Monday Roundup: Climate dads, social isolation, Minneapolis secrets, and more

Aug 04, 2023

Welcome to the week. Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers have come across in the past seven days…

More than just fun on bikes: I believe wholeheartedly with this essay by Hillary Clinton that social isolation and loneliness are a ticking time bomb in America and it’s why I am such a supporter of things like Pedalpalooza, open streets events, Bike Happy Hour, and so on. (The Atlantic)

Minneapolis as a model bike city: Portland planners and advocates should pay more attention to how Minneapolis became America’s #1 ranked cycling city and it should be our goal to unseat them. (People for Bikes)

Climate dads: “Like sports dads, grill dads and car dads before them, climate dads are a little bit nerdy, a little bit obsessive and, sometimes, a little bit embarrassing.” Another great piece of publicity for Portland’s bike bus too! (Bloomberg)

Time to get tough on drivers: “We are going to literally force you to slow down by requiring you to install a speed limiter on your car.” This is the type of toughness I’d love to hear out of Portland politicians’ mouths. (Streetsblog NYC)

Latest on auto size abuse risks: It’s heartening to see the tide against car bloat rise to such a high level. This is a good article that summarizes the issue and has links to resources on how to do something about it. (The Conversation)

Protest at Worlds: The Road Cycling World Championships race in Glasgow was forced to stop when environmental protestors entered the course and glued themselves to the road to draw attention to team sponsors they say are responsible for pollution. (BBC)

The real danger: I’m glad someone else is pointing out the tendency of media outlets to blame e-bikes and their operators for dangers and not cars and their drivers. (Electrek)

Track the bastards down: A new alert system in the state of Washington aims to find more hit-and-run drivers. (Washington State Patrol)

Overcoming off-road fear: Pro mountain biker Kate Courtney has worked hard to find zen when it comes to tackling jumps and drops at high speeds. (Red Bull)

Traffic camera troubles: Given the growing role automated enforcement cameras will play in Portland, it’s worth tracking how progress is going to install them up in Seattle. (The Urbanist)

Thanks to everyone who shared links this week!

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at [email protected], or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.