Outspoken Cyclist – 12/10/2022

We’re rounding third and heading home – both to the holidays and to the New Year.

2022 has been – um – interesting to say the least. We’ll take a look back at it after the New Year..

Today, we’re going to wrap-up our gift ideas for cyclists with Dan Cavallari. Dan thought about it and, as you’ll hear, has come up with a short list of things NOT to give a cyclist! I had to agree with him as these are items that cyclists tend to want to get for themselves or already have far too many in their stash.

Before we chat with Dan though, I want to introduce you to Madeline Bonsma-Fisher. Or more rightly, DR Madeline Bonsma-Fisher as the day before our conversation, she had her convocation to complete her PhD in physics. It’s apparently similar to what we do here in the States to defend a thesis.

Her work is in data analytics in the field of bacteria and virus interaction. I found it fascinating and would have focused on that, but as you may be wondering, what might THAT have to do with cycling. Well…

It seems that as a bicycle commuter for 10+ years and a member of Bike Ottawa, her data-oriented mind began musing about traffic and the stress of biking and walking and the inequities that occur when planning comes up against the reality of who lives where and the politics that often lead to inequities. She got hooked and pivoted to working on a project that has been funded by the University of Toronto Data Science Institute.

On the next episode of the show, you’ll meet titanium frame builder Darren Crisp. He’s from Texas but has lived and worked in Italy for several decades. His story is different from many of the builders we’ve spoken with over the years, and I think you’ll enjoy it.