Category Archives: Communication

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!

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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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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E104 – Darren Alff Does Europe

November 19, 2012Bicycling, Camping, Communication, Touring, Travelsprocketpodcast

This week Brock speaks to Darren Alff, proprietor of the fine bicycle touring sitebicycletouringpro.com, about his most recent bicycle touring venture: a year on a bicycle, circling Europe and heading towards Africa! We discuss:

Iceland
touring with his old roommate Brandon
the itinerary
touring with Bike Switzerland
bicycle infrastructure in Europe
Istanbul to Bulgaria & Romania
meeting friends on the road
pizza in a bag
unexpected joy in a new city
the tension between travel and maintaining friendships at home
drawing inspiration from other tourists
drawing inspiration from art & fashion
being overwhelmed by information
the value of variety
developing pragmatism and accepting challenges to thought

Many thanks to Darren for making the time to share his thoughts!

We had planned to have Elly Blue & Martina Fahrner into the studio, but a scheduling snafu made this too complicated to be a reality for this week. We plan to have them back in the studio sometime after the new year.

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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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E101x – More Bill Lascher!

October 30, 2012Communication, Train Travel, Travelsprocketpodcast

After we concluded the show, there was so much to discuss that we kept on talking while the tape kept running. More conversation with Bill Lascher here!

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E101 – Bill Lascher: Amtrak Stories

October 29, 2012Bicycling, Communication, Doin' It, Technology, Train Travel, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

Bill Lascher is a journalist preparing a book on Melville Jacoby, the first Time magazine reporter killed on duty, and producer of the fabulous Thinkingest Podcast which examines our over-examining tendencies. Today he joins us to share some of his stories of travel by train on the United States’ passenger rail service Amtrak.

After we concluded the show, there was so much to discuss that we kept on talking while the tape kept running. More conversation with Bill Lascher here!

Portland Afoot just published some more kind words about our crossover episode a few weeks back! Thanks as always to Michael, Lily and their crew for the fantastic work they do around low-car mobility and culture.

Also, The Sprocket Podcast concludes its Indiegogo fundraising campaign to underwrite the next season of the show during a year with thin budgets! We have offered many personalized rewards to our backers, most recently Bryan (AKA Orange), Steve, Russ & Laura, and Jeremy! Thanks to all of our donors for their generous support! See the details here!

Headlines
No Tech Magazine via Logan: Bicycle Trailer with Solar Panel Charges Electric Bicycle
Peak Moment TV via Logan: Can Pedals Power the World?
BikePortland: Portland area resident rides every single road in the entire region

Mailbag
Steve laments the lack of an RSS button on the website. We fix it!
Another Steve supports our fundraising effort and buys us new headphones!
Jeremy looks forward to his transit ride with the hosts when he visits Portland.
Bryan (AKA Orange) simply says: “Best. Podcast. Ever.”
Carl visits New England and likes the bikey things he sees there.

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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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E098 – Tammy Strobel & Logan Smith: Rural Happiness

October 8, 2012Bicycling, Car Sharing, Communication, Downsizing, Family, Housing, Technology, Touring, Train Travel, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Tammy Strobel, author of You Can Buy Happiness (And It’s Cheap) and editor of the blog RowdyKittens.com, and Logan Smith join us to speak about the book’s release, downsizing and simplicity, and living without a motor vehicle in rural northern California.

Also, The Sprocket Podcast continues its Indiegogo fundraising campaign to underwrite the next season of the show during a year with thin budgets. We will be offering many personalized rewards to our backers! Thanks to this week’s donors: Alison (fly on the wall), Bill (no perk, just $50 generous!). See the details here!

Mailbag
Dan in MN says: “I will miss Mr. Roads [sic] four letter wording. :)”

From Deanna:
“I am planning a Fixie World Tour-Riding a fixed geared bicycle over 30,000 miles, 6 continents, and taking under 2 years to create a documentary and photo book. Check out my kickstarter page!
also the blog: http://fixieworldtour.blogspot.com/p/past-ventures.html”

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E096 – Portland Afoot Crossover Episode!

September 24, 2012Bicycling, Business, Camping, Car Sharing, Cargo, Communication, Family, History, Housing, Technology, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Michael & Lily from Portland Afoot‘s monthly podcast join us to create a powerful new fusion of transportation goodness!

0:00-42:00 Portand Afoot segment

News
1) No auto parking at many new apartments
2) Portland Afoot’s sponsor this month: Streetcar Mobile Music Fest
Friday, Oct. 5 from 6-10 p.m. on the newly opened eastside (CL) loop. Afterparty at Union/Pine (6th and Pine) has food cart food & more live music.
3) Telecommuting rises in popularity with the younger set

Michael’s Transit Tip of the Month

Lily’s TriMet Tweets

Only On The Bus
Kali did not realize quite how green she appears to the outside world.

And of course, the Oakland Rap video mentioned can be found at http://pdx.be/OaklandRapVideo

42:00-1:04:00 The Sprocket Podcast segment

The Sprocket Podcast continues its Indiegogo fundraising campaign to underwrite the next season of the show during a year with thin budgets. We will be offering many personalized rewards to our backers! Thanks to this week’s donors, former show guests Darren and Logan. See the details here!

Headlines
• Taking the Lane: the internet explodes about Emily Finch’s radical de-motorization
• Bike Trailer Blog: Man tows 24 foot mast & boom to a 20 foot sailboat 30 miles away. By bike.
• DCist: a salute to the triathlete who rode a Capital Bikeshare bike 26.1 miles

Mailbag
Jack (@TriBikeCommuter) comments on the price of RVs and Brock’s tendency to take over shows he guests on.

Darren says: “My tour is over and cannot wait to hear a humorous song about it. Thanks for entertaining me whilst I was riding across NZ the UK and Europe guys!”

Keith reminisces about meeting Brock in Walla Walla, WA

Joe points out mymobilemedicine.com

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E089 – Humanity on Wheels, Part I

August 6, 2012Communication, Fun, Transitsprocketpodcast

Humanity on Wheels, an evening of mass transit tales, presented by ORhistory.com & TriMet Diaries. This is Part I, featuring Dr. Jeff, Heather G.,William Reagan, Michael Andersen, and Doug Kenck-Crispin.

Many thanks to ORhistory.com and TriMet Diaries for allowing us to rebroadcast this! You can hear the full two hour recording of the entire event onEpisode #4.7 of the Kick Ass Oregon History podcast.

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.