The Sprocket Podcast

  We talk with Mateen Richey, an 18 year old racer from right here in Portland, about how he got started racing bikes, why it’s easier when you fall in cyclocross, and his plans for college this fall. And Aaron and Joan feel old.  Find Mateen: teen503 on Instagram Mateen Richey on Facebook Teen503 ! on YouTube  Mateen’s college fund  Bike Portland profile of Mateen   FinePrin...

We talk with William Hsu, a recent transplant to Portland who has jumped into Pedalpalooza by volunteering with them on their social media campaign. How is Pedalpalooza going now that it’s Bike Summer?  Mail In response to our bike commuting episode and how to clean up at work, Richard Wezenky commented, “ Witch hazel works as well as alcohol to get rid of odor causing bacteria, but do...

  Hami and Mia Hami Ramani is a neurologist who has a big interest in making biking safer and reducing the usage of cars. He’s now in Portland and seems to be leading a resurgence of active transportation advocacy in the area. Mail Jason Aufdenberg says, “ Dear Sprocket Podcast, I enjoyed the discussion on bike commuting in EP 571! Like Guthrie, I too am interested if anyone is ma...

Guthrie and Joan went to the Portland waterfront to chat with a few folks about e-scooters. Future, here we come? 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@gmail.com phone/SMS: 503-847-9774 Twitter & Instagram : @SprocketPodcast Donate: Pa...

Guthrie, Aaron, and Armando loaded up the mobile recording equipment and headed out to Gateway Green, the first bike park in Portland, Oregon. Gateway Green is located in East Portland and offers an asphalt pump track as well as single track trails. Our hosts chatted with users about recent upgrades and how they’re using the park and its features. FinePrint Produced at home thanks to: music:...

Photo Credit – Darrell Shines The Sprocket Podcast gets to catch up with Darrell Shines of The Blackstage Pass ! Darrell has spent time cycling and living the commuter life in NY, Italy, and many others abroad. A recent resident, we chat about the “Portland” experience, and what it’s like to have fresh eyes on the city we call home. Check out his latest project in PDX, Cosm...

The Sprocket Podcast goes for a bike ride! We convinced some folks to ride with us on a blazingly hot Portland evening, and we recorded an episode along the way. Listen to podcast listeners and friends chat with us at Irving Park, Colonel Summers Park, and Ladd’s Addition Park about their bicycling pet peeves, common misconceptions about bicycling, good things happening in their bike lives,...

Photo by Jonathan Lee, @subtledream The pandemic bike boom and shifts in working life may mean more folks will be commuting by bicycle as remote workers return to the office. Experienced bike commuters Armando, Guthrie, and Joan chat about bike commuting to make this episode a helpful resource for new bike commuters. We discuss common questions from folks new to bike commuting and share our best t...

Joan and Armando talk with Kailey Kornhauser about her fantastic new film, All Bodies on Bikes , and fatphobia and size discrimination within the world of bicycling. Kailey is a PhD student and bikepacker based in Corvallis, Oregon. She and her collaborator Marley Blonsky are advocates for size-inclusivity in bicycling, consulting with vendors and leading webinars along with working with Shimano o...

  We take a moment to catch up with Ashley, Katya, and Arley about their experiences riding together, and creating space to ride as “The Chingonas” in PDX! What we talked about Everybody Climbs FinePrint Produced at home thanks to: music: Ryan J. Lane (intro & outro) & Hurtbird (headlines) graphic design: Marcus Norman web: http://thesprocketpodcast.com email us: thesprock...

Trevor joins us to chat about the Swift Summit, the spirit of a well tuned event, and aspirations for the future. From the race: Join those who are looking to dig deep for an event like no other: part brevet, part gran fondo, part self-supported endurance road race. Riders are provided a cue sheet, a marked course, and aid station/control points approximately 40 miles apart to restock. In between...

Tony Jordan is the co-founder and president of the Parking Reform Network . He’s been an advocate for parking reform for more than a decade. He talks with Joan, Armando, and Aaron about parking, why it’s so bad, and how it could be so much better. The Stuff We Talked About What is parking reform?  Tony’s path to parking reform Why free parking is bad for everyone (from Vox) Sightline s...

  Marc Schlossberg and Rebecca Lewis from the University of Oregon talk about their new open access book, Rethinking Streets During Covid-19 , part of the Rethinking Streets project, and how cities around the world changed streets for pedestrians, bicyclists, and more during the pandemic. The Stuff We Talked About Rethinking Streets Sustainable Cities Institute Bicycle Transportation Study Ab...

