Guests: Kevin Duggan; Sarah Davis
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.
So, who are Gina and Tony Argento and why are they so hell bent on not wanting a bike lane in their neighborhood?
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 show episode. Ah, vanity!
According to the Grand Jury indictment handed down late August, the defendants, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who was Mayor Adams. Right-hand gal, Gina Argento, Anthony “Tony” Argento, and Broadway Stages, Ltd. (“Broadway Stages”) are charged with the of the crime of CONSPIRACY IN THE FOURTH DEGREE, in violation of New York Penal Law § 105.10(1)…
 I know I shouldn’t gloat about things like this but seeing people who are so incredibly insulated from what goes on around them as well as having such hubris as to believe they are above the law, learn that there are consequences to their actions, gives me a teeny-tiny bit of hope.
Here’s a copy of the indictment  and read Eric’s coverage on the scandal. 

In my conversation with Sarah Davis, the Active Transportation Senior Planner for the City of Cleveland, we unpack the Cleveland Moves initiative supported by Mayor Justin Bibb. 
While Cleveland’s population was in decline for several decades, it recently seems to be trending upwards again. 
But one of the consequences of fewer people and cars is that perception that you can go faster on the roads.  But the greater speed has resulted in the horrific statistic of 75 traffic fatalities in 2024.  Bad stuff!
Cleveland Scene is the Cleveland’s voice of arts and culture, music, city living, and more and back at the beginning of October, Cleveland Scene published an article titled: “Cleveland Set for $4 Million Grant for 15 “Quick-Build” Bike Lanes Across City”
With such a big dollar amount plus bike lanes in the headline, I dove in to find out more.
The result, my conversation with Sarah Davis, active transportation senior planner for the City of Cleveland.
Here is a link to the Scene’s article on our website, outspokencyclist.com. 
And you can learn more about Cleveland Moves at https://www.clevelandohio.gov/transportation-mobility/cleveland-moves – mouthful! 
Okay – I need to correct my comment about how long I’ve been in Cleveland – math whiz that I am… it’s b...

Guests: Scott Tong; Tony Jordan
Scott Tong is one of my favorite NPR hosts. Most days, along with Robin 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 his brother-in-law and his wife.
Scott Tong, was wondering whether he might be getting too old to ride his beautiful Serotta Road bike and I assured him he is not!
It is true that while training for a long-distance event a couple of years ago, he fell and broke his collar bone and this year, while training for the same event, his wife fell and broke HER collar bone.
Still, he’s really not that old and he likes to ride!  He got back on the horse and completed the Seagull Century in Maryland right after our conversation.
If I were to ask you if there is enough parking wherever you go, what would you say?  Probably – No.
But what if I told you there is actually too much parking in many places, and that parking in general is poorly managed by most cities?
That’s the starting point for my conversation with the president of the Parking Reform Network, Tony Jordan, an organization that educates the public about the impact of parking policy on climate change, equity, housing, and traffic.
From the bizarre parking codes for every conceivable building, business, and residence, to a need for rethinking the miles and miles of concrete that take up precious land and contribute to climate issues, Tony Jordan helps to answers my many questions, and helps to give us actionable ideas to make our parking, driving, and especially biking and walking concerns better.
For more information about the organization and ways to get involved in improving parking, transportation, and equitable options in your area, log on to parkingreform.org.
And for my extended conversation with Tony about how bicycling and parking reform are connected, log into my Substack entry.  It’s a little bonus track!
Follow us on Instagram, FB, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.  Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app so you never miss an episode.  And do check out my Substack for my thoughts and commentary.
Next time on TOC, join me for an extended conversation with Escape Collective’s Joe Lindsey as we wrap up the 2025 cycling season and talk about some of the controversial issues facing the pro tour.
October 16_Transcript
 
 
 
T
 
 
 
 
 
 

