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

They Ride Bicycles In Iowa 25/43

October 30, 2026

West Hollywood bike lane opponents failed to postpone a protected bike lane. Taylor urges them to “tweak“ anything that’s not working rather than spend the next 2 years trying to take it out.

An Iowa republican candidate tells Trump, “thank god you’re getting rid of those awful bike lanes. We don’t ride bicycles in Iowa.” Nick reads a Bluesky response from itsalwayssomethin pointing out that about 900,000 Iowans ride bikes and Erik Noonan, who says RAGBRAI, Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is one of the largest economic events in the state.

5:23

The War on Bikes is real, and the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike Summit is in Washington D.C. this March 9-11. Caron Whitaker, League of American Bicyclists Deputy Executive Director, talks with Nick.

7:35

News:

RAGBRAI responds to congressional candidate’s quip that “we don’t ride bicycles in Iowa.”

Hundreds ride to honor cyclists killed on Nevada roads at annual Three Feet for Pete event.

Cyclists Demand Protected Lane on Industrial Corridor As DOT Stalls.

Jersey City’s Exchange Place Alliance invests $250,000 for cleaner bike lanes.

ICE agents knock US citizen from his e-bike and break his arm in Long Beach.

14:15

US transport secretary’s war on ‘woke’ could make roads even deadlier, writes Ryan Fonseca in the Guardian. Ryan talks with Taylor.

20:15

Portable racks make a historical tour by bike possible in the Chicago neighborhood of Berwyn, with the help of Walk Bike Berwyn’s Matt Olson.

34:58

People are leaving road cycling for gravel because of cars, says Josh Sprague, host of Orange Mud Adventure Channel.

42:45

bikelash, bikesummit, gravel, Iowa, racks, ragbrai, waronbikes
War on Bikes 26/42

October 23, 2026
Toronto’s successful, popular bike lanes are being ripped out by the provincial government of Ontario, though the province itself found that removing lanes would barely reduce congestion, whereas keeping the lanes would reduce crashes. Robert Zaichkowski, Albert Koehl and Jun Nogami report on the lane removal and protests there.

3:00

News:
21:33

Listener Rick Bosacker grades drivers in “Passing Grades,”

and Baltimore Fred writes again.

24:35

Windshield bias from crash report to jury trial, with bike lawyer Jim Pocrass

28:00

The Sonoma and Marin County Bike Coalitions pushed for the 2026 passage of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) measure to fund a passenger rail line and bike/ped path between Sonoma County and Marin County in the San Francisco Bay Area. We talk with Eris Weaver, Executive Director of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, Tarrell Kullaway, Executive Director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, and Julia Gonzalez, Communications and Marketing Manager of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District.

33:39

Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley has a new multi-model trail, the 40 mile long CV Link. Taylor talks with John at the Trek Bike store in Palm Springs about some new products to enhance your rides.

51:25
Vote For Bikes 26/41

October 16, 2026

“Grandma” Beverly Shelton of Families For Safe Streets demands a Traffic State of Emergency in Los Angeles along with Streets Are For Everyone, and talks about the speed cams that will go into service October 26th as part of a 5 year pilot program begun by California AB 645.

3:01

Noise pollution by cars Kills 6,330 Americans a Year, finds a study by associate professor of environmental epidemiology at Colorado State University David Rojas-Rueda.

11:40

Listener Dennis writes about his amazing bike trips in New York.

22:45

News: After string of crimes, e-bikes and scooters come under scrutiny in D.C.

Parent hit by car during National Walk and Roll to School Day in South Philadelphia

Kylian Mbappé goes cycling despite José Mourinho warning

Cyclist, 96, reunited with treasured bike in care home

Teen bikes 700 miles carrying injured dad. Where is she now?

24:09

West Hollywood’s former Mayor and current City Council candidate Chelsea Byers talks bikes with Taylor.

27:40

Gravel tires are getting fatter and road is next. Also, there are too many fitments, Josh Poertner, Silca President and Marginal Gains podcast host, tells Bike Talk correspondent Jim Cadenhead.

41:40

In The Traffic Calming Effect of Delineated Bicycle Lanes, Rutgers University researcher Hannah Younes finds that bike lanes reduce car speeds.

50:13

bikelane, BikeTalk, gravel, la, noise, Speed, speedcameras, visionzero
A US-Canada Bike Bridge in Detroit, November Elections, and the C Word 26/40

October 9, 2026

Cyclists can now cross from Detroit to Canada without a toll via the Gordie Howe International Bridge on a 1.5-mile free dedicated path. Nick and Taylor talk to Todd Scott, Executive Director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, about the bridge, the path, and the two decades it took to get it made.

4:37

Our Lawyer Jim Pocrass reminds us that proof is all you need if you encounter road rage.

18:03

News:

Prosthetic legs from bicycle parts.

