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Show #478 – November 16, 2019

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Guests: Will McGough; Jen Dial Santoro

This week, the cycling world lost Raymond Poulidor. M. Poulidor was a true champion whom, although never riding into Paris wearing the yellow jersey, stood on the podium at the Tour de France in second place three times and third place five times!

He rode his entire career for the Mercier team, chasing his two big rivals – Jaques Anqutiel and Eddy Merckxx – fierce competitors for sure. He did win the 1964 Vuelta a Espana!
Raymond Poulidor, who was 83 when we passed away this week, was revered by the French people. RIP sir!

My first guest is a travel writer who decided to take on an Ironman triathlon – for literary sake. Will McGough‘s new book, “Swim, Bike, Bonk: Confessions of a Reluctant Triathlete”, is an account of his foray into what it takes to do such a thing – digging into the psyche of those who are beyond passionate to the point of obsession with pursuit of the achievement that is the “mother of all endurance events.”

 

 

This week begins the first of our holiday gift segments. My guest, Jen Dial Santoro, is a Cleveland native (well, she’d say Lakewood – which is a ring suburb on the west side of Cleveland) now living in Utah. She worked in a bike shop for 10 years, successfully raced mountain and cyclocross, and currently skiis, rides her e-assist “bucket bike” with her two kids, and writes for a variety of publications. What’s really cool is that everything she’s going to talk about today lives in her house with her. She’ll be with me in the second half of the show.

(tags: Voile Ski straps; Kustom Kaps; Kitsbo Bad Ombre Socks; Toko Winter Riding Glove; Campagnolo Cork Screw; Madsen Bucket Bike)

 

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Show #477 – November 2, 2019

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Guests: Selene Yeager; Sam Wood; Secretary Leslie Richards

Our first show for November and it’s a three-fer!

I begin with Bicycling’s Fit-Chick, Selene Yeager. about her new book, GRAVEL! It has everything you need to know about the bikes, the terrain, racing, riding, nutrition, and finding that “light at the end of the tunnel.”

Then, it’s off to Australia for a chat with founder and owner of Bike Odyssey Tours, Sam Wood. He started out in archaeology and combining that with his love of history and bicycle touring, offers longer distance tours including his Hannibal, Othello, Lion Heart, and the new 2010 Allies: Normandy to the Rhine to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of WW II. Fascinating conversation!

Lastly, I have an in-depth conversation with the Secretary of Transportation for the State of Pennsylvania, Leslie Richards. She’s an urban planner, the first woman to serve at Transportation Secreetary in the State, and has a new master plan for bicycling and pedestrian safety on the drawing board – about to be launched.

 

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Show #476 – October 26, 2019

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FRENCH FENDER DAY – PART II

(Photo courtesy of Brian Jenks, Artispin)

Part II of our coverage of French Fender Day!

Four great new conversations to add to last week’s list!

This week, in order of appearance, we have:

Marc Elliott
Mark Finch
Johnny Coast
Sam Dickenson

Then, it’s a conversation with *Brian about his thoughts on French Fender Day before we head on over to Philadelphia to speak with Philly Bike Expo owner and director Bina Bilenky about this year’s show – its 10th Anniversary

*You can also read all about Brian’s review of French Fender Day on his blog.

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Show #475 – October 19, 2019

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FRENCH FENDER DAY!

(Photos Courtesy of VeloOrange)

Guest List For This Episode In Order Of Appearance

Amy Gawthrop
Bill Humphries
Bob Young
David Bogoain
Joe Kopera
Emily O’Brien
Jamie Swan
Shukri Sindhi
Peter Waite
Peter Weigel

As you may remember, Brian and I were off to Peter Weigel’s French Fender Day last week;  and today, I’ll bring you the first of what will be two shows with short, interesting conversations with people who stopped by the microphone during the event.

As you listen, you will hear some chattering of all the folks in the background. I decided to not strip that sound out of the recordings and, in fact, did almost no editing at all.

In these short exchanges that range from between 4 and 8 minutes , you’ll not only hear people you’ve listened to in the past like builders Johnny Coast and Jamie Swan, you’ll also hear from people who have an abiding interest in the craft of the classic French Fender Bike yet who don’t build bikes professionally – people such as Emily O’Brien from Dill Pickle Cycling Gear who is a professional musician and runs Randonneuring events on the east coast. Or, Bob Young who brought an exquisite 1/6th scale boat he built by hand.

One of the things I found both interesting and very gratifying was the age range of those who attended the event. There is not only a whole new group of younger builders; there is also a whole new generation of younger riders who seem to truly appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship of these exquisite machines.

We’ll take short breaks intermittently during the show, but there are no formal pre-intros – each person who came up to the mic will be identified at the beginning of his or her commentary. If you go to the blog, outspokencyclist.com, the guests will be listed in the order in which they appear on the program.

At the end of the interviews, Peter Weigel himself will wrap-up the weekend with his thoughts about how it went with a note about how it all started back in 2010.

I hope you enjoy the show!

