Bikes

So I was riding in the bike lane down Glisan, thinking mostly about lunch when all of a sudden I’m on the pavement, surrounded by Newman’s Own Organic Cinnamon Alphabet cookies. My glasses are on the ground, too – broken – and there’s people running frantically around me. My hands hurt and my legs hurt […]

The city’s 2008 bike count numbers are in, and–as usual–it’s good news for cycling. Highlights (in addition to the one in this post’s headline) include: – Bicycle traffic in Portland has nearly tripled since 2001. – Helmet use is at an all-time high, and has risen steadily since the 1990’s. In 2008, 80% of recorded […]

… in which no one got run over by a bus. The Rose Quarter’s legal opening to bikes was marked by the world’s shortest bike parade, about 50 people from BTA, Trimet and the city, headed up by Sam Adams who looked kind of awkward with a drop handlebar road bike and Pryme helmet. The […]

On my way to city hall this morning, I passed through the Rose Quarter Transit Center, and saw workers busily applying the green thermoplastic that designates bike boxes, as part of the new bike route cutting through the transit center. Technically speaking, bikes haven’t been allowed through that area before. The new route will officially […]

This week’s installment of Sexy Bike began with this handcuff lock-loving I Saw U a couple weeks ago. When I spotted a sleek gray bike cuffed to the rack outside hot bike hot spot Half & Half, I had to ask if it was the one from the ad. It wasn’t, but it did turn […]

Every week, the Mercury hangs out drinking 40s on the street, trying to spot sexy bikes and bring you a mini-interview with their rough-riding handlers. This time, we were in luck: at the #10 bus stop on 4th Ave., a posse of three blingin’ lowriders were sitting outside a convenience store, their makers drinking booze […]

Every week, the Mercury keeps its eyes peeled for a pair of hot wheels around town, bringing you photos of one sexy bike and a mini-interview its equally scintillating rider. Joel’s patterned reflectors caught my eye as he rode a flew blocks ahead of me down NW Davis and I didn’t think I’d be able […]

I’m on the radio Wednesday morning with BikePortland.org‘s Jonathan Maus and the Oregonian‘s Joe Rose, to talk about the war going on. You know: The “bikes vs. car” battle royale in the streets. More specifically, we’re going to be talking about the media’s portrayal of “the war.” I think it’ll get a little testy–the Oregonian’s […]