The Sprocket Podcast

  It had to happen sometime.  It happens to everything!  So long and thanks for all the fish. We are inexpressibly grateful to you, the listener, for allowing us to speak to you for as long as you did.  Hold our thanks in your heart. This audio was recorded in Portland on December 28, 2024 with Joan, Armando, Aaron, Guthrie, and Brock.  We spent about 90 minutes covering our beginnings, devel...

Friends, it’s been a while! Let’s catch up on our summer bike adventures. Armando joins the Ride for Racial Justice and glides over Steamboat’s champagne gravel. Emily bike camps the C&O Canal. And Joan camps and bikes on Lopez Island in the San Juans. Then, we share some updates on our podcast schedule for the next year. The Sprocket Podcast is produced by Emily Guise, Arman...

New bike day is great, but have you heard of new host day? Joan is delighted to introduce new Sprocket host Emily Guise. Joan and Emily discuss the kind of bicycling we do and what to call it (utility cycling? commuting and transportation? joyriding?) along with tips for riding your bike in sequins and that popular $500 ebike deal. Plus, Joan announces some retirements and other podcast changes. D...

Ex-executive producer Brock Dittus catches up with Armando, Guthrie, and Joan about bike camping and urban mobility with kids, the joys and challenges of home ownership, climate change, and music. And Joan learns the world of instant coffee is much bigger than she ever dreamed.   FinePrint Produced at home thanks to: music: Ryan J. Lane (intro & outro) & Hurtbird (headlines) graphic d...

The best day of the year! Matthew Hoselton and Carrie Leonard join Joan to talk about their new bikes, a Breezer Doppler for Carrie, a Soma Wolverine for Matthew, and a Bluejay Premier ebike for Joan. Check our social media for more bike photos! Thanks to our listeners, supporters, and guests for your patience during our unplanned summer hiatus. We will be sharing some news and another episode soo...

In this weeks show, an announcement, talk of topics (and just a feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew more things to boot) – We had a  LOT of fun with this one, hope folks enjoy! NEWS Japanese police seize 5,800 bike seats, arrest man in theft case from Kyodo News Osaka prefectural police have seized about 5,800 bicycle seats from a rental storage facility and have arrested a truck driver on theft charges, t...

  Photo Credit: Kelly Stangl At Long Last! – We chat with Mike Cobb of The Disaster Relief Trials , occurring this weekend!   Portland Disaster Responder Stats Responder Ratio Stats 14,418 professional first responders 652,503 Portlanders Ratio: 1:45  FEMA says over 95% of major disaster victims are rescued and assisted by ad-hoc citizen volunteers. FEMA Community Response Program...

In this episode we catch up with  THREE TIME  award  WINNING guest, Megan Ramey! Covering cyclocross, transit, family biking, maps, adventures, and more! https://www.bikabout.com/ Bikabout inspires 2-wheeled tourism in North America’s best biking cities. In the news: “Crazy bike lady” helps kids walk and roll in Hood River   Megan is Mobility Director for Anson’s Bike Buddies, a Columbi...

Join us as we chat with Roo Albisurez, photographer, athlete, extraordinaire. Mentions https://www.instagram.com/roo_media https://www.instagram.com/warpaintmag/ https://www.ralbisurez.com/ https://www.warpaintmag.co/ Jessa the surfer: https://www.instagram.com/p/CaAwDVtujoA/   Bike Instructor Certification Program https://icp.bike/bicp-certification-usa/ Courtney Williams highlights BIPOC bike fo...

When he injured his hand, our friend GoDigaHole shifted his riding to an indoor bicycle When we say all bikes are good bikes, do we mean exercise bikes too? Guthrie, Joan, and Armando tackle the big questions in our latest episode, with a discussion of stationary bikes and trainers, with lots of comments from listeners. Plus, we consider some new directions for the podcast… Mentioned in this...

Architect Iain MacKenzie joins us to talk about his mom’s bike trip to Scotland as well as zoning, urban design, and indoor bike parking. Iain on Twitter: @maccoinnich Iain’s blog: NextPortland Discussed in this episode: Bike Portland Wonk Night News The Sprocket Podcast will be releasing new episodes every other week, after 10 years of (mostly) weekly episodes. This will be a more sustainable app...

This week we catch up with recent Reed grad, Devery Sheridan. Can better marketing save us from our transportation woes? Stay tuned to find out. News:  The Sprocket Podcast will be releasing new episodes every other Monday, after 10 years of (mostly) weekly episodes, this balance lets us keep the show going and keep the conversations rolling along. Mail: From Joan – Mechanics Ask Walmart, Ma...

