The Pedalshift Project 315: California 2023 – Preview

The old song goes, “California here I come, right back where I started from…” and that pretty much sums up the next tour of 2023! On this episode I preview the four chapters of the California 2023 tour, and why this one has tons of adventure contained inside!

The Pedalshift Project 315: California 2023 - Preview

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California 2023 – Preview

Remember how the The Missing Link created another missing link? Well, in March 2023 we’re finally going to fill that in! It’s a new California adventure, but with a lower case A so I don’t hear from Disney lawyers…

The ride(s)

This isn’t so much a linear tour as it is kind of a greatest hits of adventures in multiple chapters.

Chapter 1 – LAX to Anaheim

A transit assisted ride from LAX to Anaheim, featuring the LA Metro Green line and a fun ride from Norwalk to Anaheim on Ball Rd.

Chapter 2 – Anaheim to the Missing Link

A ride, a coastal bus fast forward and getting to flash my Marine Base ID to complete the Missing Link! Then a quick coastal train to beatiful San Diego…

Chapter 3 – Border Run Loop

A ride, a short ferry, and revisting the end-point of my 2014 tour at the Mexican border… and back!

Chapter 4 – The Mileage Run

The adventure to unlock elite status on Alaska Airlines, plus to test my Brompton gate checking systems! Plus, Northern California? Sure!

[NOTE… I will be purchasing carbon offsets for this. I recognize there’s a stupidity to doing this in light of climate change, so I’m going to try to ameliorate that.]

The gear

Well, the Brompton obviously.

Ortlieb front luggage block setup

Larger drysack on the back (learned my lesson from FL – just need more capacity)

Need to be prepared for chillier temps than FL, especially in the mornings.

Rain is unlikely, but I plan to have my rain jacket as my warm outer layer

Trying very hard to reduce the amount of clothes to the bare minimum (had to pack more civilian clothes for FL and didn’t use them)

Revisiting my tool bag… brought too many of the wrong things to FL (more for the Safari).

The weather

Simply glorious… Mid 60s as highs, lows in the 40s.

Hints of rain in the long range forecast?

May cycle in long pants but bring a pair of shorts

The adventures

So much fun on this trip… staying near Disneyland and grabbing a drink with a work friend after the first day.

Fun transit fast forwards (hello 2023 goals!)

Checking the box on the Missing Link (and reusing my base pass!)

Planes… trains… automobiles (bus!) AND a ferry!

The border loop

Tour Journals begin next week!

As always we like to close out the show with a special shoutout to the Pedalshift Society! Because of support from listeners like you, Pedalshift is a weekly bicycle touring podcast with a global community, expanding into live shows and covering new tours like this summer’s upcoming bike tour! If you like what you hear, you can support the show for 5 bucks, 2 bucks or even a buck a month. And there’s one-shot and annual options if you’re not into the small monthly thing. Check it all out at pedalshift.net/society.

Kimberly Wilson
Caleb Jenkinson
Cameron Lien
Andrew MacGregor
Michael Hart
Keith Nagel
Brock Dittus
Thomas Skadow
Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Harry Telgadas
Chris Barron
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Mr. T
Nathan Poulton
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Cody Floerchinger
Tom Benenati
Greg Braithwaite
Sandy Pizzio
Jeff Muster
Seth Pollack
Joseph Quinn
Drue Porter
Byron Paterson
Joachim Raber
Ray Jackson
Jeff Frey
Kenny Mikey
Lisa Hart
John Denkler
Steve Hankel
Miguel Quinones
Alejandro Avilés-Reyes
Keith Spangler
Greg Towner
Dan Gebhart, RIP
Jody Dzuranin
Lucas Barwick
Michael Baker
Brian Bechtol
Reinhart Bigl
Greg Middlemis
Connie Moore
William Gothmann
Brian Benton
Joan Churchill
Mike Bender
Rick Weinberg
Billy Crafton
Gary Matushak
Greg L’Etoile-Lopes
James Sloan
Jonathan Dillard
John Funk
Tom Bilcze
Ronald Piroli
Dave Roll
Brian Hafner
Misha LeBlanc
Ari Messinger
David Gratke
Todd Groesbeck
Wally Estrella
Sue Reinert
John Leko
Stephen Granata
Phillip Mueller
Robert Lackey
Dominic Carol
Jacqi McCulloch
John Hickman
Carl Presseault
David Neves
Patty Louise
Terry Fitzgerald
Peter Steinmetz
Timothy Fitzpatrick
Michael Liszewski
Hank O’Donnell
David Zanoni
David Weil
Matthew Sponseller
Chad Reno
Spartan Dale
Carolyn Ferguson
Peggy Littlefield
Lauren Allansmith
Eric Burns
Thomas Pearl
Darrin McKibben
Richard Stewart
Dave Fletcher
Jack Smith
Luke Parkinson
Ryan Patterson
Cyrus Farivar
John Gardiner
Sam Scruggs

