Bike Talk

Taylor talks with Brent Muth at Ojai's MOB bike shop and then at a farmer's market with Annette, a member of the international nonprofit Cycling Without Age, which takes the elderly out for free bike rides (1:33).

The League of American Bicyclists' National Bike Summit https://bikeleague.org/events/summit/ (9:33).

Charlie's News: Cambridge, Massachusetts has seen a 250% ridership increase over two decades, with a crash rate decrease https://momentummag.com/city-shows-the-huge-payoff-for-investing-in-safe-cycling-infrastructure-with-250-increase/. There will be a National Town Hall on April 15th for the Stop Underrides Act of 2026 https://annaleahmary.com/2026/02/stop-underrides-national-town-hall-save-the-date/. Bike lanes next to the National Mall are set to be removed despite lower crash rates and faster car travel times https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/03/20/15th-street-dc-bike-lane-removal/. The NYPD will stop giving cyclists criminal summonses for minor offenses https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/03/18/mamdani-ends-nypd-ebike-cyclist-criminal-summons (10:18).

Listener Email: Terry Fitzgerald questions our “cyclists can do no wrong” approach, but gets Bike Talk stickers for a positive review on Apple (13:09).

A meta study on how Autonomous Vehicles can be safer yet may increase Vehicle Miles Traveled and displace transit. With Farah Naz, University of Texas-Arlington, co-author of the study https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214367X26000372?via%3Dihub (16:05).

Bob Mittelstaedt and Asha Weinstein Agrawal discuss the Mineta Transportation Institute report on ebikes and an e-moto “rogues gallery” of illegal ebikes https://www.ebikeaccess.org/rogue-gallery-e-motos-to-avoid https://transweb.sjsu.edu/research/2423-Electric-Bicycle-Safety-Data-Policy (31:28).

The irrational fear of ebikes in Massachusetts and a Micromobility report by MassBike, with Galen Mook, a.k.a. “Mookmaster Bikes,” the Executive Director of MassBike, and friend-of-the-show bike shop owner/mechanic Jim Cadenhead https://www.mass.gov/doc/special-commission-on-micromobility-report-january-2026/download (49:34).

A study shows biking may reduce dementia https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2835115 (54:59).

The cost of cars is skyrocketing https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/business/car-ownership-prices-interest-rates.html.

Listener emails: a request for Kevin Grishkot’s bike poem https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nlAMBnuj05sUe7kwv2ABNo7zPsHbhX6-92GEOqckKlo/edit?usp=sharing, and Stephen Bingham on House and senate bills mandating side underride guards on new trucks https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/KAT26057.pdf.

Charlie’s News a protected bike lane for Prospect Park in Brooklyn. New federal legislation would expand automatic emergency braking to detect bicyclists. Caltrans replaces perfectly good bike lanes with useless sharrows. Parisian bike friendly Mayor Anne Hidalgo will leave office. 6:37

NY Minute: NY Governor Hochul’s bill will lower driver insurance cost and payouts to crash victims to make it cheaper to drive. With Streetsblog NYC Editor Gersh Kuntzman https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/02/02/the-explainer-how-gov-hochuls-car-insurance-agenda-hurts-victims-helps-big-car-big-insurance 8:38

How new ebike laws will affect civil cases that arise from crashes. With James Pocrass 10:28

The Adventure Cycling Association restructures 17:00

Parked Bikes of New York, a photographic Instagram account by Rui Pereira http://instagram.com/parkedbikesofnewyork/ 32:25

Bike Friendly Universities MSU and University of Louisville. With Tim Potter and Justin Mog 39:10

Mayoral contender City Councilmember Nithya Raman’s Great News for Los Angeles: A Griffith Park bike lane https://www.instagram.com/reels/DV9YyaYknqo/ 55:41

Taylor joins hundreds of Los Angeles bike people in the pre-dawn Marathon Crash Ride last Sunday, previewing the 26 mile route of the 2026 Los Angeles Marathon. With Joe Borfo and Joni Yung (0:20).

New Jersey’s anti-ebike law from New York and California points of view. With Justin Hu-Nguyen, Bike East Bay and Anne Savage, New York Bicycle Coalition: (7:15)

Automatic Emergency Braking in all U.S. cars? With Caron Whitaker, League of American Bicyclists https://bikeleague.org/take-action/action-center/

-check to see if your member has cosponsored the bill- https://bikeleague.org/take-action/policy-advocacy/federal-policy/cosponsorship-tracker/ (16:05).

