Tag: Bike Cleveland

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Show #688 – April 9, 2026

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Guest: Larry Pizzi – eBikes Part II

Before we get to our guest, I want to give a HUGE shoutout to our very own Bike Cleveland Executive Director, Jacob VanSickle.  Jacob was named Professional Advocate of the Year by the League of American Bicyclists at the National Bike Summit a couple of weeks ago.

Jacob has taken what was the fledgling Bike Cleveland organization and put it on the national stage in many ways.  Our cycling experiences here in NE Ohio have been immensely enhanced by his leadership.  Congratulations Jacob!!!

Photo Credit-levassociation.com

In this, the second in our series on eBikes, I speak with Larry Pizzi,.  Larry is the president of Pedego, a long-time senior executive in the e‑bike industry, and an active participant in national policy and advocacy efforts, collaborating with brands, dealers, and organizations like PeopleForBikes.

While Larry’s views don’t particularly contradict those of Hans Rey, who was my guest in the first of this series, they do bring up important aspects of the conversation that Hans and I didn’t cover.

Larry and I have known each other for a long time, and he too offers his

opinions about eBikes and what we – specifically the industry – need to be thinking and doing so that access to eBikes remains viable for everyone – not just riding on trails.

Larry has laid out his “call to action” plan for us around three points: safety, access, and innovation.

Here is the link to Larry’s letter in Bicycle Retailer and the Mineta study.

Coming up in our third and final eBike conversation, People for Bikes’ Matt Moore and Ash Lovell will lay out the strategies that the organization is exploring and implementing for taking on many of these issues around eBikes – legislation, enforcement, definitions, and more.

In a final note of passing, I want to offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and express a profound sadness everyone in our bicycle world is feeling at the passing of Tim Blumenthal.  Tim was a pioneering voice in our bicycle world for his journalism, broadcasting, and advocacy.  He will be fondly remembered and greatly missed. Here is the link to the obituary. 

Transcript_April 9

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Show #652 June 13, 2024

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Guests: Carla Francome interviews Diane

On my last show, I spoke with London cycling advocate and the truly delightful Carla Francome.  Not a moment after we ended our conversation, Carla sent me a note asking if SHE could interview ME.

Carla had many questions for me, and I hope I didn’t bend her ear too much.

She asked me about my childhood, how I got into the bike business, and of course, about Brian.

I’ve created a gallery of some of the photos we spoke about and you can check out Brian’s great “Be Careful What You Wish For” post,  Bike Cleveland and its executive director Jacob Van Sickle, Ben Serotta, and The Ohio Erie Canal Towpath.

As for some of the books I mentioned (and I haven’t read all of them,) authors include Carlos Castaneda, Richard Bach , and Shirley McClain, among many others that have helped me along the way.

I hope you enjoy it.

Show Transcript June 13 2024

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Show #628 – April 18, 2023

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Guests: Wayne Stetina; Jacob Van Sickle

As promised the last time we spoke with him, Wayne Stetina, SRAM’s senior field guide, is back to school us on the new SRAM Eagle Transmission system.  In fact, you might want to take some notes.

From learning about cassette mapping to the simple installation of the chain, Wayne gives us the details in a clear and precise manner.

The result though is in the riding and according to Wayne, the harder you pedal this new system, the easier it shifts.

I really appreciate Wayne’s thoroughness in explaining the new system.  For more information about SRAM’s new Eagle Transmission you can log on to SRAM.com OR… better still, go to your LBS and ask to try one!    


 

In the second half of the show, we welcome back Bike Cleveland’s executive director, Jacob Van Sickle.

Fresh from the National Bike Summit, Jacob fills us in on this year’s legislative asks including the tax credit for eBikes, and catches us up on what has and is about to happen in NE Ohio to improve biking and walking.

When I think back – decades really – to when I first heard about the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath project, it barely registered because it seemed so far away.  Yet, here we are! The Towpath project is finished – all the way into downtown Cleveland.

