Tack Strip In Portland Bike Lane

If this was done on purpose, I hope they catch whoever did this...
Jeremy Dunn, a Portland cyclist, found something strange on his path while he as riding westbound on the bike lane on NE Marine Drive. A piece of tar paper with thumb-tacks pushed through it so they are perpendicular to the ground, just about the width of the bike lane. He took the photos shown above and below and contacted BikePortland to report the incident.


While it's impossible to be 100% sure that this was done on purpose - it could be a piece of construction debris of just the right size that just happened to be set there - it appears very unlikely, especially since it's not the first time that this happens around that area. One commenter going by the name of "Lunchrider" wrote: "I got hit last week. At exactly that spot I didn't even notice the tar paper. Let me tell you double flats are no fun. I didn't even think of a hostile attack just put it up to bad luck, and had a friend from work pick me up, it was after all my luchrider. I ride this area 5 days a week and have NEVER had any problem's with any driver." So if people pick up the strips when they notice it, chances are that the one found this week wasn't the same one as last week, which means that someone is adding new ones...

Fortunately, Dunn and his riding mate didn't flat. "We had our heads up and avoided it because it looked like refuse," he said, "but we came across another rider about a mile down the road who had mysteriously double flatted." Marine Drive is a very popular bike route and it's also a high-speed arterial road with only one standard vehicle lane in each direction. It's not hard to imagine that some people simply don't like the presence of bikes out there. It's worth noting that this incident comes just about one month after well over 20 people flatted on tacks thrown on bike lanes in North Portland.

If you are in Portland and have seen anything like this, please let me know in the comment below. And if you've seen who did this, even better, let the local authorities know.

Antelope Takes Out Mountain Biker

This video is going viral, and is one of the craziest things I have ever seen. Watch the video below.

According to the video description on YouTube, the rider is Evan van der Spuy of Team Jeep South Africa and this happened at "the Time Freight Express MTB race at Albert Falls Dam." Via: UrbanVelo.

Be careful out there. Wear your helmet and respect the locals!

Giant Responds to GM Add

Giant Bicycles has responded to GM’s anti-cycling advertisement by coming up with an ad of their own. It reads:

“Reality DOES Suck. Luckily bicycles don’t… In fact it’s the best thing you can do to save hundreds… even thousands of dollars a year. It doesn’t matter if you’re in college, young, or old. The only thing you have to lose is some weight.. and the burden of fuel prices”.

The ad compares the price of a Giant bike ($420) to a $27,300 Chevy truck as well as highlighting the annual fuel cost for the truck ($3,600).


The ad doesn’t even need to mention the insurance costs, parking costs, depreciation, repairs, registration, or maintenance. Or the fact that Americans work 2.9 hours each day just to pay for their cars.

“Stop driving.. start pedaling.”

Bike Lock That Looks Like a Water Bottle

I've seen a lot of clever bike lock designs, but the Küat Racks Bottle Lock is definitely unique. This is a great gadget for cyclists -- a bike lock that stores as the same size and shape as a bottle of water so it fits right in your water bottle rack.

Bike theft is a real problem, but that doesn't mean ugly bike locks have to be an unfortunate side effect of bicycling around town. Most locks look rather ugly when they aren't in use. Usually they just sort of hang from your seat, haphazardly wrapped up and waiting to be looped around a lamp post.

The Küat Racks Bottle Lock has a 5-foot long cable of 7.5mm braided steel that rolls up to store in the bottle-shaped case. It includes two keys and a lock, which can also be stored inside the "bottle", and weighs just 14 ounces. It would have an expected sale price of $34, if it makes it onto store shelves. That's really not so bad for a stylishly-hidden lock for your bike.


The only problem, of course, is where does your water go?

Apartment Bike Storage Solutions

Sure, bicycling is a fun and earth-friendly way to get around. But if you have to store your bike inside your apartment for one reason or another, they can begin to take over your place if your home is challenged in the size department. Below are some great products and solutions that will help organize all your rides.

