Bike Talk - A radio show dedicated to the idea that for public and planetary health we need to prioritize public transportation by bikes

Nick and Taylor ride Joe Borfo’s Tandem in Griffith Park

Latest Episode

2605 Our Streets

February 6, 2026

Taylor and Nick agree that scarves are for everyone.

Parker S rode in the Minneapolis Alex Pretti memorial ride 1/31 and shares what it was like (6:52).

Listener Rick Bosacker writes that bike rides shouldn’t be polarizing, or political (2:54).

Streeetsblog NYC and LA editors Gersh Kuntzman and Joe Linton share their top priorities for bike advocacy in 2026 (10:55).

Charlie’s News: NYC deliverista settlement delivers $5 million in backpay. The minimum hourly rate for deliveristas reaches $21.44 in NYC. A NH proposed bill would require $50/year registration for all bikes. A UK study claims cargo bike deliveries are 1.61 times faster than vans (22:10).

Mayor Adams’ NYC DOT awarded a contract for citywide secure bike parking to a different company than Oonee, the company synonymous with secure bike parking in NYC. Shabazz Stuart, Oonee Founder & CEO, on proving it works and being left behind medium.com/oonee/proving-it-wo…behind-81d3ef16d8d2(24:45).

Karen Lankeshofer’s quest to tell the world about the pioneering female athlete Elsa Von Blumen, a professional bike racer in the 1880s (42:08 ).

advocacy, bikeparking, history, safestreets
26/04 Riding With ICE and Snow

January 30, 2026

Alex Pretti, murdered by ICE in Minneapolis, was a bike rider. Laura Groenjes Mitchell of Our Streets Minneapolis and Brett Macgraw of the West Metro Active Transportation Alliance share a multi-city memorial ride for Alex Pretti started by his local bike shop, the Angry Catfish. Also, a fundraiser for people trapped by ICE in Minneapolis (0:46).

A Die-in on the steps of Los Angeles’ City Hall to protest the 290 traffic deaths in LA last year. With Damian Kevitt, E.D. of Streets Are For Everyone (8:10).

Charlie’s News: A damaging e-bike bill is signed in New Jersey, and Hoboken’s successful pilot program that got drivers out of bike and bus lanes hasn’t been renewed, but at least the state is getting $14 million for bike and pedestrian projects. Columbia, South Carolina won’t be getting its bike share program back. Atlanta is poised for another round of e-bike rebates (17:31).

Jim Pocrass addresses Scofflaw Cyclist myths (12:20).

Our all-weather bike panel addresses the “no one bikes x months of the year” trope. Sarah Bisbee in Edmonton, Patty Wiens in Winnipeg, Patrick Murphy in Montreal, Nicholas Laporte in Vancouver, Victor Koves in Chicago, Jim Cadenhead in Boston, and Ignacio “Nacho” Delgadillo in Tempe- for the hot perspective (21:40).

Stacey’s Bike Thought (54:18).

bikelash, bikeshare, ebike, trafficviolence, winterbike
26/03 Occupied By Biking

January 23, 2026

Do we need e-shifters? Is Taylor a luddite? (0:19)

Listener Email: South Carolina’s Freeway for Bikes (2:43)

Blind riding in tandem, with Sonya Chapnick (3:44).

Charlie’s News: New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposes a “stop super speeders” pilot program. Check out the best new bike lanes of 2025. A New Jersey ebike lumping law threatens low-income riders and immigrants. Ontario government spent hundreds of thousands in the legal fight to rip up bike lanes in Toronto (14:33).

NY Governor Kathy Hochul plans to appease our car oppressors with cheap insurance and low coverage in NY, StreetsblogNYC editor Gersh Kuntzman says in this NY Minute (17:19).

On “Everything That Has Changed Since Congestion Pricing Started in New York,” with NY Times writer Emily Badger (19:43).

