Tamika Butler is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. She’s only been working in bike advocacy for two years, but she’s already made a big impression on the national bike advocacy world, in large part because of her contribution to the conversation and work around equity, inclusion and intersectionality.
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Bike theft is a growing issue in big bike cities. In Seattle, three times as many bikes were stolen last year than in 2008. In this episode of The Bicycle Story, we explore the problem, the police’s often lackluster response, how advocates are working to fight theft, and the sometimes crazy and dangerous lengths people go to get their bikes back. Thanks to Max Wigley, Brock Howell of Bicycle Security Advocates and Tom Fucoloro of Seattle Bike Blog for their sharing their insight.
Music:
“Dirt Rhodes,†“Danse Morialta,†“Raw,†“Big Mojoâ€
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
It may come as a surprise, but in some circles of the bike world, sharrows are a source of passionate debate. Are they a lip service from cities hoping to appease cyclists without spending any money or political capital? Are they a viable form of safe infrastructure? In this episode, we trace the origins of sharrows back to their inventor James Mackay, P.E., a former Denver bike planner and talk to bike advocate Noah Budnick and University of Denver, Colorado professor Wes Marshall to look at the evolution of biking and bike infrastructure in America over the last 25 years.
Music:
“Bicycle,†“Night Cave,†“Finding the Balanceâ€
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Today marks a big shift for The Bicycle Story and I’m all kinds of excited about it. But for those of you who just want the goods, let me first tell you about episode one of the brand new podcast!
Bikes changed Khalil Brewers’ life. The 19 year old went through Bike Works’ Job Skills Program, which helped put him on a path towards success and away from gang life. In this episode, we learn about Brewers’ dark past in St. Louis, his experience with Bike Works and its jobs program lead Ben Schultz, and the future he’s heading towards. (Songs: Soporific & Odyssey Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
So with that said. The Bicycle Story’s 5th anniversary (!) looms just a few days away. Through the years I’ve had the chance to interview a ton of amazing people from all corners of the bicycling world and share their stories as Q&As. But now it’s time for a fresh approach. As it’s always been, bikes and the many fascinating people and stories associated with them are the through line. The difference is now I’ll be telling those stories in a short, narrative podcast (think 99 Percent Invisible or an act of This American Life). Audio opens up a world of potential and I’m thrilled to see where it takes me and the site.
Thank you for listening. Thank you for supporting the site for half a decade. I hope you’ll stick around for this great new chapter of The Bicycle Story.
Cheers,
Josh
Davey Oil in front of his family cargo bike shop in Seattle. Photo by Josh Cohen.
If you ride bikes in Seattle, you likely know a bit about Davey Oil. As co-owner of the family cargo bike shop G&O Family Cyclery he’s played a critical role in Seattle’s family biking boom. As a longtime bike activist, he’s worked for and been involved in Bike Works, Cascade Bike Club, the Bikery, critical mass and more. Having straddled the fence between the radical activist side of the bike movement and the insider-politics advocacy side, he has a valuable perspective on the growth of cycling-as-transportation in the city. I sat down with him at a coffee shop next to the Family Cyclery for a wide ranging conversation about his roots in activism, the rise and fall (and re-rise and re-fall) of Seattle critical mass, the mainstreaming of bike politics locally and nationally, the advocacy world’s struggles with diversity, the family biking boom, and much more.
Posted in Advocacy, Bike Industry, Interviews
Tagged bike activism, bike equity, bike works, cargo bikes, cargo biking, cascade bike club, critical mass, cycletruck, davey oil, diversity in cycling, family bike boom, family biking, g&o family cyclery, longtail cargo bikes, seattle critical mass, seattle cycling, the bikery