Charlie’s News: The Bicycle Film Festival is taking submissions https://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/submit. Trump’s attempt to end congestion pricing is deemed illegal https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/nyregion/nyc-congestion-pricing-ruling.html. Volunteers survey sidewalks in Pittsburgh https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2026/03/03/sidewalk-survey-pittsburgh-safety-infrastructure/stories/202602270074. In SF, Caltrain is placing heavy restrictions on which bikes can ride https://sf.streetsblog.org/2026/03/04/as-bike-cars-overflow-caltrain-bans-large-bikes-and-panniers (21:13).

Resistance, Solidarity and Bicycles-bikes as protest in fascist Europe during World War Two. By Michela Grasso of the Urban Cycling institute https://urbancyclinginstitute.substack.com/p/resistance-solidarity-and-bicycles (23:57)

Part 2 of Simon Parker’s ride across America: guns, dogs, and trucks, but nice people https://bookshop.org/a/99134/9781914613876 (38:43).

Cars are in the way in LA.

The last Los Angeles Critical Mass was also a memorial for Regan Cole‑Graham and her newborn child Ophelia https://la-criticalmass.org/la-critical-mass-riding-miles-for-regan-this-february-2026/ -with Damian Kevitt, Founder of Streets Are For Everyone (2:15).

Thoughts on oil, geopolitics, and how we can rebuild the world with renewable energy and bikes (7:20).

Charlie’s news: Maryland’s Stop Super Speeders bill passes in the House https://www.instagram.com/p/DVRzVqjlWWD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link. California could face an eBike registration law https://www.ijpr.org/outdoors-leisure-and-sports/2026-02-28/license-plates-for-e-bikes-california-bill-sparks-debate-over-safety. Roughly 3 in 4 young people in Wales support street redesign https://cyclingindustry.news/research-three-in-four-young-welsh-back-street-redesign/. Australia is taking advantage of deactivated rail lines to create cycling infrastructure https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/newsroom/2026/02/26/from-sugarcane-trains-to-bike-lanes/. (9:32)

A New Jersey law https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2024/S5000/4834_R1a.PDF requires license and registration for all ebikes. It’s a Catch-22 because there’s no way to register ebikes in New Jersey. It’ll result in more mopeds and motorcycles, which can actually be registered, say Andrew Wilson, Executive Director of Bike Hoboken, and Tyler Newcomb, President of Bike Jersey City (11:48).

The California Bicycle Coalition is co-sponsoring SB 1167 to clarify e-bike definitions and stop deceptive marketing of e-motos,

to keep what happened in NJ from spreading https://www.calbike.org/sb1167announced/. With Kendra Ramsey, Executive Director of Calbike (27:51).

The ramifications of riding an ebike that may not be legal, with Jim Pocrass (33:07).

A Ride Across America: Small Towns, Big Issues and One Epic Adventure https://bookshop.org/a/99134/9781914613876 -with author Simon Parker, Part 1 (39:25).

Taylor and Nick’s bike origins as told on Sustainability Now! on Forward Radio in Louisville, Kentucky to Host Justin Mog https://soundcloud.com/wfmp-forward-radio/sustainability-now-nick (1:11).

Taylor joins Walk ’n Rollers to fix up bikes for kids https://walkmorebikemore.org (4:02).

Charlie’s News: The Bayview Black History Ride is happening February 28th in San Francisco https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/community/bayview-black-history-month-bike-ride-highlights-sf-culture/article_32cfbfbf-fe1f-41a2-b20f-8a12e700e7e0.html. A proposed New York law would create something of a tax-free transportation costs account https://www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2026-02-17/new-york-commuters-could-soon-be-able-to-use-pre-tax-earnings-toward-bus-fare-bike-shares-and-more. New York City’s garbage problem stands in the way of vacuum snow removal https://gothamist.com/news/why-doesnt-nyc-use-a-giant-snow-vacuum-like-montreal-its-world-famous-garbage. A new bike path in Australia next to a metro line will make the city even more accessible https://cityhub.com.au/cyclists-elated-by-metroway-announcement-want-to-see-more-like-it/ (7:27).

Leave a review, get your bike talk sticker (9:15).

NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4045A, the “Superspeeders” bill, requires the installation of intelligent speed assistance devices in the cars of drivers who are repeatedly caught speeding https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S4045/amendment/A. Families for Safe Streets sponsors the Superspeeder laws, which have passed in 3 jurisdictions and are pending in 15 states. https://www.familiesforsafestreets.org/stop-super-speeders With Families for Safe Streets Founder and President Amy Cohen and FSS member Julie Nicholson, who leads the “Stop Superspeeders” campaign in California (10:13).