  It’s our January Reboot! Mail: From Josh Guttmacher: POINTLESSLY SHIFT YOUR BIKE’S ELECTRONIC GEARS LIKE A MANUAL CAR From Anna: Biking and Birding Across The Great Divide As an American politics professor, I always encourage my students to drive across country at some point in their lives to better understand these United States—the immense diversity, the varying terrains, and the ab...

In this Episode, join Guthrie & Player 2 on a cycle around Portland playing… Biketag! That’s right, you’ve heard it on the show and now you can join us on a night of discovery. This episode is one in a series of each Sprocket member doing something a little different… a little… creative? We hope you enjoy these vignettes Learn More: biketag.org (find or start a ch...

Armando, Aaron, and Joan are joined by Tim Mooney of Pedalshift for a new round of Bike Draft, a sportsball-inspired draft game where we each attempt to assemble a bicycle for touring. Who wins the game? That’s up to you to decide! Let us know via the episode post or stories (while it lasts) on Instagram , on Twitter , or via email . Here’s what we ended up with (don’t read this...

We asked, you answered! We discussed some of the more inane ways to finagle life on a bike and other little known bike facts. (Or maybe you know em’, but we’ll have some fun anyway!)   FinePrint Produced at home thanks to: music: Ryan J. Lane (intro & outro) & Hurtbird (headlines) graphic design: Marcus Norman web: http://thesprocketpodcast.com email us: thesprocketpodcast...

Joan & Aaron are joined by friend Kimber to watch part of the installation of Portland’s new Congressman Earl Blumenauer Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge . We chat with a few fellow spectators, project our own fears and anxieties onto the crane operators, and admire Earl’s aubergine bike from afar. FinePrint Produced at home thanks to: music: Ryan J. Lane (intro & outro) & Hurtbird (headl...

Jenna & Sofie join us to talk about their motivations and experiences working in bike shops in Portland, and a bit about what they like to get up to when not wrenching around. Mail Mr T sent us this posting from Craigslist: Peugeot 5 speed with lawn mower FinePrint Produced at home thanks to: music: Ryan J. Lane (intro & outro) & Hurtbird (headlines) graphic design: Marcus Norman web:...

Micah Bishop from Neighbors for Clean Air joins us to talk about diesel pollution, environmental justice, and just transitions. Aaron and Joan are horrified to learn that our home, Multnomah County, has some of the worst diesel pollution in the country.    Discussion References: Purple Air WhatIsInOurAir Oregon Just Transition Alliance Sunrise Movement PDX , Youth Versus ODOT Neighbors for Cl...

As we dig out our rain pants and bike lights, Aaron, Armando, Guthrie, and Joan gather outside in person on a drizzly night to chat about the best of summer and discuss future bike dreams and adventures. Plus we share adventures and plans from listeners Brian, Hami, Emily, Brock, and @blackrtea. Check out this video of a lovely Vancouver Island bikeway (mentioned by Joan, tweet via Martyn Schmool...

Jenna Phillips is glamorizing the everyday bicycling life with her charming TikTok videos. Joan dubbed these romantic portrayals of running errands by bike “glorious bike propaganda,” and that’s what Aaron and Joan chat with Jenna about in this week’s episode. Find Jenna on TikTok , Instagram , and Twitter (she re-shares some TikTok videos on the other platforms). You can s...

Ramon Martinez joins us from the city of Independence, Oregon to let us know how he’s helping to turn this small Willamette Valley city into a big cycling destination. “Drop the Hammer” weekends offer short or long road or off-road rides that include some competition (if you want). Best thing about these rides? Your own start times! BikeIndy website Ramon on Instagram Ramon on St...

Spokesmama Lisa Corriveau is keeping busy in Vancouver, BC! She chats with Joan and Guthrie about bicycling with her kids, being a car-free family, volunteering with Cycling Without Age, and her job as a cycling instructor for HUB Cycling, teaching kids and adults how to ride a bike. She also shares how arthritis has impacted her bicycling and the changes she’s seen in infrastructure in Vanc...

Navigate without an app? What kind of shenanigans are we up to now? Aaron, Armando, Guthrie, and Joan discuss wayfinding in new and familiar places without relying on mapping software. Thanks to Maria Schur for the topic suggestion!   FinePrint Produced at home thanks to: music: Ryan J. Lane (intro & outro) & Hurtbird (headlines) graphic design: Marcus Norman web: http://thesprocketpo...

Aaron and Joan chat with Cassie Wilson, a climate justice and disability activist, about the service and transportation challenges of living in a rural area, the freedoms and frustrations of having a driver’s license, the high costs of owning a car, and how we’re managing our climate grief and anxiety. Instagram: @SunrisePDX Twitter: @SunrisePDX & @wilsonxcassie Bike Portland piece by Cassie M...