Category Archives: Advocacy

E220 – @dudeluna

January 27, 2015Adventure, Advocacy, Bicycling, Car Ownership, Family, Fun, Mountain Biking, Technology, Urban Designsprocketpodcast

Armando Luna is a twitter genius with his finger on the pulse of the Portland bicycle culture. He’s a mountain bike enthusiast and a fun loving ride participant, a father and a husband, an all-around good guy. Also: he’s a listener! We sit down and wind a conversation through our points of commonality.

Also: Brock got some knee pain (helpful advice from BikePortland) and went to thehorse races; Aaron got seen on the trail by a mystery tweeter, and bought pants. Path Less Pedaled gives a mountain bike review of Columbia County, OR.

Headlines

BikePortland: ‘Recumbent PDX’ opens on SE Hawthorne

Oregonlive.com: Vancouver police looking for hit-and-run driver determined to get away

Listener Gerald: Portland Bike Party is happening!
This Friday, 1/30, 7pm at Jamison Square, 810 NW 11th Ave Portland OR

Press release: Bike Index and Spinlister team up to help Portland’s bike theft victims
see bikeindex.org & spinlister.com

BikePortland: Oregon Senate bill would repeal ‘bike bill,’ mandate bicycle licenses and registration

Mail

Thanks to new donor Andy Brunner! He recommends the Novara safari as Brock’s next bike.

Dan tells us a bike will fit inside a Portland Loo.

JohnnyK recommends to bring TP with you at all times, and likes White Lightning Bamboo Cycle Wipes; explains his nail polish trick when fixing a chain.

Branden Shelby: “Here’s the coffee device that caught my eye.”

Richard says teaching adults to ride bikes is “truly more rewarding than any of the other classes that we teach.”

Phoebe admires the resilience of bicyclists.

Logan corrects Brock’s misunderstanding of his locking skewers: “we use Zefal “Lock’n Roll” skewers” and also use their locking seat post clamp. You don’t have to lock them upside down.” Also, jewelry from Leatherman.

A shout out to Richard in England!

And John in Goldendale shares a poster for a bicycle rack design contest in his town.

Fine Print
email us: thesprocketpodcast@gmail.com
twitter: @SprocketPodcast
phone in or SMS: 503-847-9774
web: http://thesprocketpodcast.com
music: Ryan J. Lane (intro & outro) & Hurtbird (headlines)

Thanks to our sustaining donors for supporting our show costs:
Logan Smith, JohnnyK, Shadowfoot, Kathrina Mellemgaard, Wayne Norman, Doug Robertson, Ethan Georgi, Justin Martin, Eric Iverson, Cameron Lien, Richard Wezensky, Tim Mooney, Orange & Purple, Glenn Kubish, Matt Kelly, Jim Goodin, Eric Weisz, Doug CohenMiller, Todd Parker, Scott McAllister Morgan, Chris Gonzalez, Dan Gebhart, Zoe Campagna, John Blood, Alison Wiley, Andy Brunner

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

E219b – Phoebe Sinclair: Whole Heart Local

January 22, 2015Advocacy, Bicycling, Communication, Downsizing, Family, Fun, Kitchen, Simpler Living, Train Travel, Transit, Urban Designsprocketpodcast

Phoebe Sinclair lives in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood and has a great sense of connection with the world around her. We appreciate her ability to cut the BS and buckle down to a mindful lifestyle, and have been grateful for her comments since she became one of our listeners several years ago. Our discussions rolls through several topics, including food, bicycling, transit, local community involvement, and dancing! Follow Phoebe’s adventures and observations atwholeheartlocal.com and keep an eye peeled for her forthcoming book in the future!

“May you be happy, may you be safe, may you be at peace.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

E219 – Beth Hamon: Leaving On A Jet Plane

January 20, 2015Advocacy, Air Travel, Bicycling, Car Ownership, Car Sharing, Communication, Family, Simpler Living, Touring, Travel, Urban Designsprocketpodcast

Beth Hamon is a cantorial soloist on a circuit to synagogues in various parts of the USA, sharing her talents of music and spiritual direction with the people she has made connections with there. She joins us to give an update on her most recent work, discuss the environmental impact of air travel, and consider ethical living in transport as well as the rest of life.

