Month: January 2012

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Show #75 – January 28, 2012

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Here at the end of January, we’re not quite at the Red Kite of winter yet, but we’re close enough to at least confirm its existence. On today’s Outspoken Cyclist, we find out how a couple of other media types are covering the cycling world, and covering the world using a bike.

First up is Patrick Brady, editor and publisher of Red Kite Prayer, recently named the #1 bicycling blog by Outside magazine. Patrick is a veteran cyclist and cycling journalist who has been involved with such notable publications as Bicycle Guide and Asphalt. His ‘mind, body & machine’ approach to cycling news, along with additions of Charles Pelkey and John Wilcockson, and others have vaulted RKP to the top of the heap. Another reason Patrick deserves to be on top: his desire to be successful enough to pay his staff and contributors fairly.

After a roundup of cycling news from Diane (including two new product recalls) we dial up Boaz Frankel in Portland, Oregon. Boaz is only 29 years old, but a look at his Wikipedia page attests to his drive and creativity. His latest project is The Pedal Powered Talk Show, which is a shot-on-location video podcast where the entire production rig is transported by cargo bike. Will we someday see Matt Lauer and Al Roker pedaling a bakfiets down Broadway in Manhattan, looking for their next Today Show interview? Possibly not, but Boaz is already proving it’s possible.

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Show #74 – January 21, 2012

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Seems like we just recovered from our Solar New Year’s hangover, and it’s already time to celebrate the Lunar New Year. What will the Year of the Water Dragon bring for you? Lots of great (and safe) cycling adventures, we hope.

To start the year off right, we’re headed up to Burlington, Vermont to have a chat with Glenn Eames, who owns and operates the Old Spokes Home, a combination bicycle shop and bicycle museum. Glenn sells and wrenches on both modern and vintage machines, but his passion is for classic bikes, and a large number of his customers are local university students.

You may have read about the recent civil court case between Specialized and Volagi. Volagi was started by two former Specialized employees, and as sometimes happens, former employer sued former employees over who did what when, and with what secret knowledge. If you’re confused, don’t be alarmed, our buddy Steve Frothingham from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News joins us in the second half of the show to explain the whole thing in plain English.

And to wrap up on a very happy note, Mark Griffith of the Moab Skinny Tire Festival drops in to talk about his event coming up March 10 – 13 in Moab, Utah. The Skinny Tire Festival is not only a showcase of the best, low traffic riding in Moab for us non-MTBers, it’s also a fundraiser for Cancer Survivorship Programs.

This time of year, we like to think of The Outspoken Cyclist as a “winter survivorship program” for cooped-up cyclists. À votre santé!

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Show #73 – January 14, 2012

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Occasionally, all the factors come together to produce something that exceeds our wildest expectations. One of those occasions is today, and the factors are Diane, and our two guests. And the irony is, that while one of our guests does ride a bike, neither of them are what you’d think of when we say the word “cyclist”.

First we are happy to welcome Stephen Auerbach, the producer and director of the film Bicycle Dreams, which chronicles the solo competitors in the 2005 Race Across America (RAAM). Stephen talks about why he wanted to make a feature-length film about RAAM, the innovative way the film was shot, and how it’s taken on a life of its own with thousands of local screenings, including one on January 26th at the Big Dog Theater in Conventry.

In the second half of the hour, we head over to Boston, Massachusetts, and Dr. Anne Lusk, of the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Lusk has been researching the relationship between public health and transportation for over thirty years. She also worked on some of the first bicycle infrastructure in the U. S., and is a strong advocate for European-style cycle tracks as a solution for both health and transportation. Far from being a dry academic, Dr. Lusk is a bundle of both facts and energy, who walks to work instead of riding because she “knows too much science.”

So interesting, and packed with information, you might have to listen twice!

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Show #72 – January 7, 2012

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If this post seems a bit too happy for the first week of January, it’s because I’m all jacked up on endorphins from an outside ride on a brilliantly sunny day in northeast Ohio. Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, let’s talk about what’s on the show this week…

Our first guest is a bike commuting evangelist and editor of a great blog on the subject of bicycle commuting. Ted Johnson lives and works in Flagstaff, Arizona, and edits CommuteByBike.com. He’s got a great perspective on living car-free, and he has a wonderful story about how running errands on your bike is starting to attract less and less attention (and that’s a good thing).

Last year about this time, we spoke with Rodney Hendrickson, the ride director of The Redbud Ride in London, Kentucky. The 2011 edition of that tour was partially under water, but surprisingly, most people didn’t seem to mind. Rodney’s back on this week’s show to tell us what riders can expect on the 2012 Redbud Ride (and we hope that includes lots of sun).

Finally, we had planned to have John Howard of John Howard Performance Sports on the show to hip us to his latest tips for off-season training. Unfortunately, John had a medical emergency come up at the last minute. We wish John a full and speedy recovery. Instead, Diane stands in for John with a list of his recommendations for maximizing your time during the “indoor season”.