Listen now by clicking here: [audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/spokesmen/The_Spokesmen_63.mp3]
Topics Included:
- RVV: Tour of Flanders
- The launch of the Specialized S-Works + McLaren Venge and it went viral.
- WFSGI talks ‘Approved by UCI’ at Taipei Cycle Show.
- In the Wall Street Journal humorist P.J. O’Rourke slams into cyclists, bikes, helmets and bike lanes. This was the slot that should have gone to Bike Snob NYC but his piece was spiked by WSJ. O’Rourke’s 2011 piece was a re-hash of a 1987 rant against cyclists. Since the recording of the show, Bike Snob has weighed in on the (lack of) merits of the O’Rourke piece.
- National Bike Summit and why the bike industry supports it.
- Tips? Sorry, none today. You can hear why at the end of the show. [But here’s a tip for Tim – don’t dip your microphone into your coffee…]
Panelists:
How to Listen:
I’ve been looking forward to the next Spokesmen…however I download directly (not being a pod-person). But your direct download links are jacked up…displaying as source instead of clickable links. Can you fix this please? Thanks.
Sorry about that, Mike. I will fix it when I return from my vaca. No computer here.
Sorry, Mike. I couldn’t validate the feed. Dave will sort from his computer.
It’s alright. I guess I’ll just have to listen to some OTHER cycling podcasts…. Thanks.
Direct play now possible, Mike. Dunno what I was doing wrong. File was fine on the podcast server but creating the RSS feed didn’t work for me – but David got it to work.
Welcome back, guys. It’s good to hear you again.
Thanks. Now I have something to listen to on commute. Good. And yes, welcome back. I really enjoy the ‘casts.
constructive criticism: work out the audio crackling beforehand and turn off your audio skype alerts. good show as always but really tough to get through this one with way too many audio distractions.
We understand! It was Tim’s microphone going to pot. He’s now got a new one. Agreed, also, about the Skype alerts. There were lots on this show cos Tim had to resort to DMing his words! We should all use sparingly in future – or find out if audio alerts can be turned off. Thanks for your feedback.
Just listened to this episode (sorry about the technical difficulties, but it wasn’t that big a deal). However, I was disappointed that your discussion of PJ got pretty far off track. Even in the one point you did begin discussing (before drifting all the way to a discussion of Taipei’s bike-share system!), you let PJ get away with the assertion that cyclists somehow are more dependent on government than car drivers! Maybe you all just thought this position was so absurd that it didn’t need to be discussed, but I am afraid a lot of people out there might take it seriously. Maybe it would be worth going back and revisiting this issue with a segment called “How are SUV drivers dependent on government? Let me count the ways…” The infantilism of addiction to cars (especially big and fast ones) is worth a closer look.
Robert,
As I mentioned in the podcast, while I know PJ O’Rourke’s piece is satire, I worry about those that do not. They will take it at face value and, for those inclined to agree with his statements, will see it as reinforcement and validation of their views. Unfortunately, though, in this day and age where people typically prefer to read/hear things that support their points of view rather than seek out reasoned discussion, facts and well written humor, I don’t know if it even matters.
Hi Robert
We discussed PJ O’Rourke again on the latest show, and dissected his piece a bit more.
If you think an addiction to cars is bad, I think you’ll find this particular episode is right up your street.
I run the iPayRoadTax campaign in the UK. This is a campaign to point out that cyclists have equal rights to be on roads (perhaps even more rights) and that motorists don’t pay for roads and certainly don’t own them.