Some of the resources Beth shared:
NYT: The Biggest Carbon Sin?
Wikipedia: Environmental Impact of Air Travel
Ivan Illich: Energy and Equity (Ideas in Progress)
Slate: Driving vs. Flying

Look for Beth’s music at CDbaby.com!

Also: Brock & Aaron take a trip to Stubb Stewart State Park

Mail

Tim Mooney is dismayed by the possible leverage of fees on the C&O canal. In particular, from $0 to $20 in the time it takes a congressperson to sign a document.

Alvaro is rocking our sticker (the old school one!) and says “give me 3”

Brandon Rhodes sends us a story about a dog that rides the bus to the park by itself.

Chris Gonzalez says “not the cable!”

Logan Smith sends us a fundraiser for “smart grips.”

Gerald got some polyester pants.

Eric Iverson:
“@SouthEastGrind also serves delicious 24 hr food! And I also don’t like Dave Matthews or his band or any combo thereof.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

E217b – Susan McLucas: Bicycle Riding School

January 8, 2015Advocacy, Bicycling, Communication, Fun, Simpler Living, Urban Design, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Susan McLucas teaches adults to ride bicycles if they have never learned to ride before. Her compassionate attitude and generous spirit are easily felt when speaking with her! We talk about what it takes to teach people to ride, what her experience in the field has been over 30 years of teaching. Find out more at bicycleridingschool.org!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

E213 – Alison Wiley: Rich In What Matters

December 2, 2014Advocacy, Air Travel, Bicycling, Business, Car Ownership, Car Sharing, Communication, Downsizing, Simpler Living, Transit, Travel, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Alison Wiley blogs at Diamond Cut Life on simpler living for better quality of life; we can’t get enough of her common sense advice on matters like cold winter house heating, living like a salmon for an epic life, and using transit to break away on your vacation, and her recent discovery of ethical clothing company 541 Threads inspired her to get back in touch for another show. Plus: we swear less when we talk to her!

Also: Brock rents a Prius through RelayRides, and Aaron takes a folding bike onto theworst airline ever. We also briefly discuss curling, the mysticism of the morning hours, and mention the Better World Shopping Guide & Alison’s novel, Revelle!

Headlines

via Bike Portland, The NY Times: Finding a Salve for His Depression on Two Wheels

Mail

Jim in NY made some music by bike!

Drew’s cape isn’t our bag, but he’s hoping his Showers Pass jacket will be.

Dan’s hibernating bike in MN:

Thanks to our sustaining donors for supporting our show costs:
Logan Smith, JohnnyK, Shadowfoot, Kathrina Mellemgaard, Wayne Norman, Doug Robertson, Ethan Georgi, Justin Martin, Eric Iverson, Cameron Lien, Richard Wezensky, Tim Mooney, Orange & Purple, Glenn Kubish, Matt Kelly, Jim Goodin, Eric Weisz, Doug CohenMiller, Todd Parker, Scott McAllister Morgan, Chris Gonzalez, Dan Gebhart, Zoe Campagna, John Blood, Alison Wiley

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

E212 – Bryan Blanc: ORcycle, “a new way to digitalize bread crumbs.”

November 27, 2014Advocacy, Bicycling, Car Ownership, Communication, Technology, Transit, Urban Design, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Bryan Blanc is a podcast listener who is studying transportation at Portland State University and collaborating on the ORcycle mobile phone app that aims to collect data for the purpose of improving our local infrastructure (BikePortland article here). We also talk about his experiences in Connecticut & Oregon on both sides of the transportation choice he made when he sold his car!

Also: Steph mentions an article about bike equity, and Brock hasn’t had any adventures since the last taping. We mention the Amtrak writers’ residency program. Happy Thanksgiving if you observe it, folks!

Mail

Rory from Michigan is in New Zealand!

