Outspoken Cyclist

You may have noticed a different “intro” theme to this episode and that is because this  is our first “side story,” – a short conversation that highlights and compliments another longer episode. 

In my chat with Rob Anderson of More Than a Cyclist, he mentioned the MTAC campaign in Kalamazoo, Michigan and, since it is the only one in the U.S so far, I decided to ring up Professor Amelia Katanski who, along with some of her students, put the campaign together.

Amelia shared her process, giving anyone who might be interested in putting together a campaign i...

I’m really excited about this episode because it’s an approach to safety that could truly wake up the public to a concrete reason for watching out for us on the road.

Rob Anderson represents an organization called MTAC (no, not like the NCIS MTAC,)

It stands for More Than A Cyclist and their visual campaigns are seeing some remarkable results. 

From social media and local billboards to gas station pumps and men’s toilets – yeah, you’ll have to hear what Rob says about this – these visual reminders that cyclists are also doctors...

My guest says she is “one gear short of normal.”

In fact, that’s the title of her Substack and, after our conversation, I can see why she might think that. 

Me?  I can relate to so much of what she has to say that either I fall into the same category or we aren’t so abnormal after all.

Amanda McMahon loves the bicycle – everything about it.  She loves riding it, racing it, talking and writing about it, and would be happy to quit her IT day job if she could “do bicycle” all da...

This week’s “safety” episode is focused in Ohio but has broad implications about the laws around bikes on the road.

My guest is Ohio Bike Lawyer Steve Magas.

Steve and I have spoken many times in the past and as always, this conversation is enlightening.

For example – let’s start out with an acronym  – AFRAP – as far right as practicable…

Steve explains how the legislature wouldn’t expect practicable to mean something that wasn’t safe or wasn’t reasonable. 

Hmmmm – there’s still some ambiguity there for me.

BUT, then Steve t...

Yes, this episode quickly follows on the heels of my conversation with Raul Avelar from the IIHS. But, there are so many great safety conversations getting ready to stack up that I wanted to make sure we get them all in this summer.

My guest today is Chuck Marohn from Strong Towns.

Over the years, Chuck and I have explored many topics about cities and “strong towns,” and I felt it was important to include him in our conversation about safety as we continue to explore what is making cyclists – and pedestrians – vulnerable.

Of cours...

This is the second in our series about safety.  And, while it isn’t a long conversation, it’s an important one because it helps to set the context for how safety trends are playing out.

My guest is Raul Avelar, senior research transportation engineer for the IIHS – Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  Raul’s area of work is a focus is on bike/ped safety.  And that fits right into our series here!

One of the things Raul says not too far into our conversation that piqued my interest is about the difference in behavior be...

My guest is Rachael Maney.  Rachael is the managing director of Bike Law, a network of independent bicycle crash attorneys.  I was supposed to speak with her last month, but as is often the case, the Bike Law offices are so busy, she hardly has time to turn around!

Anyway, this conversation begins a series that will include Rachael, the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,) Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns, and others.

Since I spoke with Rachel on July 13th, there have been several high-profile incidents including a road rage crash in Texas killing US...

I’ve had this conversation archived for way too long and in re-listening while editing it today, I thought – how interesting that we are at this strange place with the announcement last week of so much money being rescinded from bike and ped infrastructure, to the amazing 50year project that completed the Poudre River Trail in Larimer Country Colorado.

So I cued it up for edit and it truly highlights what might be an exemplary project.

My guest is Zac Wiebe. He is the planning and resource manager of Larimer County in Colorado. 

The P...

While we will be celebrating our 250th Anniversary here in the States, the Grand Departe of the 113th Tour de France will lead off with a team time trial in Barcelona on Saturday.

As always, I turn to our friend and resident all-thing-TdF Joe Lindsey, managing editor of Escape Collective. He knows the ins and outs of the stages, the courses, the riders, and the teams for all the European race, but we focus this conversation pretty much on the Tour this time around.

My questions go to topics such as which riders might surprise...

This episode brings together a long and sorrowful history and a bicycle tour that commemorates it.

We are all familiar with rides that have meaning such as fund raisers for medical research, rides that create long-lasting memories and friendships such as RAGBRAI, and rides that bring back fond memories such as the upcoming re-creation of the Bikecentennial Ride in July, celebrating the founding of our Nation.

And then, there are rides that reaffirm some truths about who we are and what we stand for as a people while shedding light into how we might deal...

Seven years ago, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett gave up their cars, moved to the Netherlands, and have been exploring urban transformations around the world. 

