Chris Distefano and Tom Miller chat while riding in Forest Park last night.(File photo)Gallery – slideshow below Last night the Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP) led a group of city staffers on a mountain bike ride through Forest Park. The ride was organized to give key decision makers and city planners an up-close and personal … Read more
(File photo) The Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP) want to show Portland officials what singletrack is all about. They’ve sent an invite to City Commissioners, Parks Department staffers and other key stakeholders for a mountain bike ride through Forest Park later this month. According to PUMP, the ride will show “what is possible if we … Read more
A packed meeting room at City Hall for last night’s Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting.File photo: 5/8/07 Symbolic of the pent-up demand for more mountain biking in Portland, nearly 40 people crammed into the Lovejoy Room inside City Hall last night for the most crowded Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee (PBAC) meeting I’ve ever attended. The agenda … Read more
Cities across the country are embracing mountain biking and adding singletrack trails to urban parks.
[Update: According to a rep from Friends of Forest Park—who were instrumental in making this trail happen—some minor work remains to complete this trail.] Last Saturday was the second of two trail work parties to complete a new mountain bike trail in Forest Park. The trail, which extends off an existing firelane, is the first … Read more
This Saturday, the Portland United Mountain Pedalers will break ground on the first bit of new mountain bike trails in Forest Park since 1988. With a major assist from the Friends of Forest Park—who spearheaded the grant and permitting process—PUMP is holding a work party to make the new Firelane 5 trail a reality. According … Read more
[PUMP’s Roger Louton] With a major assist from The Friends of Forest Park, mountain bikers are set to begin the process of planning and building a brand new piece of trail in Forest Park. According to PUMP board member Roger Louton, the new trail will be an addition to the existing Firelane 5 fire access … Read more
[Commissioners listen to presentation.] Yesterday the Parks Department presented their Regional Recreational Trails Strategy to the Portland City Council. In attendance was a who’s who list of Portland’s trail advocates including; Scott Bricker from the BTA, Gail Snyder from Friends of Forest Park, Bob Akers, Barbara Walker and Walter Valenta from the 40-mile Loop Land … Read more
[A slide from Andy Clarke’sMTB Summit presentation.]Photo R. Louton Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP) board member Roger Louton sees a golden opportunity to push for more singletrack mountain biking trails in Portland. He just returned home from the IMBA World Mountain Bike Conference where he heard the Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists … Read more
Last Thursday the Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Department held a public meeting to present their “twenty-year vision for developing Portland’s regional recreational trail system.” In attendance was a small but influential group of representatives from many trail user and advocacy groups including; the BTA, Friends of Forest Park, Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP), the … Read more
You may have heard that Metro is putting forth a bond measure in the November election that would allow them to use $227.4 million dollars to help protect natural areas in and around Portland. I asked avid cyclist, BTA co-founder, and current Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder what this bond measure would mean for cyclists.
[Portland to Longview, sans car] Michael Wolfe has a seriously high bike IQ (or would that be bi-Q?). I met him at the PUMP swap meet and have kept in touch ever since. He recently introduced himself to the Shift email list and has already started sharing some of his vast biking knowledge. One of … Read more
Comment of the Week: What the police say (and don’t say) in crash statements