Portland, Oregon--Christmas By Bike!

Last month we offered a post about Minneapolis and its Midtown Greenway Bike Path.  In the piece we mentioned that Bicycle Magazine has ranked Minneapolis as the second-best biking city in the U.S.  The number one city according to the magazine (and USA Today) is Portland, Oregon.

 

Oregonians have a great website, BikePortland.org, an online clearinghouse for photos, news, interactive forums, even jobs and a page dedicated to people who are looking for their stolen bikes.  Founded in 2005, it is independent, free, and daily.  What makes Portland number one is that more people use their bike for transportation than any other large city in the United States.  According to the state’s department of transportation, roughly 6% of Portland residents travel by bike.  The Rose City has adopted the moniker Bike City, USA and has a network of paths and trails into and out of the downtown area.  Over 18,000 cyclists cross the Williamette River daily on their commute to and from the downtown district.  The city has four very long paths that all find their way over the Williamette like super-highways on the way into town. 

Portland has gone bike crazy with cycling murals featured all over the city.  They have also embraced the idea of “bicycle enhancements” more than most cities; for example, Portland has seen a rise in the number of cargo bikes.  Residents who bike also enjoy shopping and bringing their purchases home so the cargo bike was necessary, so were trailers.   People started to build them to meet demand.

The idea of trailers and bikes that could also serve as package haulers grew and it led one resident, Max Kirchoff to open a new business just in time for Christmas—Trees by Bike.  The business launched in 2009 and was a wild success.  Born out of necessity, Kirchoff wanted a Christmas tree but didn’t have a car so he picked one up via bicycle. His firm charged a $10 delivery fee per tree.

Last month Kirchoff announced the closing of Trees by Bike for the simple reason that the work just overwhelmed him.  It is possible to have too much of a good thing.  It also helped that he and his staff--the Yule Riders--never made much of a profit.  What little they did earn they donated to local charities.  Here is the owner’s official release:   “So why are we closing up? It’s a simple answer really, I miss Christmas... Trees By Bike had become more business than passion... and as a business it just isn’t my thing.”

Portland residents have now taken it upon themselves to get their own trees by bike (pictured). Oregonians are proud of their number one status and continue to come up with ways to stay on top (Minneapolis and Chicago are threatening the #1 ranking).  The Bike the Lights attraction is all new and a fun way to see the twinkling of the season.  

By the way, folks can still have their tree delivered to the house, a local bike shop owner now offers the service.  He also delivers firewood.

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