Skip to main contentI just got back from New York and saw a very different picture in my two days of biking around the island ["Bikelash," WW, June 12, 2013].
Folks there are frustrated at the lack of operability of the Alta [bike-share] system. I think NYC got sold a pig in a poke by Alta, unless its software fail can be rapidly redeemed.
So it struck me as odd to read such a valedictory piece. I was expecting the more counterintuitive story about how Alta's new software is unexpectedly sabotaging what should be a wonderful system, rather than another provincial Portland essay gushing over Mia Birk.
That's the old story, done any number of times in The Oregonian. Check out The New York Times if you want to read about the Citi Bike system's performance. In short, the stations are so buggy that you can't trust that you'll even be able to return a bike and lock it up. What a shame.
—"Sarah Smith"
The hippy-dippy utopia is the very thing that brought [Mia Birk] to Portland, and now she scoffs at it. Her nose is so high in the air, she'll drown the next time it rains.
Can you imagine sitting on a bike advertising Citibank? How utterly shameful. She ought to empower minority- or small-business owners to run bike shops, not Citibank. She garners government grants to help advertise for Wall Street crooks.
I'd rather see people waddle than pedal [in Portland]. That's what webbed toes are for. [Birk] ought to grow some if she wants to belong.
—"Maja Verde"
THE REAL WORLD BLOWS TOWN
I only watched this season because it was in Portland; I abandoned The Real World ages ago ["Last Season, on The Real World," WW, June 12, 2013]. My hope was, since PDX is such an awesome city with so much to show, that they would [show it], at least since we're so "weird."
I was mad [the cast members] worked at Pizza Schmizza and mad they showed so little of the city. The only thing I could stand was the fighting. Yeah, violence sucks, but this season had nothing else to look forward to. Even their Zombie Camping Trip sucked.
They failed to show the real side of Portland, and made us look boring.
—"Rap Game ParisHilton"
Honestly, I'm glad they made Portland seem terrible. Do any of us actually want MTV watchers to flock here in droves?
—"Kate"
CORRECTION
Last week's cover story on Alta Bike Share, "Bikelash," incorrectly stated the price of renting a Citi Bike in New York City as $9.95 an hour. The cost is $9.95 a day, with unlimited 30-minute trips. WW regrets the error.
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