Category Archives: Building

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!

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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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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E115 – Sky Boyer: Velo Cult

February 4, 2013Beer, Bicycling, Building, Business, Communication, Mountain Biking, Technology, Touring, Travelsprocketpodcast

photo by beervanabuzz.com

Sky Boyer is the genius behind Portland’s unique bicycle shop and tavern, Velo Cult, a common space that is open late for business and amenable to events and impromptu gatherings. He welcomed us into the seemingly unending space in their Hollywood district location to chat about his philosophy on bicycles and business. We discuss: weddings, the “man-cave” beginnings of the shop, moving to Portland and becoming a cultural epicenter, touring (particularly off-road), his experience in racing, the dearth of mountain bike access in Portland, the region’s unique climate, San Diego’s negative aspects, the danger and excitement of the velodrome, the future of Velo Cult, and the artistic side of a talented employee.

A little more audio of our conversation with Sky can be heard here.

Brock & Aaron also discuss drunk texts, itunes, Steph & Ed’s move by bike, andGigantic Brewing.

Headlines
fastcodesign.com via Brandon: The Growler Bike is designed around beer transport

Mail
JohnnyK comments on stickers and notes that a cargo bucket is a good place to display them. Does the bucket rattle, and is it stable? (great directions here)
and lastly, on Piscataquis Village: Reminds him of St. Petersburg FL’s pre-colonial section and would be a “utopia”, and asks: Wouldn’t connected buildings increase the fire hazard?

Tracy Gayton responds that buildings would need to be built meeting a certain level of fire resistance. Additionally he adds that a donor was inspired to pledge to the project. As a postscript, he corrects Aaron on Maine counties.

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E113 – Tracy Gayton: Piscataquis Village

January 22, 2013Bicycling, Brewing, Building, Business, Cargo, Communication, Downsizing, History, Housing, Kitchen, Technology, Transit, Travel, Urban Design, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Piscataquis Village will be a European-styled, carless development in the US state of Maine, and the vision of Tracy Gayton who joins us for this show. Tracy envisions a city with six key elements: small plazas, really narrow streets, attached buildings, arcaded sidewalks, interior courtyards and streets free from car traffic. After it caught our attention, he was kind enough to supply us with a full rundown on how it might look. [piscataquisvillage.org] We also discuss comparisons to the Bicycle City idea, appealing to misanthropes, and how people might get to and from the village, as well as governmental red tape, bad weather, and Tracy’s own downsized life after retirement.

Mentioned resources:
Tracy’s TEDx talk
The Carfree Design Manual & carfree.com
The Small Streets blog, smallstreets.com

Brock & Aaron discuss ice on the roads, ice in Brock’s beard, the months-long soaking of socks, Aaron’s ditching of his cell phone, and Brock & Brandon’s utilization of the supertrailer.

Smartwool socks hold up to a six month soak, though the wool falls out

Brock grows an ice beard over a morning commute

Mail
JohnnyK asks us where to put a sticker on a bicycle, and says that in Jacksonville a fellow cyclist is like “finding water in a desert.” This makes the cycling traffic problems of Portland somewhat niche.

Darren says “thanks” for the song Brock wrote about his cycling journey, and adds:
“I have been meaning to update my blog, write a closing post and list the highs and lows of the journey, but more importantly, sharing what I learnt whilst in the road. I think the song has just inspired me to do so.”
If you’d like a copy of the song, you can find it here.

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E108 – Dave Feucht: Crash Story

December 17, 2012Bicycling, Building, Cargo, Communication, The Law, Walkingsprocketpodcast

This week Dave Feucht from Portlandize.com gives us the lowdown on a recent accident he was involved in.

Headlines
Ricki Lake: Emily Finch talks about her multi-kid bakfiets setup on national TV
BikePortland: Tom LaBonty heads to Texas to teach cargo bike building
Lovely Bicycle: When do we need a cargo bike?

Mailbag
Listener Ryan has been having difficulties with Apple’s new podcasts app and our show (as have many others). Our take? Apple is effed.

David writes in from Fred Meyer HQ to address our displeasure with local bike racks.
“If you send me photos for ammunition I’ll be sure to harass our planning department about this :-). If I recall correctly, they try to remodel each store ~ every 10 years, I’m guessing these stores are due… “

Darren Alff from BicycleTouringPro.com announces the launch of sister siteGoBicycleTouring.com and is giving away free touring packages in a contest as part of the site launch!

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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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E102 – Steph Routh: Willamette Pedestrian Coalition (now Oregon Walks)

November 5, 2012Advocacy, Bicycling, Building, Communication, History, The Law, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

This week Brock sat down with Steph Routh from the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition (now known as Oregon Walks) and the KBOO Bike Show (as well as many other projects & organizations) to discuss walking, bicycling, and relating to the “old guard” in our town about simpler transportation.

Aaron tells stories and gives tips on his experience with walking as a primary mode of transport.

Headline
BikePortland: pedal-powered phone charging for NYC’s public after disaster

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E100 – Brock & Brandon’s Transit Adventure

October 23, 2012Adventure, Alternate Fuels, Bicycling, Building, Business, Car Sharing, Communication, History, Technology, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Brock & Brandon celebrate 100 episodes of the Sprocket Podcast by traversing the city for hours using every mode of transport they can get into, including TriMet, the Portland Streetcar, the Portland Aerial Tram, and of course Car2Go. Here’s a “lite” version of the 5 hours of audio we taped during the adventure.

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E085 – Lane Kagay: CETMAcargo

July 9, 2012Bicycling, Building, Camping, Technology, Touring, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

Lane Kagay is the man behind CETMAcargo & CETMAracks out of Eugene, Oregon. We spoke with him on the phone about his company and its history, Eugene as a cycling town, bike messenger experience and touring with a cargo bike.

Bike Safe Portland wallet-sized accident reports are available now in Portland bicycle shops near you! Thanks to Josh Zisson from Bike Safe Boston and the Bike Safe Nation project.

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The Sprocket Podcast

simplifying the good life

Category Archives: Building

E117 – Women & The Cycling Industry

E115 – Sky Boyer: Velo Cult

E113 – Tracy Gayton: Piscataquis Village

E108 – Dave Feucht: Crash Story

E107 – News Roundtable & Catching Up

E102 – Steph Routh: Willamette Pedestrian Coalition (now Oregon Walks)

E085 – Lane Kagay: CETMAcargo