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Show #75 – January 28, 2012

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Here at the end of January, we’re not quite at the Red Kite of winter yet, but we’re close enough to at least confirm its existence. On today’s Outspoken Cyclist, we find out how a couple of other media types are covering the cycling world, and covering the world using a bike.

First up is Patrick Brady, editor and publisher of Red Kite Prayer, recently named the #1 bicycling blog by Outside magazine. Patrick is a veteran cyclist and cycling journalist who has been involved with such notable publications as Bicycle Guide and Asphalt. His ‘mind, body & machine’ approach to cycling news, along with additions of Charles Pelkey and John Wilcockson, and others have vaulted RKP to the top of the heap. Another reason Patrick deserves to be on top: his desire to be successful enough to pay his staff and contributors fairly.

After a roundup of cycling news from Diane (including two new product recalls) we dial up Boaz Frankel in Portland, Oregon. Boaz is only 29 years old, but a look at his Wikipedia page attests to his drive and creativity. His latest project is The Pedal Powered Talk Show, which is a shot-on-location video podcast where the entire production rig is transported by cargo bike. Will we someday see Matt Lauer and Al Roker pedaling a bakfiets down Broadway in Manhattan, looking for their next Today Show interview? Possibly not, but Boaz is already proving it’s possible.

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Show #74 – January 21, 2012

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Seems like we just recovered from our Solar New Year’s hangover, and it’s already time to celebrate the Lunar New Year. What will the Year of the Water Dragon bring for you? Lots of great (and safe) cycling adventures, we hope.

To start the year off right, we’re headed up to Burlington, Vermont to have a chat with Glenn Eames, who owns and operates the Old Spokes Home, a combination bicycle shop and bicycle museum. Glenn sells and wrenches on both modern and vintage machines, but his passion is for classic bikes, and a large number of his customers are local university students.

You may have read about the recent civil court case between Specialized and Volagi. Volagi was started by two former Specialized employees, and as sometimes happens, former employer sued former employees over who did what when, and with what secret knowledge. If you’re confused, don’t be alarmed, our buddy Steve Frothingham from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News joins us in the second half of the show to explain the whole thing in plain English.

And to wrap up on a very happy note, Mark Griffith of the Moab Skinny Tire Festival drops in to talk about his event coming up March 10 – 13 in Moab, Utah. The Skinny Tire Festival is not only a showcase of the best, low traffic riding in Moab for us non-MTBers, it’s also a fundraiser for Cancer Survivorship Programs.

This time of year, we like to think of The Outspoken Cyclist as a “winter survivorship program” for cooped-up cyclists. À votre santé!

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Show #73 – January 14, 2012

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Occasionally, all the factors come together to produce something that exceeds our wildest expectations. One of those occasions is today, and the factors are Diane, and our two guests. And the irony is, that while one of our guests does ride a bike, neither of them are what you’d think of when we say the word “cyclist”.

First we are happy to welcome Stephen Auerbach, the producer and director of the film Bicycle Dreams, which chronicles the solo competitors in the 2005 Race Across America (RAAM). Stephen talks about why he wanted to make a feature-length film about RAAM, the innovative way the film was shot, and how it’s taken on a life of its own with thousands of local screenings, including one on January 26th at the Big Dog Theater in Conventry.

In the second half of the hour, we head over to Boston, Massachusetts, and Dr. Anne Lusk, of the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Lusk has been researching the relationship between public health and transportation for over thirty years. She also worked on some of the first bicycle infrastructure in the U. S., and is a strong advocate for European-style cycle tracks as a solution for both health and transportation. Far from being a dry academic, Dr. Lusk is a bundle of both facts and energy, who walks to work instead of riding because she “knows too much science.”

So interesting, and packed with information, you might have to listen twice!

