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Show #252 – June 27, 2015

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Guests: Sage Rountree, Carmen Small

We are under a major flood watch today – so, it’s just as well that we are inside and safe! Hope you are too.

Taking a bit of a left turn today and talking first about yoga – a subject near and dear to my heart (and lifestyle!) Renowned yoga teacher and author Sage Rountree takes time out from the 5-day intensive she is teaching in her home studio in North Carolina to talk with me about her new book, Everyday Yoga.

Everyday Yoga is a colorful, spiral-bound guide to a successful home practice. Even if you have only 5 or 10 minutes a day, there is a short yoga routine, beautifully illustrated in color photos, that will keep you flexible, strong, and focused on your sport and in your life.

She has written 5 other books including The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga and Racing Wisely. Sage is also a coach, an Athleta featured athlete, and an ambassador for PrAna.

After a break we head on out to Durango, Colorado to speak with Carmen Small.

Carmen came to bike racing a bit later than most – in her late 20’s – and now at the age of 35 raced as “one of the boys” in the North Star Grand Prix last week.

When the women’s race in the long standing event was cancelled for lack of participants and Carmen was lamenting not only that but the fact that she had some extra time on her hands, it was suggested that she become one of the “boys” and race the Grand Prix as part of a men’s team.

Carmen is the 2013 National Time Trial Champion and has her sights set on the Olympics in Rio in 2016. We’ll also see her at the World’s in Richmond, Va. where she has a spot on the U.S. Time Trial team.

How did she do? (very well, thank you) and how does she feel about women’s racing? Let’s find out.
Enjoy the show!

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Show #251 – June 20, 2015

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Guests: Drs. Sijo Parakattil & Jamin Brahmbhatt “drive4menshealth”; Sparta Cycling’s John Eustice

Last week, we aired two interviews from 2011 – both of which were near and dear to my heart. I hope that if you hadn’t heard them, you did spend the time to listen to them. And, if you heard them when they originally aired, I think they were worth the encore!

This week, we are back with a brand new show and it’s a good one!

So, Orlando Health commissioned a survey that asked 1,000 men if they remembered the make and model of their first car. 80% did. But, less than 50% remembered the last time they went to a doctor for a checkup.

Two urologists, Drs. Sijo Parakattil and Jamin Brahmbhatt are the co-founders of “drive4menshealth.com”, an endeavor to bring the message of paying attention to one’s health to more people than they could possibly see in their practices. So, they climbed into Dr. P’s Tesla – which always brought hoards of curious men around – and are on a 60+ stop tour from Florida up the east coast and then across the country where they will end in Los Angeles today – June 20th – bringing their message and answering questions along with local doctors in each of the towns and cities they visited.

Dr. Brahmbatt is with me on the show this evening to tell us about the trip, their message, and about the cool Tesla car!

After a break for news, we head on out to the east coast where we talk with Sparta Cycling’s  John Eustice, an ex-pro rider, a promoter, and the race director for the Thompson Bucks County Classic event in Doylestown, Pa. What I didn’t know when I first put the interview on the schedule is what we sometimes call the “Kevin Bacon rule” – where everyone is somehow connected to everyone or damned close anyway.

John is connected to Mike Aisner (our interview from last week) and Dave Chauner (our interview from two weeks ago) and it just goes on and on. And, John brings us yet another interesting perspective to what makes American bike racing particularly unique and challenging.

So… let’s jump into that Tesla and get on the road with Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt.

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Show #250 – June 13, 2015

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Guests: Michael Aisner; Gary Helfrich

These interviews were record in 2011.  They are well worth hearing again or, if you began listening to the show after 2011, they are two of my favorites!  Either way…. here we go!

Back in September 2010, it never occurred to me that I would be on the air for almost 5 years!!! Yet, here we are celebrating our 250th show! And, in a mini-celebration, I would like to revisit two of my favorite interviews.

For those of you who discovered The Outspoken Cyclist AFTER 2011, these two interviews were recorded in March and November, 2011. The first is with an iconic figure in our industry who has been recognized for untold contributions from the Red Zinger/Coors Classic race series to his current project – the U.S. Monument to Cycling in North Boulder Park in Colorado.

Michael Aisner goes WAAAY back to the early days of what we might call the golden age of American cycling when such luminaries as Davis Phinney, Connie Carpenter, Eric Heiden, and Andy Hampsten were laying the groundwork for those who have come up the ranks in our sport.