This podcast is dropping just before the April 22nd Celebrate Trails Day community bike ride with Cleveland’s Mayor Justin Bibb and County Executive, Chris Ronayne.  You can join them on Saturday at Merwyn’s in the Flats for a fun afternoon – and you can let them know what YOU want to see for better and safer biking and walking in NE Ohio.

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Show #525 – October 24, 2020

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Guests: Peter Wilborn; Dr. Chris Cherry; Jacob Van Sickle

How is politics impacting cycling?  Is there undue influence to how we perceive our “cycling movement” from the outside- or even from the inside?

What do equity and inclusiveness REALLY look like? And, why is infrastructure – bicycle infrastructure – so important to the overall success of cycling?

Of even more urgency is to understand why it is important to embrace law enforcement as a relationship that will benefit us as cyclists instead of distancing ourselves from it.

Politics has certainly been up from for many if not most of us lately; but, I’m not certain I saw the juxtaposition of bicycle advocacy and politics until my conversation with Peter Wilborn, founder and partner at Bike Law. He always makes me broaden my thinking, and today is no different.

After a break, we’ll head to Knoxville, TN to speak with Professor Chris Cherry.

If you have ever come to a railroad crossing and missed the mark – meaning, you hit the crossing at an angle that caused you to crash – you will appreciate the work my second guest has done to mitigate the problem.

When his wife crashed at a railroad crossing on her way to work and the head of his department at the University asked Chris Cherry what he was going to do about all the crashes that seemed to be occurring at this crossing near the campus of UT, he and his team decided they’d better do something. The solution – his jug handle design – was simple, efficient, and inexpensive.

Dr. Chris Cherry. is a professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering whose primary research areas focus on transportation system impacts from emerging technologies (like e-bikes, e-scooters, & shared mobility) on safety, sustainability, health, and mobility, and he joins us today.

And then, we’ll do a quick check-in with Bike Cleveland‘s Executive Director, Jacob van Sickle. As has every other organization in the past 7 months, Bike Cleveland needed to make radical changes to its programs and events in the wake of COVID19.

Jacob fills us in on those changes as well as offers us some bright spots to focus on for 2021.

Bike Cleveland, our local advocacy organization, has been busy trying to navigate the new normal of COVID for local cyclists. Jack Van Sickle, the executive director, fills us in on some of the programs and projects in the works for the remainder of this year and on into 2021.

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show #494B – March 7, 2020

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First up is the advocacy organization in Greenville, SC – Bike Walk Greenville. While it may not be the oldest advocacy group in the U.S. it must certainly be one of the most productive having several BIG projects accomplished in what must be record time.

And, this past week, after browsing an enormous 400+ page document to be presented at the Greenville City Council meeting, Bike Walk Greenville’s executive director, Frank Mansbach found 2 pages that detailed adding sharrows to 13 streets.

THAT was on a Saturday and with some quick phone calls to his executive board, Frank had gotten his advocates lined up and signed up to speak at the council meeting the following Monday. And, damn if they didn’t make their
case!

Then, it’s off to Northern Kentucky for a chat with Joe Braun, ride director for a new event, The Licking Valley Century, which is part of the Kentucky Cycling Challenge this spring and summer. Scheduled for June 27th, the inaugural ride sounds like a real winner.

Finally, not leaving my own backyard without some early spring acknowledgment, I reached out to Jacob Van Sickle, the executive director of Bike Cleveland to get a quick update on how we’re doing – and, I’m pleased to say we’re doing really well.

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Show #430 – December 8, 2018

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Guests: Jacob VanSickle; Stephen Swift; Joe Roggenbuck

This week, we can congratulate ourselves for taking action and getting the AV Start Act language changed before the bill comes up before the Senate. Your calls and letters made a difference!

Then, we say a brief. sad goodbye to one of the most famous voices in our sport, Paul Sherwen. His untimely death at the age of 62 will leave an enormous gap in our enjoyment of the Tour de France in July.

