Show #491 – February 8, 2020

Guests: Don Walker; Aaron Weiss; Doug Torosian

On March 20th, the 16th annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show opens in Dallas, Texas at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. Tonight, I speak with the founder of the show, Don Walker, to unpack all the details including a brand new event being held in conjunction with the show.

Then, Aaron Weiss joins me from Hanoi, Viet Nam, to talk about his long time idea of a special back pack for the Professional Bicycle Commuter – I love saying that! Aaron, who is retired from the US Marine Corps at the rank of Lt. Colonel, began his career in Washington DC where he found that his uniform after his 5 mile commute to the Pentagon wasn’t up to snuff in the packs he found for his bike.

Since then, he’s been working on the idea, and when his wife was assigned to the US Embassy in Hanoi, Aaron retired and began his R&D in earnest. Yesterday, his Kickstarter campaign was fully funded and his Shellback Bike Pack will become a reality.

Finally, we take a journey to NH where long time cross-country rider and owner of American by Bicycle, Doug Torosian, lives and works. ABB is one of the most respected organizations that has fulfilled thousands of riders’ dreams of making that cross country trip.

Doug will fill us in on how ABB began and why their trips are so compelling.