Category Archives: Bicycling

E034 – Darren Alff: Bicycle Touring Pro

July 12, 2011Bicycling, Communication, Technology, Touring, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

Darren of Bicycle Touring Pro talks world travel, bicycle touring, and impromptu marathons.

Headlines
BikePortland: Creative fellow offers cookies to cyclists at controversial intersection
BikePortland: Peace activist releases book and rides handcycle 1,100 miles
Green Garbage Project: pros and cons of various lawn mowing options BikePortland:Portland resident runs rock shows by bike

We discuss: Portland beards, slow internet connections, coming home early, began cycle touring at 17, 11 years of big & wild adventures, working while traveling & self employment,Park City, Utah, what you can find on BicycleTouringPro.com, cold weather touring in Europe, stopping at every skate park along the way to skateboard and being told “you’re doing it wrong,” Darren’s sojourn in Peru, cheap bikes for rent, the trike adventure/challenge, Brandon’s visit to Peru, vegetarian options (no guinea pig), dignitarian, flexitarian, and freegan, stealth camping & hospitality is better in Peru, living and working while traveling, Europe can be done on a budget, supplementing your income by renting out your home, let the vacations come to you, running a marathon with absolutely no training, VersaEmerge powers Darren’s exercise, his other websites:DarrenAlff.com, motorcycletouringpro.com, silvermountainmarketing.com

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)

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E033 – Friedel Grant: TravellingTwo.com

July 5, 2011Bicycling, Cargo, Kitchen, Touring, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

Friedel from TravellingTwo.com connects with us from Holland to tell us about circling the globe using bicycles, cargo ships, and other means on a two year whirlwind adventure.

CORRECTION: Dustin, who just finished his bike tour across the country, has this website:www.work2ride.com

We discuss: Living in Holland, its two capitals, terminology, cultural differences between Holland & the U.S., multi-modal respect, bike sharing programs, hailing from Nova Scotia, 8000km of bicycle infrastructure on a country the size of a postage stamp, “cycling by numbers,” not much wild land but there are pole camping sites, the TravellingTwo website, getting out of town is the hardest part, Laura of PathLessPedaled & ankle injury, winter bicycle touring, their ‘round-the-world journey, finding a unique method for global adventure, not cyclists at the outset, going by cargo ship to New Zealand, ship crews and pirate stories, lots of down time, ping pong with the captain, making pizza with a camp stove & other creative solutions, Ray from biketouringtips.com, staying connected while on the road, a loaded touring bike starts conversations, the Heinz Stücke interview, plans for future tours

Headlines courtesy of Logan Smith
The Atlantic via EcoVelo: Top bike commuting cities seem to be happier & more successful
APBP.org: Womens’ cycling survey results indicate bike lanes are helpful
Taking The Lane: Elly Blue ponders guilt & being car-free
Wall Street Journal: NYC cycling reality eclipses big-city antibike mania
TBD.com: cycling to work in DC might make you happier, too
OnEarth.org: AASHTO & ACA roll out plans for a potential interstate US bikeway system

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E032 – Brewery Tour By Bicycle

June 29, 2011Beer, Bicycling, Brewing, Touring, Travelsprocketpodcast

L-R: Jeff, Joe, Ian, Jason, and Brock

Brandon hosts a conversation with Brock and his friends Joe, Jeff & Ian about their recent brewery tour by bicycle along the Pacific Northwest I-5 corridor.

