My co-host Eva Frazier and I are back with another fun chat about all things bikes and Portland.
In this episode, Eva and I talked about:
- My recent total knee replacement surgery
- Cycle Oregon Block Party
- Why we need to visually capture bike traffic in Portland
- Bike Summer for newbies and veterans
- Recent Portland City Council topics
- Why it’s time for Portland to empower citizen volunteers to improve our streets
- Unhinged Nextdoor posts about Rose City Golf Course trail plan
- How it’s nearly impossible to ride a reverse steering bike… and the challenges of super tall bikes.
- and more!
Listen in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Thanks for reading.
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I was just listening to this and heard the part where you said you didn’t know the history of Rose City Park before it was a golf course. The funny thing is, 100+ years ago, it was the opposite of a quiet green space! The NIMBYS are acting like we have to preserve some historical thing that was always there, and they’re missing the point that it actually used to be a crazy, loud place. Not that these new bike paths would be like that at all, but the historical comparison aspect is so off.
-The one mile loop was originally a horse racing track but ran its first motorbike racing in 1912.
-In a 1910 aviation expo, some 50,000 Portlanders paid $1 to watch a daredevil fly a Curtis biplane and race a 1909 Buick.
-In 1921, the track closed with one final event: a staged steam locomotive collision!
There are some really cool vintage photos of motorcycle racing and such on the track on the online Oregon historical society archives and other sources.
https://www.livingroomre.com/tag/rose-city-speedway/
I live near Rose City Golf Course and am not a golfer – to me it’s annoying that there is this giant beautiful green space where normal residents are NOT welcome. So I love that there will be improved trails around the periphery. I’m a casual cyclist and appreciate any route that keeps me separated from traffic. The controversy over making 72nd Drive one-way is what caused me to get off Nextdoor – CRAZY NIMBYists over there. Any viewpoint that didn’t support the absolute rights of nearby residents to prevent anything they want got you absolutely FLAMED! Jonathan I applaud you staying tuned in with what goes on on that platform but I just found it poisonous.
Same here. Neighborhood resident who tired of the ceaseless Nextdoor negativity. I’m looking forward to the completion of the trail loop, which will become a valuable and lovely community asset that the whole city will enjoy.
I agree with Eva that the glass recycling trucks seem to leave a trail of finely broken glass every week. Why can’t this be solved?
I have almost given up on cycling because of all the broken glass. I got 3 flats one week :/ I’m going to try tire lines and meticulously inspecting my tires I guess.
Tubeless is the way to go for this.