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Show #189 – April 12, 2014

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Guests: Congressman Earl Blumenauer; Author Juliet Macur; Cycling Phenom Maria Leijerstam

A week away seemed like a very long time.  So, we’re glad to be back; and, we have a great trio of guests this evening.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) is always up for a conversation about cycling and we are fortunate to grab a few minutes of his time to hear about what Congress is doing about protecting cyclists, helping us to get more money and attention on The Hill, and what the Congressman thought about the National Bike Summit’s impact was on legislators this year.  I doubt we have a better champion for cycling and pedestrian issues in any legislative body anywhere!

We’ll jump “over the pond” to speak with Maria Leijerstam – the first woman – um, no – the First Person to ride to the South Pole on a human powered vehicle.  Maria’s WhiteIceCycle journey was both painful and rewarding as she beat out all others who were trying to race her to this once-in-a-lifetime goal.

And, then we’ll speak with NY Times reporter and author Juliet Macur.  Juliet’s new book “Cycle of Lies – The Fall of Lance Armstrong” gets right to the nitty gritty of the doping scandal and reveals a Lance Armstrong both defiant and vulnerable.  This is perhaps the best and most graphic of the books about the fallen hero and Juliet had a ringside seat.

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Show #188 – March 29, 2014

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Guests: Nutritionist Georgie Fear; Coach Dean Peterson; Hall of Famer Leigh Donovan

Astronomy be damned, winter rolls on here in the Great Northeast. White Easter, anyone? The Outspoken Cyclist rolls on, and this week we’re talkin’ nutrition, collegiate cycling, and female BMXers.

First up is Georgie Fear, a certified nutritionist who has collaborated with Matt Fitzgerald on the Racing Weight Cookbook: Lean, Light Recipes for Athletes. Her website, AskGeorgie.com, also has great information about eating right for physical activity.

It may not get a lot of press coverage, but collegiate bike racing is out there, and Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana has a thriving program, led by coach Dean Peterson. As Dean explains, college cycling is one place in this sport where the women are equal in importance to the men.

The second half of the show is dedicated to a conversation with BMX and mountain bike champion Leigh Donovan, who now teaches those skills to girls and women through her I Choose Bikes program.

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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 #186 – March 15, 2014

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Guests: Keith Laughlin, Rails-to-Trails;  Zach Vanderkooy, Green Lane Project;  Mike Cobb, Disaster Relief Trials

It’s official; the weather in northeast Ohio has caused me to give up on the notion of riding a bicycle out of doors. Ever. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

If the federal government gives a railroad some land, what happens to the land when it’s no longer used for train tracks? According to the Supreme Court of the United States, it reverts to the adjacent, private landowners. Otherwise, a bike trail might run through someone’s house. Or something. Anyway, Keith Laughlin of Rails to Trails is here (again) this week to explain the court’s recent decision and its potential impact on rail-trails.

On a brighter note, People for Bikes is gaining traction with their Green Lane Project. According to Zack Vanderkooy, director of the Green Lane Project, green lanes are also known as separated bike lanes. This project works with selected cities to implement these lanes to make urban cycling safer and more accessible.

DRT_Pic(photo by Ethan Jewett)

And finally, out of Portland, Oregon comes Mike Cobb and his Disaster Relief Trials. The concept is a friendly competition to get people thinking about using cargo bikes to transport supplies in the wake of a natural disaster. This technique popped up in a limited way after Superstorm Sandy, when roads, electricity, and gasoline supplies in the NY/NJ area were compromised. As we say in IT, never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of backup tapes!

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Show #185 – March 8, 2014

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Guests: Kenneth Oswalt, Licking County Prosecutor; Dwan Shepard, Co-Motion Cycles

Life is dangerous, and since cycling is part of life (for some of us it is life) cycling is by extension, also dangerous. Fortunately, the risk/reward area of our brains understands that the benefits of a bike ride outweigh the dangers, and we mount up and head out. Tragically, sometimes the odds catch up with us, as in the case of Columbus, Ohio teacher Bob Lennon, who was hit and killed last September by a vehicle driven by Mary Paul. On February 24th, Paul was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison, order to pay restitution, and had her driver’s license revoked for life.