Jim in NY finishes a charity ride he’s been training for, and oh, what a ride it was.

Thanks to our sustaining donors for supporting our show costs:
Logan Smith, JohnnyK, Shadowfoot, Kathrina Mellemgaard, Wayne Norman, Doug Robertson, Ethan Georgi, Justin Martin, Eric Iverson, Cameron Lien,Richard Wezensky, Tim Mooney, Orange & Purple, Glenn Kubish, Matt Kelly,Jim Goodin, Eric Weisz, Doug CohenMiller, Todd Parker, Scott McAllister Morgan, Chris Gonzalez, Dan Gebhart, Zoe Campagna

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

E210 – Rachael Pecore-Valdez: Tracking Wolves by Bike

November 22, 2014Adventure, Advocacy, Bicycling, Camping, History, Mountain Biking, Travelsprocketpodcast

Rachael Pecore-Valdez is a storyteller and educator from the Wolf OR-7 Expedition, a venture of several curious adventurers to follow the path of a radio collared wolf through eastern Oregon and into northern California, where it became the first documented free-roaming wolf there in about 90 years. She tells us about some details of the project and its subject, the team’s use of cyclocross bikes during its travels, and learning about different kinds of people on all sides of the wolf conservation issue by meeting them in person. Thanks to Jonathan at BikePortland for turning us on to this story last spring!

Rachael also wants to thank Methow Cycle & Sport in Winthrop, WA for their assistance in making their Kona bikes a reality for the expedition!

Also: Brock & Aaron discuss the unusual cold weather, and Brock issues a call to action around Michael Andersen’s recent proposition for better urban development.

Headlines

Bikecommuters.com: Veloloop (via Marcus in Chicago)

Mail

Todd the Truck Driver: “The grocery getter snowed in, in Oakdale WI”

Listener Jim thanks us for the book recommendation from E197: Going Somewhere by Brian Benson; he liked it!

Thanks to our sustaining donors for supporting our show costs:
Logan Smith, JohnnyK, Shadowfoot, Kathrina Mellemgaard, Roger Grigsby, Wayne Norman, Doug Robertson, Ethan Georgi, Justin Martin, Eric Iverson, Cameron Lien,Richard Wezensky, Tim Mooney, Orange & Purple, Glenn Kubish, Matt Kelly, Jim Goodin, Eric Weisz, Doug CohenMiller, Todd Parker, Scott McAllister Morgan, Chris Gonzalez, Dan Gebhart, Zoe Campagna

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

E207 – Meghan Sinnott: Head & Shoulders Knees & Toes

November 4, 2014Adventure, Advocacy, Bicycling, Transitsprocketpodcast

Megan Sinnott joins us to talk about her employer, Nutcase Helmets & their design contest, trade tips on clothing & fashion aboard bikes, running social media for many events including the WNBR and the Midnight Mystery Ride and her connection to the much-loved Filmed By Bike festival.

Note: a portion of this week’s recording was lost to technical problems; the break in recording is signified by a static sound effect, and we reference the lost conversation occasionally from then on. Our apologies, and we’ve ordered some new equipment to mitigate these sorts of problems in the future. Thanks for your patience & understanding!

Also: Brock dressed as a tiger for Halloween and appreciates sewing; Aaron does a little more rain cape testing.

FILE – In this image provided by the Willamette Week newspaper, and taken Oct. 2, 2010 in Portland, Ore, U.S. Rep. David Wu is seen in a tiger costume. The Oregon congressman says that he accepted prescription drugs from a campaign contributor last October, around the time when members of his staff complained of his erratic behavior. On Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011, Wu said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that it was “unprofessional and inappropriate” for him to send pictures of himself wearing a tiger costume to staff members. Wu said the photos were taken while he was “joshing around” with his children in October just before Halloween. (AP Photo/Willamette Week) MANDATORY CREDIT

Headlines

BikePortland: National ‘Bicyclist Safety’ report out today gets actual safety trends backwards
BikePortland: Vision 0.08: Why any major safe-streets effort must tackle alcohol

Mail

Mark S. has the Portland rain jacket from Showers Pass, loves it, and tells Aaron to splurge. He also shares his experience with an (almost) vegan bacon cheeseburger made by a young Orthodox Jewish lady.

