BikePortland Podcast

Portland City Council District 3 Candidate Brandon Mullen

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:35:00 -0700

Brandon Mullen has spent 12 years working in city and regional government: Now he wants to enter the political ring. Mullen is running for Portland City Council District 3 (SE). His expansive platform reflects his urban planning and transportation experience, as well as stints managing projects for City of Portland and Metro.

Brandon rolled over to The Shed yesterday and we had an expansive conversation that touched on everything from basketball (we're both big fans) to budgets. If you live in D3 and want help figuring out how best to rank the 10 (so far) candidates, you need to listen to this episode.

Links:

*BikePortland - Community Journalism Since 2005*

Latest news on our website (aka "blog"): https://bikeportland.org/
Subscribe and support: https://bikeportland.org/support
BikePortland on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bikeportland/
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BikePortland Podcast: https://bikeportland.org/cats/podcast

Evan Schneider, Mark Hoffman and the new film, 'A Simple Machine'

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:25:00 -0700

A Simple Machine is more than just a film, it’s a deeply Portland project that brings our beautiful city and the humble bicycle to the big screen while presenting important and relevant themes that many of us can relate to.

I recently sat down in The Shed with Evan P. Schneider, who wrote the book, A Simple Machine, Like the Lever (Propeller Books) that inspired the film; and Mark Alan Hoffman, the film’s creator and director. We talked about the creative process, the film’s deeper meanings, how Evan’s story from 2011 still resonates in 2026, and much more. Evan even read a few passages from the book!

Pull up a chair or turn up the volume and join us for a chat in the Shed.

Links:

A Simple Machine official website
A Simple Machine: Like the Lever book (2011 Propeller Books)
Oregon premiere screening at Panorama Film Festival 4/16

*BikePortland - Community Journalism Since 2005*

Latest news on our website (aka "blog"): https://bikeportland.org/
Subscribe and support: https://bikeportland.org/support
BikePortland on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bikeportland/
BikePortland on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bikeportland.bsky.social
BikePortland Podcast: https://bikeportland.org/cats/podcast

Bicycle Racing in Oregon with Chuck Kenlan

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 14:45:00 -0700

In this episode I talked with Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) Executive Director Chuck

Kenlan. OBRA just wrapped up their annual meeting and the 2026 racing season kicked off last weekend. I asked Chuck about: the health of bike racing in Oregon, some of the big and exciting races, how OBRA remains an inclusive and welcoming organization, how their transgender participation policy has changed in recent years, and much more.

Links:

OBRA website

OBRA 2025 Annual Report

*BikePortland - Community Journalism Since 2005*

Latest news on our website (aka "blog"): https://bikeportland.org/
Subscribe and support: https://bikeportland.org/support
BikePortland on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bikeportland/
BikePortland on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bikeportland.bsky.social
BikePortland Podcast: https://bikeportland.org/cats/podcast

Oregon's New E-Bike and Micromobility Laws with Cameron Bennett

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:50:00 -0700

The Oregon Legislature passed a bill in the 2026 session, House Bill 4007, that changes several laws around e-bikes and things like e-scooters, e-skateboards, one-wheels, e-unicycles, and more. For the first time, Oregon law defines "powered micromobility device." HB 4007 also lowered the legal age for riding a Class 1 (no throttle, 20 mph max speed) e-bike from 16 to 14 and the bill makes it illegal for retailers to sell e-motorcycles as "e-bikes."

I interviewed Oregon Micromobility Network (OMN) leader and Street Trust Board Member Cameron Bennett to learn more about the bill. OMN is a project of The Street Trust and Bennett is a self-described, "champion of things with small wheels."

Links:

Meet D3 City Council Candidate Tom Sollitt

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:15:00 -0700

Tom is running for one of the three District 3 seats on Portland City Council. He's a community organizer who founded Asian American Town, a platform that supported Asian American makers, entrepreneurs and small business owners. In this interview with BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus, Tom shares his views on transportation-related topics like: bike lanes on Sandy Blvd., where to park cars, Vision Zero, the 82nd Avenue Transit Project, the city's public outreach problems, and more. He also explains his general platform which is heavy on building economic resilience for Portland by starting with small businesses and the people who own and work at them.

Links:

Massive New Cost Estimate for Interstate Bridge Project

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 14:57:00 -0700

Portland-based economist, co-founder of No More Freeways, and publisher of City Observatory Joe Cortright talks about the massive new cost estimate for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program in this interview with BikePortland's Jonathan Maus.

Links

Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon Live at Bike Happy Hour

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 12:40:00 -0700

Very excited to share this episode with the two leading generals in the War on Cars, Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon. They joined us at Bike Happy Hour last night during their visit to Portland to promote their new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile.

Sarah is a writer and former editor at Streetsblog and Doug is a bike advocate extraordinaire who joined with Sarah and (Streetsblog founding editor) Aaron Naparstek to create The War on Cars podcast in 2018. That pod is now a huge success and this book is an extension of their efforts to mainstream a low-car world.

We had a wonderful conversation, made even more special in front of the energy of the live audience. Thanks for listening and please support and subscribe to BikePortland if you value my unique brand of community-building journalism. I rely on individuals like you to support this work! Subscribe today here.

Link: Life After Cars book website with links to purchase!

*BikePortland - Community Journalism Since 2005*

Latest news on our website (aka "blog"): https://bikeportland.org/
Subscribe and support: https://bikeportland.org/support
BikePortland on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bikeportland/
BikePortland on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bikeportland.bsky.social
BikePortland Podcast: https://bikeportland.org/cats/podcast

Abdulrahman Alkhamees, publisher of The Paperclip

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:58:00 -0700

Abdulrahman "Abe" Alkhamees is the man behind The Paperclip, which I've followed for years on Instagram for his excellent photography and profiles of riders and framebuilders. Abe's latest project is a square-bound magazine. He stopped by the Shed with a copy to tell me about his inspiration, what stories made the cut, and more. We also talked about his inspiration and background.

Pre-orders for the $25 magazine are open until November 14th. Half the proceeds from sales will be donated to the Gaza Sunbirds paralympic cycling team, who are one of the stories featured in the issue.

Links:

Unearthed: Zohran Mamdani on Car Culture and Road Safety

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 08:06:00 -0700

Two years ago this week I was in Manhattan covering the Vision Zero Cities conference hosted by the great nonprofit Transportation Alternatives. At a panel discussion titled, Supersized SUVs, Mega Trucks, and Regulatory Failure, one of the speakers made me sit up and take notice: He railed against feckless leadership that wouldn't improve bus service, critiqued the "war on cars," called for higher taxes on large vehicles that are more prone to kill people, and spoke about traffic victims and transportation policy with the candor, clarity and conviction you'd expect from an activist.

But this wasn't an activist. It was an elected official. He was a member of the state assembly named Zohran Mamdani. Yes, the same Mamdani who might very well be New York City's next mayor in a few weeks.

This audio from that 2023 conference is a detailed view inside Mamdani's mind and it reveals how he approaches what are still some the most important road safety and transportation topics of the day.

Links:

BikePortland recap of this panel discussion
Mamdani campaign website
Please support this work! Subscribe today!

Transportation Bill Check-in with Advocate Cassie Wilson

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 10:50:00 -0700

1000 Friends of Oregon Transportation Policy Manager Cassie Wilson has worked for over a year as a leader with the Move Oregon Forward coalition in hopes of passing a transportation bill that goes beyond freeway expansion megaprojects and continues the march toward better transit, bicycling, and walking conditions statewide.

As someone who's been in the trenches on this effort for more than a year now, I wanted to check in to see what's on her mind and how she's feeling as the bill has been whittled down to almost nothing and might be headed to referral.

Links:

Blaming drivers and 'safety science' with Sarah Risser

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 15:59:00 -0700

Portland road safety advocate Sarah Risser (Bike Loud, PBOT Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Families for Safe Streets) and I talk about the pros and cons of blaming individuals over the system when it comes to traffic crashes.

This conversation was inspired by a social media post when I scolded a driver for causing a bad wreck. Sarah then suggested I watch a video about Safety Science from Transportation Alternatives and narrated by safety expert and There Are No Accidents author Jessie Singer.

We dive into the need for blame, the limits of systems thinking (when our systems are totally dysfunctional), and several related issues around why fixing our broken streets and associated traffic culture is so challenging in America.

In the Shed Episode 40

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 15:45:00 -0700

We're back!

Eva Frazier joined me (BikePortland founder and editor Jonathan Maus) for our 40th episode of "In the Shed," the show where we chat about whatever comes to mind. In this episode we touched on a bunch of good stuff:

The Reign of Taco Ride
The wonder of Portland's neighborhood greenway network
Why runners and cyclists should get together
The Portland Biking Renaissance (and why Mayor Wilson should embrace it)
Our impressions of MADE Bike Show
Week Without Driving
How many city councilors can we get to participate in Sunday Parkways?
NW diverter update
Eva's Cargo Bike Picnic and general Bike Summer amazingness
Portland Botanical Garden coming along river near University of Portland
Progress on North Portland Greenway

And more!

Thanks for listening. And thanks to all BikePortland financial supporters and monthly subscribers. Please become a paid subscriber of BikePortland today so we can keep making cool things for you to read, watch, and listen to.

Live from the MADE Bike Show!

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 06:52:00 -0700

In this episode I share 16 short interviews with folks I bumped into at the MADE Bike Show on Friday, August 22nd. The show runs through this weekend, so you should totally go check it out if you're hearing this any time before August 25th!

Sit back and enjoy fun chats with:

Mike Smith, co-founder of No. 22 Bicycle Co
Natalie Peet, bikepacking racer repping Slow Southern Steel
Gary Fisher, MTB icon
Dave Bonilla, Portlander and @daverave64 on Instagram
Molly Lofton and Megan Dean, Moondust Apparel
Mark DiNucci, Portland framebuilding legend
Brad Davis, Nomad Cycles PDX
Oscar McBain, UC Davis Campus Bike Shop GM
Wendy Downs, Inside Line Equipment
John the Johnster, cool Portlander who I follow on Instagram
Dylan Wiggins, Right Hook Finishes
Brad Wilson, Wilde Bikes
Dave Levy, Ti Cycles
Brian Tucker, Yellow Bird Thread Works
Brenda Martin, another cool Portlander!

About Those Diverters!

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 13:53:00 -0700

It's all anyone in the local bike and transportation scene has been talking about for the past two weeks — a plan hatched by an opaque city office to remove diverters on two neighborhood greenways in northwest Portland under the guise of making it easier for police to patrol the area.

In this episode, BikePortland founder, publisher, and editor Jonathan Maus welcomes community advocate and former host of the the Sprocket Podcast, Joan Petit, into the Shed to hash it all out.

Links:

- BikePortland coverage so far

- City Administrator Michael Jordan's Memo (PDF)

- Central Precinct Commander argument for the plan

- The historic 8/12 Bike Advisory Committee meeting

- Portland Solutions org chart

#portlandoregon #goodgovernance #portland #advocacy #urbanplanning #politics #policing #streetdesign

In the Shed - Episode 39

Fri, 23 May 2025 16:31:00 -0700

Welcome to the Shed! In this episode, we talk about:

Eva's trip to Bend
PPS School Board elections
All about Ainsworth (Eva got menaced) and what PBOT has in store for an upgrade
PBOT's new bicycle marketing effort
How to counter people who say, "But not everyone can ride a bike."
Reasons for optimism at City Hall
City budget stuff
State transportation package update and cap and trade.
Bike Summer rides in the Portland Mercury print edition
How'd she get there? A tough one from SE Woodstock and Cesar Chavez to Peninsula Park for the Kickoff Ride!
SW Barbur. Ugh! Why?
and more!

Thanks for listening and for supporting BikePortland!

In The Shed - Episode 38

Fri, 09 May 2025 15:16:00 -0700

Co-hosts Jonathan Maus and Eva Frazier are back with another fun chat about all things bikes and Portland.

In this episode, Eva and I talk about:

My recent total knee replacement surgery
Cycle Oregon Block Party
Bike Summer for newbies and veterans
Why we need wildlife cameras but for Portland cyclists
Recent Portland City Council debates
Why it's time for Portland to empower citizen volunteers to improve our streets
Unhinged Nextdoor posts about Rose City Golf Course trail plan
How it's nearly impossible to ride a reverse steering bike... and the challenges of super tall bikes.
and more!

Portland Public Schools Board Candidate Rob Galanakis

Fri, 09 May 2025 10:02:00 -0700

Rob Galanakis wants Portland Public Schools to see the forest and not just the trees outside classroom windows. His campaign for a seat on the PPS Board leans heavily on the idea that PPS goes about its business largely with its head in the sand while solutions to many problems can be found in the streets just beyond school grounds.

Galanakis, a co-founder of BikeBusPDX and software company owner who moved to Portland in 2014, biked over to the BikePortland Shed on Wednesday to share more about his vision for Portland’s troubled school district.

This podcast is made possible by support of individuals like you. If you value BikePortland, please share a one-time contribution or become a monthly subscriber. https://bikeportland.org/support

City Councilor Candace Avalos on Policing and Transportation

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 17:44:00 -0700

A few days ago I sat down with Portland City Councilor Candace Avalos to have a conversation about policing and transportation. Avalos, who represents an area east of I-205 including Lents in southeast and the Portland Airport, is a first time member of city council, but she's no stranger to local politics. She was chair of the Citizen Review Committee, where she served for six years and became a well-known advocate for police accountability. Prior to being a city councilor she was executive director of Verde, an environmental justice nonprofit.

I met Councilor Avalos in a conference room at Midland Library on SE 122nd Avenue. The impetus for our conversation was the new Community Board for Police Accountability or CBPA, a new, high-profile venue for oversight of the Portland Police Bureau. More than just a committee, the new, 21-member board will have a significant budget, will hire its own investigators, and will issue binding decisions.

It's crucial that this new CBPA have at least one member who understands how transportation issues relate to public safety and policing. It's my hope this interview encourages someone in our audience to apply for one of the positions. You have until April 14th to get your applications in. Here's the link to the application.

In The Shed - Episode 37

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 16:39:00 -0700

We're back! Eva Frazier and I (Jonathan Maus) talked about all sorts of good stuff in this episode... from politics around I-5 Rose Quarter project to why the state's bike tax is so annoying.

Here's a handy outline and links to stuff we talked about:

Bike shop banter: My new Metropolis Cycle tie-dye t-shirt, latest shop closures.
Thoughts on the I-5 Rose Quarter vote at Metro Council and why I'm disappointed in Lynn Peterson and Duncan Hwang. And the bad optics of white urbanists opposing the project while Black Portlanders support it.
Ladds 500 is next weekend! (4/12)
Protest season is here. Hands Off Rally is Saturday, 4/5
Eva shares here Saturdays in May ride series.
Why hasn't PBOT revealed downtown Sunday Parkways route?
How you can eat and drink your way through the week with Portland bike events.
New segment of the Green Loop through North Park Blocks
New bike lane coming to NE Prescott
Convo with Candace Avalos and policing
How'd he get there? I share my route from North Portland (Peninsula Park) to SE 122nd and Stark (Midland Library).
Legislative transportation package draft is out. Why the bike tax is so annoying.
April 26th is carfree 82nd Ave Parade and a Cycle Oregon Block Party at Baerlic Brewing in Southeast

Thanks for listening! Please become a paid BikePortland subscriber today!

River City Bicycles Owner Dave Guettler

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 10:02:00 -0700

This Saturday, March 8th, Dave Guettler will celebrate the 30th anniversary of River City Bicycles, the business he started in 1995. In this conversation he shares stories about his early years in the bike industry, how and why he moved to Portland to open his dream shop, and much more.

Host: Jonathan Maus.

Recorded on March 4th in the BikePortland Shed in north Portland.

Links:

Video: River City's shrine to Eddy Merckx
Video: River City's Rooftop Bike People
RiverCityBicycles.com

In the Shed - Episode 36

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:32:00 -0700

Eva Frazier (former bike shop co-owner and now chair of nonprofit Bike Loud PDX) and Jonathan Maus (BikePortland publisher & editor) are back for another fun chat. Eva shares that she's working with a group of folks to bring back the Bike Commute Challenge/Bike Month festivities, I share about my recent visit to the newly reopened Kenton Cycle Repair, we had a visit from my cat "Tito," and much more.

In The Shed - Episode 35

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 13:35:00 -0700

A special Thursday edition, since I'll (Jonathan Maus) be gone tomorrow!

Such a fun chat with the wonderful Eva Frazier. Here's a taste of what we touched on this episode:

Update on BikeLoud's Bike Buddy program (they hired someone!)
Route finding from NE 156th and Halsey to Bike Happy Hour
Trump coming into office and what it means locally
The need for more events to build a more resilient community
Eva's visit to Lloyd Center (and Portland's skate culture)
Fareless Square history
New bike brand Primos Cycles
Local media rant (and how KATU plagiarized a BikePortland story)
Why I was annoyed by the Justin Timberlake on the Bike Bus thing
What consequence for the Springwater drunk driver from last May?
Cool event alert: City of Possibility
and more!

Thanks so much for your support and for listening. Please tell a friend and contact us if you've got something to say or want us to explore a specific topic.

Joshua Force and his Worldwide Bike Ride

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 13:51:00 -0700

I (BikePortland editor Jonathan Maus) caught up with Joshua Force, a former Portlander who's now 15,000 or so miles into what he calls the Worldwide Bike Ride.