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Show #474 – October 12, 2019

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Guests: Marc Peruzzi; Maria Caffrey; Salvador Rueda

It’s been a rather outrageous week here in the U.S. – and, while I like to keep things on an even keel, I’ve had to acknowledge that the “outrageousness” appears to cross all lines.

One of the themes of this strange and unsettling time is lawlessness – it seems to be showing up in the sheer number of deaths of both cyclists and pedestrians where drivers are beyond careless and distracted.

This week, we hear from Marc Peruzzi, a freelance journalist who covers many aspects Cyclists Are Migrating To Dirt, sparked a very lively conversation on our Facebook Page as comment after comment agreed with him that the roads have become scary and paths, gravel, and dirt may be the only things savings the sport.

Another discouraging theme of the times is the concerted effort to discredit science and suppress facts. It never occurred to me that I would be saying climate scientist and whistleblower in the same sentence; but, when I read about Dr. Maria Caffrey, who worked at the National Park Service for 8 years, had her work censored, and finally filed a whistleblower case this past summer, it became too compelling a story not to follow.

Recently, Maria published an article for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ blog, titled Cultivating Censorship at the National Park Service: New Acting Director Issues Controversial Memo”. Since we just learned that the NPS is allowing eBikes in all the parks, I wanted to know if there was any connection.

Lastly, I am able to offer a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Our friend in Florida, Christine Acosta, spent some time with Salvador Rueda, the urban ecology director in Barcelona, Spain. Christine and her family traveled to Spain a few months ago and Christine was able to corral Senor Rueda for a chat. She had originally learned about him and his work at the Vision Zero conference in NY a couple of years ago.

Mr. Rueda has some far-reaching and forward-thinking ideas about how to make our cities more livable, from calming traffic to adding trees. The conversation is filled with ideas we can adopt.

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Show #473 – October 5, 2019

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Guests: Ed Benjamin; Tucker Schwinn

Before we get to this week’s show, I wanted to let you know that we will be recording at French Fender Day in Lyme, Connecticut with Peter Weigel and crew next Saturday. We will be attempting to stream some of it live on Facebook – if I can figure it out – and then bring you the interviews in the upcoming weeks.

Watch our social media – Facebook and Twitter – as well as our blog outspokencyclist.com for live feed times if you are interested in seeing it firsthand.

So, let’s get to this week’s show.

Finding ways to ride longer – not only into the season, but into the seasons of your life, might fall under the first topic up for discussion today.

Many years ago, Ed Benjamin hopped on the eBike bandwagon and has never looked back. At the time, there weren’t many people in his corner.

But look at him today… Ed is the Senior Managing Director of eCycleElectric Consultants, a consulting group focused on electric bicycle, scooter, motorcycle, and components for these since 1996 as well as the Chairman of Light Electric Vehicle Association, a trade group for the industry.

Today, Ed joins me to talk about the nuts and bolts of the eBike business – how big it is, who is buying and riding the bikes, and where the future of these vehicles is going.

Then, Tucker Schwinn, yes you know the name, joins me to talk about a sport you may not know even existed, let alone thrives.

As far back as 1942, Bicycle Polo was a thing. Whether today’s bike polo scene is a revival or a brand new chapter in the sport, Tucker, who has been competing since 2004, tells us all about it – how it works, who is participating, and how you can join in on the fun if you want.

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Show #472 – September 28, 2019

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Guests: Steve Frothingham; Jeff Speck

Steve Frothingham, editor of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, talks with me about the tariffs and the effects they have had and are having on the bicycle business.

Then, I speak with Jeff Speck. He is one of the most influential city planners working today. Formerly the Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts, his company Speck and Associates is a planning firm that serves both municipal and private clients.

Jeff walks the walk, talks the talk, and give us a fascinating “civic” lesson in when and how communities thrive, how the environment is either supported or undermined, and where we find inequity in society.

Oddly enough, we have a fairly deep discussion of parking and how it affects how cities thrive – and, in fact, cities are NOT thriving! Making them more bikeable and walkable though?

Yes – bicycles, walking, and public transit play a HUGE role in all of it.

We talk about some practical ideas that even cities in dire financial straits can do to make walking and biking safer as well as controlling traffic more intentionally and successfully.

So, while his book, Walkable City Rules, 101 Steps to Making Better Places, might be a manual for professionals, I believe hearing the ideas and successes puts them into a place where you can see yourself perhaps getting involved and helping to make lasting change. You can attend council and planning meetings and, taking some of Jeff’s simple “rules” show your city there just might be room for protected bikes infrastructure.

One more thought here… many of us have abandoned the roads because of safety concerns. Instituting some of the “rules” in Jeff’s book might just put us back ON the roads – where bicycle belong!

I don’t usually air the small talk that takes place as we begin to roll for recording the show; but, Jeff sort of surprised me by asking ME questions and the interview just began to unfold – without any formal. introduction.