San Jose airport’s closure of a vital bike route exposes a hollow traffic safety pledge.

Donors pour millions more into LA mayor’s race, narrowing gap between Bass and Raman.

Driver accused of killing 2 in e-bike crash posts $1 million bond.

26:00

Helen Krieger, West Hollywood City Council candidate, is a bike rider turned advocate.

28:53

John Gibilisco uses his bike to help him in his fight Prostate Cancer.

40:49

BikeTalk, bridge, Detroit, election, health, la, roadrage, trafficviolence
Vision Zero Reimagined and Bike Film Fest in NYC, & an Etrike ride from Petaluma to San Diego 26/39

October 2, 2026

Taylor on how Brandon McNulty, super domestique, won the 2026 World Road Race Championships in Montreal to become the first American man to win the elite men’s road race world title in 33 years.

1:23

Interviews from the Bicycle Film Festival Before Party at King Kog bike shop in Brooklyn. With-

Isaac Andersen, Utility Cyclist, on how that’s ‘weird’ for an American.

5:36

Ralph Papillon, director of “Dawn Patrol,” a film exploring how cycling fosters friendship, confidence, and inclusivity for women and non-binary riders.

10:32

Steve Vaccaro, NYC bike lawyer, on Mamdani’s proposed 15mph limit on Central Park bikers.

13:44

And an interview with Bicycle Film Festival Director Brendt Barbur on keeping the BFF going since 2001.

19:13

80 year-old Bob Tuttle talks to Taylor about riding an E-tricycle from Petaluma, California to San Diego, a distance of about 900 miles, in 2 weeks.

25:40

News:

Turin, Italy cyclists protest driver murders.

Cyclists install their own bike lane at a Boston intersection where a cyclist was killed.

Toronto’s Critical Mass protests the Ford administration’s impending removal of the city’s biggest bike lanes.

More than 1,000 cyclists ride from Koreatown to downtown LA in protest against traffic violence.

42:25

NYC’s Vision Zero Reimagined plan, E-bike hearings, and Park Avenue redesign interpreted by Micromobility NYC organizer Miser, in conversation with Nick.

45:14
Biking Not Driving in Europe, The West Coast, The East Coast, and Across the U.S. 26/38

September 25, 2026

New bike rider Gloria Ines on her $55 bike from the Highland Park Bike Oven co-op.

2:08

The cyclocross season is just beginning at Look Park in Northampton, Massachusetts with Northampton Cycling Club’s Junior Cyclocross series. New racer Penelope Richert and coach Tom Hoogendyke.

7:21

Taylor catches up with 71 year old Kay Schuster, who he met on his bike trip from San Francisco to Michigan, at her home in New Hamshire after her ride across the U.S.

13:19

News:

viral video of car driving in Seattle bike/ pedestrian trail

Orange County e-bike buyback draws big crowds

Second graders at Bryant Webster Dual Language School receive free bicycles

Chicora Elementary second graders receive new bikes and helmets

Oberlin College Distributes Free Bikes to Early Decision Applicants

Delhi Government To Provide Free Bicycles To 140,000 Girl Students

7,000 govt school students get free bicycles in Nellore

23:45

Stacey unpacks her trip to Copenhagen, the bikiest city in Europe.

25:53

The highs and lows of New York City from the Editor of Streetsblog NYC, Gersh Kuntzman

30:21

A Week Without Driving creator Anna Zivarts on the October 1-8 challenge.

36:57

Stronger Montclair Facebook group admin Jon Wenz on biking and community in New Jersey.

49:38

bikeoven, BikeTalk, copenhagen, cyclocross, la, nyc, streetsblog, trafficviolence
Barcelona Superblocks, the Empire State Trail, and DEI bike lanes in the U.S. 26/37

September 18, 2026

Back to Taylor’s Barcelona trip, and a tour of bike and public transportation infrastructure including Superblocks (Superilles) with Silvia Casorran, who helped implement them in Barcelona.

3:45

Author of the Washington Examiner article, “I thought bike lanes were ‘DEI.’ Then an SUV killed my father,” Chrissy Oakes, talks about finding common ground with Republicans on bike lanes and why the Left has a hard time accepting her as a safe streets advocate.

25:48

Bike Talk listener Tim Dyet was inspired to ride part of the The 750-mile Empire State Trail to NYC by Taylor’s recent SF to Michigan bike tour. He finished, and here’s how it went.

36:51

Streets Are For Everyone Director Damian Kevitt declares a traffic emergency in Los Angeles. Vision Zero was expired by the city last year, and there were 324 traffic fatalities-a 3.5 percent increase from the previous year.

48:46

Is it legal for lawmakers in Sacramento to obstruct Los Angeles’ attempts to make its streets safer by adding language to a bill targeting a protected bike lane on deadly Forest Lawn Drive? LA lawyer James Pocrass says maybe not.

