T. Kenji Sugahara
Contact: Jocelyn Sycip, Director: 503.956.4071, jocelyn@oregonmanifest.com
Contact: Gary Medley, Medley Communications, 503.516.1468, gtmedley@gmail.com
For Immediate Release: October 20, 2009
Promoting a Bike-Friendly Future:
Bicycle Culture from Copenhagen to Portland
Oregon Manifest Hosts Special Evening with Portland Mayor Sam Adams
and Cycling Experts Discussing Advancing the Bicycle Movement
PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon Manifest's six-week smörgåsbord of cycling
activities – bike design, bike races, bike fashion, etc. – will reach
a high point Thursday evening, October 29, when it hosts a special
evening – Bicycle Culture from Copenhagen to Portland – featuring a
discussion among cycling experts on how best to advance the bicycle
movement in today's urban environment.
The discussion will feature Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Oregonian
reporter and cycling author Jeff Mapes, and Danish photographer and
film maker Mikael Colville-Anderson. In addition, the evening will
honor both the Danish Embassy and the City of Portland for their
contributions to cycling culture, as well as their cooperation in
bringing the Dreams on Wheels exhibit to the City and Oregon Manifest.
Bicycle Culture from Copenhagen to Portland will take place at the
Oregon Manifest Bike Union (539 NW 10th at Hoyt) from 6:30 to10 p.m.
Advanced tickets are available for $10 and can be purchased online at
http://oregonmanifest.eventbrite.com or at the Oregon Manifest Bike
Union during daytime and event hours.
Attendees will be able to enjoy complimentary Hopworks ale and an
varied expanse of hors d'oeuvres from some of the Pearl District’s
tastiest restaurants including Gilt Club, MetroVino, Wilf’s Restaurant
and Bar, Taco Del Mar, Ten-01, Candy Ultra Lounge and Bistro, and
Cupcake Jones. No-host bar provided by Company Tonight Catering.
Mikael Colville-Andersen is Copenhagen’s leading bike culture
ambassador. For over three years he has been documenting Copenhagen’s
unique bicycle culture in photographs and films. He lectures around
the world about marketing bicycle culture and is the author of two
popular blogs: www.copenhagencyclechic.com and www.copenhagenize.com.
Colville-Andersen’s talk will explore Copenhagen’s journey toward
establishing the bicycle as a feasible, acceptable form of transport,
as well as marketing bicycle culture to the average citizen. He
explains how the 500,000 people on bicycles each day in Copenhagen are
not “cyclists,” nor are they “environmentalists” – they merely choose
to ride because of an existing safe, quick infrastructure. Thirty
years of traffic and urban planning have transformed the bicycle from
an instrument of sporting equipment to a democratic tool that has
liberated the people of Copenhagen from cars, in turn creating one of
the world’s most livable cities.
Portland Mayor Adams will share the City’s initiative toward the
adoption of a new and expanded Bicycle Master Plan. For more than
three decades Portland has received international recognition for
promoting cycling. The City of Portland’s ambitious Bicycle Master
Plan aims to see 30 percent of residents using active transportation
by the 2030.
Jeff Mapes, author of Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing
American Cities (and a senior political reporter for The Oregonian),
will talk about how a small band of bike advocates – against all odds
– persuaded officials in several cities to treat cycling as a
legitimate form of transportation. In recent years, cities from
Portland to New York City have built extensive bikeway networks that
have boosted ridership and made biking a mainstream form of
transportation. While the U.S. still remains far behind the best
European cities, Mapes sees signs that America is beginning its own
“pedaling revolution”.
ABOUT OREGON MANIFEST
Running from October 2 to November 8 in Portland, Oregon Manifest 09
(presented by Chris King Precision Components with generous help from
the City of Portland) will highlight the bike's influence on culture,
sustainability, and urban design. There’s something great in store
for every type of bike lover – a national bike design challenge, an
acclaimed Danish bike cultural exhibit, two bike races, guest
speakers, and a cycling apparel fashion show, and a pop-up storefront
Bike Union in the Pearl District.
SUPPORTERS OF OREGON MANIFEST
Oregon Manifest, a non-profit organization, wouldn't be possible
without the generous support of its partners. Presenting sponsor
Chris King Precision Components and the City of Portland have been
instrumental in seeding the event. Other Champion supporters include
Scan Design Foundation by Inger & Jens Bruun, Cycle Oregon, Hopworks
Urban Brewery, Metro / Drive Less Save More, Portland Development
Commission, the Pearl District Business Association, and Rapha.
Additional support comes from the Ace Hotel, Alta Planning + Design,
Castelli USA, Clever Cycles, Company Tonight Catering, Grey Matter
Design, Momentum Magazine, Nau, pdxcross.com, River City Bicycles,
United Bicycle Institute, and Wells Fargo.
For more information on Oregon Manifest visit www.oregonmanifest.com.