This morning the League of American Bicyclists awarded EcoMetro city Portland with platinum level recognition as a Bicycle Friendly Community, rising from the previous gold level status. The only other city in the US with platinum level recognition is Davis, California. Read on for our local biking information and coupons for local shops as well as the application points that earned the title. Redmond is a Bronze level city, Seattle is not ranked.


The League cited double-wide bike lanes as Portland's most significant recent accomplishment, saying "Their bicycle use numbers reflect this, having experienced their third consecutive year of double-digit growth. The city auditor estimates that 16 percent of Portlanders use the bicycle as either their primary or secondary means of transportation to work."

Here's our local bike resources from 2008 Chinook Book. You can preview all our bike coupons in our merchant directory.

Bike commuting is a mental and physical challenge, and it’s also a great way to work exercise into your day, avoid the cost of commuting and reduce your CO2 emissions. Many people’s top concerns about bike commuting are arriving wet and safety on the road — fortunately Seattle has good solutions to both, and has the largest bike club in the United States to boot, the Cascade Bicycle Club.

Hop in the saddle and learn bike commuting 101 with a free class from Cascade Bicycle Club in either an hour and a half or a three hour class. Instructors cover biking in traffic, how to carry work items and clothes, taking bikes on buses (there’s no additional charge), and making minor repairs. Downtown commuters can take advantage of secure attended bike parking and classes available at Bikestation, (311 3rd Ave S).

Women can join up with Seattle Team Luna (seattlelunachix.com) for mountain biking and road biking classes and adventures with a team supported by the makers of the Luna bar. Join up with a team for clinics through Northwest Women’s Cycling (nwwc.org), or take a casual ride and make friends during their weekly 2-hour ride around the south area of Lake Washington.

Find routes in your area submitted by other riders and displayed on Google maps at bikely.com, and see pedaling.com for even more routes including longer trips in the area. Have a lot of stuff? Get yourself a SUB — that’s Sports Utility Bicycle — at xtracycle.com. Helmets, lights, a jersey, and a waterproof bag will get you set up. For peace of mind there is even 24/7 roadside assistance and insurance for your bike through betterworldclub.com/bicycles. To see how much you can reduce your impact by going without a car visit carboncounter.org, and get pedaling.


Portland community highlights, from the League of American Bicyclists (read the full list at their site):
• Portland’s bikeway network includes 270 miles of on-street bike lanes, bike boulevards, and paved trails; another 40 miles of unpaved trails offer mountain biking opportunities in city parks.
• Six bike corrals have been installed, each replacing one on-street car parking space with 12 bicycle spaces.
• 400 bikeway destination signs have been installed (with 400 to come) on the bikeway network.
• More than 400 bicycle light sets are distributed annually to low-income bicyclists by the city, Tri-Met (the transit agency) and the Community Cycling Center.
• 2,250 elementary students annually receive a 10-hour bicycle safety course as part of a larger Safer Routes to School initiative. The course is delivered by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and has helped increase bicycling to school by 5% in just one school year.
• More than 9,100 people participated in the 2007 Bicycle Commuter Challenge, including 1,700 first-time bike commuters
• 20,000 participants in the Providence Bridge Pedal make Portland home to the second largest community bike ride in the United States (after Bike New York).
• 2,000 hardy riders fill the annual Worst Day of the Year ride in early February.
• The Bicycle Transportation Alliance boasts 3,000 members in the city and is just one of many advocacy and riding groups that organize thousands of rides, events and bicycling activities year-round.
• The city boasts 40 bike shops and more than 150 bicycle-related businesses that provide thousands of green-collar jobs and with an economic impact of more than $65 million (2005).