The World Naked Bike Ride in Portland OR, “I was in the pool!”, Jonathan Maus wearing nothing but a camera bag, furiously doing nothing, the New Old Lompoc, Bridgeport Brewery’s Hop Czar, two-stroke engines in our neighborhood, Brock introduces the beer, Barleywine and Brandon’s brewing of the 21-15, too much fun with beer pouring, Brandon’s wedding gift pint glasses, the breweries:

Bellingham WA’s Boundary Bay Brewing,
Mount Vernon WA’s Porter House,
Mount Vernon WA’s North Sound Brewing and Cherry Wheat beer,
Mukilteo WA’s Diamond Knot Brewing,
The slightly corporate RAM brewery,
Seattle WA’s Big Time Brewing,
Seattle WA’s Elysian Fields,
Seattle WA’s Georgetown Brewing,
Tacoma WA’s Harmon Brewing,
Olympia WA’s Fish Brewing,
Centralia WA’s Dick’s Brewing and taking a three hour break, Portland OR’s Hopworks Bikebar,
Portland OR’s The New Old Lompoc,

Brock’s wife Adele joins us in Kalama, loafing at Jeff’s house and eating food, beatboxing the good life, Ian joins the conversation, “the motherbuckets,” Chuckanut Drive, Oskar Blues’ Old Chub, fire building at Washington state’s Lewis & Clark State Park, Big Time’sAve Rat malt liquor, the Georgetown Brewing experience, brewhand Harlow was awesome, carrying Lucille, Olympia’s Woodland Trail, bow-chicka-wow-wow, Jeff’s motivational phrase, Brandon’s motivational phrase, riding on the freeway, Nada Surf’sBlankest Year, first time cycle touring wisdom, Jeff bakes 40 gluten-free granola bars, Joe breaks his belt and then decides to lose weight

Drinks
all enjoy a Hopworks Urban Brewery 64oz glass bottle of IPA divided evenly beween them, with great relish and to hilariously deleterious effect.

Music
“Making Sense” from Joe’s 2009 EP The End.

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E031 – Jed Lazar: SoupCycle

June 21, 2011Bicycling, Business, Cargo, Kitchensprocketpodcast

Jed Lazar of SoupCycle joins us to talk about the origin and excellence of his local food delivery business, which revolves around human power and bicycle trailers!

Jed was also nice enough to offer a SoupCycle discount for Sprocket Podcast listeners – use discount code “Brock” for half off your first week of soup delivery!

We discuss: deliveries to Souplandistan and Soupvallis, Bainbridge Graduate Institute and a project that turned into a business, bicycles are simple business models, owning cars = driving all the time, summer job as a pedicab driver, logistics of soupmaking and delivery, “quit your job,” using local and organic ingredients, coconuts are a tropical fruit, “no margin, no mission” says New Seasons head, mistaken for a homeless person, “whatcha got in there?”, traveling with CityBikes buckets, trailers from Blue Sky Cycle Carts, which are also used by Wingnut Confections, stopping with disc brakes, started with a recumbent electrical assist, batteries won’t last 30 miles and are heavy, currently using aRaleigh Sojourn, Brooks saddles, a friend inspires a love for the outdoors, voluntary simplicity and neighborhood investment, http://soupcycle.com, SoupCycle discount for Sprocket listeners

Headlines
BikePortland: Tori Bortman shows you how to take care of your brakes & wheel rims;Oregonian: helmets filled with cardboard do a better job protecting your head than the usual ones; Bike Trailer Blog: cutest bike train ever

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E030 – John Boblett: Portland Pedalounge

June 14, 2011Beer, Bicycling, Business, Technologysprocketpodcast

John Boblett, the man behind Portland Pedalounge, joins us to explain his journey into owning and operating a pedal-powered party machine.

ALSO: It’s still survey month! give us your input on the show and enter our contest to win $10!

