The Sprocket Podcast

David Plotz, podcaster extraordinaire, joins Joan and Armando to talk about bike commuting in Washington, DC, his new podcast venture, City Cast, and how we can explore the world without making it worse. Or can we? Plus, David threatens to start a rival bike podcast!

Follow David on Twitter and learn more about City Cast (and listen in Chicago and Denver).

Headlines

Pedalpalooza is on! Organizers announce three-month festival to start in June

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Parking geeks and non-parking-geeks rejoice! Slate staff writer Henry Grabar gives us the deep dive on parking, along with insights on bike lanes, gentrification, city street changes during the pandemic, Biden’s infrastructure plan, Secretary Pete, his high school bike commute in New York City, and more. Henry is writing a book on parking, and you can follow him on Twitter.

HEADLINES

‘Hill killerz’ trend has managed to make climbing hills fun

Cycling across Europe in the pandemic

EVENTS

No events this week.

MAIL

Thanks to Tim Mooney and J. Leko for sending us questions for Henry! J. also has some tool suggestions and questions for Guthrie, which we’re holding til he hosts next.    

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This week we catch up with the folks @BikePOCPNW, Will Cortez, Sukho Viboolsittiseri, and Silas Sanderson about their experiences in the Portland and PNW cycling community.

HEADLINES

No headlines this week.

EVENTS

No events this week.

MAIL

No mail this week – send us something fun to read perhaps? If you let us know your address Guthrie will send you a handwritten letter with a special drawing.  

EVENTS

Fine Print

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This week we catch up with Polly Bledsoe, bikepacker, polar bear dodger, and pdx ride extraordinaire!

Keep up with the rides in Portland at pdxunityride

What’s a microaggression? (link)

HEADLINES

“Kailey Kornhauser and Marley Blonsky are on a mission – a mission to change the idea that people in larger bodies can’t ride bikes. The duo aims to make cycling more inclusive, beyond just inviting people of all sizes to ride bikes, but by changing the entire idea of what it means to be a cyclist — not just on screens, but on trails and in people’s minds.” This is a new short film from Shimano. 

EVENTS

Biking for Big People Webinar, April 13 & April 22, 5:30pm PT, led by Marley and Kailey, covers issues of concern to bigger folks on bikes, including gear like types of bikes that work for larger bodies, seat choice, and clothing, and has practical tips for shopping at bike shops, shifting, gears, building endurance, bike fit, pain while riding, and much more. 

Would also be great for folks who lead bike clubs and groups, to think about making your events inclusive to a range of folks. 

MAIL

No mail this week – send us something fun to read perhaps? If you let us know your address Guthrie will send you a handwritten letter with a special drawing.  

EVENTS

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Tools! Outside house tools, inside house tools – everything inbetween.

HEADLINES

No headlines this week

MAIL

No mail this week – send us something fun to read perhaps? If you let us know your address Guthrie will send you a handwritten letter with a special drawing.  

EVENTS

Fine Print

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We take a moment to chat with Adah and Malina, former Harriet Tubman students, and youth leaders and activists at Grant HS about the ODOT Freeway widening, and life in general.

LEARN MORE

No More Freeways PDX

Oregon DOT Freeway Expansion Project

HEADLINES

Air quality soars in school streets that banished cars

From the Times of London, a report on new research that showed that “closing roads around schools to traffic at pick-up and drop-off times has cut toxic nitrogen dioxide levels by up to 23 per cent” after pollution sensors were installed at 18 primary schools in London, and then streets were closed right around the school at half. (Then we hit the paywall.) 

What Happened to Pickup Trucks?

“As U.S. drivers buy more full-size and heavy-duty pickups, these vehicles have transformed from no-frills workhorses into angry giants. And pedestrians are paying the price.” By pedestrian safety expert Angie Schmitt, in Bloomberg City Lab. A great overview of the change in truck design. Also mentions the concept of petro-masculinity, which I talked about a few months ago. 

