Show #64 – November 12, 2011

Gary Helfrich, Sonomo County Bicycle Coalition; Lauria Mellot, Reflect Sports

After living on the south shore of a Great Lake for more than a quarter century, I’m used to wild mood swings in the weather by now. But still, a day of accumulating snow sandwiched between two stretches of sunny and 60+ degrees in early November is wacky, even for northeast Ohio. Happily, The Outspoken Cyclist is a constant, calming companion for your brain, no matter what the thermometer reads.

Our first guest is an icon, not only in cycling, but in several other fields, including rock and roll, and transportation planning. Gary Helfrich was one of the forces behind the original incarnation of Merlin, went on the road with Aerosmith, and is now the executive director of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition. We got to pick his brain on all those subjects and more in a lengthy interview this week.

Cycling, swimming and other outdoor activities can be hard on the skin and hair. Diane spotted some new products at Interbike from Reflect Sports. Their flagship product, Hoo Ha Ride Glide is a chamois cream that was developed to be friendly to female “saddle contact points” (aka the Hoo Ha). It was also developed to make you smile when you say its name. In any event, our second guest this week is Laurie Mellot, one of the partners in Reflect Sports to tell us about Hoo Ha Ride Glide, and their other products.