by the New York Times.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Here’s the news that caught our eyes this week…
— Part of the reason Portland’s economy hasn’t collapsed: big trucks aren’t the only way to move freight around a city. The NYT’s latest visit to Portland examines B-Line, Portland Pedal Power and the many local businesses making cargo deliveries by bike. (New York Times)
— “The much talked about Kinn” is “a new midtail utility bike manufactured in Portland.” It’s “un-cruiserish and un-cargobikish; a fast, responsive, ‘sporty’ bike.” (LovelyBike)
— Renting a transit-station bike locker that only you can use makes about as much sense as renting a downtown parking space that only you can use. Seattle’s transit system is rolling out “on-demand” bike lockers that multiple people can use. What do you say, TriMet? (Cascade Bicycle Club)
— As the city-loving generation of young people starts to make babies, transportation writer Tom Vanderbilt reports on “the new station wagon”: the cargo bike. (Wall Street Journal)
— Portlanders love to complain about our local economy, but by national standards we’re a “prosperous metropolis” with “the third-highest export intensity in the United States among the top 100 metros and the second-fastest-growing export market among the major metros.” Spending far less on auto infrastructure than other growing cities hasn’t killed our job market; it’s made us unique. (Atlantic)
— Bike commuting is up 40 percent nationally since 2000 thanks in part to “a new class of mayors … asking what is the most efficient way to move people.” (Christian Science Monitor)
— Next time you’re in Los Angeles on a Wednesday night, you probably want to go on this amazing night ride. (KCRW)
— Social clubs for people of color who like bikes are helping show that biking isn’t just for white folks. (NPR)
— Shinola, an all-American brand of shoe polish, has been reborn as a maker of bikes, watches and leather goods. Its first flagship store, a converted Jeep warehouse in Midtown Detroit, just opened. (Paved)
— Toyota is the latest automaker to put its luxury brand name on a high-end bike. This is the only Lexus you’ll ever see on sale for $10,530. (Toronto Star)
— Citi Bike feels like the tipping point for making bikes normal in New York City, a longtime bike advocate there writes: “I swear those bikes are like an automatic good will/good luck charm.” (BikePeaceNYC)
— Downside of being normal: getting targeted by traffic cops. (Vanity Fair)
— Looks like Wisconsin’s highway-loving conservative Gov. Scott Walker has a new political challenger: Mary Burke, a former executive for Waterloo-based Trek Bicycle Corporation. (Cyclelicious)
— As we wrote last week, infrastructure isn’t everything when it comes to biking, but it sure helps. Portland’s Eastbank Esplanade is one of 10 federal investments in biking that have paid off big, according to a new report from Bikes Belong.
— A new music video captures the freedom you feel on two wheels. And also lots of cute little kids. “This is what we build all this stuff for,” writes Amsterdamize.
— Finally, your video of the week comes via LAist, which reposted an L.A. bike commuter’s video that he says shows him passing 631 cars in 15 minutes:
If you come across a noteworthy bicycle story, send it in via email, Tweet @bikeportland, or whatever else and we’ll consider adding it to next Monday’s roundup.