Dan in MN shares some bicycle camping photos. (and, pertinent to last week’s musing, Shawn Granton does know about him, as evidenced by a tumblr trail.)

Jeremy from Transit Matters shares his thoughts on the finger, Aaron’s legal patch, and sharrows; also recommends use of mirrors for communication while riding.

Orfos Flares are the next big thing in bicycle lighting, says Pete Clyde. Kickstarter in progress, based out of Seattle and designed for wet climates.

JohnnyK shares Nauticraft out of Michigan, makers of pedal-powered watercraft!

Doug says: “OK, that was weird. There was a 60 sec segment during this podcast where Dan from Minnesota, Shawn Granton, and Garrison Keillor were all mentioned. What’s weird about that? I’ve met all three of them!”

Jim in NY is riding to work! “Ride on rain this morning. Breaking in my new commute to work less #mta more pedaling @SprocketPodcast a #dahon (pictures)”

Scott Morgan finds Cory Poole a longboard stroller.

Fine Print
email us: thesprocketpodcast@gmail.com

twitter: @SprocketPodcast

phone in or SMS: 503-847-9774

web: http://thesprocketpodcast.com

music: Ryan J. Lane (intro & outro) & Hurtbird (headlines)

Thanks to our sustaining donors for supporting our show costs:

Logan Smith, JohnnyK, Shadowfoot, Kathrina Mellemgaard, Roger Grigsby, Wayne Norman, Doug Robertson, Ethan Georgi, Justin Martin, Eric Iverson, Cameron Lien,Richard Wezensky, Tim Mooney, Orange & Purple, Glenn Kubish, Matt Kelly, Jim Goodin, Eric Weisz, Doug CohenMiller, Todd Parker, Scott McAllister Morgan, Chris Gonzalez, Dan Gebhart, Zoe Campagna

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

E206 – Timo & Esther: Sweet Bike Love

October 28, 2014Adventure, Advocacy, Bicycling, Family, Fun, Touring, Train Travel, Transit, Travel, Urban Designsprocketpodcast

Timo & Esther are established figures in the Portland transportation scene, Timo as a part of the Portland Bureau of Transportation & Esther with Sunday Parkways events. We chat with them about how bicycling (and breakfast on the bridges) brought them together, a bikey wedding near Silverton, OR, and a honeymoon of epic proportions through southern Europe!

Our musings on bicycle music brought these mentions: Johnnyrandom’s “Bespoken”, Frank Zappa, and the Portland Bike Ensemble.

Also: Brock rides through the hardest rain of the season to check out the new Type 5 MAX light rail cars, meets listener John from Maine; Aaron is off drugs! He also ran into Greg and Sarah from Funemployment Radio, who are having a live show soon. TheTransportastic studio opener was awesome.

Mail

Zoe is our newest monthly supporter (and also a vocal one)! Thanks! JohnnyK has been donating forever and somehow never made it into the credits. Bad, Brock, bad!

Chris in Chico climbs 3000 feet at Lassen Volcanic National Park’s car free day, and Meets His Maker at a Paul Components event.

Dan Christensen shares this photo of a man’s recumbent bike/inflatable raft combo! The website Adventures of Greg is a human powered adventure log!

Dan in MN looks pretty damn awesome in his raingear.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More

E205 – Transportastic Studio Opening Party Podcast LIVE

October 27, 2014Advocacy, Bicycling, Communication, Fun, Skateboarding, Transit, Urban Design, Walkingsprocketpodcast

So now that we at Open Roads Broadcasting have a network of shows being produced around themes of bicycling, transport, and simpler living, we decided to throw a party at the Independent Publishing Resource Center to show off our new digs. We recorded audio postcards (short interviews which you’ll hear included in future shows soon), posed in a photo booth that turns you into a crosswalk signal, played urban growth boundary twister, and recorded a live podcast for the crowd using hot-swappable show hosts!