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Show #585 – December 18, 2021

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Guests: Shannon Galpin; Dov Tate

The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating daily – famine, illness, and now a world that seems to be looking away, is making evacuating women – especially women athletes – cyclists – more dangerous and fraught with more complications.

It all begs the question – one that has been asked over and over – what is keeping the cycling community from helping to evacuate, resettle, and protect Afghan cyclists?  The ones who are out, or about to be evacuated, are not the entire story – and in fact their stories are ongoing anyway.

If we can perhaps agree that the way the situation in Afghanistan was handled badly in the beginning, it has only become more difficult without the attention and financial support that was there at the start and has since gone away.

This is not a “pretty holiday story” – it is one that I believe should be told and that whatever we can each do – whether it is to donate money or offer help in whatever form works – NOW is the time to do it.

You can find out more about the situation as it continues to unfold and make a donation at fundly.com/support-Afghan-cyclists.  Shannon posts updates fairly often.  The other organization she mentioned is iProbono – a human rights organization at i-probono.com.

Instead of the usual gift giving product reviews we’ve done for many years, I thought we’d change it up with an idea that has meaning for so many of us – climate change.

Dov Tate is the founder of Parcours – a wheel company in the U.K.  As a triathlete he thought wheelsets were too expensive.  As an engineer at Oxford, he conducted a groundbreaking study into bicycle wheel aerodynamics with Dr Steve Faulkner at the sports engineering department of Nottingham Trent University.  The resulting study produced what is now Parcours – his wheel manufacturing company that offers a variety of models.

Now, Parcours is partnering with Ecologi, a program that offers a variety of options to fight climate change – in particular, Parcours has given each of its wheelsets a “watts saving” number and that, in turn, is the number of trees that will be planted with every pair of wheels sold.  ! Watts For Trees!

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Show #584 – December 11, 2021

Guests: Natalie Rizzo; Amelia Neptune

Today, we’re going to talk about FAT and why it is important to INCLUDE as opposed to EXCLUDE fat in your diet.

Of course, that doesn’t mean just any fat – there’s good fat and bad fat and Natalie Rizzo, who is a registered sports dietician with a Masters in Science and who recently wrote an article for Runner’s World titled “How Much Fat Should Runners Eat Per Day? will help break it all down.

I figured that if it’s good enough for runners, it’s certainly good enough for cyclists.

Natalie is a registered dietician in NYC and her goal is to teach you how to use science-based sports nutrition techniques to feel and perform at your best. You can find out more about Natalie and her work on her website.

There are 5 E’s of a League of American Bicyclist’s “Bicycle Friendly Community:”

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI): A Bicycle Friendly America for Everyone

Engineering: Creating safe and convenient places to ride and park

Education: Giving people of all ages and abilities the skills and confidence to ride

Encouragement: Creating a strong bike culture that welcomes and celebrates bicycling

Evaluation & Planning: Planning for bicycling as a safe and viable transportation option

Amelia Neptune is the director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program and recently the League announced 57 new Bicycle Friendly Communities for 2021.

I wanted to know how a BFC title is awarded, how the designations – from bronze to titanium – are determined, and how things have changed since the program was first initiated in 1995.

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Show #583 – December 4, 2021

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Guests: Tom Flood; Marc Sani

When your work and your reality start to clash, what do you do?

In the case of marketing expert Tom Flood, he followed reality and has found himself a wanted man – wanted for lectures and ideas and advocacy.

In his previous life, Tom worked in marketing for an ad agency creating content for some car manufacturers.  He was also commuting to and from work by bike.

Then, he started taking his son to school and, from the perspective of his bike saddle, he began to see the absurdity of our car-centric culture and what it has done to discourage any other types of transportation – especially biking and walking.

In our conversation, I jump up on my soapbox for a moment to voice both frustration and resignation about the lack of a cohesive way of getting biking and walking across to the people who need to hear it – not those of us who already do.

Tom is one of the first people – who not only gets it, but is doing something about it.  You can check out some of his cool ideas, including his videos, at www.creativebyrovelo.com

Dana Point, California warns eBike riders to slow down as you come into the community, which begs the question – how many are riding eBikes and why are they going so fast?

eBikes really are taking the world by storm and, People for Bikes conducted a short summit bringing in a wide variety of folks to talk about how eBikes are impacting the bike industry and some of the pitfalls that seem to be arising for which there are no concrete remedies.

Marc Sani, penned an article in the November 22nd issue that broke down the PFB summit and I wanted to pick his brain for the show this week.

Marc and I break down what was discussed at the Summit, answer a few questions, ask a few more questions, and still haven’t come to concrete conclusions about many of them.

