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Show #127 – January 26, 2013

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GUESTS: INGA THOMPSON, MATT FITZGERALD

Would you hang up your bike cold turkey, and become a cattle farmer? Inga Thompson did exactly that in the mid-1990’s after a successful, yet frustrating career as an Olympian and U.S. National Team racer. Thompson learned that ‘not a team player’ was actually code for ‘clean rider’. She offers her inside view on women’s racing, and life beyond cycling.

In the second half of the show, Diane talks with nutritionist and author Matt Fitzgerald, whose book Racing Weight is now in its second edition. Weight is on many peoples’ minds this time of year, as we assess the toll our holiday indulgence has taken on our body mass. Matt has many practical tips on how to increase the quality of your dietary intake, and avoid “brain hunger”.

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Show #126 – January 19, 2013

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GUESTS: NEIL BROWNE, MIGHK WILSON

The cheater being out of the bag, as it were, part of today’s show is devoted to dissecting the Lance/Oprah event of the past two nights. Who better to help with that, than a journalist once called a “complete douchebag” by none other than Lance himself. Neil Browne, recipient of the aforementioned epithet, and proprietor of the Brown Eye Report joins Diane to break it down.

After the news, we take a welcome break from the LA Circus, and talk with transportation planner for Metro Plan Orlando, and the president of the Florida Bike Association, Mighk Wilson. The FBA is planning a colloquium for February 23rd and 24th. More details here.

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My Lance/Oprah Rant…

Please excuse the rant… post Oprah

I have tried to stay neutral; tried to get all sides of the story and not become emotionally involved.  But, today I just lost it and the anger, frustration, and sadness just smacked me in the head.

Here is what I posted on Face Book a few minutes ago…

For the first time since this entire sordid saga began, I am angry to the point of tears. I am tired of everyone trying to cover his own ass. I’m concerned about the FUTURE of the sport – not the past. What Mom would want her kid to be a bike racer today? Who can a young rider look up to now? Consequences? It’s time everyone took some responsibility for his/her part in this and look to cleaning it up; not rehashing the past. Let’s fix this!

Open for comments! (And, thanks for reading my rant!)

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Show #125 – January 12, 2013

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GUESTS: PATRICK BRADY; MICAH RICE; HENRY GOLD

Oh Lance, how can we miss you if you won’t go away? News surfaced this week that Lance Armstrong will sit down next Thursday for what will obviously be a hard-hitting (cough, cough) interview with legendary cycling journalist Oprah Winfrey.

According to our first guest Patrick Brady of Red Kite Prayer, the rumor is that Lance will confess…to being a really successful bike racer. You’ll have to listen in order to hear what else Patrick has to say about the upcoming train wreck interview.

After a bit of news and a break, we bring you an interview with Micah Rice, who is the Vice-President of National Events for USA Cycling. We caught up with Micah on Thursday, as he was preparing for the start of the 2013 U.S. Cyclocross Nationals, going on right now in Madison, Wisconsin.

Closing out the hour is Henry Gold, director of Tour d’Afrique, which runs global bicycles adventures on 6 continents, visiting over 60 countries. When we talked with Henry he was getting ready to depart for Africa to ride the Cairo to Capetown tour. Tour d’Afrique is not only a tour provider; it has a philanthropic arm that aims to give something back to the countries in which they operate.

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Show #124 – January 5, 2013

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GUESTS: LESLI COHEN; UCI-OVERLORD

As we launch 2013, it just made good sense to look back at the best – and worst – of 2012 with the always on-point Lesli Cohen and the UCI-Overlord (BKA “Not Pat McQuaid”) from Cyclismas.com.

We look at everything and everyone from the successful Chip In campaign for Paul Kimmage to the Flint family, whose legal suit against STRAVA might just come in under the heading of “are you kidding me?” As well as the state of funding for not just racing teams but cycling in general.

So, we hope you enjoy an hour of retrospective chat about our sport for this first show of the New Year.

Thanks, as always, for listening!

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Show #123 – December 29, 2012

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GUESTS: MICHAEL VITEZ; JEFF ARCHER

As we prepare to bid farewell to 2012, we’d like to take the opportunity to thank you for listening over these past 12 months, and for your continuing feedback about the show’s content. Without you, Diane and I would just be two people locked in a small room recording phone conversations. You are the secret ingredient that turns it into radio.

So celebrate safely, enjoy another edition of The Outspoken Cyclist, and be sure to come back for more in 2013.