Photo courtesy of Bikes 4 Good This week we catch up with the Bike for Good Baja Divide Ride Border Angels Fundraiser group, type 2 fun, all the way! The Stuff We Talked About Bikes for Good: https://bikes4good.org/ Baja Divide Blog: https://bikes4good.org/trip-blog GoFundMe : https://www.gofundme.com/f/paula039s-campaign-for-border-angels Photos week 1: https://www.funatakecyclecraft.com/baja-div...

Joan, Armando, and Guthrie (aka Bob Vance) donned their brightest yellow jackets to record this episode, while Aaron’s camera went blank, preserving his all-black look. Do helmets protect our heads in bike crashes or make it more likely we’ll get into a crash? Do high viz clothes and gear actually make us more visible to people driving cars? Why do we spend so much time talking about h...

David Plotz, podcaster extraordinaire , joins Joan and Armando to talk about bike commuting in Washington, DC, his new podcast venture, City Cast , and how we can explore the world without making it worse. Or can we? Plus, David threatens to start a rival bike podcast! Follow David on Twitter and learn more about City Cast (and listen in Chicago and Denver) . Headlines ‘The pandemic trade-off’: So...

  Parking geeks and non-parking-geeks rejoice! Slate staff writer Henry Grabar gives us the deep dive on parking, along with insights on bike lanes, gentrification, city street changes during the pandemic, Biden’s infrastructure plan, Secretary Pete, his high school bike commute in New York City, and more. Henry is writing a book on parking, and you can follow him on Twitter . HEADLINES...

  This week we catch up with the folks @BikePOCPNW , Will Cortez, Sukho Viboolsittiseri, and Silas Sanderson about their experiences in the Portland and PNW cycling community. HEADLINES No headlines this week. EVENTS No events this week. MAIL No mail this week – send us something fun to read perhaps? If you let us know your address Guthrie will send you a handwritten letter with a speci...

  This week we catch up with Polly Bledsoe, bikepacker, polar bear dodger, and pdx ride extraordinaire! Keep up with the rides in Portland at pdxunityride What’s a microaggression? (link) Off The Chain Anchorage Momoko Saunders HEADLINES All Bodies on Bikes “Kailey Kornhauser and Marley Blonsky are on a mission – a mission to change the idea that people in larger bodies can’t ride...

Tools! Outside house tools, inside house tools – everything inbetween. In this episode we cover our approaches to home and on the road mechanicking, as well as wisdom and advice hard won over the years. Whether novice, apprehensive, or a complete expert we think this episode will have a lot for everyone! HEADLINES No headlines this week MAIL   No mail this week – send us something...

We take a moment to chat with Adah and Malina, former Harriet Tubman students, and youth leaders and activists at Grant HS about the ODOT Freeway widening, and life in general. LEARN MORE No More Freeways PDX Oregon DOT Freeway Expansion Project HEADLINES Air quality soars in school streets that banished cars From the Times of London, a report on new research that showed that “closing roads around...

We take a moment to chat with Peter Flax, Peter Flax is a journalist and lifelong cyclist. As the editor in chief of Bicycling magazine, he got to cover the Tour de France and ride more than 500 different bikes. He has ridden with Eddy Merckx, Greg Lemond, Miguel Indurain—and has maintained a complicated relationship with Lance Armstrong. He has ridden cross-country and raced bikes for year with g...

We take a moment to mark the transition of Brock out of his role of co-co-co-co-co-host, making time for the young ones and living the good life. In retrospect, it’s been an amazing 10 years and we look forward to his occasional appearance from The Attic(TM) studio as he sees fit. HEADLINES – EVENTS Free bike education every 4th Wednesday with Courtney Williams at 6pm Eastern, NYC Bike...

We take a moment to catch up a year in 10 minutes, and then talk about the next 10 years to come. Join us as we learn about #boatmonth2020, proper hitchhiking etiquette, and how magic can happen when you put trikes, builders, and great ideas together. ( Book Bikes anyone? ) HEADLINES Bay Area Begins to Roll Out E-Bike Incentives Under Clean Cars 4 All From Streetsblog CAL: “Clean Cars For All is a...

Cohost Guthrie Straw took a very responsible, very intense and very isolated bicycle tour across Oregon last summer in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.  How do you stay separated from others, avoid stores, and carry all your food while riding across the state?  We talk about this.  And a LOT about food. See Guthrie’s photos here. (click link for more)   Also, as always, thanks to ou...