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Show #72 – January 7, 2012

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If this post seems a bit too happy for the first week of January, it’s because I’m all jacked up on endorphins from an outside ride on a brilliantly sunny day in northeast Ohio. Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, let’s talk about what’s on the show this week…

Our first guest is a bike commuting evangelist and editor of a great blog on the subject of bicycle commuting. Ted Johnson lives and works in Flagstaff, Arizona, and edits CommuteByBike.com. He’s got a great perspective on living car-free, and he has a wonderful story about how running errands on your bike is starting to attract less and less attention (and that’s a good thing).

Last year about this time, we spoke with Rodney Hendrickson, the ride director of The Redbud Ride in London, Kentucky. The 2011 edition of that tour was partially under water, but surprisingly, most people didn’t seem to mind. Rodney’s back on this week’s show to tell us what riders can expect on the 2012 Redbud Ride (and we hope that includes lots of sun).

Finally, we had planned to have John Howard of John Howard Performance Sports on the show to hip us to his latest tips for off-season training. Unfortunately, John had a medical emergency come up at the last minute. We wish John a full and speedy recovery. Instead, Diane stands in for John with a list of his recommendations for maximizing your time during the “indoor season”.

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Show #71 – December 31. 2011

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12/31/2011
It’s the last day of 2011, and time to look back on another year of cycling, tally up our annual mileage, and try to figure out what might be in store for us in 2012.

The Outspoken Cyclist has interviewed a number of framebuilders this year, and each one has an interesting back story, and philosophy on designing and building a fine bicycle. This week’s first guest has both of those qualities in spades. Carl Strong, proprietor of Strong Frames joins us to talk about how he came to the bicycle business, and how he decided to build in steel, titanium, and (gasp!) carbon fiber.

After a wrap up of the 2011 cycling news, I get my annual chance to interview Diane. We did this on our New Year’s show in 2010, and it was both enjoyable and informative. So we decided to give it another go this year. Our topic this time around is yoga. I’m sure you’ll learn something; I know I did! Who knows, yoga might be the new thing you try in 2012.

On behalf of Diane and myself, thanks for listening this past year; we wish you health, happiness, and many safe and smiling miles on your bike in 2012, whether you’re commuting, racing, recreating, or simply exploring your neighborhood.

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Show #70 – December 24, 2011

Guests: Jim Sayer, Adventure Cycling; Leslie Bohm, Catalyst Communication

It’s December 24th, the stockings are hung, the menorahs are lighted, and the Festivus poles are standing tall. Diane and the elves were busy this week, creating a special podcast-only edition of The Outspoken Cyclist for your holiday audio feasting.

First we check back in with Jim Sayer of Adventure Cycling. Jim gives us his take on the current climate for cycling advocacy, as well as bringing us up to date on what Adventure Cycling has been up to lately. Here’s a hint: it’s more than just maps and tours.

In the second half of the hour, we welcome Leslie Bohm, Chief of Everything at Catalyst Communications. Catalyst works with makers and sellers of sports gear to improve the quality and impact of their marketing efforts. Beyond that, Leslie is a tireless cycling advocate. If you’ve never considered that the National Rifle Association might have something to teach the cycling community, prepare to have Leslie expand your consciousness.

Two conversations to lift your cycling spirits and give you food for thought on this week’s Outspoken Cyclist.

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Show #69 – December 17, 2011

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Guests: Charles Youel, Art Crank & Dave Kirk, Kirk Frameworks

Snow is falling (and sticking) in northeast Ohio at this writing. That’s nature’s way of telling you to stay indoors, curl up with your favorite audio player and prepare to be entertained, informed, and perhaps even inspired by a fresh episode of The Outspoken Cyclist.

This week, we have a couple of regular guys doing extraordinary things. The first is Charles Youel, the founder, director and curator of Art Crank. Charles is a cyclist and graphic designer who decided to put on a ‘poster party for bike people’ in Minneapolis, and 500 people showed up! Realizing there might be something to this idea, he’s done about twenty more similar events around the country. Caution: listening to this interview may cause you to want to travel long distances to attend an Art Crank event.

