Cycling News & Blog Articles

The summer hiring season is in full swing as local (and even non-local!) businesses need to bulk up staff to handle the ongoing bike boom. Have a look at these fresh listings…

– Bike Valet Lead Mechanic – Go By Bike

– Precision Assembler – Efficient Velo Tools LLC

– Full Time Mechanic – The eBike Store

– Retail Sales + More – Cyclepath PDX

Black urbanists unite: A broad movement of Black, Indigenous and people of color from across the professional urban planning industry have come to the forefront to change the way American cities are designed and built. Their goal according to this article in Curbed, is to “end anti-Blackness in cities.”

Racist segment names: San Francisco resident Nehemiah Brown called out Strava for offensive segment names and the company responded quickly by deleting them.

Spatial anti-Blackness: Amina Yasmin issued a clarion call to everyone who designs and plans cities to acknowledge the anti-Black racism endemic in the field and work to eradicate it.

(All photos by Ebony Hall.)

By all accounts, Friday’s Black Liberation Ride (held on Juneteenth) was a beautiful gathering of Black, Indigenous and people of color from all over the region who came together to support each other and the movement for racial justice.

We had local photographer Ebony Hall in the crowd to capture some of the people who made it such a special day.

Here’s what she saw:

This ride was organized by Jené Etheridge and Stephen Marea. They’ve created a new Instagram account @MobilizeTheMovement so you can stay updated about future rides.

Another group of peaceful bike riders was assaulted by the driver of a car. It happened yesterday during the Black Liberation Ride in northeast Portland.

According to witnesses, including someone who was driving by and shared a recording of the incident taken from their dashcam (watch below), it happened on Northeast Skidmore between 14th and 15th. Several riders were involved in the incident. One rider, Rene Morin, sustained minor injuries and his bike is heavily damaged. The community has already rallied around him with donations to get the bike fixed/replaces (his Venmo is @Rene-Morin if you’d like to help).

The suspect was driving a 2007, grey metallic Ford Escape Hybrid SUV. The vehicle had no license plates (something that I’ve noticed has become much more common on Portland streets these days). A Reddit user named SocialSchmedia who specializes in identifying cars (seriously) shared this key additional information which will help identify the vehicle:

We bike lovers talk a lot about what we ride and how we ride, but we don’t talk enough about where we ride. And I don’t mean comparing “epic” routes in the wilderness. I’m talking about the history of the places we pedal through.

If you ride in Portland there are a few things you should know. If you’ve been here a while, you’ve likely heard some of what I’m about to share. But if you’re new to town, listen up!

And yes, this post is about racism.

There’s a lot of race-related history to uncover about our state (which was formed to exclude Black people and with a vision to be a “perfect white society”) and our city.

One month after it was first announced, the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Healthy Business program is starting to bear its first pieces of fruit. And with Multnomah County set to enter the phase 1 stage of reopening Friday (6/19), many local restaurants are eager to expand their services into the streets.

As we reported in May, PBOT is offering a free permit program that allows business owners to use the public right-of-way for dining. This means they can set up space for customers in parking spaces/lots and travel lanes in front of their businesses. The permits allow for everything from installations like the “street seats” we currently have, to carfree plazas that spread out across the entire street — as long plans leave space for bikers, walkers and emergency vehicles to get through.

Earlier this week, PBOT held an online Q & A with members of the Portland Independent Restaurant Alliance. On that call, PBOT staffer Greg Raisman described the Healthy Business program as a partnership. “What we have is a lot of free square feet and a free permit… We are offering you an empty box. That empty box is in the shape of some section of the street. You get to decide what goes in that box.”

If all goes according to plan Multnomah County will begin work on a new “earthquake ready” Burnside Bridge in 2024. On Monday, the community task force charged with decided what that bridge will look like reached a big milestone by choosing the “long span bridge” alternative.

Here’s more from the County:

The long span bridge alternative (PDF) would replace the existing bridge in the same location and alignment. The long span alternative has the fewest support columns of four alternatives that were studied. Fewer columns avoids costly construction in geotechnical hazard zones near the Willamette River and restricted spaces between lanes of Interstate 5 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks on the east side.

Task force members cited these reasons for choosing the long span alternative:
— Best for seismic resiliency – locating fewer columns in liquefiable soils gives it the least risk from soil movement during an earthquake
— It is the lowest cost of four build alternatives ($825 million compared to as high as $950 million for the most expensive option)
— The reduced number of columns also benefits Waterfront Park users, crime prevention, and preservation of the Burnside Skatepark
— Additional deck width over the river provides a safer facility for bicyclists, pedestrians and other users
— Reduced impacts to natural resources due to fewer columns in the water.

