Rob Sadowsky from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance discusses his time at the bicycle summit in Washington DC and the making of sausage, both legislative and actual, culinary sausage.
[warning: to listeners sensitive to descriptions of animal food processing, we talk about this a little]
We welcome our favorite relentlessly upbeat transit journalist Michael Andersen, chief dictator of the fine publication Portland Afoot, back to the show for more talk about Portland’s transit environment and economy and the joys of low-car life.
Mailbag
Jim says: “Check out this link to an upcoming indie film to be released regarding Tom Allen’s big tour and the decisions he had to make….:http://janapar.com/ Looking forward to your upcoming path less pedaled interview… and also appreciated your interview w Rebecca Lerner.”
Dan in MN on the foraging episode: “looking for free food was a must in my family when I was growing up. We caught fish, ate mushrooms, harvested wild rice, did maple sirup camp, picked hazelnuts, and ate ferns. We also made our own medicines. Nice to know that other people do this.”
JohnnyK in FL: “if you don’t want flats from glass just get Tire Liners;however you will never get a Fred to use these because God forbid they add weight to their bikes.” Also: “Ok just got back from the Dinner with Elly Blue and friends. I really enjoyed it and it was very much a learning experience. So now I cannot wait for your interview with her.”
Rebecca Lerner is an experienced forager who has taken on many experiments in eating wild local food. She shares with us how she got interested in foraging, some stories about her experiences and the nature of our relationship with food.
Mailbag
Listener Ryan from Georgetown ON: “Buy something Canadian. Brandon’s highbrow tase will enjoy a Unibroue “Maudite” (look for the devil in a Canue). Brock you should try a Mousehead [sic?]. Keep up the excellent work.”
Logan in PDX: “I saw a new post by Jonathan Maus on Bike Portland and I looked at the figure depicting carbon emissions of Portland relative to the US average and I noticed something astounding. After listening to the latest podcast and learning the wonders of the year 2002 I was really impressed to see your observations also apparent in carbon emissions. The year 2002 marks the first year Portland deviated its carbon emissions away from the US average and started its current trend downwards! Wow! Pivotal year indeed.”
Donation from James in Maryland – thanks! (you can donate here if you wish)
This week we speak with James Bernard Frost, the author of the just-released novel A Very Minor Prophet, featuring a soul-searching story based around Portland’s independent publishing and freakbike cultures (press release). He was kind enough to put up with our shenanigans for an interview! The book is available from Portland-based Hawthorne Books at retailers near you or on the internet. Also, Brandon unintentionally snorts beer and Adele briefly enters the room to obtain crafting supplies.
Brock also summarizes his trip of the last week through central Oregon by bicycle and the mishaps and small glories to be had along the way. Check@SprocketPodcast on Twitter for a list and miniature reviews of the places he stayed.
Mailbag
JohnnyK in FL: “Welcome back Brock it sounds like you had a wonderful time on the other side of the pond. What is it about trains that brings out the 5 year old in us. Anyway I am taking the good Dr.’s advise and I am slowing the F!@k down. I think this is why turtles live so long. I want to be a turtle.” Also he found an explanation of old school shaving similar to that of Amos Hunter.
Carl in CA: “I am pissed! While riding through the many parking lots of the Tustin Market Place, I was pulled over on my bike by a mall cop. Why you ask? I had no shirt on! I was heading to REI and as always would put my shirt on before I entered the store. But I was outside in a huge parking lot…” He also wonders when and where he entered a communist country.
Chris in Arcata: “Are you familiar with kinetic sculpture racing? These are hand built pedal powered machines with crazy engineering, and often crazy art. Often machines have multiple peddlers with costumes, bribes, poems, etc… We peddle on street, sand, mud, water. I’m a well known racer within the community, though I’m taking a break from being an actual racer this year. Last our team was first in speed, and I think we got a engineering award…. This race was born in Humboldt county, California. This race is memorial weekend starting in Arcata… Other locations that do this race [are] Baltimore, Australia, Port Townsend, Corvallis (Da Vinci days), Klamath Falls, and perhaps others… peaceful peddling from Arcata.”
Darren from Australia: “just a quick email to let you know about my cycle touring blog, www.cycletourer.blogspot.com. I’m spending the year travelling to various parts around the globe for one mega cycle adventure. I’ve just completed a little over 7 weeks on New Zealand’s south island cycling with some amazing people from around the globe… It’s amazing how many people have commented on the podcast stickers on my bike so I’m hoping to have converted many cycle tourists to the dark side… I was hoping to catch up with Russ and Laura of The Path Less Pedaled as Laura created a custom head badge for my Surly, but alas, we unfortunately did not cross paths.” His next stops are London, Cornwall, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Germany, & Denmark for an estimated 10,000km on the cycle computer before the tour ends.
This week we talk to old friend Jena Robinson, who currently lives in the Nashville, Tennessee region, about her work with food reclamation and helping to meet needs. We discuss: Nashville Greenlands, the Lents neighborhood of Tennessee, a work cooperative arrangement, dumpster diving, Nashville Food Project, garden management, meal delivery, working yourself out of business, primitivism leanings, accounting for non-financial costs, ethnic diversity in the community, etc.