We discuss: intro from memory, LOLcats, tuition pays for dinner, Pedalpalooza kicks off!,Cirque du Cycling and the chopper Brock noticed, Prince vs. David Bowie dance partyand massive stereo systems, Lance from Edible Cycles and his trailer, dancing in a graveyard to “Thriller,” born the day that James Dean died, stranded in Minnesota, Brock mixes metaphors, Northeast Portland neighbors shake hands, John’s first bicycle: a Schwinn with backpedal shift, Minneapolis as #1 Bicycle City, Dr. Seuss & the Lorax, Brandon & John beatbox, Darren & his Australian accent, the word “whilst,” the “Farmer Blow” method of blowing one’s nose, meeting the bicycle dealer, literally kicking the tires, rolling with a keg in Europe, other operations in Minneapolis MN, Austin TX, Bend OR, etc., difficulties with the OLCC, Brock’s phone rings, red tape can be fun, 2 hour tours, meetup at Amnesia Brewpub and visit Prost, Saraveza, Lucky Lab, etc., iPod hookup, how does it handle?, www.pedalounge.com, beer talk

Headlines
All over the Internet: NYC filmmaker Casey Neistat demonstrates the problem with blocked bike lanes
M-Bike via BikePortland: Amtrak to offer roll-on bicycle service throughout Michigan
Ron Con Coca Cola: NYC is a 3 way street
PathLessPedaled: Farm Stays are an innovative way to connect with the land and meet people
Low Tech Magazine via Logan: the forgotten future of the stationary bike

Drinks
Brandon tries the Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout from Tadcaster, John drinks the Bridgeport Hop Czar, and Brock enjoys the Kirin Ichiban – “Brewed For Good Times.”

Music
“Headlong Into the Abyss” by We Are Augustines from their 2011 release Rise Ye Sunken Ships. www.weareaugustines.com

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E027 – Meredith Stewart: Transit Misadventure

May 23, 2011Bicycling, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

Our friend Meredith Stewart joins us to detail her first foray into long-distance transit travel and her induction into bicycle commuting.

We discuss: Sunday Parkways and our appearance on the local news, Lompoc’s 5th Quadrant, the Bicycle RV built by genius Brian that was often parked at the CityBikes Workers’ Co-Op, meeting Amos of Portland’s Bike Temple in person, we also saw Russ & Laura, Logan, Listener Evelyn, Jonathan Maus, and Rob Sadowsky, Brandon keeps Brock on track, Listener Katelynn reaches the beach and outhustles everyone else, Meredith’s bicycle conversion, Johnny Cash steals a car, bicycle route maps for Portland, endorphins and epiphanies, “cyclelogical”, Portland Afoot discount subscription with code “sprocket”, two dudes in a basement, donations, the epic bus journey, hood canal writing retreat, Brock has a bus fetish, 161 miles, C-TRAN’s new buses are plush, Burgerville serving beer and wine in Salmon Creek, beauty in the suburbs, CAP Shuttle, (“people should give them money”), 3 hour layover at a quirky coffee shop, smoking in the bus shelter, missing the bus, kindness and generosity on the way back, successful completion of the trip,EpicTransitJourneys.com, Rebels-By-Bus.net, PortlandAfoot.org, Brock’s transit options site, beer talk, pronunciation problems

Headlines
Northwest Wanderer: making electronics viable on a bicycle tour
Edible Cycles: inexpensive local electricity generator for your bicycle dyno hub

Drinks
Brandon shares the Fire Station 5 Fire Boat Amber with Brock. Meredith quaffs 3 Wishes Red Wine.

Music
Lamppost Revival presents “Mr. Tinman” from their EP So Rises the Moon.

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E026 – Michael Andersen: Portland Afoot

May 16, 2011Bicycling, Business, Communication, Technology, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Michael Andersen, founder of local life newsmagazine Portland Afoot, joins us to discuss his fine publication, transit culture, and transportation politics. And is also a fine, upstanding gentleman. (and he’s giving a discount subscription to podcast listeners! enter the code “sprocket” when you subscribe)

