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Show #563 – July 10, 2021

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Guests: Professor John Pucher; Martin Sigrist

How much has changed in our world of cycling since 2012? When I think back to some of the very first chatter about advocacy and how we can get more people riding, it seems SO long ago.

But, as with many things, cycling and its place in a sustainable world, has evolved much more quickly in the past 10 years than in the previous 25!
With that in mind, I welcome Professor John Pucher back to the show. Back in February 2013, right after his book City Cycling had been published by MIT press, John and his co-writer Professor Ralph Buehler spoke about the urban cycling renaissance including topics such as bike share, protected bike lanes, and more.

Now, almost 10 years later, John’s new book, Cycling for Sustainable Cities, is out and it’s remarkable how much has changed in such a short period of time.
A compendium of chapters that cover sustainability from every possible angle, John and his co-writer Ralph Buehler, have scoured the world for experts in their respective fields to round out chapters for the book.

We’ve been watching a TdF that started out being fraught with crashes and mayhem. Some of it came from inconsiderate or uninformed spectators, and some of it … well, the jury is still out on that – but there IS a lot of speculation. Is it the bikes – they’re stiffer and smaller; is it the speed? Is there a new generation of riders who may not be as respectful in the peloton?

My second guest is Martin Sigrist. Martin is a writer and very deep thinker about cycling – and a lot more.

I saw his article for Road Bike Rider about a topic I hadn’t thought about much – if at all – it was titled Learning From Perishable Skills. What that means and what can happen if you don’t continually work on skill building – especially on the bike – is at the heart of our conversation; although Martin has a lot to say on quite a variety of topics – mostly related to cycling.

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Show #562 – July 3, 2021

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Guests: Leah Goldstein; Russell Newell

Well, this week saw some really cool things happen… Mark Cavendish winning some Tour de France stages, some impressive athletes in many disciplines ready to head to Tokyo for the Olympics, and a record breaker for the ages!

RAAM rider, Leah Goldstein crossed the finish line in Annapolis, MD in 11 days, 3 hours, and 3 minutes – ahead of EVERYONE ELSE!      Walking the last kilometer because she had nothing left, supported by her amazing crew, this endurance athlete says she’s not done yet.

So, who is Leah Goldstein?  Her storied career in sports started at the age of 9 and at 17 she became the world’s champion kickboxer.

While serving in the Israel Defense Forces she was introduced to the duathlon and between her love of the bike and her love of endurance sport – Leah, now 52, has become the first woman to win what is arguably the world’s toughest endurance event – Race Across America.

I knew there would be cameras and journalists and television and radio all wanting to talk with Leah, so I hurried up the moment I heard and sent a message to her crew chief, Lori Moger, and she set up our conversation – which you’ll hear in a moment!

Then, in a different kind of endurance event, we meet Russell Newell. 

Russell, who has been a speech writer for some luminaries in D.C. as well as working for Disney as director of executive communications, and is currently working for United Health Care, is presently living in the D.C. area with his wife and 4 children.

His good buddy, Jim Kane, challenged him to race an Ironman event in 2012.  And, Russell, who would apparently jump off a bridge if his friends did it said – okay.

Out of that race – and more Ironman events since – has come his book, Irondad Life – A Year of Bad Decisions and Questionable Motives – What I Learned on the Quest to Conquer Ironman Lake Placid.

The book is filled with hilarity, a little profanity, and a lot of great stories

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Show #561 – June 26, 2021

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Guests: Dr. Harriet Fell & John Allen; Spencer Martin & Steve Maxwell

Want to hear the best bicycle pick-up line ever?

Harriet Fell chased down Sheldon Brown on a ride in 1979 and her first words to him were “you’re riding fixed gear aren’t you? and the rest as they say, was history.

Sheldon and Harriet were married 8 months later.

 

 


(photo courtesy of Harriet Fell)

So fast forward to June 13, 2021 when Harris Cyclery, in Ma. – the home of Sheldon Brown.com – announced its closing – the shock waves could be felt throughout the cycling world about what was going to happen to Sheldon Brown’s immense archives AKA sheldonbrown.com.

NEVER FEAR! It’s not going anywhere.

In fact, since Sheldon passed away in 2008, the site, which belongs to his wife Harriet Fell, has been lovingly and painstakingly managed by both Harriet and technical writer John Allen.

So, I reached out to Harriet and John to have a chat about the site.

But, as I began to look into Harriet Fell – DR. Harriet Fell actually -I found someone much different from who I expected. So much for expectations!
Harriet has a PhD from MIT. She was a tenured professor in mathematics but moved over to the college of computer science at northeastern university as computers became more mainstream. She retired after more than 50 years with an amazing array of accomplishments in her fields of study.

Almost more interesting though is her history with bikes – from building an aluminum fixie frame in 1971 that ended up in France for many many years and became an important piece of an industry lawsuit, to riding 8,000+ miles in 2020. And, she turns 77 this year.

