🚨 Please note that BikePortland slows down during this time of year as I have family in town and just need a break! Please don't expect typical volume of news stories and content. I'll be back in regular form after the new year. Thanks. - Jonathan 🙏

Weekend Event Guide: Sprockettes, ELFs, and more

Thanks to Hopworks for
making this feature possible.

Welcome back to the Weekend Event Guide!

Thanks to sponsorship from Hopworks Urban Brewery, we are now able to make this a regular feature here on the Front Page every Thursday afternoon. We hope this becomes your go-to destination for the best bike rides and events in the area. And of course, when you look for a ride recovery drink or a great place to hang out after your weekend bike adventures, look no further than Hopworks’ two local pubs (on SE Powell and of course the Bikebar on N Williams) or one of their fine, locally brewed beverages for sale at your favorite outlet.

Now, without further delay, here are the best bike events happening Friday night through this weekend …

Friday, January 24th

Sprockettes Benefit Show – 7:00 pm to 2:00 am

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silver/aluminum KHS Alite 3000 2000

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Year: 2000
Brand: KHS
Model: Alite 3000
Color:silver/aluminum
Size:17″
Serial: u91290277
Stolen in Portland, OR 97206
Stolen:2014-01-17
Stolen From: stolen from bike rack in front of first cup coffee in se portland, corner of SE 41st and Woodstock
Neighborhood: SE, Woodstock
Owner: dave anolik
OwnerEmail: daveanolik(at sign)gmail.com
Reward: $50.00 if intact
Description: no decals, bare aluminum silver, 2008 disc breaks, road slicks, slightly chopped handlebars, front and rear plastic fendors, original deore xt groupo, nylon seat cover over a trashed seat
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 14-150467
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

After a delay, 50s Bikeway will roll out by summer

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A Sunday ride-9

Better rides are ahead for Portland’s low 50s.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

After sitting on ice for a year while the city waited out high construction costs, Portland’s north-south 50s Bikeway is alive and moving forward.

The 4.3-mile, $1.5 million route down Portland’s middle east side, which was delayed last August, is likely to start construction in late March and wrap up by late July, the project manager said Wednesday.

When finished, it’ll stretch from the Alameda Ridge south to Woodstock Street along 53rd and 52nd avenues (PDF), connecting the Rose City Park, North Tabor, Mt. Tabor, South Tabor, Richmond, Creston-Kenilworth and Woodstock neighborhoods, which include 20,000 residents and 12 schools. North of Division, it’ll be a neighborhood greenway marked with sharrows and directional signs; south of Division, a pair of 6-foot painted bike lanes on either side of the street.

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Schwalbe

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Model: Schwalbe
Stolen in Portland, OR 97205
Stolen:2013-01-23
Stolen From: 519 SW Park Ave, corner of Park and Washington
Neighborhood: Downtown
Owner: Chuck Barnes
OwnerEmail: chuck@chuckbarnes.net
Description: Stolen brand new wheel and tire. 700 x 32 rim, Presta valve. Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire with white reflective sidewall.
Police record with: PPB
Police reference#: T14000775

Washington County proposes protected bike lane outside Nike HQ

The new bike lane would be similar to this one in
Toronto, Washington County Bicycle-Pedestrian
Coordinator Shelley Oylear said.
(Image courtesy Washington County)

The main drag outside Nike’s Washington County headquarters could soon be home to one of the region’s first curb-protected bike lanes.

At an open house tomorrow, the county will present plans to widen 1.8 miles of Walker Road north and west of the fast-growing sportswear giant, making it a five-lane thoroughfare throughout the stretch and adding better sidewalks, storm drainage, street lighting and a low, rounded curb separating bike and auto traffic.

Washington County Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Shelley Oylear said the project is part of a growing understanding in county government that it’s impossible to build wider and wider roads forever — as the county gets more dense, there simply won’t be space for almost all trips to involve a car.

“People are going to have to expect that if we build a four or five lane road, that’s it,” Oylear said in an interview last month.

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red/black Redline Asset 2013

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Year: 2013
Brand: Redline
Model: Asset
Color:red/black
Size:20″
Stolen in Oregon City, OR 97045
Stolen:2014-01-18
Stolen From: Classic Cycle
812 Mollala Ave.
Oregon City, OR 97045
Neighborhood: Hilltop.
Owner: Al Snell
OwnerEmail: classiccycleinc(at sign)yahoo.com
Description: 25×9 gearing, red frame, black forks, wheels, seat, and handlebars. U-brake on the seat stay (some are on the chain stay). Was stolen from our shop. Please help!
Police record with: Oregon City Police Department
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

‘Cycle City’ exhibit coming to Portland Children’s Museum

Detail from poster for new exhibit.

