Audio – WJCU

This episode of the podcast offers up a short discussion with Bicycle Retailer’s EIC Steve Frothingham about U.S. Customs and the seizing of containers from Taiwan manufacturer Giant.

Earlier this week, in a surprise move, US Customs officials seized containers from Giant, the world’s largest bike mfg, over unspecified forced labor accusations.

In an effort to find out exactly what that meant, besides holding up shipments at the ports, I rang up Steve Frothingham, EIC of BR&IN.

His explanation, which was as up to date as of a few hours before we talked, made quite a bit of what was happening clear, but also left me with a lot of questions that I’m hoping will get answered in the next day or so. 

We also talk about tariffs – which unfortunately is becoming a daily topic.

Then I have a very interesting conversation with PRX’s “The World’s” global transportation correspondent, Jeremy Siegel about how Helsinki made it to the top of the Vision Zero with NO traffic deaths for over a year!

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the car and heard Jeremy Siegel, The World’s Global Transportation Correspondent say that Helsinki had reported ZERO traffic deaths for over a year. 

Being a Vision Zero hopeful for the Cleveland area and never having heard of any major city, let alone a country’s capital, say that no automobile, cycling, or pedestrian fatalities had occurred seemed amazing.

I came home, re-listened to the piece on their website, and then contacted Jeremy.

Here is how they did it…

Shannon Binns didn’t make a plan to come to Charlotte, NC and stay; yet here he is more than 15 years after starting his not-for-profit organization “Sustain Charlotte.”

Shannon started out in engineering, did some overseas volunteering, and finally decided that environmental science and public policy were where his interests really lay, leading him to a master’s degree around the age of 30.

Landing in Charlotte, which was growing at breakneck speed – but without a lot of planning – he discovered he absolutely had to buy a car to get anywhere when he moved into a suburban neighborhood without a bus route, sidewalks, or heaven forbid, a bike lane.

Shannon also realized that unlike almost all other major cities in the U.S., and what made Charlotte so unique, was that it has no lakes, rivers, or an ocean front

What it does have is trees – and lots of them.  Charlotte is situated in the middle of a forest.

Then he saw the 25-year study that showed a full 50% of the tree canopy had been lost to development, and that, coupled with the lack of infrastructure for anything besides automobiles made him realize that he wanted – needed – to help.

And so, Sustain Charlotte was born.

It’s kind of a special episode for TOC because on September 4th, I will celebrate 15 years of TOC podcasting.

From my very first guest, frame builder Ben Serotta, until today, when my guests are far afield from frame building, I’ve had the privilege and honor or speaking with so many interesting, smart, talented, and accomplished people.

And so much has changed in the podcast space over the years.  This show started out as not only a podcast, but also a 1-hour radio broadcast.  Now we use the Zoom platform to record my conversations as well as see my interviewee – all in a simple and easy to run format.

I think it’s made a positive impact on the work, and I thoroughly enjoy the visual as well as the audio. I’ve learned audio editing and mixing and am actually thinking about video editing as a wintertime project.

But mostly, I’m looking forward to the next year of great conversations and hope you’ll come along for the ride.

My first guest is a photographer – but not just any photographer.  She’s a cycling photographer who follows mostly women’s racing, often on the back of a motorcycle.

There just a few women who cover racing with their cameras, but Eloise Mavian is one of those elites who do.  Her photograph of Demi Vollering appeared on the cover of the new magazine, Fausto, is how I learned of her and her remarkable story.

Eloise Mavian grew up in the photography business.  Her father had a photo shop in San Marco Square in Venice, Italy and it was at his hand that she learned the ins and outs of the photography world. She went to the University of Visual Arts to study photography and even enrolled in a videography discipline; but her first love is the camera and still photos.  Then there is  her daring willingness to sit on the back of a fast-moving motorcycle – rain, sleet, or sun – which makes her not only a great photographer, but a wicked bad ass!

In the second half of the show, I speak with Scott Reigle.  He’s the Senior Transportation Planner for the Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study in Binghamton, NY.

Our family has a personal connection to Binghamton and when I was sent an article about a cool event that takes place there each year, I thought I would learn more about biking and walking in this Upstate University town.

Scott Reigle has been the Senior Transportation Planner in Broome County where Binghamton, NY is located for over 30 years. When it comes to transportation – by any means – he knows the area inside and out. 

He was around when the federal government ushered in the1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, – often referred to as IsTEA – which finally offered a major change to the way transportation planning and policy was approached, including giving metropolitan planning organizations significant powers.  Case in point giving the BMTS, the ability to implement a newly developed pedestrian and bicycle plan for the greater Binghamton area.

I think our conversation might pique your interest in taking a ride if you’re in the area.

I’m a huge believer in print – magazines, newspapers, books.  I prefer to turn pages and read from them, so when a client of ours mentioned this new magazine FAUSTO, I jumped right on it.

