Category Archives: Transit

E150 – Kiel Johnson & Billy Skiffington

September 24, 2013Adventure, Bicycling, Boats, Sailing, Transitsprocketpodcast

Kiel Johnson is the proprietor of Go By Bike Shop & Valet, the recipient of an Alice Toeclips award, an innovator of a private bike sharing system, a former podcast guest, and a fan of sailing.
Billy Skiffington is a former housemate of Brock’s, a man of mystery, and a fan of sailing.

We discuss what it’s like to be in a boat on the water, harnessing the elements to take you where you want to go!

Brock & Aaron also discuss epic rides in the rain, the Rose City Comic Con, and more.

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Logan writes about Darius McCollum, a bit of a folk hero with songs (including this song by Dare Dukes) and a Wikipedia article on him.

Listener Brian twitters:
“Travelling around Portland & Vancouver on public transport thanks to@SprocketPodcast telling me how achievable it is. Car left at motel!”

Marcus, a listener and sit-in guest on E142, shares his reflections on visiting Portland.

JohnnyK offers links to BikeRV, Web Urbanist’s bike mobile home list, & Nomad trailers.

Steve in WY offers some fine points on the speed of bodies moving through the universe to dispute the idea that people aren’t meant to travel at high speeds; he also recommends JB weld for carbon frame repair, and even steel frames.

Trent says “Listening to you and Aaron on the sprocket and loving it / missing you all. I say the three of us go bike camping in cascade locks and grab some scotch ale!”

Glenn from Marrowstone Island recommends a rubber boot patching hierarchy.

Jack shares a train story.

Headlines
LGRAB via Marcus: The Dick Van Dyke Effect?
BikePortland: Green Zebra Grocery wants to be the bike-friendly Plaid Pantry
Phonebloks aim to offer a mobile phone with modular components to reduce electronic waste! (thanks to Logan for the link)

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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E149 – Greg Nibler & Sarah X Dylan: Funemployment Radio

September 17, 2013Bicycling, Communication, History, The Law, Train Travel, Transitsprocketpodcast

Greg Nibler & Sarah X Dylan are the hosts of the popular podcast & streaming network Funemployment Radio, and are pretty much responsible for providing an example of podcasting that inspired the creation of The Sprocket Podcast. This summer they teamed up with the Bike Gallery to compete against each other for miles ridden while testing several models of bicycles! We chat with them about Funemployment Radio’s history, their experience during the summer challenge, as well as a little about the controversiality of tallbikes and Brock’s overknowledge of their lives as famous people.

The Funemployment Radio Comedy Showcase happens tomorrow night (September 18, 2013, 8pm) at Secret Society, and will be a great deal of fun! If you’re in Portland, you should go. Get your tickets here!

Brock & Aaron chat about bicycling in Tacoma, sleeping at a Travelodge, and eatingunhealthy food, and mention Joe Biel’s Amtrak Update and C-TRAN’s updates to routing.

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E143 – Dan Flores: Visiting Portland, Living in Columbia

August 7, 2013Bicycling, Business, Communication, Technology, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

Our esteemed co-host’s brother, Dan Flores, joins us to discuss Bogota’s cycling street closures, small businesses, South American bus travel, and bicycling through Portland on his summer visit.

Headlines
Gizmodo via Brandon: 11 Ways I’m Trying to Achieve a Sane Relationship With the Internet
Chicago Times: Cyclist pleads guilty to first U.S. felony vehicular manslaughter by bike

Mail
Dan from MN has drum brakes.

Audio Player

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E134 – The Blounts Move to Portland

June 17, 2013Bicycling, Car Sharing, Communication, Downsizing, Family, Housing, Kitchen, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Joshua & Melissa Blount are recent transplants to Portland (and Cascadia) who are simplifying their daily rhythms of life and giving low-car life a fair shake. We talk about their transition and their experiences with the new paradigm. Joshua also podcasts atinternetpodcasts.com with three culture-related shows and documents their Portland move at joshplusmelissa.com with a video blog.

Melissa wanted to inform our listeners of an opportunity to support a local non-profit through a bicycle tour this summer. In July ten riders will pedal from Portland to Crater Lake and back to raise funds for The Cupcake Girls as part of the Sweet Ride Tour. Riders are attempting raise $10,000 to cover their costs and fund operations for The Cupcake Girls for six months. The Cupcake Girls bring resources, empowerment, and delicious cupcakes to men and women in the local adult entertainment industry. All donations are tax deductible.

