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

Ebike Police State in NYC; The Road Widening Fallacy; Kids on Bikes Protest in Amsterdam

December 20, 2024

An email from avid listener Rick Bosacker, who gets the joke about “avid cyclists.” He’s on a 13 month world tour with his family, who are differently avid.

Taylor gets route help from Canadian cyclists Dan and Lynette Markham in bike-unfriendly Laguna Beach, California (2:12)

Bike Friendly States’ ranking highlights by the League of American Bicyclists’ Policy Director Ken Macleod (5:19)

Intro 606 bill would require the licensing of ebikes in NYC, and make every person on a bike a target- especially those who are already targeted. “There Are No Accidents” author Jessie Singer unspools a thread (8:58)

Even the Netherlands could do better for children’s active transportation, which is why kids had to protest for park space in Amsterdam, say Dr. Meredith Glaser and Michela Grasso of the Urban Cycling Institute (23:38)

Widening roads doesn’t decrease gridlock. Why don’t engineers know this? Steffen Berr, the Haarlem traffic engineer behind Build the Lanes, and Sully Israel, a traffic planner in Los Angeles, build their case (37:05)

Stacey’s Bike Thought (55:26)

bikefriendly, bottlenecks, ebikelicense, family, kidspace
Bike Fights, Loser Lanes, Organizing Advocates and “Avid Cyclists”

December 13, 2024

The Ebike Getaway of Luigi Mangioni (1:28)

An overview of the Washington Area Bicycle Coalition, WABA, by Elizabeth Kiker, Executive Director (5:29)

The Evanston, IL Bike Lane Debate as told by Streetsblog Chicago Editor John Greenfield (7:46)

People who bike were betrayed by the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure’s watering down of a protected bike lane, say Denver Bike Lobbyists Alejandra Castañeda and Rob Toftness (14:10)

The video game Loser Lane is impossibly dangerous, because it simulates the city of Toronto without bike lanes. Marie Leblanc Flanagan, the game designer, thanks anti-bike Ontario Premier Doug Ford for each virtual death (27:25)

The work of the Massachusetts Bike Coalition, MassBike, as told by Galen Mook, Executive Director, to Charlie Leightheiser (41:30)

bikefight, ebikeassassin, loserlane, massbike, waba
Fat Bikes in Winter, Spoke ‘n Art, Engineers for Bike Lanes, the Dutch, RAGBRAI, and Revolutionizing Mobility

December 6, 2024

Taylor talks with Hugh Fuller and Joe Borfo at Bike Oven’s iconic Highland Park “Spoke ’n Art Ride.” 0:20

Why fat bikes are “the quiver killer,” a pitch from Physical Education teacher and mountain bike club coach Salem Derby. 4:03

News: “Loser Lane,” a fatalistic web based game about riding without a protected lane in Toronto. With Bill 212, Toronto Premier Doug Ford seeks immunity for injuries and fatalities resulting from removing Toronto bike lanes. The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers completely opposes the bill. 8:43

Los Angeles bike advocate and personal injury attorney Jim Pocrass compares Toronto’s would-be municipal immunities with LA’s. 12:36

More news: Denver, Colorado waters down planned protected bike lanes after Denver DOT holds private, post-public comment meetings with individuals and businesses opposed to them. 18:15

Shoutout to Ted Rogers’ annual fund drive at BikinginLA.com; Thanks for the news, Ted!

Taylor talks with the host of a recent “Revolutionizing Mobility” conference in Culver City, Lindsay Sturman. Also, co-author of Curbing Traffic and Building the Cycling City/Dutch Cycling Embassy International Relations Manager Chris Bruntlett. 20:53

Annabelle Bitterman on riding RAGBRAI with her father and coming in 3rd overall in the East Texas Showdown. 39:40

artride, brt, Dutch, engineers, fatbikes, immunity, mobility, ragbrai
Cranksgiving

November 29, 2024

News: San Francisco’s controversial center-running bike lane to be replaced by curb protected lanes. Luke Bornheimer, SF advocate with StreetsForward.org, explains. 4:09

NYC gets congestion pricing, finally. It’s $9 instead of $15, but will increase. Dave Colon, StreetsblogNYC writer, fills in the details. 9:01

As Ontario Premier Doug Ford pushes to remove Toronto’s bike lanes, University of Toronto students Zev Godfrey and Eva Stanger-Ross Fight for Bikes. 18:28

Writer Nathan Deuel on his LA Times Opinion article, “I thought I had my L.A. cycling commute down. Turns out, I’d been missing the obvious.” 23:34

Long distance rider, world record holder for most states visited in 24 hours by bike, bike influencer Sam Westby. 39:57

Stacey’s Bike Thought: 56:44

bikefight, curbprotected, spacedividend
Us Versus Them

November 22, 2024

Voices from World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims in Los Angeles.
1:48

Transportation under Trump according to Yonah Freemark, Principal Research Associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute.
8:25

Los Angeles Bike Fest.
13:37

Strong Towns Northampton checks its tone over a bike lane closure. With Danielle McKhan, Jennifer Nery, and Alex Bowman.
19:10

Fighting for bikes means fighting back against the Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s attempt to rip out Toronto’s bike infrastructure- with Norm Di Pasquale, New Democratic Party Candidate for Spadina – Fort York in Toronto, Canada.
34:04

Studying the language of mobility with linguistics Professor Maria Caimotto.
40:41

Stacey’s Bike Thought
53:46

bikela, conflict, linguistics, mobility, S.A.F.E., tone, trafficviolence, transportation
Kids and Bikes

