Category Archives: Transit

E067 – doctor_jeff returns!

March 5, 2012Bicycling, Communication, Transitsprocketpodcast

Today’s episode marks the triumphant return of @doctor_jeff, our beloved Twitter-based, colorful and irreverent unofficial TriMet microjournalist! He chats about his suggestions for improving TriMet’s budget, social cues on transit, and the success and continuation of his Holiday Fare project, among other things.

Headlines
from Logan: “Mia Birk kicks the Oregonian in the gonads!” journalistic controversy abounds.
Pedal Powered Family: a review of their home-on-the-road, a Hilleberg Nallo tent
BikePortland: Wrench Raiders have been putting their cargo trike to good use
BikePortland: scrap-bike wizard Tom LaBonty to be subject of documentary film
Taking the Lane: mom of transit-riding family questions the economic toll of fare hikes

Mailbag
Blayne in BC: don’t ride your bike on the ice, or you’ll wind up like this guy.

Mark from Vancouver WA: “Too much beer to drink and not enough time. We just got back from Breakside Brewery and they always have new beers… it is always a hard choice, should I have the new beer or the good old favorites? Ben makes beer that I don’t see at other breweries and they are good.”

Carl from CA: “for as much as I commute, 120 to 200 [miles?] per week, I have yet to freakin’ tour! Well looks like that is ending, looking at heading down the coast this Saturday for a sub 24: Anaheim to San Elijo beach near San Diego, 70 [miles?] each way. Looks like the wind gods may be in my favor heading down there! It should be Good Times! And a learning experience… Wish me luck on this solo adventure!”

JohnnyK in FL: re: E66, “this was a really good show. Aaron and Brandon you pulled it off. I loved the guest and the topic was perfect. I have a daughter with a her first kid and a kid on the way…I know I probably don’t fit your demographic for listening since I am a grandfather. However the show has given me lots to think about. …Oh BTW Aaron you know way to much about root-beer…I love root-beer but I have never known anyone that does taste tests of it like it was fine wine.”

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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E061 – Bobby Roberts: Transit Tweets

January 23, 2012Communication, Technology, Transitsprocketpodcast

Today we speak with Portland radio & podcast legend Bobby Roberts about Portland transit, bicycling, and culture. Mr. Roberts is one of the hosts of the Cort & Fatboy daily podcast, as well as a host on Hamfisted Radio, and is also notable for a plethora of other things.

Headlines
BBC via BikePortland: how does one cycle across the south pole?
Koga via BDR: mutating bicycle makes hiking more fun on the downhill portions
Treehugger via Susan: Lund, Sweden boasts a 60% bicycle commuter rate and is planning a 4-lane bicycle highway
Dutch Bike Co. via Susan: hipsters deserve credit for zip ties as a bicycle traction device
BikePortland: Portland Afoot distributes low-car life info in neighborhoods, furnishes “WalkScores.”

Mailbag
from David Heddy: “Looks like we might need to start looking for some ‘fair-trade’ tech. products…” also This American Life’s coverage of the topic.
Note: we discussed TAL’s episode with Mike Daisey shortly before much controversy erupted around it, so take our thoughts on it all with the necessary grain of salt needed to fully contextualize the piece.

Greg Hum writes from Boston; he’s a drum-biker and knows the guy that gave Brock his new helmet.

Also, we forgot to mention it on the show, but Josh Zisson from Bike Safe Boston sent us some t-shirts and we are now representing them properly:

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E060 – Matt Picio: Cast Iron Cyclist

January 17, 2012Bicycling, Downsizing, Touring, Transitsprocketpodcast

We’re pleased to have Matt Picio, founder of Cycle Wild and also known as the Cast Iron Cyclist, joining us to discuss people camping out by bike and his fantastic cross-country bicycle tour.

Headlines
from Logan: Pedal-powered Shanty Boat is a mobile place to live
from Jeremy in AL: handcrafted wooden bikes made from felled city trees
Taking The Lane: the Conservative case for bicycling might surprise you
PathLessPedaled: Russ gets beaten by an angry motorist in NZ, but he’s OK
Oregonian: Boring Station under construction for a paved end to the Springwater Corridor

Mailbag
Ethan from Pedal Power: “I hope all is well. This might be a bit too “fred” for you folks but if you care to promote our Pedal Power jersey sale we’d appreciate it. The artwork is done by Kathleen King, a great artist whose done some other work for me. All proceeds will be used to help save the earth.”