49:36

barcelona, bikelane, BikeTalk, bipartisan, dei, forestlawn, la, legal, nyc, sacramento, safestreets, spain, superblocks, tour, trafficviolence, visionzero
Bike Filming from Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego, Delhi to Sweden 26/36

September 10, 2026

Jonathan Hale of People’s Vision Zero at a “ghost tire” placing on Forest Lawn Drive in Los Angeles, to honor 70-year-old Bijan Yousefian, a victim of traffic violence who died in a fiery crash there.

2:30

High School senior Ben Mangiafico talks about the bike ride he hosted recently to point out the dangerous spots on his route to school.

6:25

Dr. Timm Döbert and Leanna Carriere on their 9-month, 30,000km ride from Alaska’s High Arctic to Tierra del Fuego to follow the migration of Hudsonian Whimbrels, and Wings of Survival, the documentary about their journey.

12:45

Bicycle Film Festival Director Brendt Barbur on the Festival’s 26 year history and this year’s offerings.

25:30

Another bike film, The Cycle of Love (2025), is a documentary about a man who rode 6,000 miles from Delhi to Sweden in 1977 in search of a woman he believed was prophesied to be his wife. Director Orlando von Einsiedel talks with us about his film.

40:06

News:

Berkeley sued over Hopkins bike lane plan

MIT professor struck by driver while cycling on Memorial Drive dies of injuries

Folsom considers crackdown on e-bike wheelies, stunts and unsafe ridingSacramento

Japan halves speed limit to 30km/h on all narrow city streets

advocacy, bikelane, bikelash, climate, crash, ebike, la, memorial, safety, Speed, tour, trafficviolence, visionzero, wildlife
Streetfilms NYC, Anti bike lane bill in LA 26/35

September 4, 2026

Language was added to a bill targeting a much needed protected bike lane and traffic calming project on LA’s high speed Forest Lawn Drive, where there have been more than 95 crashes and 4 fatalities since 2013. The bill was paid for by Forest Lawn Cemetery donations, and it’ll be an issue in the LA Mayoral race, says Michael Schneider of Streets For All.

2:45

LA Metro will pay some drivers to drive less in a new program, as the city looks toward a more car-light 2028 Olympics. LA Metro spokesperson Patrick Chandler gives the details.

12:19

Streetfilms filmmaker Clarence Eckerson talks with Taylor about his work as an urbanist educator.

21:55

News:

Pedestrian pronounced dead after Tour de Fat vehicle crash, 5 remain injured, in unknown condition

New Illinois law sets license, insurance requirements for e-bike riders

Newport Beach residents frustrated by e-bikes parked in front of their homes

Bill to Strengthen Walking and Biking Programs, AB 2168, Headed to Governor’s Desk

Cyclists have crashed on Market Street’s rail tracks for 130 years. Why can’t SF fix them?

45:55

More eulogies from Bike Oven/ Killradio/ Bike Talk/ bike community documentarian and spirit-booster DJ Chickenleather’s memorial at the Highland Park Bike Oven.

49:08

bikelane, BikeTalk, chickenleather, ebike, la, memorial, metro, nyc, protected, streetfilms, trafficviolence, visionzero
The Journey Makes The Hero 26/34

August 28, 2026

Chickenleather, spirit and documentarian of the LA bike movement for decades, died last week. We bring you his words from 2010 on getting “normal” people to bike, engaging the youth, and volunteering at a bike collective.

2:10

Taylor drafts behind yet another stranger, Josep in Cataluña, Spain, and they talk afterward.

7:12

Bike Talk listener Tim Dyet says he’s inspired by Taylor Nichols’ ride from SF to Michigan to do a 10 day ride of his own along the Empire Trail bike path in New York.

12:25

Team Samaritan riders Tom Schwein and David McKean aim to raise two million dollars with a Ride Across America for Catholic Charities to help fight the nation’s homeless epidemic.

17:45

Massachusetts Streetsblog reporter and editor Christian MilNeil on the elimination of a Boston bikeway by the Mayor Wu administration.

33:00

News:

3 Cyclists Die in One Week in Hit-and-Runs in New York City.

Against Neighbors’ Wishes, Boston Streets Commissioners Cancel Planned Bikeway Near Day Square.

E-bikes, scooters, boards prohibited at all of Newport-Mesa Unified’s K-8 campuses.

Como mayor bans bikes in city centre after being hit ‘by one of these beasts’.

LA Mayor hits brakes on needed bike lanes near Forest Lawn. Mayoral opponent Raman is slamming her for it.

46:01

Chickenleather’s memorial at the Bike Oven in Highland Park, Los Angeles.

48:39

bikelane, bikelash, chickenleather, la, memorial, tour, trafficviolence

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