November 15, 2024

Bike News:
Cop29 cop-outs, solace in U.S. local elections for biking, China’s huge bikeshare rides, and in Oregon, a cyclist was charged for a ride to the hospital by the ambulance that hit him.
2:19

The Northampton Cycle-Smart Cyclocross race broke from the Union Cycliste Internationale for its exclusion of trans women riders in 2023, but the race goes on; the 33rd annual Northampton, Massachusetts Cyclocross race was November 8-10. Miles Abrams, 11, came in 4th in his category. He and his mom, Lisa, talk about cyclocross and what bike sport means to them.
7:34

BYCS Bicycle Mayor Network comprises civil society leaders representing 145 cities in 40 countries. Amanda Padilla, Bike Mayor of Quito, Ecuador, uses “cycling games” to focus on kids.
18:51

Atlanta’s Bike Buses are gaining riders. Andrew Francis tells the story of his popular weekly school rides.
30:18

The University of California at Santa Barbara has been declared a “platinum level” bike friendly university several times by the League of American Bicyclists. Stacey Randecker talks to students about how their experience compares to transportation back home, and how it will impact their life choices after graduation.
44:12

Stacey’s Bike Thought.
54:13

bikebus, bikecampus, BikeMayor, cyclocross, kids, networks, ucsb
Autocrats against bikes, bike lanes and safe streets in the USA and Canada

November 8, 2024

In the election bummer, some local winners for safe streets: new Congressmember Laura Friedman, Alameda Supervisor John Bauters, and West Hollywood Mayor John Erickson.

Listener Kevin Grishkot asks whether, if cars were no longer available, we would require people to license their bicycles. Bike Talk’s lawyer, Jim Pocrass, explains why it’s not a very good idea.
3:18

News:
Ontario Premier threatens Toronto’s popular and data proven bike lanes.

Paris closes 2 miles of its city center to through traffic.

Bike-friendly Minneapolis makes the top tier of the 2024 “Happy City Index.”

Denver activists form a people protected bike lane to respond when the city cancels 1/2 mile of protected bike lane.
10:56

Robin Richardson, Toronto mom, family/cargo biker, and organizer of the bike lane on “the world’s longest street” defends Toronto’s bike lanes from a right wing populist Premier.
17:11

Emily Lipstein, StreetsblogNYC journalist, bike commuter, and Queens native, tells the story of a recent DOT greenway workshop thrown into chaos by MAGA NYC Councilmember Vicky Paladino.
37:02

Stacey’s Bike Thought
55:30

bikelash, greenway, MAGA, Minneapolis, paris, queens, Toronto
Bikes and Politics in Glendale, West Hollywood, Ann Arbor and NYC

November 1, 2024

News from the front lanes:

LA’s Traffic Nightmare, a NHTSA requirement for DUI detectors in cars, a measure to keep San Francisco’s Great Highway car free, and the 125th anniversary of the first car killing.

A Glendale candidate for Congress demonizes his Democratic opponent, Laura Friedman, as “The Bike Lane Lady.” Alex Belekian says if we want bike lanes we should build new cities for them.
4:15

Ann Arbor’s Mayor, Christopher Taylor, is as bike friendly as his city.
18:36

NYC’s “City of Yes” initiative proposes doing away with parking mandates; MAGA NYC Councilmember Vicky Paladino lashes out at Open Plans NYC Director of Advocacy & Organizing Jackson Chabot for being born outside NYC, and concludes “we need our cars.” Open Plans Co-Executive Director Sara Lind calmly dissects the carbrained reaction.
35:06

Bike lane protesters and counter protesters converge on Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood. Streetsblog LA Editor Joe Linton explains the conflict.
42:24

Stacey’s Bike Thought.
57:14

antibikes, bikelanes, biketowns, carbrain, noparking
The Power Broker, Intelligent Speed Assistance, Gravel Riding

October 25, 2024

Taylor finally finishes the epic tome on highway tycoon Robert Moses, The Power Broker, by Robert Caro, and talks to author/transportation activist Charles Komanoff about it.

1:14

A bill to require cars in California to alert drivers when they exceed speed limits by more than 10 mph was vetoed by the Governor. Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director of Walk SF, one of the bill’s sponsors, speaks about the disappointment.

33:11

Taylor talks gravel with Zachary Rynew, the creator of Gravel Bike California.

42:55

Stacey’s Bike Thought

54:40

carcentric, gravel, intelligentspeed, robertmoses
The Bike Lane Lady, Ebikes and Ebikelash, and Cycling Over 50

October 18, 2024

A Glendale Congressional candidate makes bike lane support his big grievance against Chair of the California Assembly Transportation Committee Laura Friedman in her run for Congress.
1:15

The categories of ebike and why they matter, explained by our sponsor Jim Pocrass.
7:10

Ebikelash in NYC is taking off due to the prevalence of food delivery workers who ride fast. Bills would require all e-bike riders to have license and registration and ban ebikes in parks. Transportation Alternatives Communications Director Alexa Sledge explains.
19:50

Ebiking is good in the European Union, according to European Cyclists’ Federation CEO Jill Warren.
31:27

A survey of people over 50 who bike by Carol Kachadoorian and a talk about biking and aging with Rob Kadota, City of Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee Chair, and Kent Strumpell, LABAC Representative for District 11.
40:05

Stacey’s Bike Thought
54:46

bikelash, culturewar, ebikes, seniorbiking