November - December 2005

I thought I’d tell you a little about my summer vacation. In late August I spent a week in Portland, Oregon, though much of it was actually in Vancouver, Washington, where my cousin Marc and his girlfriend Cathy live. Now much has been said about Portland being the cycling capital of the United States, and now I can say from first hand experience that Portland is indeed a cyclist’s paradise and a vibrant, sustainable and friendly city of the first magnitude.

First of all there are bike lanes absolutely everywhere: arterial streets, busy streets, and there are also greenways on most of the major highways. There are also some classic riverfront greenways along the Williamette River and bike paths on just about all of the bridges. More importantly, you’ll find is the attitide and respect that cyclists get from everyone in Portland, and this is also true for other areas in the Northwest.

Several times I was asked if I was ready to move to Portland after seeing this magical land. But the more I thought about it the more I felt that we need to do more to improve cycling here in New York City, to make our city more like Portland, in mindset as well as in concrete and asphalt. Of course it could take many years before the Big Apple becomes as bike friendly as Portland or Berkeley, but it is possible. Building the bike paths, installing the bike racks, those are the easy steps. The harder task will be changing the attitudes of New Yorkers and the drivers and non-cycling public who just don’t get it.

While out West I went on a couple of rides with one of the local bike clubs - the Vancouver Bicycle Club. I found them to be a friendly and engaging group, not dissimilar to the 5BBC, in fact. VBC members all seemed to be excellent hill climbers, which is no doubt due to their proximity to the Cascades. Like some clubs they list their rides online, which made it easy to pick a ride to join. I would recommend riding with them if you are in that area. (Visit their website at www.vancouverbicycleclub.com.)

Danny Lieberman
Day Trips Coordinator