Cycling News & Blog Articles

Happy Monday everyone. I’m still in southern Oregon at a hospital (day 11!) while my dad recovers from a few surgeries and other issues. Should be home any day now and am able to do a bit more work now that he’s on the other side of this emergency. Can’t wait to get home and out onto the streets… might even be at Bike Happy Hour this week which would be so nice.

Here are the top stories our community has come across in the past seven days…

But first… If you’re looking to get away and do something really fun, check out the Cannon Beach Fat Bike Festival, May 17-19th. Now, on with the roundup…

Has everyone else been enjoying the week of guest posts? I have, and I noticed that having the variety of authors brought out some new, or at least infrequent, commenters.

One of them was Ilya. (How’s that for dumb luck, maiden comment selected for “Comment of the Week?”) I liked Ilya’s comment into Sarah Risser’s guest post, because they point out something we’ve probably all noticed, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen stated so simply in the BikePortland comments sections.

Don’t we all know that person who drives the kids to school, and then drives to a nearby park to walk a few miles? Here’s how Ilya describes it:

I see people from my block driving to the little shopping strip in Hillsdale, which is about 0.2mi away, to get a cup of coffee or a loaf of bread. It literally takes longer to drive there. This does not comport with the view that it’s a “useful tool.”

(Source: Portland Bureau of Transportation)

Last month the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) published an annual report on its progress toward making the city accessible to people with mobility disabilities.

Titled the ADA Title II Public Right-of-Way Transition Plan Update, the report is a requirement of the 2018 Consent Decree between the city and a group of individuals with mobility disabilities who claimed that the city was remiss in meeting its Americans with Disabilities Act obligations. The Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC) provided the text of the decree, which requires that Portland meet yearly targets for building curb ramps, as well as to report annual progress and other information.

At about twenty pages, the report was engaging and complemented the work of PedPDX, the citywide pedestrian plan. It cataloged the addition of new sidewalks, pedestrian signals, curb ramps, accessible parking, accessible bus stops, as well as features which are not specifically required by the ADA, but which make walking safer and more inviting for everybody. Things like like enhanced crosswalks, pedestrian head start signals, rectangular rapidly flashing beacons, and pedestrian refuge islands.

The author pedaling across the Broadway Bridge. (Photos courtesy Rachel O’Connor)

This article was written by Portlander Rachel O’Connor. This essay was submitted as part of a community project to keep BikePortland going while BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus is tending to a family medical emergency out of town and unable to work as normal.

In August of 2023, I sold my beloved minivan to have extra money for upcoming international travel. I had no idea back then the domino effect that decision would create in my life.

Fast forward to November 2023 when I returned home from traveling and was faced with yet another decision — to buy a new vehicle or test out the waters of a carfree life. As you can probably guess, I opted for the latter, thinking it would be a temporary way to save some money. 

To understand where this story is going, it’s important for you to first understand a little bit about me. I’m a 32 year-old cis female living in Portland, and have had a car since I was 16. Cars have always represented an important form of freedom to me — freedom to road trip, freedom to car camp, and freedom to get as many groceries as I want at Costco. 

The author and his knee at the Ladds 500. April 13th, 2024. (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Written by Cameron Crowell, a Portland resident whose work has also appeared on Eater PDX and Portland Mercury. This essay was submitted as part of a community project to keep BikePortland going while BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus is tending to a family medical emergency out of town and unable to work as normal.

Springtime in Portland means cherry blossoms, brief glimpses at sunny days in between the rainy ones, memories of the Blazers being in the playoffs (RIP Dame), and finally, after waiting all winter, bike rides to play pickup basketball at neighborhood parks.

Every town with seasons has a culture of pride around how their springs are better than everybody else’s, but ours really is best. Despite the doom and gloom about the state of Portland over the past few years — that has coincided with a decline in bike and transit ridership — when the weather is nice and people are biking around outside it feels like there’s grounds for hope. Just like I’m sticking with the Blazers even when it seems like they are trying to lose, I’m sticking with our community’s particular blend of blooms, basketball, and bikes. 

Just like I’m sticking with the Blazers even when it seems like they are trying to lose, I’m sticking with our community’s particular blend of blooms, basketball, and bikes. 

Writing and photography by Abdulrahman Alkhamees. Abe was born and raised in Kuwait, but now lives in in Portland. He’s the founder of The Paperclip.cc, a cycling publication where he shares stories and photos from the saddle. This is his first contribution to BikePortland.

