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

#2541 Countering Car Culture

October 17, 2025

Bike tech: Dynamo lights and pocket compressors (0:19).

Charlie’s News (4:21).

Two authors on what we’ve lost by making kids car dependent: author of A Love Letter to Suburbia Diane Alisa interviews co-author of Curbing Traffic Melissa Bruntlett on her chapter, The Child-Friendly City (6:51).

The delights of a Slovenian bike tour with Hour Away guide Nejc Peternelj and Taylor’s brother John & Sister in Law Alice, who took the tour by ebike (22:34).

Bike Ped Committee Chair Kristen Sykes interviews Holyoke, Massachusetts Mayor Joshua Garcia about countering car culture with complete streets on the 3rd annual Holyoke Mayoral ride (43:18).

bikelights, bikenews, biketour, completestreets, kidmobility
#2540 The Deadly Status Quo

October 10, 2025

Ride For Your Life is a Washington, D.C. memorial ride in honor of Sarah Langenkamp, whose husband, Dan, worked to pass a law protecting cyclists in her name after she was killed riding in a bike lane. Taylor talks to Dan Langenkamp (2:04).

After Bike Talk thinker Stacey Randecker was hit while riding, we asked why personal injury lawsuits take so long to pay out. Our lawyer, Jim Pocrass, tells all (18:35).

Charlie’s Bike News (24:40).

A report called “The Powerless Brokers” by Circulate San Diego finds “California can’t build transit.” Lindsay talks to Circulate SD CEO Colin Parent (27:05).

NYC bill Intro 1138 would ban parking within 20 feet of street corners, “daylighting” intersections so drivers and other road users can see what’s coming…but NYC’s DOT exaggerated the parking that would be lost, Upper West Side Council Member Gale Brewer pulled her support for the bill, and now its passage is in danger. All for the love of parking, explains Streetopia Upper West Side Director Carl Mahaney. (39:43).

Ride The Vines is a Temecula, California wine region cycling event that supports charities, schools, and bike safety. Taylor talks with Gary Oddi and Ernie Castro about the ride (46:53).

Stacey’s Bike Thought (54:39).

charityride, daylighting, memorialride, transit
#2539 – Champions of Bike Advocacy

October 3, 2025

Bay Wheels bikeshare in the East Bay lends ebikes for $20/month to qualified residents and $120 for everyone else, reports Bike East Bay co-Executive Director Justin Hu-Nguyen (1:05).

Former San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio on being recalled by drive-happy voters over his support for converting a portion of the Great Highway into the new Sunset Dunes Park (7:08).

Biking, BARTing, and e-scooting at 14 in the Bay Area: Quin Binzak (24:50).

The Federal Government has taken away approved funding for bike and safe streets infrastructure, or anything “hostile to cars.” Caron Whitaker, E.D. of League of American Bicyclists, on its work with lawmakers. Also, League Certified Instructor training (29:56).

Staying positive in bike messaging, as per Dave Snyder’s newsletter (39:39).

Charlie’s News (42:15)

It’s getting darker, dynamo lights are awesome, and other light news from Battle Road Bike Shop mechanic Jim Cadenhead (45:03).

bepositive, bikelash, bikeshare, biketobart, dynamolights, fallriding, lci, recall
#2538 – Reasons to Ride

September 26, 2025

A JAMA study finds biking is associated with lower dementia incidence (23:00).

Should we tell people they ought to bike to COSTCO? A Bluesky user responds to episode #2535 (2:49).

Bike East Bay Advocacy Director Robert Prinz explains why federal bike infrastructure doesn’t have to be “stupid,” in response to Charles Marohn’s comments in episode #2537 (4:49).

A West Hollywood resident defends the famous Fountain Ave bike lane pilot project from the perspective of both “entitled driver” AND “entitled cyclist” (7:13).

Black Girls Do Bike founder Monica Garrison on the Kitty Knox Academy, a program to prepare “Sheroes” to become nationally certified League Cycling Instructors (LCIs) through the League of American Bicyclists (9:06).

Dutch Cycling Embassy International Relations Manager Chris Bruntlett on how China is leapfrogging the Netherlands in bike infrastructure and bikeshare, the popularity of bike transportation versus bikelash fueled by a privileged minority, and Women Changing Cities (22:07).

Pushing Pedals Sundays, a social ride that patronizes black owned businesses in Detroit, closes for winter and football season. Reo Ramsey, bike light and pedicab entrepreneur, tells us about the ride (48:50).

activetransportation, bikeablecity, bikeinfrastructure, cyclingambassador, entitleddriver, lci, sheroes, socialride
#2537 – Validation

September 19, 2025

Listener emails in response to last episode’s bike lane hater from Eric Brightwell, host of the Nobody Drives in LA podcast and Ross, a West Hollywood vehicular cyclist who uses the street on which Bike Lane Hater does not want a lane (0:21).

What are the legal implications for organizing a community bike ride, bike bus, or other non-sponsored event? asks listener Dr. Rick Bosacker. Our lawyer/sponsor Jim Pocrass lays down the law on liability for taco ride organizers (4:43).

Strong Towns founder and Confessions of a Recovering Engineer author Chuck Marohn and the author of A Love Letter to Suburbia Diane Alisa on why we don’t have better bike infrastructure, the right/left divide, and how we’ll get things done (9:40).

Boston’s Bikeway Block Party is an annual inclusive, community-focused festival designed to showcase arts, activities, and culture and celebrate shared space. Jim Cadenhead, original Bike Talk host and BBP organizer, recaps the Party (34:06).