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E057 – Pedal Powered Family

December 25, 2011Bicycling, Downsizing, Family, Technology, Touring, Train Travel, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

A Happy Christmas to all, and to all another great archived interview. The Pedal Powered Family consisting of Reuben, Heidi, Eden, and Harper have been on the road now for some time, giving their children a unique opportunity to discover the world while taking hold of a personal dream themselves.

With them we discuss British Columbia, warmshowers.org, the route (and their progress on a map here), website and blog, Voodoo Doughnuts, their bikes & setup (including a genius DIY sun/rain cover), their Portland visit, interruptions, employment – being self employed and leveraging an extended leave of absence, email, facebook & twitter, traveling with kids and listening to their schedules, less time working hard & going fast, routine is good, heading south into Mexico & South America, then to the east coast, other modes of transport: rental car & train, simple living: finance & reducing expenses, minimalizing

Brock & Brandon discuss their own holiday traditions, what counts as a Northwestern state, TriMet free rides on New Year’s Eve before the interview. Also Brandon suggests sharing Brock’s Xmas Mixtape.

Mailbag
JohnnyK sends his comment to E54, as does Logan.

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E052 – From The Tiny House!

November 22, 2011Bicycling, Communication, Downsizing, Housing, Kitchen, Technology, Transit, Travelsprocketpodcast

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

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E051 – Amos Hunter

November 14, 2011Bicycling, Communication, Transitsprocketpodcast

Amos Hunter joins us this week to speak on the upcoming BikeCraft event (December 3 & 4, 2011 at Sandbox Studio) as well as his work with Portland’s own Bike Temple. We drink Rock Bottom Brewery beer, and merriment ensues. Also, here’s a link to the 8 peice ukelele band he’s in, Honky Tonk Prison.

Brock tests out the prototype of the Tom’s Cargo Bikes tallbike:
http://youtu.be/8JVqQk-pyS4

Headlines
Via Listener “Radimar”: Denver woman steals back her stolen bike while on a test ride
Springwise via Sally: in Paris, smartphones can now be used for transit passes
Street Roots via Sadowsky: local homeless paper comments on Occupy movement & housing
BikePortland: school custodian establishes bike club for kids in Hillsboro OR
BikePortland: Spencer Boomhower on residential neighborhoods vs. freeways
Portlandize: Dave Fuecht posts some fantastic photos of our city in Autumn colors

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E050 – Drinking Show!

November 2, 2011Bicycling, Transit, Travel, Walkingsprocketpodcast

My goodness. A year of podcasts! we take some time for looking back, and also for looking forward. And, of course, we drink our liquor!

Listener Patrick suggests incorporating a drinking game. We do our best to oblige.

Headlines
GOOD magazine: protest big Wall Street corporations with their own junk mail!
TriMet Diaries: Dr. Jeff writes a field guide to Public Transit Operators
Dr. Jeff: a holiday transit fare drive for folks who can’t afford it
PathLessPedaled: how losing a car saved Russ Roca’s life
BikePortland: UPS is hiring 49 bicycle package delivery workers for the Christmas season
BikePortland: study shows that manufacturing trumps transport for greenhouse gas emission
Oregonian: two teachers inspire Gresham middle school students with bike club

Good Stuff
BBC produces a segment on the Portland Zoobomb

Mailbag
Carl shares a link to a bicycle-driven food and wine series in NYC at pedaling.tv/;
as well as Liz Canning who collaboratively documents her passion for the cargo bike movement!

Darren from “Downunder” donates (thanks!) and says “Just sent a little coin your way gents in preparation for the mega 50th episode. Thanks for the laughs over the past 12 months, I’ve enjoyed every episode. Have a beer or two on me….” Also says: “(No more pisstakes on the Aussie accent Brandon… Okay, just one 😉 )”

Susan from Plano TX shares a few links with us: the North Portland Tool Library, and the announcement of Logan & Tammy’s Tiny House!

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E048 – [at]doctor_jeff

October 24, 2011Bicycling, Communication, Technology, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

We speak with Dr. Jeff Guardalabene, better known to his Twitter followers as @doctor_jeff, about his observations on the Portland Metro area public transit scene and his cross-region daily commute.

We discuss: a brief history of dr. jeff riding TriMet, the acclaimed twitter feed, TriMet diaries writing: I Ride, totalling the car: what mobility will look like from here on out, LifeHacker features Dr. Jeff!

