Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, artist, and musical legend David Byrne plays a show in Portland tonight.
Besides his musical and artistic endeavors, he’s also becoming something of a bike activist. Byrne has pedaled as a matter of everyday transportation for over 30 years and he’s starting to make some noise about it in his current home town of New York City.
Byrne hosted a bike-themed event hosted by the New Yorker back in 2007 (check out the helmet-cam footage he took on the way to the event), he he is set to release a book about bicycling later this year, and he designed a series of bike racks for the New York City Department of Transportation last year.
Most recently, Byrne reviewed Jeff Mapes’ Pedaling Revolution in the New York Times Sunday Book Review.
David Byrne designed for New York City.
Thankfully, I’ve had the good fortune to be able to attend the show tonight. And, if things work out, I should get the chance to meet Mr. Byrne afterwards.
Some bike advocates see David Byrne as a rare opportunity. He’s a person whose broad popularity and general coolness could work wonders for the bike movement in this country just when it’s needed most.
Whether or not he’ll become the face of the bike advocacy in the U.S. remains to be seen, but I know a lot of Portlanders would just be happy if he made an appearance at the Pie Champ Ride tonight.
Even if it takes cream pies, we’ll make a bike evangelist out of him somehow.
(Stay tuned for details on a David Byrne bike event in Portland this fall.)