Category Archives: Advocacy

E125 – Ayleen Crotty: Filmed By Bike 11!

April 15, 2013Advocacy, Bicycling, Communication, History, Mountain Biking, Technology, Travelsprocketpodcast

album selections: Aaron has Stevie Wonder, Brock has The Who, and Ayleen has Floyd Cramer

Ayleen Crotty is at the helm of the fabulous Filmed By Bike festival, in its 11th year running. We chat about this year’s festival, the bike confessional project which will be similar to NPR’s StoryCorps, the historic Clinton Street Theater, connections to iconic personality Rev. Phil, the surprising role Vancouver BC’s bike culture played in that of Portland OR, and the happy intersection of the film festival with NW Documentary.

Brock & Aaron also discuss bicycling adventures along North Portland’s Willamette River shores and its associated pirate cove, and the history and development of the Midnight Mystery Ride.

Headlines

Gizmodo via Brandon: why this smartphone is better as a dumbphone

BikePortland via Miles: new bike clothing boutique opens in Portland

Salon.com via Miles: Saudi Arabia lifts ban on women bicycling

Mail

Tim in DC addresses the difficulties of transporting one’s bicycle by airline.

Phoebe from Boston made a donation to WalkBoston in honor of Brock’s recent walk to work.

Tito shares his amusement and implores Brock to visit Missoula again.

Dan from MN chuckled at Brock’s reference to stealing land from First Nations – he’s studying Federal Indian Law for his future career.

Patrick from Davis CA wrote: “Cool episode, 12 miles does not seem far away but if your only choice is to walk it would take a major portion of your day to get from point A to B. ”

Steve in WY writes on gluten intolerance, and he also mentions that studded tires don’t last as long as he’d like them to; regarding difficult turns while using them, we may be able to attribute that to rutted snow or ice.

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

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E122 – Alison Wiley: Diamond-Cut Life

March 24, 2013Advocacy, Bicycling, Car Sharing, Communication, Downsizing, Family, Housing, Kitchen, Simpler Living, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

Alison Wiley writes about simpler living in its many forms through her website, diamondcutlife.org, tackling the many challenging yet rewarding aspects of “chiseling our focus down to what really matters.” We chat with her about her philosophy of life, work for the state in transportation, food and energy approaches, and her new book,Revelle: A Novel.

If you’re in Portland, drop by Rain OR Shine Cafe on SE 60th & Division on Thursday, March 28 at 6:30 for a reading from Alison’s novel!

Brock & Aaron also discuss Hillstomp’s concert last weekend & his crowd management experience, as well as Brock’s trip to Bend.

Headlines
Urban Adventure League: Ultra-Moderate Touring!

Mail
We get some iTunes reviews, Nick shares a song inspired by Hing Kong’s MTR underground transport system, and Jack tweets us regarding a recently observed irony.

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E121 – Transit Is Relative

March 18, 2013Advocacy, Bicycling, Car Sharing, Communication, Family, Technology, Transit, Travel, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Michael Andersen is the force behind the Portland Afoot, the city’s quintessential magazine on commuting and low-car life. Doctor Jeff is a psychologist who once had a commute by transit of four hours a day and still propagates a highly entertaining twitter feed. Together, we attempt to better understand how we deal with our automobile-dependent relatives and friends when we come for a visit, but not before we discuss hangovers, bike mishaps, and movies. Then we assure ourselves of the security of Michael’s bicycle and describe our drinks, which leads to a shared commiseration on the disappearance of the classic drive-in restaurant. Shit gets real when we turn to economic theory and find out who is or isn’t a Marxist, but we have a good laugh about how old we are while diving straight into the future of driverless vehicles (like in Vancouver, BC). Then, finally: family relationships.

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E120 – Meeky Blizzard, Freeway Slayer

March 11, 2013Advocacy, Bicycling, Building, Communication, History, The Lawsprocketpodcast

Meeky Blizzard is responsible for leading the charge against an ugly freeway that was poised to be built through pristine farmland two decades back. She partnered with citizens and 1000 Friends of Oregon to help give a voice to sensible alternatives, which sounds remarkably similar to an issue Portland area residents face today. We talk with her about the story and her perspectives on transportation and activism.

