After six (eventful!) weeks on the staff here at BikePortland HQ, I am headed out into the world beyond the Portland bike bubble.
This Monday afternoon I board Amtrak’s Empire Builder, and three days later will disembark in our nation’s capital, where my east coast tour begins.
I’ll be out east for a month, hanging out with my family, meeting up with old friends, and checking out the bike scene in cities from New Haven to DC.
I’ll keep you posted on who I meet and what I find. From getting re-acquainted with my old friend and mechanic who has become one of the key players in New Haven’s booming bike culture, to test-riding a tour of Baltimore designed for transportation engineers — I’ll be taking photos, asking questions, and sending back stories to BikePortland.
My trip will end at the Transport Research Board’s Annual Meeting in Washington DC in mid-January. TRB is a huge conference for everyone doing transportation research and policy work in the U.S.. A lot of Portlanders will be there, and I’m looking forward to getting a sense of how the work being done here fits into the big U.S. transportation picture.
If you know anyone who I should meet up with (or anyone around 5 feet tall who might have a bike to lend for a few days) in New Haven, New York, Philly, Baltimore, or DC — or if you’ll be out there yourself and want to meet up — I’d love to hear from you. Contact me at elly[at]bikeportland[dot]org.