The editor graciously sent me Issues #1 & #2 and I was hooked, promptly subscribing to future issues.

Brad Roe and Tim Schamber have a long history with print magazines going WAY back to some early cycling publications, including Peloton, which was acquired Outside – another whole topic of conversation by the way.

So they took a beat and began ruminating on the what’s next. And FAUSTO was born.

From its format – 7X9 – to the cover finish – definitely NOT glossy – it’s a beautiful publication. And, with their extensive backgrounds in the business of magazines, they are bringing it all to bear in content that is well-written, interesting, and varied.

Sometimes, the most difficult part of a conversation is getting the correct pronunciation of someone’s name.  Such is the case with my second guest… ready?  Kevin Schoenmakers.  Took me a couple of tries, but I think I got it.

In his article for Bloomberg City Lab titled “The Dutch Intersection is Coming to Save Your Life,” Kevin and I talk about important safety options that could be adopted by pretty much any community to help slow down traffic, make cyclists more visible, and prevent some of the more common auto-bike problems.

As someone who moved to the U.S. after living in China and who grew up in the Netherlands, it was not surprising that Kevin Schoenmaker found himself uncomfortable riding a bicycle in NYC.

He also found that the roads weren’t in great shape, drivers were less than friendly, and that there were few places, if any, to stash his bike while in a shop, restaurant, or even at home.

All of those things bring the issues many of us face about commuting by bike into sharp focus.

In his article for Bloomberg City Lab, “The Dutch Intersection is Coming to Save Your Life,” Kevin talks about how a Dutch Style intersection works and how this simple, effective, and relatively inexpensive solution can be included in local street design.

This episode of the podcast covers good news for cyclists in PA and a look at what’s happening in NYC – from the mayoral election to Central Park.

Ed Blazina has been a transportation writer in Pittsburgh for over 20 years and is or was employed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  I say is/was for a particular reason; he and his fellow journalists have been on strike for 2 ½ years! 

But that’s apart from the original reason I contacted him.  Apparently, bicyclists in Pennsylvania were NOT entitled to be on the road with other vehicles – until the state supreme court handed down a decision that said they were.

And that is the story we are going to talk about today.

In the second half of the show, I welcome back one of my favorite guests, NYC’s Professor John Surico.  Every month, I receive his informative newsletter, Streetbeat, and every month I have an extensive list of questions that come out of it.

But, since we don’t talk every month, I compile my thoughts and fire off the most relevant ones for our on-air conversations.

Today, we chat about NYC’s mayoral election, the presumptive and somewhat controversial Democratic nominee, Zorhan Mamdani, and the candidate’s thoughts on NYC transportation issues.  We also cover congestion pricing, the changes coming to Central Park, and more. As always, it’s enlightening!

For more information and a written transcript of the show, please go to www.outspokencyclist.com

Today, my guests are Mark Van Tongeren from Michigan Adventure Racing and Professor Jim Martin from the Nutrition and Integrative Physiology and Neuromuscular Function Lab at the University of Utah.

I’m not sure how I didn’t know about Michigan Adventure Racing.  The organization seems so together, and Mark Von Tongeren, the founder and producer of these events seems to be the best kind of ride director.

If you are into well organized events that offer up some challenging riding, Michigan Adventure Racing might just have what you’re looking for this summer.

I was introduced to my second guest, Dr. Jim Martin by bike fitter extraordinaire Paul Swift. In my conversation with him back in February, he mentioned the work that Jim is doing and the fact that Jim will be the keynote speaker at a professional fit symposium at the Tour de France next month. I thought I’d nab him first.

World Champion Tadej Pogacar uses relatively short cranks.  And that has re-ignited the conversation about crank arm length among a lot of folks – especially bike fitters.

So… going to the horse’s mouth – so to speak – and finding out that a change in crank arm length might be easily discerned by the rider, does not necessarily result in more power output.

My guest today, Professor Jim Martin, has the proof-positive that this is so, and he’s going to explain it and a lot more.

Buckle up y’all… it’s a bit techy, and quite fascinating.

My guest is not new to the show, and he is certainly not new to U.S. cycling or to the custom bike business.

In fact, Toby Stanton – Mr. Hot Tubes, Mr. Junior Development Team Guy, and probably one of the few people in the U.S. who has watched U.S. bike racing ebb and flow with deep insight and broad knowledge, is one of the most knowledgeable and approachable people in the biz.

I was fortunate enough to get “schooled” on the current state of U.S. bike racing – including how he views team development – in our conversation today.

We do talk about some of the other hats he wears – or has worn – over the years – frame builder, painter, and currently carbon repair whiz.

But, his depth of understanding about how to “raise up” a young team of bike racers is exceptional.

