New book tells the Portland bike story

Joyride, Portland State Professor Mia Birk’s new book, details her 20-year mission to

make bicycling a part of daily life in Portland. Despite little funding, she helped it become the most popular cycling city in the U.S. The book will be released on Oct. 4.

“I fell in love with bicycling in 1990 while attending graduate school in Washington, D.C. Having grown up in suburban Dallas, Texas, I was used to driving everywhere,” Birk said.

While in college, she found it difficult to find parking, so she borrowed her brother’s 10-speed Schwinn. “Within a few weeks, I was in the best shape of my life, and a lifelong love affair had begun.” 

Birk became the bicycle program manager for the city of Portland in 1993, where she helped Portland become a more bicycle-friendly city, according to her website.

“Mia Birk’s contributions to the bike community cannot be underestimated. She was instrumental in taking a parochial river community that did not consider bicycles in the transportation plan to the number-one cycling city in the United States,” said Joe Kurmaskie, author of Mud, Sweat and Gears.

Joyride is intended as a guidebook for other cities to emulate what has been done in Portland, according to Kurmaskie. He pointed out that Portland residents now rely less on automobiles, as bicycling is perceived as a normal, everyday means of transportation.

“Mia’s had a huge impact on the cycling community both locally and nationally. I think her book, which I’m enjoying tremendously, tells the Portland bicycle story very well,” said Jennifer Dill, a researcher at the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation.  “I’ve recommended it to people in other cities who are in similar situations—trying to create a bicycle-friendly city from the beginning.”

According to Birk, the novel is comprised of an accessible series of stories. Its small chapters outline issues such as the challenges of retrofitting streets with bike lanes, building off-street paths, adopting and enforcing bicycle parking codes and encouraging people to incorporate bicycling into their daily lives.

In addition, it describes overcoming obstacles, business opposition and negative media coverage.

Birk is currently the principle and CEO at Alta Planning, a local cycling–focused design company. Birk also travels around the country giving keynote speeches about bicycling and living sustainably.

“From a professional standpoint, I am really lucky to have found the perfect career at a young age,” Birk said. “It makes me wildly happy to bike around Portland every day and see the fruits of my labor, to know that I’ve made and am making a positive difference, not just here but everywhere I go.”

Birk will be doing a signing and reading at PSU on Oct. 11 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Parsons Gallery of the Urban Center. For more information about upcoming book signing events and lectures visit www.miabirk.com.