BikePortland

The Monday Roundup: Broke mechanics, ridiculous legislator & more

Too many volunteer mechanics:
maybe that’s the problem.
(Photo by J.Maus/BikePortland)

Here’s the bike news from around the world that caught our eyes this week:

Broke mechanics: Why do bike mechanics make so little money? Here’s a pretty depressing slideshow that details the situation state by state.

Bad politician: After a Long Island teen had two classmates killed by cars while walking and then his mother was hit by a car while biking, he wrote his state legislator asking for more bike lanes. The legislator responded in a letter saying that “no one” in Suffolk County “should ever ride a bicycle” and that of those who do, “90 percent” get hit by cars. (If you’re not on Facebook you can read the news coverage.)

Just a reminder: As we shared last week, the Steel Bridge is likely to be closed for maintenance through some or all of the morning commute on Monday, Feb. 17, no matter what your vehicle is. It should be open by 8:30 a.m.

black SE Workhorse 2010

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2010
Brand: SE
Model: Workhorse
Color:black
Size:52
Serial: ICSE09D0134
Stolen in PORTLAND, OR 97206
Stolen:2014-02-14
Stolen From: 7000 block of SE Woodstock
Neighborhood: Mt Scott-Arleta
Owner: Don Belca
OwnerEmail: TheSunCameUp( atsign )gmail.com
Description: Black fixed gear/single speed. Seat is black with yellow, wasn’t originally from the bike.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 14-12646
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

charcoal grey Bridgestone 400 1986

Year: 1986
Brand: Bridgestone
Model: 400
Color:charcoal grey
Size:23 inch
Stolen in Portland, OR 97239
Stolen:2014-02-9
Stolen From: Portland VA Medical Center. 3710 SW US Veteran Hospital Road. (Terwilliger BLVD and US Veteran Hospital Road)
Neighborhood: Homestead
Owner: Bernie Deazley
OwnerEmail: bernie.deazley(A T)va.gov
Reward: yes
Description: fenders front/back. rear fender held on with black zip tie. split orthopedic seat. Trail-a-bike hitch on seat post. 1 front light and 2 rear lights. Bike Gallery sticker. New cabling and chain. paint scratched/rust just below seat post. Paint rubbed off to primer on one side of rear fork. Bontrager puncture proof tires. Small rip in handle bar wrap. Stolen between Feb 4 and Feb 12.
Police record with: VA Police
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Red, white and blue Trek Alpha 1000 2002

Year: 2002
Brand: Trek
Model: Alpha 1000
Color:Red, white and blue
Stolen in Portland, OR 97217
Stolen:2014-02-15
Stolen From: My home in NE.
Neighborhood: Overlook Park
Owner: Chris Mullins
OwnerEmail: notmullins( atsign )gmail.com
Description: Red front wheel, black back wheel when stolen. Bicycle Gallery sticker on pipe.
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

BLUE RALEIGH TALUS 3.0 2013

Year: 2013
Brand: RALEIGH
Model: TALUS 3.0
Color:BLUE
Size:16
Serial:U129K07173
Stolen in PORTLAND, OR 97206
Stolen:2012-02-15
Stolen From: WOODSTOCK SAFEWAY4515 SE WOODSTOCK BLVD
Neighborhood: WOODSTOCK
Owner: CHRISTOPHER REED
OwnerEmail: JRDBIKE@YAHOO.COM
Reward: GRATITUDE OF SON
Description: BOYS RALEIGH MTN BIKE WITH BURLEY TRAILER ATTACHED
Police record with: PDX PD
Police reference#: 14-151140
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

red Specialized Hotrock

Brand: Specialized
Model: Hotrock
Color:red
Size:24
Serial:WSBC711019191G
Photo: http://imgur.com/FWxxStj
Stolen in Portland, OR 97232
Stolen:2013-01-15
Stolen From: Shed behind house.
Neighborhood: Laurelhurst
Owner: Sean Scott
OwnerEmail: seans@amaa.com
Reward: $50
Description: There was a kids bell on the handle, picture shows all, mostly red, white and black accents, black wheel rims. Belonged to a sweet little innocent boy who loved it.
Police record with: Portland police
Police reference#: T14001468
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Black Jamis Coda 2013