Then, we welcome back Bike Cleveland‘s Executive Director, Jacob VanSickle. Last month, the advocacy organization presented a one-day Strategic Summit to re-cap where the organization is, what it has accomplished since its inception in 2011, and where it’s going… all of which is pretty impressive.

We speak with Stephen Swift who is about to wrap-up a 6 years, 26,000 mile journey that has helped him recover from unbearable loss and gives him hope for the future. He’s been both helped and harmed along the way; and, his forthright and honest description of life on the road tells a story unlike any we’ve heard in the past.

Our final guest this week is Joe Roggenbuck from Cobra Frames in Syracuse, NY. He’s a frame builder, a tool maker, and a very refreshing young man who sees his craft from the eyes of a 28 year old but with the wisdom of someone so much older.

 

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Show #273 – November 21, 2015

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Guests: Andrew McLindon; Mina Thorgeson; Fredrik Gertten

The week before Thanksgiving… and, we are ramping up to the holidays.

We have three great guests this week so, let’s get right to it.

We begin in Baton Rouge, LA with Andrew McLindon. Andrew is the head of the McLindon Family Foundation and their work is dedicated to special needs children, teens, and young adults.

To date, they have delivered over 90 special bikes – many costing upwards of $5,000 and more, to children who otherwise could not experience the joy, independence, and sense of being part of their respective communities because of their disabilities.

Starting in 2008 with their first bike for a young boy with hydrocephalus, , they now have a waiting list in the hundreds. And, after a piece aired on NBC’s “Making A Difference” on the evening news, not only is there a growing list of those who want and need a special adaptive bike; but, there has been an outpouring of support from individuals, “teams” of people, manufacturers, and more.

It’s a great feel good story and one that fits right in with the season of Thanksgiving.

Then, we head on down to Ridgeland, Mississippi to speak with Mina Thorgeson. I met Mina in Cincinnati at Recumbent Cycle-Con and she was so interesting, enthusiastic, and fun that I needed to know more about her work and her city.

Ridgleland is a small city of 24,000 people – but, it sports 140 restaurants, a 30,000 acre reservoir, hosted a tandem rally last year, and is situated right next to one of the most popular riding routes in the south – the Natchez Trace. Ridgeland welcomes cyclists and their families and offers great southern hospitality.

After some quick news and a break, I take the microphones over to Sweden to speak with film producer and director Fredrik Gertten. Fredrik’s documentary movie, “Bikes vs Cars” is touring the world right now to huge acclaim and enthusiastic audiences.

In a comparison between Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Los Angeles, California, Fredrik’s film shows – in striking and sometimes horrific fashion – how the automobile industry has shaped our world and what is at stake if things don’t change: and soon!

Here in NE Ohio, we will have a chance to view this film on January 28th when BikeCleveland.org screens it at the Capitol Theater in Gordon Square.

So – happy holiday! Thanks for listening and let’s go…

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Show #200 (wooo-hooo) – June 28, 2014

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Welcome to our 200th Show! It’s been a privilege to bring you everything cycling for all these weeks and I hope we can bring you many more! Here’s a bit of information on this week’s show.

Discovered through the “twittersphere” by Editor-in-Chief of Velo Magazine, my first guest, Dan Wuori shares his particular brand of cycling – both humorous and serious – with us as my first guest this evening.

Out of an “innocent” comment on his twitter feed, Dan was asked to write for the iconic magazine and has since found himself in the enviable position of being the author of “At the Back” – the humorous-editorializing piece that appears each month on the back page of Velo News.

He also covers races and personalities through his work on Tour Chats (currently on hiatus but about to reappear in the not-too-distant future,) with his on-air partner Neil Browne.

Dan also gives us his views on our U.S. National Championship winners Dr. Eric Marcotte and Alison Powers, the Tour de France, and more…

We’ll also talk with Bike Cleveland’s Jacob vanSickle who will share some positive ideas about how we here in Cleveland are working with government and law enforcement to start making cyclists (and pedestrians) safer on the roads.

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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.