Tag: National Bike Summit

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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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Shoe #392 – March 17, 2018

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Guests: Jim Sayer; Phil Taylor

Today’s show, which airs on St. Patrick’s Day, will be in “podcast format” only! WJCU’s annual 18-hour Irish Marathon will preempt all other programming today. BUT, our podcast shall go on!

This week, Jim Sayer, the executive director of Adventure Cycling Association, joins me for a conversation that includes a wrap-up of the National Bike Summit, what’s new at Adventure Cycling (a whole lotta’ stuff!), and a brief recap of Jim’s cross-country ride with his daughter Lucy last year.

Then, we cross the pond to speak with the founder of Bespoked – The Handmade Show in the UK. Phil Taylor, who is a teacher by trade, needed a bike he couldn’t find – so he built one; and THAT led to the first Bespoked show 8 years ago.

This year, the show kicks off on April 20th in Bristol, England with 100 exhibitors in the iconic Brunel’s Old Station. We talk about some of the the differences between Bespoked and NAHBS and learn about what exhibitors as well as attendees expect from the sh

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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 #197 – June 7, 2014

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Guests: NJ Walk & Bike Coalition Executive Director Cyndi Steiner; 6-time National Cyclocross Champion Tim Johnson

Two weeks in a row – Tim has another shout-out for a downed cyclist friend. So – we’re hoping we won’t need to have a third!

After our short commentary on the Maple Highlands Trail, which is right here in NE Ohio, we head on out to Montclair, New Jersey to speak with Cyndi Steiner. Cyndi is the Executive Director of the NJ Walk & Bike Coaltion. From getting the Port Authority of NY to stop before removing all access for bicyclists and pedestrians from the George Washington Bridge to working with World Bicycle Relief in Zambia, seeing first-hand what a bicycle can do for someone who might otherwise remain in abject poverty, Cyndi gets it DONE – with a capital D.

We then head on up to Quebec to speak with 6-time National CycloCross Champion Tim Johnson. Modest, smart, and without a doubt one of the “good guys” in our vast sport of cycling, Tim made the connection between pro cycling and advocacy at the 2010 National Bike Summit and found a new way to promote not just his sponsors and his sport, but the basic connection between the bicycle and those who ride at all levels.

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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.

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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.