Bike shelf systems can easily be found on Etsy.com. They can range from sleek to crafty to rustic. All play on the idea of the shelf and are a great solution if you have ample horizontal wall space.

If your space is a bit smaller, a vertical solution might be a better bet. The Cycloc lets you hang your bike along any wall, and gives you a small storage space for riding accessories.

A bigger challenge comes when you're sharing a space with another biker or are a bike enthusiast with more than one bike. If you've got multiple bikes, try this system.

Taken from IkeaHacker, you can construct this bike rack using just a few simple pieces of hardware from Ikea: a Stolmen post, a couple of brackets, and four hooks.

Building the rack works as follows:
1. Cut two pieces of the square pipe; choose the length depending on the design of your bike frame.
2. Drill 3 holes into the pieces of square pipes.
3. Screw a hook on each end of the pipe; screw the pipe to the bracket.
4. Now you can mount the stolmen post and adjust the two brackets on it.
5. Finally glue some of the rubber foam to the hooks to not scratch the bike frame.
Total cost? Just over $40, and should just take ½ an hour to construct.

You could store it on the ceiling. It looks great; the challenge will be getting it down. This might be a better idea for longer term storage.

Portland Bike Commuters Ride Over 1 Million Miles Last Month

Roll On, Oregon from Bicycle Transportation Alliance on Vimeo.
Twelve thousands cyclists in Portland - two thousand of them new cycling commuters - logged 1.3 million commuting miles in September's cycling commute challenge sponsored by local advocacy organization the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. That's a corresponding savings of 1.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted by the cars those commuters otherwise might have driven. But what motivates Portland cyclists to brave the city's famous endless drizzle in order to get to work in an eco-friendly fashion?


Perhaps it's the caloric savings. Portlanders are famous for loving their craft beers, and this year's commuters burned 67 million calories in their bike-based commutes. As Bike Portland noted, that's the caloric equivalent of more than 95,000 Big Macs.

Or, it might be the sheer competition. This year, Oregon Health & Science University had the biggest number of new bike commuters to sign up to do the commuting challenge (and simultaneously received the League of American Bicyclists "Gold" designation as a bike-friendly business). Local Reed College had the highest percentage of participants for an organization of more than 500 people (10% participation rate), while tiny Cast Iron Coding, and Grapheon Design both with under 25 employees, had 100% participation.

But more likely than not, the reason for Portland's strong percentage of new and ongoing bicycle commuters is probably due to simple, basic and important bicycle infrastructure. Portland isn't even in the same league as European cities such as Groningen, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, etc. And in terms of raw numbers, 12,000 cyclists is a puny statistic - New York City probably beats that by a magnitude of 10 every weekday morning. In most of the U.S., however, Portland's bike culture and its bike infrastructure still reign supreme.


And while you can't say they are zealous revolutionaries, Portland's transportation officials aren't resting on their laurels, either. Recently, the Portland Bureau of Transportation received permission to regulate speeds on residential roads, which allows the Bureau to drop speed limits on "neighborhood greenways" to 20 miles per hour and hope painted sharrows encourage motorists and bicyclists to peacefully coexist. In addition, another project called the "50s bikeway" - 4.3 miles of north to south "safety" corridor that will encourage cyclists and try to better protect pedestrians, too, received approval from the City Council and will likely be implemented within a year.

University of Virginia Bike Repair Station

I stumbled on this image randomly, so I don't have too much information about it except for what I can see. Based on the stickers, it's a bike maintenance/repair station at the University of Virginia, and the station was put there by the sustainability program of the university (any reader going to the UV can confirm?). It's an elegant design: Everything you need is easily accessible, including an air pump and all kinds of tools, and the anti-theft metal wires probably make it more trouble than its worth for vandals to try to steal a few tools. Not only does it help cyclists keep their bikes in good working order, but it also advertises cycling to all students who see it. Great idea, I'd love to see more of those everywhere. Check out Sustainability UVA.