Oregon Scenic Bikeways and the First Golden Age of Cycling

[Talk given to the inaugural session of the Oregon Scenic Bikeways Committee, at Travel Oregon HQ, on January 21]
The Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway has only been around since 2005 and the concept of a bikeway might seem pretty new.
But in fact, Oregon has had people working on scenic bikeways since at least 1896, more than [...]

Read Full Post »

Biking, Class, and the Panic of 2008

(This is a largely speculative essay in draft form. I hope to refine its arguments – and lose a pinch of jargon! – as I find more evidence. I expect to update and revise it substantially after I think on it more. Hopefully readers will comment & critique!)
When the Statesman published a [...]

Read Full Post »

Expanded Piece on Salem-Marion County

A little over a year ago, Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) called the bicycle a “19th century solution” for “21st century problems.” He thought of it as antiquated and essentially a toy. He might not have known that a little over a century ago, before the auto’s ascendance, the bicycle was leading edge technology, more [...]

Read Full Post »

PDOT Bicycle Brown Bag, Feb 21

From DIY to Public Funding: Financing Portland’s First Bicycle Paths, 1896 – 1899
I’d like to thank Timo Forsberg and the Portland Office of Transportation for the invitation and opportunity to speak today.
Introduction
In the summer of 1899 a bicyclist wrote a letter to the editor summarizing the case for cycle paths and the bicycle tax:
First, [...]

Read Full Post »

Talk at PSU Center for Transportation Studies, Nov 30

“Weather Prophet Pague, Governor Geer, & Portland’s first Bicycle Paths”
I’d like to thank Professor Jennifer Dill & the Center for Transportation Studies here at PSU, my friends at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Jonathan Maus of BikePortland, and all of you for joining me here. Thanks for coming.
My talk represents a work-in-progress, and I hope [...]

Read Full Post »