Taking a break: A few thoughts before I go on vacation

Hi everyone. I want to share a quick programming note.

This morning I left Portland for a much-needed vacation. My wife Juli and I (without the kids!) are headed to do some sightseeing in and around Paris. We’ll also take a few days to soak up the culture in Amsterdam.

I won’t be back in Portland until October 5th, so you should expect things to feel a bit different here for the next few weeks: fewer posts, not as much commentary on social media, and a longer lag on emails.

That being said, those of you that know me well know it will be hard for me to make a clean break from BikePortland for a such a long time. This work is a big part of my life and I feel a responsibility to the community to stay on top of things. But I need time away with Juli and I need to remove myself from the day-to-day grind in order to recharge before taking a big step that will ensure an exciting future for BikePortland.

I’m not sure how much I’ll work on the road — or if I’ll work at all — but I do know I have some very capable help to keep the fire burning while I’m away.

I’m very happy to announce that our former news editor and staff writer for People for Bikes, Michael Andersen, will be filling in as a part-time guest editor. I know many of you miss seeing his byline here on a regular basis (I do too!) and he’s got some great stories planned. In addition to Michael’s writing and reportage, you can also expect more in our Women’s Bike Month Interview Series from contributor Steph Routh and a few articles from our Gal by Bike columnist Kate Laudermilk. You can also expect some Instagram and Facebook posts from Gladys Bike owner Leah Benson. She’s reached out to dozens of Portland bike shops and will feature photos and mini-bios of women and transgender employees as part of our efforts to amplify more non-male voices here on BikePortland.

While this isn’t a working holiday for me, you can also expect to see a few of my photos and opinions from Paris and Amsterdam. I simply can’t go to those cities and not spend at least some time checking out bike stuff! (You might recall I did a bunch of reporting from Amsteram in 2013, so this won’t be my first time there).

What you can do to help while I’m gone? This has always been a community-run enterprise, so here are a few thoughts:

➤ Help keep the comment section respectful and productive. BP supporter Ted Timmons has offered to help moderate comments while I’m gone (thank you Ted!); but as always, we rely on you to make good decisions.
➤ If you’ve been wanting to write a guest post, now would be a great time to send it in! Subscribers get priority and can submit posts via our online submission form.
➤ If you have a breaking news tip, please still send it in via the normal channels and I’ll try to get it handled.

I’ve got a few stories I’ll try to get to in the airport and on the plane, but after that I’ll be making a cleaner break from the daily news cycle.

OK, I need to catch my flight. Thanks for your continued support.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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