This weekend, USA Today gave Portland its classic USA Today take, meaning a well-known, absolutely unsurprising narrative run roughly three years too late.* The story In Portland, Ore, Bikes Rule the Road is a “Gee whiz, guys! People bicycling to work!” perspective on the city and just to reiterate the outside world’s view of Portland, […]
Bikes
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Police Cite 50 Cyclists on NE Broadway
The police staged a traffic enforcement sting on NE Broadway and Wheeler this morning, citing cyclists for running the stop sign near the intersection that was officially closed to car traffic last week. It’s a dangerous spot, notorious for cars right hooking people on bikes as they turn across the bike lane onto Wheeler. During […]
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City Closes North Wheeler in Hopes of Reducing Right Hook Crashes
This week, Mayor Sam Adams’ office and the Portland Bureau of Transportation took a big step in improving safety for bikes on one street in Portland by deciding to close North Wheeler to traffic where the street intersects with Broadway. I didn’t get a chance to report on the closure then because, ironically, I was […]
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Move Over, “Tall Bike”—Now There’s “Tiny Bike.”
Laugh if you want—but I just saw three of these things parked outside Stumptown.
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Win Two Tickets to BIKETOBEER Fest
Hopwork’s always-fun BIKETOBEER fest is this weekend and we have some free VIP tickets to give away. Yay! This is the world’s “only bike-in Oktoberfest” and it takes over Hopworks’ SE Powell location for all of Saturday with bands, breakdancers, and a competition to see who can hurl a Huffy the furthest. The festival is […]
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Slick Electronic Bike Counter Installed on Hawthorne Bridge
How many people bike over the Hawthorne bridge every day? Now anyone walking, biking, or driving past will be able to see. Thanks to a $20,000 grant from Cycle Oregon, the city installed an electronic bike counter on the bridge yesterday. When I stopped by yesterday afternoon, a crew was putting down the cords that […]
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The Most Beautiful Electric Bike in the World
E-bikes are dorky. They’re great for getting up hills without breaking a sweat and, if done well, could help a lot of people start biking… but they weigh a ton, have huge batteries strapped to them, and just look rather clunky. Which is why I’m totally in love with the Faraday, a gorgeous bike that […]
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Seen Today in PDX: Giant Bike Mural!
Right smack in downtown, courtesy of Pedal Bike Tours: Photo by Portland’s Pretty
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To Hell With You, Streetcar Tracks!
This is the time of year that really makes me angry at the streetcar tracks. A whopping seventy percent of Portland cyclists crash on the tracks at some point and right now, when people are getting on bikes for the first time in a long time, is when arm casts and wrist-braces start popping up […]
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Bike Commuters on N. Williams Get Presents Tomorrow!
Local bike accessories’ maker Portland Design Works (PDW) is heading up a fun event for the 3,100 or so people who bike on North Williams every day: Rider Appreciation Day! For PDW’s RAD, a bunch of businesses along the street are inviting in commuters for “tokens of appreciation,” which I will interpret as “presents!!” Stop […]
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Portland Has a Pump Track Now!
Woop woop! Today the city dedicated Portland’s first pump track—a hilly dirt track that people can ride in a loop without pedaling. While Portland is known for being a bike city, we actually have pretty dismal mountain bike offerings. Only one-third of a mile of Forest Park’s 70 miles of paths are the narrow “singletrack” […]
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Police Stats from the World Naked Bike Ride
It’s somewhat impossible to accurately count the number of people who take to the streets as bare as they dare every year for the World Naked Bike Ride. And it’s somewhat beside the point: Just accept that there are thousands and thousands of people biking naked, sit back, and have a good time without trying […]