A few days ago I sat down with Portland City Councilor Candace Avalos to have a conversation about policing and transportation. Avalos, who represents an area east of I-205 including Lents in southeast and the Portland Airport, is a first time member of city council, but she's no stranger to local politics. She was chair of the Citizen Review Committee, where she served for six years and became a well-known advocate for police accountability. Prior to being a city councilor she was executive director of Verde, an environmental justice nonprofit.

I met Councilor Avalos in a conference room at Midland Library on SE 122nd Avenue. The impetus for our conversation was the new Community Board for Police Accountability or CBPA, a new, high-profile venue for oversight of the Portland Police Bureau. More than just a committee, the new, 21-member board will have a significant budget, will hire its own investigators, and will issue binding decisions.

It's crucial that this new CBPA have at least one member who understands how transportation issues relate to public safety and policing. It's my hope this interview encourages someone in our audience to apply for one of the positions. You have until April 14th to get your applications in. Here's the link to the application.

We're back! Eva Frazier and I (Jonathan Maus) talked about all sorts of good stuff in this episode... from politics around I-5 Rose Quarter project to why the state's bike tax is so annoying.

Here's a handy outline and links to stuff we talked about:

• Bike shop banter: My new Metropolis Cycle tie-dye t-shirt, latest shop closures.
• Thoughts on the I-5 Rose Quarter vote at Metro Council and why I'm disappointed in Lynn Peterson and Duncan Hwang. And the bad optics of white urbanists opposing the project while Black Portlanders support it.
• Ladds 500 is next weekend! (4/12)
• Protest season is here. Hands Off Rally is Saturday, 4/5
• Eva shares here Saturdays in May ride series.
• Why hasn't PBOT revealed downtown Sunday Parkways route?
• How you can eat and drink your way through the week with Portland bike events.
• New segment of the Green Loop through North Park Blocks
• New bike lane coming to NE Prescott
• Convo with Candace Avalos and policing
• How'd he get there? I share my route from North Portland (Peninsula Park) to SE 122nd and Stark (Midland Library).
• Legislative transportation package draft is out. Why the bike tax is so annoying.
• April 26th is carfree 82nd Ave Parade and a Cycle Oregon Block Party at Baerlic Brewing in Southeast

Thanks for listening! Please become a paid BikePortland subscriber today!

This Saturday, March 8th, Dave Guettler will celebrate the 30th anniversary of River City Bicycles, the business he started in 1995. In this conversation he shares stories about his early years in the bike industry, how and why he moved to Portland to open his dream shop, and much more.

Host: Jonathan Maus.

Recorded on March 4th in the BikePortland Shed in north Portland.

Links:

• Video: River City's shrine to Eddy Merckx
• Video: River City's Rooftop Bike People
• RiverCityBicycles.com

Eva Frazier (former bike shop co-owner and now chair of nonprofit Bike Loud PDX) and Jonathan Maus (BikePortland publisher & editor) are back for another fun chat. Eva shares that she's working with a group of folks to bring back the Bike Commute Challenge/Bike Month festivities, I share about my recent visit to the newly reopened Kenton Cycle Repair, we had a visit from my cat "Tito," and much more.

A special Thursday edition, since I'll (Jonathan Maus) be gone tomorrow!

Such a fun chat with the wonderful Eva Frazier. Here's a taste of what we touched on this episode:

• Update on BikeLoud's Bike Buddy program (they hired someone!)
• Route finding from NE 156th and Halsey to Bike Happy Hour
• Trump coming into office and what it means locally
• The need for more events to build a more resilient community
• Eva's visit to Lloyd Center (and Portland's skate culture)
• Fareless Square history
• New bike brand Primos Cycles
• Local media rant (and how KATU plagiarized a BikePortland story)
• Why I was annoyed by the Justin Timberlake on the Bike Bus thing
• What consequence for the Springwater drunk driver from last May?
• Cool event alert: City of Possibility
• and more!

Thanks so much for your support and for listening. Please tell a friend and contact us if you've got something to say or want us to explore a specific topic.

I (BikePortland editor Jonathan Maus) caught up with Joshua Force, a former Portlander who's now 15,000 or so miles into what he calls the Worldwide Bike Ride.

He joined me from Quito, Ecuador and I asked him about how he adjusts to so many new places, what it's like creating his really cool puzzles and writings on the road, where he got his inspiration for the ride, why he loads most all his weight on front racks, and more!

Follow Joshua on IG https://www.instagram.com/ukodus.8/

Substack https://worldwidebikeride.substack.com/

You can support his work via GoFundMe

In this episode, I (BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus) sat down in the Shed with veteran Portland bike fun purveyor and artist Shawn Granton. Shawn has been involved with the local bike seen since 2002 and has created art for many rides and events over the years. A former comic illustrator published in Momentum and Bicycle Times magazines, Shawn is the author of the Urban Adventure League blog, a collaborator on popular Zinester's Guide to Portland, and leader of several well-known local rides such as the Dead Freeways Ride and the Palm Tree Ride.

We talked about:

• What it was like moving to Portland in 2001 and how Shawn got into the bike scene.
• Shawn's first Portland bike that he bought at Citybikes in 2001.
• How a sticker Shawn made in 2022 led to creation of the Midnight Mystery Ride, which is still held monthly to this day.
• Why Shawn doesn't like rain jackets
• His favorite local bike camping overnighter spots.
• Going back to school for a geography degree
• The 20th anniversary of Shawn's Palm Tree Ride and why he likes to stick up for "weird" palm trees.
• How online algorithms rob people of the serendipity of discovering things on bike rides
• and more!

Links:

Urban Adventure League blog

Urban Adventure League on Instagram

BikePortland story about Shawn's Winter Palm Tree Ride (2008)

Brock Dittus from the Sprocket Podcast joined Eva Frazier and Jonathan Maus for the first episode of 2025! The conversation ranged from cycling on Sauvie Island to the popular "How'd she get there?" segment where Eva had to share a good bike route from PCC Southeast to the forthcoming In-N-Out Burger near the airport.

Tune in, hang out, and get cozy in the shed.

*BikePortland: Community Journalism Since 2005*

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