Show #388 – February 17, 2018

Guests: Peter Wilborn; Mary Wisnewski; encore interview with Rody Walter

RADIOTHON 2018!!! Yep – it’s time to log on to wjcu.org and pledge your support for the show AND the station. We only do this once a year and all of the money raised goes directly to the station! Any amount is greatly appreciated – and, thanks for listening!

Over the past year, we have reported on cyclists who have been hit – often fatally – while riding. We haven’t however, talked much about cyclists who crash by virtue of obstacles in their paths – obstacles like potholes or sewer grates or raised barriers that are difficult if not impossible to see.

Cyclists have been badly injured – sometimes sustaining permanent disabilities – and their equipment has been damaged.
Now that the roads are beginning to show the ravages of winter, I thought it would be a good time to talk about what you can and probably should do if you encounter these types of issues.

My first guest is Bike Law’s Peter Wilborn. Peter knows all too well about cyclists who are injured and equipment that is damaged as he has devoted his legal career to their causes. We walk about what to do if you encounter a road hazard, what needs to change when it comes to being less vulnerable on the road, and ends with a plea to “keep on riding”.

After a break, Chicago Tribune transportation reporter Mary Wisnewski talks to me about the work she has been doing in her town to shed some light on the disparity among residents who are being ticketed to minor cycling infractions. Her 2017 article “Biking While Black: Chicago Minority Areas See The Most Bike Tickets” was followed up this week with her column Black neighborhoods still see most bike tickets, police data show.

Mary and I talk about what the statistics show and how, while the number of tickets is decreasing, the disparity is staying the same.

Finally, since this is NAHBS weekend – and, unfortunately, circumstances did NOT pan out for me to attend the show, I thought I’d bring back one of my favorite people in an encore interview. Rody Walter from Groovy Cycles in Wooster, Ohio has been my guest a couple of times and was also a member of my frame builder’s panel in Sacramento.

He has a smart and unique view of the custom bike world and I thought hearing this conversation again would whet your appetite for some fancy bikes.

#nahbstweets will be goin on all weekend and beyond to showcase some of the beautiful equipment being exhibited in Connecticut.