In case you missed it, organizers behind the Oregon Bike Summit — an annual event since 2006 with a goal to make Oregon the best state for bicycling in America — is now known as the Oregon Active Transportation Summit. The event took place in Portland last year, but will return to Salem this year (March 29-30) to take advantage of the legislative session. [Read more…]
The Oregon Bike Summit happened on Friday. It was a lot of excellent information packed into one day, without a lot of breaks. That meant it was difficult for me to simultaneously attend, listen, talk with people, photograph, and create coherent stories on the day of the Summit (especially since I left before it was over to see my 7 year-old daughter in a school performance). I did a few stories, but there’s much more to report. [Read more…]
In case you’re wondering who’s here at the Oregon Bike Summit, I took my camera around for a few minutes during a recent break in the action to find out…
Zach Ham (L) and Cullen King, founders of RideWithGPS.com.
Nearly 200 bike advocates filed into the World Trade Center in downtown Portland this morning for the kickoff of the fifth annual Oregon Bike Summit. Held each year since 2006, the purpose is to knit together all the advocates, politicians, insiders, and citizen activists working on biking issues, programs and projects throughout the state.
The opening keynote this year was given by Tim Blumenthal, executive director of national non-profit, Bikes Belong. Blumenthal is the most prominent and active figure for bicycling in America. In his speech, he recapped the National Bike Summit and gave attendees a view of the national political landscape for biking.[Read more…]
If you followed my National Bike Summit coverage, you know that these are exciting times for bike advocacy in Oregon. We’ve got the advocates, planners, partners, and politicians — from small communities to Capitol Hill — to make Oregon the #1 state for biking in America.
We’ve got to keep the momentum going and the Oregon Bike Summit is a natural way to do that. The big day is June 4th and registration just opened and the agenda has been set. [Read more…]
Bikes Belong Executive Director Tim Blumenthal shared a lot of inspiring news and information during his remarks at the end of the Oregon Bike Summit yesterday.
Blumenthal is a key figure in the national bike movement. He’s at the helm of arguably the most well-funded and well-positioned bike organization in the country and he deftly wears many hats including that of an advocate, a corporate fundraiser, a marketing expert, and a smooth political operator.[Read more…]
This morning, as part of the Oregon Bike Summit, a handful of state legislators suited up for the first-ever Legislator Bike Ride.
About 50 summit attendees met on the steps of the Capitol building before taking a leisurely, five-mile ride around Salem. Joining the bike advocates from around the state were six state legislators: Rep. Jules Bailey (D-Portland), Rep. Tobias Read (D-Beaverton), Sen. Jackie Dingfelder (D-Portland), Sen. Ginny Burdick (D-Portland), Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene), and Sen. Jason Atkinson (R-Ashland). [Read more…]
With a focus on the legislative agenda, summit attendees got a crash course in lobbying. Tomorrow we start bright and early with a bike ride with state legislators. Then, it will be time to storm the capitol to meet with our representatives and sharpen our advocacy tools at a variety of breakout sessions.
Stay tuned for more reports. In the meantime, check out my photos in the slideshow below:[Read more…]
Two new bike shows are being planned for the Portland area in 2010.
The Northwest Bike Show, “Where cycling comes full circle”, is slated for February 20-21 and will take place inside a 54,000 square foot hall at the Portland Expo Center. The event is being put together by the Hilsboro-based Convention & Meeting Planners of Oregon, Inc. (they’re also behind the Rose City Bridal Showcase). The CEO of the company, Lora Heil-Frone, has a booth here at the Oregon Bike Summit. She said highlights of her Northwest Bike Show will include a kids safety area, a performance stage, and hopefully (she’s still working on it) a stunt riding performance by the Dew Action Sports team. [Read more…]