Los Angeles Bikerowave Co-op Head Mechanic Shane Quentin on the co-op model. Interviewed by Liana at Bike! Bike! in Mexico City (39:50).

co-ops, congestionpricing, disability, Speed, tandem
26/02 Hopes

January 16, 2026

Bike Mechanic Jim Cadenhead consults with Taylor about fixing a flat on his Surly. Problems: there’s a thru-axle and he thought it was tubeless (2:45).

Charlie’s News: Virginia plans toget rid of parking minimums in September. Zohran pleases some as he smooths a notorious bump at the end of Williamsburg Bridge, but leaves others dissatisfied with the continuation of cyclists receiving criminal summonses. Over 2,700 ebikes have been sold and subsidized in the Bay Area in the last 6 months. As mountain biking gains popularity, bike parks are becoming the status quo instead of traditional trail development (11:13).

The NYPD targeted cyclists in the Williamsburg Bridge bike lane near the “zohramp,” where Mamdani personally fixed a bump. Meanwhile, drivers ran red lights with impunity https://www.reddit.com/r/MicromobilityNYC/s/Wi4hDxk6eA (42:22).

Zohran Mamdani’s transportation and bike focus in his first week as NYC Mayor with Carl Mahaney, Director of Streetopia Upper West Side; Sophia Lebowitz, reporter with Streetsblog NYC; Miser, who runs the Micromobility NYC subreddit; and Shabazz Stuart, founder and CEO of Oonee bike storage (16:20).

Los Angeles is ‘throwing good money after bad’ trying to solve the traffic problem at its airport, LAX, says Jacob Wasserman https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-12-16/lax-airport-traffic-olympics (46:06).

bikelash, diy, lax, mamdani, micromobility
26/01 New Year, Same Things

January 9, 2026

Bike Talk Listener Survey results (0:40).

Notable bike-related laws of 2025 with bike lawyer Jim Pocrass (15:00).

Mamdani’s transit-focused inauguration in a New York Minute with Streetsblog NYC Editor Gersh Kuntzman (21:45).

Charlie’s News: Mamdani brings back de Blasio-era plan for McGuinness Boulevard. Leadville, CO will host Fat Bike Worlds later in January. Citi Bike prices are increasing for the 5th consecutive year. A 93-kilometer bike highway is coming to Dubai (23:32).

Los Angeles tactical urbanist Jonathan Hale charged with vandalism for installing a DIY-crosswalk where there should have been one (28:31).

All Bodies on Bikes founder Marley Blonsky hit by car in a Portland protected bike lane, unhurt; and the new ABOB movie, book (44:48).

bikelanes, crosswalk, laws, mamdani, tacticalurbanism
#2552 Best of 2025

January 2, 2026

A sample of the interviews that made Bike Talk Bike Talk in 2025:

Lucy Maloney, bike advocate turned council member in Vancouver from Episode #2533 (0:38).

Zohran Mamdani interviewed by micro mobility organizer “miser” when Zohran ran for Mayor, from Episode #2525 (13:56).

Black Girls Do Bike/Anjoleah Daye on BGDB in Los Angeles from the 2/7/2025 Episode (24:37).

Sophia Lebowitz on the problem of illegal ebikes, or emotos from Episode #2543 (37:23).
Jonathan Hale on painting DIY crosswalks in Los Angeles from Episode #2534 (45:18).

crosswalks, diy, ebikes, mamdani, tacticalurbanism
#2551 Call To Action

December 26, 2025

Listener email: The AV debate: safer than humans (Waymo at least, but Teslas crash more often). On the other hand, AI is inhuman and AVs could increase car dependency (1:07)

Charlie’s News: Pride bike racks in response to pride crosswalk removal in Florida; University of Minnesota study shows biking before sunrise doesn’t hold back elementary school cyclists; Bike LA and Lime Hero partner to round up for local programs; Cheeky vests win back funding for bike lane plowing in Ontario (5:30).

