Bike Sense
Bike Sense: the podcast of The BC Cycling Coalition.
Join Host Peter Ladner as he interviews guests to talk about all things related to cycling advocacy, education, and road safety in BC. Listen to stories that can influence changes that make active transportation and mobility safer, more equitable, and more accessible, so we can meet our climate, health, social justice, tourism and economic development goals.
Please visit our website at bccycling.ca to find out more about what the BC Cycling Coalition is doing and how you can join and support us.
Episodes
43 episodes
The Road Nobody Repaves: Rural BC Highways and the Active Transportation Gap
What rural road maintenance means for active transportation, and why it matters in BC communities where the highway is the only route.A freshly "maintained" road shouldn't make a stroller unusable or shred a bike tire. But that's ...
Putting Nelson on the Map: Bikepacking for All in the West Kootenays
Bikepacking is active transportation at its most adventurous, and it's far more accessible than it looks from the outside. The real magic, as today's guest explains, is how quickly it becomes doable once you understand the basics.We sit ...
Why Canada Needs Trained Bike Mechanics Now
Your bike doesn’t become “unrideable” when a chain wears out or a wheel goes out of true. It becomes unrideable when you can’t get it fixed quickly and affordably by someone who has the necessary skills. That person is becoming ever harder to f...
The Worst Place To Bike (Pender Island) FINALLY Gets A Bike Path!
Rob Fawcett is a community builder on Pender Island who helped transform a dangerous, shoulderless road into a 2-km off-road, multi-use active transportation corridor.In this episode, we sat down with Rob to hear how the Gulf Isla...
Anyone Can Ride! HUB Cycling Teaches Bike Skills for Life
Cycling culture doesn’t magically appear when you paint a bike lane. It shows up when someone learns how to balance, brake, scan, signal, and ride with confidence in the real world.Alexis Thibeault, StreetWise Manager at HUB Cycling,...
Victoria BC: From No-Bike-Routes City to Cycling Capital
A city whose first cycling network plan stated 'No Bike Routes Downtown' now leads Canada in cycling mode share, and ranks among North America’s best cycling cities. We sit down with Tim Hewett, Senior Transportation Planner and Streetscape ...
The Incredibly Cool Community-Built Bike Lane Sweeper
A bicycle-towed, electric lane sweeper is quietly changing how cities and communities keep bike lanes safe. Peter sits down with Sunshine Coast engineer and former bike mechanic Cedric Eveleigh to unpack the origin story, the desi...
Cash Grab Or Life Saver? Speed Cameras Save Money And Lives
Pedestrians and cyclists in BC are killed and injured at a rate that would never be accepted in any other public space. We ask a simple question with a complex political answer: if automated speed enforcement cuts injuries and deaths so reliabl...
2 Kids, 2 E-bikes, No Car: A Year-Round Cycling Family in Whistler
NOTE: This episode originally aired in October of 2023. Since then, Brendan and Amanda and family have moved from Whistler to Nelson, BC. They now own a family car, which they mostly use to get to the mountain to ski. They continue to cycle...
Heron Way, Healing Way: An Indigenous-led Path to Active Transportation
A trail should move more than bodies; it should move history into the open. We sit down with Elder Ruth Adams of Tsawwassen First Nation to explore the Great Blue Heron Way: a bold, Indigenous‑led active transportation route that reconne...
Will Gravel Races Replace Fondos? Keeping Mass Rides Alive in Uncertain Times
Two beloved BC fondos disappeared this year — and not because riders lost interest. We sit down with veteran organizer and Panache Cycling Sports CEO Jon Watkin to unpack the real reasons: traffic control costs spiralling to double-time ...
New West Mayor talks Funding Freeze, Speed Cameras, Car Brain, and Safer Streets
'Slow down cars and save lives' sounds obvious, but how do we actually make that work on the ground? Where does funding for speed enforcement come from, and when fines are charged, where does the money actually land? New Westminster Mayor Pa...
Is BC's New Minimum Safe Passing Law Working? The RCMP weighs in
The width of a queen-size mattress. That’s the picture we keep coming back to when we talk about BC’s new minimum safe passing distance for cyclists. But how can police actually prove a too-close pass, and what tools — from dashcams to clear si...
BC's Future as a Global Cycle Tourism Destination
Imagine riding along dedicated trails through ancient forests and pristine valleys, stopping at local cafes and wineries along the way. This vision of cycle tourism isn't just a cyclist's dream – it's a billion-dollar economic opportunity, as <...
When E-Bikes Become Motorcycles: The Gray Areas of Electric Transportation
Trail Rep for the Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association, Founding Member of the Mission Community Cycling Coalition, former bike-sho...
A Cycling Champion in a Pickup Truck Town
What does it take to transform a car-dependent small town into a place where cycling feels safe and accessible? Ruth Lloyd is finding out firsthand in Williams Lake, BC.As a returning resident to her hometown, Ruth experienced th...
The Trail Builder's Playbook: Allan Kindrat's Guide to Making Paths Possible
Transportation Engineer Allan Kindrat's groundbreaking work on the Cycle 16 multi-use path connecting Smithers and Telkwa recently earned a Gold Award from the Planning Institute of BC, recognizing two decades of persistent community adv...
How cycling advocate Eleanor McMahon changed laws to save lives
What does it take to transform personal tragedy into meaningful policy change? Eleanor McMahon's story provides a masterclass in effective advocacy that transcends political divisions while saving lives on our roads.After losing ...
Rails vs Trails: Re-imagining Vancouver Island's 289-km rail corridor
Is it all over for trains on the abandoned E&N Rail line stretching 289 kilometres along Vancouver Island? Alastair Craighead, Chair of Friends of Rails to Trails Vancouver Island, thinks so, and is one of many people ...
Balance Bikes to Bike Buses: Turning kids on to cycling, for life!
How can we transform young children into lifelong cyclists? Maya Goldstein's innovative Kids on Wheels and School Bike Bus programs teach biking to children as young as age two, and bring out as many as 60 kids at a time to...
Trials and Tribulations on the Trans-Canada Trail
Conflicts between motorized vehicles (ATVs, dirt bikes) and non-motorized users (cyclists, hikers) present ongoing challenges for multi-use trails – particularly when the trail spans almost 30,000km! Trails BC Director Léon Lebrun...
Electric Cargo Bikes, yours for free – from the local library!
Curious about cargo e-bikes but hesitant to invest thousands without trying one first? North Vancouver has created an elegant solution that's transforming how families approach transportation decisions. All you need is a library card to check o...
The End of Bike Theft Anxiety: New insurance solutions for cyclists
Nick van Egmond, CEO of Bicycle Broker, introduces 'Sundays' — a comprehensive insurance solution designed specifically for cyclists that covers theft and damage for all types of bikes across Canada. Traditional home and tena...
Cycling Without Age: How trishaws are reconnecting seniors to community life
Find out how the simple act of feeling wind in your hair can transform a day of isolation into one filled with joy, connection, and even awakened memories.Jennifer Reid, Co-Founder and Director of Vancouver Cycling Without Age Society...
Indigenous Communities moving ahead with Active Transportation
Active transportation in Indigenous communities isn't just a matter of movement — it's also about culture, identity, and safety. Aaron Pete, Chawathil First Nation Councillor (and Podcaster!), shares how the Chawathil are forging ...