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Show #582 – November 20, 2021

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Guests: Sylvan Adams; David Lipscomb

Yes, it’s a long one today; but, I will be back in two weeks with a new episode, so thought I’d give you a bit of extra this week! In several articles that have been written about the daring evacuations out of Afghanistan, a “member of the media” was mentioned as someone who started the cry for help and that person was actually me. (Velo News Article)

I began reaching out to everyone and anyone I knew who might be able to lend a hand when Shannon Galpin started her quest to find ways to move these Afghan women to safety.

One of those people at the very beginning was Sylvan Adams, the owner of the Israel Start-Up Nation pro cycling team.  And what he did from the moment I contacted him was – in a word – remarkable.

Sylvan and I were originally only going to talk about the work he did to help evacuate 167 Afghan women and girls at the beginning of the Taliban takeover in August. But, as often happens, I asked about the team, Israel Start-Up Nation and that sent us down a rabbit hole for the first half of the conversation.

At the first USAC Inclusion Conference last month, I virtually met David Lipscomb and said to myself – self – you need to talk with this man… he’s got it all going on.

David wears a lot of hats and is eminently qualified conducting business in each one of them.  Yet, he has a broad and deep view of business and sport and competition and mashes it all up with his work at CIS Cycling NYC.

The connection between martial arts and cycling wasn’t clear to me until my conversation with David Lipscomb.

David has a black belt in karate AND he’s an elite cyclist – among a lot of other disciplines – such as coaching and oh yes, a big role in diversity in corporate America…

Today, David’s business,  CISCyclingNYC,  is a system  of coaching that is based in a holistic approach to development.  And, David was tapped by USAC to be the director of DEI and Organizational Development.

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Show #581 – November 13, 2021

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Guests: Brett Horton; Rachael Maney

In the first of conversations for holiday 2021, we finally caught up with Brett Horton who, along with his wife Shelly, owns the Horton Collection out of San Francisco.

The first poster was printed in 1893 for the Chicago World Championships

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and  in 1927, the first UCI World’s was held.  Brett & Shelly love posters from the World Championship and for more than 25 years have pursued to collect an example from each World Championship. They are not quite there yet, but hope springs eternal.

Brett looks at these artistic pieces as “snapshots in time.”  And, in our conversation he explains why these posters are no longer produced and, how you can get add one or more to your bicycle art collection if you are interested.

Brett and I talk about what it takes to make these reproductions artistically beautiful – from the paper to the printing process.

Then, one of the more outrageous cases that Bike Law is currently working on has been blowing up on media for weeks and, Rachael Maney, national director for Bike Law, joins me to talk about that and some of the continuing issues that keep cropping up for us when it comes to crashes between cars and bikes.

Waller, Texas is now the scene of two multi-cyclist crashes – two investigations – and so far, one conviction and one indictment.

In the first instance, people lost their lives, and the trial resulted in a life sentence for the driver.

In the second, a teenager who claims to be a “new driver,” is going to find out what is in store for him in the not-too-distant future.

But, what is really telling about these crashes is that it took social media to get the cases moving when the police failed to charge the driver and instead let him go.

I wanted to try to understand why these crashes aren’t being prosecuted to the full extent of the law and what Bike Law has to suggest if there is ever a circumstance where you find yourself in a crash.

I also wanted to share Rachael’s post that includes a point-by-point checklist of what to do if you are in a crash!   (Scroll down for the list)

I’d like to offer a big shout out to Huck Kurinsky.  He’s a now 7 year old who lives in Bay Village, Ohio – on the West Side of Cleveland and  is a BMX National Champion.  If you’d like to read the story, you can find it at cleveland.com for November 9th.

Huck began entering competitions and winning, even landing a scholarship to train with professionals at the X Games summer camp in Pennsylvania. He eventually entered the U.S. National competition in California last month. Huck broke the world record for the youngest male to complete a backflip.

Way to go Huck!

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Show #580 – November 6, 2021

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Guests: Omar Di Felice; Andrew “Bernie” Bernstein

Ultraman cycling might not say it all when it comes to Omar Di Felice.

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Omar loves extremes – extreme cold, extreme distances, extremes heights – and is a full-time endurance cyclist.

Omar is from Lazio, Italy, right outside of Rome and with more than 70,000 social media followers, is one of the most interesting people I’ve spoken with a long time.

On October 22nd, Roleur online published an interview with Omar Di Felice and I found what he had to say fascinating!

Back in March, Omar had cycled to Mt. Everest Base Camp – a mere 5,364 meters! 17,598 feet – in winter after crossing the entire Himalayan region without any support.

Who IS this man I wanted to know… and, so today you too will learn how Omar does it, why he does it, and what he wants people to know about his “job” as he calls it.

