“You ain’t gonna get Pedalpalooza in Tulsa-frickin’-Oklahoma.”
–Tulsa resident Paul Tay, who’s currently visiting Portland
Paul Tay, from Tulsa Oklahoma, is a great example of how you can’t judge someone’s character by their style of commenting on a blog.
Some of you might recall Paul as a frequent BikePortland.org commenter that goes by the annoyingly self-promotional user name of “BikeBillboards dot blogspot dot com”. He also regularly types words in ALL CAPS (also annoying).
But one thing I’ve learned over the years is that blog comments are sometimes a horrible judge of someone’s real-life personality.
Paul traveled over 2,000 miles to participate in Pedalpalooza. After meeting him online through comments and emails, I introduced myself to him at the Naked Bike Ride and have since seen him several times at the Carfree Conference.
Earlier this week, I recorded a quick interview with him at the Depaving event in North Portland. It turns out, he’s a thoughtful guy who is dedicated to bike and transportation activism.
Watch the clip below to hear Paul’s take on the bike culture and the prospects of bringing Pedalpalooza to Oklahoma: