Personality issues aside, there is often no better carpool partner than someone that you work with. There's a level of comfort in knowing who your sharing a ride with, and you have the same destination.

If you work for a medium to large company, there's a decent chance that you have coworkers that live near you. Metro offers employers a free employer scattermap service that helps employers to match nearby employees that are interested in sharing the commute.

Here's how it works: Your HR department creates a file of home addresses with the employee names replaced by a numeric codes. They give this file to Metro who creates a map with this information and then dumps the original data. What you get is a map with that show the areas where employees live.

From here, it is up to the employer to choose how to use the information.

Probably the most successful approach is where the HR department is active in facilitating carpools between those who live near each other.

Another is for HR to post the maps in break rooms. Employees who are interested in carpooling ask for HR to contact those who live near them. Either way, people's privacy is preserved.

Email us if you're interested in your employer creating a scattermap.

Sample map courtesy of Metro Regional Travel Options

What is Kidical Mass? 

Kidical Mass is a safe, legal, FUN monthly ride for kids and families on bikes, trikes, trailers, unicycles, and other things that roll.  It's a chance to ride with old friends and make new ones.  It is a celebration of families rolling together and of kids under their own power.  Kidical Mass is for families who live on their bikes and for families who can't remember the last time they dusted off the old trailer.  Come ride with us!

Upcoming Events:

November ride: Kidical Mass Tour de Pie 

Nov 20 (Sat)

2:45pm meet-up; 3:00pm departure

Ladd's Circle Park

Under 3-mile loop ride; enjoying pizza pie, fried pie and pumpkin pie along the way

When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, for us here at Kidical Mass, it's all about the pie.  This line of thinking led us to invent the Kidical Mass Tour de Pie, a rolling exploration of pie establishments in close-in SE Portland.  Stops are not yet finalized, but will likely include pizza pie, fried pie, and of course the traditional baked-in-a-flaky-crust pumpkin pie. The ride will be under 3 miles, and will be a loop.  We ride rain or shine.

If you need assistance paying for pie, please inform organizer, Katie Proctor (katie.proctor@gmail.com), ahead of time and we will make arrangements.

December ride: Caroling on N Mississippi

Dec 18 (Sat)

Time and location: TBD

For more info, check out the website at kidicalmasspdx.org, or contact ride leader Katie Proctor at katie.proctor@gmail.com.

Once a month, families from Cesar Chavez meet at the old their neighborhood School, Clarendon Elementary School (closed with the school mergers) and walk to their new school Cesar Chavez K-8. Their monthly Camintas (Spanish for “Walks”) encourage families to walk to school. They also organize a Stop+Walk campaign for families that drive, encouraging them to park a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way together. Check out these pictures from their last walk on October 13th - they had twice as many participants as on Walk + Bike to School Day!

Businesses are really starting to pick up on the popularity of bicycling with their clientele.  Just this past week, two businesses were prominently displaying their bicycle parking credentials with customers.  Rivermark Credit Union just opened a new branch on Hawthorne with 10 covered bike parking spaces and Spirit of '77, an Oregon-themed sports bar on NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, features indoor bike parking for about 15 bikes.

Of course, there are many more businesses in Portland and the region trying to grab their share of the biking masses.  What other businesses have you seen that are making things good for the two-wheeled set?  Let us know...

Off-street bike corral for Mississippi Marketplace and Prost.	Indoor bike parking!
Hopworks Urban Brewery bike art, image courtesy of oregonlive.com	Spirit of '77 prominently displaying its bike parking cred (below).

I had a joyous morning of bike commuting today. The tree leaves are at postcard levels of beauty, and the balmy weather seems a bit unreal.

If you usually put your bicycle in the garage at the end of September, tomorrow is forecast to be grand. It could be a good day to get your bike out.

Did you ride transit to work? Your potential joys are at least equal of your bike commuting cousins. Why not get off the bus a few stops earlier and enjoy your neighborhood? You'll arrive home in a good mood from the autumnal beauty and the endorphin release that accompanies physical activity.

We know that we're in for a La Nina fall/winter season, but that doesn't mean you can't still enjoy the outdoors during your commute.

TriMet has some great tips for fall and winter riding.

 If you'd like to give fall and winter bike commuting a try, you can check out our free All Season Cycling workshop at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 20th at Ron Russell Middle School at 3955 at SE 112nd Avenue. This is part of one of the City of Portland's Fix It Fairs where there will be dozens of workshops on healthy living and saving energy costs by making your house more energy efficient.

If you learn by reading, you may want to download our Guide to Your Ride or Riding in the Rain and and Night Riding Tips. You can also order it here.

Photo reminder that it is indeed fall.