(Scenes from Tuesday’s march that took over the Fremont Bridge/I-405. Photos by Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

An organized squad of bike riders have become a key part of the daily marches supporting Portland’s Black Lives Matter movement.

For nearly two weeks now there’s been a concerted effort to use bicycles to protect marchers and help protest organizers make their events smooth and safe. As marches led by Rose City Justice have taken over major interstates, the need for a bike-mounted traffic safety volunteers has become more acute. The bike squads work together but aren’t centrally organized. They work in coordination with protest organizers and do whatever is asked of them — from corking intersections and ferrying supplies, to clearing lanes for support vehicles and directing traffic.

At the start of Tuesday’s protest at Jefferson High School in north Portland I was impressed by what I saw: There was an eager group of riders clearly there to help, someone gave a mission debrief and instructions, and hi-viz vests were passed out to riders who wanted them.

I talked to three people who’ve shown up to many of the protests about what they’re doing and why.

I was afraid of this.

For years we’ve been warning about the threat of vehicular violence by people using cars. Now it’s on the rise amid the daily marches against police violence and racism that have been going on in Portland for three weeks straight.

There have been several documented cases of Black Lives Matter protests being disturbed by car drivers intent on causing harm.

— On May 29th someone driving a Volkswagen sedan drove into a man riding a skateboard near NE Grand and Shaver. The incident was caught on camera by The Oregonian photographer Dave Killen.

The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, our state’s official sanctioning body for competitive cycling, knows it isn’t doing enough to support participation of Black, Indigenous and people of color. And they’ve taken a first step to do something about it.

In a statement shared with the group’s 4,500 members yesterday, OBRA Board of Director members Stacy Westbrook and Christy Hawkins wrote, “The events over the last few weeks have shone a spotlight on the systemic racism prevalent in our communities. OBRA recognizes that the cycling industry, and the sport of cycling, has contributed to this.”

Westbrook and Hawkins then acknowledged that OBRA is not living up to its vision statement that “each and every person in the state of Oregon” has an opportunity to participate in bike racing. “We continue to fall short of supporting this vision in our outreach and support of cycling with communities of color, specifically Black communities,” they wrote.
 
The OBRA Board established a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee earlier this year (a move that came after widespread outcry over the anti-transgender views of former board member Inga Thompson). The aim of that committee is to “explore ways to make the sport of cycling more accessible and accepting of communities that have historically been underserved by our organization and sport.”

Climate change activism group Sunrise PDX is hosting an info session tomorrow (6/17) on Metro’s Get Moving 2020 transportation funding bond measure.

It’s been easy to forget with the pandemic and protests dominating the news since March, but Metro still hopes to put this measure on the ballot in November. If all goes according to plan it will raise $3.1 billion for infrastructure projects, including $975 million for the new SW Corridor MAX light rail line.

“Now more than ever the intersectionality of environmental justice, racial justice and transportation justice is a major key in how our city proceeds with its priorities,” reads a description of the event. “Feedback about the anti-oppression and community engagement portions of this bond will be an especially important part of how we move forward.”

Sunrise will be joined by Getting There Together Coalition, a group of 50+ organizations that’s working to make sure investments are equitable and don’t result in displacement of low-income people.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office says a Portland man was found dead Saturday on a dirt trail north of Highway 20 about 28 miles east of Bend. According to their statement, 36-year-old John Eric Sims was believed to have been riding a mountain bike prior to his death.

Here’s more from DCSO:

“On 6/14/20 at 12:32 p.m., deputies from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a deceased male, who had been located by ATV riders. This location was approximately one mile north of Hwy 20 near milepost 28. Deputies arrived on scene and began conducting a death investigation. Detectives and a Deputy Medical Examiner from the Deschutes County Medical Examiner’s Office arrived on scene to assist in the investigation. The male was later identified as John Eric Sims, age 36, of Portland, Oregon.

In a lengthy blog post published last night, Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Chris Warner acknowledged his agency’s role in inequitable infrastructure impacts and vowed to become an “anti-racist organization.”

“For too many, the spaces where people should feel free to use and traverse with ease,” Warner wrote, “unfortunately, feel unsafe.” “I want our Black colleagues, stakeholders, customers, friends, partners, and community leaders to know that we stand in solidarity and will take action,” he continued. “We will not remain silent on issues of social justice and human rights. We acknowledge that our institution has contributed immensely to the historic pain and burden you bear.”

