EVERY YEAR, the Mercury carves out one issue to reiterate just how special Portland’s bicycle culture is. Usually, like this year, it’s at the outset of the city’s most raucous celebration of all things bike, the brash and ridiculous Pedalpalooza. Our Bike Issue aims to show you how lucky we are as cyclists to live in this place, and offers tips and tidbits to help you enjoy your city to its full cycle-centric extent.

That’s all valid, but there’s another side to this coin. It’s not something you’d necessarily notice while cruising a freshly painted bike lane or stopping at one of the bike shops that seem to pop up weekly, but there’s a serious conversation happening in this city, and a whole host of conversations that need to happen.

See, by virtue of the bicycling success that leads us to celebrate each June, Portland seems to have lost some of the urgency to keep improving. There’s a growing worry that the city’s stagnated, even as other major cities—inspired by our progress—take bold new steps every day.

We think that’s a shame. So this year, we’ve done something slightly different with our Bike Issue. There are still tips—a Portland attorney’s advice for what to do if you’re hit by a car, and our list of recommended Pedalpalooza rides. And there are tidbits, like a rumination on the benefits of dating by bike, and a look at badass bike park the Lumberyard.

But we’ve also gotten serious, with a lengthy examination of whether Portland’s truly stalled out, and what we can to do to regain our momentum. The answer involves you—not just riding and enjoying our city, but actively clamoring for it to be better.

Think of it as a bit of homework—so for next year’s Bike Issue, we can get back to celebrating.

In This Year’s Bike Issue

Slow Leak: Portland’s Lost Its Urgency For Bikes. Let’s Get It Back!

The First Five Minutes: You’ve Been Hit by a Car. Now What?

Date by Bike: Two Wheels, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose

Here’s to June: The Mercury‘s Top Pedalpalooza Picks

Bike Curious: Erik Henriksen Has a Bike. He Doesn’t Ride It. Here’s Why.

Wheels Up:The Lumberyard Is The Most Fun You’ll Have on Two Wheels (Indoors)

I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters...

9 replies on “A Call to Arms”

  1. At first I thought the title ” A Call To Arms” was just a joke, as the last thing we need is more ‘bike vs car’ stories and antagonisms, from either side.
    Alas, I was wrong.

    You’re just trying to whip readers into a frenzy, right?

  2. At first I thought the title “A Call To Arms” was just a joke — surely we don’t need any more ‘bike vs car’ antagonisms, right?
    Alas, I was wrong.

    You’re just trying to whip readers into a frenzy though, right?

  4. Considering the mass shootings and gun-lust plaguing this nation, “A Call To Arms” is hardly a socially appropriate title for such an article. Are you intentionally wishing to provoke violence or did it just sound “clever” to your ears? If you’d like to seriously address a relevant topic about bikes in Portland, I’d suggest you invest a substantial amount of resources studying the lack of law enforcement of driving/roadway rules, by bicyclists.

    Not only are Portland bicyclists second only to those in Amsterdam, in terms of the number who completely disregard stopping at stoplights/signs, fail to hand-signal, fail to stay in a single lane (weave in and out through traffic/between cars, at will), fail to use headlights at night, etc, but they are equally as unregulated by local law enforcement officials – something that vehicle drivers are extensively scrutinized on. If there is a vehicle vs bicycle incident, it is automatically ASSUMED to be the fault of the vehicle driver. However, considering the laissez-faire attitudes displayed by most Portland bicyclists, this is rarely the case.

    I have yet to see a single bicyclist use hand-signals, in any place within the Metro area. If vehicle drivers failed to do that, they’d be handed a ticket in a heartbeat! Fewer than a third of bicyclists come to a complete stop at stopsigns/lights, yet they aren’t caught, either by the traffic cameras, nor any law enforcement officers. Funny, how can it be that two different groups of roadway users can be following two completely different sets of rules, yet only one group is held legally responsible for following Oregon roadway laws? This is an investigative piece of journalism that’s worth reading and reporting on, provided you don’t use trigger-happy titles to try to draw in an audience.

  5. Portland cyclists are some of the most arrogant, reckless, and despite that shamelessly pampered demographics in the area. I like bicycles and I definitely feel as though steps ought to be taken to ensure that cyclists can share the road safely with pedestrians and motor vehicles, but the bike culture in this town is like a farcical cross between a La Rouche rally and a junior high cafeteria clique, and needs to go.

  7. I call it a bicycle; a “bike” is a nickname. Nicknames are for friends, and bicycles are no friends of mine.

  8. To everyone who’s commented thus far:

    Jesus, you guys sound like the Silver Sneakers Club after finding out Shari’s ran out of sherbet.

  9. I don’t get it. What else do you want? Bike HOV lanes? Bike-only drivethru’s at Burgerville? Barriers between you and cars on every street? Bike culture has reached saturation levels in POrtland. Can’t get any higher. I have two bikes. Not hatin’, just trying to figure out what you’re calling us to arms for. If it’s a revolution I’ll have to think about it for a while.

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