"Time to Get Educated, Organized, and Inspired"

I wish I were in Portland, Oregon. This is not, to be honest, an uncommon wish for me to have, but at present there's a particular event that has me hankering to be in the City of Roses. Tomorrow night from 6 to 9 p.m. at Velo Cult Bike Shop, Bikeportland.org will host the first ever Portland Bike Theft Summit.

Titled “The Problem, The People, The Solutions,” the event will feature panel discussions of enforcement, parking, and education/technology, bringing together police officers and bike valets, park rangers and transportation planners. The summit is sponsored by Bike Index, and representatives of both that outfit and Project 529 will speak. There will also be time for networking ("and other fun stuff TBD") and a documentary filmmaker on hand to record attendees' tales of bike theft and recovery. The full program is outlined here.

Go to the summit if you can, and, if not, consider whether your city might be able to organize an analogous event. Hmmm.