E243 James Longhurst BIKE BATTLES

Americans have been riding bikes for more than a century now. So why are most American cities still so ill-prepared to handle cyclists? James Longhurst, a historian and avid cyclist, tackles that question by tracing the contentious debates between American bike riders, motorists, and pedestrians over the shared road. Bike Battles explores the different ways that Americans have thought about the bicycle through popular songs, merit badge pamphlets, advertising, films, newspapers and sitcoms. Those associations shaped the actions of government and the courts when they intervened in bike policy through lawsuits, traffic control, road building, taxation, rationing, import tariffs, safety education and bike lanes from the 1870s to the 1970s.   note: our computer AND backup recorder stopped in the middle of our news section. So if you find yourself wondering "did I miss something?" The answer is yes. Also: Will Vanlue joins to bring his perspective, aaron rides the solstice, and Lisa is back in PDX!   Thanks to our beverage sponsor, The Beer Mongers, and, as always, thanks to our generous Patreon donors that keep us going!   Headlines from bicycling.com via Doug Robertson(sustaining donor) Introducing the McBike - McDonald’s New Bike-friendly Takeout Container Do you dream of a Big Mac and fries in the middle of a long ride? Now McDonald’s in making it easier for cyclists in some countries to fuel up on fast food mid-ride. Check out the “McBike†- innovative takeout containers that let you carry your fast food meal on your handlebar without sacrificing the precious contents of your burger fries and drink. ...if this package convinces a few people to that their mealtime errands could just as easily be  conducted by bike, we’re on board.   from thehill.com Scott Brown takes up bicycle repair By Judy Kurtz Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) may be leaving his famous pickup truck behind for a new job: bicycle mechanic. Brown, who lost a Senate bid last year to New Hampshire incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D), is volunteering at a bike shop in the state. The ex-lawmaker and avid cyclist, 55, puts together bicycles at Gus’ Bike Shop in the Granite State a few days a week, which he says gets him out of the house and “doing different things.†  from theguardian.com People power: the secret to Montreal's success as a bike-friendly city By comparison with somewhere like Copenhagen, Montreal remains dominated by cars. But there is a thriving bike culture, helped by nearly 400 miles of cycle lanes, about 150 miles of which are separated from motor traffic. Even on a normal day – at least outside the depths of winter – cyclists are everywhere. The city also has around 5,000 of its Bixi public hire bikes, familiar to anyone who has used the near-identical London scheme.   The genesis of all this can be traced back to people like Robert Silverman, better known to his fellow citizens as Bicycle Bob. Now 81, he was among the founding members of Le Monde à Bicyclette in 1975, a loose collection of mainly artists, activists and anarchists who, styling themselves the “poetic velo-rutionary tendencyâ€, pioneered many of the direct action tactics common to modern protest movements.   from momentummag.com Unifying Bike Advocacy: National Brotherhood of Cyclists Conference “We are at the threshold of a movement that really could change the world,†said Anthony Taylor, speaking of the recent groundswell of bicycle participation in Minneapolis, MN, and across the US. While impressive, this surge in everyday cycling still has yet to reach a 10 percent modal share in any city. Taylor, Vice President of the National Brotherhood of Cyclists (NBC) and a prominent advocate in the African-American cycling community, views this low modal share as a positive. To Taylor, it’s a blank slate. He looks at Detroit, MI, with an air of optimism for the future of American cities.