Dr. Jeff & Michael Andersen joined us to tape next week’s episode, so they sat in on this week’s taping as well! Look for their discussion on our relatives and their perceptions of transit next week.

Headlines
Seattle Bike Blog: Washington politician Ed Orcutt claims bicyclists exhale pollution

Rep. Orcutt did recognize that his statements were absurd.

BikePortland: Highlights from the National Women’s Bicycling Forum

Mail
Steve in WY comments on our Women & The Cycling Industry feature, and Rigel clears up the Qualcomm question.

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E117 – Women & The Cycling Industry

February 18, 2013Advocacy, Bicycling, Building, Business, Communication, Family, Technology, Travel, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Elly Blue & Martina Fahrner are two people we have been wanting to get together for a conversation about the cycling industry and its dealings with a large part of the human race: the feminine part! Martina, from Clever Cycles, and Elly, from Taking The Lane Media, give us their takes on gender dynamics, product design and availability for women, and basic livability issues, as well as many other things.

Also, Brock & Aaron chat about some automobile-based trips over their weekends and bicycle improvements.

Headlines
Adventure Cycling Association: launched an online touring database for past trips!
Portland Afoot: Cathy Hastie compares Zipcar & car2go as alternatives to ownership
Urban Adventure League: Portland’s midnight mystery ride turns 10!
Someone made a map of all the ending locations. Add your info if you want!

Mail
Paul, Tyler and Dave chime in on twitter about Black Hawk, CO. Paul says he wouldn’t ride there, Tyler wonders if anywhere is safe for people what with the mobile phones, and Dave says that safety isn’t an American priority yet.

Glenn the pirate writes in from Port Townsend, WA about a Mario Savio quote from episode 14 and his love for human-powered crabbing!

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E116 – Chris Smith: Comprehensive Plan

February 11, 2013Advocacy, Alternate Fuels, Bicycling, Brewing, Building, Business, Car Sharing, Cargo, Communication, History, Housing, Mountain Biking, Technology, The Law, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Chris Smith from PortlandTransport.com is a golden god of urban planning and transit. He would never claim that title himself, but there is no person in Portland, Oregon working harder to make active and sustainable transportation a reality for the city’s near future. We discuss the public process of crafting the city’s Comprehensive Plan, a document that guides the development and structure of citizen’s daily lives. We touch on equity, gentrification and displacement, sidewalks and neighbor relations, modal hierarchy and freight movement, civic corridors and neighborhood greenways, New York’s High Line, telecommuting, and The Transit Appliance.

We warn you: it will get wonky.

If you’re a Portland resident, please consider joining one of the open house events designed to maximize public input into the process. You can find more info on times and locations at this page: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/58191

Also, Brock & Aaron chat about bike wear & tear, brewery quality, meeting up with Tammy & Logan, and some technical business.

BONUS: after the show closes, we present a short chat with our new webhost Colin, owner of The Podcast Host, and also a fan of mountain biking! We’re happy to have our show on his servers.

Headlines
Denver Post: Black Hawk, CO, famous for its bicycle ban, is corrected by the court

Mail
Dan in MN sends a picture of his new Raleigh folding bicycle.

JohnnyK mentions Burro Bags & Bar, and recommends Adventure Cycling andcyclocamping.com as travel resources.

Anthony says: “I too have been traumatized by growing up in a Florida suburban nightmare. Tampa was a hot mess of sprawl and mini malls.”

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E111 – Joe Biel: Microcosm Publishing & more

January 7, 2013Advocacy, Bicycling, Business, Cargo, Communication, Kitchen, Technology, The Law, Travelsprocketpodcast

Joe Biel is a long-time notable Portland, Oregon resident with many distinctions, including the founding of Microcosm Publishing, Cantankerous Titles, his documentary film production, the Dinner & Bikes tours, and experience in the Critical Mass movement in the city. He stopped by the studios today on a Tom’s Cargo Bikes flatbed frontloader bike to discuss these things and much more.

Mail
Keith thanks us for the podcasts and specifically recognizes Darren Sinn and our interview with him as being enjoyable.