The last time I spoke with Melissa and Chris, back in 2022, they had just published two books, Curbing Traffic and Building the Cycling City.  They didn’t have the opportunity to do the traditional kind of book tour at the time because of the pandemic, but that’s since changed.

In fact, with their kids heading off to college and beyond, and their new book, Women Changing Cities, global stories of urban...

This is the next episode in our series of great rides around the U.S. for spring and summer 2026. Today, we visit Maine.

Lung diseases affect 35 million people in the U.S. and the American Lung Association is the first stop for advocacy, research, and funding for those people and their families. 

The 42nd annual Trek Across Maine – yep – 42 years! – has to be one of if not the longest running event of its kind – a fund raiser as well as what you will hear is almost a family reunion withf hundreds of folks, for what promises...

I don’t think I’ve met a more fascinating person than adventurer Laura Killingbeck.

For example, how many of us know from a very young age who we are and what we want from life and then follow that desire into adulthood?  Especially when we are talking about a rather solitary and independent life.

Laura Killingbeck is one of those people who DID know, and her story is incredibly compelling.

Laura is a naturalist – a hunter gatherer as she decided very early in life – and she has been on the move, writing and talki...

I don’t know how you feel about trees, but I for one think they may be vastly underrated and WAY more important than people might give them credit for. Although, you as a listener are probably not one of those people!

My guests today, Paul Putman and Jonathan Cain, are here to talk about the annual Tour de Trees, a small and very significant ride taking place this September through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Tour Des Trees is a long-standing ride on the multi-day circuit.  It raises funds for exploration and science while teaching dai...

As we wrap up our third and final episode on eBikes, Ash Lovell and Matt Moore from People for Bikes take us into some of the legal issues and possible remedies to defining and separating an eBicycle from an eMotorcycle.

When absolutely no state in the country makes it legal to ride an eMoto – because they exceed the attainable speed limit ascribed to an eBicycle – and parents are unwittingly buying them for their kids – we find ourselves in a no-win situation.

Many of these non-bicycle bikes are getting through customs without any scrutiny – and no one seem...

Before we get to our guest, I want to give a HUGE shoutout to our very own Bike Cleveland Executive Director, Jacob VanSickle.  Jacob was named Professional Advocate of the Year by the League of American Bicyclists at the National Bike Summit a couple of weeks ago.

Jacob has taken what was the fledgling Bike Cleveland organization and put it on the national stage in many ways.  Our cycling experiences here in NE Ohio have been immensely enhanced by his leadership.  Congratulations Jacob!!!

In this, the second in our series on eBikes, I speak with Lar...

This episode of the show is Part I of a series about eBikes and the ongoing issues surrounding their definition, usage, regulation, and legislation – all topics of controversy and conversation.

So many people, companies, policymakers, and organizations stand to find themselves negatively impacted as the definition and regulation of the category becomes mired in misunderstanding and frankly, fear.

eBikes, as first defined, were bicycles with a pedal assist motor without a throttle that would help flatten out the hills and offer a boost for a weary rider attaining speeds of up to 20mph. 

Ove...

I really love having the chance to talk with my NYC friend and colleague John Surico – Professor Surico actually.

Today, John joins me from his local coffee shop, so you’ll hear a bit of background chatter at times, but the conversation is – as always – enlightening.  And, I don’t mind a bit of ambient noise.

As many of my listeners know, my conversations with John are focused on his work in NYC, where he was born and raised and where he teaches, writes, and works on a great many projects, including his monthly Substack column, Str...

I wanted to get this episode up before Omloop- the first European One-Day Classic this coming Saturday.

Indeed, it’s Spring Classics time and as always, I turn to my bike racing expert, Joe Lindsey, the managing director of Escape Collective, for his knowledge and insights.

Interestingly enough, as many times as we’ve spoken over the years, it never occurred to me to define certain terms until now! Duh! 

And so, we begin this early spring conversation with a few definitions such as – what is a classic?  Which races are termed Monuments and what...

I have a bit of housekeeping before we get to our two great guests today.

First – it’s WJCU’s annual fundraiser – RADIOTHON! This year’s theme “Carrying the Torch for College Radio,” is particularly pertinent as another well-loved local college station was recently sold and converted to our local NPR affiliate for a jazz format, much to the disappointment of Cleveland State University! 

But WJCU – 88.7on your FM dial here in NE Ohio, is alive and well.  The station is the on-air voice of John Carroll University and has been the gracious host for The Outspoken Cycl...

My guest today is an old friend and perhaps someone many of you might consider your friend too.

