🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏
Good morning! Here are the bike links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:
Self-driving bike: Chinese search giant Baidu says it’s one-upping Google by prototyping an autonomous bicycle by the end of 2014.
Better taxis, fewer DUIs: In Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle, ridesharing and hailing apps (still illegal in Portland) seem to be reducing drunk-driving arrests.
(Tuesday’s comment of the week was a catch-up from last Friday’s holiday, so we’re now back to the regular schedule.)
Talia Jacobson’s guest post about biking while clumsy — in her case, the result of learning to ride in adulthood — drew a heartwarming wave of true confessions and upbeat encouragements from readers to Talia and (mostly) to one another. The one that stuck in my own head was probably this short recollection from Dave, who fearlessly described his emotions as he learned to ride.
People have been sleeping in the woods with their bikes for over a century. It’s nothing new. But in just the past year or so, doing off-road overnighters — a.k.a. “bikepacking” — with a few frame bags attached to a mountain-bike (or a beefy road bike) has skyrocketed in popularity. Especially here in Oregon.
There are a number of things to explain this phenomenon; but one inarguable catalyst has been VeloDirt.com. Now Donnie Kolb, the man behind the site the has done so much to help popularize gravel riding and camping-by-bike, has launched OregonBikepacking.com.
Kolb launched VeloDirt in 2010 with his friends Suzanne Marcoe and Aaron Schmidt. It began humbly as a blog to catalog rides on “those lonely dirt roads you pass on your regular road rides.” That same year, Kolb organized an unsanctioned, 123 mile race on one of his signature backroad routes called the Oregon Stampede. It was a huge success, so Kolb added a few more events the next year and he hasn’t looked back since.
Now, don’t get me wrong: Minneapolis is a great place to ride a bicycle.
It has lots of things that Portland can and should learn from. And yes, those things they do in the November snow and the August sweat are seriously impressive. But is Minneapolis a better biking city than Portland?
Don’t be silly. It is not.
I’m not sure why, but all four of our latest job listings come from outside of Portland. This is great news if you’re looking to get out of the city and explore the bike industry in a different part of our region. Just remember to come back and see us every once in a while.
Check out all the latest jobs via the links below…
When it comes to cars, accessory units in backyards and basements are nearly as low-impact as big apartment buildings next to bus lines.
That’s the conclusion of a new state-funded analysis (PDF) that combines the results of a survey of Portland accessory dwelling owners with other recent studies to start examining one of Portland’s newest real estate trends.
The average rental unit in Portland brings 1.31 cars on site, according to the U.S. Census. For transit-oriented apartment buildings, that falls to 0.83 cars — and for accessory dwelling units, it’s 0.93 cars.
TriMet has doubled its public bike racks at Beaverton Creek MAX Station after the popularity of Nike’s new corporate bike share system swamped the station’s staples.
In May, we shared the news that bike parking at the light rail stop was sometimes being overwhelmed by the red bikes now being used by the sportswear maker’s workers as they headed to and from the company’s nearby headquarters.
Welcome to your menu of weekend rides and events, lovingly brought to you by our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery.
Judging by this weekend’s events it’s clear that it’s time to stretch your legs a bit. If you’ve been putting in some miles, now you get to put your fitness to good use by enjoying the stellar roads and trails around the Portland region. And as luck would have, our warm and dry weather shows no sign of abating.
I’ll be heading far east to Hardman, Oregon this weekend for a stay at the Treo Bike Ranch where I’ll be the embedded journalist on a new type of service they’re rolling out. What are your plans? If you need some ideas. check out our selections below…
I had my maiden voyage on the new se 52nd bike lanes today. Nice. @BikePortland pic.twitter.com/35eHXfePN1
— Shawna Pair (@ShawnaPair) July 10, 2014
Part of our series of guest posts, America’s Next Bicycle Capital, where we share community voices about the future of biking in Portland.
This week’s guest writer is Talia Jacobson, a transportation planner and ten-year Portland resident.
For those who sort the world by the four types of cyclists (the Myers-Briggs of bike advocacy), most indicators would mark me “enthused and confident.” I’ve been a full-time bike commuter for six years. I take lanes, haul groceries, and ride in just about any weather until ice gets involved. Run down the list of traits, and there’s only one place I break type: skill level.
I could legally vote before I learned how to ride. Years later, there are still days when I’m a slapstick routine on two wheels.
Job Title
Full time bicycle mechanic
Company/Organization
Allegro Cyclery in Walla Walla, WA
Job Description
Allegro has an opening for an experienced bike mechanic. Additional duties are maintaining the repair calendar, helping on the sales floor, operating the point of sale system, serving customers with bike rentals, helping with general cleaning, and performing other tasks as assigned.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have several years experience as a bicycle mechanic and in sales. He or she will have a thorough knowledge of MTBs and their components, strong customer service skills, and experience using computers. They will be an active bike rider willing to participate and lead shop rides.
Our shop and our community
Allegro serves all riders- road, MTB, commuters, hybrids and cruisers. We are active in our community- we lead weekly shop rides year round and organize the biggest stage race in the northwest, the Tour of Walla Walla, with enthusiastic support and cooperation from the community. We are known for the very best service a bike shop can offer.
Walla Walla is a small community of 30,000 residents on the dry side of the Cascades. Our road riding is phenomenal, with quiet country roads five to 10 minutes in any direction from downtown. MTB riding is a little further away, and hence been neglected by the locals. We have begun a campaign to grow the MTB and cyclocross markets.
How to Apply
Send a resume and cover letter to Steve Rapp at steve@allegrocyclery.com or 200 E. Main St, Walla Walla, WA 99362. We will contact the best candidates to set up interviews.
Two people, one on a bicycle and one in a car, collided while traveling on SE Ankeny this morning.
According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), the incident occurred just before 7:46 am at the intersection of Ankeny and 7th. The collision involved someone driving a car and someone pedaling a bicycle. Here’s more from the PPB statement:
Officers determined that the driver of the car had turned left while traveling eastbound on S.E. Ankeny, onto northbound S.E. 7th. The driver turned into the path of the bicyclist causing the accident.
The driver of the vehicle had stopped prior to turning and did not show any signs of impairment. It appears that the driver did not see the bicyclist.