Joined in the second half of our conversation by technical writer John Allen, I think you will truly appreciate this amazing woman!

In the second half of the show, we check in with The Outer Line‘s Spencer Martin and Steve Maxwell for a preview of the Tour de France and some thoughts on the 2020 – now 2021 – Olympics and how the U.S. is and has chosen our team.

As Stage One gets going today, Spencer is pretty certain there are only a couple of riders strong enough to stand atop the podium in Paris in three weeks.

And, Steve and I once again discuss the absence of cycling on mainstream media and how our sport would so benefit from it.

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Show #560 – June 19, 2021

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Guests: Carter Strickland; Kyle Wagenschutz

Their motto is “public land for public good”… and today, we speak with the NY State Director for the Trust for Public Land, Carter Strickland.

TPL was founded in 1972 on the conviction that all people need and deserve access to nature and the outdoors, close to home, in the cities and communities where they live, as a matter of health, equity, and justice.

From transforming schoolyards into parks to working with communities and organizations to procure land and rights-of-ways for creation and expansion of trails and greenways, TPL works its magic across the entire country.

Kyle Wagenschutz, the VP of Local Innovation for People For Bikes, talks about this year’s most bikeable cities. The 2021 City Ratings came out recently and of course, I rushed to see if any Ohio cities made the list. (listen in to find out!)

When People For Bikes starts working on their “most bikeable cities” ratings
list each year, and the work begins on the next year as soon as the current year’s results are published, the criteria come from a lot more places than one would imagine.

It’s at the ground level – towns and cities and even villages – where PFB’s looks to gather data that shows how easily one can get around by bike… and, that data is crunched up and spit out to produce not only a list of great places to ride, but some comparative ideas to adopt or adapt to make every city more bike friendly.

PS – Here is the story about Harrison Ford riding 40 miles per day getting ready for Indiana Jones 5.

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Show #559 – June 12, 2021

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Guests: David Bradford; John Surico

This week, we jump across the pond (as they say) to speak with David Bradford.  David is the fitness editor for Cycling Weekly and his article titled   “Why Is the peloton hiding its true colors?” is getting a lot of attention – in fact, it caught mine!

David spent a lot of time trying to find someone to speak with him about the topic of gay riders in the pro peloton.  Out of 968 competitors, the statistical probability that not one of these riders is gay is about one in a trillion – he called his mathematics buddy to establish the probabilities.

But, even after his article was published,  the response from male riders has been crickets.

Statistically, it’s beyond improbable that there are NO gay men out of the 968 riders David uses as his sample.  So, what’s going on here?

I wanted to know more and I also wondered whether women are more likely to just come out and tell it like it is – and, we find that they are.

Then, we meet up once again with journalist, teacher, and urban planning researcher, John Surico.

When last we spoke – back in April – we talked about what life was going to be like post-pandemic and how cities have and will continue to respond.

Now, his new piece for Bloomberg’s City Lab, “Greenway Stimulus Could Bring Boom In Biking and Walking Trails,” focuses on the possibility of a $10B – that’s billion with a capital B – boost for greenways.  From BIG projects like the ECG to your neighborhood connector to a local path, biking and walking are slowly making their way to center stage in legislation large and small all over the country.

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Show #558 – June 5, 2021

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Guests: Clarice Lorenzini; Elli Sias

In an article she wrote for teamusa.org’s triathlon site on May 19th, Clarice Lorenzini says:

“I’m Clarice Lorenzini and I’m Here To Make A Difference.”

As the only Asian-American Pro Triathlete on the Ironman Circuit, Clarice is bound and determined to race proud as a member of the AAPI community as well as give back to the cycling community at large with ongoing advocacy.

Our conversation today runs the gamut from where she grew up and went to college – in NY – to what she does in addition to racing and coaching and we get into some depth about why more Asian Americans aren’t racing on the pro circuit and why it’s important that we talk about it.

Racing her first Ironman as a sponsored pro in Tulsa recently – apropos as it coincided with the commemoration of the Tulsa Massacre – Clarice and I delve into what’s it’s like to stand on the start line and not see anyone who looks like you.

In February of 2020, we spoke with Elli Sias from Cycle of Life Adventures as she explained what it was taking to get even the smallest group on tour.

Now, bicycle touring is opening up again after the fifteen or so months of shut-down, and Elli’s business is not only open – it’s booming. With an already 80% full rate on many of her offerings, Elli and I talk about three of her many wonderful adventures including the Asheville Fundo, the Bluegrass and Bourbon Tours – oh, yeah… we’re up for that;  and the 33-day epic Mighty Mississippi tour.

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Show #557 – May 29, 2021

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Guest: Dave Snyder – CalBike

We talk about advocacy, safety, trails, and planning a lot; and today, we wrap much of that into a conversation with Dave Sndyer, the executive director of CalBike – the California Bicycle Coalition.