He joined me from Quito, Ecuador and I asked him about how he adjusts to so many new places, what it's like creating his really cool puzzles and writings on the road, where he got his inspiration for the ride, why he loads most all his weight on front racks, and more!

Follow Joshua on IG https://www.instagram.com/ukodus.8/

Substack https://worldwidebikeride.substack.com/

You can support his work via GoFundMe

Ride Leader and Artist Shawn Granton

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 14:49:00 -0700

In this episode, I (BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus) sat down in the Shed with veteran Portland bike fun purveyor and artist Shawn Granton. Shawn has been involved with the local bike seen since 2002 and has created art for many rides and events over the years. A former comic illustrator published in Momentum and Bicycle Times magazines, Shawn is the author of the Urban Adventure League blog, a collaborator on popular Zinester's Guide to Portland, and leader of several well-known local rides such as the Dead Freeways Ride and the Palm Tree Ride.

We talked about:

What it was like moving to Portland in 2001 and how Shawn got into the bike scene.
Shawn's first Portland bike that he bought at Citybikes in 2001.
How a sticker Shawn made in 2022 led to creation of the Midnight Mystery Ride, which is still held monthly to this day.
Why Shawn doesn't like rain jackets
His favorite local bike camping overnighter spots.
Going back to school for a geography degree
The 20th anniversary of Shawn's Palm Tree Ride and why he likes to stick up for "weird" palm trees.
How online algorithms rob people of the serendipity of discovering things on bike rides
and more!

Links:

Urban Adventure League blog

Urban Adventure League on Instagram

BikePortland story about Shawn's Winter Palm Tree Ride (2008)

In the Shed - Episode 34

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 17:13:00 -0700

Brock Dittus from the Sprocket Podcast joined Eva Frazier and Jonathan Maus for the first episode of 2025! The conversation ranged from cycling on Sauvie Island to the popular "How'd she get there?" segment where Eva had to share a good bike route from PCC Southeast to the forthcoming In-N-Out Burger near the airport.

Tune in, hang out, and get cozy in the shed.

*BikePortland: Community Journalism Since 2005*

- Latest news on our website (aka "blog"): https://bikeportland.org/

- Subscribe and support: https://bikeportland.org/support

- Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bikeportland/

- Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bikeportland.bsky.social

- Listen to our podcast: https://bikeportland.org/cats/podcast

Olivia Clark, Portland City Councilor Elect (District 4)

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:00:00 -0700

Olivia Clark was the top vote getter in Council District 4 (everything west of Willamette River and small portion of Southeast including Sellwood). She's also a possible pick for City Council President. No matter how you slice it, her impressive background in and out of government means she will likely be a consequential member of the new, 12-member Council.

In this interview (recorded in the BikePortland Shed on Friday, December 20th), you'll learn about her background (she's toured by bike with Adventure Cycling and has done several Cycle Oregon rides), and her her policy and political perspectives.

Olivia Clark Campaign Website

In The Shed - Episode 33

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 16:20:00 -0700

Happy Friday everyone. It sure was nice to have Eva back in The Shed after a few week holiday hiatus. This episode was meaty! Here are a few of the things we talked about:

"How'd She Get There?" segment was Sellwood to Lake Oswego (including some very scary options).
Why Eva is creeped out by lobster-style bike gloves (something about the devil).
Michael Reiss and his amazing leaf sweeping work.
Why I think it's time for PBOT to privatize bike lane maintenance
I went on a huge rant about all the Vision Zero drama going on with PBOT, the PPB, and so on.
The 82nd Ave Plan that was just adopted at City Council and why some transportation advocates don't like it.
Why pitting bikes against transit (like PBOT is doing on 82nd) is a no good, very bad idea.
The new Bike Happy Hour location on N Williams Ave.
Closure of Cynergy E-Bikes
And more.

Thanks for listening!

In the Shed - Episode 32

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 17:21:00 -0700

Get cozy and listen and/or watch the latest chat between BikePortland Editor and Publisher Jonathan Maus (hi, that's me!) and Bike Loud Board Chair and former bike shop owner Eva Frazier.

Here's a taste of this week's banter and helpful links:

What's up with all the leaves in bike lanes and why the issue is challenging for advocates.
How'd She Get There? OMSI to Gateway Green: Eva and I discuss the best bike route from Central Eastside to Gateway.
Cranksgiving is this Sunday! Eva will be there helping organize.
My impressions of TriMet's new ramp at Hollywood Transit Center — which is not a "bike ramp" because that is "ableist ideology".
Bike Happy Hour promo - And yes we're meeting next week 11/27 even though it's a "blacked out" holiday week.
Bike shop news updates and the new "Secret" bike shop on Hawthorne from the inimitable Starmichael Bowman.
How the Tillamook/Hancock neighborhood greenway works through a plaza in Hollywood
Our frustration with the new signal on NE Going and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
What's up with the bumpy pavement on Tillamook and Ankeny greenways?!
KGW called out drivers parking in bike lanes!

*BikePortland: Community Journalism Since 2005*

Latest news on our website (aka "blog"): https://bikeportland.org/
Subscribe and support: https://bikeportland.org/support
Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bikeportland/
Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bikeportland.bsky.social
Listen to our podcast: https://bikeportland.org/cats/podcast

What They Said, Why It Matters - World Day of Remembrance

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 12:31:00 -0700

I already did a story, video and photo gallery from the World Day of Remembrance event that took place in front of Portland City HAll this past Sunday, but there were some things said by incoming city council members and by a Portland Bureau of Transportation staffer that I really wanted to underscore.

This episode includes audio clips from four speakers at that event with my takeaways interspersed in between.

You'll hear from:

Clay Veka, PBOT Vision Zero Coordinator
Mitch Green, District 4 Councilor-elect
Tiffany Koyama Lane, D3 Councilor-elect
Angelita Morillo, D3 Councilor-elect
Steve Novick, D3 Councilor-elect

Links:

World Day of Remembrance event coverage on BikePortland (11/18/24)
Portlands new city council bodes well for bicycling (BikePortland 11/12/24)

*BikePortland: Community Journalism Since 2005*

Latest news on our website (aka "blog"): https://bikeportland.org/
Subscribe and support: https://bikeportland.org/support
Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bikeportland/
Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bikeportland.bsky.social
Listen to our podcast: https://bikeportland.org/cats/podcast

Bike Bus Leader Sam "Coach" Balto

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 12:54:00 -0700

Notable bike bus leader and co-founder of nonprofit Bike Bus World Sam "Coach" Balto is our guest this episode. He and BikePortland's Jonathan Maus talked all things bike bus, including: Sam's motivation to get into this work, how his background as a camp counselor is such an asset to leading kids on bike rides, barriers faced by some bike bus leaders, how to respond to concerns about equity, the path toward bike bus global domination, and more.

Links:

Balto's "Red Cup Project" tactical urbanism work in Portland (BikePortland 2019)
Video and recap of his first-ever bike bus in Portland on Earth Day 2022 (BikePortland)
Bike Bus World
Federal grant for bike buses in north Portland (BikePortland, 11/15/24)

###

*BikePortland: Community Journalism Since 2005*

Latest news on our website (aka "blog"): https://bikeportland.org/
Subscribe and support: https://bikeportland.org/support
Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bikeportland/
Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bikeportland.bsky.social
Listen to our podcast: https://bikeportland.org/cats/podcast

In The Shed - Episode 31

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 16:20:00 -0700

Eva Frazier and Jonathan Maus are back with another fun and illuminating weekly chat. This week:

Eva shared her experience leading a vigil and meeting the mother of Damon Cousins, who was killed while bicycling on October 21st in northeast Portland.
We talk a little about the election and my intention to lean into local.
I share my experience at Mayor-elect Keith Wilson's acceptance speech
Why it's OK to critique memes about old white men winning Portland elections.
"How'd She Get There?" segment - Peninsula Park to Roosevelt HS and how I got there in just 12 minutes!
I rode to Hillsdale and lived to tell about it.
Update on BikeLoud's Bike Lane Sweeper and why we both think bike lane sweeping should be privatized. Come on someone, make it a business!
I get mad about Forest Park and how terrible it is for biking and how it should be better.

Thanks for listening!

In the Shed - Episode 30

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 17:50:00 -0700

We need more butts on bikes! It's a big problem that folks aren't seeing our bike lanes full of happy people cycling. Eva Frazier and I (Jonathan Maus) get into how we can get folks to stop driving so much and several other topics in this week's episode.

The "How'd She Get There?" segment is all about NoPo and Kelley Point Park. And Eva and I share what type of rainy weather rider we are.

Thanks for listening!

In the Shed - Episode 29

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 17:25:00 -0700

*Note: The audio on this episode sounds different than usual because I'm exploring wireless mics to make the chats in The Shed more comfortable. Thanks for your patience as I iron out various audio/visual issues in our new recording space!*

Eva Frazier and I (Jonathan Maus) are back on our Friday thing. I tried to stump Eva with a route and we had fun talking about the best way to get from Slabtown (NW 21st and Thurman) to Lone Fir Cemetery (SE Stark and 22nd or so).

We also talked about a disturbing set of videos I've received from someone who lives on NE Glisan and documented Monday's fatal collision in addition to many others of drivers behaving badly on that same few blocks.

What will it take to get drivers and the general public to wake the-fuck up about the need to drive safely?

And we share the lowdown on some fun and spooky Halloween-themed rides this weekend and on Hallow's Eve Thursday.

Have a great weekend and we'll see you back here next week.

If you are filling out your ballot this week and want some help getting to know the candidates, here's all the BikePortland election coverage so far.

District 3 Ballot Banter With Mia Birk

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 06:50:00 -0700

Welcome to Ballot Banter! A new series where we talk about each city council district (and the Mayor's race) in depth with me, your BikePortland Podcast host Jonathan Maus, and a special guest.

For District 3, I welcomed none other than author, CEO, bike planner, and community leader Mia Birk into the Shed. Mia put Portland on the map as a cycling city with her work at the City of Portland in the 1990s, then went on to found Alta Planning, Alta Bike Share and now works as coach and consultant for founders. Mia has lived in D3 for over 30 years.

Mia is also part of 12 For PDX, a group of advocates who vetted city council candidates and produced a voters guide and made endorsements that appear in the official Multnomah County Voters Pamphlet. Mia and I talked about all the viable candidates in D3 and she shared who they endorsed in the race.

Remember this is now a video podcast, so you can watch it on our YouTube channel or in your podcast player if it supports video.

Links:

BikePortland is community journalism. We need community support to survive. Please become a paid subscriber today!

District 2 Ballot Banter with Kiel Johnson

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 10:12:00 -0700

Welcome to Ballot Banter! A new series of episodes where we talk about each city council district (and the Mayor's race) in depth with me, your BikePortland Podcast host Jonathan Maus, and a special guest.

For District 2, I invited business owner and cycling advocate Kiel Johnson into the Shed to talk about this intriguing district. We recorded this episode October 23rd.

Remember this is now a video podcast, so you can watch it on our YouTube channel or in your podcast player if it supports video.

Links:

BikePortland is community journalism. We need community support to survive. Please become a paid subscriber today!

In The Shed - Episode 28

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 09:24:00 -0700

BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus and former bike shop owner and cycling advocate Eva Frazier talk the latest news and random bits of banter in this weekly show. Note that this is our first-ever episode recorded to video as well, so if you'd like the video version go see it on our BikePortland YouTube channel or watch it in your podcast player if it supports video.

In this episode:

Two fatal cycling collisions in the same morning.
Eva's East Portland ride.
Why business is tough for small bike shops.
Jonathan explains why people who use "e-bike" to describe e-mopeds/motorcycles is such a concern.
BikeLoud's new Bike Buddy Program
Where you can (and can't) bike on sidewalks — and why riding on sidewalks can be cool.

And much more!

Recorded Monday, 10/21/24

District 4 Ballot Banter With Lisa Caballero

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 06:50:00 -0700

Welcome to Ballot Banter! A new series of episodes where we talk about each city council district (and the Mayor's race!) in depth with me, your BikePortland Podcast host Jonathan Maus, and a special guest.

For District 4, I invited Lisa Caballero into the Shed to dish and debate about this intriguing district. We recorded this episode October 17th.

Links:

BikePortland is community journalism. We need community support to survive. Please become a paid subscriber today!

Mayoral Candidate Liv Osthus

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 15:25:00 -0700

Liv Osthus (also known as Viva Las Vegas) has surprised a lot of people with her campaign for mayor of Portland. She's a single mom, an author, a speaker, a singer, and she's held her current job as a professional stripper for the past 28 years.

In this interview she ranks her mayoral candidates, shares more about why she believes now is the right time for the Osthus Era to begin in Portland, tells us her personal mobility story, what she'd do to improve transportation in Portland, and much more.

Links:

In the Shed w Eva & Jonathan

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 15:52:00 -0700

Hope you've had a great week. Eva just rolled away and we had a good ol' time chatting it up for this week's In The Shed episode. Check (mostly) all the fun stuff we mentioned in the links below.

Cool solo art exhibition Eva saw at Director Park: Orquidia Violeta - Chalecos Protector Exhibition
How'd She Get There?! segment: Eva's route from North Portland to Director Park
How can you go negative about a Bike Buddy program?
The brilliant interview video expert Aaron Parecki who's helping me set up a video studio in The Shed. By the way, please support BikePortland so we can continue to invest in the quality of our offerings.
Seattle Bike Blog author Tom Fucoloro's critique of downtown bikeways
Should I ride a different bike bus every day of the week? Bike Bus PDX
The story of Gateway Green (And don't miss Saturday's big event!)
Jonathan's latest politics updates and insights
Rose City Reform Candidates page
12 For PDX Voters Guide
KATU TV - Your Voice/Your Vote Candidate Forums: District 1 - District 2 - District 3 - District 4
BikePortland 2024 Portland Election coverage
How Eva scored a free sandwich at Sunday Parkways
PBOT correctly shamed big truck drivers

Thanks for listening! And we appreciate all the paid subscribers and BP advertisers that continue to make this podcast — and all the things BikePortland does — possible. Please become a paying supporter today at BikePortland.org/support.

District 1 City Council Candidate Terrence Hayes

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 09:58:00 -0700

Terrence Hayes wants to represent east Portland on city council (District 1).

Some of you might know him as the guy who wrote that email to supporters titled, "Portland's war on cars." After that happened, I knew I wanted to sit down and chat with Terrence.

I think you'll enjoy our conversation. It touched on his views about bicycling advocacy in Portland, transportation in general, race and policing, his political style, his support of mayoral candidate Rene Gonzalez and increasing the number of Portland Police officers (he's also endorsed by the Portland Police Association) and how he'll balance that with remaining an independent, trusted leader in his community.

Thanks for listening. Please support BikePortland and our 19 years of dedicated, high-quality, independent community news and become a monthly subscriber today!

In the Shed #26

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 15:21:00 -0700

So good to be back the the Shed. Eva and I were up to old tricks with a wide-ranging chat about everything from riding bikes naked to Portland's new WNBA team. Here's a list of most of the stuff we touched on that I jotted down while I edited this episode:

Eva's trade show scheme
World Naked Bike Ride (drama here, 20th anniversary photo gallery)
Correcting the record on trains and coal
Eva explains her preferred bike route from north Portland to Colonel Summers park
IBR SDEIS basic findings (Official project website)
Eva's time at Cycle Oregon Rally ride
Park(ing) Day, why isn't it year-round?
CCC and their financial crisis
New path alongside Benson High School via NE Glisan?
New WNBA team in Portland!
Eva is in love with Philadelphia, PA.
PDX Trophy Cup and if a Brompton would survive it.

Thanks for listening! And we appreciate all the paid subscribers and BP advertisers that continue to make this podcast — and all the things BikePortland does! — possible. Please become a paying supporter today at BikePortland.org/support.

The CCC's Financial Crisis

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 12:02:00 -0700

Learn more information about the CCC's dire financial situation in this interview with Executive Director Ruben Alvarado. Ruben was hired in July and didn't realize how bad things were until he'd taken the job. Now he's going all-in on a "Save the CCC" fundraiser and says if the storied, 30-year-old nonprofit doesn't raise $349,000 by the end of the year (and $115,000 by Oct 1st), they will be forced to shut their doors.

BikePortland Founder & Editor Jonathan Maus is the host of the interview. Episode recorded at 10:00 am on September 9th, 2024.

Also read the BikePortland story posted the morning of Monday, September 9th.

"Save the CCC" Fundraiser

CCC Financial Overview (PDF)

In The Shed #25

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 15:38:00 -0700

Don't miss all the latest banter between BikePortland founder & editor Jonathan Maus (hi, that's me!) and BikeLoud PDX board member and retired bike shop owner Eva Frazier.

Here are just some of the tangents we explored...

Hating on planes and "freeways in the sky"... and are trains even eco-friendly?
My trip to California and cul-de-sac life laments (and I'm leaving again on Tuesday for another family visit to Hungary).
PBOT's hardening plan for paint-and-plastic bike lanes.
Recap of the 2nd Annual Bike Happy Hour Show & Shine
Eva recaps the Future Sandy bike ride along, "the perfect hypotenuse of the triangle of Portland."
My big personal and professional news about my exciting new job.
That weird and wonky fake PBOT sign on NE 7th.
The 82nd Avenue project and sharing the lane with buses.
How all our (we, the community's!) work on candidates has made transportation a big campaign issue.
BikePortland should bring back weekly political cartoons. (Here are the old ones)
Why I left Twitter/X and moved to Threads.
Eva's affinity for western wear and riding in a cowboy hat.
The problem with salty chips and our favorite bike-camping snacks.
and more!!

