Tag: Elden Nelson

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Show #568 – August 14, 2021

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Guests: Eldon Nelson; Chuck Marohn

If you’re like me, the thought of racing a mountain bike for 100 miles, starting at 10,000 feet and climbing 12,500 feet in a day is utterly terrifying! And yet, my first guest has done it 23 times – finishing it 22… and is about to go again – today actually – August 14th.

Elden Nelson is, by all rights, the Leadville 100 Guru – he even has a great podcast dedicated to the event.

But last year, COVID put the kibosh on the race and a series of small snafus have resulted in too many participants for this year. Yet still… the race will go on and I wanted to catch up with Elden to get the low-down on this year’s event.

PS… it’s NOT about the belt buckle – oh wait, maybe it is!

 

 

Then, we FINALLY get to speak with Strong Towns‘ Chuck Marohn about his upcoming book, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer.

Whenever I have a conversation with  Chuck Marohn, I have the best of intentions to follow the train of thought I had planned out …. Instead, I get a fascinating conversation that just flows from one topic to the next and, frankly I’m happy with that!

Chuck’s perspectives on planning and what will keep towns and cities solvent – even prosperous – have come up against an establishment that is both defensive and unyielding to new ways of thinking about roads, bridges, and how we live today. That establishment still relies on 50+ year ideas and technology in a world where new options abound.

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Show #402 – May 26, 2018

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Encore! Encore!  Enjoy this great show from Memorial Day 2018 and we’ll be back with a brand new episode next week.

We’ve had Elden Nelson on the show in the past; but, now he’s got a new gig and he is THE expert in the field. Elden has completed 20 Leadville 100 mountain bike races and now has a new podcast all about the event – how to train for it, how to finish it, surviving at altitude, what to eat, everything-you-need-to-know.

The podcast launched on Wednesday and I wanted to be the FIRST to cover the news!

Then, after two failed attempts – technical difficulties – I think we nailed the conversation on the third take. Joe Mungo Reed‘s first novel (his first book) is a slam dunk winner! We Begin the Ascent, out June 19th in the States, is a fictional account of a pro rider, his wife, and the cast of characters that make up the team.

The book is riveting – with uncanny insight into the mechanics of a pro team -and lots of twists and turns as the story unfolds. We don’t see a lot of cycling fiction – and this one is a winner!

Finally, as an answer to the requests I received – is an encore presentation of an interview I had with FK Day from SRAM and founder of World Bicycle Relief. It was one of the first interviews I did as The Outspoken Cyclist back in 2010 and, I must say, it’s not bad!

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend! Enjoy the show!

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Show #230 – January 24, 2015

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Guests: Elden (The Fat Cyclist) Nelson; Don (Mr. NAHBS) Walker

We’re getting into that time of winter where we long for sunny skies, warm temperatures, and green! So, probably one of the best ways to forget the winter doldrums is to laugh – at it, about it, or just find some funny stuff.

And, this week we did indeed find humor. Back at the beginning of the month, we spoke with commentator and journalist Dan Wuori. During our conversation, Dan mentioned that he had participated in the forward of a new book by the “fat cyclist” and I said… “Who’s that?”

Well, this evening, we get to talk with the “fat cyclist hisself”… Elden Nelson isn’t fat and he IS a cyclist. In fact, he’s an avid cyclist having completed 17 of the 18 Leadville 100 events he’s entered (there’s good reason he was DNF on the 18th!)

Elden writes the irreverent and mostly outrageously funny blog fatcyclist.com. His new book, “The Great Fatsby – Absurd Cycling Stories Disguised as Expertise and Insight” is a compendium of his blog from 2007 through 2010 and in it he adds many of the incredibly funny comments that were left after each entry.

But Elden isn’t just a humor monger – he’s the real deal and has raised millions of dollars for charities near and dear to his heart including Livestrong (yes, he believes in the organization and what it does), World Bicycle Relief, and the Kesem Camps (just listen and you’ll learn about them).

Then, after our break and some news, we hustle off to Louisville for the skinny on this year’s NAHBS show with founder and owner Don Walker. Oh yeah – NAHBS #11 is only 6 weeks away and Don gives us some excellent reasons to head over to the show and to the city of Louisville for some great cycling culture.

So, get your ears on and let’s listen in to my conversation with Elden Nelson – MR. Fat Cyclist.