxes adjacent to a homeless encampment. The parts appear to be organized — one bin contains several wheels, another pile contains forks. Howe even spotted what appears to be a metal box that likely contains a power tool (which would be used for cutting tubes, scraping off serial numbers, and so on.)

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Our ten most popular stories of 2014

biking-right-through

One of our biggest stories was about lessons
from another city.
(Photos: J.Maus and M.Andersen, unless noted)

Some people think that controversy makes people read news. They’re half right.

The world has no shortage of controversy. What’s scarce are controversies that are somehow surprising.

You can see that force behind a few of the stories that got the most clicks this year from BikePortland readers.

And though we don’t put pageviews at the heart of our coverage decisions and never will, it’s fun to imagine the threads of shared surprise that caught readers’ imaginations enough to make them click and share these 10 posts. (Click on each headline or photo below to read the original story.)

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PBOT’s whimsical bike lane characters make a comeback

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symbol

PBOT is back to having fun with bike lane symbols.
(Photo courtesy City of Portland)

15 years after if first started, a fun City of Portland tradition seems to be making a comeback.

In 1999, a city employee named Todd Roberts decided to create a little hat from a piece of thermoplastic left over from installation of a bike lane symbol. After that, dozens of bike lane characters began to appear throughout Portland. In 2009, we shared a slideshow of the characters compiled by one of their biggest fans — northeast Portland resident Jim Waigand.

Unfortunately, for the past several years it’s seemed like PBOT crews had stopped laying down these whimsical symbols. I hadn’t seen or heard about any new ones and assumed it was just another part of Portland’s past cycling swagger that has recently gone missing.

But a few weeks ago I was excited to see the tradition return.

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