Music

You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. Jason has a new track available NOW, and a new album dropping very soon AND Jason’s first solo album is now streaming on Spotify, including America, the Pedalshift theme. Go listen!

The post The Pedalshift Project 315: California 2023 – Preview appeared first on Pedalshift.

March 8, 2023

Advocacy by Public Foundations

Public foundations play an important role in our communities by providing critical funding to nonprofit organizations. But, did you know that they can also engage in advocacy campaigns and work with legislators and other government officials to impact public policy? On this episode, we’ll dive-in to the rules public foundations need to know when advancing their missions through advocacy.

Attorneys for this episode

Natalie Ossenfort

Victor Rivera Labiosa

Quyen Tu

Public Foundations (like community foundations) are a type of public charity!

This means that while they are not permitted to support or oppose candidates for public office and must remain nonpartisan,
They ARE allowed to lobby within their lobbying limits and can engage in other, non-lobbying, advocacy as well.

Types of non-lobbying advocacy

There are two tests set out in the tax code that public (community) foundations may use to measure how much lobbying they are permitted to engage in.

Insubstantial Part Test

501(h) Expenditure Test

Examples

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation
Texas Women’s Foundation

Resources

Philanthropy Advocacy Playbook

Community Foundations and Advocacy

Public Charities Can Lobby

Rules of the Game: A Guide to Election Related-R

March 2, 2023

Best of Pedalshift Tour Journals: DC to Boston Transit-Aided Tour – Part 2

Part two of three in a best of covering Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 4 – the mostly transit and smattering of very important folding bike tour from DC to Boston. In this episode it’s the actual tour journal entries from this stunt… err, tour.
Originally podcast August 21, 2015

Best of Pedalshift Tour Journals: DC to Boston Transit-Aided Tour – Part 2

Not much in the way of shownotes this week… but here’s some pics!

The post Best of Pedalshift Tour Journals: DC to Boston Transit-Aided Tour – Part 2 appeared first on Pedalshift.

February 23, 2023

The Pedalshift Project 314: Florida 2023 – Takeaways

My annual winter ride in Florida is in the books, and I have a lot of thoughts… ten, in fact! But the last one is by far my biggest takeaway from a tour in a long time, so stick around for that one!

The Pedalshift Project 314: Florida 2023 - Takeaways

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Florida 2023 – Takeaways

1 – I really love this ride, but I want to ride the Cross Florida Trail next year

2 – I also really like integrating cycling with my Disney World visits, so I hope to do that in addition to that ride.

3 – Touring on Brompton means you have to clean parts regularly and avoid touching some parts altogether.

4 – I’m still not fully satisfied with my Brompton touring setup, but I’m also finding it’s pretty good as is.

5 – Florida is not a terrible bicycling state, except where it is.

6 – When faced with headwinds, lower your expectations and go with (well, against) the flow.

7 – Bring all the tools you need, yes even that $1 crescent wrench.

