Tag: LAB

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Show #547 – March 20, 2021

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Guests: Paul Tolme & Ethan Campbell; Joe Lindsey: Caron Whitaker

I want to begin with a statement and a question.

We 100% support the wearing of bicycle helmets – for everyone. That said, should there be a legal mandate insisting that everyone wear one when riding?

We begin with King County, Washington, into which Seattle’s boundaries fall. It’s had a bicycle helmet law on the books for YEARS. The law was marginally enforced for a while and then enforcement just sort of dropped off. However, citations are still being issued.

That begged several questions – why had it dropped off? And, if citations are still being issued, what are the circumstances around that?

Now, that law is being challenged and there is a campaign to have it struck down. I speak with PhD student Ethan Campbell – whose field of study is not even remotely connected to the topic of bicycle helmets by the way – and to Paul Tolme, content strategy and media relations manager for the Cascade Bicycle Club out in Seattle.

Then, we do a quick check-in with journalist Joe Lindsey. Like me, he watches the news carefully for bicycle-related stories and we both caught the story about former NBA star Shawn Bradley who was seriously injured back in January while riding his bike.

And while t hat’s a big story unto itself, it is the media’s coverage that irked both of us.

From renown news outlets such as cbsnews, espn, , abc, tmz, and more, the reporting about former NBA star Shawn Bradley, is just wrong. As we have had drilled into our heads over the past few years, these are not ACCIDENTS – they are crashes.

And, since I always like Joe’s straight forward thinking on these types of things, I knew he would have some helpful and insightful things to say.  (Read Joe’s article about this topic!)

Lastly, we speak with Deputy Executive Director of the LAB, Caron Whitaker. This year’s National Bike Summit wrapped up recently and I thought we should all be aware of what resulted in this unusual time of not being able to actually see our legislators face-to-face – well, unless you consider Zoom.

I want to preface my conversation with Caron Whitaker with an apology for the sound quality on Caron’s end. I was unable to clear up some of the distortion in editing; but, the conversation was too good to discard all together.

This year’s National Bike Summit was, of course, virtual. What I didn’t expect though was how incredibly successful it turned out to be!

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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 #429 – December 1, 2018

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Guests: Caron Whitaker; Luke Humphreys, Simon Firth

URGENT REQUEST FROM THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS!

My first guest is Caron Whitaker, VP for Government Relations with the LAB. She is asking that we take action if we are interested in seeing a bill that is currently before the Senate coming up for a vote in it’s current form from being passed.

The AV Start Act, will give manufacturers of autonomous vehicles a ton of leeway in setting safety standards as the bill is currently worded. The LAB is requesting that we call – which is preferable over email – our Senators.

Then, I talk with the new CEO of Pacenti Cycle Design. Luke Humphreys is a long-time bicycle industry guy and recently took over the reigns of Pacenti with some very specific goals for the company. One of them is to bring customers up-to-date with current product and has instituted a “rim amnesty” that will do just that.

Last, and absolutely NOT least, is an extended and delightful conversation with Simon Firth – one of the proprietors of Firth & Wilson Transport Cycles in Philadelphia. Pa.

Originally hailing from England, Simon came over to the States for a vacation and stayed! He’s been involved in the bicycle industry for a very long time, spending over 15 years with Bilenky Cycle Works for example.

Simon and his wife Victoria, along with partner David Wilson opened Firth & Wilson Transport Cycles a couple of years ago and Simon and I talk about his history, the shops, and of course his dog Archie!

 

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Show #244 – May 2, 2015

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Guests: Emma O’Rielly; Rob Gusky

As you know, I review a lot of books and have the unbelievably wonderful opportunity to interview a lot of great people.

This week is no exception! My first guest is honest, brave, and tough. In what has to be one of the best books I’ve read all year, Emma O’Rielly, Lance Armstrong’s soigneur and the only whistleblower to allow her name to be used in David Walsh’s L.A. Confidentiel, tells her story from beginning to end.

The Race to Truth: Blowing the whistle on Lance Armstrong and cycling’s doping culture is the story of Emma’s journey.

In the beginning there was cycling and the love of the sport. In the middle was the opportunity to be a soigneur for U.S. Postal, which became the most famous (and infamous) pro cycling team in the world; and, in the end, Emma graciously forgave all those who tried their damnedest to make her the scapegoat in what is arguably the biggest sports’ scandal ever.

After our news we head on out to Wisconsin to speak with Rob Gusky about the 2015 National Bike Challenge.

Rob, who began as the liaison between his company Kimberly-Clark and the NBC got hooked and now is not only a board member of the LAB but also the president of the Fox Cities Cycling Association in Wisconsin.

May is National Bike Month and Rob tells us how to get involved in the National Bike Challenge and add your miles to the national goal!

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Show #237 – March 14, 2015

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Guests: Academy Award Winner Torill Kove; LAB’s Elizabeth Murphy

Me_and_My_Moulton

I love this work! And, I am SOOOO lucky! Seriously… how many people have the opportunity to talk with someone who not only won an Academy Award but was nominated for two others as well? Me me me me me!

While watching the Oscars’ Show this year, I heard the title of an animated short and my head snapped to attention. The name of the film was Me and My Moulton and without even seeing the trailer, I knew it had to be about a Moulton Bicycle. If you don’t know the bicycle, here is what the manufacturer days:

The Moulton Bicycle is the original full-suspension, separable, small- wheeled, high performance bicycle, world renowned for speed, efficiency, durability and comfort. Expertly engineered for over 50 years and handcrafted in England, these bicycles are the world’s most efficient form of transport – designed for universal use, real performance and comfort.”

But, I wanted to know how and why Torill Kove, the award winning director and animator of the film, wrote her script around this bicycle. In a piece in the Huffington Post, Torill said:

“I like to think that animated shorts are to movies what poetry is to literature, in the sense that animators try to say something meaningful very quickly, in 30 minutes or less, one frame at a time”

Yes, the film is short: 13:48;  but, it is bursting with beautifully classic animation, amazing details, and mirthful humor as the middle of the three little girls who ask their “hipster” parents for a bicycle, describes her life and why they want a bicycle like their friends have.

After the news, we head on down to Washington, DC for a report on the LAB’s Annual “National Bike Summit”.

Held March 12-15th this year, the Summit is tasked with bringing a positive message of cycling to the House and Senate.  After two days of break-out sessions, keynote addresses, and a rousing “convention”, the delegates go “up on the Hill” and knock on the doors of their respective legislators delivering their message and asking for support.

In advance of the opening session of the Summit, a large group came together for the 4th annual National Women’s Forum. The theme this year was, “Bikes + Women Leaders = Big Ideas”.

To fill us in on all of that, I asked Bike League representative Elizabeth Murphy to join me on the show.

Today, it’s Pi day, tomorrow – The Ides of March – so, et tu and I – let’s go….

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Show #177 – January 11, 2014

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Guests: Team Rwanda Coach Jock Boyer; LAB President Andy Clarke

Today’s show is a study in contrasts, and an illustration of how, regardless of the circumstances, cycling is one of the catalysts of change in society. Got an intractable problem? Have you tried cycling?

We start all the way over in Africa, with Jock Boyer, who has been working for several years now to foster bike racing in Rwanda and other African countries. Jock and his now-wife Kimberly Coats are specifically known as the organizational force behind Team Rwanda, which is the subject of the documentary film Rising from Ashes, which will screen on January 23rd at the Cedar-Lee Theater here in Cleveland. Jock joins us to talk about the recent successes of African bike racers, and their plans for the future of the sport there.

Meanwhile, back here in the U.S.A., the League of American Bicyclists is gearing up for the annual Bike Summit. Held in Washington, DC March 3rd through 5th, this year’s theme is United Spokes: Moving Beyond Gridlock. Andy Clark, president of the LAB joins us to talk about the summit, and a number of other initiatives the League is working on. We may not be rising from ashes here in the ‘States, but we cyclists are rising to the challenges faced by an industrialized society.

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Show #83 – March 31, 2012

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We celebrate Diane’s return from last week’s National Bike Summit with a well-rounded show that includes some advocacy, some art, and a little racing thrown in for good measure.

Leading off, Andy Clarke of the League of American Bicyclists give us his take on the recently completed Bike Summit in DC, including the passage this week of a three-month extension to the national transportation bill.

Next, we talk with Nick Czerula, who has combined his love for cycling (he’s a cyclist himself) with his talent for photography to produce a photo essay book about Richard Sachs. The book is entitled Richard Sachs bicycle maker. As a bonus, he also got to hang out with Richard for a year while working on the book. Can you say jealous?

After some news, we wrap up with a wide-ranging conversation with Tony Eberhardt. Tony is a physical therapist and racer who also coaches the road cycling team at the University of New Hampshire.