Our Mother the Mountain (OMTM) rides and the community they’ve created are cherished by cyclists throughout our region. They’ve also inspired me to look for new routes and even create my own. When I build routes it feels like I’ve gamified my hobby. Thanks in part to excellent tools like (locally-based!) Ride With GPS, with just a few clicks I have access to detailed maps, previous route attempts, and like-minded riders. Route-building has became an irresistible pursuit and helped me venture far beyond my usual cycling spheres. 

To learn more about what goes into making a great route, I tagged along on a recent ride with OMTM founder and master route builder Ron Lewis and observed his methods in real time.

In this post, I’ll use that McMinnville ride as a case study to share what I’ve learned about what it takes to create a great route.

To set the stage, consider this quote from Lewis:

Written by Portland resident and road safety activist Sarah Risser. You might recall Risser from her work on ghost bike installations or from a recent episode of our podcast. This essay was submitted as part of a community project to keep BikePortland going while BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus is tending to a family medical emergency out of town and unable to work as normal.

It is objectively and indisputably true that people who choose to walk, cycle, scooter, skateboard or negotiate urban roads in a wheelchair are vulnerable to being killed or injured by vehicular traffic. Portland’s roads are dominated by vehicles that are often driven too fast and embody more kinetic energy than any other mode aside from public transit. In Portland, sidewalks and many bike lanes — if they exist at all — merely separate users from vehicles without offering actual protection in the form of physical barriers. In a distracted or angry heartbeat, a driver could veer off the road and onto a sidewalk or bike lane, and the result would be grim. Feeling vulnerable makes traveling outside of a vehicle stressful and less enjoyable at times.

Leaders and advocates should continue to protect the most vulnerable road users with smart infrastructure investments, but they should think equally or more about reducing the danger itself.

But let’s be clear; it’s not the simple act of walking, biking, or otherwise rolling that evokes feelings of vulnerability. I feel powerful and particularly alive when I’m hiking to Angel’s Rest. And walking along the beach at Nehalem Bay or strolling through fields of spring wildflowers at Catherine Creek is peaceful and grounding. Cycling on the Springwater Corridor elicits a deep and pure sense of happiness. Feelings of vulnerability only arise in the presence of danger; there cannot be vulnerable road users (VRUs) without the presence of vehicular traffic. This may seem obvious, but it begs the question: why, when our roads are dominated by vehicles heavy and powerful enough to kill, do we use language that centers attention on the vulnerability of some road users rather than on the danger that threatens all road users?

Practice your slow-riding and waving skills before you get there. (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Ever wondered what it would be like to walk and roll down 82nd Avenue without those pesky drivers getting all up in your business? On Saturday, biking, walking, and transit advocates will unite to create a multimodal float for the annual 82nd Avenue of the Roses Parade.

The float is organized by nonprofit Oregon Walks, a group that’s working closely with the Portland Bureau of Transportation to develop a plan for how best to invest part of the $185 million set aside to upgrade 82nd Avenue from a state highway to a civic corridor.

Volunteers and staff from Oregon Walks will join members of Bike Loud PDX, TriMet, local bike bus participants and others will meet at Eastport Plaza Saturday morning wearing blue and yellow. To spice things up, the Boom Bike will be the center of the float and local blues musician Steve Cheseborough will play a live set as the pedal-powered sound stage rolls down the street.

There’s still plenty of room to join the float. Just show up at the north lot of Eastport Plaza at 9:00 am and look for all the smiling faces wearing blue and yellow. If you go, be ready to ride at parade speeds (very slow!) and put your foot down a lot. I would not recommend SPD cleated shoes. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Oregon Walks via this online form.

Family columnist Shannon Johnson hit the ball out of the park last week with her post about wanting “legs of steel” despite the constraint of biking with five young ‘uns. She was thinking of switching from her e-bike back to a regular bike, and asked for your advice. And boy did you all respond. Seems like everybody wants to talk about bikes on this site, go figure.

For me, what gave her post some depth was that Shannon’s dilemma is universal, and comes down to how to accommodate change — that’s a problem that runs through life, including successfully aging in place. So the responses were intimate, sort of a peek into how other people live.

This is one of those threads that is worth reading from top to bottom, and Jonathan led it off. But don’t miss Taylor too. And for some reason, the comments which made my short list were all written by people whose name begins with an “M.” So definitely read all “M—” comments.

Here’s some good advice from ML:

Happy Monday everyone. Jonathan has been away from Portland attending to a family medical emergency since Wednesday, so things might look a bit different around here until he gets back.

