After being cooped up all last week, and having to cancel Bike Happy Hour for the first time in 40 weeks, I’m ready to get out and see your beautiful faces. I hope you’ll consider joining us tomorrow (Wednesday, January 23rd) at Ankeny Tap & Table (2724 SE Ankeny) for our weekly gathering.
We have two special guests who will be joining us: Portland City Council candidates Sarah Silkie from District 4 (Sellwood and west Portland) and Jesse Cornett from District 3. Both candidates reached out to BikePortland and want to learn more about bicycling. Sarah, a Portland Water Bureau employee and mom to three young kids, asked specifically about my opinion on parking-protected bike lane designs and whether I preferred them over standard bike lanes or a sidewalk-level facility. And you already know about Jesse from his recent interview on the BP Podcast. This is a great chance to bend their ears and make sure they understand how important cycling is to our city. Each candidate will share a short stump speech and then will be available for questions. As per usual we’ll open the mic around 5:00.
And of course Bike Happy Hour is open to everyone and you don’t need to be a special guest to just show up. Other council candidates are always welcome.
Also this week I’m happy to have fresh name tags and Regulars Club cards for everyone who needs one. I also plan to bring some BikePortland postcards so folks can write out notes of thanks to PBOT for all their hard work this past week dealing with the storm.
What else? Our hosts at Ankeny Tap have a new menu and I encourage folks to grab dinner or heavy snacks. They make great food and part of what we’re doing with BHH is supporting local businesses.
One other thing… Is anyone reading a good transportation-related book? I’ve been stewing on how to do a Bike Happy Hour Book Club for a few weeks now and it just hasn’t crystalized yet; but maybe we can start by giving some time during open mic to anyone who’s reading a good book and has insights to share about it.
See you tomorrow!
–
Bike Happy Hour – Every Weds All Year Long
3-6 pm at Ankeny Tap & Table, 2724 SE Ankeny Street
$2 off drinks from Ankeny Tap, Gorges Beer, and Crema Coffee
Nice that Sarah wants to learn about cycling, which may be more of a thing in Sellwood than it is in SW Portland. It would be nice to see more than the usual dozen or so people cycling in SW, and maybe Sarah could advocate for better infra out here.
I have been enjoying Tom Fucoloro’s Biking Uphill in the Rain. It’s a history of city planning and bike culture in Seattle. Amateur historian + good writer = it’s an easy read, even if sometimes you want to know more about a topic that the author just introduces you to. I also don’t know much about the history of Seattle, so it’s been helpful just to get the outlines by reading about it through the lens of cycling, planning, and activism.
https://www.powells.com/book/biking-uphill-in-the-rain-9780295751580
That’s a great suggestion Phillip. I still need to grab that and read it. As a fellow blogger and guy-who’s-devoted-himself-to-one-city’s-bike-community, I definitely need read it!
See you at happy hour to talk about it a bit more?
I wish I could be there. I teach during the time of Happy Hour. Maybe over spring break.
Yeah, as I’m reading Fucoloro’s book, sometimes I think to myself that you could write a similar book about Portland. Not to add any more media projects to your very full plate.
We need that book! C’mon, JM – you can do it!
haha yes! The thought has definitely crossed my mind. It might happen someday.
This is a book that’s not directly transportation related, but I think is highly relevant for everyone working in the policy sphere: Recording America by Jennifer Pahlka (https://www.recodingamerica.us/). The whole drama about sidewalks in SW, here is some background information that makes it so much clearer why there are all these bureaucratic barriers. I think it can also really help to understand what’s holding back well-meaning transportation planners, and how to talk about it.