While trying to connect with Jena, we weren’t sure if we’d connect with her and in a panic invited our wives to sit down with microphones and BS a bit. It REALLY is a little rambly, due to the hosts’ ill-preparedness, and not to be ascribed to our wives. Topics include bicycling accidents, coffee overnighters, new helmets, etc.
We also discuss regional Pacific Northwest accents, and also historical ones a la Daniel Day-Lewis. And Brock is looking to have coffee or beer with Boston area listeners in the last two weeks of December.
Mailbag Street Books is hosting a book drive. By this week it’s already happened but you can check their wish list and make donations here.
This week we’re privileged to interview Alex Roth, founder of a Davis, CA based business that roasts and distributes coffee around a bicycle-based infrastructure. Learn more at thepepperpeddler.comWe discuss: misconceptions about The Pepper Peddler, roasting peppers, inspired by Burlingame Pizza, Davis mayor names the unofficial coffee of the city, Trek in the Park, he’s like a drug dealer, Four Loko drives regulation, HUB’s 7-Grain Coffee Infused Stout, the roasting setup with cycle mechanism and propane heat, business flux, roasting as a team and the Post-Roast Toast, delivery and pre-sales, coffee politics and economics, the “milkman” model of delivery, the kids that deliver the coffee and the fleet of bikes, rain pay (!), coffee origins and fair trade/organics, regional taste, describing flavors shouldn’t cause insecurity, a rough sketch of coffee economy, local food sources, seasonal orders, the special dark roast, the roaster’s blend, Fox 40 news spot, and lastly Alex’s bands The Mad Cow String Band and the West Nile Ramblers.
We recorded our first episode away from home today at the RowdyKittens tiny house! Logan and Tammy were nice enough to invite us in after we passively floated the idea via podcast, and so we set up a plethora of wires and instruments in their roomy miniature dwelling. We were also joined by their friends Heather (of Mile73.com) & Dave (of TriMet Diaries and DaveKnows.org) who contributed to the conversations on tiny house life and low/cheap cell phone life (Heather’s in-depth examination of iPhone thrift is here). All told, a lovely time was had by all!
Technical Note: the laptop we took over for recording was missing our usual recording software and I ended up downloading a freeware option on the spur of the moment to capture our show. Since I’m not as familiar with the secondary option, I ended up mixing some of the test audio with the actual show audio; it turned out to be a little too confusing to listen to, but if you REALLY want to wade your ears through that cacophony because you love the show that much, get in touch and I’ll see what I can do. Apologies, and thanks for listening! – Brock
We discuss: Zenger Farm’s location and history, Jill’s connection to the farm, the Lents farmers’ market, their apprentice program, education and field trips, the shock of tasty vegetables and getting kids to enjoy Kale, sustainability at the farm in solar energy, water filtration systems, a 50 year lease on the property, City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, invertebrate studies, food stamp matching, USDA map of “food deserts,”adult education and kids transformed by experience, the Zenger CSA
Mailbag
Eric writes in: “…I like the longer sprocket format. And I was listening to your semi-epic fail in announcing this last episode [E45] and thought you may want to trysadtrombone.com as a great sound effect.”
Jarrod from Australia: likes the podcast, and recently got back from an Indian Himalayas cycling adventure that he desribes on his website,cyclinginthinair.com
Listener Dave writes in: “They make the time I spend walking our dog go very fast and when our dog wants to stop and smell or pee, I just don’t mind.” wants to know “how did we meet?” Also is curious about a list of podcasts we enjoy. (see our website!)
Blayne from BC is working on his food podcast, has trouble keeping kids out of the room though.
Adrian “The Vegan Cow” Stingaciu & Deanna Adams talk to us about their incredible Raw Vegan Fixie Tour!
We discuss: Ride the Divide, Surly’s Pugsley, snow riding, listener Carl in “Animalheim,”We Are Augustines, Super Vegan Cow & animal totem race identity, post-college experiences and the Ride Across America, 29 day trip to Costa Rica on a vegan diet, on the tail of Ride the Divide, travel in pairs for security and photography, no cargo, only raw foods to step up the challenge, no food drops, raw foods & nuts along the way, tapping into body fat, “dude, you look really bad,” sleeping in ditches and bus stops, relentless mosquitoes in the desert, “gassing myself out,” scary encounters while stealth camping,federales, confessions of traveling with a raw vegan, drinking Monster, “the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” breakdowns and pear cores, drug cartel worries, one set of clothes and no laundry, epilepsy, trouble with Montezuma’s revenge, American stomachs can’t handle bacteria, getting home after huge rainstorms, bicycles on slick surfaces and deep shoulders, deadlines, 700cm vs. 26in. wheels and tires, toll roads in Mexico, listen to theMexican Radio, Tyson Chicken plant and factory farming problems, Pacific NW nuclear plants, Deanna’s favorite beer
