Wheels and Beyond

What is the future of transportation in our cities? The turns have tabled in this special episode. Journalism student Will Bruce (from Fanshawe's Almost 107 radio show) interviewed me (Ben Durham). This is that recording. A note, this was recorded in 2024. Took me a while to get to the edit. Whoopsies. We dive into the daily life of biking across the city, even in freezing winter weather. We d...

Justine Underhill and I chat about her journey to becoming a city councillor in Falls Church, Virginia! We meander our way through the discussion, talking about tons of different topics. Justine Underhill is a city councillor in Falls Church, Virginia, and a content creator who uses her YouTube channel to break down complex urban design and economic issues. With a background in economics and perfo...

Colin Evans (emergency physician) and I chat about why (and how) he ditched his massive GMC Sierra pickup truck for an Urban Arrow cargo bike. This simple change saves his large family (wife and four daughters) over $10,000 per year, while not sacrificing anything - actually gaining more time with his family! We explore a LOT of topics, but some include: Near-misses with aggressive drivers Winter...

The transformative power of bicycling and cargo bikes in urban mobility need to be talked about. Not only are they a superpower in urban settings, but also in suburban settings. Rob Attrell shares his personal journey of commuting by bike for his whole life and then fairly recently moving out into the “suburbs” of Ottawa. He now bikes 20 km to work but still sees massive benefits of active transpo...

We're chatting with Michel Durand-Wood today—Winnipeg’s “Elmwood Guy,” municipal finance guru, and author of the upcoming book You’ll Pay for This. Michel’s passion for cities and their financial sustainability is contagious, and we dive deep into why every citizen is a co-owner of their city, not just a customer. Here’s a taste of what we cover: 🏙️ Why municipal finance is the “connective tissue”...

The car-first obsession is bankrupting businesses and strangling cities—and no one’s telling you the truth. Why are entrepreneurs blowing millions on gas-guzzling vans they barely use, while cities bulldoze communities to pave endless parking lots? Andrew Hunniford, co-founder of London Bicycle Café, storms into the Wheels and Beyond podcast to rip apart the delusion that cars equal progress. “We’...

This is a tell-all interview on the Wheels and Beyond Podcast (with Ben Durham) and a peak behind the scenes of Biktrix with today's guest: Gordon Lai, the Head of Strategy and Customer Experience at the company. Biktrix is a Canadian-Owned Electric Bike company that's different from many of the other “ebike companies” that you might have stumbled upon online. It staffs more than 50 employ...

My sister and I sit down and chat about how even though we live in entirely separate places (London and Waterloo & Ottawa), we're both incredibly similar, ESPECIALLY when it comes to how we get around our cities! But she's definitely one-upped me when it comes to her commuting habits… because she's NEVER DRIVEN TO WORK! See, even I can't claim that I've absolutely never dri...

By not investing in more options other than driving infrastructure (which is very expensive for many reasons), $2.5 million Canadian rupees are spent per day on everything to do with collisions (a lot of factors). That's A LOT OF MONEY. And it's even MORE wild on “bad days.” Bus riders in London, Canada proportionally pay SIGNIFICANTLY more for their fares than any other peer cities. We di...

Patty Wiens is the 50-year-old Bike Mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada! Hopping on her bike has changed her life, as have ebikes! Now she's a hardcore cycling advocate! Clearly, if SHE of all people, as a Brazilian who lives in “Winterpeg”, can bike as often as she does and who's sold her car can do it, so can a MASSIVE number of other people! We chat about that and much, MUCH more! Patty...

Fred Chagnon is a Randonneur (long-distance cycling sport) and avid cyclist in London, Ontario, Canada. I wanted to chat with him because he's also an avid listener of this podcast, but also “technically” not part of my target demographic – he's a MAMIL (Middle Aged Man In Lycra). But even though he's a capable and confident cyclist who WANTS to be a utility cyclist, he still finds tha...

In this episode, City of London Ward 6 Councillor Sam Trosow and I dissect Bill 212. You probably know about it. And this was filmed in November 2024, so the now infamous last-minute 11-page addition of amendments hadn't even happened yet. We obviously talk about a bunch of other things, too, but the municipal impact of Bill 212 is the primary thing we try to stick to. Get early access to videos a...