First up this week is author Michael Vitez from Philadelphia. Michael is a Pulitzer Prize winning human interest writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He’s also the author of several books including his latest, The Road Back. It’s the story of collegiate triathlete Matthew Miller, who not only survived a horrific car-bike crash, but recovered to complete an Ironman, and enter medical school.

After a break and some news, we welcome Jeff Archer, who owns First Flight Bicycles in Statesville, North Carolina. First Flight is a Bicycling and Bike Retailer Top 100 shop, and the home of the Museum of Mountain Bike Art and Technology (MOMBAT). With so many hats to wear, Jeff naturally has lots of great stories to tell about his involvement in cycling.

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Show #122 – December 22, 2012

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GUESTS: KELLI REFER, ELLY BLUE

Nothing against the Mayans, but I love it when science turns out to be right. Happily, the only astronomical thing that happened on 12/21/2012 was another Winter Solstice. So enjoy that extra minute of daylight, and this episode of The Outspoken Cyclist.

It’s an all-girl show this week with <strong>Kelly Refer</strong>, who teaches yoga in Seattle, and has written a book called <a title=”Pedal, Stretch, Breathe” href=”http://yogaforbikers.me/” target=”_blank”><em>Pedal, Stretch, Breathe (the Yoga of Bicycling</em>)</a>, and the return to TOC of <strong>Elly Blue</strong> from Portland, whose latest offering is entitled <a title=”Taking the Lane” href=”http://takingthelane.com/” target=”_blank”><em>Everyday Bicycling</em></a>. Two energetic and informed voices promoting better cycling and better health for us all.

We bid you happy and safe holidays, including, but not limited to: Festive Yule, Merry Christmas, and Peaceful Kwanzaa. We’ll be back at you one more time before the end of 2012.

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Show #121 – December 15, 2012

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GUESTS: DAVE WAGES; DAVE SMITH

At this writing, Diane and I, along with the rest of the U.S., are still struggling to process yesterday’s horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut. We hope you’ll enjoy today’s show, despite the fact that everything in the world of cycling is insignificant in comparison to the senseless loss of so many young, innocent lives.

Today we begin with an interview with Dave Wages, custom framebuilder and owner of Ellis Cycles. Dave worked for both Serotta and Waterford before launching his own shop in 2008 in Waterford, Wisconsin. His artistic eye and the exquisite details of his frames are stunning.

Rounding out the hour is a chat with Dave Smith, who coaches athletes in many sports including running, biking and polo. Dave’s company, Flow Funktional Fitness is based in Staffordshire, England, but his clients come from all over the world. He has coached Olympic Medalists and TdF stage winners as well as amateurs of all levels.

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Show #120 – December 8, 2012

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GUESTS: IRA DAVID LEVY, JOE FRIEL

Hanukkah is already here and the rest of The December Holidays are not far behind, so we offer you a ready-made excuse to put shopping and decorating on hold for an hour and indulge in some cycling time.

First up is Ira David, who is the producer and host of a TV series on cycling called Pedal America. The show is starting its second season on PBS, and the premise is to showcase various locations in the U.S. from the perspective of an everyday, or casual cyclist. Ira tells us how he came to produce Pedal America, and gives us a few insights into the second season.

After a break and a bit of news (including a couple of gift ideas for the eccentric cyclist on your list) we welcome back Joe Friel, who has written a new book called The Power Meter Handbook. Joe explains how a bicycle power meter works and why power is an excellent measure of performance.

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Show #119 – December 1, 2012

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GUESTS: JOHN BURKE, WADE BAROSCI

Sometimes it’s not about the bike, but it is about the bike company. This week, we welcome to the show two gentlemen who have ties to iconic bike companies, as well as being interesting in other ways.

Four years ago, John Burke‘s father Dave Burke (founder of Trek Bicycles) died after complications from heart surgery. What started out as a private memoir intended for John’s two children has become a book called One Last Great Thing. John Burke joins us today to talk about the book, his dad, and their shared history in the bike business.

While the Burkes were building Treks in Wisconsin, a company up in Connecticut by the name of Cannondale was also innovating with aluminum tubing in bicycle frames. Production of Cannondales has moved offshore, and the tubing equipment was purchased by our second guest this week, Wade Barocsi of Acel Tubing and Joining Products. Wade is also owner of Cycle Design USA, and a framebuilder and instructor. If you want to know about shaping and joining metal, Wade’s your guy.