Guests: Steve Frothingham; Jeremy Siegel
This episode of the podcast offers up a short discussion with Bicycle Retailer’s Editor-in-Chief, 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, at BR&IN.
His explanation, which was as up to date as of a few hours before we talked, made quite a bit of what was happening clear, but also left me with a lot of questions that I’m hoping will get answered in the next day or so. 
We also talk about tariffs – which unfortunately is becoming a daily topic. 
Here are links to Steve’s articles on the upheld shipments. 
Then I have a very interesting conversation with PRX’s “The World” global Transportation Correspondent, Jeremy Siegel about how Helsinki made it to the top of the Vision Zero with NO traffic deaths for over a year!
I listen The World on WKSU, our local NPR affiliate.  It’s an hour a day and there are always terrific stories from – well, around the world. 
A couple of weeks ago, I was in the car and heard Jeremy Siegel, “The World’s” Global Transportation Correspondent say that Helsinki had reported ZERO traffic deaths for over a year. 
Being a Vision Zero hopeful for the Cleveland area and never having heard of any major city, let alone a country’s capital, say that no automobile, cycling, or pedestrian fatalities had occurred seemed amazing.
I came home, re-listened to the piece on their website, and then contacted Jeremy.
Here is how they did it…
You can hear Jeremy on The World on your local NPR affiliate or log on to the world.org or find him @theworldnewswgbh on YouTube..
I hope you enjoyed the show today.
I will be uploading a new Substack piece to offer up some of my thoughts on both Steve and Jeremy’s conversations. Please consider subscribing to my Substack and help support my work.
Thank you for listening.  Until next time, please stay safe, stay well, and remember, there is always time for a ride.  Bye bye.
Transcript_September 26

Guest: Shannon Binns
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 neighborhood without a bus route, sidewalks, or heaven forbid, a bike lane.
Shannon also realized that unlike almost all other major cities in the U.S., and what made Charlotte so unique, was that it has no lakes, rivers, or an ocean front
What it does have is trees – and lots of them.  Charlotte is situated in the middle of a forest.
Then he saw the 25-year study that showed a full 50% of the tree canopy had been lost to development, and that, coupled with the lack of infrastructure for anything besides automobiles made him realize that he wanted – needed – to help.
If you are interested in learning more about the organization, log on to sustaincharlotte.org.  And, how about a scavenger hunt with other cyclists in October?  You can help Sustain Charlotte to meet its $90K goal and take a spin around the city with Biketoberfest.
Transcript_September 16

Guests: Eloise Mavian; Scott Reigle
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 well as see my interviewee – all in a simple and easy to run format.
I think it’s made a positive impact on the work, and I thoroughly enjoy the visual as well as the audio. I’ve learned audio editing and mixing and am actually thinking about video editing as a wintertime project.
But mostly, I’m looking forward to the next year of great conversations and hope you’ll come along for the ride.
My first guest is a photographer – but not just any photographer.  She’s a cycling photographer who follows mostly women’s racing, often on the back of a motorcycle.
There just a few women who cover racing with their cameras, but Eloise Mavian is one of those elites who do.  Her photograph of Demi Vollering, which  appeared on the cover of the new magazine Fausto, is how I learned of her and her remarkable story.
Eloise Mavian grew up in the photography business.  Her father had a photo shop in San Marco Square in Venice, Italy and it was at his hand that she learned the ins and outs of the photography world.
She went to the University of Visual Arts to study photography and even enrolled in a videography discipline; but her first love is the camera and still photos.  Then there is  her daring willingness to sit on the back of a fast-moving motorcycle – rain, sleet, or sun – which makes her not only a great photographer, but a wicked bad ass!
Her company, tornanti.cc, offers up a glimpse into many of the races she has covered as well as an opportunity to purchase prints that you just can’t live without!  You’ll want to check out the metal prints we spoke about too.  You can follow her on Instagram @eloisemavian or log on to tornanti.cc.
In the second half of the show, I speak with Scott Reigle.  He’s the Senior Transportation Planner for the Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study in Binghamton, NY.
Our family has a personal connection to Binghamton and when I was sent an article about a cool event that takes place there each year, I thought I would learn more about biking and walking in this Upstate University town.
Scott Reigle has been the Senior Transportation Planner in Broome County where Binghamton, NY is located for over 30 years. When it comes to transportation – by any means – he knows the area inside and out. 
He was around when the federal government ushered in the1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, – often referred to as IsTEA – which finally offered a major change to the way transportation planning and policy was approached, including giving metropolitan planning organizations significant powers.  Case in point giving the BMTS, the ability to implement a newly developed pedestrian and bicycle plan for the greater Binghamton area.