Headlines
BikePortland: Dave Weber logged 1,096 miles in September for the Bike Commute Challenge!
BikePortland: Jake Ryder’s custom build tallbike sports a sidecar for photo equipment
BikePortland: local company builds heavy duty hunting/adventure trailers
Taking the Lane: Elly comments on how hitchhiking could save the economy via Freakonomics
The Atlantic Cities: to win riders, mass transit should get wired (-less)

Mailbag
Patrick from Davis CA donates (thank you!) and sponsors a month of drinking!
says of the show: “it’s informative, fun & quirky. A bit like Monty Python with a purpose.”
“I work at UCD & live in Winters about 17 miles away. I mostly ride the Yolobus 220 into work with my bike then pedal home.” Also recommendsPepperPedlers as a guest.

Sally from ILoveTheBus.com says of E44: “I love Street Books, it is such a great way to serve the community. We all love a good story, right? Books bring people together and build community.”

Peggy says of E47: “Great interview – told the fuller story of Zenger Farm, which is an AMAZING organization doing so much good work in the community! Nice to see it getting more than the 3-minute soundbite typical news coverage.”

As mentioned on the show: the progression of Brandon’s Beards:

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E046 – Dave Feucht: Portlandize

October 10, 2011Bicycling, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

We invited Dave Feucht of Portlandize.com to share his thoughts on Portland, its bicycle culture, and some of the finer points of discussing your passion for it over a refreshing Hopworks Urban Brewery Lager. We also had our friend Tyson Butler into the studio to share his experience at the Occupy Portland event this previous week.

We discuss: Adam’s comments about Steve Jobs, on the ground at Occupy Portland, Portlandize.com, elitism & ethics, or, “how to promote bicycling without being an asshole,” are others “taking” your right of way?, rainy bicycling

Dave adds info about his bike: “So, it’s a 3-speed internally geared hub, and then you can see the full chain case. It also has front and rear hub brakes – they’re internal to the hub, so they’re basically un-effected by the weather (it’s nice not having to re-learn how to brake when it’s wet) 🙂 Dynamo-powered lighting is great as well, as you never have to worry about batteries, forgetting to turn your lights off, or putting them on and taking them off your bike every time you use it.

“I’ve loaded about 50lbs of stuff on the front rack, and in the range of 100lbs on the rear, so it’ll carry quite a bit.

“While the full chain case won’t work with derailleurs, a chain guard that just covers the top of the chain can, and I think there are some companies that make kind of after-market ones that you can add to bicycles that didn’t have them originally, I feel like maybe SKS made one (yes, this one I think). That at least solves the problem of getting your pants dirty :)”

Headlines
The Belle Starrs: The Coloradoan posts a great article about the Fort Collins all-girl bike gang
BikePortland: Portland’s transportation people work out a solution for a blocked bike lane
BikePortland: TriMet plans to release an open source multi-modal trip planner
Oregonian: a loud baby & its mom cause nothing but press after a bus operator kicks them off
Oregonian: riders lobby for longer transfer times on TriMet, and the transit agency considers it

Mailbag
donation from Matt in Portland; thanks! and an iTunes review from DaveInDenver.

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E045 – Lillian Karabaic

October 3, 2011Bicycling, Cargo, Communication, Downsizing, Housing, Transit, Travel, Walkingsprocketpodcast

We engage in a lively discussion of bicycles and transit in everyday life with Lillian Karabaic, producer of the Portland Afoot Podcast and, as her card states, “bicycle advocate, photographer, and transportation wonk.”

We discuss: Brandon’s back!, Orcas Island, bike trailer crash, tallbikes and chunk 666, the Portland Afoot podcast, cycle wild, the carfree cities conference in Guadalajara (referenced in her latest podcast), world naked bike ride, and other things.

Headlines
Taking The Lane: Elly Blue briefly describes a rural bike community in California
BikePortland: new senic bikeways approved by Oregon State Parks
Bicycling Magazine via Ethan: is a cargo bike the coolest bike ever made? probably so.
BikePortland: Rejuiced Bikes makes incredible special function bicycles out of scrap
BikePortland: Best e-bike ever? The IDEO/Rock Lobster Oregon Manifest entry

Mailbag
donation from Blayne in BC: “You should be able to buy a 24 of PBR for that I imagine.”

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The Sprocket Podcast

simplifying the good life

Category Archives: Transit

E067 – doctor_jeff returns!

E061 – Bobby Roberts: Transit Tweets

E060 – Matt Picio: Cast Iron Cyclist

E057 – Pedal Powered Family

E052 – From The Tiny House!

E051 – Amos Hunter

E050 – Drinking Show!

E048 – [at]doctor_jeff

E046 – Dave Feucht: Portlandize

E045 – Lillian Karabaic