According to listeners, the most popular bits of the Bike Show are the so-called ‘rolling interviews’, which are basically a bike ride combined with a live interview. Over the years, Bike Show presenter Jack Thurston has developed the unique blend of skills necessary to ride a bike, handle a microphone, not get lost, run over or fall into canal, all the while conducting an interview with his guest of the day. Here is the complete list (in chronological order) with links to the ‘listen again’ audio archive:

Gavin Renshaw, artist riding the lanes around Preston, Lancashire. July 2018. LISTEN
Mike Parker, travel writer, riding the Mon and Brec canal, February 2017. LISTEN.
Emily Chappell, long-distance cyclist, writer and former bike messenger, riding in Mid-Wales. April 2016. LISTEN.
Julian Sayarer, writer and round-the-world cyclist, riding in the Wye valley. February 2015. LISTEN.
Klaus Bondam, former cycling mayor of Copenhagen, riding on the streets of London. July 2014. LISTEN.
Owen Davies, Chair of the Abergavenny Road Club, riding around the hills of the Welsh borders. July 2013. LISTEN
Edward Pickering, cycling journalist and author of a book about the sporting rivalry between Chris Boardman and Graeme Obree. July 2013. LISTEN
Ned Boulting, sports presenter on ITV, author of a new book charting the history of British road racing. July 2013. LISTEN.
Pete Gostelow, Globe-trotting cyclist, fresh back from riding the length of Africa. November 2012. LISTEN.
Lionel Birnie, cycle sport journalist. Rural lanes west of Harpenden. August 2012. LISTEN.
Steve Bagley, Head of Collections at the Coventry Transport Museum. Around Coventry, birthplace of the bicycle. June 2012. LISTEN.
Christian Wolmar, journalist and transport commentator. From Tufnell Park to St Pancras. March 2012. LISTEN.
Dixe Wills, author and camping aficionado. From Bethnal Green to Waltham Abbey and back, 27 June 2011. LISTEN.
Jenny Jones, Green Party member of the London Assembly and candidate for Mayor. From Walworth to City Hall, 17 May 2011. LISTEN.
Bart Kyzar, maker of messenger bags, founder of Chrome and Mission Workshop. From Elephant and Castle to Brick Lane. Broadcast on 10 January 2011. LISTEN.
Paul Fournel, French writer, poet and cultural ambassador. From Soho to Clerkenwell (walking). Broadcast on 19 July 2010. LISTEN.
Amy Fleuriot, young British fashion designer. From West Hackney to the West End. Broadcast on 3 August 2009. LISTEN
James Wilson, lecturer in radio, a ride from Borough High Street to Herne Hill Velodrome. Broadcast on 2 June 2009. LISTEN
Alastair Humphreys, globetrotting cyclist and explorer. Around Richmond Park. Broadcast in two parts on 11 August and 1 September 2008. LISTEN (part one), LISTEN (part two).
Dunwich Dynamo 2008, London Fields to Dunwich, overnight. Broadcast on 21 July 2008. LISTEN
Rob Ainsley, London cyclist and author. Paddington to the north circular along the canals. Broadcast on 7 July 2008. LISTEN
Jason Cobb, London blogger and lido enthusiast. A tour of London outdoor swimming spots. Broadcast on 30 June 2008. LISTEN
Andy Allan, cartographer and computer programmer. Waterloo to South Bermondsey. Broadcast on 4 February 2008. LISTEN
Patrick Field (again!) A ride around the Olympic construction zone in Hackney and Stratford. Broadcast on 17 Dececember 2007. LISTEN
Simon Jackson, roller race champion. Around Richmond Park in the rain. Broadcast on 10 December 2007. LISTEN
Graeme Fife, writer and broadcaster. A short spin around the north Kent hills. Broadcast on 28 May 2007. LISTEN
Patrick Field, London cycle guru. A doorstep adventure from West Hackney to Wapping taking in the Woolwich Ferry. Broadcast on 18 December 2006 and 8 January 2007. LISTEN (part one) LISTEN (part two)
Brussels. Testing out the Velo-cite cycle hire scheme in the Belgian capital. Broadcast on 4 December 2006. LISTEN
Edinburgh. Overnight sleeper and a tour around the Scottish capital. Broadcast on 6 November 2006. LISTEN
Julia Lohmann, designer and artist. From the West End to Tooting via Fulham. Broadcast on 3 July 2006. LISTEN
Ruth Holmes, cycling officer of the Royal Parks. A ride around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Broadcast on 12 June 2006. LISTEN
New York: Brooklyn and Williamsburg. Broadcast on 17 April 2006. LISTEN
New York: Manhattan. Broadcast on 10 April 2006. LISTEN
Brendt Barbur, founding director of the Bicycle Film Festival. The Tour of Britain comes to London. Broadcast on 25 October 2005. LISTEN
Daniel Start, wilderness guru. A trip in the Kent countryside. Broadcast on 22 August 2005. LISTEN
Alix Stredwick of Sustrans. Clerkenwell Road to Wapping. Broadcast on 15 August 2005. LISTEN
Buffalo Bill, chair of the London Bicycle Messengers Association. A ‘blue plaque tour’ of messengers’ London. Broadcast on 16 and 23 May 2005. LISTEN (part one) LISTEN (part two).
Rosie Walford, psychologist and founder of The Big Stretch. Upper Street to St Paul’s Cathedral. Broadcast on 4 April 2005. LISTEN
Rose Ades, the Mayor of London’s chief adviser on cycling at Transport for London. A commute route from Bermondsey to Victoria. Broadcast on 31 January 2005. LISTEN
Jeremy Deller, artist and folklorist. A roll around the Islington/Hackney borderlands. Broadcast on 24 January 2005. LISTEN
Nicky Hamlyn, writer and film-maker. A Christmas day ride over the South Downs. Broadcast on 3 January 2005. LISTEN
Mark Ellen, music journalist, broadcaster and editor of The Word magazine. Chiswick to the Angel, Islington, through the Royal Parks. Broadcast on 27 December 2004. LISTEN
Dunwich Dynamo 2004. London Fields to Dunwich, overnight. Broadcast on 13 December 2004. LISTEN

For the technologically-minded out there (and there have been several requests for this information), Jack conducts rolling interviews using an ElectroVoice RE50 reporter’s microphone and an Fostex FR2-LE solid state recorder. The ElectroVoice has amazing wind resistance and is very ruggedly built, so can be dropped without much risk of damage. The Fostex was a big upgrade from an Edirol R-09 which served valiantly for three years until it started falling apart.

For anyone looking to make a start in audio recording, a couple of recommended recorders are:

Olympus LS-5 – Excellent value, good sound, very portable, long battery life.

Sony PCM M10 – Very good quality sound, particularly on low output dynamic microphones and super-long battery life.