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Show #256 – July 25, 2015

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Encore Presentation: Engineers Andy Ruina & Jim Papdopoulis; Custom Frame Builder Mark Nobilette

For those of you who are newer to the Outspoken Cyclist or who just like to be reminded of great conversations, today’s show is an encore presentation from April 30, 2011. The guests, engineers Andy Ruina and Jim Papdopoulis and frame builder Mark Nobilette, offered up two of my favorite interviews.

I am off this week recovering from my regenerative stem cell therapy procedure we spoke about with Dr. Roger Kruse back in June. All is well and I will be back next week with a brand new episode of the show.

Enjoy the conversation! Here was the original information about the show:

Today’s first guests are a pair of researchers from Cornell University, who have made some recent discoveries about the self-stability of bicycles. In the process Andy Ruina and Jim Papadopoulos have poked holes in a couple of long-held beliefs about what makes bicycles balance as they do. Get your geek on and hear what they have to say.

After the news and calendar, Diane chats with one of the world’s foremost framebuilders, Mark Nobilette, about his past and present in the realm of steel bike frames.

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Show 255 – July 18, 2015

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Guests: Connor Long; Dennis Markatos-Soriano

This week’s show is chock full of awesomeness! We begin by sending off the Velo Sano Ride and our XOBA event. Velo Sano, now in its second year, is already raising multi-millions of dollars for cancer research here at our Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

XOBA, the Cross Ohio Bicycle Adventure, will begin in the Northeast corner of the state and travel down the east side to end up in Racine, Ohio right up against the W. VA. border.

Then we head on over to Copper Mountain, Colorado to speak with cyclist, swimmer, rock climber, actor, and so much more Connor Long. Celebrating his twenty-first birthday today, July 18th, Connor is captaining a team of cyclists to raise funds and awareness for the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome by riding 38+ miles, hoping to top his high mileage mark from 2014.

The ride is called the Copper Pro Challenge Community Ride and Connor is captaining the Courage Classic “Dare To Ride“ team.

Connor has Down Syndrome and his beautiful explanation of what that means blew me away. You are going to love him! (PS – his Dad Brian helps out in this interview, so I didn’t want to leave him out)

After a break and our news – which is full of fun and actually segues quite nicely with Connor’s idea of “triathlon”, we will head on down to Durham, N.C. to speak with the executive director of the East Coast Greenway, Dennis Markatos-Soriano. (watch his TexX talk by clicking on his name!)

The East Coast Greenway vision is for a long-distance, urban, shared-use trail system linking 25 major cities along the eastern seaboard between Calais, Maine and Key West, Florida. It will serve non-motorized users of all abilities and ages. A 2,900-mile long spine route will be accompanied by 2,000 miles of complementary routes that link in key cities, towns, and areas of natural beauty. This green travel corridor will provide cyclists, walkers, and other muscle-powered modes of transportation with a low-impact way to explore the eastern seaboard.

We talk with Dennis about the challenges, the successes, and how this amazing network is coming together.

Full plate tonight so… let’s get to it

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Show #254 – July 11, 2015

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Guests: Live Update Guy Charles Pelkey; Author Peter B. Rice

I think we really nailed a great show this week!

With African rider Daniel Teklehaimonot in the polka dot jersey raising his arms on the podium and the maillot jeune handed off once again as race leader Tony Martin had to abandon after Stage 6 with a fracture of his shoulder, this year’s Tour de France has been nothing less than thrilling.

One of the most interesting ways to follow the race is to log on to liveupdate.com and follow moment by moment as veteran journalists Charles Pelkey and Patrick O’Grady detail each stage from start to finish. Even without the visuals, the colorful commentary takes you right there AND you can participate in it with them.

Charles also shares his opinions and ideas about a few other salient cycling subjects as well as detailing his role as a new legislator in the Wyoming House.

After our break and some news, we turn our sights on New Mexico where I catch up with Peter B. Rice. Peter’s book, Spandex Optional – Bicycle Touring: How To Ride Long Distance, the Cheap and Easy Way, turned out to be quite a fun little tome. Peter’s perspectives on bicycling and bicycle touring are very different from what you might think of as “traditional” – and, I found his ideas and suggestions very likeable. (P.S. One of his comments? Training sucks)

So, let’s head on out to Laramie, Wyoming and chat with the Live Update Guy, Charles Pelkey.

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Show #253 – July 4, 2015

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Guests: BMC’s Sport Director Jackson Stewart; Rails-to-Trails President Keith Laughlin

It’s time for the Tour de France! (As if you didn’t know…) AND, this evening we are right there – well, not really; but, our first guest is and it turns out, his team rider Rohan Dennis WON STAGE ONE!

Team BMC Pro racer-turned-sport director Jackson Stewart spoke with me from Utrecht, Holland on Wednesday night right after the team arrived to settle in for Stage 1 on Saturday.

Jackson gives us his perspective on the how the race might unfold – including his hopes for a Yellow Jersey for team leader Tejay Van Garderen. We talk weather, equipment, race radios, and more.

Meantime, Rohan Dennis wears the maillot jeune going into Stage II and I’m sure all of team BMC is celebrating tonight!

After a break and some news, I’m heading on down to Washington, D.C. to speak with Rails-to-Trails director Keith Laughlin about what progress Congress and the Senate have made on the Federal transportation bill.

We also talk about the 50th anniversary of the Elroy-Sparta trail in Wisconsin the first of now over 22,000 miles of trails that have been developed nationwide and how these trails have changed the communities through which they travel.

We also talk about how technology is impacting the Rails-to-Trails organization in an effort to give folks access to information while still keeping the trails pure and serene.

Hope you’re having a safe and fun 4th of July! Just remember to include Outspokencyclist in your plans! 

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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.