Category Archives: Walking

E075 – Michael Andersen: Low-Car Life & Politics

April 30, 2012Advocacy, Alternate Fuels, Bicycling, Communication, Doin' It, Downsizing, Gardening, Housing, Kitchen, Technology, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

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.

Brandon is freaked out by billionaire asteroid miners.

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.

The Sprocket Podcast is now available on Stitcher smart radio! If you use the service, you can add us to your programming roster.

Michael brings a lightning round quiz for simple life perspectives on nouns, but after a discussion on local transit politics.

Headlines
BikePortland: “Dutchtubs” are about to revolutionize Portland OR’s leisure scene
BikePortland: jogger asks about legality and courtesy of jogging in streets
Grid Chicago: Bees are coming! On bikes!
Taking the Lane: Elly Blue hosts a contest to discover the nation’s worst bicycling streets
BikePortland: circling Mt. Hood on a mountain bike just got easier
PSU Vanguard: Bus, MAX, streetcar, or taxi?

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.”

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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E073 – Rebecca Lerner: First Ways

April 17, 2012Communication, Downsizing, Gardening, Kitchen, Simpler Living, Walkingsprocketpodcast

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.

The Sprocket Podcast is now available on Stitcher smart radio! If you use the service, you can add us to your programming roster.

Headlines
NBC 11 News: Aspen CO remorseful drunk returns stolen bike
Denver Post: Hot on Velo Cult’s heels, Bicycle Cafe offers beer & space

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)

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E069 – Matt Picio on Peak Oil

March 19, 2012Alternate Fuels, Bicycling, Communication, Downsizing, Gardening, Housing, Kitchen, Technology, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Matt Picio rejoins the show to discuss the Peak Oil hypothesis/phenomenon with Brandon.

Youtube Video Series: Albert Bartlett on the Exponential Function
Recommended Reading: The Long Descent by John Michael Greer, The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler, Reinventing Collapse by Dmitry Orlov

Also: the man (not a woman, as we had thought) undertaking a bicycle tour while eating at a budget below the poverty line.

Also: Humanity on Wheels: An Evening of Mass Transit Tales! This Tuesday, March 20 at 7:30pm at The Jack London Bar, 529 SW 4th Ave in Portland OR

Headlines
Treehugger via Carl: the “Mamachari” from Japan offers mothers a compact kid-carrying solution

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.

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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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E044 – Laura Moulton: Street Books

September 27, 2011Advocacy, Bicycling, Cargo, Communication, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

This week we speak with Laura Moulton, most recently recognized for her work in launching the Street Books project, a mobile library on a cargo trike that lends books to people living outside in downtown Portland, Oregon. Aaron Flores from Team Sincerity fills in as co-host in Brandon’s absence.

We discuss: inspiration, urban shelter, park blocks & Skidmore Fountain, MercyCorps, when and where, Haley Tricycles, forming culture around the library, library cards for patrons, language and blurring the lines between people, a false dichotomy between deep thought and homelessness,Second Glance Books, Sue Zalokar assists, connections with Street Roots, other projects, married to Benjamin Parzybok who authored “Couch”, working on her own novel. Brock & Aaron also discuss handcarts, blues legend Billy Bob Thornton, long bicycle rides, and the last Hillstomp show ever.

Headlines
EcoVelo via Logan: apparently bicycling is good for both your body and your anger issues
Oregonian: Joseph Rose edits his helmet cam footage to demonstrate Oregon bike lane law
BikePortland: a Hood River, OR company designs a “rainfish” device to keep bicyclists dry Bicycling Magazine: is a cargo bike the coolest bike ever made? probably so.
Portlandize: Dave Feucht writes about a vacation to the beach by bus and proves it can be fun BePortland: mobile music festival happens on the Portland Streetcar

Mailbag
Adele calls in to share her bus story (audio) Gus shares an interesting blog post about a homebrew club in CA, disagrees w/ point #5:

your friends may not actually tell you what they really think about your beer.

Blayne in BC successfully completed the Yukon tour, and may start a food podcast.

