Month: March 2014

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Show #188 – March 29, 2014

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Guests: Nutritionist Georgie Fear; Coach Dean Peterson; Hall of Famer Leigh Donovan

Astronomy be damned, winter rolls on here in the Great Northeast. White Easter, anyone? The Outspoken Cyclist rolls on, and this week we’re talkin’ nutrition, collegiate cycling, and female BMXers.

First up is Georgie Fear, a certified nutritionist who has collaborated with Matt Fitzgerald on the Racing Weight Cookbook: Lean, Light Recipes for Athletes. Her website, AskGeorgie.com, also has great information about eating right for physical activity.

It may not get a lot of press coverage, but collegiate bike racing is out there, and Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana has a thriving program, led by coach Dean Peterson. As Dean explains, college cycling is one place in this sport where the women are equal in importance to the men.

The second half of the show is dedicated to a conversation with BMX and mountain bike champion Leigh Donovan, who now teaches those skills to girls and women through her I Choose Bikes program.

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Show #187 – March 22, 2014

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Guests: Jeff Koenig, Big Poppi Bicycles; Jody Dzuranin, Consider Biking; Jacob VanSickle, Bike Cleveland

Three different guests, and three different perspectives on the recently completed National Bike Summit in Washington, DC.

First up is Jeff Koenig, co-owner of Big Poppi Bikes, in Manhattan, Kansas, to talk about the role your local bike dealer plays (and doesn’t play) in bicycle advocacy. Jeff not only attended the summit, but gave a presentation as well.

Our downstate friend, Jody Dzuranin of Consider Biking in Columbus, Ohio, joins us to give her perspective on the summit, including a warm reception from the Republican senator from Ohio, Rob Portman. Advocacy can be a tough gig in a sprawling state capitol, but the Consider Biking crew has made great strides in their young existence, including the 2nd Annual Ohio Women’s Bicycling Summit, coming up on May 3rd.

Lastly, but closest to home, we check in with Jacob Van Sickle of Bike Cleveland, who has also been busy pushing for bicycling accommodations in a city that is not exactly flush with cash for discretionary projects. And yet, great things are slowly happening for cyclists in our fair city and the surrounding region.

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Show #186 – March 15, 2014

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Guests: Keith Laughlin, Rails-to-Trails;  Zach Vanderkooy, Green Lane Project;  Mike Cobb, Disaster Relief Trials

It’s official; the weather in northeast Ohio has caused me to give up on the notion of riding a bicycle out of doors. Ever. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

If the federal government gives a railroad some land, what happens to the land when it’s no longer used for train tracks? According to the Supreme Court of the United States, it reverts to the adjacent, private landowners. Otherwise, a bike trail might run through someone’s house. Or something. Anyway, Keith Laughlin of Rails to Trails is here (again) this week to explain the court’s recent decision and its potential impact on rail-trails.

On a brighter note, People for Bikes is gaining traction with their Green Lane Project. According to Zack Vanderkooy, director of the Green Lane Project, green lanes are also known as separated bike lanes. This project works with selected cities to implement these lanes to make urban cycling safer and more accessible.

DRT_Pic(photo by Ethan Jewett)

And finally, out of Portland, Oregon comes Mike Cobb and his Disaster Relief Trials. The concept is a friendly competition to get people thinking about using cargo bikes to transport supplies in the wake of a natural disaster. This technique popped up in a limited way after Superstorm Sandy, when roads, electricity, and gasoline supplies in the NY/NJ area were compromised. As we say in IT, never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of backup tapes!

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Show #185 – March 8, 2014

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Guests: Kenneth Oswalt, Licking County Prosecutor; Dwan Shepard, Co-Motion Cycles

Life is dangerous, and since cycling is part of life (for some of us it is life) cycling is by extension, also dangerous. Fortunately, the risk/reward area of our brains understands that the benefits of a bike ride outweigh the dangers, and we mount up and head out. Tragically, sometimes the odds catch up with us, as in the case of Columbus, Ohio teacher Bob Lennon, who was hit and killed last September by a vehicle driven by Mary Paul. On February 24th, Paul was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison, order to pay restitution, and had her driver’s license revoked for life.

Today on The Outspoken Cyclist, Diane talks with Kenneth Oswalt, the Licking County Prosecutor who handled the case in Delaware county. Oswalt gives us his impressions on how the case was handled, the significance of the sentence, and his views on car/bike interaction.

After the news and a break, we lift the mood a bit, and speak with Dwan Shepard, owner of Co-Motion Cycles in Eugene, Oregon. Co-Motion is best-known for their tandems (but they also make great single bikes) and their awesome, color-fade paint work. In today’s era of mega-conglomerates and growth-is-king mentality, it’s nice to find a company like Co-Motion that still focuses on making the type of high quality bikes their customers want.

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Show #184 – March 1, 2014

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Guests: Keith Laughlin, Rails-to-Trails; Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Eric Barber, Copenhagen Wheel Project

The calendar says March 1st, but the thermometer says “January 1st”; what’s a poor cyclist to do? To paraphrase a famous bike racer, you can either ride or hide. If you’re riding, dress warmly; if you’re hiding, fire up the podcast machine and enjoy a brand new episode of The Outspoken Cyclist.

The 2014 LAB National Bike Summit is coming up this week in Washington, DC, and Keith Laughlin, Executive Director of Rails to Trails joins us to talk about what his organization has planned for the Summit and beyond. You might be surprised that Rails to Trails is about more than just trails these days.

Also checking in from Washington, DC is Democratic Senator from right here in Ohio, Sherrod Brown. Senator Brown brings us up to date on what’s happening with federal funding of transportation infrastructure, and also professes his undying love for a traditional northeast Ohio winter.

After the break and some news, we get the long-awaited scoop on the Copenhagen Wheel Project. Eric Barber, the Hardware Engineering Manager for the project joins us from Boston to talk about this new electric rear wheel which includes regenerative braking, learns your pedaling habits, and gathers data about your surroundings as you ride. No truth to the rumor that version 2.0 will “make you a sandwich and do your laundry.”