From frontiergroup.com

Less traffic, more death: A bizarre 2020 should make us rethink our transportation priorities

Thanks to new data from the Federal Highway Administration, we now know just how many cars vanished from the roads. Americans drove 13.2 percent fewer miles in 2020 than the year before. On average, Americans drove less last year than in any year since 1989…

Even as the number of miles traveled on American roads fell in 2020, the number of traffic deaths rose by 8% – to more than 42,000, with an estimated 4.8 million injuries requiring attention from a medical professional. The estimated cost of all those deaths, injuries and property damage from crashes: $474 billion.

MAIL

No mail this week – send us something fun to read perhaps? If you let us know your address Guthrie will send you a handwritten letter with a special drawing.  

EVENTS

Fine Print

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We take a moment to chat with Peter Flax,

Peter Flax is a journalist and lifelong cyclist. As the editor in chief of Bicycling magazine, he got to cover the Tour de France and ride more than 500 different bikes. He has ridden with Eddy Merckx, Greg Lemond, Miguel Indurain—and has maintained a complicated relationship with Lance Armstrong. He has ridden cross-country and raced bikes for year with great passion and little success. Six years ago, Flax moved to Los Angeles, where his bike life has become centered around transit riding, and that experience has shifted the focus of much of his writing to advocacy. If pressed to express his mission statement, Flax says that anyone riding a bike is doing it right.

HEADLINES

ADIDAS LAUNCHES NEW VELOSAMBA CYCLING SHOES

Adidas just unveiled a surprising new take on one of their classic sneaker models. The new Adidas Velosamba takes the iconic Samba design and makes it clipless compatible for style and comfort on and off the bike.

From Willamette Week

Blumenauer Wants Tax Credit for E-Bikes

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) has introduced a bill to give up to $1,500 in tax credits to anyone buying an electric bicycle.

The Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment, or E-BIKE, Act would cover 30% of the cost of e-bikes with a sticker price up to $8,000.

Via Instagram:

Bikeliferex: He and his friends ride their bikes around Philly, on the streets

LETS GET KIDS ON BIKES

MAIL

Dan produced and released the song he played with us on an episode a few months ago… 

Ride On, Stride On debuted on March 5 exclusively on bandcamp. The song is meant to inspire perseverance during life’s hardships and is a counterpoint to The Hurricane Song that they released last June.

From Dr. Something

Howdy pals! It’s been a while since I released new tunes, but I’m excited to announce that my new EP is finished and will be dropping tomorrow (beloved Bandcamp Friday)! It’s a 5 song dork pop / chamber pop EP I recorded in my bedroom this past month. Hope you like it!

EVENTS

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We take a moment to mark the transition of Brock out of his role of co-co-co-co-co-host, making time for the young ones and living the good life. In retrospect, it’s been an amazing 10 years and we look forward to his occasional appearance from The Attic(TM) studio as he sees fit.

HEADLINES

EVENTS

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We take a moment to catch up a year in 10 minutes, and then talk about the next 10 years to come. Join us as we learn about #boatmonth2020, proper hitchhiking etiquette, and how magic can happen when you put trikes, builders, and great ideas together. (Book Bikes anyone?)

HEADLINES

Bay Area Begins to Roll Out E-Bike Incentives Under Clean Cars 4 All

Culver City Council approves 1.3 miles of bus and bike lanes

EVENTS

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Cohost Guthrie Straw took a very responsible, very intense and very isolated bicycle tour across Oregon last summer in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.  How do you stay separated from others, avoid stores, and carry all your food while riding across the state?  We talk about this.  And a LOT about food.

See Guthrie’s photos here. (click link for more)

Also, as always, thanks to our nationally recognized “top beer bar in Oregon” beverage sponsor, The Beer Mongers on SE12th and Division, now open for more than 4,000 days consecutively. They have a patio outside the place and, if you’re lucky, you might be able to catch some sports with sound.  The big stick remains indoor on the ceiling.  And, as always, thanks to our generous Patreon donors that keep us going!

EVENTS

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