Bike Talk

Voices from World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims in Los Angeles. 1:48 Transportation under Trump according to Yonah Freemark, principal research associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute. 8:25 Los Angeles Bike Fest with BikeLA Director Eli Kaufman. 13:37 Strong Towns Northampton checks its tone over a bike lane closure. With Danielle McKhan,...

Bike News: Cop29 cop-outs, solace in U.S. local elections for biking, China's huge bikeshare rides, and in Oregon, a cyclist was charged for a ride to the hospital by the ambulance that hit him. 2:19 The Northampton Cycle-Smart Cyclocross race broke from the Union Cycliste Internationale for its exclusion of trans women riders in 2023, but the race goes on; the 33rd annual Northampton, Massachuset...

In the election bummer, some local winners for safe streets: new Congressmember Laura Friedman, Alameda Supervisor John Bauters, and West Hollywood Mayor John Erickson. Listener Kevin Grishkot asks whether, if cars were no longer available, we would require people to license their bicycles. Bike Talk’s lawyer, Jim Pocrass, explains why it’s not a very good idea. 3:18 News: Ontario Premier threaten...

News from the front lanes: LA's Traffic Nightmare, a NHTSA requirement for DUI detectors in cars, a measure to keep San Francisco’s Great Highway car free, and the 125th anniversary of the first car killing. A Glendale candidate for Congress demonizes his Democratic opponent, Laura Friedman, as "The Bike Lane Lady." Alex Belekian says if we want bike lanes we should build new cities for them. 4:15...

Taylor finally finishes the epic tome on highway tycoon Robert Moses, The Power Broker, by Robert Caro, and talks to author/transportation activist Charles Komanoff about it. 1:14 A bill to require cars in California to alert drivers when they exceed speed limits by more than 10 mph was vetoed by the Governor. Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director of Walk SF, one of the bill's sponsors, speaks about...

A Glendale Congressional candidate makes bike lane support his big grievance against Chair of the California Assembly Transportation Committee Laura Friedman in her run for Congress. 1:15 The categories of ebike and why they matter, explained by our sponsor Jim Pocrass. 7:10 Ebikelash in NYC is taking off due to the prevalence of food delivery workers who ride fast. Bills would require all e-bike...

Week Without Driving was September 30th – October 6th, 2024. Here’s a view of how it went by its creator Anna Zivarts, Author of “When Driving is Not an Option” and Director of Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington, and Ruth Rosas, Program Manager at America Walks. 2:02 US businesses ranked by their Bicycle Friendliness, from The League of American Bicyclists. With Amelia...

The Better Cities Film Festival is all about bikes and dads, Director Josh Paget says. Also Transportation, Housing, Urban design, Environment, Community, and Technology. 5:12 It took a long time and a lot of community meetings to get the Dickens bike/ped greenway in Chicago, but a few NIMBYs were able to get it taken out without much process. We have Streetsblog Chicago Editor John Greenfield, Bi...

Freak Bikes the Movie, about LA Bike Kitchen founder Jimmy Lizama and his son on a bike tour of the European bike cities, screened in the Better Cities Film Festival in Detroit. Filmmaker Ryan Mekenian talks about his inspiration with Reo Ramsey, our Detroit correspondent and social ride leader who connects the movie to his bond over bikes with his own father. Bike Lawyer James Pocrass talks with...

Taylor recaps his ride to Dodger Stadium. Val Cyr, Local Motion's Communications Specialist, on Vermont's great biking. America's Bike Mayor John Bauters on his run and riding for Alameda County Supervisor. Listener Emails: Tim Riley on giving up his cars because of Bike Talk, and motornormativity. Annie Pruitt on www.playgroundequipment.com/all-about-cycling/. Consumer Reports writer Keith Barry...

In this repost from March of 2024 Eddie Vargas, Grub Hub bike delivery worker, loads up groceries in Los Angeles. Bike Traffic report with Don Ward. A new study in the Journal for Transport and Land Use shows blaming individuals for traffic violence prevents systemic changes to US roadways. “There Are No Accidents” author Jessie Singer on the evolution of the accident, and how the auto industry ha...

Last year's Tour de Vuelta coverage, featuring Sepp Kuss 2:45 Brake maintenance advice from fixie rider, activist, and Los Angeles Metro Bikeshare mechanic Anne Marie Drolet. 3:19 Jeff Speck, author of “Suburban Nation” and “Walkable Cities,” on making cities walkable and bikeable. With Taylor Nichols. 7:50 Getting the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to mandate Bicyclist Emer...

Taylor decides on a new gravel bike. Winnipeg cyclists stage an act of civil disobedience, stopping legally in single file at a stop sign, to bring awareness of the need for a stop-as-yield policy or "Idaho Stop Law" for cyclists. With Patty Wiens, "Bicycle Mayor" of Winnipeg, and Hillary Rosentretter. 4:02 We talk to our lawyer, Jim Pocrass of Pocrass de Los Reyes in Los Angeles, about whether it...