Don’t dis cotton: A breezy piece about the pleasure of wearing cotton when riding. (Outside)

E-bike infrastructure: Manhattan is poised to convert an iconic newsstand into an e-bike charging station, but first it has to jump through a few hoops (like the Landmark Preservation Commission). (Gothamist)

VanMoof is back!: Under new ownership, the company is relaunching with a new line of e-bikes. They recognize that they have a big job getting “angry customers back on track” who were left in the lurch after bankruptcy with no place to go for service or upgrades. The new owners, LaVoie, have revamped the company’s business model and seek to offer “better customer experience, after-sales servicing, and reliability.” (The Next Web)

(Shawne Martinez)

[Note: The story below was shared by BikePortland subscriber Shawne Martinez, who goes by @tigard_stripes on Instagram. I’ve been away from Portland for a week dealing with my dad being in the hospital, so I’ve been unable to do BikePortland stuff. I’ll be sharing a few guest articles this week and until I can get my dad stabilized. Much love and thanks! – Jonathan]

I’m a carfree bike dad in Tigard, Oregon. My daughter Eliza (a second grader) and I put many miles on our bikes in Washington County and we often see and hear the WES train rolling between Tigard and Beaverton on our bike rides in Washington County. The WES, short for Westside Express Service, is a commuter train that runs between Wilsonville and Beaverton that can be beneficial for people living a car-lite (or car-free) lifestyle.’We often see and hear the WES train rolling between Tigard and Beaverton on our bike rides in Washington County. The WES, short for Westside Express Service, is a commuter train that runs between Wilsonville and Beaverton that can be beneficial for people living a car-lite (or car-free) lifestyle.

The limiting factor for us has been its schedule: weekday morning and afternoon rush hours only. With no weekend service we’ve found it difficult to utilize this train route. Recently, my kiddo’s school had a weekday break, so we decided to take our bikes on the train to Wilsonville. There are five morning departures from the Tigard Transit Center, then a six-hour gap until the first afternoon northbound train.

I needed to make this a fun experience for my 8-year-old daughter so I scanned the map near the Wilsonville Transit Center for bike infrastructure and fun activities. I spotted the entrance to a multi-use path just a couple of blocks away from the WES station with several playgrounds in the area. So we grabbed our bikes and rode the 1.5 miles to the Tigard Transit Center.

Tweed Ride is Sunday! (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Just look at the wonderful collection of options you have this weekend. Weather should be great too. Soak up as much of this glorious spring as you can and have fun out there.

Portland Psychedelic Society Ride – 7:00 pm at Irving Park (NE)
Bicycles are a trip. Join the Psychedelic Society to commemorate an important date in LSD history. Expect an 8-mile loop and a fun after-party on Alberta Street. More info here.

Farmers Market Ride – 10:00 am at SE Clinton and 41st (SE)
It’s spring! A perfect time of year to get out and explore Portland’s largest farmers market on the South Park Blocks. Make sure there’s room in your bike bags for all the great food and treats you’ll find. This is a weekly ride. More info here.

Spring Flowers on the 70s – 10:00 am at Roseway Park Blocks (NE)
Join the Portland Bureau of Transportation on a ride that will familiarize you with infrastructure and destinations along the 70s Neighborhood Greenway. More info here.

3 out of 4 traffic deaths in Portland happen on “High Crash Network” streets like 122nd Ave. (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

“PBOT can design safe streets, but we cannot reach our safety goals by focusing on street design alone.”

It’s no longer possible for the City of Portland to dismiss the startling toll of traffic deaths as an aberration. At City Council today, leaders of the transportation bureau will face the incontrovertible facts as they ask Mayor Ted Wheeler and the other four commissioners to accept a Deadly Crash Report that includes 69 confirmed fatalities — the most recorded in at least three decades.

2023 was the fourth year in a what the Portland Bureau of Transportation referred to in a statement released today as an, “increase in egregious travel behaviors among people using the streets.” Those behaviors, PBOT will share in a presentation today, are partly to blame for a consistent spike in the annual death toll that has been over 50 Portlanders per year since 2020. Prior to that year, the last time we suffered more than 50 road deaths was 1996.

When Portland proudly passed its Vision Zero goal in 2015, there were 37 traffic fatalities. That means despite our city’s focused effort on this problem and millions invested in infrastructure, education, and programs, we’ve nearly doubled the amount of deaths with just two years left before our target date of eliminating them.

Trying out non-electric bikes at Clever Cycles. (Shannon Johnson/BikePortland)

“I really want to improve my physical health and cycling stamina. Is the e-assist holding me back?”

I have recently been thinking about returning to an “acoustic” front-box cargo bike. Yes, I might give up my much-loved electric-assist bike.