NYC Mayor Mamdani “Revives Bus and Bike Lanes Killed by Adams in ‘Backroom Deals’-” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/nyregion/mamdani-bus-bike-lanes.html with Danny Pearlstein, Riders Alliance Policy and Communications Director (23:35)

The history of how car dependency was sold to America, by author of Fighting traffic https://bookshop.org/a/99134/9780262516129, Street rivals, and Autonorama https://bookshop.org/a/99134/9781642832402, professor Peter Norton. Part 2 (31:35).

Listener email: Desmond on winter Riding and specifically mittens that attach to your handlebars, called pogies (1:41).

The City of Los Angeles is set to give back over $100 million of previously won money for active transportation projects because it can’t build them in time, reports Founder of LA Streets For All Michael Schneider https://bsky.app/profile/streetsforall.org/post/3metn6f54fk2u (3:22).

Can Police Stop You on a Bike for No Reason? Our lawyer says no, but your goal is to get home alive (7:30).

Boston cyclists cleared a bike lane themselves after weeks of neglect from the city. With Tiffany Cogell, ED of the Boston Cyclists’ Union (13:18).

Charlie’s News: a road diet in Newton, MA has decreased car traffic and increased cycling use https://mass.streetsblog.org/2026/02/10/traffic-analysis-shows-newton-bikeway-project-reduced-car-traffic-speeding-and-crashes. PennDot is set to invest $17 million in safety improvement projects https://bicyclecoalition.org/penndot-to-invest-17-million-to-advance-safety-improvement-projects-in-southeast-pennsylvania/. Little Rock, AZ plans to finish a river trail and implement a road diet https://katv.com/news/local/little-rock-public-works-shares-updates-on-bike-and-pedestrian-projects-reporter-autumn-foltz-director-maneesh-krishnan-bicycle-advocacy-of-central-arkansas-baca-river-trail. Atlanta, GA will have another round of eBike rebates https://www.wabe.org/atlantas-e-bike-rebate-program-is-returning-for-a-second-round/. Zohran Mamdani revives projects shut down by the Adams administration in NYC https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/nyregion/mamdani-bus-bike-lanes.html (17:29).

Part 1 of an interview with Peter Norton, author of Fighting traffic, Street rivals, and Autonorama: The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving (18:39).

Luke Hoffman, the executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition,  on House Study Bill 637, also known as the "bicycle ban bill," that proposed restrictive regulations on biking in Iowa https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/91/Attachments/HSB637_ADA.pdf (48:47).

Listener Sean in Montana writes a good review for stickers.

St. Paul, Minnesota rider and cartoonist Andy Singer drops in virtually to talk about the recent Alex Pretti memorial ride (1:09).

A spec Super Bowl ad for kids biking and walking to school by Tom Flood (5:12).

1,200 riders rode 42 stationary bikes for four days to generate power for the first energy-neutral Super Bowl broadcast, the Fox pre-game show https://lancasteronline.com/potholes/bicycles-power-super-bowl/article_b549506f-1944-54f6-a4f9-06dab7060cf6.html (6:51).

Chicago’s Cycling Solidarity organizer Rick Rosales drops in to Taylor’s LA garage in real life. Rick talks with Taylor about Cycling Solidarity’s focus on mutual aid and vendor buyout rides to support the community targeted by ICE https://www.instagram.com/cyclingxsolidarity/?hl=en (7:38).

Taylor talks to Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who asks why the city spends so much on lawsuits instead of making streets safer (15:50).

Femmes and Friends ride organizer Alison Stewart on the 2nd annual bike fair in Toronto https://femmesandfriends.ca/events/ (30:18).

Rob Kadota on training “captains” of tandems to ride with disabled or visually impaired “stokers” (40:05).

Charlie’s news: NJ eBike insurance could cost hundreds https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-e-bike-law-discrimination/. The National Bike Summit is coming up in March https://bicyclecoalition.org/join-the-bicycle-coalition-for-the-2026-national-bike-summit-and-lobby-day/. A new study claims traffic calming leads to better quality of life https://www.cyclingwest.com/news/new-report-shows-that-traffic-calming-leads-to-better-quality-of-life/. Boston cyclists cleared a bike lane themselves after weeks of neglect from the city https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUb045lj2EX/ (48:00).

Northeast Los Angeles rider Michael Rucker on a good ride that got big https://www.instagram.com/cyclingclubcyclingclub/?hl=en (50:05).

Taylor and Nick agree that scarves are for everyone.

Parker S rode in the Minneapolis Alex Pretti memorial ride 1/31 and shares what it was like (6:52).

Listener Rick Bosacker writes that bike rides shouldn't be polarizing, or political (2:54).