Michael is a visionary, a Renaissance man in the true sense of the word, and very articulate about what he sees as the reasons we are not seeing another “golden age” of cycling in the U.S.

My second guest is just as legendary – though in a whole different way. Gary Helfrich is often considered the “father of titanium” frames and one of the smartest most talented people in the bike industry.  After a stint with Chris Chance and Fat City Cycles,  Gary went on to become one of the original founders of  Merlin Bicycles.  He is also the force behind one of the most coveted of frame jigs, Arctos.

He hails from the East Coast but skedaddled out of there to make his way west, go back to school, get a degree in environmental studies and urban planning, and jump in up to his eyebrows in bicycle advocacy as the director of Bike Sonoma in California.

Yet, Gary also has tales to tell of 10 years as a roadie for such bands as Aerosmith and Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention.

I hope you enjoy these two “encore” interviews!

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Show #249 – June 6, 2015

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Guests: Dr. Roger Kruse; Dr. Zach Mellion; Dave Chauner

This week we are talking about the body’s ability to heal itself.  Okay, that‘s a bit cryptic; so, with a little help from a qualified physician and testimony from another physician who has been through the procedures, we’re going to learn how your own stem cells and blood platelets can ease a lot of pain and begin to recreate some of your own bone, cartilage, and more.

We’re talking stem cell therapy. Cutting edge?: you bet! Out of reach for most of us?: not at all!

Dr. Zach Mellion is still under the age of 40. He and his wife are avid cyclists. They have three young children and both Zach and his wife have busy medical practices. Zach is an orthodontist; his wife is a veterinarian.

So, when doctors told Zach that the pain in his knees had been addressed as far as medical science could offer with therapy and even surgery, Zach said – there has to be something else.

His journey led him to Dr. Christopher Centeno in Broomfield, Colorado. Dr. Centeno is the force behind Rengenxx – a practice that uses a variety of your own body’s stem cells and plasma rich platelets to “regenerate” and heal.

Zach flew out to Broomfield, Colorado for a consult; and, everything he read and heard led him to go ahead with the procedure(s). And that is how Zach found himself of the offices of our first guest, Dr. Roger Kruse.  Dr. Kruse’s work centers around family practice and sports medicine  in Toledo, Ohio.  He is also the force behind the Promedica Regenerative Medical Facility.

Dr. Kruse is a board certified physician who has been practicing medicine for over 37 years and has a list of accomplishments that include attending physician for three Olympic games; current doctor for the U.S. National Skating Team, and doctor to the University Toledo sports teams – to name a very few!

So, in the interest of full disclosure: Zach is a friend and customer; and, I am currently in preparation for a regenerative procedure at Dr. Kruse’s facility in mid-July. That is how the whole show came together.

Tonight, we will hear from both Dr. Kruse and Zach about what the procedure is, how it works, and why this new area of medical treatment has suddenly become 50% of Dr. Kruse’s practice!

After some news – including some snarky commentary about the World Naked Bike Ride – we will head on out to Connecticut to speak with a 2-time Olympian, Pan-Am Games medalist, and the promoter of many of the high-profile events we once saw here in the U.S.

But, David Chauner is also the author of The High Road: Chasing the Yellow Jersey. Now, I read of a lot of cycling books and RARELY come across a novel, let alone one that from the first page keeps me glued to the characters, plot, and outcome. This book needs to become a movie! It deserves a big screen to portray the amazing story of young Kurt DuFour and his quest for maillot jeune.

We’ll talk with Dave about a bit of American cycling history, the new World Cycling League, and of course, his book, High Road. So, sit back and get ready for a fascinating discussion with Dr. Roger Kruse.

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Show #248 – May 30, 2015

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Buests: Ultra endurance fundraiser Sam Fox; world traveler Jamie Bianchini

Every once in a while, we just HAVE to do a “feel good” show and this week is IT!

Our first guest is Sam Fox. He currently works for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Now, Michael J. Fox has a son named Sam – this isn’t him! However, THIS Sam Fox is one pretty outstanding guy.

He’s a graduate of Yale. He’s an endurance athlete – mostly running, and running, and running, and … you get the picture.  How much running? We’re talking 2650 miles covering the entire Pacific Crest Trail – and, he raised $300,000.00 for Parkinson’s research. He ran 100 miles – in one day – from Manhattan to the tip of Long Island.   He raised $100,000.00 for Parkinson’s research.