Today on The Outspoken Cyclist, Diane talks with Kenneth Oswalt, the Licking County Prosecutor who handled the case in Delaware county. Oswalt gives us his impressions on how the case was handled, the significance of the sentence, and his views on car/bike interaction.

After the news and a break, we lift the mood a bit, and speak with Dwan Shepard, owner of Co-Motion Cycles in Eugene, Oregon. Co-Motion is best-known for their tandems (but they also make great single bikes) and their awesome, color-fade paint work. In today’s era of mega-conglomerates and growth-is-king mentality, it’s nice to find a company like Co-Motion that still focuses on making the type of high quality bikes their customers want.

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Show #184 – March 1, 2014

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Guests: Keith Laughlin, Rails-to-Trails; Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Eric Barber, Copenhagen Wheel Project

The calendar says March 1st, but the thermometer says “January 1st”; what’s a poor cyclist to do? To paraphrase a famous bike racer, you can either ride or hide. If you’re riding, dress warmly; if you’re hiding, fire up the podcast machine and enjoy a brand new episode of The Outspoken Cyclist.

The 2014 LAB National Bike Summit is coming up this week in Washington, DC, and Keith Laughlin, Executive Director of Rails to Trails joins us to talk about what his organization has planned for the Summit and beyond. You might be surprised that Rails to Trails is about more than just trails these days.

Also checking in from Washington, DC is Democratic Senator from right here in Ohio, Sherrod Brown. Senator Brown brings us up to date on what’s happening with federal funding of transportation infrastructure, and also professes his undying love for a traditional northeast Ohio winter.

After the break and some news, we get the long-awaited scoop on the Copenhagen Wheel Project. Eric Barber, the Hardware Engineering Manager for the project joins us from Boston to talk about this new electric rear wheel which includes regenerative braking, learns your pedaling habits, and gathers data about your surroundings as you ride. No truth to the rumor that version 2.0 will “make you a sandwich and do your laundry.”

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Show #183 – February 22, 2014

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Guests: Ian Cleverly & Robert Wyatt from Rouleur; Mick Walsh

There isn’t much to say about a week in northeast Ohio which included several inches of snow, followed by rain and a very quick thaw, except, “look out for ice jams” and “how far are we riding?” Here’s hoping you are high, dry, and happy as we say goodbye to February.

Our show today takes us to the UK, and to the Pacific Northwest in search of great reading material, and a particular Irish ultra-distance racer.

Our first stop is in the UK to speak with Ian Cleverly and Robert Wyatt, who are but two of the people behind a very different kind of cycling magazine called Rouleur. If you’re a bit jaded by publications that focus on equipment, nutrition, bikes, and training tips, this publication is for you. Ian and his staff cover bike racing the way Merckx intended, and their stories might even appeal to the discriminating non-cyclist.

In the second half of the show, after a quick trip through the news, Diane catches up with Irish transplant to Seattle, ultra-distance racer Mick Walsh. Mick blames none other than George Thomas for infecting him with the ultracycling bug, and his list of accomplishments includes notable races like Race Across the West, and Race Across Oregon. Careful, Mick’s enthusiasm could be contagious in audible form!

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Show #182 – February 15, 2014

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Guests: Michael Carroll, NY Times Travel Show; Carolyn & Guy, Ohio to Erie Trail Maps; Peter Vos, Tulip Cycling

Radiothon 2014 continues on WJCU, with online pledging open until noon on Tuesday, February 18th. There is still time to support locally-produced, commercial-free radio that serves up what you want to hear, so pledge now!