Brock & Aaron also discuss moving by bike and a myriad of pedalpalooza rides, with shouts out to listeners we met on the rides: Max, Vince, Sarah, and Josh!

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Logan references Business Insider’s article on a novice bicyclist’s experience with Citi Bike share system in NYC; he also recommends Darn Tough Socks out of Vermont and the Find Friends app for meeting up with friends out in the field.

Derek tells us about SwapServe, “a place where people can sign up to volunteer with local non-profits and get free stuff from local businesses as a thank you.” He also offers to do a handstand.

Conservative listener Alisa writes in as requested to detail her take on our coverage of those from differing political backgrounds. (for those interested, her full letter is here)

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E130 – Will & Lea Vanlue: Suburban -> Urban

May 20, 2013Advocacy, Bicycling, Cargo, Communication, Downsizing, Skateboarding, The Law, Transit, Urban Designsprocketpodcast

Will Vanlue is a bicycle advocate who began commuting out of practicality, but has developed a great passion for transport on two wheels. He writes a blog entitled The Prudent Cyclist, and is also a communications staffer for Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance and a member of the utility bike collective TRANSPORTland. Will’s wife Lea Vanlue also joins us to add her perspective and commentary!

Headlines
Oregonian via Brandon: TriMet prepares to offer mobile ticketing for smartphone users
Oregonian: Oregon City police investigate pellet-gun shooting of skateboarder

Mail
Alexis recommends a seminar on skateboarding as transportation at Portland State University on May 31!

Phoebe from Boston remembers Orbitz, the beverage!

Caminando al DF walked 60 miles to Mexico City and says that it went great!

Dan from MN appreciated the coverage of cancer and uses patriotism as a shield.

more mail coming next week…

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E128 – Cory Poole & Billy Meiners: NW Skate Coalition

May 6, 2013Advocacy, Cargo, Communication, Skateboarding, The Law, Touring, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Cory Poole & Billy Meiners from the NW Skate Coalition join us to talk skateboarding in Portland. It’s not just a hobby, although it is fun – it’s also a great way to get around town that meshes well with the city’s streets and transit network. Since they are two of the nicest guys in the business, we’re happy to share our conversation with them here! Check out pdxdownhill.com and skatefriendlypdx.com for more details if you’re intrigued, as well as some long distance skate touring from the guys atlongboardtramp.com.

Dr. Brandon Rhodes rejoins for an episode to cover for Aaron who had to work this week during showtime. Brock discusses the Portland Afoot region-wide game he participated in and the release of their new mobile app.

Headlines
BikePortland: Portland Farmers Market introduces the Produce Pedaler

Mail
Marcus donates and writes in about a potential visit to Portland. We recommend a few spots to eat:
Horse Brass Pub
Cackalacks cart
The Big Egg
The Country Cat

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E124 – Dan Christensen: Walkin’

April 8, 2013Bicycling, Communication, Housing, Kitchen, Mountain Biking, Transit, Travel, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Dan Christensen returns to discuss his significant gains in healthful eating and walking to work, as well as add his always hilarious commentary on our own stories.

Dan recommends the book Wheat Belly if you’re curious about the diet issues we discussed today.

Brock & Aaron also discuss Brock’s trip to the south, airlines and driving cars, not taking paved shoulders for granted, Recycled America’s presentation at Velo Cult, eating roadkill, and more.

Headlines
Bicycling.com: The Pedal Powered Pope
US Forest Service: Mt Hood freeway corridor gets federal grant for bus service

And stuff we didn’t get to:

Streetsblog via Steph: the federal gov’t wants to bribe you to drive to work
Clean Technica via Miles: tax code won’t reward you for riding a bike
Gizmodo via Brandon: why this smartphone is better as a dumbphone
BikePortland via Miles: new bike clothing boutique opens in Portland

Mail
Jack comments on twitter on civil discourse and Sim City’s urban planning educational benefits.

A voicemail from Jeremy about Chicago.

Rory from Kalamazoo loves Bolt Bus and might move to Portland someday!

Phoebe from Boston comments on unexpected bike crashes, Meeky Blizzard’s poise, and sexism on transit.

Martina writes in to address Steve’s “women in the cycling industry” questions at more length – read the full text of her responses here.

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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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