Thanks for listening.

In the Shed #24 - Portland Mercury Reporter Taylor Griggs

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 13:59:00 -0700

Was great having former BikePortland staffer and now Portland Mercury reporter Taylor Griggs join Eva Frazier and I (Jonathan Maus). This episode is chock full of great stuff.

Fake bike lane citations - Underdesigned bike lanes - a green ribbon bike network - riding to Troutdale for ice cream - exercise and e-bikes - portland tennis courterly - prank calls - SK Northwest and Springwater trail saga - I-5 Rose Quarter

Links we mention:

Thanks for listening!

In the Shed #23 with Maria Sipin

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 16:12:00 -0700

Maria Sipin joined me in the shed this week (Eva Frazier is out of town). Maria is a transportation planner and community organizer with a long and impressive resume as a volunteer and agency staffer. She's currently the campaign manager for Portland City Council D4 (W/Sellwood) candidate Mitch Green, and in the past she's been a planner at Oregon Department of Transportation, has worked at Safe Routes National Partnership, was on the Portland Clean Energy Fund Community Advisory Committee, and recently worked on the campaign to get participatory budgeting on the ballot in Portland.

We talked about all sorts of stuff, from bike valets to a renters' bill of rights to her Lectric bicycle, Bike Loud's Bike Buddy program, and much more.

Links:

Thanks to our paid subscribers. Please become one at BikePortland.org/subscribe

City Council Candidate (D2) Michelle DePass

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 16:10:00 -0700

Michelle DePass wants to represent District 2, which encompasses all of north and parts of northeast Portland. She currently works for the City's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and has served on the Portland Public School board since 2019 — first as chair and currently as vice-chair.

She wants to bring her experiences fighting for racial and environmental justice and a vision of a cleaner, greener District 2 to City Hall.

In this interview we talked about her family memories growing up around the N Williams Ave and MLK Blvd corridors, her opinions on the I-5 Rose Quarter project, her time on the PBOT advisory committee for the N Williams Traffic Safety Project, and much more.

Links:

Meeting on Williams project turns into discussion of race, gentrification - 7/21/11 BikePortland story
Campaign Website
DePass for Portland on Instagram

This conversation was recorded on the steps in front of the gazebo in Peninsula Park on July 15th.

In the Shed #22

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 17:11:00 -0700

Eva Frazier and I (Jonathan Maus) are back with another bit of banter from The BikePortland Shed.

Learn how Eva's Garden Bike Tour in the heat wave turned out, what I thought of Bike Play, why I'll miss all the Bike Summer rides this weekend (basketball!), what happened on City Cast PDX podcast today, why someone is really mad at Thursday Night Ride, the difference between a nice honk and a jerk honk, and much more.

BikePortland is made possible by paid subscribers who believe in local media and a strong community. Please become a subscriber today!

In the Shed #21

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 15:53:00 -0700

WTH did Commissioner Mapps say? Why does Jonathan always have a different coach in the Shed? How's Eva's Spanish class going and what is she doing to prevent insects from destroying her backyard cherry crop? Bleeps and Bloops and what now? What happened to that guy who was protesting BikePortland at Bike Happy Hour this past week?

You'll find the answers to all these questions at more in this episode. 🤣🤣

Links:

Mayoral Candidate Marshall Runkel

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:18:00 -0700

Marshall Runkel is a Portland city hall veteran who has worked for three former city commissioners, most recently Commissioner Chloe Eudaly. He announced his bid for Portland mayor last week and visited the BikePortland Shed for his first in-depth interview on Friday, June 14th.

Marshall and BikePortland Founder/Editor/Publisher Jonathan Maus talked about Marshall's approach to politics, his love of riding the bus, how he rode with Critical Mass as an advisory for Commissioner Erik Sten in the early 2000s, his experience working on housing and homelessness issues, how he will use his work experience in the clean energy sector to help Portland, why he loves the Portland Trail Blazers and wants to bring a WNBA team here, and much more!

Links:

Marshall Runkel campaign website
Companion post on BikePortland

Thanks to Brock Dittus for our theme music. BikePortland is supported by individual subscribers and local advertisers. Please become one today and support this independent media outlet.

In the Shed Ep. 20

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 16:51:00 -0700

In the Shed and chill with retired bike shop owner and BikeLoud PDX Board Member Eva Frazier and I — BikePortland publisher and me editor Jonathan Maus.

We had a wonderful chat and I debuted our first News Quiz. Eva shared about her cross-town box truck adventure, we talked about the big stories of the past week, Eva's ride downtown for First Thursday, we Googled Shaquille O'Neal's massive bike, dished on the bike bus, NY Gov Hochul's horrible decision on congestion pricing, and more.

City Council Candidate Marnie Glickman

Wed, 29 May 2024 09:50:00 -0700

Marnie Glickman thinks she has the recipe for progressive political success in Portland. Glickman is a leading candidate for City Council District 2 (North/Northeast) and met up with her Tuesday for a bike ride and an interview to learn more about what we can expect if she's elected.

Glickman has lived in Portland off-and-on since 1992 when she paid $175 a month for rent on SE 28th and Steele and biked all over the city. Now 53, and after three decades working in politics and organizing, Glickman is ready to commit to her favorite city. After meeting at her home in the Sabin neighborhood, Glickman wanted to show me a community garden she sits on the board of, and then we rolled over to Irving Park where we sat on two large logs and talked under towering trees while rain fell overhead.

Links:

Marnie Glickman campaign website
Dixie school district: why it took 22 years to change a name in liberal California (2019 article in The Guardian about Glickman's contentious school board battle)

Episode host, editor and interviewer: Jonathan Maus

Theme music: Brock Dittus

BikePortland is supported by advertisers and individual subscribers like you!

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Sponsor

City of Portland reminds you to Rank Your Vote! Ranked Choice Voting is here. Learn more at www.Portland.gov/vote

In The Shed, Ep 19

Fri, 17 May 2024 16:29:00 -0700

Happy Friday and Welcome back to The Shed.

Retired bike shop co-owner and BikeLoud PDX Board Member Eva Frazier and I (BikePortland Publisher & Editor Jonathan Maus) had a wonderful chat and I can't wait to share it with you.

Here's what we talked about:

That awful bumpy section on NE Tillamook between Rodney and MLK.
How I keep track of so many meetings.
Why Mayor Wheeler is a PCEF superfan (related BikePortland story)
Eva's report back from Future Sandy open house (related BikePortland story)
Who's lying, Commissioner Mapps or business leader Andrew Hoan?
Why I'm so mad about Rose City Recreation Trail project.
PBOT budget quiz
Eva walked 10 minutes from Union Station to find a charged Biketown
PBOT should use PCEF money for Biketown upgrade
St. Johns Bridge photos and community discussion on BP Instagram.

Thanks for listening, thanks to our paid subscribers, and thanks to Brock Dittus (of Sprocket Podcast fame) for our theme music.

Megan Ramey, Hood River County Bicycling Advocate

Mon, 13 May 2024 12:44:00 -0700

Megan Ramey is doing so many cool things to make bicycling better in Hood River it was hard to decide on just one way to introduce her when we connected for an online interview this past Thursday.

The main hat she wears is Safe Routes to School program manager for Hood River County. But if you’ve followed her on X or Instagram, you’ll know she’s up to all sorts of cool stuff — from lobbying for e-bike legislation and donating free used bikes, to leading afterschool bike clubs and getting grants for demonstration projects.

During our conversation, Megan shared:

how she first got involved in transportation reform advocacy,
how raising a daughter sharpened her appetite for safe streets work,
what a typical week is like for her,
how some folks have the wrong impression about the type of families who call Hood River County home,
what she’ll do with a recent $25,000 federal safety grant,
why she started afterschool bike clubs for elementary school kids and the impact it has had on them,
what music is most often requested for the ride playlists these days,

and more!

In the Shed (Ep. 18)

Fri, 10 May 2024 17:16:00 -0700

Eva Frazier and I (BikePortland Publisher & Editor Jonathan Maus) are back after a one-month hiatus. Here are links to some of the stuff you'll hear about on this week's show:

Joshua and his amazing worldwide bike tour - @ukodus.8 on IG
Shawn Granton of Urban Adventure League
Bike overnights and touring stories
Bike buses in Portland
PPB bike squad expanding
Mitchell Point Tunnel section of Historic Columbia River Hwy State Trail opening soon
ODOT funding story I was ranting about
Wonderful TriMet bus driver story Eva raved about

Thanks for listening, thanks to our paid subscribers, and thanks to Brock Dittus (of Sprocket Podcast fame) for our theme music.

Eva, Armando, and Shawne Talk Bike Summer

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 22:01:00 -0700

With me (BikePortland founder and publisher Jonathan Maus) being unexpectedly away from Portland for two weeks helping my dad in the hospital (he'll be fine), my In the Shed co-host Eva Frazier got antsy and decided to record a conversation with our friends Armando Luna and Shawne Martinez. This trio packs a whollop of bike fun between them and this fun chat will have you smiling and looking forward to summer.

Here's a taste of what they talked about...

Why Armando insists he's the Bike Fun Mayor, not the Bike Mayor.
How basketball can help you become a safer bike rider
Fender etiquette
Pedalpalooza ride memories
Why Armando isn't a Naked Bike Ride guy
Leaf blower noise and how gas lawnmowers support kids riding bikes in Oregon
and more!!

Ray "CityNerd" Delahanty Live in Portland

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 11:47:00 -0700

This is a recording from the Places for People: A Conversation with CityNerd event that took place April 9th at the Aladdin Theater in Portland. The event was the 2024 Ann Niles Active Transportation Lecture sponsored by Portland State University Transportation Research and Education Center.

PSU Professor, noted researcher and TREC Director Jennifer Dill introduces interview host Lilian Karabaic (OPB Weekend Edition host) and guest Ray Delahanty, who has shot to urbanist fame for his popular CityNerd YouTube channel.

This recording is shared with permission of PSU TREC and Delahanty.

Links:

BikePortland recap and photos from the event
CityNerd on YouTube
Lily's personal website (she is amazing, do yourself a favor and click this)

In The Shed - Ep. 17

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:46:00 -0700

Eva Frazier and I (Jonathan Maus) are back on our regular schedule. Yay!

This was a really fun episode and it's the perfect listen for the weekend. There's even sound effects of sandhill cranes. Here's a taste of what we talked about:

PDX Sidewalk Joy map
Eva's report from her trip to Nebraska to see sandhill crane migration
Bike Happy Hour Anniversary Party
Eva's old commute route on Barbur from southeast Portland to Tualatin
My ride with Chad Lykins
Nails in the bike lane story from 2019
Eva's fear of riding over bridges
Food in New York City
Our review of the CityNerd event
Sandy Blvd potential as BikeLoud eyes a bike lane and Eva dreams of depaving it.
Will Ladds 500 be too big?
Why artists make great BBQ chefs
Eva is going sailing this weekend
Water-related rides during Pedalpalooza

Thanks for listening, thanks to our paid subscribers, and thanks to Brock Dittus (of Sprocket Podcast fame) for our theme music.

Ride Along With City Council Candidate Chad Lykins

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 19:50:00 -0700

I met up with Portland City Council (D4) candidate Chad Lykins in Hillsdale today and we biked around southwest. In this episode you'll hear an interview-by-bike as we survey various bits of bike infrastructure and make several stops along the way. We talk about a lot more than just bike stuff! At a stop at a Safe Rest Village we talk about housing and homelessness and we talked about development and Portland politics while standing at the Alpenrose Dairy Site.

Lykins is a leading candidate and sources say he's got a real shot at winning one of the three seats in District 4. He's got a PhD in public policy from Vanderbilt University and is currently the leader of a statewide chess organization, in addition to owning a business that runs afterschool chess programs throughout the region.

You might have met him at Bike Happy Hour a few months ago, but to really understand him and his perspective, I highly recommend listening to this entire episode.

Links:

Chad Lykins Campaign Website
Council candidate competes for best transportation platform (BikePortland, 12/04/23)

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Sponsor

City of Portland reminds you to Rank Your Vote! Ranked Choice Voting is here. Learn more at www.Portland.gov/vote

Linda "Gravel Girl" English of Dirty Freehub

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 16:37:00 -0700

Bend, Oregon-based nonprofit Dirty Freehub has become one of the best route resources on the web with its over 300 detailed ride guides. Its founder, Linda English talked to BikePortland founder Jonathan Maus about why she created the site over a decade ago, what Dirty Freehub offers, and the cool projects she's working on to make it even better.

In this episode you'll learn how Dirty Freehub has become not just a great place to find gravel route information, but an economic development tool for rural Oregon towns, a partner for tourism agencies, and a spot where beginners and folks with disabilities can find "all access" routes that suit their needs.

Gravel riding has exploded in the past decade, and the value of English's work has grown right along with it.

Links:

Special thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music and to all of our financial supporters and paid subscribers for making this podcast possible!

Police Officer and City Council Candidate Eli Arnold

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 17:10:00 -0700

Sellwood neighborhood resident Eli Arnold is running for Portland City Council District 4 (Sellwood, Eastmoreland, West of Willamette). His day job is a Portland Police Officer on the Central City Bike Squad. He and BikePortland founder Jonathan Maus talked about a wide range of issues, including:

His experience on the bike squad.
Why he started a community garden in his Savannah, GA neighborhood in 2014.
How he can be trusted to lead with only Army and police experience.
What he thinks about Former City Councilor Jo Ann Hardesty's violence prevention tactics.
Policing in Portland and Arnold's ideas for improving it.
What he'd do to save lives on our streets.
Why I'm skeptical of his candidacy and Portland Police in general.
and much more!

Links from the episode:

Kickstarter for community garden project in 2014
"Portland Police officer admits no traffic enforcement messaging was politically motivated" (BikePortland, August 8th, 2023)
PPB Central Bike Squad on Instagram
"Beloved Portland Police Officer Robert Pickett moves on" (BikePortland, May 10th, 2011)
Arnold's campaign website
Eli For Portland Instagram

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music. And thanks for listening.

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Sponsor

City of Portland reminds you to Rank Your Vote! Ranked Choice Voting is here. Learn more at www.Portland.gov/vote

In The Shed - Ep. 16

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 14:41:00 -0700

In this episode:

Eva's wife's Robitussin-induced fever dream.
What is Eva's favorite place to ride?
Albina Vision Trust and the highway caps.
Eva's idea to charge property tax for on-street parking spots.
Sunday Parkways: The good, the bad, and the should.
Weekend lanes and automated bollards are the Next Big Thing.
Our big ideas for that sweet, sweet PCEF grant funding.
Thoughts about Jonathan's upcoming interview with Portland Police officer and city council candidate Eli Arnold.
BikeLoud's women biking survey aftermath.
Bike Happy Hour Birthday party planning

In the Shed Ep. 15

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 15:59:00 -0700

Eva's back from Italy!

She shares a bit about her magical time in the land of small cars, ancient roads, and wine tasting in Tuscany. Get this: Eva walked 98 miles in two weeks. That either sounds like a dream or a nightmare depending on if you have comfortable shoes.

We talk about the latest Portland Bike Count report and I share the top 10 (actually 11) busiest bike intersections in the city. Eva shares her dream of operating bicycle vending machines on high traffic corridors and things devolved from there.

We touched on tolling, freight lobbyists, my theory on what will happen with the I-5 Rose Quarter project, and much more.

Links from the episode:

Participatory Budgeting With Maria Sipin

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 08:42:00 -0700

Let's talk about a new way to allocate resources for Portland.

Maria Sipin is working with the Community Budgeting for All campaign and they just launched a petition drive to get participatory budgeting (PB) on the November 2024 ballot in Portland. They want to take 2% of the city's General Fund (about $15.6 million) and put it in the hands of everyday people. In this conversation, you'll learn what PB is and how it's different than the traditional, top-down budgeting process.

Links:

https://www.communitybudgetingforall.com/

Bike Parking Policy Update With Chris Smith

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 06:33:00 -0700

Few people in Portland know more about our city's bicycle parking policy than Chris Smith. In this conversation he shares a brief history of the issue and then explains why recent efforts by leaders in both Portland and Salem have rolled back recent bike parking code requirements.

In this episode, you'll learn about the development of Portland's bike parking requirements from the inside, and we also talk about Oregon Governor Tina Kotek's big housing bills that passed just this week by the Oregon Legislature. One of them, Senate Bill 1537, included a relatively unknown provision that gives cities the ability to adjust their bike parking requirements to spur housing production.

Links:

Chris Smith personal website
Developers say bike parking rules are biggest reason for housing delays - BikePortland, 3/15/23
Bike parking versus housing debate presents a false choice - BikePortland op-ed by Chris Smith, 8/9/23
Planning Commission votes to roll back bike parking code to spur new housing - BikePortland , 11/15/23
Wonk Night zeroes in on bike parking code update - BikePortland, 9/25/18
Wonk Night kickstarts effort to reform Portland’s bike parking code - BikePortland, 10/31/13

Why Housing Policy Matters With Michael Andersen

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 21:22:00 -0700

Former BikePortland News Editor Michael Andersen returns! I have such fond memories of working with Michael. We broke lots of new ground as a "bike blog" together, we launched our subscription program, we won two awards from the Society of Professional Journalists together. OK, I'll stop.

Now Michael is the senior researcher and transportation lead at Sightline, a well-respected think tank.

