Show #656 August 14, 2024

Guests: Jill Warren; Scott Kasper

Back in April, 65 members of the European Cyclists Federation, representing 40 countries, signed the EU Declaration of Cycling.

Founded in 1983, the European Cyclists’ Federation is a Brussels-based independent non-profit association dedicated to achieving more and better cycling for all in Europe.

The ECF’s mandate?  That by 2030 there will be more cycling, safer cycling, and stronger political support for cycling that includes higher investment with more and better infrastructure.

Today, my guest is Jill Warren.  Jill, who is CEO of the European Cyclist’s Federation, left the corporate world to pursue a career committed to expanding cycling for everyone everywhere.  She’s lived in Europe for 35 years and, although she does have a car, rarely drives it, depending instead upon one of the stable of bikes for transport.

Jill says, and I quote, “there is no conceivable way to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal or climate-neutral cities without significantly more cycling.”

You can find out more about the ECF at ecf.com.  And, sign up for their newsletter there too.  I’m hoping we here in the U.S. can take a page out of her playbook in hopes of expanding our cycling infrastructure. 

In the second half of our episode today, we continue our summer exploration of great and favorite trails. 

One of my past guests, Scott Kasper, contacted me and wanted to share his experience of the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park in Utah.

Not as well known or traveled as the Grand Canyon, Scott thinks this trail is just as breathtaking and urges us to drop in, climb out, and disconnect from the grid for a few days, taking in the beauty of the rugged White Rim Trail.

Located between the Green and Colorado Rivers, the 100-mile MTB trail is both rugged and breathtaking.  As promised, Scott’s gallery shows the beauty of the White Rim Trail. 

My thanks to Scott for sharing his experience of the White Rim Trail in Moab.  As promised, we’ve posted a gallery of his photos on outspokencyclist.com.

We’ll be heading to Missouri to explore the 240 mile Katy Trail on our next Katy Trail, episode and will be having a chat with Professor Wes Marshall whose book, “Killed By A Traffic Engineer,” is acclaimed as the transportation book that will change the way you look at our streets.  Provocative title, huh?

Thanks for listening – I hope you enjoyed the show.

Hope you’re having a great day.  Stay safe.  Stay well.  And remember, there is always time for a ride.  Bye bye.`

Transcript_ August 14_2024

 

 

Show #655 July 30, 2024

Guests: Chris Morris; Joe Lindsey

In our ongoing series on favorite riding trails, I took Jim Sayer’s advice and contacted the Empire State Trail’s Chris Morris for a look at New York’s 750 miles of cycling and walking paths through the State.

Chris is the Empire State Trail Program Manager, living a short distance from one of the trailheads as well as having traversed many a mile on the trail himself.

Brian and I spent a couple of days riding our tandem on the Erie Canal Towpath back in 2016, traveling from Lockport to Brockport and back, staying in a lovely B&B overnight, and discovering some of the rich history of the Canal.  We loved the adventure.        

With three basic sections to the trail – North from Albany to Canada; West from Buffalo to Albany; and South from Albany into downtown Manhattan, the Empire State Trail offers some of the most diverse riding opportunities on the east coast. You can access the interactive map as well as the GuideBooks and more on the website.

 

Even though the Tour de France is over, and we are almost a week into the Olympics, I wanted to wrap-up this year’s Tour – especially in light of upcoming events – including the Worlds’.

And who best to fill us in on all of this?  Escape Collective’s Joe Lindsey.  From jersey winners to breakout stars and some observations on what might be coming up during the Olympics and beyond, I don’t know anyone who can speak bike racing like Joe.

Well – we’ve seen the entire Tour de France come and go – and WHAT a race this year.  Now, we’re smack-dab in the middle of the 2024 Olympics with America showing up all over the place.

So, who better to talk to about all-things- tour-de France and the Olympics, than the managing editor of Escape Collective, Joe Lindsey.

Joe can recite chapter-and-verse about the riders, the teams, and the individual stages of a race that both started and ended differently than in the past and, I always learn so much about bike racing when we talk.

At the time we spoke, the Tour had already completed its 21 stages and we had a short breather before the Olympics – so, while we now know some results, Joe had some predictions.  We’ll see how he did in the second part of the show.

We’ll be watching the men’s and women’s road races coming up as well as some of the track events to see who takes home the medals. You can check out more from Joe (and the rest of Escape’s crew) at escapecollective.com.

Next time on TOC, we’ll be speaking with Jill Warren, the CEO of the European Cyclist’s Federation. With lofty goals to see more biking, safer biking, stronger political support, higher investments, and more and better infrastructure, Jill details the role of the ECF’s large umbrella under which 65 members in 40 countries have all signed on for a better cycling future.

We’ll also be highlighting a portion of the ECG including CT, RI, and MA – with Bruce Donald, the Greenways’ Southern New England ECG Manager.

Transcript_July 30