kate johnson

Carfree Portlanders Video Series: The Johnson Family

Welcome to the latest episode of our Carfree Portlanders video series!

In this episode you’ll meet the Johnson family: Kate, Kiel and Lulu.

This trio is a fixture in our community, in large part because Kiel has been pushing Portlander to be a better biking city for well over a decade. I first met him as a fresh college graduate in 2010 who did such great work setting up bike trains at local schools he earned an Alice Award and a spot on national TV. These days he owns and runs the Go By Bike shop and bike valet service at OHSU under the Aerial Tram in South Waterfront.

And you might recall Kate as our former ‘Gal by Bike’ columnist here at BikePortland. Add their little one Lulu to the mix and you’ve got one heck of a family.

In this video you’ll follow them to Ikea and on a few Pedalpalooza rides.

Thanks to our video guy Amit Zinman for doing stellar work on this series. These videos are funded by BikePortland and made possible in part by your subscriptions!

Watch it above or via this link. Browse past Carfree Portlander episodes here.

Bikes on TV shows and the endless possibilities of cities

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

A scene from Episode 2 of "Girls" on HBO. — A scene from Episode 2 of “Girls” on HBO.

This post is by our “Gal by Bike” columnist Kate Laudermilk. She previously wrote about how she’s been influenced by Portland’s silly group rides.

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There’s something noteworthy going on in movies and television lately — especially those taking place in New York City. There’s a theme that, while seldom discussed, speaks volumes: Bikes.

They can be found lurking in frame after frame of shows like “Girls“, “Broad City”, and movies like “Francis Ha”. Much like the iconic bike next to Jerry Seinfeld’s bathroom or the cruiser tucked away in Carrie Bradshaw’s hallway — but in a new New York City — one built by Janette Sadik-Kahn.

Keeping a fake mustache on during a balmy June afternoon is no small feat.
(Photos: Kate Laudermilk)

Kate Laudermilk, our Gal by Bike columnist, previously wrote about the Little 500 bike race.

It’s a slippery slope. One minute you’re teaching one of your best friends how to ride a bike and the next you’re gliding through Portland on your trusty steeds, surrounded by thousands of bikes and bodies with your breasts hangin’ out. This is the magic of the Portland bike community — a community that has made me feel more youthful and free spirited than I did when I was but a gal of nineteen.

The author.
(Photos via K.Laudermilk)

We’re pleased to welcome new contributor Kate Laudermilk, a Portlander who’ll be sharing humor and wisdom from her biking life in the occasional column Gal by Bike over the next few months.

I know firsthand that the thought of being a “cyclist” or “bike rider” can be intimidating. Often it’s even more intimidating for women to get started and break into the biking community. And using a bike as my sole form of transportation was never my plan.

That is why I think the evolution of my life on a bike is a story worth telling.

I know that sometimes it can seem easier to just drive, walk, or take the streetcar. Just kidding, it’s never easier to take the streetcar. But as a skeptic by nature, riding a bike makes me second guess things, worry, and question my capabilities. What if I can’t ride fast enough, long enough, or what if my hair gets all messed up under the helmet? Worries aside, I have and continue to deem my decision to become an avid bike rider as one of my smartest decisions to date.

Carfree Portlanders Video Series: The Johnson Family

Bikes on TV shows and the endless possibilities of cities

Shedding my seriousness one wacky group ride at a time

How a zany race sold me on bikes and made me the woman I needed to become

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