Why don’t drivers lose their license for multiple DUIs and worse in California? (See License to Kill). We ask our lawyer and sponsor, Jim Pocrass (8:20).

The Federal Reauthorization bill won’t include money for bikes, walking, or anything that would slow cars for the next 5 years unless we let congress know that Americans want to be safe on their streets. Caron Whitaker of League of American Bicyclists asks bike groups to sign on to this letter to congress (15:37).

A judge in Queens, NYC ruled that a partially finished protected bike lane had to be removed. Her judgment was questionable and should be overturned, StreetsblogNYC writer David Meyer says (18:46).

Sustainable travel expert Peter Cox on cycling as a social movement (33:25).

AVs, bikelash, mobility
#2550 Weakest Link

December 19, 2025

Vehicular cycling and Aaron Swanson of League of American Bicyclists’ League Certified Instructor‘s most recent graduating class in Los Angeles (4:15).

Charlie’s News- Streetsblog NYC article on everything wrong with anti Astoria bike lane ruling; are AVs like Waymo cyclists’ allies? Indianapolis plows bike lanes for first time; NJ bill would require license and insurance for all ebikes; Comebacks to this year’s anti-bike arguments (7:25)

Coffee + randonneuring= Coffeeneuring. With Karen Canady (15:38).

Bike Long Beach on NIMBY opposition to the Orange Avenue Backbone Bikeway (23:55).

Biking in winter in Minneapolis with Brett McGraw (36:20).

A European bike tour with Craig and Tamara Blett (45:30).

Stacey’s Bike Thought (55:14).

AVs, bikelane, bikelash, biketour, ebikes, lci, vehicularcycling, winterbike
#2549 Moral Panic On Ebikes

December 12, 2025

Our Mission Statement, reviews, a listener email, and please take our survey!(0:19)

Charlie’s News: New bike lanes in Boston increase bike trips and decrease car traffic; Astoria, Queens rips up a partially installed bike lane due to bikelash; Iowa City free bus ridership and service is up, emissions down; FSA/HSA pre-tax $ can be put towards a bike- with a doctor’s note (4:57).

Montreal plows snow from bike lanes and sidewalks. Why can’t every snowy city? We ask Patrick Murphy of Oh The Urbanity (7:28).

A round table on the NY Times Article “The Dangers of Ebikes” with our New Yorker/Marin County panel: Warren Wells, Policy and Advocacy Director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition; Carl Mahaney, Director of Streetopia Upper West Side; Sophia Lebowitz, writer of “The ‘Problem’ With E-Bikes? The Super Fast Illegal Ones,” and Miser, organizer of the subreddit MicromobilityNYC (14:50).

A bike tour of Japan by Aaron Lipstadt (42:25).

Also, 12/12/25 is the last day people can order Bike Talk books from the Bookshop page at biketalk.org with Standard Shipping to have them arrive on time to put under the tree.

bikelanes, biketour, ebikelash, winterbike
#2548 Bike Rights

December 5, 2025

Bike books for Christmas-with the editors of Microcosm’s “They Ride at Night” anthology of Queer, Feminist, Fantastical Bicycle Halloween Stories, Summer Jewel Keown and Elly Blue (3:36).

Queens City Couriers delivers anything by bike in Buffalo, New York. Rebecca tells us about that, a bike messenger memorial, and how being a bike courier compares to being a Marine, which she also has been (13:15).

Charlie’s News: NYC council candidates funded by Uber, women transportation leaders, bike lane sweepers, and last year’s Chicago and Philadelphia traffic casualty stats (25:55).

Police bias, media bias, and bike law with Jim Pocrass (27:14).

How to get in shape for a bike tour, the latest in our bike tour series with Josh Bowden of Adventure Cycling. And drop in to our December 16, 4pm Pacific Instagram event with Adventure Cycling! (36:29)

bikebooks, bikelash, bikemessengers, biketour, microcosm