On a recent visit to my home state of Michigan, I was lucky enough to be able to check out Detroit’s ‘Slow Roll‘ mass ride. Started five years ago by two friends, Slow Roll has turned into a thousands-strong spectacle that takes over Motown streets for 30 weeks out of the year, with the city’s blessing.… Continue reading Slow Rolling In the Motor City: PHOTO ESSAY
Tag: Rebel Metropolis
Scenes From the Cycling City
Depending on where you live, you’re either in the depths of winter’s maelstrom, or you’ve been enjoying a mild, temperate permanent fall with spring right around the corner. Few images inspire the urge to end hibernation like those of people on their bikes. Even for all-weather, year-round riders, spring is that magical time where ridership increases,… Continue reading Scenes From the Cycling City
A New Way to Measure Cycling’s Success
While bikes are on the rise in many cities across the US and Europe, there’s a bit of alarming news lately. Thought of as the most bike-loving city in the country, Portland, OR has stagnated at only a 6% mode share for years. Even worse, a new quasi-scientific poll found that students at Portland State… Continue reading A New Way to Measure Cycling’s Success
How Can You Blog About Bikes at a Time Like This?
How anyone can blog about bikes these days astounds me. Obviously, bikes consume my life, as they should yours. If you live in the city, this city, then you know why. All bikes, all funs, at all times. The multiple cultures and avenues of the urban cycling multiverse know almost no bounds. While this blog has… Continue reading How Can You Blog About Bikes at a Time Like This?
Kids These Days: Climate Conscious & Car-Free
While observing the reporting on America’s decline of car use for many years now, what stands out is the market-based viewpoint, often claiming GenX/Y/Millenials are simply cogs in a system temporarily unable to afford the responsibilities of adulthood and car ownership. Rarely, if ever, does such coverage ever ask youngish people about their conscious decisions… Continue reading Kids These Days: Climate Conscious & Car-Free
Bike Photography as Anecdotal Advocacy
Often it feels like talking about why bikes are good and why people should ride them more is either choiring to the preacher or having an argument with a fictional cycle-hater that lives in the back of your head. You know they’re there. We’re all evangelicals knocking on doors asking if our neighbors have found… Continue reading Bike Photography as Anecdotal Advocacy
Cycling In A Violent World
Words matter. Nowhere is that more evident than in the trench warfare currently being waged over the term ‘accident’ in reference to motorists killing and maiming people walking and riding their bikes. Most law enforcement agencies have begun to appreciate why this term is unacceptable, how it perpetuates a lack of accountability and a culture… Continue reading Cycling In A Violent World
Unmerciful Insanity: the Columbia River Crossing
This article was originally published on Mismanaging Perception. In the last two years I’ve written over 20 articles breaking down why the Columbia River Crossing freeway mega-expansion isn’t just failed transportation policy, but why it’s an outright nightmare totally out of line with the values our community champions. From historical precedent, to strange-bedfellow political opposition, to austerity,… Continue reading Unmerciful Insanity: the Columbia River Crossing
Would Space Aliens Think Cars Are the Dominant Species?
A colleague of mine recently asked me who came up with the line, “If aliens came to Earth, they’d probably think cars were the dominant life form.” I’d heard this line before, but had no clue who coined it. After about ten seconds of digging, I found this little gem of a remastered film from the… Continue reading Would Space Aliens Think Cars Are the Dominant Species?
Cops Search and Destroy in the Streets of Istanbul
This weekend, the ongoing street battle between the people of Istanbul, Turkey and their shockingly violent police force flared up again. Once more, tear gas, water canons, batons, and rubber bullets were used to injure peaceful protesters as a new wave of dissent has gripped the city. It’s been over a month since the debut… Continue reading Cops Search and Destroy in the Streets of Istanbul