Now, Sam is about to embark on a 48 state “Tour de Fox” event and we are all invited to come along. The goal this time is a cool $1,000,000.00. But wait, there’s more! There are $500,000.00 in matching funds for the first 1/2 million dollars raised so – we’re talking a LOT of money that is going to go cutting edge research to help find not only a cure, but to develop better drugs and a better way to manage the disease.

So, why would a young man choose this as his work – besides the fun of being outdoors AND raising boatloads of money? His Mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2005. Nuf said!

After our break and some news, we head on down to Jacksonville, Florida to catch up with Jamie Bianchini. His new book, “A Bicycle Built for Two Billion” is the culmination of 8 years, 80 countries, and the best stories he collected as he, his best friend Garryck, and hundreds of tandem rides they offered people along the way. Jamie recounts how he went from riches to rags – gobs of money to bankruptcy – and came out the other side with this idea of committing himself to being the conduit for good things to happen.
See – IT’S ALL “FEEL GOOD”…

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Show #247 – May 23, 2015

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Guests: RKP’s Patrick Brady; Jackie Crowell

Last week, Amanda Batty shared her experiences – good and bad – about her work with the online site Pink Bike.

While she chose to resign from the column she wrote for them, she emphasized that the real issues are much more broad and insidious than just those she experienced with the editors of the site. Rather, she hoped her final commentary detailing the underlying sexism that runs throughout the bike industry as a whole would prompt a new conversation on a broader stage.

So, in steps Patrick Brady from Red Kite Prayer whose entry last week, Pink Gate took up that conversation and then THIS week, he followed it up with a new commentary with the controversial title of “Too Many White Guys.”

Certain to attract attention – both pro and con – I read it with some satisfaction that he had touched upon a lot of the issues in a way that could result in positive and ongoing change.  So, my first conversation this evening is with Patrick Brady.

After some news, we head on down to Atlanta to speak with Jackie Crowell.
The elite woman’s rider and multi-time champion was diagnosed with a glioblastoma – a brain tumor that usually has a 99+% death sentence attached to it. Yet, today Jackie’s scans are clear, she is racing her bike, and she just returned from the Amgen Tour of California after serving as the Ambassador to the Women’s Elite Team(s).

And, in her usual positive and upbeat way, she has come to a new understanding of her life and the role cancer is playing in it as well as how cycling fits in with all that she has experienced in her short 27 years.

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Show #245 – May 9, 2015

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Guests: Bob Roll aka “Bobke”; author and historian David Herlihy

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better – it gets better!

The weather is fabulous, the riding season is in full swing, the Giro d’Italia and Amgen Tour of California are happening, and I have the honor of two more great guests this week.

First up is Bobke – Mr Bob Roll himself. When I talked with Phil Liggett a couple of weeks ago, I told him I wanted to speak with Bob and the stars aligned so that it became possible. Taking a short break from his busy speaking and commentating schedule, Bob was at home in Colorado this week and we sat down (well, in our separate locations!) and had a chat about the Paris-Roubaix, Bob’s racing days, the book he authored that is commanding almost $100 a copy these days, why he finds cycling such a fascinating sport, and even a few off-cycling topics.

Then, I head on east to Boston to welcome David Herlihy back to the show. When his book, The Lost Cyclist, was published a few years ago, I sat down with David right here in Cleveland where he was giving a talk and signing books at a local book store. Now, more has come to light about Franz Lenz, that “lost cyclist”, as well as another oddly similar story about the two cyclists who preceded Lenz in his bid to bicycle around the world. It all comes together in “Round Trip“, an exhibit of 43 almost lost photographs that will open in Houston, Texas on the 14th.

Grab a chair – turn up the volume – as I welcome Bob to to the show.

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Show #244 – May 2, 2015

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Guests: Emma O’Rielly; Rob Gusky

As you know, I review a lot of books and have the unbelievably wonderful opportunity to interview a lot of great people.

This week is no exception! My first guest is honest, brave, and tough. In what has to be one of the best books I’ve read all year, Emma O’Rielly, Lance Armstrong’s soigneur and the only whistleblower to allow her name to be used in David Walsh’s L.A. Confidentiel, tells her story from beginning to end.

The Race to Truth: Blowing the whistle on Lance Armstrong and cycling’s doping culture is the story of Emma’s journey.