8 – I prefer clothing coverage over sunscreen when I can.

9 – You don’t need to carry thousands of calories of food with you when you’re within a few miles of civilization.

10 – I finally have a name for what happens to me during bike tours… it’s called edema and it’s the body holding onto water for days because of the stress the body undergoes during rides. Turns out, I’m probably not getting enough electrolytes, especially sodium.

Music

The post The Pedalshift Project 314: Florida 2023 – Takeaways appeared first on Pedalshift.

February 22, 2023

Advocacy in Action: Supreme Court Ethics

On this episode, we present another edition of advocacy in action focusing on the work our colleagues at Alliance for Justice are tackling around Supreme Court ethics. This has been a topic we’ve championed for decades, but recent events have underscored how important a topic it continues to be. We’re happy to have a special guest to guide us through the ins and outs of the topic, AFJ and AFJ Action President Rakim Brooks.

Lawyers for this Episode

Leslie Barnes

Rakim Brooks

Tim Mooney

Shownotes

A SCOTUS Code of Ethics

· Why doesn’t the Supreme Court have an ethical code like other entities?

· How would an ethics code address recent troubling developments like Justice Alito leaking the Hobby Lobby opinion, or determining how Justice Thomas could sit for cases involving the insurrection given his wife’s role in January 6th?

· Is an externally enforce code better than the proposed internally enforced code the Court has considered?

· What is AFJ’s position?

Congressional Oversight

· Legislative committees overseeing SCOTUS

· Likelihood of legislation

· How advocacy on this subject is impacted by the rules

· Impeachment as an option in certain cases

Ethics and the Bigger Picture

· Ethics and recent erosion of fundamental rights and politicization of SCOTUS

· Progressive Constitutionalism

Resources

Supreme Court justices discussed, but did not agree on, code of conduct, Washington Post (February 9, 2023).

Supreme Court Weighs Ethics Code as Critics Push for Change, New York Times (February 9, 2023).

AFJ Letter to House Judiciary Committee

February 21, 2023

The Pedalshift Project 313: Florida 2023 – Day 2

It’s my annual winter ride in Florida! The first day’s headwinds abated overnight, but the threat of rain hung over my ride. Would I have to bail out on the short version, or would my energy and dry conditions allow for testing the newer, way more fun route?

Hey it’s the direct download link for The Pedalshift Project 313: Florida 2023 – Day 2 (mp3).

Subscribe/Follow The Pedalshift Project:
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Reach out to the show via email, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to join the newsletter too.

Florida 2023 – Day 2

STATISTICS

Chicken encounters 2

Day old sandwiches eaten 1/2 (I finished the other half the next day -wasn’t bad!)

Gallons of water wasted by that dumb developer – seriously, hundreds of thousands. It was gross.

55+ resorts soon to gate off my route 1

New roads that will be better anyways 1

Disney World No Trespassing signs I leaned my bike against for a pic 1

Pineapple celebration drinks imbibed at the end 1

Miles biked 55

Flats 0

Music

The post The Pedalshift Project 313: Florida 2023 – Day 2 appeared first on Pedalshift.

February 10, 2023

The Pedalshift Project 312: Florida 2023 – Day 1

It’s my annual winter ride in Florida, but things turned out a little differently this year. Day 1 featured a massive headwind that whittled down my energy and made for, um, challenging audio conditions. It was only 40 miles, but would the wind prevail?

The Pedalshift Project 312: Florida 2023 - Day 1

Hey it’s the direct download link for The Pedalshift Project 312: Florida 2023 – Day 1 (mp3).

Subscribe/Follow The Pedalshift Project:
RSS – iTunes – Overcast – Android – Google Podcasts – Stitcher – TuneIn – IHeartRadio – Spotify

Reach out to the show via email, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to join the newsletter too.

Florida 2023 – Day 1

Folks, I ended up having to toss about 30 minutes of witty banter and ride info because the headwinds from Tampa to Lakeland were simply brutal. I used a dedicated recorder with a “dead cat” lavalier microphone and the winds still managed to cut through.

