Portland Trial Lawyer’s Lifelong Commitment to Cycling, Motorcycling, and Boating Combine in Advocacy and Law Practice

Former Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney blends courtroom experience, athletic community support, and humanitarian service

PORTLAND, OR, UNITED STATES, January 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- For Portland personal injury trial lawyer Michael Colbach, advocacy for cyclists and motorcyclists extends far beyond the courtroom. It reflects a lifetime spent riding, racing, and supporting causes rooted in sport, health and community.

Colbach started riding bicycles seriously in 1994 when he started his first law job as a Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney. It started out as an economic decision, “I did not make much money and parking, gas, insurance, etc. were eating up a big chunk of my paycheck. I initially hauled my mountain bike to Lake Oswego before riding into Portland, and by 1995 I was commuting full‑time from West Linn to the courthouse, more than 20 miles each way.”

What began as bicycle commuting quickly evolved into bicycle racing and what he calls the bike bug, “I trained around 30 hours a week and rode many thousands of miles a year,” Colbach said. “Before long, I joined a team and began doing stage races and cyclocross. I raced for Presto Velo for years and eventually became the team’s main cash sponsor, BicycleAttorney.com.”

That lived experience followed Colbach into the courtroom, where he spent the next eight years focused almost entirely on trial work. He tried approximately 100 criminal jury trials, with a singular emphasis on becoming a stronger, more effective trial lawyer.

At the end of 2002, Colbach opened his own personal injury law practice. Calls from cyclists who knew him came early and often, and his practice naturally evolved into a bicycle‑focused practice with about half of his cases being bicycle injury, and the other half motor vehicle, motorcycle cases, and personal injury cases.

Cycling has remained central to Colbach’s life. In addition to serving as the title sponsor of the BicycleAttorney.com racing team, he continues to support the broader Oregon cycling community through events such as Race Monday Nights at Portland International Raceway and other community‑based cycling initiatives.

Colbach is also an experienced motorcyclist having ridden thousands of miles on his street motorcycle, and having ridden motocross, and off road motorcycles. In the early years of his practice, Colbach once offered a free PSSR Track Day to all of his motorcycle clients at Portland International Raceway. PSSR Instructors were some of the very best on the West Coast. The motorcycle riders were some of the fastest on the West Coast.

In 2016 Colbach hosted his own invitational PSSR Track Day at PIR, and PSSR invited the 25 fastest motorcycle riders in the PNW.

In 2017 Colbach began his 9 years affiliated with Andy DiBrino, an Oregon‑grown professional motorcycle racer who is from the same Portland suburb area that Mike grew up. “Andy is a huge talent and it has been an amazing experience to cheer for him and all the great motorcycle sport and motorcycle projects he gets involved with, like his documentary films projects he's been involved with.”

Colbach is referring to a documentary Andy DiBrino filmed as he competed in 3 different riding disciplines on three back to back weekends chasing his first RSD Superhooligan National Championship, his 2017 Oregon motorcycle road racing association formula ultra championship and a professional stunt riding gig.

“There is a film where Andy showcases his ability to drift both 2 and 4 wheels. Andy excels at motorcycle handling skills and this really shows off his talent. It is fantastic that Andy is doing some coaching at track days in the area.”

Colbach says he himself has enjoyed many motorcycle track days, “I'm a huge advocate continued motorcycle rider training and track days offer experience with your motorcycle in a non traffic environment where you can push your skills to improve and get seat time on your motorcycle. The help of other riders and coaches is also invaluable in helping you gain confidence and build new skills.”

In 2022 Colbach purchased and donated more than 25 new, race‑ready mountain bikes to boys at the Casa Girasoles orphanage in Peru and sent longtime Presto Velo teammate Hugh Givens and one time sponsor of the Presto Velo team and retired owner of the Portland bike store Bike N Hike, Kevin Chudy who delivered the bicycles.

“The team rode bikes with the kids for nearly a month, teaching them how to build and repair them. We hope a few of the boys might be able to represent their own Peru national team one day, Pan Am 2027, or even race professionally,” Colbach says.

Colbach speaks enthusiastically about Peru Gravel Camp which he personally attended in 2024 along with 10 others from the BicycleAttorney.com team including Givens and Chudy. “It was a life changing experience. The camps are a great way to raise money while providing the experience the trip of a lifetime.”

Colbach also has a long running commitment to hunger‑relief efforts in Oregon and Washington, utilizing his skills Colbach is also a 100‑ton U.S. Coast Guard‑licensed captain and an avid offshore angler. Colbach has captained his own boat in the Oregon Tuna Classic since its inception, fishing with his team who regularly fish in these waters together on the Shake N Bake.

Colbach's team won in 2014 and got to compete in the competed in the Offshore Sport Fishing World Championships. The event expanded into additional tournaments such as the Deep Canyon Challenge and Washington Tuna Classic, Colbach continues his involvement.

In 2025, Colbach's fishing efforts resulted in the donation of 6.5 tons of albacore tuna to the Washington food bank.

Whether on the road, on the water, or in the community, Colbach’s career and personal pursuits have merged around a shared goal: accountability, access, and helping others.

Those same values define Colbach’s legal practice today, which focuses on serious injury cases involving bicycle, pedestrian, motorcycle, and motor vehicle, or boating. He operates a deliberately low‑volume trial practice, preparing every case as if it will be decided by a jury. “An attorney can buy their way into legal associations and law magazines, but the only way to get good trial verdicts is through skill and hard work."

Michael Colbach
Michael Colbach Attorney at Law PC
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Motorcycle Skills / Auto Drift RSD Superhooligan racer Andy DiBrino

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