If you subscribed to Winning Magazine or Velo News back in the day, you relished Maynard Hershon’s column, “Tales from the Bike Shop,” at the back of each issue.

Maynard is the bicycle world’s storyteller and, in many ways, is keeping the story of proper bike riding alive.

His now out-of-print book “Tales from the Bike Shop,” is a classic – mixing his astute observations about bike-shop-behavior with humor and a plainspoken honesty about what went on i...

As many of you know, I have a real soft spot for traditional steel frame bikes and so I always feel somewhat justified in my “curmudgeonly-ness” when I have the opportunity speak with a master frame builder who is still practicing the art of building steel bikes.

Bicycling started out as a “working class” sport and those who supported it were working class folks.  Today, we hold our custom frame builders in high esteem at the same time that the craft of building steel bikes tries very hard to fade into history.

Framebuilder Paul Gibson not only...

In my Substack post about Tucker Schwinn’s new book, Closure – The Final Days of the Waterford Bicycle Factory – I said I had hoped to be able to speak with him directly.

That happened over the past weekend, and I wanted to share that conversation, even though this will be a short podcast episode.

Tucker is the son of Richard and Debra Schwinn.  He grew up in the world of Waterford Precision Cycles and when the announcement of the closure of the factory was made and even before, decided to use his photography degree to documen...

I’m really pleased to welcome two great guests to the show today.

The first is not new to TOC, and in fact has been someone I’ve not only spoken with in the past but have also referred to many times on episodes where he doesn’t even appear.

I love catching up with Strong Towns’ founder Chuck Marohn because I always experience an enlightening and encouraging conversation.  Today is no different.

In this episode we cover a myriad of topics from the Ride for Life Rally that was held in D.C. to Chu...

Every time I think our issues with cars vs cyclists are getting so much worse, which of course they are, I come across something that is even more dreadful!

Seems that Canada – a place where I would have thought cyclists would be not only safer but encouraged – is definitely not that!

In my conversation with David Shellnutt, The Biking Lawyer, I learn that there is not only open hostility to cyclists, but the police seem to be complicit in making cyclists “pay” for infractions while drivers’ who have been issued tickets find themselves with no consequenc...

This episode was going to be an audio with commentary for my Substack.  But, as often happens when I speak with Joe Lindsey from the Escape Collective, the conversation becomes so interesting that I just couldn’t see NOT sharing it on all my platforms.

Another reason I wanted to share this with everyone is that Joe, is an expert on competitive bike racing, which I am not, and since the 2025 continental and world races are pretty much over, I figured it was time to review them.

We begin with a short discussion about this yea...

We read or hear about corruption from a lot of places and when I came across a story from Kevin Duggan from Streetsblog NYC about a prominent family in Brooklyn NY that bribed officials to kill a protected bike lane, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to find out more.

The Argentos are big-whigs in the Greenpoint District of Brooklyn, NY – many high-profile television shows are shot on their “Broadway Stages” properties. 

This past August, they were indicted for bribing the mayor’s assistant with not only money, but a cameo on an upcoming sh...

Scott Tong is one of my favorite NPR hosts. Most days, along with Robyn Young and several other Here and Now folks, I listen to Scott on WKSU, our local NPR affiliate.

Over the past year or so, I’ve heard Scott talk about riding his bike, crashing his bike, and more recently, training for a long-distance cycling event.

So I reached out to him, and he was happy to talk about his riding experiences, the bike he rides – which is only one of my all-time favorite brands – and the event he was training for with h...

This episode of the podcast offers up a short discussion with Bicycle Retailer’s EIC Steve Frothingham about U.S. Customs and the seizing of containers from Taiwan manufacturer Giant.

Earlier this week, in a surprise move, US Customs officials seized containers from Giant, the world’s largest bike mfg, over unspecified forced labor accusations.

In an effort to find out exactly what that meant, besides holding up shipments at the ports, I rang up Steve Frothingham, EIC of BR&IN.

His explanation, which was as up to date as of a few hour...

Shannon Binns didn’t make a plan to come to Charlotte, NC and stay; yet here he is more than 15 years after starting his not-for-profit organization “Sustain Charlotte.”

Shannon started out in engineering, did some overseas volunteering, and finally decided that environmental science and public policy were where his interests really lay, leading him to a master’s degree around the age of 30.

Landing in Charlotte, which was growing at breakneck speed – but without a lot of planning – he discovered he absolutely had to buy a car to get anywhere when he moved into a suburban nei...

It’s kind of a special episode for TOC because on September 4th, I will celebrate 15 years of TOC podcasting.