Some of what you hear won’t sound great, but the vast majority is understandable. I solved the problem for next week’s episode so you only have to put up with it for a week.

But this was a really fun ride and I can’t wait for you to listen… so… off we go!

STATISTICS

Average wind sustained headwind speed 20 mph

Average speed 8.3 mph

Cortados in Ybor City 1

Number of times I committed Carny ride slander that was lost to the headwinds in Plant City minimum of 9 times

Coke floats that rescued my energy 0

Separately purchased Coke and ice cream that rescued my energy 1 each

Miles biked 41

Flats 0

Music

The post The Pedalshift Project 312: Florida 2023 – Day 1 appeared first on Pedalshift.

February 9, 2023

Pedalshift 312 Coming Saturday

The tour is complete, but the day 1 audio needs some work! But have no fear, the next episode of the pod will drop 7am ET Saturday. Thanks for your patience!

The post Pedalshift 312 Coming Saturday appeared first on Pedalshift.

February 8, 2023

Advocacy by Private Foundations

We’ve talked about how private foundations can fund advocacy, but we are frequently asked what they can do themselves to push for policy change in the communities they serve. On this episode, we cover the do’s and don’ts of private foundation advocacy.

Attorneys for this episode

Tim Mooney

Natalie Ossenfort

Quyen Tu

Shownotes

We’ll get to the do’s in a bit, but first the don’ts – don’t support or oppose candidates for public office and don’t engage in any activity that meets the definition of lobbying.

IRS rules – 501(h) definitions apply (direct & grassroots lobbying)
Any expenditure that meets the definition (paid staff or earmarked grant)
Consequence – excise taxes
- 20% of the amount spent is assessed on the foundation
- 5% of the amount expended (up to a maximum of $10,000 for a single expenditure) is assessed on a foundation manager if they “knowingly, willfully and without reasonable cause” agreed to the lobbying expenditure
There are plenty of things private foundations can do that are similar to lobbying or excepted from lobbying – it’s not worth getting the excise tax!

The do’s – options for private foundations

Non-lobbying advocacy
- Activity that does not have all of the elements of either direct or grassroots lobbying within the 501(h) definitions
- Meeting with legislators? Don’t advocate for specific legislation. Instead, speak about the issues within your portfolio broadly, and to the successes your funding has had. If asked what your stance is on a pending bill, do not answer (“It’s a trap!”) because that becomes direct lobbying.
- Communicating with the public? Here you can boldly promote your stance on legislation so long as you don’t include a call to action, urging the public to contact legislators. This is a very underutilized option!
- Ballot measures? Remember advocacy on these is direct lobbying so it’s best to avoid advocating on these as a private foundation. Educating without urging a vote one way or another avoids the excise tax.
- Other forms of nonlobbying advocacy
  - Regulatory advocacy
  - Advocacy before special purpose boards (i.e. school boards, water districts, etc.)
  - Convening decisionmakers to discuss a policy topic
  - Sign onto an amicus brief or otherwise participate in litigation
  - Education campaigns
- Lobbying exceptions
  - Nonpartisan Analysis, Study or Research
    - Content: full and fair analysis
    - Distribution: broad public distribution and/or to government officials or employees
    - Can take a stance on legislation
    - Often print reports, but don’t have to be
    - Watch out for subsequent use rule
    - Earmarking a grant for this is also not lobbying
    - Annie E. Casey Foundation uses this exception a lot. Examples include advocating for expanding the Child Tax Credit, policy proposals (some that would require legislation) around student debt. They also earmark funds for reports done by grantees that fit in this exception, which is effectively the same as doing it themself.
    - Missouri Foundation for Health is kind of a bank shot example because technically it is a (c)(4) but because of a court settlement agreement going back to the tobacco litigation, it operates under private foundation rules. It commissioned a series of studiesand came out strongly in favor of Medicaid expansion in MO as a part of it. This all snugly fits in the exception.
    - Last example comes from DC and the Bainum Family Foundation. It commissioned a reportto document the shortage of high quality subsidized child care for those under 3 in lower income communities of Wards 7 and 8 of DC. The report was the basis of an entire campaign to advocate for a change in laws before the DC Council (which was successful!).
  - Requests for Technical Assistance
    - Providing information to legislative committees when invited is not lobbying
    - Must be invited in writing
    - Must be invited by the chair of the committee, subcommittee, or body
  - Self-Defense
    - Narrow exception – if there’s a pending bill that would impact the rights or responsibilities of private foundations, lobbying for or against the bill doesn’t count.
  - Examinations and Discussions of Broad Social, Economic and Similar Problems
    - Taking a stance on the general subject of legislation, without taking a stance on any legislation itself is not lobbying
    - This is a bit of a tightrope (remember our “it’s a trap!” example)