We discuss: Brandon goes to Tacoma, Brock goes to Wonder Northwest, the Star Wars Holiday Special, Muppet Star Wars, Space Ghost Coast-To-Coast, CodeForGood.net,thesprocketpodcast.com, Amos suggests Portland Cascadia Pedicabs, Blayne on Vancouver Island is getting a tandem, National Association of Rail Passengers, Jeff’s excited, Steve in Glasgow’s wee nocturnal cycle, Rate That Beer, “The Dutch Country” (AKA The Netherlands), Michael chooses the gong for his friend Alisa, Swan Island bus story, driver Dan Christensen, ATU, what the media does best, Microcosm Publishing, band name, worst day at the magazine, Eberhardt Press, Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, bus people vs. bike people, Unified Field Theory of TriMet (which is actually a special case of his Unified Field Theory of Portland), articulated buses, open data policy & transit apps, texting TriMet at 27299, what makes transit worth its costs (have you heard about the Columbia River Crossing?), bike-curious, student ID bus pass program and its fate, discount subscription, beer talk.

Headlines
SF Gate via BikePortland: more and more people are wearing their office clothes on the bike commute
PathLessPedaled: 5 ways to be a bicycle-friendly business (Brock’s favorite? roll into the rooms)
Oregonian: Transit agency TriMet honors 3 generations of female bus operators for Mothers’ Day
Copenhagenize via BikePortland: nothing could be cuter than little girls riding tiny cargo bikes

Drinks
Brandon reprises the Miller High Life sans skanky pinup girl, Michael drinks the Fearless Brewing Company’s Scottish Ale, and Brock downs a Southern Oregon Brewing’s Woodshed Red.

Music
“Book of James” from the upcoming We Are Augustines project Rise Ye Sunken Ships.www.weareaugustines.com

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E025 – PathLessPedaled: Big Adventure, Small Wheels

May 9, 2011Bicycling, Downsizing, Touring, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

We are joined once again by Russ & Laura from PathLessPedaled.com to hear about their upcoming journey and its distinctive (and cute) hallmark: the Brompton folding bicycle!

We Discuss: double rainbows, thesprocketpodcast.com!, Ainsworth State Park, fanfares,Cycle Wild, Spirit of ‘77 indoor bike parking, new Hopworks Bike Bar, Portland’s streets not exploding with bikes, midwest valor, raingear can be cheap and easy to get, bikes & transit (LA does it best!), Brock is a human transit wiki, PedalNation fashion show, it’s episode 25!, Brompton folding bicycles and their mechanics, crazy hills on the Tillamook test run, trifold, TSA scanners and flying with your bicycle, full size bicycles are tough to put onto a train sometimes, California is awesome, Brompton cargo system, tote wheels, paring down the cargo, dongles, extension cable trumps solar panel, less is more, storing bikes under the tent flap, guys with big trucks, inspiring presentations, old school derailleurs, what’s coming next, the cause finds you, fundraising for the journey

Headlines
BikePortland: Local businesses in Portland offer bike locks for loan to forgetful cyclists;
I Love The Bus: Secret Message left on seat to encourage its unspecified recipient;
BikePortland: What’s the safest storage for your bike? In a Spalding Building bank vault, of course!
Oregonian: Metro Discusses bicycle sharing program with Bigfish

Drinks
Russ chose the Dick’s Brewing’s Cream Stout, Laura drank Stone Brewing’s Smoked Porter, Brandon ironically swigged Miller High Life and Brock enjoyed Black Butte Porteronce again.

Music
“Lonely Heart” from Portland band Mnemonic Sounds off of their 2010 album Muscle Memories, suggested by listener Evelyn! Find them at http://mnemonicsounds.com

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E024 – Logan Smith & Tammy Strobel: RowdyKittens.com

May 2, 2011Bicycling, Downsizing, Housingsprocketpodcast

A portrait shoot while on the road. Visit www.pathlesspedaled.com.

Tammy Strobel & Logan Smith from RowdyKittens.com, a website about “social change through simple living,” join us to talk about small houses, downsizing, and selling your car for good. Also, Logan fills some of Brandon’s shoes in our esteemed co-host’s absence.