Today’s young elite stars the likes of Magnus Sheffield and Matteo Jorgensen, who came up through the Hot Tubes development program, are showing us that the U.S. CAN and does compete successfully on the worldwide stage – for the first time in a long time!

Toward the end of our conversation, which took place just before Paris-Roubaix, I asked Toby who he thought might be on the top of the podium… actually, I suggested it might be Tadej Pogacar… Toby was an emphatic NO and, pretty much nailed the winner.

Hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.

How’s your heart?  Do you regularly keep tabs on the highs and lows of your heart rate? Have you noticed any irregularities?

My guest today is Dr. Tamanna Singh.  She is a sports cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic and, in her words, an “advocate for athletes.”

Dr. Singh reviewed an article in Bicycling Magazine on March 12th titled 6 Myths About Max Heart Rate Cyclists Need to Stop Believing and at the top of the list was the statement: If You Exceed Your Max Heart Rate, Your Heart Explodes.

It seemed ridiculous of course, but I decided to get in touch with her and tease out answers to questions I think we all might have that aren’t quite as outrageous, including how to determine max heart rate (so your heart won’t explode!) what IS a normal heart rate, and how Afib has become such a widespread topic.

In the second half of the show, my guest is Dean Gore, VP at Trek Bicycles. 

In an effort to make cycling more appealing and less scary to those who might not feel 100% safe, Trek has developed an app for both Android and IOS called Ride Club.

One of the first things Dean told me was that fully 1/3 of the bikes that leave the shop never get ridden.  And THAT is a shame.

You don’t have to ride a Trek and the app is free.  Features include route building, a “call Trek” button, and has a library of videos to refer to if you need any kind of help – on the road or at home.

It rolled out a few weeks ago and the reviews coming in seem to be very positive.

I wanted to get this episode out right away as it is time sensitive.

It isn’t always my great good fortune to be able speak with one of the iconic American pro riders who is still “in the bike world,” but today is one of those days.

Retired pro racer Levi Leipheimer’s career goes back to the mid-90’s, and throughout that decade and beyond he racked up some impressive stats including an Olympic medal, the U.S. championship, and winning three tours of California – the list is very long.

When he was 13, he saw his first Tour de France.  That started the dream of being a TdF rider and he told himself… one day that will be me.

And from that dream, Levi went from amateur to pro, becoming a rider for the Rabobank team in 2002.  Over the next few years, he didn’t fulfill his Tour de France team just once, he fulfilled it 10 times, completing the event 8. (Unfortunately, he crashed out of two of them!)

As you will hear in our conversation, what he saw as he traveled the world racing his bike, was how fortunate he was and that led him to his desire to “pay if forward.”

And, according to him, one of his greatest successes is the Levi Gran Fondo.

A Gran Fondo is defined as a type of long-distance road cycling ride, originating in Italy in 1970, and roughly translates into English as “Big Ride”. Officially, the event should be at least 120 kilometres (75 mi) long, and the riders are individually chip-timed (start to finish) with prizes for the fastest riders.

Now in its 16h iteration – losing a couple of events to the pandemic, – Levi’s Gran Fondo has become one of the most recognized and popular in the U.S.

It ‘s coming up quickly – April 19th and here is my conversation with Levi as we roll up toward the start line.

My thanks to Levi Leipheimer for joining me today.  You can find out all about Levi’s Gran Fondo, including the Growler Pro Roster, how to sign up, show up, or watch it live from wherever you are starting at 11am Pacific Time on April 19th via YouTube at levisgranfondo.com.

It sounds like a great event!

She really wanted to wear skirts and get her nails done, but Alison Tetrick, while remaining ever the fashionable girl, is a feisty competitor – in all sorts of ways.

Starting out as a tennis player in high school, she played in college on a full ride where she studied biochemistry.  She worked in drug discovery research for Amgen, and then….with all her energy and competitive urges, was egged on to bike racing by her grandfather Paul Tetrick, who found his passion for bike racing in his 60’s and raced well into his 80’s.

Alison’s trajectory toward success on the bike was almost instantaneous as you will hear in our conversation. But it wasn’t all unicorns and roses.

As strong and capable as Alison is, she tells us about some of the things that will take a person down – physically, mentally, and emotionally – and learning to deal with them – asking for help, realizing you can’t always do everything on your own, will shape you in new and perhaps much better ways.

Our conversation runs the gamut from her early successes on the bike to the work she is doing now to get more young girls into the sport. And her honesty, humility, and frankness are refreshing!

You can follow Alison and her journey @amtetrick on social media. Check out her bandanas (there’s a link on outspokencyclist.com to help and support more girls and women on bikes.

We will also have a link to Gloria Liu’s article, Cycling’s Silent Epidemic, on outspokencyclist.com too.

And if you find yourself at either Unbound or Sea Otter, look her up!  She’ll be there.

My thanks to you for listening.  I’d like to let you know that there is now expanded content for most episodes on my brand new Substack page.