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Show #471 – September 21, 2019

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Guests: Dan De Vise; Ben Brewer; Gabe Klein

This week, I chat with three most interesting people – two expansive thinkers in totally different fields – one is “urbanism” the other is what he terms “economic sociology” and I bring back Dan De Vise whose book, The Comeback – Greg LeMond, the True King of American Cycling, and a legendary Tour de France, (which we reviewed when it came out in June of 2018) inspired Congressman Mike Thompson of California to introduce HR Bill #3589 to award Mr. LeMond the congressional gold medal – the second highest civilian award in the country.

I don’t think Greg LeMond was ever totally forgotten; but, I do believe he never really received the accolades and recognition he deserved as a true champion of our sport and of his conduct in the peloton.

Dan De Vise tells us the synchronistic way this honor came about and what happens next.

Then, James Madison University sociology Professor Ben Brewer, who grew up in Northern California during the “big boom era” of mountain biking and innovative frame building, studies and reports on social issues and how they are juxtaposed against economics – and his new case study is bicycle frame builders.

His survey to frame builders is about to close and, in addition to sharing that link with frame builders, I wanted to know what he wants to know.

Lastly, but definitely not leastly – Gabe Klein has been on my radar for a long time. I first learned about him when he was the Transportation Commissioner for Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago.

Gabe’s thoughts and ideas about cities, transportation, and the broader ramifications of getting it all wrong make for a very interesting conversation.

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Show #470 – September 14, 2019

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Guests: Debra Bogaards; Sue Prant; Kevin Wren

If you are a regular listener to NPR’s Marketplace, which airs weekdays around 6pm in our time zone, you may have recognized my voice – On Tuesday, a 3-minute monologue about our bicycle business aired around 25 minutes into the show on the My Economy feature.

And, what happened next was unbelievable – it was as if someone had unleashed a hurricane as all of our social media feeds lit up, our web site was overwhelmed, and our email in boxes were full.

I really want to thank Bennett Purser, the producer who not only talked me through the initial conversation, but skillfully edited and assembled the piece… I am very grateful and very envious of his talent!

If you missed it and are interested in hearing it, you can log onto marketplace.org and click on the my economy link at the top. The piece is titled A small bike shop with a big customer first idea. Yeah baby!

So, now that I’ve patted myself on the back enough… let’s do a show!

Three great guests – three very different topics this evening.

First up is attorney Debra Bogaards. I met Debra when Brian and I rode in Israel in 2017 and we’ve kept in touch through social media since. Debra’s law practice is in S.F.

Recently, she posted something about cancelling her membership in the luxury Equinox fitness club where she took spinning classes among other things.

Voting with her dollars, Debra’s reasons for taking her money elsewhere are a noble example of honoring your principles and calling out those who don’t.

Then, it’s off to Boulder, Colorado where Sue Prant, executive director of Community Cycles, talks with me about plunger-gate (I believe I coined that expression) when a lane on 30th Street, notorious for being a tough place for cyclists, was mysteriously turned into a protected bike lane with a line of plungers glued to the pavement. Sue and I also talk about her work and how Colorado is handling some transportation issues.

Finally, Kevin Wren of Wren Sports, who is just back from Eurobike, gives us an overview of the show, a lesson in how the bike industry really works, and how he and his partner drilled down to find the niche that they now occupy with some great success

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Show #469 – September 7, 2019

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It’s Our 9th Anniversary Today!

Guests: Chris Carmichael; Gary Mikitin; Tim O’Mara

It is a very special day for me – the 9th anniversary of the Outspoken Cyclist show. Today’s episode is #469 and I am so proud and grateful to have been able to do this work for so long.

In the past week or so, as I’ve shared this anniversary with some folks, I am told that I am a “veteran” of the medium – podcasting – and, in retrospect, I guess that is true.

What is so interesting to me though? It’s how every week there are so many new stories and new people to fill the hour of time. Sometimes, it even feels like work! Yet, for the most part, there isn’t anything I think I would enjoy more than to continue to bring this show to you each week.

So, thank you – for listening, for your comments, and especially for your loyalty and encouragement.

So, let’s talk about show #469 – this week’s episode.

As promised, Chris Carmichael, who is the founder and head coach at CTS – Carmichael Training Systems, is with me to talk about regaining your confidence after a crash. While much of the conversation pertains to riding with others in a group, there are some noteworthy tips for all of us about skills and handling – whether riding alone or racing in a peloton.

Then, we have our man-on-the-ground Gary Mikitin with us to talk about an announcement made just Thursday by the Department of the Interior about eBikes in the National Parks. You will recognize Gary’s voice as that of the person who opens and closes the show each week.

[Photo of Asst. Secy., of the Interior Rob Wallace by Gary Mikitin]

The Dept of the Interior chose our CVNP as the venue to make the announcement and Gary was there.

Finally, we head south to Atlanta to speak with Tim O’Mara. Tim and his wife Becky bought a fixer-upper on the west side of Atlanta a few years back. But, as fate would have it, a young neighborhood girl knocked on their door soon after they moved in asking for some help. And, the story takes off from there.

Today, Tim and Becky run Bearings Bike Shop – a non-profit organization that gives kids the life skills they will need to be successful – at whatever they choose.