Five surprises in a comparison of Portland and Dutch travel choices

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Portlanders and Rotterdammers have more in common than you might think.
(Photos: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Most city-to-city transportation comparisons are very simple: 64 percent of trips by car, 11 percent by bike, and so on.

But those broad numbers are really just blankets that have been thrown over the intricate topography of transportation choices that’s actually at work in our daily lives. To really understand how cities work, you also have to look at a second factor: How far are people going?

A motherlode of newly released data has revealed those patterns for Portlanders for the first time.

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Manicures? Gourmet cooking? It’s all possible at Cross Crusade ‘Tailgator’ competition

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Cross Crusade #7 at PIR-48

Which Cross Crusade team has the
best tailgate party?
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

When you mix one of the largest cyclocross scenes in the world with promoters who focus on the fun as much as the competition, you end up with events where there’s almost as much action in the team pit area as on the race course. This Sunday, the Cross Crusade pits will be even livelier as series organizers host the first-ever Tailgator Competition.

As we shared last year, the rows of team tents that line Cross Crusade courses become a small cyclocross city on race day. People bring in full-size BBQs, fire pits, pop-up changing rooms, tables, chairs, custom-made bike racks, deep-fryers, and more. Each year it seems the set-ups get more involved and elaborate.

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Job: Warehouse Worker/Customer Service Representative – Portland Design Works – FILLED

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

Job Title
Warehouse Worker/Customer Service Representative

Company/Organization
Portland Design Works

Job Description
Portland Design Works (PDW) designs and develops simple, beautiful gear for everyday cycling. Located in Portland, Oregon, we are a fast-growing passion-driven company looking for the newest member of our close-knit team.

We are on the lookout for our new Warehouse Worker/Customer Service Representative to perform a wide variety of tasks in our NE Portland warehouse. This person will be detail oriented, positive, and possess the personality to complement our current team.

Responsibilities:

Warehouse
• Picking orders correctly and efficiently
• Packing and shipping orders using UPS, FedEx, USPS, and LTL
• Putting away incoming product shipments
• Keeping warehouse clean and orderly
• Use forklift to move pallets on/off pallet racking and load/unload trucks
• Monitor warehouse supplies to make sure they do not run out

Customer Service
• Respond to customer service emails and phone calls
• Work with the Office Manager to document and resolve warranty claims

Skills and Experience:
• Very detail oriented and organized
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing
• Basic math skills
• Knowledge of bicycle components and accessories
• Able to lift up to 45 pounds and perform physical tasks including pushing, pulling, and grasping
• Able to be on feet for up to 5 hours
• Forklift certification a plus
• Basic computer skills (Windows, Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader)

Hours
• Monday – Friday, 9am-4pm

Compensation
• $13.00 per hour

How to Apply
Email resume and cover letter to Erik Olson, General Manager at erik@ridepdw.com

BikeLoudPDX postcard campaign amplifies the grassroots

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Bike Loud volunteers Zed Bailey, Ted Buehler and Marsha Hanchrow show off signed and stamped postcards in favor of permanent traffic diverters gathered from people using Clinton Street.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

Portland’s newest bike advocacy organization is bringing back the postcard.

In the last few weeks, three Portland city officials have received an estimated “three or four hundred” individually stamped postcards from Portlanders sharing their opinions about local transportation projects on Southeast Clinton Street, Southwest Third Avenue and Northeast Rodney Avenue.

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Smith Optics to move 35 employees to new Portland office

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smithlead

A significant chunk of global eyewear brand Smith Optics will move to Portland early next year.

The news was confirmed today via a story posted this afternoon in the Idaho Mountain Express newspaper.

Here’s more from the IME:

Safilo [Smith’s parent company] CEO Luisa Delgado came to Ketchum from Italy this week to discuss the results of the location study with Smith employees, local government officials and media, among others. Delgado announced the relocation plans today, Oct. 20.

As part of Smith’s integration within its parent company, it will be controlled out of the global Safilo Group headquarters in Italy.

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Bike Theft Chronicles: Shop reports thieves are cutting cables to steal parts

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This installment comes from our friends at Metropolis Cycle Repair on N. Williams and Page.

The shop owner Nathan Roll emailed us to share an alarming trend they’ve noticed at the store lately. Here’s what he posted to Facebook (emphases mine):

A heads up to all of our friends in the neighborhood. We have had 2 bikes come in during the last week that had significant parts stolen off of them. In both cases, the thief cut the control cables (brake and shift) to facilitate the theft. One had an expensive front rack taken while parked outside a workplace, the second had the handlebars and stem taken while locked outside the owners house. The first was at Thompson and Vancouver, and the second was at Williams and Morris. Unfortunately, a good lock is no defense in these situations. Stay watchful, and don’t leave your bike locked in public longer than necessary.

This really sucks. And I can relate. A few months ago while parked on the side of the EcoTrust Building in the Pearl District, someone cut the wire to my dynamo light and stole it.

Bomb squad disarms tripwire device found on trail near Forest Park – UDPATED

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Newton Rd in Forest Park

(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Police called in the bomb squad Saturday night to disarm an explosive device connected to a tripwire strung across a trail that leads into Forest Park.

According to a statement released this morning by the PPB, the tripwire was strung across Firelane 3, a wooded and overgrown old fire access road located east of NW Thompson Rd and accessible via Skyline Road from Thunder Crest Drive. Firelane 3 is open to bicycling and walking.

Here’s more from the PPB:

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The Monday Roundup: Bingo, a cargo bike park, sex with cars, and more

walk-crop

Shared space in downtown Minneapolis, 1920.
(Photo via Peter Norton)

Here are the great bike links that caught our eyes this week:

“A hundred years ago it was called Safety First”: Streetsblog’s two–part interview about Vision Zero with traffic historian Peter Norton is a must-read. The campaign for safe streets can learn a lot from the century-old campaign to make them unsafe.

“Customer code of conduct”: A bike shop in southern California is making all customers who wear their team uniform commit to obeying traffic laws.

Onshoring bikes: The Wall Street Journal takes a close look at the new factory in South Carolina that, with wages of $12 an hour, expects to produce $120 Walmart bikes more cheaply than China can by 2017. (Click the first link on the search page.)

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Latest Headlines

Video: Joe Cortright says massive new cost estimate means I-5 Bridge project is “dead”

Kotek calls for repeal of transportation bill

Pothole suspected as primary cause of cyclist’s death

Protected bike lanes coming to SE Stark/Washington couplet over I-205

From the Archives

With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike