Tag: League of American Bicyclists

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Show #653 – July 13, 2024

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Guests: Tom Bilcze; Sela Musa

Finally, we will begin our series on cycling trails and paths.  I did hear from quite a few of you about your favorites and we will begin the series here in my home state, Ohio.

Tom Bilcze is the president of the Ohio to Erie Trail Foundation and he has ridden almost every inch of the 326 mile route from The Ohio River to Lake Erie.  Tom will offer us some of the highlights of the trail along with some great information about how to plan your trip including an interactive map.

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke with Tom and, since then, I’ve been following his postings on FB as he rides up towards us here on the shores of Lake Erie.  My conversation with Tom details much of what he is seeing as he moseys along. 

Find out more about the Ohio to Erie Trail at ohiotoerietrai.org – and plan your trip with the interactive map. 

 

In the second part of the show, I welcome Sela Musa, a reporter for ZAG Daily, an online portal to The Business of Sustainabile Mobility.  Sela will walk us through the EU’s Declaration of Cycling which, while not a mandate, sets forth 8 principles and 36 commitments around sustainability through cycling that the EU and its member states have agreed to commit to.

On April 3rd, the EU Declaration on Cycling was signed by all the EU Transport Ministers in Brussells.  My guest, Sela Musa, wrote in her article for ZAG Daily that “It was a historic milestone for cycling.”

Sela is here to detail the Declaration and tell us about ZAG, the publication she works for that covers “The Business of Sustainable Mobility.”

You can check out ZAG Daily on line where you get a taste of tech, trends, people, and places as well as sign up for their newsletter. 

I hope you enjoyed the show and invite you to send me information on your favorite trails for future reporting.  You can email me at [email protected]. 

One last thing – my thanks to the League of American Bicyclists for including me in their webinar on July 9th about Podcasting for Bicycle Advocates.  It was a fun conversation, and you are welcome to take a listen.

Transcript_July 13

 

 

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Show #584 – December 11, 2021

Guests: Natalie Rizzo; Amelia Neptune

Today, we’re going to talk about FAT and why it is important to INCLUDE as opposed to EXCLUDE fat in your diet.

Of course, that doesn’t mean just any fat – there’s good fat and bad fat and Natalie Rizzo, who is a registered sports dietician with a Masters in Science and who recently wrote an article for Runner’s World titled “How Much Fat Should Runners Eat Per Day? will help break it all down.

I figured that if it’s good enough for runners, it’s certainly good enough for cyclists.

Natalie is a registered dietician in NYC and her goal is to teach you how to use science-based sports nutrition techniques to feel and perform at your best. You can find out more about Natalie and her work on her website.

There are 5 E’s of a League of American Bicyclist’s “Bicycle Friendly Community:”

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI): A Bicycle Friendly America for Everyone

Engineering: Creating safe and convenient places to ride and park

Education: Giving people of all ages and abilities the skills and confidence to ride

Encouragement: Creating a strong bike culture that welcomes and celebrates bicycling

Evaluation & Planning: Planning for bicycling as a safe and viable transportation option

Amelia Neptune is the director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program and recently the League announced 57 new Bicycle Friendly Communities for 2021.

I wanted to know how a BFC title is awarded, how the designations – from bronze to titanium – are determined, and how things have changed since the program was first initiated in 1995.

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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 #496 – March 21, 2020

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Guests: Dr. Michael Lewis; Betsy Welch; Frank Yohannan, Caron Whitaker

Hello and welcome to TOC. I’m your host Diane Jenks and this is our show for March 21, 2020. Happy spring! Well… maybe.

It’s been a really rough week for everyone – regardless of where you live and what you ordinarily do.

So, when deciding what to share with you this week, I was pleasantly surprised by a message about Dr. Michael Lewis. At first, I thought – well, he has more knowledge than probably 99% of us about how infectious diseases work; but, more importantly, he has a lot of things to share that will give you hope and help you to persevere in these incredibly daunting and trying times.

Then, we’ll speak with Velo News’ Senior Editor, Betsy Welch. I wanted to check in to see what the Velo News staff is doing and how they will cover the now mostly cancelled racing season.

I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to attend Sea Otter in Monterey next month. I had such big plans! BUT, not to worry… Sea Otter has been rescheduled and we are going to hear all about it when I welcome Frank Yohannan, the CEO of the Sea Otter Classic, to the show.

And, finally, we’ll chat with the LAB’s VP for Government Relations , Caron Whitaker about the now virtual Bike Summit and how they not only pulled it together at the last minute; but, how you can actually participate in every single break out session, the keynote address, and even get in on the Capitol Hill ask.

I want to add one more thing – I am sure you are up to your proverbial ears in what all the experts are saying, with all the day-long coverage of how we don’t have enough masks, ventilators, beds, or trained workers – BUT, if you are healthy, you can jump on your bike and just ride around the neighborhood or take to a local trail, or walk your dog around the block. There is an excellent book, “To Be Healed By The Earth” by Warren Grossman that I highly recommend if you are interested. Check it out on Amazon.com. I think it could be a ray of sunshine in an otherwise gray landscape.

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Show #482 – December 14, 2019

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Guests: Dan Burden; Caron Whitaker; Tori Fahey

It may not seem as if anything is getting done in Washington besides the impeachment hearings, but in fact, there are Representatives who are doing the work they were elected to do – introduce and pass bills that, hopefully will make our lives better.

HR5231 is one of those bills and this evening, LAB’s Caron Whitaker tells us what it is, why it’s important, and what we can do to push it along in the process. Carol will be with me a bit later in the show.

We’ll take a trip across the pond to chat with Tori Fahey about her company Apidura – Tori left the corporate world, found long distance cycling – I mean LONG distances – and, out of her experiences, she started her company Apidura.

She and her team design ultra light bikepacking equipment and offer up an interactive web site that also helps you find the adventures you want to take.

But first up tonight, we talk with one of the original founders of Adventure Cycling. Dan Burden is 75 now and should be retired, right? Um – no… he has reinvented himself and works with Dan Buettner at Blue Zones as the Director of Innovation and Inspiration. (Which he will translate for us in a minute)

What’s a Blue Zone you ask? A Blue Zone is a non-scientific term given to geographic regions that are home to some of the world’s oldest people – like centenarians – you know, people who live past 100. But, I’ll let him tell you the rest.

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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 #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.