Episodes
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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 upgradeSt. 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.
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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!
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Missing episodes?
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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 IGShawn Granton of Urban Adventure LeagueBike overnights and touring storiesBike 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 aboutWonderful TriMet bus driver story Eva raved aboutThanks for listening, thanks to our paid subscribers, and thanks to Brock Dittus (of Sprocket Podcast fame) for our theme music.
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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 riderFender etiquettePedalpalooza ride memoriesWhy Armando isn't a Naked Bike Ride guyLeaf blower noise and how gas lawnmowers support kids riding bikes in Oregonand more!!
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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 eventCityNerd on YouTubeLily's personal website (she is amazing, do yourself a favor and click this)
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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 mapEva's report from her trip to Nebraska to see sandhill crane migrationBike Happy Hour Anniversary PartyEva's old commute route on Barbur from southeast Portland to TualatinMy ride with Chad LykinsNails in the bike lane story from 2019Eva's fear of riding over bridgesFood in New York CityOur 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 chefsEva is going sailing this weekendWater-related rides during PedalpaloozaThanks for listening, thanks to our paid subscribers, and thanks to Brock Dittus (of Sprocket Podcast fame) for our theme music.
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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 WebsiteCouncil candidate competes for best transportation platform (BikePortland, 12/04/23)
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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:
DirtyFreehub.orgBikePortland gravel riding story archivesSpecial 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!
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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 websiteEli For Portland InstagramThanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music. And thanks for listening.
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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
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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:
BikePortland story on bike count report Gov Kotek scraps tolling in PortlandBike movie being shot in Portland right nowWhere freight advocates say they shouldn't pay for lower Albina because they didn't cause the harm. WTAF?
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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/
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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, 3/15/23Bike parking versus housing debate presents a false choice - BikePortland op-ed by Chris Smith, 8/9/23Planning 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, 9/25/18Wonk Night kickstarts effort to reform Portland’s bike parking code - BikePortland, 10/31/13
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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 SightlineWhy are these 11 buildings illegal in Portland? Michael's Real Estate Beat column from June 19th, 2015.Michael's work on BikePortlandPortland's Sprockettes Mini Bike Dance Team
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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
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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
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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:
Stephen Green on IG (@pdxstepheng)Business for a Better PortlandPitch Black
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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:
Keith Wilson campaign websiteBikePortland story featuring Keith WilsonBikePortland email interview with Wilson during 2020 city council campaignThanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music. And thanks for listening.
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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:
BikePortland story with video of this interview Official project websiteBikePortland Salmonberry Trail story archive
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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 eventBikeLoud's Squeaky Wheel project PBOT budget updateCommissioner Mingus Mapps goes full Shoupian East Portland bike tour with Timur EnderRiding alleyways and through parksRolling through stop signsWhen cops lecture usEva took the bus to Seattle and liked it more than Portland Why City of Portland doesn't have a lot of moneyBike shop news - Trek Portland, Gladys, Golden PliersHow the MAX light rail killed Interstate Ave New Season Arbor Lodge is the story of PortlandThe Boom BikeThanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our theme music.
Thanks for listening and see you in the Shed next week!
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