After a brief bit of news, the second half of the show brings us an interview with Dave Kirk, of Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles in Bozeman, Montana. Dave is a fan of The Outspoken Cyclist, but we would have had him on anyway, just to hear about his history as a racer, production framebuilder for Serotta, and now proprietor of his own shop. Plus, he has some interesting insights for those who might want to start framebuilding for themselves.

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Show #68 – December 10, 2011

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Guests: Charles Pelkey, Red Kite Prayer & Stefan Walz and Chris Mooney “Tucson Spokes”

December is hurtling along toward the “big” holidays, and the end of another year. Diane has pulled together a couple of early stocking stuffers for Outspoken Cyclist listeners who have been extra good this year (naughty listeners are admonished to do an extra set of intervals before downloading this week’s show).

If you are a long-time reader of VeloNews, the name Charles Pelkey will no doubt be familiar to you. Charles wrote for the “journal of competitive cycling” for 17 years, rising to the post of Senior Technical Editor. Coincidentally, he received a cancer diagnosis on the same day this past July that he and a number of other VeloNews staffers were let go. Charles is now an attorney, and continues to write his Explainer column for Red Kite Prayer, and is undergoing chemotherapy for his cancer. Listen and find out what else Charles is up to these days.

Our second interview this week comes from a place where the sun shines 300 days a year on average: Tucson, Arizona. Stefan Walz and Chris Mooney have written a gorgeous new book called Tucson Spokes. It’s a photo collection about the people who ride bikes in and around Tucson. Sunny, flat, and with easy access to 9,000-foot peaks? You’d ride your bike a lot there, too.

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Show #67 – December 3, 2011

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Guests: Jody Dzuranin, Consider Biking; Thomas Prehn, Cateye America

The calendar says December, but the weather still says October. No complaints here, and if the “weather suits your clothes” as the song says, keep riding outdoors. The three month indoor ride to nowhere will start soon enough.

The first stop on tonight’s tour takes us south to the capitol of our fair state, Columbus, Ohio, and a conversation with Jody Dzuranin, Operations Manager for Consider Biking. Consider Biking serves ‘people who pedal’ in the Columbus and surrounding area of Ohio. Jody will bring us up to date on their Open Streets initiative, and progress on the Ohio-to-Erie Trail, among other exciting opportunities for cyclists.

Regardless of how warm (or cold) it is, daylight is at a premium this time of year. Our second guest can help with that if you want or need to ride at night safely and legally. We’re joined by Thomas Prehn, President of Cateye America. Thomas has news about some very cool lights, including USB-rechargeable models inexpensive enough to fit in your Christmas stocking (hint, hint).

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Show #66 – November 26, 2011

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Guests: Chef Biju Thomas, The Feedzone Cookbook; storyteller and writer, Maynard Hershon; encore broadcast  with David Herlihy, author of The Lost Cyclist

Well, here we are in the middle of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and one of the many things Diane and I are thankful for is the opportunity to invade your ears each week and bring you our take on what’s happening in cycling. And naturally, we’re also thankful that you tune in or download each week. Without you, we’d just be two cyclists sitting in a small, dark room taking to ourselves.

So Diane and Brian up and run off to the Adironacks this week, but before she skipped town, Diane put together a show we think you’ll be thankful for.

First up is Chef Biju Thomas, who has combined his passion for bike racing with his passion and skill at cooking. Chef Biju has teamed up with Dr. Allen Lim on The Feed Zone Cookbook: Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes. The book focuses on making tasty, healthful food that can sustain a competitive athlete, and yet require a minimum of ingredients and preparation.

After a short break, Maynard Hershon is back with an original story that’s just right for the holiday season, entitled “Nice Wheels”. Always nice to hear from Maynard, and we promise to badger him to return to TOC periodically.

We close out this Thanksgiving weekend show with an encore of an interview Diane conducted almost exactly a year ago at the now-closed Joseph Beth Booksellers in Lyndhurst, Ohio. Author David V. Herlihy was in town to promote his book The Lost Cyclist.

We hope you enjoy this week’s show, and we hope you found time for a ride or two in the unseasonably mild weather the past few days.