🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏

As cargo bike business booms, Splendid Cycles will move to larger space

Splendid Cycles opening party-13

Splendid Cycles needs more room.
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Cargo bike-focused shop Splendid Cycles has just announced they will move locations later this month in order to double in size and keep up with growing demand.

Splendid opened in May 2010 after co-owners Joel and Barb Grover (both former employees of Bike Gallery) were bitten by the cargo bike bug. The small (1,100 square foot) shop at SE 14th and Belmont differentiated itself by focusing solely on the bikes that can carry stuff. Since then, Splendid has become the destination for the popular “Bullitt” cargo bike (imported from Danish company Larry vs Harry). Much of their business comes from assembling and shipping complete bikes throughout the country.

Barb tells us they are now the largest Bullitt dealer in the United States (they handle both wholesale and retail sales of the brand) and one of the largest Xtracycle dealers as well. “California, Florida, Connecticut, and even Alaska are a few of the cities where we have customers,“ says Barb.

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ODOT plan will bring better bike access to Mt. Hood area

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Highway 26 through Rhododendron.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Reacting (in part) to the desires of more than 2,200 survey respondents, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is poised to implement several projects in the Mt. Hood area that will improve bicycling access.

As we reported back in August, wider shoulders on Highway 26 and Highway 35 were among a list of projects being considered as part of ODOT’s Mt. Hood Multimodal Transportation Plan. Last month, that plan’s Project Leadership Group (made up of ODOT, County, and federal “decision makers”) released their project recommendations (PDF). On that list are several projects in “Group A” that will impact bicycle access.

Here they are:

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Lime/Teal/Silver Univega Road Bike 1960s

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Year: 1960s
Brand: Univega
Model: Road Bike
Color:Lime/Teal/Silver
Photo: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kpcmyS_ixpE/UqY8OGt0-hI/AAAAAAAACDk/VtMjCUO7AkU/w638-h479-no/Nov3+007.jpg
Stolen in Hillsboro, OR 97123
Stolen:2013-12-9
Stolen From: SE 4th & Washington Streets, Hillsboro
Neighborhood: Downtown Hillsboro
Owner: Cassie Maringer
OwnerEmail: scooterista(AT)gmail.com
Reward: $200
Description: Aluminum frame with yellow-green paint on the back, bare aluminum in the middle, teal on front forks and handlebar grips. Aluminum bottle holder, black zippered pouch under seat, black plastic toe cages, Yellow MAVIC sticker on front forks, green plastic bell on handlebar. TiGr lock attached to main tube with velcro.
Police record with: Hillsboro PD
Police reference#: 13-811772
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

First-ever ‘Trans Am Bike Race’ will shove off from Oregon

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Six months from now a bicycle race of truly epic proportions will begin on the Oregon Coast. On June 7th riders will begin the inaugural Trans Am Bike Race from Astoria to Yorktown, Virginia. That’s a whopping 4,233 miles of racing that will be missing one important thing: support. That’s right, competitors in the Trans Am Bike Race will not be allowed any outside assistance.

Each racer (80 people have signed up so far) will be tracked via satellite and their progress can be followed online by “virtual spectators.”

Nathan Jones, a Portland-based volunteer organizing the Oregon portion of the event, said the Trans Am is part of a larger trend in self-supported “bikepacking” — a lighter (and often faster) version of traditional touring where you carry all the gear you need. “It seems 2014 is going to be a pretty big year for self supported bikepacking in Oregon. The Trans Am along with the Oregon Outback are going to bring a lot of exposure to the previously smaller world of bikepacking.”

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Job: Badass Bicycle Mechanic(s) – Guerrilla Development

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Job Title
Badass Bicycle Mechanic(s)

Company/Organization
Guerrilla Development

Job Description
Are you a renegade bicycle mechanic looking to establish your own private Idaho? Perhaps your bike shop needs an East Side outpost? We’d like to hear from you!

We have a retail space available in a soon-to-be-built development on the previous Vic Alfonso lot at NE 28th and Sandy. We’re calling it the Zipper. The project is architecturally inventive and at the hub of multiple travel corridors on the East side. Our future tenant has the unique opportunity to design his or her dream space for bicycle wizardry within the allocated footprint of their shop.

Contact Anna (anna@guerrilladev.co) to check out the site plan – the offered space is Unit [6] (470 SF). Much like our other project, the Ocean at NE 24th and Glisan, the tenants of the Zipper will share communal space with one another, in this case the restrooms and garbage room.

Tenants can move in to the Zipper Autumn 2014!

How to Apply
Contact Anna Mackay at anna@guerrilladev.co or (503) 232-3479. We’ll set up a meeting where we can orient you to the project and go over rent and lease terms.

The Monday Roundup: Winter riding tips, Damascus checkpoints & more

Snow Day!

An earlier Portland snow day, in 2007.
(Photo by J.Maus/BikePortland)

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

Winter riding: It’s possible that today’s the end of this winter’s coldest snap, but it’s not too late to become a winter biking expert.