Bay Area Transit’s Biking, Birding, and BART ride: Stacey Randecker with BART Bike Access Program Manager Heath Maddox and BART Bicycle Task Force member Moe Gevirtz (41:05).

bikeinfrastructure, bikelash, bikeparty, biketour, liability, vehicularcycling
#2536 – Answers.

September 12, 2025

Bike tours of Portland, Oregon by Cycle Portland, an interview of Charlotte by listener contributor Jonathan Weiss (1:26).

A Love Letter to Suburbia is a new book on how car dependency, corporate control, and disintegrating community values have eroded the sense of connection and purpose that once defined American neighborhoods, and how to fix that with pedestrian first “villages.” Author/Instagram influencer Diane Alisa talks (6:06).

A longtime listener that happens to be a professional planner responds to some of the arguments raised by the West Hollywood bike hater from our last episode, in script form (28:45).

Northampton, Massachusetts documentary maker Thomas Draudt uses his art to battle the bike haters and support the multimodal complete streets project “Picture Main Street” (48:00).
These Are The People in Your Neighborhood

September 5, 2025

Why, being flat and on Manhattan’s “doorstep,” is Long Island so resistant to all bike infrastructure? asks listener Sean Cirillo (0:53).

West Hollywood bike lane opponent Kyle Brazil debates Taylor about installing a bike lane on Fountain Avenue (6:13).

The author of A Love Letter to Suburbia, Diane Alisa, has empathy for conservatives and suburban people who might want to ease away from car dependency, but are triggered by the word ‘city’ (30:47).

advocacy, cardependency, urbanism
#2534 – Build It

August 29, 2025

Zohran Mamdami’s New York City transit scavenger hunt with participant Wilson Nichols, Taylor’s nephew (2:38).

San Francisco bike share user Kalise shares with Taylor what drives her to ride in SF (but not Los Angeles) (7:19).

The high price of bike share, and what could be a better model: free, at first. With Dave Snyder, author of the Substack newsletter, “Bike Share Booms Despite a Broken Business Model” (9:16)

The Crosswalk Collective paints crosswalks where they legally ought to be, but aren’t. When Collective member Jonathan Hale painted crosswalks at a West Los Angeles park, the LA Department of Transportation made them real (26:07).

The California Bicycle Coalition sponsors AB891, the Quick Build Bill, which would allow Caltrans to make fast and cheap safety improvements to streets (49:39).

#bikeshare, #calbike, #Crosswalks, #losangeles, #mamdani, #nyc, #protest, #quickbuild, #sanfrancisco, #zohran
#2533 Bikes Up

August 22, 2025

Vancouver bike activist Lucy Maloney won a seat on the anti- bike city council she fought for years. She gave Taylor a tour of the city and talks about her journey (2:24).

Speed cameras will go up this year in Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, Long Beach, and the City and County of San Francisco, courtesy of California’s AB 645. California bike lawyer (and Bike Talk sponsor) Jim Pocrass says slower speeds will make cyclists safer, but enforcement may be in question because the cams won’t recognize faces due to privacy concerns (16:57).

Paint and political will are all you need, says Micromobilitynyc Reddit moderator Miser of Queens, NY. Miser talks on Ave 31, the protected bike lane he fought for and won (25:25).

Queens bike lane opponents are suing Miser along with the DOT for traffic calming (38:35).

The USDOT wants to hear from Americans what their priorities for transportation are. It’s part of the Transportation Reauthorization process, which will set priorities and spending for US transportation for the next 5 years. USDOT secretary Sean Duffy (former Fox host, now also head of NASA) says bike lanes cause traffic, and shouldn’t take money from real “vehicles.“ The League of American Bicyclists Deputy Director Caron Whitaker urges supporters of biking and walking infrastructure to comment here (39:13).

MassDOT’s under-the-radar redesign spits cyclists from a bike lane onto a busy road, Strong Towns Northampton member Alex Bowman discovers (41:43).

#bikeadvocacy, #bikelane, #bikepolitics, #canada, #mamdani, #nimby, #queens, #speedcams, #transportation, #usdot
#2532 – Kids Ride Worldwide

August 15, 2025

Listener feedback: Rebecca Reilly wants Nick to pronounce “Ontario” correctly, and Rick Bosacker says we should talk more about biking’s mental and physical health benefits (0:50).

Paris’ bike revolution from the POV of Bike Talk intern Charlie Leightheiser – bike lanes, bike share, and bikelash (4:27).

It’s never too early to start planning for the week without driving, which is 9/29 – 10/5 (10:30).

Penny, seven, interviews Zahavah, six, on techniques to relearn riding a bike (12:33).

SF bike culture from the POV of bike mechanics Tai and Bruno at Columbus Cyclery (14:47).

Bikes and trains go together, and there’s a map for that in Southern California put together by Jonah Kanner and the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition (17:34).

The Los Angeles DOT is planning a potential bike corridor downtown at Spring and Alameda. There’s a survey to give some feedback to ensure this happens (28:05).

Kiddical Mass, Ottawa edition: Cassie Smith, Bike Ottowa Vice President, and her kids take us for a ride (29:05).

Australian kids’ bike fixer-upper Bart Sbeghen runs the not for profit “Dr. Cranky’s,” recycling bikes at primary schools. He talks to Taylor in Hollywood (44:41).

#annehidalgo, #bikeadvocacy, #bikecommute, #bikehealth, #biketotrain, #cargobike, #kiddicalmass, #kidsbike, #learntoride, #weekwithoutdriving