Dave was BORN to advocacy… I don’t mean that as literally as it sounds; but, his passion for the work started in college and has never waned.  Today, Dave as the ED of the California Bike Coalition his commitment to safer streets and more people riding is still his focus and he’ s killing it with both ideas and action.

From the $10M eBike Affordability Program to the Bicycle Tourism Initiative, CalBike is paving the way for more people on bikes more of the time – safely. Oh, and then there’s the issue of decriminalizing jaywalking!

Clearly dialed in to what is and needs to happen to keep us safe on California roads as least, I think most any advocacy organization would benefit from some of the work Dave is doing.  And, Dave’s answers to what is most important to preserve any gains we’ve made during COVID in terms of more, better, and safe biking, are spot on.

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Show #556 – May 22, 2021

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Guests: Dr. Etienne Krug; Jim Langley

This week, Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of the Department of Social Determinants of Health at WHO, joins me to talk about the UN Global Road Safety Week – it’s not only a thing – it’s a BIG thing! Every day, 3,000 children and young people are killed or seriously injured on the world’s roads.  It’s a statistic that is both staggering and sobering. Dr. Krug and I will talk about that and a lot more in a moment.

The hashtag is #Love30 and its meaning could be the difference between losing thousands of children’s lives every year – worldwide – from street crashes and saving them.

But, #Love30 means a whole lot more than that and Dr., Etienne Krug,  joins me today to talk about Global Safety Week, and more.

Then, I talk with Jim Langley.  His name and his work in cycling go back decades.  If you receive the RBR Newsletter every Thursday, or watch his YouTube channel to learn things such as how to build wheels, or any of a number of other of his fingers-in-the-gamut-of-bicycle pies, you know who I mean.   Then there is his extensive and comprehensive website, JimLangley.net.

And, last week Jim completed one of his long-time goals riding 10,000 consecutive days.  I thought THAT unto itself was impressive enough to chat with him.  But, the conversation is a whole lot more

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Show #555 – May 15, 2021

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Guest: Rob DeMartini

This week’s show is short – one conversation and some current news.

For many of you, it might seem as if we are beating the topic of inclusion in our sport to death; but, whether you ride with a club, race on a local team, or enter any of the many many events that will come back this cycling season, I would venture to say that the riders who participate with you also probably look a lot like you.

And THAT is what many people in the bicycle world – from local advocacy groups to manufacturers and everyone in-between are trying to address in one form or another.

In the broadest sense, and his organization, USA Cycling are trying to take on the topic in a way I haven’t yet seen and, I believe it has some merit.

As a bit of background, we recently spoke with Kendall Young who was suggesting that the UCI and by extension, USA Cycling should pull the Cross World Championships out of Arkansas, stating that the draconian transgender youth laws the Arkansas legislature passed need to be acknowledged with boycotts and other visible as well as financial means.

In counter-point, Rob DeMartini will explain why that isn’t a good idea and what USA Cycling is suggesting.

In addition, Rob fill us in on the latest about the upcoming – we hope – Olympics and the new “We Champion” initiative that will launch in two weeks.

I also wanted to offer up a GREAT video presented by Shimano as a way to bring in a little love and humor.  I LOVE love love dogs and Shimano nails it with their 9 minute video “A Dog’s Tale.”

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Show #554 – May 8, 2021

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Guests: Alan Murchison; Bruce Hagen

Last week, I had probably one of the most interesting conversations ever about food and cycling.

To say that Alan Murchison, who is a Scottish Michelin Star Chef, is passionate about his work, might be a gross understatement.

On the road for 80 days this year as the chef for the Canyon-SRAM Women’s World Team, Alan Murchison has had to learn about the wide variety of palettes of his 14 riders from 9 different nationalities.

He rises to the occasion with his down-to-earth thinking about food, the people he is serving, and his experience.
He LOVES cycling and he LOVES making food – talk about a win-win!

His new book, The Cycling Chef – Recipes for Getting Lean and Fueling the Machine – offers up not only some great recipes, but the kind of nutritional information that’s also easy to digest.

My second guest is Bruce Hagen. Bruce is the “people’s lawyer” in Atlanta and is immersed in not only helping cyclists in the event of crashes, altercations with law enforcement, and teaching police about the laws around cycling, he also is deeply committed to bicycle advocacy – giving back as much as he can.

Bruce Hagen has a great perspective on cycling and the law. Apparently, he’s also an expert on the Atlanta restaurant scene and in addition to his legal advice, is happy to offer a recommendation about where to eat what in his city.

Watch one of Bruce’s “Atlanta Eats” episodes!

Practicing his trade for over 30 years though, Bruce has been able to bridge some of the gaps between cyclists, police, and legislature with no illusions as to when things work and when things don’t.