The Monday Roundup: Cycling the metaverse, ribbon rack redo, Bicycle Bob and more

Welcome to the week.

Our hearts and minds are extra heavy as we start the week given all the news from beyond the cycling and transportation realm. Please take care of yourself and others as we all navigate these rough seas.

Here are the most notable items that our writers and readers came across in the past seven days…

Ribbon rack redo: “Wave” or “ribbon” racks are a scourge on this earth so it was amazing to see how a bike activist group in Calgary has rebuilt them to be actually useful.

Living outside: In this Street Roots are article you can learn what folks who live near dangerous roads think about Mayor Wheeler’s order to prohibit camping next to them.

Thank you, Bicycle Bob: I have a very soft spot in my heart for activists like Montreal’s “Bicycle” Bob Silverman, who died at age 88 this week after a long life of pushing his city to recognize the ills of cars and build North America’s best protected bike lane network.

Stop and frisk in traffic: National bicycling nonprofit People for Bikes has signed-onto a letter to the US Department of Justice and the DOT that takes a clear stand against using minor traffic violations as a pretext to stop people for other suspected crimes.

Arrested Mobility: Charles Brown, a Rutgers planning professor and Equitable Cities founder and CEO has a new podcast named Arrested Mobility that shares the perils of moving around cities for Black, Indigenous and people of color.

Save money on GPS: Our friends at Ride With GPS explain how you don’t have to invest in a fancy GPS device to find and navigate bike routes if you already a fancy phone.

Killer trucks: This piece from Slate about the absurd danger from massive truck front-ends is why I think the federal government should require a warning sticker on the outside of them that shares a “likelihood of death” rating for people outside the vehicle. Instead of a “five star safety” rating folks might get a “five skull warning”.

New tech: If you’ve heard about Web 3.0 and the metaverse and are curious how it might impact your riding, let Cycling Tips be your guide to this strange new world.

Thanks to everyone who shared links this week.

Jonathan Maus is BikePortland’s editor, publisher and founder. Contact him at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.