The Portland Children’s Museum is prepping for a new exhibit called “Cycle City: A Spin on Bikes“. The museum says the exhibit’s interactive displays will, “inspire the next generation of PDX ‘bicycle buffs'”.

Fresh off the world-renowned Michael Embacher collection making its North American debut at the Portland Art Museum’s “Cyclepedia” exhibition this past summer, bicycling will play another starring role at the Children’s Museum.

According to a museum press release, Cycle City was created with materials donated from local bike shops, designers, mechanics, and riders. Here a partial list of the exhibit components set to open on January 31st:

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Job: Clothing Sales Associate – River City Bicycles

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Job Title
Clothing Sales Associate

Company/Organization
River City Bicycles

Job Description
River City Bicycles is looking for a clothing sales associate.

Must like to work w/ people, has a passion for clothing and technical fabrics…and perhaps rides a bike.:)

Exceptional customer service is a must.

No (bike shop) experience is necessary for the RIGHT person.

How to Apply
Please apply in person w/ a resume’

Ask For Wendy or Jesse.

New riverside project raises questions about linking east-bank paths

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The unlabeled parcel, between SK
Northwest and Ross Island Sand and Gravel,
is the site of a new development proposal.
(Graphic: BikePortland)

A proposed service shop and event space for high-end racecars and motorcycles is the latest puzzle piece in the awkward connection between Southeast Portland’s two riverfront bike paths.

As reported last week by the Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland-based Vollgas Motorwerks is planning to redevelop one of the four parcels that currently sit between the southern end of the Eastbank Esplanade and the northern end of the Springwater Corridor, along the Willamette River near downtown.

City plans require any development of the parcel to include a paved pathway that could one day be part of an off-road link between the two paths. After years of legal battle, the watercraft and RV retailer SK Northwest built a similar orphan path in 2009, immediately north of the Vollgas Motorworks property.

However, the northernmost and southernmost landowners of this quartet, the Portland Spirit cruise company and Ross Island Sand and Gravel respectively, both have thriving operations and no active plans to sell or redevelop.

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Grey Tirreno Razza 2.0

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Brand: Tirreno
Model: Razza 2.0
Color:Grey
Size:Medium
Serial: J31080375
Photo: http://i.imgur.com/uJ2xxNA.jpg?2
Stolen in Portland, OR 97239
Stolen:2014-01-22
Stolen From: OHSU Campus Drive Garage
Neighborhood: OHSU Hospital
Owner: Kyle Gunsul
OwnerEmail: kyle(replace with at sign)themedmon.com
Description: Has(d) a very distinctive SMP Strike Pro saddle (see picture). Fenders, bar tape is black. Recent non-black spoke repair in rear. SPD double sided pedals.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: Tracking # T14000739
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Organic Transit plans Portland test drive event for solar/pedal-powered trike

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Coming to Portland

If our story back in November piqued your curiosity about what some call the “most efficient vehicle on the planet”, you’ll want to mark your calendar for a chance to drive one yourself.

Organic Transit (based in Durham, North Carolina) is bringing their ELF solar and pedal-powered tricycles to Portland for three days of test rides. The company that says its missions is to “get more cars off the road” knows that the Portland region’s biking and transit-centric demographic makes it a great marketing target. In fact, the company is considering opening an assembly plant in Portland.

In a press release about the Portland-area test ride events, company founder Rob Cotter said the ELF gets the equivalent of 1,800 miles per gallon. Far from a recumbent bike, the vehicle itself comes with side and rear mirrors, head and taillights, and a fully protective enclosure while still being legal to operate in bike lanes, paths, and in standard traffic lanes.

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Key supplier to Portland’s bike share vendor files for bankruptcy (updated)

City of Portland bike sharing demonstration-16

Montreal-based Public Bicycle System Company (PBSC), the makers of the Bixi bike share system that has been deployed throughout North America and a key supplier of equipment and technology for Portland bike share, has filed for bankruptcy.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

More big — and bad — news from Montreal’s Public Bicycle System Company (PBSC, a.k.a. Bixi) was announced yesterday. The company that supplies the hardware and software for America’s largest bike share systems has filed for bankruptcy protection to help restructure $38 million in debt.

In other words, in order to continue operating, the company has been granted the right to ignore some of its debts and negotiate with its creditors on any other available ways to compensate them. Though this doesn’t seem likely to directly affect Portland’s coming bicycle share system launch (and may actually improve things, since a bankruptcy-protected Bixi could be more financially stable) it is big news within the fast-growing bike sharing industry.

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