Year: 2013
Brand: Jamis
Model: Coda
Color:Black
Size:19
Serial:14-151058
Photo: http://www.myjamis.com/SSP%20Applications/JamisBikes/MyJamis/consumer/bike.html?year=2014&model=Coda%20Sport&cat_grp=strt_2
Stolen in Portland, OR 97205
Stolen:2012-02-15
Stolen From: Buffalo Exchange on SE 37th and Hawthorne. Was locked to bike rack on sidewalk with cable lock.
Neighborhood: Hawthorne
Owner: Gwynne Berkeley
OwnerEmail: Gwynneberk@gmail.com
Reward: $50
Description: Blackburn click headlight. Rack, Pdw tail light, Spoke light on rear wheel, spd peddles. Bike only a few months old.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 14151058
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

I love my bikes. There. I said it.

Sometimes I just have to pull over
and take a photo. I think that’s love.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

I do not like to get sentimental or overly emotional here on the Front Page. Over the past 8 years, I’ve learned that doing so — especially as our audience has changed and grown in recent years — is fraught with all sorts of pitfalls and risks. But today, because it’s Valentine’s Day and all my social media timelines are full of odes to love and bikes, I couldn’t resist.

So, I just want to say that I love my bikes.

Even after decades of riding them, writing about them, working in the bike industry, and so on, I still love them just as much as ever. Whether it’s a quick trip around town, a work-day escape up into the hills, or an all-day weekend adventure. There are so many reasons to love them I could go on and on. I won’t bore you with all that. I’m liable to get into Too Much Information mode pretty quick.

It has finally happened. For years now we’ve wondered why the largest beer maker in Portland — Widmer Brothers Brewing — didn’t have a bike-themed beer. After all, not only are we the best biking town in America, but Widmer is a very bike-friendly company. Co-founder Rob Widmer even rode his bike in a commute challenge during National Bike Month in 2008.

Now comes word that Widmer has collaborated with another Portland-based company, Keen Footwear, to make a new beer that will be called Full Fender Brown Ale.

We don’t know all the details yet, but the official announcement and label art are expected to be unveiled next week.

One shared lane and one buffered bike lane is probably the most bike-friendly option the city will accept between I-84 and Stark, Project Manager Rich Newlands said Tuesday.

An “optimal” facility with buffered bike lanes in both directions, but no auto parking on 28th Avenue through its busiest commercial district, probably isn’t in the cards for the 20s Bikeway, a city project manager said this week.

The most comfortable biking plan “achievable,” city project manager Rich Newlands said in a presentation Tuesday to Portland’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, is a design that hasn’t been seen before in Portland or almost anywhere else: a shared lane in one direction, marked by green-backed sharrow stencils, with a buffered bike lane in the other direction.

Portland will follow in the steps of Chicago and New York City by setting a schedule to completely eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries no matter the cost, the city’s transportation director said in a new interview.

In a two-year action plan a city contractor is about to begin preparing, “Vision Zero will be incorporated for certain,” Portland Bureau of Transportation director Leah Treat said in an interview with the KBOO Bike Show broadcast Feb. 5.

“Vision Zero,” as the philosophy is known, was first introduced in Sweden in 1997 and has spread to several U.S. cities in recent years. In 2012 it was embraced by the man Treat describes as her mentor, former Chicago Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein, and it’s the centerpiece of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s transportation policy.

The Monday Roundup: Broke mechanics, ridiculous legislator & more

Steel Bridge users: take another route Monday morning

black SE Workhorse 2010

charcoal grey Bridgestone 400 1986

Red, white and blue Trek Alpha 1000 2002

BLUE RALEIGH TALUS 3.0 2013

red Specialized Hotrock

Black Jamis Coda 2013

I love my bikes. There. I said it.

Widmer teams with Keen Footwear for new ‘Full Fender Brown Ale’

City’s top idea for 28th Ave: Shared lane in one direction, buffer in the other

PBOT director says new action plan will include ‘Vision Zero’ commitment

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