He rolled over to the Shed and we had a wonderful chat about housing (of course!) and other fun stuff. Sorry this is coming out late on a Friday but there was a tech glitch and I had some family commitments, so here you go.

Show Links:

Michael's work on Sightline
Why are these 11 buildings illegal in Portland? Michael's Real Estate Beat column from June 19th, 2015.
Michael's work on BikePortland
Portland's Sprockettes Mini Bike Dance Team

Road Safety Advocate Sarah Risser

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:06:00 -0700

Sarah Risser is working on a project to erect memorial signs at the location of every fatal traffic crash in Portland. In this interview, she talks about that project and shares the story about how a 2019 car crash where she survived but her teenager son didn't, radicalized her into the world of road safety activism.

Link:

Article by Sarah for Grappling With Grief (September 2023)
Sarah featured in BikePortland for her work on a ghost bike installation (February 2024)
Photo of the memorial signs she's placing around Portland.
Follow her on X at @henryz_mom

City Council Candidate Nat West

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 14:47:00 -0700

Nat West is known as "Reverend Nat", the name of the successful cider business he built over the past 12 years. Now a part-time TriMet bus driver, West wants to represent City Council District 2 (N/NE) on Portland's new 12-member city council.

In this episode, we talked about:

All the bikes Nat has owned throughout his life.
His adventures collecting apples for his ciders by bike.
How defending a friend's business trademark against the City of Portland lit his fire for political activism.
His experiences as a regular participant in the George Floyd protests in Summer of 2020, and why he would do it all over again — even though he and his daughter were seriously injured by police munitions.
How he'll balance activism and idealism with the realities of political office.
Why he feels small businesses are worth fighting for.
Why he thinks PBOT should focus more on maintenance and less on "shiny new infrastructure."
His views on what's wrong (and right) with policing and how he'd reform the Portland Police Bureau.
And of course we talk about cider and much more!

Links:

Nat West for Portland campaign website

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Sponsor

City of Portland reminds you to Rank Your Vote! Ranked Choice Voting is here. Learn more at www.Portland.gov/vote

In the Shed With Business Advocate Stephen Green

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 09:36:00 -0700

With regular co-host Eva Frazier on vacation (have fun in Italy Eva!), I (Jonathan Maus) welcomed a guest into the shed the week: Business for a Better Portland (BBPDX) Exec Director and founder of Pitch Black, Stephen Green. Stephen is an amazing dude who truly "gets it" when it comes to building community that makes Portland better.

In this episode, we talk local business and politics, how transportation plays a role in both, Stephen shares a bit of Portland's Black history, and much more.

Links:

Portland Mayoral Candidate Keith Wilson

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 15:47:00 -0700

Keith Wilson is a trucking company CEO, homeless services nonprofit founder, and a lifelong Portlander who grew up poor in north Portland.

He came to Bike Happy Hour on February 14th, so I gave him a mic and let him share his stump speech. Afterward, I asked him a few questions and then did some Q&A with the crowd.

In this episode, you'll get to know what Wilson is all about and whether he's someone you can support in the race for Portland mayor. He talks about his passion and ideas for how to get all of Portland's homeless population under shelter within his first 12 months. You'll also hear what he learned on recent trips to Amsterdam and other European cities and how it dovetails into his work to bring Oregon our first high speed rail line. Wilson also explains how he implemented anti-distraction devices in his cabs and how he pushed past driver objections and dramatically improved the number of crashes.

Links:

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music. And thanks for listening.

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Sponsor

City of Portland reminds you to Rank Your Vote! Ranked Choice Voting is here. Learn more at www.Portland.gov/vote

Salmonberry Trail Exec Dir Caroline Fitchett

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 11:51:00 -0700

This episode features Salmonberry Trail Foundation Executive Director Caroline Fitchett, who shares an introduction to what she calls, "the most difficult and most ambitious rail to trail project in the nation." The Salmonberry would connect Washington County (just west of Portland) with the Oregon Coast via an 82-mile, carfree trail open to bicycle riders, hikers, and horseback.

Get an introduction to the trail, learn how the idea first came about, get updates, and find out how you can get on it today.

Originally recorded as part of my "15 Minutes With" series of video interviews.

LINKS:

In The Shed Ep. 12

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 20:11:00 -0700

Don't miss this week's fun chat with BikePortland Founder/Editor/Publisher Jonathan Maus and BikeLoud PDX Board Member (and former co-owner of Clever Cycles bike shop) Eva Frazier.

Here's just a taste of what you'll hear about this episode:

Reflections on our attendance at the Jason Ruhmshottel ghost bike installation event
BikeLoud's Squeaky Wheel project
PBOT budget update
Commissioner Mingus Mapps goes full Shoupian
East Portland bike tour with Timur Ender
Riding alleyways and through parks
Rolling through stop signs
When cops lecture us
Eva took the bus to Seattle and liked it more than Portland
Why City of Portland doesn't have a lot of money
Bike shop news - Trek Portland, Gladys, Golden Pliers
How the MAX light rail killed Interstate Ave
New Season Arbor Lodge is the story of Portland
The Boom Bike

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music.

Thanks for listening and see you in the Shed next week!

City Council Candidate Timur Ender

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 08:25:00 -0700

Timur Ender is a leading candidate for Portland City Council District 1 (East). He invited me on a 12-mile bike ride around his district to show me projects he helped implement in his previous job at the Portland Bureau of Transportation, to share why he's running for city council, and to explain his vision for how transportation infrastructure can be a vital part of making east Portland an even greater part of our city.

This episode was recorded almost entirely as we pedaled on a loop from NE 102nd and Glisan to SE Powell and 162nd, then back north to Glendoveer Golf Course. We saw all types of infrastructure and had a really interesting conversation.

Come along with us to learn more about Timur and the east Portland district he hopes to represent.

Links:

Timur's campaign website
2013 Wonk Night event where I first met Timur
An article Timur wrote for BikePortland about the mobility options in his home country of Turkey
PBOT East Portland in Motion website (Timur worked on this as a PBOT employee)

Thanks to Brock Dittus (of Sprocket Podcast fame) for our theme music.

If you like this episode, please tell a friend and support BikePortland so we can continue to produce content like this in the future!

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Sponsor

City of Portland reminds you to Rank Your Vote! Ranked Choice Voting is here. Learn more at www.Portland.gov/vote

In The Shed Ep. 11

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 16:16:00 -0700

Jonathan and Eva did it again! Don't miss this week's fun chat.

Here's just a taste of what you'll hear about this episode:

Office hours chat with City Council candidate Chris Flanary (D3-SE)
Bike parking and access at Belmont Public Library remodel
Everyone in Portland is running (as in, jogging) right now and we should enlist them in the war on cars
Southerly Ladies ride
Caddyshack ride and the new Ghostbusters movie
Why we need a Shift Calendar for basketball in Portland (aka Jonathan's side hustle dream to cover local basketball)
This week's quiz: PBOT street plazas (based on PBOT 2023 Street Plaza Report)
"Extremist" behavior on NE 72nd
Instagram Inspiration from Fuji Speedway, mama charis, and why we should use PIR for carfree bike events more
Mosier to the Dalles Trail Project

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music.

Thanks for listening and see you in the Shed next week!

In the Shed Ep. 10

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 16:25:00 -0700

Eva Frazier and Jonathan Maus are back. This episode was recorded January 26th in the BikePortland Shed in the beautiful Piedmont neighborhood of north Portland as rain tapped on the roof and Eva dried out from her ride over.

As per usual, we had a fun chat about a wide range of stuff:

New Bike Fun app in development by Aaron Corsi
We have the technology to offer listener call-ins!
Gravel clean-up gossip
Eva's fascination with traffic signals
Diversion on greenways and propagandizing to political candidates
Fixing Our Streets 3 (local gas tax) quiz
Good answers to the question: No one is biking, so why should we spend money on it?
Bad faith BP commenters pushing narratives for political gain have been uncovered by Lisa Caballero.
Does Jonathan prefer internal hubs or derailleurs? Find out in the lightning round.
Travel in the BP time machine to 2014 when a railroad official bullied a Portland bike rider on the fabled "Cement Road" of Swan Island, The Oregonian was wrong about bike share, we made our first-ever mention of Green Loop.
What do the Unipiper and former mayor Bud Clark (R.I.P.) have in common?
And more!

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our fantastic theme music. Listen in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Warpaint Founder Roo Albisurez

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 10:12:00 -0700

Note: This episode was recorded as a video and I'm trying something new by just sharing it here on the pod as well. I'm in the middle of tweaking some of my work-flows so I can create things more efficiently and share more voices from our community on our various platforms.

Roo (real name is Ruandy) is a community advocate who works to increase access to MTB riding for Black, Indigenous, and all people of color. He's the founder of the nonprofit media org Warpaint and he's community manager for NW Trail Alliance, an off-road cycling advocacy group based in Portland.

Roo is hosting a screening of "In the Dirt," a new documentary about the budding MTB scene in the Navajo Nation in New Mexico that's coming to Portland's Clinton St Theater on February 3rd.

Links:

- Tickets for In the Dirt screening - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-the-dirt-portland-premier-tickets-797064179417

- In the Dirt film website - https://inthedirtfilm.com/

- Warpaint - https://www.instagram.com/warpaintmag/

- Profile of Roo in BikePortland Feb 2023 - https://bikeportland.org/2023/02/07/meet-randy-roo-albisurez-of-warpaint-mag-370105

In the Shed - Ep. 9

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 18:36:00 -0700

Eva Frazier and Jonathan Maus are back. This episode was recorded January 19th in the BikePortland Shed, as we just barely began to thaw from the Big Deep Freeze of the past week.

As per usual, we had a fun chat about a wide range of stuff:

The Deep Freeze of 2024
Why are people still on the roads?
Eva brought me an amazing beer she and a friend made (dubbed the "Overlooked") with hops and barley grown in their backyards!
Jonathan has started reading the famous book on Robert Moses, The Power Broker
Food trucks in downtown Portland
Is Portland even a real big city?
The best view to enter Portland from
Why Eva loves freeway overpasses with peeling paint
How cities are like "free jazz" music
Update on Eva's "30 days of minimalism" challenge
Getting the bike lane complaint tone right in light of PBOT crews
Jesse Cornett interview
John the Johnster's wild ice ride
Bike Happy Hour One Year Anniversary is April 3rd!
YouTuber urbanist Ray "CityNerd" Delahanty coming to Portland for a big event April 9th
Portland Winter Light Festival is coming
Eva reads the excellent satirical Comment of the Week
What's it's like riding in southwest
Eva's opinion of the BikePortland comment section
Exciting new off-road trails in Cascade Locks in the works

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our fantastic theme music. Listen in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Portland City Council (Dist. 3) Candidate Jesse Cornett

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 13:33:00 -0700

BikePortland's Jonathan Maus sits down in The Shed with Jesse Cornett to learn more about this intriguing candidate. Cornett worked with US Senator Bernie Sanders for two years, including one as his personal assistant. He's also held leadership positions at local nonprofits, was head of government relations for Portland State University, and was once almost elected to the Oregon State Senate.

Links:

Special thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music and to all our paid supporters who make BikePortland possible. If you aren't one yet, please sign up today.

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Sponsor

City of Portland reminds you to Rank Your Vote! Ranked Choice Voting is here. Learn more at www.Portland.gov/vote

In the Shed w Eva & Jonathan - Ep. 8

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 17:14:00 -0700

We're back! Here's what we talked about in #8.

How to say my last name (Maus, like paws but with an "m")
Cargo Bike Webinar with Eva and friends coming Feb 4th.
Eva wore spandex, a puffy, and clicky shoes on a long bike ride... and there's proof!
Brentwood-Darlington project
I hosted the first-ever BikePortland Office Hours, and a guy named Matt showed up.
Talking to strangers and "single-serving" friends
Will's book recommendation: Building and Dwelling by Richard Sennett
Paris, Rainy Day, the famous urbanist painting by Gustave Caillebotte
Quiz! Topic: PBOT and snow response
Snow biking tips
TST Winter Biking Clinic Jan 18th - RSVP on Zoom
Biketown snow ride adventure
Rip City Remix - Blazers G-League basketball team
Portland City Council race update
Candidate donor information
Mayoral candidate Carmen Rubio on ice skates
Bike lane sweeper
Eva's 30 days of minimalism challenge

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music.

Thanks for listening and see you in the Shed next week!

Every Single Streeter Perrin Smith

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 10:08:00 -0700

North Portland resident Perrin Smith has done something extraordinary. In a quest that was part of his life for nearly three years, he walked every single street and alleyway in the City of Portland. That's about 2,100 miles of pavement, gravel, grass, mud, and sidewalks.

In this episode, BikePortland's Jonathan Maus sits down with Smith in The Shed for a chat about this extraordinary accomplishment.

Links:

Perrin's Instagram
More about the Every Single Street movement
@Slipoker on Instagram, another Portlander working on the challenge
BikePortland story on 72-year-old Alan Koch, who biked every street in the region!

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music and to all our paid supporters who make BikePortland possible. If you aren't one yet, please sign up today.

Bike Bus Leader Rob Galanakis

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 16:45:00 -0700

Last Wednesday Glencoe Bike Bus leader was assaulted by a driver who was outraged that he had to drive behind Rob and a group of kids biking to school. I know, right?! Who does that?

In this episode, Jonathan Maus and Rob talk about what happened on SE 61st & Burnside, and more importantly, how Rob de-escalated the situation. You'll learn what goes into leading a bike bus and why training for leaders is so important to making sure kids have a good experience. Rob's insights, advice, and general vibe are something I think all ride leaders should pay attention to.

Links:

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music and to all our paid supporters! If you want to become one, visit BikePortland.org/support today.

Thanks for listening!

In the Shed w Eva & Jonathan - Ep. 7

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 17:38:00 -0700

Jonathan Maus and Eva Frazier are back with another fun chat.

Topics and links:

Book: The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Snow is coming?!
The legendary Devin Bailley, the guy who biked on Hwy 26 in a snowstorm
De Ronde PDX
Lightning Round questions thanks to listener Paige!
Jonathan on riding MTB trails at night
Eva on riding in the city on july 4th
All types of Bike Happy Hour gossip and news
Bike Loud looking to hire a bike lane ambassador?
All 64 of BikePortland's stories on N Williams Avenue
Why Council District 2 candidate Joseph Emerson scored points
tony's stickers https://urbanist-online.square.site/
People who park badly
PBOT's daylighting promises
Should women drink free at Bike Happy Hour?
Breathalyzers in cars
Street takeovers on NYE and an idea to prevent them
Coming soon: The Portland who has walked every street in the city
New paved bike paths being built in Troutdale near Sandy River

And more!

Thanks for listening. And thanks Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for creating our theme music!

In the Shed w Eva & Jonathan - Ep. 6

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 16:27:00 -0700

We're back with one last episode of 2023. I think you'll love this one. Eva Frazier and I talk about all types of stuff, including:

Historic photos of Joe Brown's Bicycle Shop and his Lloyd Center Field Day event
BikePortland's 1896 Bike Map
Eva's Book Recommendation: Two Wheels North
Should Bike Happy Hour have a book club?
Review of BikePortland's Top Stories of 2023
Jonathan's ride with City Council candidate Angelita Morillo
People camping on bike paths
Jonathan's family Christmas costume party (see a photo!)
The burden of unanswered emails and BikePortland's very long story idea list
What Eva's new bike fragrance will smell like now that she's a retired mogul
and more!!

This episode was recorded December 29th at the BikePortland HQ - aka "The Shed".

Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our fantastic theme music.

Thanks for listening! Please tell your friends!

City Council Candidate Angelita Morillo

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 13:28:00 -0700

Spend some time with City Council District 3 (inner SE) candidate Angelita Morillo and BikePortland Editor/Publisher Jonathan Maus as they ride together and then sit down for an interview at Bike Happy Hour.

This episode was recorded on December 27th while we biked through Angelita's district (SE 7th, MLK/Grand, Central Eastside, Hawthorne, Ladds, Clinton, 34th, 20s, Ankeny). After the ride, you'll hear Jonathan's interview with Angelita, followed by some audience Q&A.

Links:

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Sponsor

City of Portland reminds you to Rank Your Vote! Ranked Choice Voting is here. Learn more at www.Portland.gov/vote

In the Shed w Eva & Jonathan - Ep. 5

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 12:45:00 -0700

Sit back and chill with Eva and Jonathan as they ruminate on various topics. This episode was recorded December 7th in The Shed (BikePortland HQ). Sorry for the uncharacteristically slow turnaround, but I think you'll love this one.

In this episode:

Eva shares the big news about her involvement with Clever Cycles.
Jonathan shares some behind-the-scenes of BikePortland.
A rapid-fire gift-giving quiz game. What would you get a PBOT employee for Christmas?
Jonathan and Eva share a memorable gift.
How we raised money for a new bike for a complete stranger.
City council candidate Joseph Emerson.
Commissioner Rene Gonzalez's mayoral campaign launch.
Why Portland needs an AI mayoral candidate.
Eva and Jonathan's past love of roller-skating.

Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks to Brock Dittus for our wonderful new theme music!

William Henderson, Founder of Ride Report

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:14:00 -0700

Will Henderson founded Ride Report in Portland in 2015 as a startup with a vision to revolutionize how cities count cycling trips. After eight years of building the company into with over $14 million in venture capital funding and partnerships with nearly 80 cities around the globe, Ride Report was sold to Inrix last month.