On July 20, 2019, the nightmare that so many of us hope never happens happened to Bernie Bernstein.  On his way home from the local velodrome, the elite cyclist was hit and left for dead. (Here is Bernie’s article from Bicycling Magazine)

We spoke with Bernie back in 2020 while he was still in physical therapy multiple times per week and slowly regaining some strength and mobility.

Now, he’s still dealing with a lot of issues related to the crash; but, he is doing some hiking and biking again!

Two weeks ago, Bernie’s assailant was in court for sentencing.  Bernie delivered a victim statement at that proceeding.

I thought it was a good time to catch up with Bernie and hear what he has to say.

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Show #579 – October 30. 2021

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Guests: Jeff Bock; Bina Bilenky-Trahan

This week, we are getting back to our roots a little bit with a new frame builder conversation.

When I contacted master builder Jeff Bock to arrange our interview, his comment back to me was how I found out about him as he isn’t – and I quote – “a household name.”  Clearly, he doesn’t know our household!

Located in Ames, Iowa, Jeff and I go back to his beginnings talking about bikes not cars, his scholarship as an artist, and more.

Jeff Bock has been building lovely steel lugged frames since 1975.  Back in college, he studied art and also became an art teacher.

Today, Jeff continues to think and build like an artist, integrating his designs to include racks, fenders, and an overall aesthetic that appeals to anyone who loves classic bikes.

We start at the beginning and bring it right up to date with his thinking about today’s equipment and who is buying classic bikes.

Next Saturday and Sunday, November 6th and 7th, is the 11th annual Philly Bike Expo at the Philadelphia Convention Center.  By all rights, it should be the 12th anniversary of the show, but as with many things Covid .. it was put on hold in 2020.  We talk with the show’s owner and producer, Bina Bilenky-Trahan.

This year, even though masks are required inside the building and the test track has been eliminated to expand the space, there is a long list of exhibitors, some terrific seminars – including a talk that I’m delivering on the ethics of bicycle fitters as part of a symposium on bicycle fitting – and a whole slew of other great exhibitors.

I’d also like to give you a quick update I just received from my friend Shannon Galpin about the continuing evacuations of cyclists and others out of Afghanistan.  We are into week #10 and counting

There was a grueling 17-hour crossing into Pakistan of three different groups over the past week and five more small groups will be moving on if the border remains as it is.

One of the articles that was recently published might give you some breadth of the work as well as some perspective.

VeloNews did an extensive article about Sylvan Adams, the founder of the Israel Start-Up Nation and his involvement early on in helping to rescue many, many athletes from Afghanistan.  And, for those who have asked, yes I am the reporter he mentions at the beginning of the article.  There is a link to the article on our blog for today’s show.

The work is still ongoing and the need is still great. You can read Shannon’s updates and offer your support at https://fundly.com/support-afghan-cyclists

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Show #578 – October 23, 2021

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Guests: Steve Maxwell & Spencer Martin: Brian Chapman (encore presentation)

Oh, it’s a long one today… but worth the listen!

As promised, we are going to wrap-up the weird pro racing year that was 2021 with Steve Maxwell and Spencer Martin from the Outer Line. Beginning with Paris-Roubaix, which is normally a spring classic but of course, things being as they are, ended up a fall event and ending with a conversation about sports washing – a term I wasn’t really aware of in its full meaning – we talk about a wide array of topics.

So, my new term for the week is sportswashing. I hadn’t heard of the term until my conversation with Steve Maxwell and Spencer Martin from the Outer Line, but I certainly understand the concept – that of using sport to cover-up injustices in a country for example.

It would be so nice to just let sport be sport – especially cycling – which in its simplest form could be a connecting power instead of one that is used for political gain.

In their weekly “Air Mail” newsletter, Steve Maxwell and Spencer Martin from the Outer Line offer a thorough analysis into the sport of cycling in a matter-of-fact and insightful way. In the wake of everything that has gone down in the past two years – from the effects of the pandemic on riders and teams to the desire to expand cycling at a professional level across the globe – Steve and Spencer have studied, analyzed, and reported on each and every step.

If you want to see some really cool videos of a master frame builder, go to YouTube, Instagram, or FaceBook and type in Brian Chapman or Chapman Cycles.

I’m not a frame builder, but I find some of the innovative work that Brian is doing fascinating!

Today, we go back to my interview with Brian from October, 2018 and, hopefully, I can get Brian back on the show to talk about how he has developed these viral videos in the near future.

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Show #577 – October 16, 2021

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Guest: Jared Fisher

When you look up the word entrepreneur in the dictionary, it would NOT surprise me if Jared Fisher’s face was what you saw.