Steve in WY: “don’t know if you’ve seen this editorial from one of the worlds most celebrated car nuts, but he gives account of cycling and calls out cyclist for being too unfriendly. I argee with all his points.” Bike Snob also mentioned this article in a recent post, and offers reasons why other cyclists might not wave to you.

Another Steve mentions that our podcast feed is giving his podcatcher trouble. We’re aware, and trying to get things working smoothly.

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E110 – 10 Years of Breakfast On The Bridges

December 31, 2012Advocacy, Bicycling, Cargo, Communication, Touring, Train Travel, Transit, Travel, Walkingsprocketpodcast

photo by Mike Vogel

Breakfast On The Bridges is Portland’s regular grassroots good-will event featuring kind volunteers handing out free morning snacks to people propelling themselves to work. Velo Cult, quickly becoming a legendary bicycle shop and community space in the Hollywood District, offered their room for a celebration of ten years of free breakfasts on the iconic bridges that span the Willamette River. Thanks to Steph Routh of Oregon Walks and the KBOO Bike Show for capturing audio from this event and allowing us to share it with you!

Also, to open the show I taped a conversation with Jeremy Mendelson, the transit maven behind Critical Transit, during our multimodal adventure around Providence, RI.

photo by Portland Afoot

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E107 – News Roundtable & Catching Up

December 10, 2012Advocacy, Alternate Fuels, Bicycling, Building, Business, Communication, Downsizing, Housing, Mountain Biking, Technology, Touring, Train Travel, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

Brock & Aaron hold down the proverbial fort on their own this week in an episode dedicated to clearing the desk of all the cool stuff they’ve learned about in the last month. We start out with talk about tux mayhem, train etiquette, and Indiegogo perks still to come! We drank Moxie & Bridgeport Ebenezer Ale.

My Bike Won’t Fit Here!
Aaron introduces a new segment this week. Pictures to be posted here when possible – check back. This week’s egregious bike parking: Fred Meyer! This is a photo from the Portland location at SE 82nd Avenue & Foster Road. Thanks to listener David, who works for the corporation, for a timely response to this observation! We’ll see what changes in the future.

Headlines
BikePortland news roundup: Piscataquis Village Project plans to create a carless “micropolis”
BikePortland: a farmer in the Portland region swaps his truck for a cargo bike
BBC News via Brandon: the Uruguayan president is living meager, but happy!
The Oregonian: speeding car crashes into Sunset TC – from above
Rivendell Bicycle Works: MUSA Splats cover ordinary shoes for wet weather
The Atlantic Cities: media hosts an ecology dustup between cars & transit
BikePortland: Tom LaBonty heads to Texas to teach cargo bike building
Lovely Bicycle: When do we need a cargo bike?
Cycle Wild: Petition asks for decent treatment of self-propelled NPS guests
Happy, Simply: former show guest d’Arcy Lunn has a new simple living project
No Tech via Logan: now you can UN-knit your wool with a bicycle
BikePortland: Chris Sanderson not allowed to recycle metal by bike
Fast Co. Design: designer proposes an aerial tram over Austin

Mailbag
David Heddy mentions a couple touring the Great Divide on a tandem

Eric Krimmel wrote us about his new ebook “The Cross Country Adventures of the Blue Highways Cycling Elite,” a true story of three friends who embark on an 4200 mile bicycle trip across the USA, from Anacortes, Washington to Bar Harbor, Maine. It’s available on iTunes, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Dan in MN recommends Nick Mason of the League of American Bicyclists as an interview. Also, Dan just moved into his own tiny house that he built himself!

Kevin from L.A. donates generously and says he can hook us up with Tall Bike Bobby.

Thanks to Stacy from A Simple Six for recommending our show on Twitter.

Dodson gets in touch about interviewing Brek Boughton (blogger and adventurer) from Cycling Into The Dark: http://cyclingintothedark.com

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The Sprocket Podcast

simplifying the good life

Category Archives: Advocacy

E125 – Ayleen Crotty: Filmed By Bike 11!

E120 – Meeky Blizzard, Freeway Slayer

E117 – Women & The Cycling Industry

E111 – Joe Biel: Microcosm Publishing & more

E110 – 10 Years of Breakfast On The Bridges

E107 – News Roundtable & Catching Up