Will is a thoughtful leader whose advocacy and love for cycling informs his perspectives on urban planning and systemic reform of our transportation politics and systems.

This interview was recorded virtually on December 8th.

Links:

Ride Report

Inrix press release about purchase of Ride Report

BikePortland coverage of Will Henderson

In the Shed w Eva & Jonathan - Ep. 4

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 13:38:00 -0700

Eva Frazier (Clever Cycles co-owner and BikeLoud PDX board member) and Jonathan Maus (BikePortland founder/editor) are back with another episode of "In The Shed." This episode was recorded November 22nd (day before Thanksgiving) in the BikePortland Shed a few blocks from Peninsula Park in north Portland.

Thanks to everyone who's told us how much you like this series! It's nice to know folks like hearing it as much as we like putting it together. As per usual, Eva and I had a fun, informal chat about a wide range of stuff. In this video we talked about:

How Jonathan is (unsuccessfully so far) trying to capture video of these episodes so we can share them in a new way.
How Jonathan's art history degree helps him remember Portland's new council districts (finally!).
Jonathan's recent meeting with a council district 2 candidate.
The most popular tire size sold at Eva's shop (Clever Cycles).
The ultimate accessory for my Tern work bike.
Our plans for winter warmth at Bike Happy Hour (any sponsors want to help?!).
Latest developments on the BikeLoud PDX v City of Portland lawsuit update (background here).
World Day of Remembrance event (for more, here's my recap and podcast).
Jonathan's mixed feelings about memorial events in general.
The failure of Vision Zero, and how to turn the tide.
Trail Blazers' new minor league basketball team, the Rip City Remix.
Our favorite Thanksgiving side dishes.
What Jonathan is grateful for.
Eva's Thanksgiving plans.

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 08:17:00 -0700

In this episode, host Jonathan Maus takes you to the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims event that was held in Portland on Sunday, November 19th. You'll hear interviews recorded while walking from Lloyd Center to a memorial and speeches at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, speeches made at the demonstration, and an interview about safe streets funding and policy with The Street Trust Executive Director Sarah Iannarone.

The event was organized by The Street Trust, Oregon Walks, and Families for Safe Streets OR/WA.

People in this episode (in order of appearance):

Jonathan Maus (host), founder/editor/publisher, BikePortland
Lena Wiley (unnamed in the episode, sorry!), pedestrian and march participant
Brendon Haggerty, Healthy Homes and Communities Manager, Multnomah County
Claire Vlach, Oregon Walks
Jackie Yerby, bike advocate and member of the board, The Street Trust and Cycle Oregon
Sarah Iannarone, executive director, The Street Trust
Michelle DuBarry, member, Families for Safe Streets OR/WA (also interviewed in episode 16)
Wendy Serrano, equity and inclusion manager, Portland Bureau of Transportation
Charlene McGee, director of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Multnomah County
Sarah Iannarone, executive director, The Street Trust executive director

Links:

In the Shed w Eva & Jonathan - Ep. 3

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 09:02:00 -0700

Eva Frazier (Clever Cycles co-owner and BikeLoud PDX board member) and I (BikePortland founder/publisher/editor Jonathan Maus) are back with another fun episode of "In The Shed"! This one was recorded November 10th.

Here's what we talked about:

Our favorite musicals
My interview with City Council candidate Steph Routh.
Quiz on the new Portland City Council District Map
Congressman Earl Blumenauer's retirement announcement
Fashion: How we stay warm in winter.
Shop news: Eva makes house calls for Clever Cycles customers.
Eva's pitch for why you should invest in generator lights.
Those damn bumps on the Eastbank Esplanade floating ramps.
WTH happened on 33rd Ave?
Thoughts on Portland's lack of protected bike lanes.
Hami Ramani and the importance of lovely infrastructure.
Eva's friend hosted a mushroom potluck!

Thanks for listening! And tell your friends how much fun we're having "In the Shed."

City Council Candidate Steph Routh

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 08:34:00 -0700

Routh is running for Portland City Council District 1 (East Portland). She's well-known in local bike and transportation advocacy circles for her role as a thoughtfully wonky, yet warm and approachable leader and organizer. She's also a member of the Portland Planning Commission and has a fascinating background that includes a degree in theater performance, stints as a cannery worker in Alaska, a skin-dive team leader in Thailand as part of 2004 tsunami recovery efforts, and she's lived in northern China and NYC. She's also an adjunct professor at PSU who teaches community organizing and social change.

This interview was recorded in the public plaza on SE Ankeny between SE 27th and 28th on Wednesday, November 8th during the weekly Bike Happy Hour.

Thanks to all BikePortland financial supporters and subscribers. If you are not one yet, please visit BikePortland.org/support and become one today. This is community-powered journalism that needs community to survive!

***

Steph Routh Campaign Website

Portland Planning Commission

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Sponsor

City of Portland reminds you to Rank Your Vote! Ranked Choice Voting is here. Learn more at www.Portland.gov/vote

In The Shed w Eva & Jonathan - Ep 2

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 14:14:00 -0700

Back for another chat in the BikePortland Shed, it's Eva Frazier and Jonathan Maus!

Eva is a bike mechanic, art school grad, and bike shop co-owner. Jonathan is founder and editor of BikePortland. They sit in the shed and talk about random stuff. In this episode, they touched on:

Portland city council race and candidate Angelita Morillo
What's better: Fenders or rain pants?
Why Eva doesn't ride an e-bike.
Eva's latest "nerd overlap" Venn diagram and how it explains why Brompton riders love ponchos.
A pedal-powered pipe organ (Jonathan's TikTok vid)
Verboort Sausage Fest
Reflections on Jonathan's NYC Trip
Why Portland Trophy Cup is so amazing.
and more!!

In The Shed w Eva & Jonathan - Ep. 1

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 11:04:00 -0700

I'm excited to share the inaugural episode with new co-host Eva Frazier! Eva is a co-owner of Clever Cycles, a board member of the nonprofit BikeLoud PDX, and just an all-around quality person who cares about Portland and wants to see cycling thrive.

In what I hope is the first of many "In The Shed" chats to come, Eva and I chat about a wide range of topics. It's fun, free-flowing banter between two bike and urbanist nerds — a change from the more formal interviews and event recaps this podcast has done in the past. I will still do those things, but will make "In The Shed" a regular feature.

In this episode (recorded Thursday, October 12th) Eva and I talked about:

Life in the shop (squirrels and cats!)
Eva's preferred route from inner southeast to The Shed in NoPo
The Street Trust Alice Awards
Automatic shifting bicycles (Trek's "Lime" bike in Portland 2007)
Tapas Tuesdays (link to event)
First bike on Mt. Hood (Mazamas story)
PBOT SE Hawthorne Blvd Evaluation Report (PDF)
Broadway Bike Lane Scandal (all BP coverage)
The first bakfiets in Portland and subsequent Dutch bike invasion.
and more!!

Episode made possible by BikePortland advertisers, subscribers, and financial supporters. Please become one today at BikePortland.org/support.

The Annual Bike Town Hall Ride

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 12:41:00 -0700

In this episode, your host Jonathan Maus takes you on the 14th annual Bike Town Hall Ride that took place in southeast Portland on Sunday, October 8th. You'll hear remarks from Oregon Senator Michael Dembrow and House representatives Khanh Pham and Thuy Tran. In addition, you'll ride along and hear about community projects like the Arleta Triangle Square, 70s Greenway, and more. Jonathan Maus provides narration along the way.

For a full recap and photo gallery from the ride, see this story on BikePortland.

Ayleen Crotty - Filmed By Bike Founder and Portland Bike Culture Creator

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 09:16:00 -0700

There are very few people in Portland who've had as large an impact on our bicycle scene as Ayleen Crotty. She moved here in 2000 from central Illinois as a scrappy, artistic kid, fresh-out-of-college. Ayleen quickly found her people — and most of them were on bikes.

Many of you know Ayleen as the force behind Filmed By Bike, a festival that draws filmmakers from all over the world and has shown over 1,200 films since it started in a small theater on Northeast Alberta Street 21 years ago. But before that, she was at the table for the creation of major pieces of our scene that still exist today — like Breakfast on the Bridges, Midnight Mystery Ride, Shift, Pedalpalooza, and more.

Now that Ayleen has decided to sell Filmed By Bike and move on to other creative ventures, we both sensed it was time to sit down and have a chat.

In this episode, you'll hear what Portland was like long before "Portlandia" and the many changes of the past two decades. Ayleen and I talk about early bike culture, why Portland was so ripe to blossom into a leading bike city, her impetus for launching Filmed By Bike, how she's used bike movies to make our scene more racially inclusive, and much more.

I think you'll love our conversation.

City Commissioner Mingus Mapps on Broadway Bike Lane Scandal

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 16:11:00 -0700

In this episode, I share a video call I had with PBOT Commissioner Mingus Mapps about the Broadway Bike Lane Scandal. His office set up this 30-minute interview to respond to our stories about Mapps' involvement in a push from his PBOT Director Millicent Williams to make significant changes to the protected bike lane on NW/SW Broadway. Williams' email to PBOT staff on September 14th made it clear she was ready to move forward — with what she claims was Mapps' approval — on reversing the protected bike lane and replacing it with a less safe configuration. Williams has since made a clear apology for her actions, saying that she made a "mistake" and that she "moved too fast."

For more on this story, read the full coverage on BikePortland.

Download a PDF of the full transcript here.

Billy Sinkford and the MADE Bike Show

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 08:29:00 -0700

In this episode, host Jonathan Maus talks with Billy Sinkford, a bicycle industry insider and VP of PR and marketing firm, Echos Communications. Billy lives in Portland and is the man behind MADE, a major bike show coming to Zidell Yards in the South Waterfront August 24th-27th that will feature over 200 custom bike builders and other companies in what he calls the largest handmade bike show North America has ever seen.

I've known Billy for years, but have never been able to sit down and have a chat with him, so I was really excited he was able to swing by The Shed for this interview. We talk about his interesting past, how he got into the bike industry, the work he does with Echos, why he's such a big fan of handmade bikes, and more.

Oh, and he was also nice enough to share the strange — and I'll just say, very personal, story — of how he got his nickname, "Souphorse" - the name many people know him by and the name that's tattooed across his neck.

Links:

Protestors Take Over TriMet Board Meeting

Mon, 29 May 2023 15:54:00 -0700

Get a front seat to all the wild drama at the TriMet Board Meeting on May 24th where they voted to increase transit fares for the first time in 11 years. Activists stormed into the meeting and made the board so uncomfortable they retreated to a private meeting room. In this episode, host Jonathan Maus takes us through the meeting and the protest rally organized by OPAL Environment Justice Oregon.

You've read the headlines, now go into the meeting with exclusive audio footage!

***

Links:

The Fight For a 'Right Sized' Interstate Bridge Project

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 17:18:00 -0700

Your host Jonathan Maus (Editor & Publisher, BikePortland) went to the State Capitol in Salem on April 13th to cover the Transportation Future Day of Action. The event was a lobbying day organized by Just Crossing Alliance (a coalition of environmental and transportation nonprofits) as part of their "Right Size, Right Now" campaign that seeks to reduce the cost and footprint of the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program project.

In this episode, you'll hear a range of interviews including:

Adah Crandall, Sunrise PDX
Zachary Lauritzen, Oregon Walks
Aaron Brown, Office of Rep. Khanh Pham
Brett Morgan, 1000 Friends of Oregon
Khanh Pham, Oregon House Rep
Mark Gamba, Oregon House Rep
And several others!

Links:

Live from the Ladds 500!

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 14:26:00 -0700

Take a journey into the heart of Portland's amazing cycling community in this episode where host Jonathan Maus and BikePortland reporter Taylor Griggs wade into the thick crowds at Ladds 500 to chat with the assembled characters.

Links:

Royal Johnson and Timberwolves Cycle Recovery

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 06:59:00 -0700

In this episode, host Jonathan Maus welcomes members of Timberwolves Cycle Recovery into he Shed. Also known as the Sith Lord Vader Squadron Timberwolves, they're a grassroots group of Portlanders who are taking the law into their own hands to recover stolen bicycles. They are led by Royal Johnson, who is the main voice you'll hear in the episode. Royal and Jonathan were joined by Laura Dallago, the group's treasurer, and Rich Baker, who coordinates their events and rides.

Royal started the group in Austin, Texas in 2011 and he maintains a chapter of the group there, as well as one in Los Angeles, Colorado, and Houston. Their MO is to enlist people to help them spot stolen bikes, research online to find out of it the bike is indeed stolen, and then if it is, they hit the streets and try to recover it.

On March 18th, Royal went on a recovery mission in the South Waterfront district that was first reported as a robbery by gunpoint. Alarmed by the initial reports, we did a story immediately based on details from an OHSU campus alert and a police report that said someone flashed a gun and robbed someone of a blue electric bike near the intersection of SW Sheridan and Moody. It was only after we published that we figured out Royal was involved and that perhaps the person who reported the gun wasn't telling the truth. It all turned into a mess, so Royal and I agreed he should come over to the shed so we could hash everything out.

Links:

What really happened with that bike theft confrontation in South Waterfront? - (BikePortland, 3/22/23)
Updated: Stolen bike recovery leads to confrontation in South Waterfront (BikePortland, 3/18/23)
‘Timberwolves’ look to hunt down and recover stolen bikes (BikePortland, 10/24/22)
SLVS Timberwolves on Instagram

TriMet Bus Driver Dan Christensen

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 08:48:00 -0700

In this episode you'll get to know TriMet bus operator Dan Christensen. Known as "bus driver dan" to his many Twitter followers, Dan is more than just bus driver — he's a storyteller, a community builder and a big part of what makes Portland so special. And from his seat behind the windshield, watching what he calls "Portland on the big screen" — he's seen a lot since he started driving for TriMet 16 years ago.

Host Jonathan Maus wanted to talk with Dan not just because of what he's seen on his bus over the years, but because of how he sees it. In this interview Dan shares stories from his bus and why he thinks transit is so much more than just a way to get from point a to point b. He and Jonathan also talk about whether TriMet's bad reputation has gotten to him, how he drives around bike riders, why he still remembers the name of his first school bus driver, why he only counts some of the "Thank yous" he gets from riders, and much more.

If you love transit... Actually, if you love portland, you'll really enjoy this episode.

Links:

Dan Christensen on Twitter
Dan Christensen Archives on BikePortland (he's managed to get on our Front Page several times over the years!)

This podcast is a production of Pedaltown Media Incorporated. Thanks to all the subscribers and advertisers who support our work. If you aren't one of them yet, please become one today. And if you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave us a review, and tell a friend about it.

Why Reading Names of Crash Victims Matters

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 11:06:00 -0700

In this episode, host Jonathan Maus shares clips from a recent meeting of the Metro Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT). He highlights an exchange between county commissioners that was spurred by the "reading the of the names" - an increasingly common practice at meetings where someone reads names of people killed in traffic crashes at the outset of a meeting in order to add urgency to road safety efforts.

Jonathan shares why he thinks this practice is so important — and how it can gain even more value when it spurs an exchange like the one between two commissioners and a Metro staff person in this episode.

Links:

Portland's Cycling Decline

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 11:59:00 -0700

This episode is all about the headlines I'm sure all of you've seen — that the number of people riding bikes in portland has fallen sharply in recent years. It's a decline that started long before Covid, and it's something we've been stewing about around here for many years now. But now we've got hard numbers from the City of Portland, so it's time to dig in and confront this unfortunate reality.

So sit back and hang out with BikePortland Editor Jonathan Maus and Staff Writer Taylor Griggs to hear their reactions to the news, reasons why it's happening, and what implications might be going forward. We'll also share a few reader comments and reactions from folks Taylor bumped into over the weekend.

Links from the episode:

Something has gone wrong in Portland - May 2014 BikePortland article that nails the start of the decline.
2019 Bike Year in Review - PDF of presentation by PBOT Bike Coordinator Roger Geller where he makes the case that "hidden" neighborhood greenways" are partly to blame.
City counts reveal data behind Portland’s precipitous drop in cycling - March 15th, 2023 BikePortland article on the PBOT Bike Counts report.

Behind the Scenes With B-Line Urban Delivery

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 13:28:00 -0700

In this episode, host Jonathan Maus will take you on a tour and ride with Tegan Valo from B-Line Urban Delivery. B-Line is a Portland company that was founded in 2008 and they have carved out a great little niche for their innovative approach to last mile freight logistics.

If you're a BikePortland reader, you'll recall several stories we've written about them over the years because of this simple fact: they use pedal-powered electric cargo trikes for their delivery fleet.

B-Line has replaced well over 320,000 truck miles with these trikes in over 42,000 deliveries in the past 15 years. And while they're much smaller and safer than a truck or a van, B-Line trikes can still carry up to 700 pounds of cargo.

A few days ago, Jonathan met Tegan at their large warehouse in the Central Eastside to learn more about the company, get a rundown of what a typical day looks like. They then hit the road for a few deliveries.

Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 12:22:00 -0700

For this episode, host Jonathan Maus rode down to City Hall and recorded an interview with Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps. Mapps has served as one of Portland's five council members since 2020, and was recently named the commissioner-in-charge of the transportation bureau.

Mapps is a graduate of Reed College, he has a PhD in government from Cornell and is a former political science professor. Prior to ousting former Commissioner Chloe Eudaly from her seat in 2019, Mapps worked for the City of Portland's office of civic life.

