Tag Archives: Culture

Kickstarting Biketopia, and more feminis...

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Excitingly, it’s at last getting close to time to publish a new volume of Bikes in Space. This year’s collection of feminist bicycle science fiction short stories is called Biketopia, and it’s live on Kickstarter right now. This is the first year that I’m not offering a reward that gives you the chance to assign […]

metro bike there portland map

Dreaming of Portland

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Portland! I miss you. For the month or two at a time that I’ve spent at home in the past year (probably adding up to about half the year, more or less), I’ve been happy. (So has my cat.) Sure, in these staccato bursts of time, I’ve watched you change. I’ve watched fortress-like condominiums pop […]

Upper class cycling culture and the demi...

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What happened to Portland’s bike scene? Maybe first it would help to envision what it used to be. There was this booming, diverse, vibrant DIY bike activist and bike fun scene that transformed this city, from Critical Mass to Shift to any number of wild initiatives popping up. Any night of the week, there was […]

Now Kickstarting Our Bodies, Our Bikes (...

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It’s official: Our Bodies, Our Bikes the book is in the works. And it’s funding on Kickstarter right now. The image above is one of Katura Reynolds‘ preliminary sketches for the book cover. You might remember Katura from the space sharks on the cover of the first Bikes in Space, or from her compelling stories […]

Why we need a women's movement in bicycl...

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In the wake of the 3rd annual National Women’s Bicycling Forum in DC last week, there’s been some buzz online—does it make sense to have a separate women’s event? Does it help or does it segregate? Is the women’s forum the reason that the ensuing National Bike Summit was largely populated and led by white […]

Call for Submissions: Bicycling and repr...

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Ever since the original Our Bodies, Our Bikes zine came out, I knew that any future edition would need to talk about reproductive rights. In the past year, the connection has been very much on my mind, as the women’s bicycling movement has taken off in a positive direction at the same time as women’s […]

The future of digital media: Or you coul...

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As I was getting ready to send the twelfth issue of Taking the Lane to print, a friend forwarded this fascinating article about the future of digital media, storytelling, longform journalism, or whatever they’re calling it this week. One quotation jumped out at me: “The reading experience is built on long-form content, delivered to the […]

Is bicycling a civil rights issue?

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Quick answer: Yes. But make sure your actions are actually on the side you want them to be. I’ve been writing for some time about bicycling and gender. Being female is a condition over which I have little control, and as a result of it I’ve had some funny and tough experiences in the course […]

Bikenomics News Roundup

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Another week of Bikenomics news! I’ll try to do this every Wednesday—with the greater goals of getting back into the habit of blogging, and continuing to talk about stuff that has come up since I finished writing the book in July. (Side note: The book doesn’t come out til December 1st… but it’s been printed! […]

Biking with Kids in the Snow

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The whys and hows of bicycling Seattle’s hills in the snow with two young kids in tow.

Femibici and Insolente: The Mexican chic...

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The language barrier being what it was, I still don’t know exactly why I was invited to be a keynote speaker at the 5th National Urban Cycling Congress that took place in Oaxaca, Mexico, at the end of September, though I’m extremely glad I went. It was hard to figure out what I was being […]

Paradise is as bicycle-friendly as you m...

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Painting a new bike lane in Oaxaca City Imagine Critical Mass – but you’ve raised money to pay the police to escort the ride – and hundreds of people show up, including whole families – and everyone is singing and chanting and having a grand time – and it happens twice a week. That’s how […]

Bikes and the Presidency

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It’s safe to say that bicycling is not an important issue in this year’s race for the U.S. presidency, nor is it likely to be an issue very much on the winners’ radar in the next four years. But, while half-paying attention to Obama and Romney debate earlier this week, I couldn’t help finding myself […]

Putting the Bike Test to the test

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On Monday afternoon, I posted about the Bike Test, an analytical tool to help the people in the bicycle industry, advocacy, and media to determine if an image or situation is sexist. There’s been quite a response; loads of people coming to read the article, tons of discussion and debate in online forums and social […]