Last week, I rode in the Pioneer Century, put on by the Portland Wheelmen.
This is always one of the top bike rides in the area. The route, support, and food are all top notch.
Just did the 45 mile loop as I didnt want to spend a lot of time out on the bike, as there was lots to do for the day. This route heads west out of Canby, crossing I-5 and out past Champoeg park, south down Riverside/River road, and in through St. Paul.

From there its back east on French Praire and through Donald.

Then taking Lower Boonesferry, and Arndt road back into Canby.
Where we pass this abandoned Lumber Carrier on the side of the road. It has sat seemingly undisturbed, here at the side of the road for many years. My Dad operated a machine just like this in a sawmill, back in the day when the lumber mills worked long and hard hours.

My son first showed me this proposal for a cycle-track in downtown Portland.
He is a daily bike commuter, riding a respectable distance to PSU, and these sorts of transportation improvements are especially important to those that are riding on a regular basis, through all types of weather and lighting conditions.   It would be great if this could be accomplished.  Portland has been making remarkable progress to promote bicycling and to make it safe for everyone.  And Sam Adams has been a big part of that.

The following post is from OregonLive.com
Posted by Joseph Rose. The Oregonian April 30, 2009 13:30PM

The other night, hometown indie rockers The Decemberists gave a national-TV shout out to Portland as a “big biking town” on the Colbert Report (watch the video above).

This morning, Portland Mayor Sam Adams went a step further, promising to remove one of three automobile lanes on a stretch of Southwest Broadway for a high-capacity “cycletrack” near Portland State University.

PBOTA schematic of the proposed Broadway cycleway being pushed by Mayor Same Adams.

I first met Joe outside a John Prine concert at Oaks Park.  I was standing in back next to my bike as he came over to talk bikes. The usual stuff, tires, seats, routes.  He told me he was a bike writer as well as a bike rider, and I soon came to realize I had read and admired many of his stories. I have met up with him many times since, and have a few of his books, as well as a signed copy of “Metal Cowboy”.  He is a writer with great sense of energy, humor and what it means to him to ride a bike. I am interested to hear his stories of their family bike ride across Canada. “Mud, Sweat and Gears: One Family’s Rowdy Adventure Across Canada on Seven Wheel”, that should be published this summer.
Today, he reviews another bicycling book.

Nonfiction review: “Pedaling Revolution”
Posted On OregonLive by Joe Kurmaskie, Special to The Oregonian March 13, 2009 13:46PM

Ten years ago, if an established reporter had devoted an entire book to the bicycle as political statement and tool for making cities more livable, publishers would have greeted it with folded arms and awkward silence.  What a difference an oil war, Wall Street excess, $4-a-gallon gas and a global recession make. But calling “Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities,” by Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian’s senior political reporter, a happy accident of timing shortchanges it.

To date, “Pedaling Revolution” is easily the best book-length examination of cycling culture and its connection to big-picture issues. It could do for bicycling what “Fast Food Nation” and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” did to put food choices on people’s radar, and what “The Long Emergency” has done to educate people about peak oil.  n less-assured hands, “Pedaling Revolution” could have been a wreck, devolving into a passionate rant short on facts, or turned into a lifeless manual for wonks, devoid of personal stories that circle back to larger issues. Either would have lost Mapes’ intended audience: middle-class commuters living in an urban setting, unaware or misinformed about the nature and growing importance of this two-wheeled revolution. Continue reading →

We really like Kaiser Permanente for a many reasons. Here is one more…..

Some time ago I wrote a post about these cool danish bike lights. Honey saw the post and took the bait.  That Christmas, Santa left me one set of the lights, thinking that if they were worthwhile, a set would appear for Honey as well. They have been on my commuter/rain bike since then.  Each time I get on the bike, they are there, consistently blinking.  They passed our test, proving to be bright, sturdy, dependable, and  maintenance free. We ordered some for Honey, choosing to get them installed by the daylight savings time darkness instead of waiting til Christmas.

Heres the box……..

The kit contains a front (red) and rear (white) light, brackets to hold the lights to the axles, and two magnets for each wheel that are installed just like installing the magnet for the cyclometer.

The bracket for Honeys bike required some additional reshaping since her touring style forks are a little wider.  The light had to be shifted farther inward, since there must be less than a quarter inch clearance between the magnet and the light.

My cyclometer is installed on the rear wheel as well and I found that it was in the same alignment as the light, and the addition of two more magnetic sensors to the odometer caused some really fast and false readings, so I had to rework the cyclometer a bit.

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It is much better to have the cyclometer on the front, so that they can be on opposite sides of the wheel such as on Honeys front.

It really only takes about 15 minutes to install, it is pretty simple and only requires one phillips screwdriver.

These lights are really an addition to the lights arsenal you need.  They are flashers, meant to make you visible, not to help you see the road. Plus, because they are mounted on the axles, they are a little low for maximum visibility. And, they will take a little adjustment when the tire is removed since they are held in place with the quick release levers.  But they are pretty bright, and once installed, you will never leave home without them.