Riding, performing, and producing BMX trick events from the time he was 10 until he was 27, Jared Fisher is now the owner of multiple bike shops, Escape Adventures, a 30 year old touring company that specializes in mountain bike and mutli-sport tours, and has his sights on the Governorship of Nevada.

OH and then there is the new Aquarius Trail… a project Jared had on his bucket list for many years and that came to fruition late last summer… wait til you hear about THAT.

His energy is palpable and contagious and our conversation covers the gamut at 51 he has accomplished so much and yet has so much more he wants to do.

If you are interested in reserving one of the huts on the Aquarius trail, you can log on to aquariustrail.com. And, for more information about Escape Adventures – yep you got it… escapeadventures.com. And, to learn more about the man himself… as well as his wife Heather, go to
escapeadventures.com/contact-us and scroll down.

Before we go, I’d like to read you a short piece about the State of Texas vs Victor Kevin Tome. It’s a win for bicyclists out of a horrible situation resulting in unbearable loss.

On Monday, June 21, 2021, trial began for the State of Texas v. Victor Kevin Tome.

Tome, was charged with Capital Murder, 2 counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Accident Involving Serious Bodily Injury, and 2 counts of Accident Involving Death.

The charges stem from the events of March 25, 2017, when Tome drove his vehicle into a group of cyclists, killing 2 of them. Witnesses testified that Tome was driving towards several bicyclists training in Waller County on Buller Road. Tome struck five innocent victims while purposely maneuvering his car towards them. He killed Craig Tippit and Keri Guillory. Tome fled the scene and hid in a local house until his arrest later that afternoon. Tome plead not guilty by reason of insanity. A military psychiatrist, Michael Arambula, testified for the prosecution against three defense experts on the issue of insanity. Arambula found that the defendant suffered from psychosis due to extensive abuse of ecstasy, marijuana and alcohol. The jury took a little over an hour to convict Tome of all counts.

On the charge of Capital Murder, Tome was sentenced to life in prison without parole by the Court. The State was represented by prosecutors Sean Whittmore and Warren Diepraam. The Honorable Albert M. McCaig, Jr. presided over the trial. District Attorney, Elton Mathis would like to thank the jurors for their diligent service, as well as the court staff and law enforcement officers who assisted with the investigation and trial. Mathis stated, “Waller County is a peaceful rural county, and people committing crimes of this nature will be held accountable by the citizens. We hope this conviction will help the families of the victims in some small way. The pain that they have suffered is unimaginable.” Tome will never be eligible for parole.

So while we may claim some victory for the 2017 crash, we are still watching the most recent multiple victim crash investigation that occurred in the same Texas county, injuring 6 riders. .

This time, a teenage driver decided to coal-roll the cyclists before running into them.

I would like to ask you to go to our sponsor’s website – bikelaw.com and click on the blog at the top of the page. Read the entry titled “Coal Rolling Texas Truck Driver Plows Into 6 Cyclists” because, in addition to explaining what is happening in the case, Rachael and Peter explain some very important elements of this crash and what you can do to protect yourself if you ever find yourself in a similar situation. It’s a must read for all of us.

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Show #576 – October 9, 2021

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Guests: Jeremy Powers; Ted Rogers & Steve Ewing

Sea Otter is in full swing this weekend and I thought it would be a good idea to grab one of the stars of our sport who is attending the festival and see what he’s up to.

My first guest is Jeremy Powers.  Jeremy is without a doubt the winningest dude in cyclocross history.  During his career he racked up 90 UCI victories  four USA Cyclocross national championships, and the 2015 Pan American Championship.

He has a long history of philanthropy in the sport as a major piece of the JAM Fund  which gives grants to riders who live within hours of the community of the North Hampton Cycling Club in Mass..

He spent two years commentating on the global cycling network and now, he’s with WHOOP – one of the most innovative fitness wearables on the market today.

Ya’ know – I don’t usually tout a specific manufacturer or specific products. ,

But today, I break that rule – well, it isn’t a hard and fast rule anyway – to bring you a snapshot of a company that I think is worth a look-see.

Starting back in the late 70’s Cathy Rogers – nee Schnaubel (and THAT should ring a bell with some old timers like me) couldn’t find a cycling short for women, taught herself to sew.  Others saw the shorts, wanted a pair or two, and voila! Schaubel was born.  Most of their production ended up being for other brands when, in 1974 NAFTA came along, manufacturing shifted offshore, and the company was out of business 17 month slater

BUT, like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, and with a new-style marketing idea, Cathy said – let’s try this again… and today, we have AeroTech Designs.

I will also preface the conversation with the fact that, AeroTech is not a sponsor of nor supports the podcast in any way – but, I do buy and wear their cycling shorts.