From my very first guest, frame builder Ben Serotta, until today, when my guests are far afield from frame building, I’ve had the privilege and honor or speaking with so many interesting, smart, talented, and accomplished people.

And so much has changed in the podcast space over the years.  This show started out as not only a podcast, but also a 1-hour radio broadcast.  Now we use the Zoom platform to record my conversations as wel...

I’m a huge believer in print – magazines, newspapers, books.  I prefer to turn pages and read from them, so when a client of ours mentioned this new magazine FAUSTO, I jumped right on it.

The editor graciously sent me Issues #1 & #2 and I was hooked, promptly subscribing to future issues.

Brad Roe and Tim Schamber have a long history with print magazines going WAY back to some early cycling publications, including Peloton, which was acquired Outside – another whole topic of conversation by the way.

So they took a beat and began ruminating on the wha...

This episode of the podcast covers good news for cyclists in PA and a look at what’s happening in NYC – from the mayoral election to Central Park.

Ed Blazina has been a transportation writer in Pittsburgh for over 20 years and is or was employed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  I say is/was for a particular reason; he and his fellow journalists have been on strike for 2 ½ years! 

But that’s apart from the original reason I contacted him.  Apparently, bicyclists in Pennsylvania were NOT entitled to be on the road with other vehicles – until the state su...

Today, my guests are Mark Van Tongeren from Michigan Adventure Racing and Professor Jim Martin from the Nutrition and Integrative Physiology and Neuromuscular Function Lab at the University of Utah.

I’m not sure how I didn’t know about Michigan Adventure Racing.  The organization seems so together, and Mark Von Tongeren, the founder and producer of these events seems to be the best kind of ride director.

If you are into well organized events that offer up some challenging riding, Michigan Adventure Racing might just have what you’re looking for this summer.

I was...

My guest is not new to the show, and he is certainly not new to U.S. cycling or to the custom bike business.

In fact, Toby Stanton – Mr. Hot Tubes, Mr. Junior Development Team Guy, and probably one of the few people in the U.S. who has watched U.S. bike racing ebb and flow with deep insight and broad knowledge, is one of the most knowledgeable and approachable people in the biz.

I was fortunate enough to get “schooled” on the current state of U.S. bike racing – including how he views team dev...

How’s your heart?  Do you regularly keep tabs on the highs and lows of your heart rate? Have you noticed any irregularities?

My guest today is Dr. Tamanna Singh.  She is a sports cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic and, in her words, an “advocate for athletes.”

Dr. Singh reviewed an article in Bicycling Magazine on March 12th titled 6 Myths About Max Heart Rate Cyclists Need to Stop Believing and at the top of the list was the statement: If You Exceed Your Max Heart Rate, Your Heart Explodes.

It seemed ridiculous of course...

I wanted to get this episode out right away as it is time sensitive.

It isn’t always my great good fortune to be able speak with one of the iconic American pro riders who is still “in the bike world,” but today is one of those days.

Retired pro racer Levi Leipheimer’s career goes back to the mid-90’s, and throughout that decade and beyond he racked up some impressive stats including an Olympic medal, the U.S. championship, and winning three tours of California – the list is very long.

When he was 13, h...

She really wanted to wear skirts and get her nails done, but Alison Tetrick, while remaining ever the fashionable girl, is a feisty competitor – in all sorts of ways.

Starting out as a tennis player in high school, she played in college on a full ride where she studied biochemistry.  She worked in drug discovery research for Amgen, and then….with all her energy and competitive urges, was egged on to bike racing by her grandfather Paul Tetrick, who found his passion for bike racing in his 60’s and raced well into his 80’s.

Alison’s trajector...

I love talking about bike racing with Escape Collective’s Joe Lindsey because he has such a superb grasp of the sport – for both men and women.

Today, our conversation covers a little bit of the Spring Classics – Paris-Nice, Milan San-Remo – both men’s and women’s editions – as well as looking ahead to Paris-Roubaix and on into the upcoming Big Tours.

Having failed at Milan-San Remo five times, Tadej won’t be satisfied until he wins that as well as any other Monument he has in his sights.

We muse about how Tadej will do at...

My guest today is Professor Alex Karner from the U. of Texas in Austin. 

I learned about Alex and his work in an article by Magdalena de Valle written  for Bloomberg News on February 26th.  She stated: “Alex Karner got an email from the Transportation Research Board ordering him to stop work on his research project studying equitable access to goods and services.” 

My ears perked up and I took a dive into the rabbit hole, contacting the Professor to find out more. Alex will be with me in a moment.

My second guest to...