Winter is a great time of year for plotting and planning the rides and cycling trips we want to take in the upcoming season. This white stuff isn’t going to be on the ground forever, so now is the time to map out your adventure calendar for 2014. This week on The Outspoken Cyclist, we have three guests who will get your mental gears turning.

First up is Michael Carroll, Director of Travel Advertising for The New York Times, to talk about the upcoming NYT Travel Show at the Javits Center, February 28th through March 2nd. This year’s show focuses on adventure travel, and will feature a climbing wall and a bungee jump, in addition to 500 exhibitors. The Saturday and Sunday sessions are open to the public as well as travel professionals.

Here in our own backyard, we have the Ohio to Erie Trail, connecting Cleveland to Cincinnati. Guy and Carolyn rode the full length of the trail in 2012, and again in 2013. What started as a long bike tour has turned into a set of professionally illustrated maps (which are free) and an interactive PDF trail guide (which is not free, but still pretty cheap). Guy and Carolyn are with us today to share their passion for this Ohio treasure.

To wrap up our “adventure daydream” episode, we connected with Peter Vos, proprieter of Tulip Cycling in the Netherlands. Peter is a land surveyor by trade, hence his fascination with maps, which led him to ownership of a bicycle touring company. Peter is said to know nearly every street in The Netherlands, and Tulip’s tours are designed for all ages and abilities.

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Show #181 – February 8, 2014 – RADIOTHON!

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Guests: Richard Fries, Cyclocross Worlds; Mark Livingood, Tandem Geek; encore storyteller Maynard Hershon “Nice Wheels”

This week at WJCU is our annual Radiothon, which among other things, gives us something to talk about besides the weather. This year, WJCU’s Radiothon theme is Thrive and Survive, which is a sentiment we as cyclists can relate to. Some days on the bike, we’re just surviving, and other days we’re thriving.

For 52 weeks every year, WJCU brings you independent, commercial-free music and talk programming, created by actual human beings with a passion for serving you, the listener. One week out of those 52, we ask you to make a donation to help ensure that WJCU can continue to bring you great shows like The Outspoken Cyclist. Pledge your support online through Sunday, February 16th. 100% of your donation goes to WJCU, and it’s tax deductible!

Now, on to this week’s show. Richard Fries has been announcing at bike races for decades, and recently he’s been promoting Cyclocross in New England. He’s just back from the 2014 Cyclocross World Championships in Hoogerheide, Netherlands, and he has a full report, along with some upcoming plans for ‘cross racing here in the U.S.

In the second half of the show, Diane and Tim bring you the week’s news, and then check in with The Tandem Geek himself, Mark Livingood. Mark brings news of changes at the Tandem Club of America, including a revamped website.

And we wrap up with an encore presentation of a story by one of the great cycling writers, Maynard Hershon. First aired in November, 2011, Maynard’s story “Nice Wheels” is ripe for another spin.

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Show #180 – February 1, 2014 (WOW!)

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Guests: Liz Jose, WEBikeNYC; Don Walker, NAHBS

 

Everybody seems to have their favorite season of the year. I like any season in which I can go for a bike ride (which turns out to be all of them, if I’m dressed right and sufficiently motivated). But looking out my back window today it occurred to me that without leaves to block the view, we can see the true structure of trees much more clearly. Currently, the Grey Squirrel Acrobatic Company is putting on a fabulous show for an appreciative audience of one.

So, in the spirit of the season, we get right to the heart of a couple of folks doing interesting things in very different areas of cycling. First up is Liz Jose, founder of WE Bike NYC. The “WE” stands for “women’s empowerment”, and the organization grew out of Liz’s day job as a bicycle mechanic in Manhattan’s East Village, and a desire to get more women riding and working on their bicycles. Liz was also featured in a recent article in Bicycling magazine.

In a very different region of the country, and a different part of cycling, Don Walker is getting ready to produce the tenth annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show, March 14-16 in Charlotte, North Carolina.Don joins us in the second half of the show to talk about the evolution of NAHBS, what to expect this year, and what he’s been up to lately.