Radio Host Ryan Seacrest Talks Bike Love
Ryan Seacrest, host of "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" on I Heart Radio, has caught cycling fever. In a recent podcast (“Biking Gift Ideas”) he listed a litany of gear essentials he would like to receive: gloves (to prevent calluses), a radio he can mount on his handlebars, a bike trailer, a car with a shower (us too, Seacrest), and riding clothes.
“But not the Tour de France look,” he noted. “I need the padded pants but [ones that can] go over cool cargo pants so that I can stop and eat… If you could picture ‘Cool Boy Bike Guy,’ that’s who I want to be.”
He’s also been chatting with the mayor of Los Angeles about why bike commuting is awesome, and how LA is trying to become more bike-friendly. Seacrest may not be the first celebrity on a bike spotted in the wild, but he is the first to be this vocal about his love of the fitness aspect of riding, as well as his desire to see more people on bikes, with safer streets to ride.
In an interview last week with Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, Seacrest not only geeks out (“I ride a Cannondale, bro,” he tells an amused Garcetti), but also speaks candidly about the merits of cycling: “I’m starting to explore different routes to use my bike, and I know that it’s not only good for longevity and fitness, but it’s also good for our city and traffic and environment,” Seacrest says. “I’m an advocate. In a perfect world, I’d ride to work.”
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The mayor in turn speaks about his father’s riding habits (two hours a day as he was growing up!), and talks about the huge strides traffic-congested LA has made in the last year: The city designed 10 miles of protected bikeways, as well as 26 miles of bike lane improvements, and the city’s Mobility Plan promises hundreds of bike lanes in the near future. Garcetti, who rides a Trek, also says that the reason more people don’t ride is because they feel unsafe, but people don’t want bike lanes because no one is riding, which he calls a “vicious circle.”
Meanwhile, Seacrest’s bike-love isn’t just for ratings. He’s practicing what he preaches: Three days ago, he posted a photo of himself ready to roll (with Nick Jonas in mild disbelief) to Instagram.
Hopefully, Seacrest’s bike-loving ways will start to rub off on other celebrities in Los Angeles and other major cities around the country—who will all then promote reasons to get Cannondales, bro.
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