Show #516 – August 22, 2020

Guests: Dr. John Loehner; David Goodrich

(Photo of Dr. Loehner courtesy of Demetrius A. Freeman)

We begin in The Bronx. Dr. John Loehner is an internist and the medical director of the Montefiore Medical Center Moses Campus in the Bronx. It’s a huge teaching facility and it was literally on the front lines of the pandemic, having almost every one of the 700 beds + most of the ICU occupied by COVID patients at the height of NY’s outbreak.

It isn’t too often that you meet someone who absolutely knows what he or she is going to be “when they grow up.” But, John Loehner started out as a pro bicycle racer knowing that, at the end of his racing career, medicine would be his next passion.

I discovered John through an article he wrote for Bicycling this month – “I’m A Frontline COVID Doctor: My Daily Rides Keep Me Sane,” and I tracked him down for a delightful and informative conversation.

Guest #2 this week is not new to The Outspoken Cyclist; but, it’s been a while since we spoke with him – in fact, it was June, 2017 when his first book, A Hole In the Wind, was published.

Not being a geologist or a climatologist, not even playing one on TV, little did I know that millions of years ago, there was an ocean in North America – or should I say, what we now know as North America. And, from that ocean comes oil – lots of it – and in more than one variety.

David Goodrich is the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate and Observations and Monitoring Program and served at the Director of the UN Global Observing System in Geneva, Switzerland.

Now, the retired climatologist offers up a new book – A Voyage Across an Ancient Ocean – traveling again by bicycle through the northern dominion of oil – from the tar sands of Canada to the Bakken oil formation in North Dakota.

It’s an incredible view of how oil – both boom and bust – has been and still is such a huge industry in the U.S.

Show #352 – June 17, 2017

Guest: Dr. David Goodrich

Is climate change real? I think you will find that the answer is not at all ambiguous.

This week, we take an in-depth view of climate, as seen from the seat of a bicycle, when I speak with Dr. David Goodrich.

His new book, A Hole in the Wind, published by Pegasus Books on June 6th, is a detailed account of his journeys across the U.S. on his trusty Trek 520.
Along the way, Dave talks to us and relays his conversations and observations about history, climate, and how we do or do not account for the variations that seem to be heading in a direction that could eventually lead to no return.

Dave worked at NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) where he served as director of the UN Global Climate Observing System in Geneva, Switzerland. He retired as head of NOAA’s Climate Observations and Monitoring Program.

From the moment he dipped his front wheel into the Atlantic to the time his rear wheel hit the Pacific, David has eloquently told the story of our country and what is happening to the land, the air, and the seas.

You can read more about David and his excursions on his blog.

I hope you enjoy our conversation.