We discuss: Brandon’s out of town, Eugene marathon & the city’s qualities, Russ & Laura, Listener Alison calls in to tell her bicycling story, thanks Listener Michelle, EcoVelo has great bicycle photography, sketchy bicycle sales, acronyms, fanfare, downsizing story, Davis, gradual change, hoarders, donations are fun!, phone call to Brandon & his unusual train experience, Dee Williams & the small house video, finding a place to park one, food carts and tent cities like Dignity Village, Peak Moment TV, Pedalpalooza small house ride, lowering your overhead, Tammy’s ebooks: Simply Car-Free and Smalltopia, dating without cars, “why is there extra money in my account?”, paying off debt, bicycling is fun! (and you wait less), Dave Feucht on riding without a helmet, job security vs. personal responsibility, upcoming book deal, Tammy featured in the NY Times & the Today Show, origin of the name “RowdyKittens”

Bonus: We forgot to talk about this on-air but these two have a fascinating simple kitchen experiment going on right now.

Headlines
EcoVelo via Logan: Give yourself a raise by switching from auto to bicycle – as much as $4/hour!
Boston.com: U-lock company uses barcodes & social media to find stolen bikes;
Oregonian: Bike & Ride facility is sadly below capacity. Maybe if they followed Seoul’s lead…;
BikePortland: Sign company shows that Business by bike doesn’t have to be hard!
BikePortland: walking and bicycling can actually thrive in the suburbs, given the right conditions;
Bike commute news is a compact twitter news service

Drinks
Tammy & Logan drink Deschutes Brewery’s Black Butte Porter, and Brock samples theKona Brewing Company’s Aloha Series Wailua beer that neighbor Alison gave him.

Music
C.R. Avery out of Vancouver BC, “Motel” from his recent album release So It Goes

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E022 – The Belle Starrs

April 18, 2011Bicycling, Funsprocketpodcast

This week we chat with Jordana Barrack and Nora Prazan, founders of the Fort Collins, CO all-lady bicycle gang The Belle Starrs.

We discuss: free pile of rotten wood, The Professor, fanfare, “rambunctious women of the road and trail,” the bike camping trip that started it all, Denver’s Cheetah Bitches, garter belts and headbadges, facebook is the new way to start a gang, “bring together the glorious women who love bicycles,” gender balance among cyclists, group rides, defining the word “gang,” cowboys and indians, Ride magazine coverage, nurturing passions, Field of Dreams, Zoobombers and their mayor-sanctioned installment, Ladies’ wrenching workshop, spreading the word, asking questions, who was Belle Starr?, a nautical star on her tombstone, The Dandy Lions rise in response, knife fight!, Filmed By Bike and the “Crash” film, Fall Roundup, upcoming events, Spring Fling, persistent rain, spontaneous rides announced by facebook, the F***ing Bike Club, mildly inappropriate acronyms, the Belle Starrs website, facebook, and email list, Spoketyles, beer cozies

Headlines
BikePortland: Coffeehouse owner says cyclists have worn out their welcome
BikePortland: cyclist policeman and swerving motorist sit down over coffee
CycleWild: some of Matt’s touring gear

Drinks
Jordana & Nora sent us via parcel post these awesome beers: New Belgium’s Vrienden, 8.5% ABV, and New Belgium’s Ooh Lah Lah, also 8.5% ABV!

Music
thanks to listener Blayne for recommending The British Columbians. This is their song “A Fine Mess” from their upcoming album release.

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The Sprocket Podcast

simplifying the good life

Category Archives: Bicycling

E034 – Darren Alff: Bicycle Touring Pro

E033 – Friedel Grant: TravellingTwo.com

E032 – Brewery Tour By Bicycle

E031 – Jed Lazar: SoupCycle

E030 – John Boblett: Portland Pedalounge

E027 – Meredith Stewart: Transit Misadventure

E026 – Michael Andersen: Portland Afoot

E025 – PathLessPedaled: Big Adventure, Small Wheels

E024 – Logan Smith & Tammy Strobel: RowdyKittens.com

E022 – The Belle Starrs