‘Choosing Your Route’ on Bike Talk
This episode looks at choosing a bike ride route for exploratory pleasure. We interview a team of bike guide authors and talk with a representative from the Adventure Cycling Association about translating good routes to good maps. This episode aired on August 25, 2012.
Jim Brown of the California Bicycle Coalition gave an update on state news:
- The California Assembly postponed to next week a vote on the 3-foot passing (SB1464) bill;
- State Senate approved increased fines for driving while texting or using a cellphone ($30 first offense, $60 second);
- Long Beach entered 10-year partnership with Bike Nation to start a bike share in LB come next February; And,
- USC’s will use metal barricades to separate cyclists and pedestrians on the campus spine, Trousdale Parkway. He noted that a student survey showed that 20% (!) of undergraduates have no regular cycling experience prior to coming to campus.
Yikes – metal barricades won’t fix that problem. Thanks, Jim!
For local news we caught up with Carol Feucht, Membership & Communications Manager for the LACBC, who hipped us to Ballona Creek and LA River path closures, local events, and opportunities to support SB 1464 – as well as to highlight that organization’s monthly Sunday Funday ride, which this coming weekend will be a ‘FunGay’ ride to the infamous Hamburger Mary’s Drag Queen Brunch. Thanks, Carol!
In-Studio Guests
We talk to Sarah Amelar and Jon Riddle about Where to Bike Los Angeles, their spiral-bound 81-route guide to the greater Los Angeles region. Amelar, a New York-born writer & editor with a Masters of Architecture, and Riddle, a So-Cal native and desert rat from Needles (ouch!) with his PhD in economics, mix their respective right & left brain talents to come up with 81 rides that map points of interest, restaurants, and hidden gems from the Santa Monica Mountains to Long Beach and beyond. Thanks Sarah and Jon for your time and wisdom.
Call-In Guest
We talk with Melissa Thompson, a GIS specialist & cartographer with Adventure Cycling Association, about how great rides are translated into nifty Adventure Cycling touring maps. She’s resident in Missoula, Montana, but has trekked from Los Angeles to Boston and most recently came to our region to recoinnoiter Route 66 for the organization’s US Bike Route 66 effort. This 45k-member 501©3 nonprofit organization is worth a $40 annual membership. Thanks, Melissa, for a peek behind the curtain at the magic!
In our bonus hour, we engage in some freewheeling conversation with Sarah and Jon.
Additional Links:
Further Reading
James Hawkes talks about his collision experience, which could be called ‘best case’ because the driver claimed responsibility. Then come the challenges: dealing with the driver’s insurance company. A recumbent rider, James shares is bad experiences with Hummers in particular.
