BikePortland

Women’s Bicycling Forum kicks off with inspiring speakers

450 people have signed up for this year’s Women’s Forum,
twice as many the first year in 2012.
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

BikePortland coverage from Washington D.C. is made possible by Planet Bike.

The Opening Plenary of the third annual National Women’s Bicycling Forum opened today with a series of TED-style presentations from an impressive line-up of female leaders.

About 450 people have signed up for the Women’s Forum this year, that’s over twice as many that attended the first edition in 2012. They’re hear to learn and be inspired by a full day of speakers, networking, and break-out sessions.

Before the opening plenary got started this morning, League of American Bicyclists President Andy Clarke said that their Women Bike program is “transforming the League and transforming our movement.” For the League, Women Bike has become a key pillar of their larger equity initiative which includes efforts to broaden the bicycling and advocacy tent to welcome women, communities of color, and kids.

BikePortland will be reporting this week on news from both coasts — Jonathan from the National Bike Summit in D.C. and Michael on the news in Portland — but our post schedule may not keep to the normal business hours as usual. This week’s collection of the bike links from around the world that caught our eyes is a good one:

“The Copenhagenize Bar” in demo.
(Photo: Copenhagenize Design Co.)

Cargo bike parking: “Our idea was to design an elegant, functional parking solution for cargo bikes.”

King James rides with the people: If you’re an NBA fan, you probably wish you were at Miami Critical Mass on Friday.

Vision -1: News item: “Pregnant Lady Gives Birth on 68th Street Crosswalk.” “Jesus,” a local parody account tweeted. “This Vision Zero thing is getting out of control.”

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2010
Brand: Marin
Model: Larkspur
Color:silver
Stolen in Portland, OR 97211
Stolen:2014-03-01
Stolen From: garage behind house
Neighborhood: Concordia
Owner: Teresa Kozic
OwnerEmail: shocksofsheba(replace with at sign)gmail.com
Reward: 100
Description: silver fenders, black rear rack, yellow and red star sticks on body, pedals were clip type on one side, flat on other side, custom flat hand grips, light on seat post.
Police record with: Portland PD
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Cream white Giant 2008

Year: 2008
Brand: Giant
Color:Cream white
Size:Medium
Stolen in Portland, OR 97203
Stolen:2014-02-28
Stolen From: St. John’s in my gated apartment complex, off Ivanhoe and St. Louis. Louis York apartments.
Neighborhood: St. John’s, North Portland
Owner: Andrea Westfall
OwnerEmail: fluffydaisie(replace with at sign)gmail.com
Description: Seat is leather brown with small grey flowers on back of seat.
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Black Marin Lombard 2013

Year: 2013
Brand: Marin
Model: Lombard
Color:Black
Size:56cm
Serial: CA11629FS4061
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2014-03-2
Stolen From: Inside our bike room in the Buckman neighborhood
Neighborhood: Buckman
Owner: Jon Anderson
OwnerEmail: t.wittlesticks(AT)gmail.com
Description: Black Cyclocross with disc brakes and a crossbones sticker on the frame
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 14-16824
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Black Kestrel 500 series 2000

Year: 2000
Brand: Kestrel
Model: 500 series
Color:Black
Photo: [URL=http://imgur.com/m9W1GBa][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/m9W1GBa.jpg?1[/IMG][/URL]
Stolen in Portland, OR 97209
Stolen:2012-02-28
Stolen From: Bike was stolen on NW 14th between Glisan & Hoyt Streets in Portland, OR. I had been at Verde Cocina restaurant from 5-8:40 p.m. There were no bike racks on this stretch of 14th so I locked my bike to the No Parking signpost adjacent to a warehouse driveway at 500 NW 14th. Le Bouchon Restaurant, 517 NW 14th, is directly across the street and in plain view of where my bike was locked. Verde Cocina’s server said she had seen my bike still locked up around 9:30 p.m. and a male wearing a black hoodie was seen hanging around for quite some time. There was a small pizza type box, and beverage can sitting on the sidewalk where my bike was locked.
Neighborhood: Pearl Diustrict, NW Portland
Owner: Teri Briggs
OwnerEmail: teribriggs3@gmail.com
Reward: willing to discuss
Description: Black Kestrel 500. I don’t know the exact series number or serial number. I don’t know the size but it is small since I am only 5’2". Attached to the underside of the right handlebar is a yellow Cycle Oregon sign with ‘Team Ninja’ written in pen. There is a bike light loosely attached to the underside of the Terry brand bike seat, above the faded black underseat bag.There is the rubber strap for the bike light on the upper left side of the handlebar, and the mounting bracket for an odometer on the upper right side of the handlebar. The handlebar tape is well worn and is a black/white zebra type design. There are many chips on the upper part of the frame from my u-lock. The u-lock may still be attached as it was stolen with the bike.There is a fair amount of road dirt from winter riding conditions. The tire rims are a bit worn, but the tires themselves are relatively new, purchased summer 2013.
Police record with: Filed Portland PD at midnight
Police reference#: # is pending
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Blue Trek 400 1980