Also liked the crater lake tour stories and can’t imagine bicycling like that with the flu.
iTunes reviews – Carl and “Freedivers_33”

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E026 – Michael Andersen: Portland Afoot

May 16, 2011Bicycling, Business, Communication, Technology, Transit, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Michael Andersen, founder of local life newsmagazine Portland Afoot, joins us to discuss his fine publication, transit culture, and transportation politics. And is also a fine, upstanding gentleman. (and he’s giving a discount subscription to podcast listeners! enter the code “sprocket” when you subscribe)

We discuss: Brandon goes to Tacoma, Brock goes to Wonder Northwest, the Star Wars Holiday Special, Muppet Star Wars, Space Ghost Coast-To-Coast, CodeForGood.net,thesprocketpodcast.com, Amos suggests Portland Cascadia Pedicabs, Blayne on Vancouver Island is getting a tandem, National Association of Rail Passengers, Jeff’s excited, Steve in Glasgow’s wee nocturnal cycle, Rate That Beer, “The Dutch Country” (AKA The Netherlands), Michael chooses the gong for his friend Alisa, Swan Island bus story, driver Dan Christensen, ATU, what the media does best, Microcosm Publishing, band name, worst day at the magazine, Eberhardt Press, Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, bus people vs. bike people, Unified Field Theory of TriMet (which is actually a special case of his Unified Field Theory of Portland), articulated buses, open data policy & transit apps, texting TriMet at 27299, what makes transit worth its costs (have you heard about the Columbia River Crossing?), bike-curious, student ID bus pass program and its fate, discount subscription, beer talk.

Headlines
SF Gate via BikePortland: more and more people are wearing their office clothes on the bike commute
PathLessPedaled: 5 ways to be a bicycle-friendly business (Brock’s favorite? roll into the rooms)
Oregonian: Transit agency TriMet honors 3 generations of female bus operators for Mothers’ Day
Copenhagenize via BikePortland: nothing could be cuter than little girls riding tiny cargo bikes

Drinks
Brandon reprises the Miller High Life sans skanky pinup girl, Michael drinks the Fearless Brewing Company’s Scottish Ale, and Brock downs a Southern Oregon Brewing’s Woodshed Red.

Music
“Book of James” from the upcoming We Are Augustines project Rise Ye Sunken Ships.www.weareaugustines.com

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E018 – Joshua DeParrie: The Bicycle Plumber

March 22, 2011Bicycling, Business, Walkingsprocketpodcast

Joshua DeParrie is a service plumber, but with a very interesting catch: he gets around, both to and from his worksites, by bicycle! We had him in for an entertaining and informative explanation of how that works. His website for St. Francis Plumbing iswww.bicycleplumber.com

We discuss: Hillstomp puts on an awesome show, Brandon is quitting his job, Jon stalks us on the facebooks, french names, send us your stories, help us design a new logo, we should podcast our morning coffee, The Railroad Revival Tour with Mumford & Sons &Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, PathLessPedaled.com: how to talk to your partner about bike touring, and folding bikes secreted onto airplanes, The Lazy Randonneur: why I don’t dress up like a traffic cone, BikePortland.org: a bike/transit damage case turns out OK, Bike Trailer Blog: go to the ski slopes by bike, drinking in the ski lodge, how does a plumber get around by bike? On a Kona Ute, of course, Black Oak trailers, growing up on bike/on foot in Portland, inspired by not liking large trucks, paradigm shift, motivations, localized life, gas boycotts and the fungability of oil, “digging ourselves into a hole of cynicism,” “wondering if it was really going to work,” substituting a bike for a truck is like LOTR, tools and tool bags, “I don’t carry everything with me all of the time,” going to the store is inevitable, Forest Heights and Portland’s east/west side class battle, Marvin Gaye is dead, malt liquor tastes like formaldehyde or the floor of a WalMart, the real angry bird, close encounter with a falcon, Saint Francis and his connection to nature, Portland could become a car-free city, Jerusalem’s tiny streets, Bicycle City [which is actually planned for North Carolina!], create a socially conscious market demand, “Copenhagen left,” bicycle plumber aspirations, the Sawzall is awesome, incentives, “Supportland,” the bicycle plumber is like Rosa Parks, not so much like Joe the Plumber, pace of life, Phoenix to Portland in a U-haul, walking is best, monads, Sting & The Police’s “Synchronicity II” and Dire Straits’ “Industrial Disease”