Subcultures: After a Backpedal, Cycling Is Picking Up Speed
The “bike commuter” might be a familiar Portland type, but that doesn’t mean cycling enthusiasts have been coasting recently. Housing in bike-friendly neighborhoods is increasingly out of reach for young and lower-income would-be riders. Accelerating a downward trend that had started a few years before, the pandemic suddenly removed thousands of daily bike commuters from the roads. “When you take them away, it’s a huge gut punch,” says longtime bike advocate Jonathan Maus, publisher of BikePortland.
Still, there’s plenty of fun to be had, and nowhere is that more visible than during Pedalpalooza, the festival that was once limited to June but is now on its fourth year as a summer-long, three-month event. Anyone (yes, you!) is welcome to add their own rides to the online calendar (see shift2bikes.org). What’s more, PBOT data for 2023 shows an uptick in the number of bike commuters in the city, though it’s still well below prepandemic numbers. “We’re finding our mojo again,” says Maus.
4.8% Increase, since 2022, in bicyclists recorded in the 2023 Portland Bicycle Count.
-32% Decrease, since 2019, in bicyclists recorded in the 2023 count.
28.8% Portland cyclists in the count who are women.*
80% Share of male cyclists in Portland who wear helmets.
89% Share of female cyclists who wear helmets.
30,000 Approximate number of Portland bicycles registered with Project 529, a Portland-founded, Bellingham-based antitheft registry service.
2,000 Number of rentable e-bikes in the Biketown fleet, the city’s Nike-sponsored bikeshare network.
10,000+ Peak Portland attendance for the World Naked Bike Ride, in 2014.
