For three years, I compiled a weekly bicycle news roundup at BikePortland (Jonathan is keeping it going, and now I’m the one getting my news that way). Since moving on a month ago, I’ve relaxed my eagle eye on the news: instead of skimming everything quickly, I’m able to take the time to be choosier about my news consumption, focus on it more closely, and — oh, the luxury — sit back and think about it. It’s a change for the better.
Here’s a sampling of what’s been on my mind in the bike world lately:
– My editor at Grist asked me to find a bicycle tie-in to the Occupy protests. I didn’t have to look far. Here’s what I came up with. This ties in well with my fascination with the role of bicycling in disasters.
– There’s a growing amount of scholarly research on bicycle transportation and activism. In Minneapolis two weeks ago, I got a chance to talk with a PhD student who is doing inspiring work on bicycle activism with an equity bent. The best academic book out there so far is One Less Car: Bicycling and the Politics of Automobility by Zack Furness. He recently did this radio interview about how he came to take the focus he did on the historical relationship (and lineage) between bicycles and cars. Worth a listen.