T-Bone gets another 15 minutes

T-Bone, a valued member of the Team Wreck bike polo team and a sometimes member of the moutain bike team (she has to work weekends) is profiled in the Oregonian today.

Tori Bortman

Age: 32

Job: Bicycle mechanic, downtown Bike Gallery

Pay: $20,000

Background: Behind her bee-girl glasses, Bortman finds a sort of serenity in the gears and grease of the Bike Gallery's back shop. "My mental health is better with this kind of job," says the former substitute teacher and janitor who studied theater and creative writing at Western Illinois University. The job's importance in Bike City USA belies the $10-an-hour paycheck, she says. "I love bicycles. And I love keeping people on their bikes." She has the best job in the city, she says. Plus, she has a 401(k) and health insurance. "Those aren't things bike mechanics usually have access to." The worst part of the job: "The chapped skin. I have to wash my hands so many times a day."

Quote: "People come in and apologize that they don't know how to fix their bikes. I tell them, 'If you knew how to fix bikes, I wouldn't have a job.' "