Month: June 2013

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Show #149 – June 29, 2013

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GUESTS: CONGRESSMAN DAVE JOYCE, ROB GARD, LARRY NILES

End of June – beginning of the 100th Tour de France.  Time is flying by; but there is always time for another edition of The Outspoken Cyclist.

My first guest this week is a Congressman Dave Joyce (R-OH) who, along with colleague Congresswoman Dors Matsui (D-CA) introduced the new Safe Streets Act 2013  into Congress.  Congressman Joyce went to Washington to help enact this type of legislation because his friend, Judge Chip Henry, died in a tragic car-bike accident a few years ago and he wants to see change – NOW.

Then, I head on out to Los Angeles where we usually think is cars, cars, cars… but “CicLAvia” is about no cars, no cars, no cars, and the organizer of the events, Rob Gard tells me how he get L.A. to embrace car-less streets and spread joy in Los Angeles several times a year.

After some news, I talk with my old friend Larry Niles who, along with his wife Dawn, run Discovery Bicycle Tours out of Woodstock, Vermont.  Discovery is the new name of their several decades-old company and I wanted to learn about several of their tours including the 10-day El Camino Santiago – usually thought of as a “pilgrimage” by tens of thousands every year.

 

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Show #148 – June 22, 2013

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 GUESTS: ROB VAN DER PLAS, CHEF BIJU THOMAS

 

 
Here in the northern hemisphere, we’re celebrating Summer Solstice (and the perfect Solstice activity would be a bike ride, hint, hint). The astronomical celebration continues tomorrow (Sunday, June 23rd) when we’ll have a perigee full moon, when the moon is at its closest to Earth for the entire year. Another great excuse for a night ride (or at least to go outside and stare at the sky for a while)!

Meanwhile, in the subterranean studios of WJCU, Diane has cooked up an episode of The Outspoken Cyclist as big as the sky. First up is engineer and prolific cycling author Rob Van der Plas. Van der Plas has written a small library of cycling-related books, and his latest is an epic collection entitled The Bicycle Illustrations of Daniel Rebour. In an age where everyone and everything is photographed and shared instantly via social media, Van der Plas’ book is 288 pages of pure technical, black-and-white, line-drawing happiness. You need a copy for every bathroom in your home (plus one for the coffee table)!

After the news and a break, Diane welcomes back chef Biju Thomas, whose new book (co-written with Allen Lim, PhD) is Feed Zone Portables: A Cookbook of On-the-Go Food for Athletes. Thomas and Lim build on the premise of their first book, namely that athletes should eat real food during exercise, with simple, tasty recipes that are both wholesome and mobile. For those of us not lucky enough to have Skratch Labs follow us around and cook for us on the pro tour, this book is the next best thing.

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Show #147 – June 15, 2013

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GUESTS: SENATOR SHERROD BROWN, KORY PIORKOWSKI, JEFF SPECK

 

Here we are in mid-June, and if you live in the northern hemisphere, and you’re not riding your bike on a regular basis, check your pulse; you might have expired and not even know it! Meanwhile, here at the Outspoken Cyclist Department of Sustainability Department, we have three great guests to engage your brain.

We are pleased and honored to welcome back U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who revealed, among other things that he walks the mile to work at the Capitol Building. Senator Brown is also very upbeat on the progress Ohio is making in the areas of sustainable transportation and urban revitalization.

Sometimes, the best time to undertake an over-the-top adventure is when you’re young and haven’t yet learned the meaning of impossible (and I mean that in the positive sense). Kory Piorkowski and Michael-John O’Neal are two young men who are determined to determine what they and our country are capable of this summer. They left this week on an east-to-west continental bike trip with a goal of finishing in two months. Along the way, they’ll be promoting sustainable culture. On the eve of their departure, Kory stopped in to the WJCU studios to talk about their project: Spokes of Green.

After a bit of news and a break, author and city planner Jeff Speck joins us for an extended conversation about walkability. Jeff has written a new book entitled Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, which talks about the re-population of urban core areas, and what cities can do to encourage the process. I know you might be thinking “wonk alert” but Jeff will blow your mind on topics like parking, one-way streets and the difference between walking and walking.

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Show #146 – June 8, 2013

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GUESTS: NEIL BROWNE, KEITH LAUGHLIN, NICK CRUMPTON

 

Neil Browne is back with us to talk about Lance’s chances fore redemption, and the general state of competitive cycling. If listening to Diane’s conversation leaves you wanting more, head over to Browne Eye Cycling for an alternate, independent look at bike racing.

The Rails to Trails Conservancy held one of their three yearly board meetings here in Cleveland this week, and the President of RTC, Keith Laughlin stopped by the WJCU studios for a quick chat on his way to the airport. RTC is preparing to push into the mobile-connected era with a trail finder app, plus all their normal work to extend and connect America’s rail-trail network.

Finally, if you think that all custom framebuilders in the U.S. work in steel or titanium, or if you think all carbon comes from a big factory somewhere (usually overseas) think again. Nick Crumpton of Crumpton Cycles is a small, custom builder based in Austin, Texas who fabricates handmade, custom carbon fiber frames. The second half of this week’s show is devoted to getting to know Nick, including his take on the most recent edition of the Baller’s Ride.

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Show #145 – June 1, 2013

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GUESTS: PATRICK BRADY, LORENZO DI SALVO, SAMUEL SWENSON, & GEORGE MOUNT

 

This week’s edition of The Outspoken Cyclist should come with a warning label: “Open with caution; contents under pressure”. It’s a packed house this week, with something for everyone.

Lance Armstrong is suddenly the social butterfly, reaching out to former rivals and media alike. Patrick Brady of Red Kite Prayer got an actual telephone call from Big Tex this week, and he’s first up to share his impressions of Lance’s latest campaign.

Tomorrow is the Gran Fondo Giro d’Italia in southern California, and whether you’ll be toeing the line in L.A. or wishing you were, Lorenzo DiSalvo is here to get us in the mood for some cycling, Italian-style.

Rounding out the first half of the hour is Samuel Swenson, who formerly worked as a mechanic for the bike share program in Washington, DC. He and other employees of bike share programs around the U.S. claim they were denied wages and benefits due them under contracts between Alta Bike Share and the various host cities. (Numerous attempts to contact officials at Alta Bicycle Share before airtime were unsuccessful.)

With an opening triple-decker like that, we needed a short break, after which we get to stretch out with one of the greats from U.S. cycling’s heyday of the 1970s and 1980s: George Mount. George is a former Olympian, former pro racer in Europe, and member of the U.S. Bicycle Hall of Fame. He doesn’t mince words nor pull any punches when it comes to cycling’s past, present, or future.