First, let me praise e-bikes to the sky! I have loved my Bunch e-trike. Having the e-assist has been a game-changer. It is so much fun. My husband says riding with the e-assist feels like riding downhill both ways, even when pedaling uphill with four kids in the front. That’s saying something! The battery power helps eliminate so many excuses and hesitations. With an e-assist I easily doubled, and perhaps quadrupled, the amount of biking I was doing. The e-cargo bike functioned more easily as a car-replacement, as we were happily able to replace most of our nearby car trips with the bike, and it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. I don’t have to toil and sweat, or worry about running out of steam. The joy of coasting down a hill is the joy of every e-bike trip. I highly recommend an e-bike to everyone, especially bike newbies. An e-bike can really blast through biking barriers and hesitations and turn non-bikers into enthusiasts. And for those with fewer children, or kids young enough to all fit in the e-bike, the battery power can really help you get to your destinations a lot faster. The newer fancy e-bike models really zoom.

But I have been feeling stuck in a biking rut.

Adah Crandall outside the home of Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo: Allyson Woodard)

When we first introduced you to Adah Crandall, she was just 15 and already fighting a freeway in the backyard of her former middle school. A few months later, in the summer of 2021, she was leading youth climate activists in a weekly protest outside Oregon Department of Transportation headquarters in downtown Portland.

And one year ago this week, Crandall confronted a powerful state legislator in a hallway in the State Capitol in Salem.

Now Crandall has a full-time job with Sunrise Movement and has thrust onto the national stage after being arrested early Monday morning in Los Angeles. Crandall and about 40 other young climate activists coordinated a protest action outside the home of Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a video of her arrest sent to BikePortland (below), Crandall is in handcuffs with several officers around her and can be heard saying, over a chorus of supportive singing from other activists, “My home in Oregon is on fire and Biden is continuing to expand fossil fuels at record rates!”

Earlier today I talked with advocates Kiel Johnson and David Binnig from BikeLoud PDX. We talked about the crossing of SE Powell on 79th and Kiel shared a few updates on BikeLoud’s lawsuit against the City of Portland, and a few other projects they’re working on. Please note: This is sort of a new format I’m working on where I can quickly jump onto a video call with newsmakers and story subjects and then turn it around and share it as a video.

The transcript of our conversation is below:

[00:00:00] Jonathan Maus: Hey everybody. Welcome into the shed. I’m here with, uh, Kiel Johnson and David Binnig from BikeLoud PDX. They have agreed to come on and chat a little bit about the crossing project on Southeast 79th at Powell and who knows what else other BikeLoud updates might be on the table as well.

So David and Kiel, thanks for being in here.

[00:00:19] Kiel Johnson: Glad to be here.

Rex Burkholder at Bike Happy Hour, April 10th. (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Portland City Council candidate Rex Burkholder wants one of the three seats in District 3, and he visited Bike Happy Hour on April 10th to tell us why. As I do whenever a candidate shows up, I handed Burkholder the mic and let him share his stump speech.

Under sunny skies on the Gorges Beer Co patio overlooking the SE Ankeny Rainbow Road Plaza, Burkholder grabbed the mic and stepped up onto a bench. Below is most of his speech (edited slightly for clarity):

“Despite some of the noise that we hear, especially from some of our downtown business owners, Portland is still a rockin’ place. You try to go out for dinner or something, you can’t get a seat. And the theaters are full. And I went to music last night, at the Old Church, and it was jammed. I mean, this is a great place to live! And I think we have to remember that.

An installation in the Policing Justice exhibit at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. (Photo: Lois Leveen)

— This article is by Portland-based author, Lois Leveen.

The community protects the community. That is the very essence of corking.

Most BikePortland readers are familiar with corking from our participation in group bike rides: individuals intentionally block cross-traffic at an intersection until all the ride participants have passed through, to prevent motor vehicles from endangering riders.  Perhaps you are someone who loves to cork. Sensing a need to ensure the well-being of the community. Assuming a space of vulnerability. Practicing skills of de-escalation while demonstrating to drivers how we engage in bike fun.  

Or perhaps you are someone who appreciates not having to cork, knowing as you move along with the group that other members of a ride are keeping you and everyone else safe.

Screenshot of @whatstherushlents on Instagram.

I am often asked the question: “There’s a traffic safety issue in my neighborhood, what steps can I take to raise awareness and fix it?”. I feel like a grassroots effort in southeast Portland’s Lents neighborhood is a great model for how to answer that.

Launched in March, 2002, the Whats The Rush, Lents? website has an impressive amount of timely, relevant information. The Instagram account is also worth following. I wanted to learn more, so I asked the person behind it a few questions via email. (They wanted to remain anonymous, “for the few neighbors who think we’re anti-freedom.”)

What is your goal?

I want Lents (and all of East Portland) to be a pleasant place to live, walk, and bike.