I was thinking more booting to a few from a usb and playing around.

I think the usual consensus is Linux Mint (and its a solid distro) but I think the best advice is not to be afraid of trying different ones and finding out what works best for you.

This one comes to mind https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/new-city-centre-cycle-scheme-24598715

Been a while since I looked but my understanding is that 1.5m max widths excludes best practice to allow cargo bikes and accessible bikes movement.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t consider this in urban design but I’ve seen a number of cycling schemes be ruined because of the advice that no gap greater than 1.5m can be left to prevent this sort of attack.

I can’t help but feel we shouldn’t be accept living in a fortress in order to avoid universal access to machines that can cause such damage.