Streeetsblog NYC and LA editors Gersh Kuntzman and Joe Linton share their top priorities for bike advocacy in 2026 (10:55).

Charlie's News: NYC deliverista settlement delivers $5 million in backpay. The minimum hourly rate for deliveristas reaches $21.44 in NYC. A NH proposed bill would require $50/year registration for all bikes. A UK study claims cargo bike deliveries are 1.61 times faster than vans (22:10).

Mayor Adams' NYC DOT awarded a contract for citywide secure bike parking to a different company than Oonee, the company synonymous with secure bike parking in NYC. Shabazz Stuart, Oonee Founder & CEO, on proving it works and being left behind https://medium.com/oonee/proving-it-works-left-behind-81d3ef16d8d2 (24:45).

Karen Lankeshofer's quest to tell the world about the pioneering female athlete Elsa Von Blumen, a professional bike racer in the 1880s (42:08 ).

Alex Pretti, murdered by ICE in Minneapolis, was a bike rider. Laura Groenjes Mitchell of Our Streets Minneapolis and Brett Macgraw of the West Metro Active Transportation Alliance share a multi-city memorial ride for Alex Pretti started by his local bike shop, the Angry Catfish https://bikepacking.com/news/alex-pretti-memorial-rides/. Also, a fundraiser for people trapped by ICE in Minneapolis https://bsky.app/profile/lauragmitchell.com/post/3mbvajnjdx22t (0:46)

A Die-in on the steps of Los Angeles’ City Hall to protest the 290 traffic deaths in LA last year. With Damian Kevitt, E.D. of Streets Are For Everyone (8:10).

Charlie's News: A damaging e-bike bill is signed in New Jersey https://www.peopleforbikes.org/news/new-jersey-most-restrictive-ebike-law, and Hoboken’s successful pilot program that got drivers out of bike and bus lanes hasn’t been renewed https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/01/20/hobokens-short-lived-camera-enforcement-program-got-drivers-out-of-bike-and-bus-lanes, but at least the state is getting $14 million for bike and pedestrian projects https://bicyclecoalition.org/14-million-awarded-to-bicycle-and-pedestrian-projects-in-new-jersey/. Columbia, South Carolina won’t be getting its bike share program back https://www.thestate.com/home-page-carousel/article314414134.html. Atlanta is poised for another round of e-bike rebates https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/atl-hit-e-bike-rebate-program-making-comeback (17:31).

Jim Pocrass addresses Scofflaw Cyclist myths (12:20).

Our all-weather bike panel address the “no one bikes x months of the year” trope. Sarah Bisbee in Edmonton, Patty Wiens in Winnipeg, Patrick Murphy in Montreal, Nicholas Laporte in Vancouver, Victor Koves in Chicago, Jim Cadenhead in Boston, and Ignacio “Nacho” Delgadillo in Tempe- for the hot perspective (21:40).

Stacey’s Bike Thought (54:18).

Do we need e-shifters? Is Taylor a luddite? (0:19)

Listener Email: South Carolina’s Freeway for Bikes https://www.reddit.com/r/bikecommuting/comments/1qinw7z/south_carolinas_freeway_for_bikes_it_makes/ (2:43)

Blind riding in tandem with Sonya Chapnick (3:44).

Charlie’s News: New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposes a “stop super speeders” pilot program https://empire.streetsblog.org/state-of-the-state-exclusive-hochul-will-push-stop-super-speeders-bill-through-her-budget. Check out the best new bike lanes of 2025 https://www.peopleforbikes.org/news/best-new-bike-lanes-2025. A New Jersey ebike lumping law threatens low-income riders and immigrants https://hudsoncountyview.com/op-ed-murphy-must-veto-anti-safety-anti-affordability-anti-immigrant-e-bike-bill/. Ontario government spent hundreds of thousands in the legal fight to rip up bike lanes in Toronto https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/foi-shows-province-external-lawyer-cost-bike-lane-challenge-9.7042278 (14:33).

NY Governor Kathy Hochul wants to appease our car oppressors with cheap insurance and low coverage in NY, StreetsblogNYC editor Gersh Kuntzman says in this NY Minute https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/01/14/gov-hochuls-car-insurance-cuts-threaten-payouts-to-crash-victims-experts (17:19).

On “Everything That Has Changed Since Congestion Pricing Started in New York,” with NY Times writer Emily Badger https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/11/upshot/congestion-pricing.html (19:43).

Los Angeles Bikerowave Co-op Head Mechanic Shane Quentin on the co-op model. Interviewed by Liana at Bike! Bike! in Mexico City (39:50).