The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced that they’ll fully close North Greeley Avenue for five days next week in order to complete a project that will repave the street and add a new protected bike path.

This $1.8 million project was first planned over three years ago but has been beset by delays. Greeley is a major north-south artery that provides access between downtown, Swan Island, and St. Johns. It has a history of crashes involving bicycle riders due to the high speed of drivers, lack of bikeway protection, and a horribly designed southbound bike lane that requires riders to merge across an Interstate 5 on-ramp.

In December 2019 a Multnomah County Judge found PBOT negligent for the design and awarded $350,000 to a crash victim to settle a lawsuit.

(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

After months of quarantine and weeks of heavy-hearted news and protests, Nichole Watson and Keyonda McQuarters just wanted to let loose and go on a bike ride. So they posted it on Facebook and told their friends to join. They expected a few dozen people. What they got was closer to 2,000.

“I’m overwhelmed,” a giddy Watson shared at Irving Park before the ride started. “I just wanted to ride with my crew. Then you all showed up. Damn!”

Watson and McQuarters are leaders of Portland’s chapter of Black Girls Do Bike, a national nonprofit that builds community among women of color of who love to ride. They made last night’s ride all about having a good time (“fun is mandatory” the event flyer said) and they made sure anyone who wanted to ride would have a bike by teaming up with downtown bike shop Cycle Portland, Biketown bike share, and the Community Cycling Center for free loaners.

What is wrong with Portland’s current leaders?

Yesterday someone at the City of Portland decided to erect a massive plywood wall around City Hall. According to KATU it was installed to prevent people from spray painting the cherished limestone walls and, “to help preserve city resources, as a team has had to clean the buildings each day.”

With our city in mass upheaval over the killing of George Floyd and many other Black people at the hands of a racist and rotten policing system, graffiti has become rampant all over downtown. It will come off someday, but only when people feel like their voices matter.

Walling off our City Hall like it’s some type of fortress or castle? That’s absurd, deeply troubling, and a great way to guarantee more graffiti.

A key cycling route in south/southwest Portland is getting repaved and the work zone detour is causing headaches for some riders.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is grinding the pavement and laying down a smoother surface on Terwilliger between Capital Highway and SW Bancroft. PBOT says the project will last through June 24th.

Reader Andrew N. emailed us a few days ago after he came upon the work zone. “I’m a cardiologist on the hill and commute up this most days. They are forcing bicyclists to detour to Barbur all the way around with the cars. It’s dangerous and requires crossing several lanes of traffic and battling all the cars and now all the diverted cars up from the north side.”

Cities and organizations have spent nearly two decades developing “safe routes to school” plans to keep kids safe on streets while they walk and bike to class. Guiding their work since around 2005 has been a concept known as “The 5 Es”. This approach says the best way to boost non-car trips is to focus on a mix of education, encouragement, engineering, evaluation, and enforcement.

That last “E” of enforcement has fallen out of favor in recent years because of how policing has a disproportionate impact on people of color.

Today, amid nationwide protests and outrage over racism in our police system, the nonprofit Safe Routes to School Partnership announced “enforcement” will no longer be a part of their organizing framework. The Partnership has an active advocacy presence in our region and is the leading national voice for Safe Routes with connections to major groups like the AARP, National PTA, America Heart Association, and many others.

(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Thousands of Portlanders hopped on bikes last night to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Two rides coalesced and took over major streets and bridges before meeting up at the Rose City Justice/BLM march basecamp at Revolution Hall in southeast Portland. From there they joined a massive march that took over Interstate 84 and ended on inner Northeast Alberta Street.

It was a night full of people power and powerful symbolism: We marched together, united, on a freeway that destroyed neighborhoods and continues to divide our community and we chanted “Black Lives Matter” with fists raised high in the air on Alberta Street where gentrification has exacted a huge toll on Black lives.

A storm of daily protests inspired by the murder of George Floyd have ratcheted up pressure for major changes at the Portland Police Bureau. And some local transportation reform advocates refuse to sit on the sidelines.

From fare enforcement on TriMet to enforcing traffic laws (or not), police officers have a vast impact on how people get around — especially people of color. Put simply: Transportation reform cannot happen without police reform and the dismantling of racist law enforcement.

That’s why Bike Loud PDX and Oregon Walks support a call for major systemic changes to the police budget being led by the Portland African American Leadership Forum (PAALF) and Unite Oregon.