Today we have Bayley Inniss on as our guest! She's a first year PhD student in health promotion at Western University who bikes to and from campus with her children as a means to stay active and cut down on her carbon emissions. She wants to help people see that bike commuting CAN be the easy choice, possibly even easier than taking your car, especially when you can just avoid rush hour traffic en...

Today we have Sheryl Rooth as our guest! This is episode 14 of the Wheels and Beyond Podcast, this time recorded over on the second level of the Covent Garden Market, here in London, Ontario, Canada. Sheryl's a lifelong resident of London, Canada, has been married to John for 35 years, and has two grown children. She's a Commissioner with the London Transit Commission (London's transit/bus commiss...

Welcome to Episode 13 of the Wheels and Beyond Podcast! Today we have Andrea Loewen joining us as our guest! She’s a co-owner of a family medicine practice, here in London, Canada and the family doctor recruiter for London and Middlesex County. Their family is also the first national Live Net Zero winner and have worked tirelessly over the last TWENTY YEARS to reduce their environmental impact as...

Nic's a Vancouver-based content creator with a focus on micromobility and urbanism who joined me for a chat while in London, Canada. Specifically in Springbank Park :) In this episode of the Wheels and Beyond Podcast, we chat about a bunch of stuff, but some include: - how Nic ended up moving from London to Vancouver, - getting around by bike in small towns versus big ones, - how London isn’t as b...

Hailey Tallman's never owned a car and that's shaped the way that she's built her life – from being able to travel the world without being tied down, to being able to buy her house. She does almost everything on her e-bike, and before that, her various bicycles :) In episode 11 of the Wheels and Beyond Podcast, we chat about SO many incredible bicycle-related topics, and even SOME topics I bet you...

Matthew Tremblay is a mechanical engineering technologist and long-time friend, whose passion for all things transportation runs deep. On Episode 10 of the Wheels and Beyond podcast, we dive into Matt’s unique approach to reducing his carbon footprint, even as a car commuter. Matt shares his strategy of buying and restoring well-used vehicles, and his recent adventure in building his own ebike—whi...

Holly Evans is a mom of four from London, Canada who swapped her luxury SUV for a cargo bike and never looked back. On Episode 9 of the Wheels and Beyond podcast, we talk about how she, her husband, and their daughters live a car-lite lifestyle, clocking in an impressive 10,000 kilometres over two years on their Urban Arrow cargo bike! From daily school runs to grocery hauls—with all four kids and...

Today, we have Sebastian on as our guest for Episode 8 of the Wheels and Beyond Podcast. We sat and chatted on a bench under one of the only bits of shade that we could find in White Oaks Park. Sebastian is an architectural technologist and urban planning graduate from Fanshawe College, here in London Canada and developed a passion for cycling at the start of the pandemic and hasn’t stopped ever s...

Skylar Franke and I sat down in Victoria Park to chat and dive into topics like traffic, commute times, the significance of walkable communities, and the realities of housing in London. And, of course, the upcoming international Car Free Day when London buses will be FREE to ride during the entirety of the day! As per usual, it's A LOT of great stuff! And if you’re interested in urban planning, ac...

Dan Cameron is a father, scientist, musician, and advocate for safer streets, and we're sitting down with him to chat on Episode 6 of the Wheels and Beyond Podcast. Dan is an avid cyclist who regularly rides his bike in London, Burlington, and Hamilton, and has experienced cycling in cities like Toronto, Washington, DC, London (UK), and Winnipeg. Recorded in Doidge Park in Old North, London, O...

Welcome to episode 5 of the Wheels and Beyond podcast. Today I'm joined by Tamsine Gervais, an urbanist and student in the Bachelor of Environmental Design and Planning program at Fanshawe College, and the founder of Strong Towns London. Tamsine is passionate about the ways our environment shapes our lives and dedicated to creating spaces where people want to be. In our conversation, we dive i...

Welcome to episode 4 of the Wheels and Beyond podcast! Today I'm joined by Luis Patricio, a PhD student and part-time professor specializing in urban mobility and environmental sustainability. Luis, who hasn’t owned a car since 2007, brings a wealth of knowledge and passion for transport justice, making him the perfect guest to discuss how cities can better serve their residents. We recorded t...

Engineers Katie and Tom Lardner (and their two young kids) recently discovered the joy and freedom of cargo biking in the City of London… and have a lot to share with us! Some of the stuff that popped up about midway through this podcast recording blew my mind and has TRULY changed the way that I see urban street design forever. Talking to these Engineers was an absolute delight and had my brain m...