Watch for this bike made by Portland-based Circa Cycles on this Friday’s episode of Grimm on NBC.
Sources say this Friday’s episode of the hit NBC TV show Grimm, which is filmed here in Portland, will be very bike-centric.
The Ride: Scappoose to the Banks-Vernonia Trail via logging roads
Pisgah Road near Gunners Lakes Mainline was a wrong turn that turned out right.
(Photos J. Maus/BikePortland)
(Photos J. Maus/BikePortland)
Note: Welcome to the first in a series of posts sponsored by 21st Avenue Bicycles. They’ve stepped up to bring you more coverage of bikepacking and adventure rides. Stay tuned all year as we explore the best backroads and bike-camping spots in Portland and beyond.
There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with finally doing a route that has been in the back of your mind for a few years.
That’s what I did on Sunday by finally connecting dirt roads from Scappoose to the Banks-Vernonia Trail (at Buxton trailhead). In all it was just under 80 miles, with 21 of them on beautiful, often rugged, and remote backroads that I’m still day-dreaming about. Here’s how it went down…
Milwaukie and Tigard call for regional Safe Routes to School funding
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s campaign to get walking and biking education and infrastructure to public schools across the Portland metro area got two strong boosts this month.
In successive unanimous council resolutions, the suburban cities of Milwaukie and Tigard voted on March 17 and 24 to ask the Metro regional government to dedicate funding to programs like the ones currently enjoyed by many Portland elementary and middle schools.
“Our goal is for Tigard to be the most walkable community in the Pacific Northwest where people of all ages and abilities live healthy, interconnected lives,” Tigard Mayor John Cook said in a BTA news release. “Providing a safe route to school for every kid is essential to the health and safety of our community.”
Various Milwaukie and Tigard residents had more to say in the BTA’s release:
The Monday Roundup: Distracted driving in action, reflective spraypaint & more
A still from a video of a teen driver just before a crash.
(Image: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety)
(Image: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety)
This week’s Monday Roundup is sponsored by Laughing Planet, where you can now get food delivered by bike in downtown Portland.
Here are the bike-related links that caught our eyes this week:
Distracted driving: A AAA study put video cameras into teen drivers’ cars to study the moments just before 1,700 collisions. More than half of drivers were distracted just before moderate and severe crashes, but only 12 percent by telephones.
Reflective spraypaint: With bike safety in mind, Volvo has created a spray-on substance that is “completely invisible until it’s hit by the glare of a car’s headlights.”
Comments of the Week: Two readers’ concepts for fixing SE Ankeny at 11th
Full size below the jump.
(Image by reader Paikiala)
(Image by reader Paikiala)
One of the great joys of BikePortland comments is that they make very clear how rich and deep our city’s transportation expertise has become over the last decade.
After we wrote on Thursday about a small tweak the city made recently to the strange six-way intersection of SE Ankeny, 11th and Sandy, not one but two readers created full-color overhead mockups of alternative ways to design this awkward interchange.
The first, by reader sean, is a sort of linear park that would remove auto access for one block (immediately south of what is today a billboard) in order to reimagine “Ankeny as a destination”:
Q&A: NYC’s top biking advocate wants you to talk more about death
Paul Steely White at the 2010
National Bike Summit.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)
National Bike Summit.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)
Talking about “livable streets” is out; talking about “safe streets” is in.
That’s the advice from Paul Steely White, executive director of the country’s largest local transportation advocacy group. The executive director of New York City-based Transportation Alternatives since 2004, White was a major force behind the city’s emergence as a national leader in reimagining streets as pleasant public spaces.
But as he heads to Portland for a keynote address Monday to the Oregon Active Transportation Summit, White is urging his fellow believers in livable streets to readjust their message when talking to politicians and the public. We spoke by phone on Thursday about why and how his organization has put Vision Zero, the campaign to completely eliminate road deaths, at the middle of their message.
Are you on a national Vision Zero tour, or is this a one-off thing?
Get ready to climb: Portland’s De Ronde/La Doyenne weekend is coming
In Portland we call this fun.
(Photos J. Maus/BikePortland)
(Photos J. Maus/BikePortland)
Rumor has it that Portland’s toughest weekend of cycling is coming up. “De Ronde” and its sister event “La Doyenne” are two unsanctioned road rides that have captured the imagination of thousands of riders (and the media) over the years because of the sheer difficulty of even finishing.
Our secret sources say the Big Weekend for both rides is April 18-19th.
Q&A: Melissa Wells on everyone’s stake in transportation equity
Melissa Wells, program associate
for the equity think tank PolicyLink.
(Photo via Bicycle Transportation Alliance)
for the equity think tank PolicyLink.
(Photo via Bicycle Transportation Alliance)
In 25 years, half the U.S. workforce will be of Latino, black or Asian descent — so if you ever plan on having a nurse, you’d better start caring about social equity.
That’s the way Melissa Wells, a program associate at D.C.-based equity nonprofit PolicyLink and co-leader of the national Transportation Equity Caucus, explains every American’s stake in racial justice.
Wells, who’s headed to Portland for a keynote address Monday to the Oregon Active Transportation Summit, spoke with me by phone on Thursday about the dilemma of improving neighborhoods without raising rents and whether a new president is likely to roll back federal transportation policy changes.
Jobs of the Week: Bike Works Seattle, NoPo Bike Works, CCC, eBike Store, Velotech, SoupCycle
We’ve had six great job opportunities listed this week. Learn more about them via the links below…
- E-Bike Mechanic – The eBike Store
- Bike Shop Mechanic & Customer Service Rep – Bike Works Seattle
- Bike Shop Mechanic/Customer Service – North Portland Bike Works
- Bicycle Mechanic – Community Cycling Center
- Lead SoupCycler – SoupCycle
- Customer Experience Specialist – Velotech, Inc.
Weekend Event Guide: Gorge gravel, tandems, photo show, and more
The Dalles hosts three events this weekend.
(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)
(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)
Welcome to your menu of weekend rides and events, lovingly brought to you by our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery.
The weather looks to be great this and we just so happen to have a stellar line-up to choose from this weekend. Whether you want to roll en masse through the city or dust off your racing legs on some sweet Gorge gravel, there’s an event for you.
Check out the full listing below and have a good weekend!
Friday, March 27th
Western Bikeworks Tigard Grand Opening – 5:00 to 9:00 pm at 7295 SW Dartmouth Ave in Tigard
Velo Cult’s new displays bring U.S.-made products to the table
(Photos courtesy Velo Cult Bike Shop and Tavern)
Rodney Avenue neighborhood greenway gets open house next week
NE Rodney at Ivy.
(Photos: J.Maus/BikePortland)
(Photos: J.Maus/BikePortland)
Rodney Avenue, already a decent low-stress alternative to the Vancouver-Williams couplet, is lined up for an upgrade to full neighborhood greenway status.
At an open house next Wednesday evening, the Portland Bureau of Transportation will be asking people for their thoughts on the plans.
To make the route comfortable for all riders, the city will need to find good ways to help people navigate two jogs in the street grid, at NE Alberta and NE Fremont (pictured below).