Show #172 – December 7, 2013

GUESTS: The always insightful GEORGE MOUNT, CHRIS PARKER – CEO OF ICE Trikes

 

I know it’s the ultimate cliche to complain, or even talk about the weather, but as cyclists, our riding is greatly influenced by what Mother Nature is doing outdoors. Everyone seems to have their own personal limits on temperature, moisture, and road conditions. Today, for instance, it’s 28 degrees F in Cleveland, and there is some ice left on the roads from last night’s snowfall. So instead of a ride to Little Italy for Presti’s, it was off to Spin class for me this morning.

Think about that while you ponder the journey Maria Leijerstam is embarking on: a self-supported ride from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole. She’ll need to average 80 miles per day through deep snow in temperatures as low as -40 degrees F, with steady 50 mph headwinds, and conquer a climb that may take several days. Maria will be riding a specially-built tadpole trike from Inspired Cycle Engineering (ICE), and Chris Parker, the president of ICE Trikes, joins us in the second half of the show to talk about the advantages of recumbent trikes for many cyclists, not only those who are venturing to the “bottom of the world.”

We open today’s show by welcoming back former racer, active cyclist, and hall of famer George Mount. George returns today to share his always-strong opinions on the state of road racing, and to talk about the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame. George suffers no fools, and minces no words, and that’s exactly why we like him!