At primary election time I need to endorse something. An email tipped me off to the design contest for the Biketown rental bike system which became the thing that would allow me to sway people’s votes. I’m for any design that removes orange paint from those bikes. That color may offer visibility but my preference would be a shade of neon yellow or green. Now that I get to voice an opinion about what the bikes might look like there’s hope for an eye-catching design in the future.

Each quadrant of the city will have their own look which offers ample voting opportunities. My recommendation is solely focused on North Portland because it’s where I live and the area where I expect to encounter these bikes. After looking over the designs, I’ll admit to being impartial, but I liked those representing North Portland best. I must reiterate, any redesign of the bike’s appearance with multiple colors and patterns will be an improvement over the current orange standard. Now allow me to reveal that The Portland Orbit is whole heartedly in support of and thereby offering its endorsement of the design featuring the prominent use of the image of Paul Bunyan the adopted hometown hero of the Kenton neighborhood since he wandered by in 1959 and decided to stick around. From his head taking over the side of the bike basket, to his checkered shirt and blue painted pants around the seat area, there’s a playfulness that is sure to allow me some mild enjoyment from seeing people riding by on Biketown bikes.

Drawing borrowed for endorsement purposes.

I understand that a design could have represented the whole North Portland area but that probably proved too challenging. Paul is another kind of tourist attraction and for some reason I associate these bikes with tourists so why not let tourists ride on a tourist attraction inspired decorated bike. My impartiality stems from Paul Bunyan being my neighbor. He’s suffer through hard times and had his struggles with soot and peeling paint. Now he’s back, looking a tiny bit on the orange side (all shades of orange are disturbing to me these days) but I have more Paul pride than ever. It would be great to see this feelings reflected on a bike. In the winter when all the leaves have fallen off the trees I’m able to see Paul’s hat pom-pom from our house. That’s the one aspect of the design that may be flawed. I would have liked a pom-pom incorporated into the design but at this point it’s too much to ask the designer to go back to the drawing board.

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A spin of the globe goes out to Josh G. for letting me know about the design competition.

I heard back from Josh G. that the winners have already been decided. You can find that information here.