In the beginning there was cycling and the love of the sport. In the middle was the opportunity to be a soigneur for U.S. Postal, which became the most famous (and infamous) pro cycling team in the world; and, in the end, Emma graciously forgave all those who tried their damnedest to make her the scapegoat in what is arguably the biggest sports’ scandal ever.

After our news we head on out to Wisconsin to speak with Rob Gusky about the 2015 National Bike Challenge.

Rob, who began as the liaison between his company Kimberly-Clark and the NBC got hooked and now is not only a board member of the LAB but also the president of the Fox Cities Cycling Association in Wisconsin.

May is National Bike Month and Rob tells us how to get involved in the National Bike Challenge and add your miles to the national goal!

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Show #246 – May 16, 2015

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Guests: Amanda Batty; Les Barzcewski

As has often been noted many times in history, there are outspoken and brave folks who end up being “shot at” – whether metaphorically or in reality – those champions who stand up, fight for what they believe to be just and fair, and find themselves in the cross hairs for doing so.

And then, there are unsung heroes  – people who have given themselves to their disciplines, given back to the community, are exemplary human beings, and who have garnered love and respect – and whose stories might not be told except by some little twist of fate that brings them to the attention of the public.

Tonight we have shining examples of both.

Amanda Batty is a tough girl – she is a pro downhill mountain bike racer, a chef, a ski racer, and a journalist. And it is in that capacity – writing a popular, outspoken, and sometimes controversial column for the online site Pink Bike – that she found herself in the position of having to make a choice to take the poison arrows being flung at her or to state her case and then eventually resign.

It all started when another writer included the following line in his review of a bike: “it will, much like your girlfriend after a few shots, do pretty much anything you ask of it.”  Amanda wrote a column calling him out and used the term “rape culture” in her commentary.

The indictments were swift and profuse; many were threatening and mean. And, the editors at the site not only did not defend her; but, by their inaction in a way condoned the misogynistic and crass comments.

Amanda joins me tonight in an emotional interview that sheds light just how far our industry and our culture has to go to show respect and honor to women.

Then, we will move on to someone many of you might not know; but, reach back into the history books just a couple of decades and ask any of the riders and racers of the day about Leslie Barzcewski and you will actually be able to hear them smile!

Bob Roll called him a legend.  Nelson Vails said: “he’s my lifetime brother”. He taught me to drive a stick (shift car)”[and], we went on many many road trips and traveled the world like brothers.”

Les was a #1 Junior champion, took a silver medal in the worlds, and yet, as fate would have it – was a bridesmaid – not a bride – more than once when President Jimmy Carter decided we weren’t going to attend the 1980 Moscow Olympics and then again when his teammate, Nelson beat him across the line by a mere 4” to move him to alternate instead of competitor at the 1984 Games.

But, Les has no regrets. He is still riding – though not racing. He’s still full of amazing stories of our sport from “back in the day”. And, he’s a delightful guest.

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Show #243 – April 25, 2015

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Guests: Phil Liggett; Leah Missbach Day

Last show in April and it’s a doozy!

Tonight I speak with the person who arguably has the most famous voice of all time in professional cycling.  From his early days as a budding journalist to the announcer of all the European Classics including Paris-Roubaix, Fleche Wallone, Giro D’Italia, our American Amgen Tour of California, and of course the Tour de France, Phil Liggett is a wealth of information and fun as he makes bike racing thrilling for us all.

Phil talks about his love for statistics, what he sees as those things that have changed bike racing irrevocably, and how cycling is again coming around to being a sport we will want to support and watch.  And, because of Phil’s close bond with Africa, we talk of the rise of the MTN Qhubeka team and how he too sees an African on the Podium in Europe in the not-too-distant future.

We wrap up our conversation with his Helping Rhinos campaign (watch the video too!)– which means as much to him as his work as a journalist.  He tells us how we can support the cause, ride with him in several events, and about the efforts being made to protect the few remaining Rhinos from the horrific poaching that is going on in Africa.

We have news of course – including a massive recall from Trek – and then head on to SRAM headquarters in Chicago to talk with Leah Missbach Day about World Bicycle Relief.

WBR celebrates 10 years this month and Leah, who along with her husband FK Day, are the founders of the hugely successful movement to get people who could not otherwise go to school, work, or even bring food and water to their families on the African Buffalo bike. We talk about the very first delivery of bikes right after the devastating Tsunami in 2004 through the Africa Rides trips that you can take.

So, get ready for a great evening of cycling talk as we head over the pond to speak with Phil Liggett!