Year: 1980
Brand: Trek
Model: 400
Color:Blue
Size:large
Stolen in Beaverton, OR 97006
Stolen:2014-03-01
Stolen From: NW Park Ave, between Glisan and Hoyt
Neighborhood: Pearl District
Owner: Ben Porter
OwnerEmail: xenovacivus(replace with at sign)gmail.com
Description: Blue 1980’s Trek 400, Yellow handle bar tape, Gatorskin tires, back fender, drop bars, downtube shifters, blue anodized front rim
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Women’s Marin 2011

Year: 2011
Brand: Marin
Color:Women’s
Stolen in Portland, OR
Stolen:2014-02-28
Stolen From: Outside killer burger
Owner: Mary Arndt
OwnerEmail: Mchrystalene07(A T)gmail.com
Reward: 100
Description: White bike with blue detailing and light fixture but no light
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

green Salsa Spearfish 2011

Year: 2011
Brand: Salsa
Model: Spearfish
Color:green
Serial:EN 14766
Stolen in Portland, OR 97212
Stolen:2012-02-28
Stolen From: 2311 NE Regetns Dr (One block North of Freemont between 23rd and 24th)
Neighborhood: Alameda
Owner: brad peterson
OwnerEmail: brad@superiorglassworks.com
Reward: $200
Description: – Custom ‘one of a kind’ bright green pinstriped flames
– SRAM X7/X9 group
– Stubby cut down bar ends with red athletic tape
– Kenda Karma tires
– Rock Shock Reba front/Monarch rear
– Stan’s ARCH wheels
Police record with: portland police
Police reference#: 1416613
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

The Friday Profile: Jeffrey Cramer, Portland’s stolen-bike good Samaritan

Jeffrey Cramer, who says he can support himself indefinitely as long as he spends just $500 a month, talked to us about bikes, bike theft and living outdoors in Portland.
(Photos by M.Andersen/BikePortland)

When Jeffrey Cramer bought what he now calls “Sarah’s bike” for $10 last Friday night, he wasn’t planning to track down its owner, he said. He just needed a way to get home, because someone had stolen his own bike a week before.

“At that time of night, $10 for a bike ride home was a good deal — you can’t get a cab back to where I live for $10,” he said. “It wasn’t ’til I got home that I realized I was riding a gem.”

Cramer, 48, doesn’t want to say exactly where he lives, except that it’s “way the fucking hell out there.” But five days after he turned down most of a $100 reward for tracking down the owner of the bike he’d bought from the man who stole it, this self-described “vagabond” was willing to have a candid conversation about his decision to live outdoors, the importance of bikes in his life and his own thoughts about Portland’s underground economy of stolen bicycles.

Bikepacking 101 event at Chris King HQ-3

A big crowd absorbed knowledge from
a trio of experienced bike adventurers.
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

A much larger than expected turnout at last night’s Bikepacking 101 Seminar confirmed that interest in backroads and adventure bicycling is at an all-time high. Either that, or people just jumped at the chance for some great free beer, catch up with friends (and make new ones) and a peek inside the headquarters of Chris King Precision Components.

In all seriousness, the 200+ people that packed the King Cafe was yet another reminder that we’ve hit a tipping point in this type of riding. From “gravel grinding” on beefed up road bikes to multi-day trips on fully decked-out fat-bikes, it seems like everyone is getting excited for two-wheeled adventures these days.

How big was the crowd? It took me a few shots with a wide angle to get it all…

Portland’s construction of low-traffic, low-stress neighborhood streets for biking, walking and recreation has slowed to a crawl. What happened?
(Photos by J.Maus and M.Andersen/BikePortland)

If Portland has contributed any innovations of its own to the craft of designing great streets, it’s this two-word idea: neighborhood greenways.

A remix of ideas from Utrecht and Vancouver BC, these low-cost retrofits of low-traffic side streets — adding speed humps, sharrow markings, traffic diverters and signalized crossings of big arterials — have taken the national bike world by storm since Portland’s Greg Raisman and Mark Lear developed the concept in 2008 or so. In 2010, a citywide network of greenways became the first priority to emerge from Portland’s landmark 25-year bike plan.

The concept went viral.

Women’s Bicycling Forum kicks off with inspiring speakers

The Monday Roundup: Cargo bike parking concept, LeBron at Critical Mass & more

silver Marin Larkspur 2010

Cream white Giant 2008

Black Marin Lombard 2013

Black Kestrel 500 series 2000

Blue Trek 400 1980

Women’s Marin 2011

green Salsa Spearfish 2011

The Friday Profile: Jeffrey Cramer, Portland’s stolen-bike good Samaritan

What I learned at the Bikepacking 101 seminar

Special report: How Portland stopped building neighborhood greenways

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From the Archives

Protestor blocks bus and bike lanes on Division with his car