Jonathan and Commissioner Mapps covered a lot of ground in this interview. They talked about the type of person he's looking to hire as the next director of PBOT, how he thinks transportation policy and projects can help revitalize Portland, why he thinks the 2030 bike plan is outdated, his rationale for wanting more police officers patrolling Portland streets, his position on the I-5 Rose Quarter project, and much more.

LINKS:

Former Metro President & Transit Center ED David Bragdon

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 08:08:00 -0700

As a veteran of Metro Council (our elected regional planning authority) — including a seven-year stint as president from 2003 to 2010 — David Bragdon has been around the block when it comes to Oregon transportation politics. And for the past decade he's been executive director of TransitCenter, a nonprofit foundation that funds and conducts research and advocacy to improve public transit across the U.S. Before that he led a planning office for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Suffice it to say, Bragdon has a mix of experiences in advocacy and government that I feel BikePortland readers could learn a lot from. So when I heard he was leaving his post at TransitCenter and was making a stop in Portland to visit family, I figured it was a perfect time to invite him into the Shed for an interview.

We ended up talking about a range of issues including: how advocates can influence government, what PBOT should look for in their hiring of a new director, PBOT's budget woes, why he doesn't trust ODOT (which he refers to as the Oregon State Highway Department), TriMet and transit governance, and more.

Links:

David Bragdon Wikipedia entry
ODOT suffers from incompetence and dishonesty at highest levels, former Metro President says (BikePortland, 2015)
A People's History of Recent Urban Transportation Innovation (Transit Center, 2016)
Winning Transit (TransitCenter, 2019)

PBOT & The Search For a New Leader

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 07:25:00 -0700

In this episode, host Jonathan Maus (BikePortland's publisher and editor) sat down for a chat about the Portland Bureau of Transportation with Kiel Johnson, a Portland bike advocacy veteran and current chair of the nonprofit BikeLoud PDX.

PBOT is currently looking to hire a new director of the agency and Jonathan and Kiel have some thoughts about it! They share insights on the state of PBOT in general, why they feel this is a pivotal moment for the agency, what traits they'd like to see in a new director, and much more.

Links from the show:

BikePortland story about departure of former PBOT Director Chris Warner
On paving vs bike routes, The Oregonian got it wrong (2012 BikePortland story about former PBOT Director Tom Miller's controversial attempt to reduce the paving budget)

Car Culture Researcher Tara Goddard

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 08:07:00 -0700

When it comes to the goal of safer streets and "Vision Zero," how much of a focus should we put on individual driver behaviors and infrastructure design? The "systems versus people" debate is raging as cities and advocates grapple with record traffic fatalities.

Tara Goddard, PhD, is an assistant professor at the School of Urban Planning at Texas A & M University. She earned her doctorate in urban planning from Portland State University and she's led several studies about car culture, "windshield bias" and more.

Host: Jonathan Maus, editor and publisher of BikePortland.

Links:

Dr. Goddard Texas A & M Bio Page / @DrTaraGoddard on Twitter
PSU Transportation Safety Culture Webinar with Dr. Goddard on February 16th
That driving-centric KATU-TV story
Book: There Are No Accidents, byJessie Singer (Simon & Schuster, 2022)
Cars are rewiring our brains to ignore all the bad stuff about driving (Article on Ian Walker's "motonormativity" research in The Verge)

Voices from the PBOT Maintenance Workers Picket Line

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 10:04:00 -0700

PBOT workers are on strike. Host Jonathan Maus visited the picket line outside PBOT's Maintenance Operations headquarters on the first day of the walkout and talked to a few workers — the same folks who sweep our bike lanes, patch the roads, replace signs, and so on. In this episode you'll hear those interviews, learn a bit about why the strike is happening, and hear what PBOT says the impacts will be.

Links from the episode:

BikePOC PNW Co-Founder Will Cortez

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 07:43:00 -0700

In this episode we welcomed BikePOC PNW Co-Founder Will Cortez into the Shed. Host Jonathan Maus wanted to check in with Will about Portland's progress on welcoming more Black, Indigenous and people of color into the local cycling and transportation advocacy scene — nearly three years after the George Floyd protests.

Will and Jonathan touch on a number of topics including: Will's concerns on how BikeLoud PDX tokenizes "equity" in the framing of their new lawsuit against the City of Portland, why progress to diversify government advisory committees is slow/nonexistent, his disappointments with the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association's attempt to attract more Black racers, and more.

He also shares about his beloved cat (named after a Japanese fruit) and why he thinks the PDX Trophy Cup cyclocross series is the best local example of progress toward a more welcoming and inclusive community.

***

LINKS:

Making Nature Accessible (Story on Will's work at Metro)
Bob Stacey, Khanh Pham, BikePOC PNW named 2021 ‘Alice Award’ winners (BikePortland)
HiFi Sound Cycling Components wins $10,000 Inspiring Diversity grant (BikePortland)

Our theme music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.

Lawyer Scott Kocher on the Bike Bill Lawsuit

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 10:55:00 -0700

Go deeper into the lawsuit filed Friday (11/18) by BikeLoud PDX against the City of Portland in this informative conversation between host Jonathan Maus and Oregon lawyer Scott Kocher of Forum Law Group.

***

LINKS:

Our Podcast music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.

What Charter Reform Means for Bike Advocacy in Portland

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 10:35:00 -0700

Portland voted for a new form of government. It's a huge deal and bike advocates need to understand why — and more importantly — how to take advantage of it.

In this episode, host Jonathan Maus talks to two people with important insights into what lies ahead: former policy advisor for City Commissioner Mingus Mapps Matt Glazewski (who was interviewed in ep. 18), and researcher/writer at Sightline Institute and former BikeLoud PDX leader Catie Gould.

***

LINKS:

Charter reform coverage on BikePortland

Our Podcast music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.

Voices from the SE Powell Blvd Community Forum

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 07:54:00 -0700

Host Jonathan Maus attended the Powell Blvd Community Forum at Cleveland High School on October 20th. For this episode, he has pulled out several powerful remarks from attendees. It's a rare opportunity to hear advocates speak out about the tragic collision that killed Sarah Pliner on October 4th just a few hundred yards from where the Forum took place.

Among the voices you'll hear from in this episode is Bike Loud PDX Chair Kiel Johnson, who starts things off with a moving speech delivered on stage as ODOT Director Kris Strickler and PBOT Director Chris Warner sat just a few feet away.

***

LINKS:

Our Podcast music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.

Live From the World Naked Bike Ride

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 09:00:00 -0700

Host Jonathan Maus put on his headphones and took off his clothes to bring you the first-ever podcast episode recording by a naked person riding a bike. Seriously!

Join him for a full episode of interviews with attendees of Portland's 18th annual World Naked Bike Ride. You'll hear from a wide variety of people — from professional nudists to people who have never shown their bare bodies in public — and you'll hear why this ride is so meaningful to so many people.

***

LINKS:

PDX WNBR, official Naked Bike Ride website.
Jonathan's WNBR photo gallery

Our Podcast music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.

Metro Council Candidate Ashton Simpson

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 09:00:00 -0700

This week you'll get to know a rising star in local political and advocacy circles, Ashton Simpson.

At just 34 years old Simpson is running for Metro Council, and with no challengers for his east Portland district seat, he's now Metro Councilor-elect Ashton Simpson.

Simpson will be just the 2nd Black man to ever sit on Metro Council, following in the footsteps of Ed Washington in the early 1990s. It will be the start of his career as an elected official and the culmination of a whirlwind life journey that has seen him bounce through many life experiences, both highs and lows, that are on par with someone twice his age. After growing up in tough urban neighborhoods in Houston, texas and dropping out of college his first go-round, Simpson found work as a mall cop. When he declined a promotion in the mall security business, his boss urged him to join the Air Force and he served stints as a civil engineer at bases around the world before moving to Portland in 2015. In the relatively short time he's been here, Simpson has worked as a project manager with a construction firm, earned a community development degree from Portland State University, been a community organizer for a nonprofit in east Portland, and has had his current job as executive director for Oregon Walks for since January 2021.

In addition to all that, in the past two years he's lost several close family members to Covid and other causes, navigated America's racial reckoning as a young black man and has been a doting father to his nine-year-old son, who he lives with in his home in east Portland's Russell neighborhood.

Given his role with Oregon Walks and his volunteer activism on many transportation-related advisory committees around town, I've already interviewed Simpson several times for stories on BikePortland. So going into this one, I wanted to learn more about him and for the first half of the interview or so, you'll learn a lot about how his life has shaped his values and perspectives. The second half of the interview has more policy and project talk and we touch on issues like housing, I-5 freeway expansion projects, 82nd Avenue, Portland's tragic record of pedestrian traffic fatalities and more.

But as you'll hear from him, Simpson doesn't see a fine line between projects and people. To him, you can't build up one without the other.

I really enjoyed this interview and I think you're going to love getting know Councilor-elect Simpson.

***

LINKS:

Ashton Simpson for Metro campaign site
Q & A with Ashton Simpson, who just announced a bid for Metro Council (09/16/21 - BikePortland)
Oregon Walks ED Ashton Simpson on Hawthorne, ‘aggressive’ bike culture, and more (02/16/21 - BikePortland)

Our Podcast music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.

Voices From Portland's Carfree Plaza Movement

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 11:10:00 -0700

This week we delve into the topic of carfree streets, plazas and great public spaces in Portland.

You might have read our recent story about the big announcement Monday morning from the City of Portland that they want to double down on their outdoor dining patios, plazas and carfree public space programs.

In this episode, host Jonathan Maus shares clips from remarks made at the press conference (which was held on Pride Plaza, a 2-block section of carfree street on SW Harvey Milk Street) as well as several interviews with people at the event. You'll hear from PBOT Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, PBOT Director Chris Warner, Portland restaurant co-owner Eli Johnson, Friends of Green Loop Executive Director Keith Jones, and others.

Links:

PBOT press release about Healthy Business and Vibrant Community Spaces program
"Commissioner Hardesty wants more carfree streets in downtown Portland" (BikePortland, 1/12/2021)

Theme music:

Kevin Hartnell

Women of the E-bike Revolution

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 08:52:00 -0700

It was International Women's Day when I edited this episode and what better subject to explore than the impact the e-bike revolution is having on women.

In historical terms, the skyrocketing popularity of e-bikes among women feels a bit like a deja vu.

At the turn of the 20th century, as the and price and safety of these magical, human-powered machines improved and the bicycling craze swept Europe and America, it had a profound effect on women. Bicycles leveled the mobility playing field between genders and in so doing ushered in a new era of independence that had vast influence on everything from fashion and popular culture, to politics. Susan B. Anthony, the famous women's rights pioneer said in 1896: "Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world."

Fast forward 120 years or so and another great leap in bicycle technology is once again changing everything for women: electric bikes. The popularity of e-bikes is one of the most exciting developments in the cycling world and - as you'll learn in this episode - it's particularly exciting for women.

Bike advocates have spent decades trying to increase the amount of women who would give daily bicycling a try and it turns out all many of them needed was just a small electric motor powered by a rechargeable battery about the size of a two water bottles.

In this episode I share interviews with five women whose lives have been changed by e-bikes. You'll hear how their bikes have not only helped them leap confidently over what used to be common barriers to bicycling, but also how the bikes have balanced out the power dynamic on our streets and have opened up new cycling possibilities far beyond the commute to work.

Going into this episode, I felt like what I was seeing with e-bikes and women was nothing short of a revolution, or at least a movement. Now I'm more convinced about that then ever.

Our guests in this episode are:

Leslie Carlson (@queenleslie) , a 56 year old a communications and branding consultant and married mom of three college-age kids. Leslie lives in southeast Portland and has only had her e-bike for about a month.
Emily Barrett (@emmypdx), a tech industry worker who's lived in north and northeast Portland for 18 years and is married with kids ages 5 and 1.
Tina Ricks (@tinaintheburbs) is in her 50s and works at her home in the Bethany area (just outside Beaverton) editing law books for a small publisher. She's been the owner of a Rad Power e-bike for about a year.
Ingrid Fish, a 46-year old who works for the City of Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. She and her husband live in the Woodstock neighborhood and have two kids, ages 12 and 10. Ingrid is the most veteran e-biker of the bunch and she's been riding hers for about 10 years.
Karin Power (@karin_power), a 38-year-old member of the Oregon state legislature who represents the city of Milwaukie in the House of Representatives. She carries her two young children on her Tern GSD that she bought last fall.

This podcast is a production of Pedaltown Media Inc., and is made possible by listeners like you. If you're not a subscriber yet, please become one today at bikeportland.org/support. You can listen to more episodes and find out how to subscribe at bikeportland.org/podcast.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

The People Behind Oregon's Best Bike Rides

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 09:03:00 -0700

As I edited this episode and I work on our stories I often think that bicycling doesn't really matter right now. I mean, I know that riding bikes always matters to some people in some ways... But with so many more serious things going on it can feel not just less important, but talking and creating content about bicycling can even feel insensitive given all the other more serious things going in people's lives right now.

But for many of us who are lucky enough enough to be able to do so, knowing that we can look forward to a bike ride, is one of things that gives us hope, keeps us going, and provides some levity and balance in gloomy times. And if you consider the mental and physical benefits of bicycling, it actually isn't such a trivial thing at all. In some ways, riding our bikes, setting future goals, and having rides to look forward to, is more important these days than it has ever been.

On that note, in this week's episode I wanted to help us all - if just for a few minutes - stop doomscrolling and start thinking about where we'll be rolling on our bikes in the coming year.

Oregon is a paradise for great bike rides, and as spring approaches I wanted to let you know about some of the great rides on the calendar. To help paint the picture of what's to come, in this episode I'll share interviews with organizers of some of the best bike rides in the state. I'm talking classics like Cycle Oregon, the Swift Summit, Oregon Coast Gravel Epic, and so on.

In this episode, you'll get to know:

Swift Summit founder Trevor Spangle
Mike Ripley of Mudslinger Events, the man behind the Oregon Coast Gravel Epic, Oregon Gran Fondo, and many others
Anne Marie Hingley and Chris Distefano from Cycle Oregon, the ride that in many respects is the grandaddy of them all.

So grab a pen, grab your calendars, and let's start planning your 2022 riding season.

Shop Talk: Joel and Barb Grover of Splendid Cycles

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 15:07:00 -0700

This week we've got another installment in our Shop Talk series and I'm excited to welcome Splendid Cycles co-owners Barb and Joel Grover. This duo has been working in the local bike scene since the 1980s and came up through the ranks as employees of Bike Gallery, which was one of the largest bicycle retail chains in the country. Joel was a product analyst and buyer for many years at Bike Gallery and when cargo bikes first came on the scene in the U.S. in the mid to late aughts, he and Barb had a feeling they weren't reaching their potential being sold in traditional bike shops. So they decided to take a big risk: They left Bike Gallery in 2009 to create a shop that would sell only cargo bikes — and despite being laughed at by some of their peers, Splendid Cycles opened one year later. In 2014, four years after they opened, their business was so strong they moved from their tiny storefront on lower SE Belmont to a larger location in an industrial building in the central eastside right next to the SE 4th Avenue entrance of the Springwater Corridor path.

That's where we recorded this episode (and just FYI you might notice from the audio that we did so with our masks on).

Before we sat down for the interview, Barb and Joel gave me a tour of the shop and we talked about a few of the bikes they sell. We also went out front where Barb explained to me why they installed a fresh water spigot that's free and open for anyone to use 24/7.

In our interview, you'll get to know a bit more about Barb and Joel, and you'll understand why they're so deeply appreciated in our community. You'll also learn how being located next to the Springwater has impacted their business, how the e-bike market has changed in the past decade, how they define the "cargo bike lifestyle", what type of people are investing it, why they only sell high-end bikes, what keeps them inspired to come into work every day, and much more.

Links from this episode:

Splendid Cycles website
Oregon legislator will propose e-bike purchase incentive bill next session (BikePortland, 02/07/22)
Badger Bikes (wooden cargo box maker)
Blaq Packs (cargo bike canopy maker)
Riese & Müller
Tern Bicycles
Larry vs Harry

This episode was recorded on February 14th inside Splendid Cycles on SE 4th and Ivon in Portland.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Bike Theft Superhero Bryan Hance

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 15:16:00 -0700

This week's guest is Bike Index co-founder Bryan Hance.

Bike Index has listed over 730,000 bikes since it was founded in 2013 and has become a formidable force in the battle against bike thieves — and Hance is its heart and soul.

In December 2021 Hance and the Bike Index team published a report on a case they'd spent 10 months working on that involved 100s of bike thefts in Colorado and a Facebook marketplace store based in Mexico named Alexander's Bikes.

In our interview, you'll learn the sordid details of how Hance connected the dots from desperate victims in Denver and surrounding cities, to his expansive network of partners on-the-ground, to the online storefront in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Hance also shares why he got involved in this work, his thoughts on the state of bike theft in Portland, his frustrations with Facebook's inaction against fraudulent sellers, and much more.

Links from this episode:

This episode was recorded on February 10th in the BikePortland studio in north Portland.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Shop Talk: Tom Martin of TomCat Bikes

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 15:45:00 -0700

Host Jonathan Maus: Ever since I got seriously into cycling in my freshman year of college or so, I've loved hanging out at bike shops. My friends and I were huge shop rats back in the day, and as I record more of these Shop Talk episodes, I'm realizing how much I've missed it.

Getting to know and chat with people like my guest this week, Tom Martin of TomCat Bikes on SE Milwaukie and Powell, is a big reason why.