Happiness machines: The many benefits of bikes include slowing the aging of skin, getting you to sleep promptly and separating you from air pollution compared to car use.

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Event: Holiday Steam Train Ride (Bike Milwaukie)

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Festive ride on tap from our friends at Bike Milwaukie…

Holiday Steam Train along Oaks Bottom

Sunday, December 15th at 9:30am. Meet up at Milwaukie City Hall.

For this ride we will head up to Oaks Park via the Springwater Trail, and some on street riding through Sellwood, eventually turning around at OMSI. Along the way, we will pass the vintage steam locomotive which will be giving rides that weekend (sorry, we are not stopping for a ride). Once we get to OMSI, we will stop and take a quick look at the construction of the new bridge being built over the Willamette river which will carry cyclists, pedestrians, and the Portland/Milwaukie light rail on it when completed in 2015. Bring a coffee mug! We will bring warm drinks to enjoy at OMSI as we’ve done the last two years!

We expect the ride will take approximately 2-3 hours and is a kid friendly 8-10 mile ride.
This is typically our COLDEST ride of the year. Please dress accordingly!
Please bring water, a spare inner-tube/tools for unforeseen bike repairs, and a helmet.

We will start and finish at Milwaukie City Hall, rain or shine.

This is our last ride of 2013 and as we have done in previous years we’ll take 2 months off and resume monthly rides in March.

Please forward this along to anyone who might be interested.
Hope to see you there!

Greg and Matt
Bike Milwaukie Organizers

NICKEL (GREY WITH BLACK TRIM) TREK SOHO 3.0 2008

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Year: 2008
Brand: TREK
Model: SOHO 3.0
Color:NICKEL (GREY WITH BLACK TRIM)
Size:22.5
Serial: WTU284C1456C
Photo: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/–z-CHd7aLYI/UZ_i0NYM_7I/AAAAAAAABjA/dvTs6Rjaxv8/s320/img-1.jpg
Stolen in PORTLAND, OR 97202
Stolen:2013-12-9
Stolen From: HUNTER’S RIDGE APARTMENT COMPLEX, SE 29TH/FRANCIS ST.
Neighborhood: CRESTON-KENILWORTH
Owner: AARON CHOATE
OwnerEmail: AARONNCHOATE(at sign)GMAIL.COM
Description: NO FENDERS. NEW BLACK HAND GRIPS. SLEEK/SILVER-LOOKING. U-LOCK ATTACHED.
Police record with: PORTLAND PD
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Green trek 520 2005

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Year: 2005
Brand: trek
Model: 520
Color:Green
Serial: WW2803848
Stolen in 97212, OR
Stolen:2013-12-5
Stolen From: my garage on NE Graham St.
Neighborhood: Irvington/Eliot
Owner: Ron Sporseen
OwnerEmail: wskytngo( atsign )gmail.com
Reward: 100
Description: Front rack with mustache handle bars
Police record with: Yes, filed
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Dark gray/charcoal Soma frame

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Brand: Soma frame
Color:Dark gray/charcoal
Size:59cm
Photo: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/45483/IMG_1691.JPG
Stolen in Portland, OR 97203
Stolen:2013-12-2
Stolen From: It was stolen out of my garage in North Portland not far from N. Lombard and Portsmouth.
Neighborhood: N. Portland/Portsmouth/St. John’s
Owner: Chris Forrette
OwnerEmail: chris(A T)chrisforrette.com
Reward: $$$
Description: Really simple, dark gray single speed bike with a flip-flop hub. It’s big—59cm—made for a 6’4″ person like myself.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 13-102535
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Local women’s bike fashion company launches ‘Dress to Ride’ project

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Quick Study Clothing makes dresses
that are comfortable while bicycling.
(Photos: Shola Lawson)

Local fashion designer Caitlin McCall is the owner of Quick Study, a women’s apparel company that focuses bike-friendly dresses made in Portland. To help with the launch of her website next month she wants to interview and photograph 16 local women who, “fearlessly adapt their wardrobes to the demands of going by bike.”

‘Dress to Ride’ is the name of the project and all the women who participate in the interviews will be featured in a permanent photo gallery on QuickStudyClothing.com (shot by photographer Shola Lawson) and will be used in McCall’s social media efforts.

This is the first we’ve heard of Quick Study and somehow we missed the profile on the company in the Portland Mercury’s Bike Issue back in May. Here’s more from Mercury fashion writer Marjorie Skinner:

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Beige Trek 2nd District 2010

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Year: 2010
Brand: Trek
Model: 2nd District
Color:Beige
Size:54cm
Photo: http://static.bootic.com/_pictures/1211941/trek-2nd-district.jpg
Stolen in Portland, OR 97202
Stolen:2013-12-05
Stolen From: Pioneer Courthouse Square
Neighborhood: Downtown
Owner: Gregg Brekke
OwnerEmail: gregg.brekke@gmail.com
Reward: 50
Description: Converted to flat bars – silver flat bar, ergo grips. Silver plastic fenders. Silver rack mounted to rack mounts on frame. Black bear claw pedals.
Police record with: Portland
Police reference#: T13012368
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

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