TOPICS & TIMES
- Origin Story of World Bicycle Relief (3:49)
- How Dave first got involved with WBR (8:41)
- Why bikes matter so much (16:24)
- Mission Statement of WBR (19:25)
- How does WBR select new locations to assist? (21:21)
- Important Stats & Results (37:13)
- Winning the Wharton / Lipman Prize (43:53)
- The bikes / designing for particular performance (49:03)
- The Buffalo Bike (54:07)
- The Charger Bike (55:51)
- Future plans for World Bicycle Relief (59:17)
- Biggest lessons learned that others might benefit from? (1:05:07)
- Best ways for individuals and companies to get involved? (1:07:31)
For many of us, bikes are primarily a source of serious fun — they are fun to read about, they are super fun to ride, they are fun to watch incredible athletes compete on, basically, they’re the greatest thing ever, beautiful – and often expensive – forms of entertainment and exercise.
But for many others, bikes are not just fun, they are major drivers of economic development, critical sources of transportation and health care, vehicles of educational opportunity, and instruments of equality.
In short, for many people and communities, bikes are transformative tools that significantly impact and improve lives. And while I would argue that this is also certainly true for those of us who are privileged enough to stay up wondering whether we ought to go with 29” or 27.5” wheels, or whether we ought to run a coil or air shock on our next ride, it is definitely no less true of those for whom having access to a functional bike is the difference between going to school and getting an education, or not.
And that brings us to the work of World Bicycle Relief, an organization that was started in 2005 by the founder of SRAM, FK Day, and his wife Leah. World Bicycle Relief has been providing bikes to some of the communities around the world that could use them most, and in today’s conversation, I think you’ll come to see exactly how and why bikes can be such a significant and life-changing tool.
Our guest today is Dave Neiswander, the CEO of World Bicycle Relief. Dave has been with WBR for over a decade, and as you will see, he is an impressive guy with an impressive background, and he does an excellent job talking about the origins of WBR, its trajectory and challenges, the bikes themselves and all the product design that goes into them, and what each of us can do to support the mission of World Bicycle Relief.
Take Action:
Go to worldbicyclerelief.org to sign up for one of their upcoming events, make a donation, and share what they are up to with your friends and colleagues.
GREAT PROGRAM! And once again this just shows this site has way too much good stuff.
Where else can you get the great reviews on so many outdoor products, as well as the kind of podcasts on interesting people and products and making the world a better place.
I still remember the review of truffles on one of your South American ski trips. This site runs the gamut of just about anything a well informed outdoor person would need. Thanks for a great site.