So much of what we think of as "local bike culture" exists in and/or comes from bike shops and I believe they're a vital part of our cycling ecosystem.

Tom Martin seems to embrace that responsibility. Since opening TomCat Bikes in 2018 after 35 years wearing many different hats in the bike industry, his shop has become firmly established in the Brooklyn neighborhood. In this interview you'll hear how friends helped him survive the Covid boom, learn why he's become the go-to shop for fans of Burning Man and freak bikes, find out why he thinks major shifts in the bike industry will help his business, find out why he thinks local bike theft chop shops — which he calls "bicycle slaughterhouses" — are tied to organized crime rings, and what it means to give a bike a soul

-----

Links from the episode:

Oregon State Representative Khanh Pham

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 15:35:00 -0700

After a short break I'm really happy to be back at the mic and cannot wait to share this interview with Oregon State Rep Khanh Pham.

Rep Pham is a former community organizer who's worked with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon and the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO). Most recently she was a founding member of the coalition that created the Portland Clean Energy Fund and she continued that momentum by playing a major role in passing three clean energy bills in her first session.

You might recall hearing from Rep Pham in a previous episode, when I caught up with her at a Youth vs ODOT rally in September of last year. Back then she was a rookie legislator and just emerging as a transportation reform leader. Since then she's firmly established herself in that role by speaking up with testimony on several big projects and, most notably, by grabbing a seat on the powerful Joint Committee on Transportation down in Salem. It's also worth noting she's recently hired former policy manager from The Street Trust, Andre Lightsey Walker, to be her transportation advisor.

Rep Pham and I talked about all that stuff and a whole lot more in this interview. If you're curious about how a progressive democrat from Portland will impact transportation policy in a highly partisan legislature, what her vision is for a post-ODOT 82nd Avenue, or if you want structural reform of ODOT and the Oregon Transportation Commission, I think you'll love this episode.

Links from the episode:

This episode was recorded virtually (thanks Covid!) on January 31st.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Veteran Advocate and New Portlander Cathy Tuttle

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 11:37:00 -0700

For this episode, host Jonathan Maus caught up with veteran advocate and recent Portland transplant Cathy Tuttle. Cathy has been an activist for climate change, transportation, and healthy cities for over 30 years and has long list of accomplishments and awards for her work as a community organizer, nonprofit founder (Seattle Neighborhood Greenways) and city staffer. In 2019 she ran for a seat on Seattle City Council and tied for third in a crowded race. Last summer, this 65-year-old, self-described "climate warrior" decided to move to Portland, currently lives downtown, and uses a bike as her main way to get around. While some people in Cathy's shoes might consider slowing down after working so hard for so long on these issues, Cathy is just as committed as ever to make an impact and was just voted to the board of Bike Loud PDX, a local nonprofit whose main goal is to push Portland into being a city where 25% of all trips are made by bike by 2030.

In this interview, you'll hear why Cathy chose to move to Portland, how her bike has become her personal mobility device, and how she's avoided burnout after more than three decades of advocacy. We also talked about how being a bureaucrat has helped her become a better advocate.

Cathy and I also traded thoughts about the state of bicycling and transportation reform in Portland, whether current PBOT Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty is — or can be — a real champion for the cause, and how Cathy's recently completed Car Master Plan unlocks important clues on how to help us reach that exciting 25% cycling goal.

Links from the episode:

Cathy on Twitter - @CathyTuttle
BikePortland coverage of a research trip to Portland with Seattle policymakers organized by Cathy in 2014.
Car Master Plan Research Project: Asphalt, Car Budgets, Parking Cars

This episode was recorded on January 11th. Due to Covid concerns, Cathy joined us virtually.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Sellwood Cycle Repair Owner Erik Tonkin

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 07:30:00 -0700

In this episode we hear from Erik Tonkin, the owner of Sellwood Cycle Repair who celebrates his 30th anniversary with the shop this year.

We first wanted to have Erik on the show as part of our Shop Talk series, but then realized there was much more to talk about than just running a business. In this interview, you’ll learn how he got his start in the local bike industry, why he seriously considered running for a seat on Portland City Council in 2015, and you’ll even hear him say there’s a possibility he might run again in the future. We also talked about his advocacy work pushing for more trail access at River View, helping the City of Portland write new code to prevent fencing of stolen bikes, and working to find new bike race venues.

If you love bike racing, listen closely for the big news about how Erik has been working with Commissioner Carmen Rubio’s office and the Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau to bring his Bridge City CX event to Waterfront Park in downtown Portland. Jonathan also asked Erik for his thoughts on the exciting success of two-time US National Cyclocross Champion Clara Honsinger, a former Sellwood Cycle team racer and employee who’s currently the best cyclocross racer in the U.S. and among the best in the world. Erik also shares his views on how e-bikes might play a major role in the future of his business.

Links from the episode:

Sellwood Cycle Repair
Guest article: A personal perspective on riding River View (BikePortland, 03/12/2015)
Sellwood Cycle Owner Mulls City Council Run Against Steve Novick (Willamette Week, 06/02/2015)
Portland embraces inaugural Bridge City CX event (BikePortland, 11/25/2019)
Clara Honsinger is currently the best cyclocross rider from the United States (CyclingTips, (01/02/2022)

This episode was recorded on December 21st at Sellwood Cycle Repair. A full transcript will be available by January 7th.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Shop Talk: Community Cycling Center and Bikes for Humanity

Wed, 22 Dec 2021 13:33:00 -0700

We're just about to sign off for the week to enjoy the holiday (and my daughter turns 19 tomorrow!), but before we take a break I wanted to share the work of people and organizations who are making the season brighter for people in need.

I loved talking to shop owners last month for our first Shop Talk series episode. This time I talked to two local nonprofits — Bikes for Humanity and Community Cycling Center — that provide bikes for the community, but have a much different approach. They focus on making bikes more accessible for people on low-incomes and for people who either don't have a shop in their neighborhood would likely never feel comfortable walking into a traditional, for-profit bike shop

Bikes for Humanity on southeast Powell started (as Community Exchange Bike School/Exchange Cycle Tours) in 2005 and became an official non-profit in 2015. I spoke to their current executive director, Andrew Shaw-Kitch, who's been with the group since 2014.

The Community Cycling Center in the Alberta neighborhood was founded in 1994 and still serves the community with a retail bike shop and several programs including their annual Holiday Bike Drive, that happened just last weekend. I spoke to their marketing coordinator Cole Lalomia and their program manager Nissy Cobb.

It was a really fun episode to put together and I think you'll be heartened and inspired to hear from these great folks and learn more about the work they're doing.

I've really enjoyed getting the podcast up-and-running these past six months or so. And we recently pushed past 5,000 downloads which is really amazing!

Thanks for listening everyone and have a great holiday.

This episode was recorded on December 4th, just five days after he filed his paperwork with the city elections office.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

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Links:

City Council Candidate Vadim Mozyrsky

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 09:24:00 -0700

Show notes:

Last week we shared an interview with Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. This week we hear from one of the candidates who wants her seat: Vadim Mozyrsky.

Mozyrsky is an administrative law judge who specializes in disability law (and sees improving city policy for people with disabilities as one of his top priorities if elected). He lives in the Goose Hollow neighborhood and, while he's a relative newcomer to local politics, he's well-known in civic circles for his service on a number of committees and commissions. Mozyrsky is currently a member of the Portland Charter Commission, that's looking into changing Portland's form of government; and the Portland Committee on Community Engaged Policing, a group charged to be a liaison between the community and the Portland Police Bureau. Mozyrsky is a former member of the Citizen Review Committee, formed by the City of Portland in 2001 to improve police accountability; the Portland Commission on Disability; and the Portland Public Safety Action Coalition.

We talked about his personal story as an immigrant from Kiev, Ukraine and how he more recently escaped Houston's terrible traffic for the walkable and bikeable streets of Portland. Mozyrsky also explained his ideas on how to boost bicycling and reduce driving, how to improve policing and law enforcement, how tackle Portland's homelessness crisis, his style of leadership, and much more.

This episode was recorded on December 4th, just five days after he filed his paperwork with the city elections office.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

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Links:

Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 11:39:00 -0700

In this episode, we hear from Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. Hardesty was elected in 2018 and became the first Black woman to ever sit on Portland's five-member city council. In January of this year Mayor Ted Wheeler put her in charge of the transportation bureau. It was a surprising choice, given that Hardesty had never expressed an interest in the bureau and up until that time was mostly known for her politics and activism around policing, government accountability, and racial and social justice issues. Now, with almost a year under her belt, she's gone from having no experience in city transportation policy to being - what she referred to in this interview as, "the big dog when it comes to the city of Portland transportation".

This episode was recorded in the commissioner's office in city hall where we had a wide-ranging conversation about everything from automated enforcement cameras to the decline of biking in Portland, the role of police in transportation safety, her feelings about a new "civilian traffic force", what she considers an ideal street design, and much more.

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Links & Notes:

Host Jonathan Maus (founder and editor of BikePortland, @jonathan_maus on Twitter)
Full episode transcript (PDF)
Jo Ann Hardesty on Twitter (official account)
Jo Ann Hardesty on Wikipedia
City of Portland official website
2019 Bike Year in Review, report by PBOT Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller
Tools to address gun violence and traffic violence come together in Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood (BikePortland story 10/8/21)

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Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

From Trauma to Triumph: The Story of Felipe Nystrom

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 16:43:00 -0700

In this episode, we hear the story of Portlander Felipe Nystrom.

Please be advised of this content warning: This episode includes mentions of physical and sexual abuse, suicide, and descriptions of excessive drug and alcohol use.

We first first heard about Felipe's story in fall of 2019 and he and our host, BikePortland founder and editor Jonathan Maus, got together for an interview in July of that year. For various reasons, we never shared the story on BikePortland and it's been nagging us ever since, so we're very excited to finally bring it to you. We're also grateful that Felipe trusted us with personal details about his childhood he's never shared publicly before.

Some of you might know Felipe as an elite competitor on the regional racing circuit who's had a meteoric rise through the ranks — in just a few seasons he went from beginner in 2015, to Costa Rican National Champion in 2019 and a World Cup competitor this year. But his cycling success is just a tiny part of his life story. The first 30 years of his life were a struggle for survival. Before he went into rehab and ultimately moved to Portland in 2013, Felipe was hopeless and homeless, living on the streets of San Jose after after a life filled with traumatic experiences and after several attempts to commit suicide.

Suffice it to say, Felipe's life has gone through a remarkable transformation.

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Links:

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Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

What are Portland Bike Riders Grateful For?

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 16:27:00 -0700

For this short and sweet episode, host Jonathan Maus (founder and editor of BikePortland) tried something new: On-the-bike interviews with random riders. He grabbed his recorder and a mic, hopped on his trusty Tern HSD e-bike and rode up alongside complete strangers to ask one basic question: What about biking in Portland are you grateful for? Almost every person stopped and smiled and was happy to chat. He talked to people of all ages and riding styles.

"I've gotten pretty cynical from my work over the years," Jonathan said about this episode, "so it was great to get out from my activist and online Twitter bubbles to hear from folks in real life. Maybe it was just because both days I did the interviews the sun was out and it was absolutely wonderful biking weather - but there was no negativity to be heard. And there was lots of gratitude. It reminded me about the vital role bicycling plays in so many people's lives."

All the interviews were recorded while biking on either N Willamette Blvd, NE Ainsworth, on the Eastbank Esplanade, or in Waterfront Park.

If you have a question you want me to ask folks, please just get in touch. Speaking of which, please make sure to rate and review our podcast and tell your friends about it.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Casey Kulla: Yamhill County Commissioner and Candidate for Governor

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 07:53:00 -0700

For this episode, host Jonathan Maus (BikePortland Founder and Editor) sat down with Yamhill County Commissioner and candidate for Oregon Governor, Casey Kulla. We first met commissioner Kulla in December 2020 when he was embroiled in a debate about the Yamhelas Westsider Trail, a rail-trail project he pushed for strongly, only to see it stopped in February of this year when he found himself on the losing end of a 2-1 vote, with his fellow commissioners fueled by the opposition of dozens of local farmers.

Kulla understands both sides of the issue, because he runs a farm himself.

Being a farmer in rural Oregon who supports public land access and rail-trail projects is just one of many facets of Kulla's background that give him a legitimate claim to being that rare Oregon politician who just might be able to bridge the much talked about urban/rural divide. From growing up in an evangelical household, to working at a bike shop as a teenager on the Oregon Coast and living carfree during his college days in Bellingham, Washington — Kulla owns a diverse set of perspectives that have helped inform his collaborative and respectful approach to politics.

We talked about how surfing defines his political style, the perils of "eco-fascism" when it comes to tackling climate change, the limits of being nice in the face of extremism, how the Yamhelas Westsider Trail is like critical race theory, his ideas for reforming the Oregon Department of Transportation, and much more.

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Kulla for Oregon Campaign Website
Casey Kulla on Twitter @CaseyKulla
Friends of the Yamhelas Westsider Trail
Amid opposition and delays, Yamhelas Westsider Trail planning effort chugs along (BikePortland, 12/20/20)
How a trail in rural Oregon became a target of far-right extremism (High Country News, 07/01/21)
Two Yamhill County Farmers Are Running for Governor. Casey Kulla Wonders Where the Other One Has Been (Willamette Week, 11/03/21)

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Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Shop Talk: Surviving Covid and the Boom

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 17:42:00 -0700

In this episode, I'll share conversations I had this week with two Portland bike shop owners. The first is Brad Parker from Metropolis Cycles on North Williams Avenue and the second is Cassie Hidalgo, the owner of Gladys Bikes on NE Alberta.

As we move further away from the peak of the pandemic, I wanted to circle back with shop owners who've been at the front lines of a tumultuous 20 months. First Covid hit and they had no idea what the future would hold. Then before they coucatch their breath, people were knocking down their doors as a bike boom took hold. They they ran out of parts and bikes as they set up an entirely new business model and scrambled to meet demand, while keeping staff and customers safe.

I waited to do these interviews, because it feels like bike shop life is finally getting back to normal and these owners are starting to breathe easier again.

Stay tuned for future episodes as I expand this series to a wider variety of shop owners across Portland.

The Bikeportland Podcast is a production of Pedaltown Media Inc, and is made possible by listeners like you. If you're not a subscriber yet, please become one today at bikeportland.org/support. You can listen to more episodes and find out how to subscribe at bikeportland.org/podcast.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Catching Up With Vivian Satterfield

Wed, 27 Oct 2021 09:44:00 -0700

In this episode, our host (BikePortland Editor and Publisher Jonathan Maus) talks with Vivian Satterfield, one of Portland's busiest advocates whose work happens mostly behind the scenes as a member of many of the key committees, coalitions and task forces that shape local and regional transportation policies.

Vivian is director of strategic partnerships at Verde NW, a nonprofit based in northeast Portland's Cully neighborhood that "builds environmental wealth through social enterprise, outreach and advocacy". Just one example of Verde's work is how they organized, lobbied and helped build Cully Park, which opened in 2018. She's also worked as a transit activist with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon.

I wanted to talk to Vivian not just because she's a smart and respected leader in the fight to reform transportation in our region, but because she brings a layered perspective to her work as a mixed-race, first generation Chinese American born and raised in urban Chicago. She's also a former bike racer who's competed on the road and at the velodrome.

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Verde NW

Vivan on Twitter and Linkedin

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Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Matt Glazewski and Portland Climate Change Politics

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 13:18:00 -0700

In this episode, BikePortland editor and publisher Jonathan Maus talks with Matt Glazewski about the politics of climate change in Portland. Matt is a climate expert with 15 years of government experience who's worked on disaster resiliency projects at the local, regional and federal levels. He's worked with the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and the National Weather Service where he once briefed a U.S. cabinet secretary. He also helped draft the first Climate Action Plan for Clackamas County, and most recently was a senior policy advisor for Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps. I wanted to share Matt's perspective because earlier this summer he left his position out of frustration with the lack of urgency at the City of Portland around climate change. And in his final days as a City Hall staffer, he shared his concerns publicly in testimony at a city council meeting

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Matt's website - https://www.tamarackconsultingnw.com/

Follow Matt on Twitter - @sentencesrunon

Matt's testimony at Portland City Council, 6/21/21 - https://youtu.be/0m0oxn7xEAI?t=882

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Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Journalist Ryan Packer and the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 11:45:00 -0700

In this episode I spoke to Ryan Packer, a journalist based in Seattle who covers transportation issues for The Urbanist. Their name might sound familiar, because Ryan is also BikePortland's special correspondent on the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project, or what we often refer to around here as Columbia River Crossing 2.0.

Ryan recently visited Portland, so I thought it'd be fun to sit down, talk a little shop about what it's like to be an advocacy journalist in the transportation space, hear his latest thoughts about where the project is headed, ask him why — despite all signs showing that we should do otherwise — transportation departments continue to arrive at a "solution" that involves widening freeways, and much more.

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Follow Ryan Packer:

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The BikePortland Podcast is a production of Pedaltown Media Inc. and is made possible by listeners just like you. If you're not a subscriber yet, please become one today at BikePortland.org/support. You can listen to more episodes and find out how to subscribe to our podcast at BikePortland.org/podcast. Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Michelle DuBarry Lost Her Child to Traffic Violence

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 11:51:00 -0700

In this episode host Jonathan Maus (BikePortland's editor and publisher) talks to north Portland resident and Families for Safe Streets volunteer Michelle DuBarry. Michelle and her family have endured the ultimate sacrifice in the War Against Cars.