Resources

Lobbying Defined for Private Foundations

Private Foundations May Advocate

Be Bold and Advocate Rules for Foundations Engaging in Advocacy in TX

Philanthropy Advocacy Playbook

February 2, 2023

Best of Pedalshift 028: DC to Boston Transit-Aided Tour – Part 1

Part one of three in a best of covering Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 4 – the mostly transit and smattering of very important folding bike tour from DC to Boston. In this episode we cover the idea, the arbitrary set of rules and my mindset going into this stunt… err, tour.
Originally podcast August 20, 2015

Best of Pedalshift 028: DC to Boston Transit-Aided Tour – Part 1

The post Best of Pedalshift 028: DC to Boston Transit-Aided Tour – Part 1 appeared first on Pedalshift.

California 2023 – Preview

The ride(s)

Chapter 1 – LAX to Anaheim

Chapter 2 – Anaheim to the Missing Link

Chapter 3 – Border Run Loop

Chapter 4 – The Mileage Run

The gear

The weather

The adventures

Music

Bike tour consulting – 1 hour

Bike tour consulting – 4 pack

Pedalshift Society – $29 one-shot

Pedalshift Society – $59 one-shot

Pedalshift Society – Choose Your Own Adventure

Pedalshift Tour Journals Bundle (2014-2016)

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 1: Pacific Coast

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 2: DC to Pittsburgh / C&O & GAP

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 3: New York State/Erie Canal

Best of Pedalshift Tour Journals: DC to Boston Transit-Aided Tour – Part 2

Florida 2023 – Takeaways

Music

Bike tour consulting – 1 hour

Bike tour consulting – 4 pack

Pedalshift Society – $29 one-shot

Pedalshift Society – $59 one-shot

Pedalshift Society – Choose Your Own Adventure

Pedalshift Tour Journals Bundle (2014-2016)

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 1: Pacific Coast

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 2: DC to Pittsburgh / C&O & GAP

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 3: New York State/Erie Canal

Florida 2023 – Day 2

STATISTICS

Music

Bike tour consulting – 1 hour

Bike tour consulting – 4 pack

Pedalshift Society – $29 one-shot

Pedalshift Society – $59 one-shot

Pedalshift Society – Choose Your Own Adventure

Pedalshift Tour Journals Bundle (2014-2016)

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 1: Pacific Coast

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 2: DC to Pittsburgh / C&O & GAP

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 3: New York State/Erie Canal

Florida 2023 – Day 1

STATISTICS

Music

Bike tour consulting – 1 hour

Bike tour consulting – 4 pack

Pedalshift Society – $29 one-shot

Pedalshift Society – $59 one-shot

Pedalshift Society – Choose Your Own Adventure

Pedalshift Tour Journals Bundle (2014-2016)

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 1: Pacific Coast

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 2: DC to Pittsburgh / C&O & GAP

Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol. 3: New York State/Erie Canal

Best of Pedalshift 028: DC to Boston Transit-Aided Tour – Part 1