Taylor and Anne Marie saw their neighborhoods at human speed in Sunday's CicLAvia in Los Angeles. “Meet the Hollywoods” opened 7 miles to people, not cars, from East to West Hollywood. Anne Marie discovers Fan Girl, a women musicians themed café. 1:13 Taylor nervously rides Luke’s Penny Farthing far. 1:52 Vanessa, Ryan, and Victor share their favorite things about CicLAvia with Anne Marie. 5:38 Th...

Anne Marie's bike trip to Universal Studios, Taylor's mountain trip, and Bikelash news. An unhinged speaker's threat to harass cyclists at a Glendale, Ca. City Council meeting could be used against him in court, say attorney Jim Pocrass and Kirsten Bladh, Streets For All’s Associate Director of State Policy, who posted the tweet that named the hater. 16:02 A report by Circulate San Diego finds tha...

A parking ticket sets off another discussion about the cost of cars. 0:16 Monterey, California Trolley driver Tim Riley writes about subsidized transit, and how bikers can go from Salinas to Monterey Bay for $2 round trip. 7:23 Biking in the Olympics - track, MTB, the works. 11:48 When rising bike race star Magnus White was killed by a drowsy driver, his parents, Jill and Michael White, started Th...

Taylor pays $1200 for his car's damper pulley, which leads to a discussion of how cars are money sinks and we need universal mobility. 0:23 A listener email from Berkeley resident Benjamin Fry rekindles a debate on "vehicular cycling." 6:20 Vehicular Cycling is part of the history of bike education. The Advocacy Director of Bike East Bay, Robert Printz, lays it down. Also, how Oakland unblocks bik...

Taylor's Colorado bike trip included electronic shifting; also, practicing bike salutes. Can we sue cities over blocked bike lanes? Attorney James Pocrass answers in his Legal Moment. 6:54 What's more philosophical, road biking or commuting? Nick comes to Jesus Ilundáin, co-editor of Cycling: Philosophy for Everyone, for a tour of the mind. 17:10 The Conservative Heritage Foundation's outline for...

Airing the grievances of bike haters can be an effective strategy as long as we're not equally crazy, says Charles Marohn, Strong Towns founder, in our webinar "Podcasting for Bike Advocates." 0:40 Biking on ski slopes, shredding on single tracks, and other highlights of Taylor's family trip to Colorado and Utah. 2:55 Andy May returned to cyclocross racing less than a year after losing a leg. He's...

Gear Ratios Explained by Joe Lindsey and Anne Marie Drolet (advanced intermediate). How the Tour de France inspires Taylor Nichols to draft behind strangers-and how they react. 6:03 The symbolism of a bicycle in your dreams, according to "Dreamapp." 7:38 Two weeks into the Tour de France, and it's one of the most interesting and competitive races in years, according to Joe Lindsey, bike writer. 10...

Voices from CicLAvia in South Los Angeles, where public spaces and health were reclaimed through car-free streets. 5:43 Cycling Past 50: how older adults will need to adapt to their changing cycling abilities with older adult mobility and wellness researcher and Executive Director of dblTilde CORE, Carol Kachadoorian. 22:47 Teaching adults to ride with Rob Kadota. 35:43 Racer and bikepacker Adin M...

The Bicycle Film Festival in the Berkshires, with local organizers Nick Russo and Alison McGee. Also, Olympic mountain bike champion Lea Davison on her film "You Can't Do it Alone" on coming out and the Unbound gravel race. 2:03 What's Pedalpalooza? A festival of bike fun in Portland, 20 year volunteer organizer Megan Sinott explains. 10:56 Cyclists' Personal Injury Attorney Jim Pocrass on the pro...

NY Governor Hochul's abrupt and catastrophic turnaround on congestion pricing leaves people who live in NYC with all the costs of cut-through traffic, and none of the money that would have funded transportation. Taylor, Nick and Anne Marie talk with journalist Charles Komanoff and Transportation Alternatives Communications Director Alexa Sledge. 3:24 Taylor talks with Families for Safe Streets mem...

Voices from the West Hollywood Pride Ride. 2:36 Can a victim of hit and run sue for PTSD? Los Angeles cyclist Aaron Lipstadt consults Jim Pocrass, a personal injury attorney specializing in bikes. 13:34 The Art of Cycling: Philosophy, Meaning, and a Life on Two Wheels, by James Hibbard, is about Western philosophy and the limits of rational thinking, being on track for the Olympics, and doping in...

Taylor's European bike interviews: Rome "didn't get the memo" on safe streets for bicyclists, while Barcelona's Superblocks are awesome as advertised. 1:14 Wes Marshall shatters the delusion that science underlies our transportation system in a new book, "Killed by a Traffic Engineer." 12:50 Seattle gets its first protected, "Dutch-style" intersection; Winnipeg doesn't. Boardmember of Seattle Neig...