In 2010, Michelle's husband Eric and her son Seamus were walking across the intersection of North Interstate and North Lombard when a man driving a car struck both of them. Eric sustained minor injuries, but Seamus died in the hospital a day later. He was just one year old.

I spoke with Michelle about how her grief turned to activism, how elected officials and policymakers have responded to her pleas for help, how she feels about the pace of change for safe streets in Portland, and much more.

We recorded this episode just a few blocks from the intersection where Michelle lost her young son, an intersection that, as you'll hear in our conversation, she still won't travel through even over a decade later.

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Michelle's website - https://www.mdubarry.com/

Twitter - @DubarryPie

This podcast is made possible by bikeportland subscribers, advertisers and financial supporters. If you're not one already Please become one today at http://www.bikeportland.org/support .

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell. Cover art photo by Beth Olson

Find more episodes on our website at http://www.bikeportland.org/podcast

Marley Blonsky and Kailey Kornhauser on Fat Phobia, Feminism, and How Not to Heckle

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 06:30:00 -0700

In this episode, BikePortland's Maritza Arango takes over the mic for a conversation with Marley Blonsky and Kailey Kornhauser. Marley and Kailey are building a platform around All Bodies on Bikes, which is not only the name of their Shimano-sponsored documentary film that's been viewed over 230,000 times on YouTube, it's also the name of the nationwide nonprofit devoted to making the cycling world more inclusive of big-bodied bikers.

Marley and Kailey are leading a "revolution of inclusion". What started out as a few tweets because they couldn't find rain gear that fit them, has become a national movement with a very bright future. Whether you identify personally with Kailey and Marley, or if you just don't get what all the fuss about this dynamic duo is all about, I think you're going to love this conversation.

Host Maritza shares how she has struggled with her weight all her life and asks Marley and Kailey to explain fat phobia, how their work is connected to feminism, and much more.

Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.

Thanks for listening and a special thanks to the hundreds of BikePortland subscribers and financial supporters who make this content possible. If you aren't one of them, please become one today. Make sure to leave a review and subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss the next episode.

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Links!

Marley's website - marleyblonksy.com
Marley on IG - https://www.instagram.com/marleyblonsky/
Kailey's website - kaileykornhauser.com
Kailey on IG - https://www.instagram.com/kornhausersauce/
All Bodies on Bikes - A film by Shimano https://youtu.be/JytAXpxmmQY
All Bodies on Bikes Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/groups/284599766719099/
Aero Tech - https://www.aerotechdesigns.com/
Pearl Izumi - https://www.pearlizumi.com/
Machines for Freedom - https://www.machinesforfreedom.com/
Fat Lad At The Back - https://fatladattheback.com/
Velocio https://velocio.cc/

Pedalpalooza Memories

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 13:20:00 -0700

BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus attended the Pedalpalooza Ride Leader and Volunteer Appreciation party and asked seven ride leaders — Maria Schur, Madi Carlson, Shawne Martinez, Sumi Malik, Michael Mann, Eric Martinez, and Armando Luna — for their fondest memories.

For the uninitiated, Pedalpalooza is an annual festival of free bike rides that's been held in Portland since 2004. The 2021 version was three months long and had a whopping 615 rides!

Music for this episode is by Kevin Hartnell and Skilsel on Pixabay.

Links to stuff we talked about:

@PDXCoffeeOutside on IG
Meghan Sinnott on IG
Madi Carlson - @FamilyRide on IG and Twitter
Armando Luna - @DudeLuna on IG
Michael Mann - @Velomann on IG
Shawne Martinez - @RescueEwe Twitter

Tom Flood vs Big Auto

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 14:15:00 -0700

This week we talk about the all-powerful car lobby, from someone who's on the front lines of the all powerful bike lobby. Tom Flood (@TomFlood1 on Twitter) used to work in the advertising industry and helped car companies sell their products. Then he started biking with his kids and a light bulb went off. These days he entertains a massive online audience with ads of his own — short videos that focus on what he calls the absurdity of the everyday dangers and sacrifices our children and all of us make to drivers. His work has been viewed by 100s of thousands of people and I did my best during the interview to convince him to leave his current day job to do anti-car marketing full time.

If you think the power of marketing can be the ultimate force for good — and evil — when it comes to safe streets , this is a conversation you don't want to miss.

Tom's website
Tom on Twitter
"Space to Play" video for nonprofit Transportation Alternatives
Tom's "Muscle Car Makers Market Mayhem" op-ed in Streetsblog
Bike Is Best campaign from UK (that Tom mentions)
Full transcript will be posted shortly.

Portland's 2030 Bike Plan With Activist Catie Gould

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 07:00:00 -0700

In this episode we take stock of the Portland Bike Plan for 2030. Haven't heard of it? Well, that's not your fault. While it took a huge multi-year effort from hundreds of advocates, dozens of city staff, and several key elected officials to create it and get it adopted at City Council back in 2010, it hasn't lived up to its promise.

Instead of making Portland a quote, "Healthy Community with vibrant neighborhoods and bicycles everywhere!" as proclaimed across the cover of the plan, it has been all but forgotten by city staff. And in at least one recent example, completely forgotten. Meanwhile, Portland's bike usage rates have remained relatively stagnant as the number of people driving cars has gone way up.

To add salt to the wounds of bike advocates, in the past year or so, the plan has been snubbed several times. First, a presentation of a 10-year Bike Plan update at City Council was cancelled at the last minute in September of 2020, then never rescheduled. Then a newly appointed Transportation Commissioner told the city's bike advisory committee earlier this summer that she'd never heard of the plan. And then back in July, the Director of PBOT offered an anemic response when a member of the committee tried to pin him down on a commitment to dust off the plan.

That committee member was Catie Gould. Catie was co-chair of nonprofit bike advocacy group Bike Loud PDX when the group tried to resurrect the bike plan in early 2020 — right before Covid changed everything and stopped their momentum. As made clear in her exchange with the PBOT Director (which you'll hear later in this episode), Catie hasn't forgotten about the plan.

I caught up with Catie a few days ago to find out if she thinks Portland's once-vaunted Bike Plan is worth saving.

Show notes:

2030 Bike Plan Official PBOT page
BikePortland coverage of PBOT's 5-Year Bike Plan Progress Report
Catie Gould on Twitter @Citizen_Cate
"Bike Loud PDX wants to make Portland’s 2030 Bike Plan relevant again"
Music is "Podcast Theme" (seriously) by Kevin Hartnell

Behind the Scenes with the Cast of Bike Play

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 00:35:00 -0700

Bike Play is one of the most amazing events of Pedalpalooza. It's been a part of the summer bike festival every year since 2009 and has become a favorite to many. It's open-air theater, a group bike ride, and public space activism all wrapped up into one very entertaining, community-building event. BikePortland's Maritza Arango sat down with three members of the cast; Kristopher Mahoney-Watson, Nick Fenster, and Noelle Eaton. They shared how the play comes together, their best memories, biggest mix-ups, and they even shared a live rendition of the theme song. Don't miss this fun episode! --- - Bike Play on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bikeplay/ - Bike Play 2021: The Resurrection full video! https://youtu.be/D35vr3rToew

State Rep Khanh Pham at Youth vs ODOT Rally

Fri, 03 Sep 2021 13:07:00 -0700

In this episode we hear from Oregon State Representative Khanh Pham. Pham was just elected to office back in November and represents House District 46 which stretches from Interstate 84 to Mt. Scott and from about Laurelhurst Park to just east of I-205.

She's garnered several headlines on BikePortland recently for her leadership in calling on the state of Oregon to invest more in 82nd Avenue. Pham lives in the Jade District and brings a lot of personal understanding and urgency around 82nd Avenue's many problems to her job as a legislator.

Known primarily for her work as an environmental justice organizer with the nonprofit Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) and the successful campaign for the Portland Clean Energy Fund, Rep Pham is becoming a leader on the transportation front as well. It's just the latest sign of how the tremendous challenge of fighting climate change is creating broad coalitions of activists that are connecting dots between the environment, social justice, energy use, and Oregon's largest source of greenhouse gases — transportation.

On Wednesday September 1st, Pham spoke at a protest of youth climate activists who've been rallying in front of Oregon Department of Transportation headquarters in downtown Portland for 5 months now. Through her mask - emblazoned with a bike and the words "Viet Nam" in honor of her home country — Pham gave a rousing speech and then I was able to chat with her for a few minutes afterwards.

First you'll hear her speech, which I've edited a bit for clarity, then you'll hear our short interview.

Show notes:

- Full episode transcript (via Rev) - https://www.rev.com/transcript-editor/shared/3gpRwpjwCZ-_lN5_OLwyJ7Jjjv7hUdfXwLDlkUaROtYhzugRqT_0UJV2dZ1dR3x-j_YEqZJ6u_MyAX9YDQ3UYarQGL0

- Rep Pham Official Website - https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/pham

- Rep Pham on Twitter - https://twitter.com/KhanhPhamForOR

- An op-ed on House Bill 3055 - https://bikeportland.org/2021/06/21/guest-opinion-stop-the-freeway-widening-slush-fund-333961

Ride Organizer and School Principal Nichole Watson

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 22:20:00 -0700

This episode is a conversation with Prescott Elementary School Principal Nichole Watson.

I first met Nichole in June 2020, during the height of the racial justice protests and just a few months into the Covid outbreak.

I was on the Black Girls Do Bike Ride and Nichole was one of the co-organizers of the event. When I first met Nichole at that ride we had a great chat and I loved what she said about why it was so important for Black people — and especially Black women and especially "curvy" Black women as she described herself — to get outside and "take up space" on the street.

I've talked to so many bike people over the years and I have sort of a radar for whether or not someone "gets it". Nichole definitely gets it.

That's why I wasn't too surprised when several months after that ride in June 2020 she popped up again as the organizer of Prescott Pedal, a ride and community event she led as principal of Prescott Elementary School.

When Watson and I spoke during that ride, she talked about cultivating a culture around bicycling at Prescott and the nearby Parkrose neighborhood and why she felt having the school community ride bikes together was such a vital part of her work. And that work has become even more relevant given that just over a week ago, violence between white supremacist groups and anti-fascist activists erupted in Parkrose. I asked Nichole about that violence and about why cycling is such a priority to her during a conversation we recorded from her desk at Prescott Elementary School.

Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard, please leave a review so others can find this podcast more easily. and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next one. Thank you to BikePortland subscribers who make this content possible. Until next time, you can find the BikePortland Podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, and wherever else you like to listen.

Nichole is on Instagram at @nyk_watson

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PDF of episode transcript available here https://bikeportland.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ep-05-nichole-watson-pod.pdf

Voices from the Climate Crisis: Youth vs. ODOT

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 00:37:00 -0700

BikePortland's Jonathan Maus attended a recent protest in front of ODOT headquarters. In this episode he interviews several of the participants, one of whom is a 15-year-old activist and another is a candidate for Oregon governor. Don't miss the full report and images from the event on BikePortland.

Community Activist Hami Ramani

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 00:24:00 -0700

In just a year since moving to Portland, Hami Ramani (@HamiRamani on Twitter) has become a formidable voice on the local bike scene. He leads the weekly PSU Farmers Market Ride and is a constant presence online (and off) as an agitator for better bikeways. He's also active with BikeLoud PDX. We talked about why he moved to Portland, his impressions of our bikeways, how he enraged haters on Twitter for saying bad things about big trucks, and more.

Aaron Brown and Anti-Freeway Activism

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 15:34:00 -0700

In this episode, we'll get into the weeds of anti-freeway activism.

You may have heard the story of how Portlanders successfully turned back the Mt. Hood Freeway plan and removed a major downtown highway in the 1970s. About 40 years later, activist rallied again to fight the Columbia River Crossing, a plan to widen I-5 between Portland and Vancouver.

The latest fight is being waged against the I-5 Rose Quarter project — right in Portland's backyard. Despite a state that is literally on fire due to climate change, and the fact that the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon comes from transportation, the Oregon Department of Transportation wants to add lanes to I-5 between Interstate 84 and the Fremont Bridge.

But standing between ODOT and their $800 million project is a plucky, all-volunteer nonprofit named No More Freeways.

In this episode, I interview one of their leaders, a 33-year-old community organizer named Aaron Brown. He's spent four years building an opposition campaign against ODOT's project that includes thousands of followers, hundreds of donors, three lawsuits, and a lot of snarky tweets.

We talked about how he became the face of the freeway fight, why he doesn't trust ODOT, what it will take to stop building freeways, how he's navigated racial tensions around his activism, and more.

Transgender Activist and Bike Racer Molly Cameron

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 16:25:00 -0700

Welcome to the relaunch of the BikePortland Podcast.

In our first episode since 2016 (!), BikePortland editor and publisher Jonathan Maus talks with Molly Cameron, the Portland-based professional cycling team manager and newly-minted transgender rights advocate who just founded RIDE, (Riders Inspiring Diversity & Equality). In this wide-ranging interview, Molly shares her views on anti-transgender legislation sweeping the US and how the cycling industry should respond to it. She also shares her personal story of being discriminated against when she first arrived in Portland, how she balances community expectations, and the deep sense of duty she feels to help transgender people and other marginalized groups.

(2013) The Joys of Rural Road Riding

Thu, 24 Oct 2013 22:34:00 -0700

Why on earth would someone want to ride for days on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere?

That’s the question this shameless city slicker and utilitarian bike rider wanted to ask BikePortland’s podcast producer Lillian Karabaic and publisher Jonathan Maus. So as the Pacific Northwest enjoys its fleeting annual glimpse of autumn, the three of us devoted our half-hour monthly podcast to discussing the fun, economics and safety of bike adventures on Oregon’s rural roads.

What are the best nearby destinations? Why is it so great? Is it actually that important to our economy? And how can we make it better? Lily and Jonathan had lots of thoughts, stories and advice to share.

“The way to get to know a state, a town, is really by, like, the curves of the landscape,” Lillian said. “When you’ve sweated up a hill, you have a way different connection to it than you do if you were just in a car passing by it. … I can tell you the name of each of those hills.”

We talked about policy, too.

“Now that the state scenic bikeways are officially recognized in state law, it’s pretty simple legislatively to attach things to that, like we did with neighborhood greenways,” Jonathan said. “For instance, you could say that on state scenic bikeways, certain traffic regulations have fines doubled.”

(2013) The Real Estate Episode

Fri, 27 Sep 2013 22:15:00 -0700

This month our podcast producer and resident transportation wonk Lily Karabaic and BikePortland News Editor Michael Andersen sat down to talk about the intersection of real estate and bicycling (unfortunately, due to a slower-than-expected recovery from a bad spill Jonathan took on his road bike, he didn’t make it to this month’s recording session). As Michael’s Real Estate Beat column has proven, how we approach housing and commercial development can have a significant impact on our city and our transportation choices. And in Portland, bicycling is at the center of this issue as we try to achieve our ridership goals and spread the benefits of change equally across all communities and income levels.

In this month’s podcast, Michael and Lily touch on several topics including:

How the bike-friendly Green Zebra Grocery store is the future of 20-minute neighborhood retail;
The connection between Portland’s bike-friendly housing/neighborhood commercial development boom and economic equity;
Whether or not the presence of bikeways leads to higher retail sales and higher rents, and why studies that try to address the issue should be used with caution;
and more!

And of course we share a tip-of-the-month and Lily reads the best TriMet Tweets!

(2013) Is Carnage Worth the Coverage?

Wed, 21 Aug 2013 12:58:00 -0700

NOTE: This isn't a new episode! This is the second of 18 old episodes we recorded between 2013 and 2016 when the BikePortland Podcast was co-hosted by Jonathan Maus (@jonathan_maus), Lillian Karabaic (@anomalily), and Michael Andersen (@andersem).

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Two months ago, after returning from Amsterdam, Jonathan kicked off what he described as a “mini advocacy campaign” by BikePortland to raise awareness of the traffic carnage on our streets.

This is a delicate line for our news operation to walk. People read posts about crashes because they find them relevant, but they’re the opposite of enjoyable to read. We received emails and comments from people who thought covering collisions too closely was sensationalism and would only scare people away from riding. Also, there’s a widespread misperception among non-bikers that, hour-for-hour, biking is a generally dangerous way to get around. It isn’t. (See p. 27 of this PDF for Portland’s latest numbers.)

But carnage ruins lives, and coverage of carnage helps fix streets. So we write about it.

This month, podcast producer Lillian Karabaic, Jonathan and I devoted the full half-hour of our monthly podcast to discussing this decision and the factors around it.

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>> Find more episodes and subscription links at BikePortland.org/podcast

(2013) Death of the CRC, New Life at PBOT, Stoplight Behaviors

Fri, 05 Jul 2013 06:21:00 -0700

NOTE: This isn't a new episode! This is the first of 18 old episodes we recorded between 2013 and 2016 when the BikePortland Podcast was co-hosted by Jonathan Maus (@jonathan_maus), Lillian Karabaic (@anomalily), and Michael Andersen (@andersem).

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This episode came out on July 5th, 2013. We talk about three topics, the death of the Columbia River Crossing Freeway Expansion Megaproject, our views on how newly-appointed PBOT Director Leah Treat and Commissioner Steve Novick will lead the Portland Bureau of Transportation, and the psychology and practice of stopping at red lights.

Music is They’re Going to Build a Motorway by the great Leon Rosselson.

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Find more episodes and subscription links at BikePortland.org/podcast