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Show #187 – April 28, 2012

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As cyclists, we can sometimes get so focused on goals, equipment, advocacy, and events, that we forget how much fun is at the core of riding a bicycle. This week’s show presses the reset button, and turns the Fun Dial up to 11, with two great interviews that speak to the joy of cycling.

First up is author Steven Rea who has written a new book: Hollywood Rides a Bike: Cycling with the Stars. Steven is also the movie critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the man behind a Tumblr blog about stars on bikes. As it turns out, you’re no one in Hollywood unless you’ve been photographed on, or with a bike.

After some cycling news Diane is joined by Rob Gusky of Kimberly Clark & Amanda White of the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation. Rob and Amanda are two of the driving forces behind the National Bike Challenge, which starts May 1st, and runs all summer. It’s free, and there are prizes. Did you hear that? Prizes just for riding your bike!

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Show #86 – April 21, 2012

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Loss, hope, innovation, and celebration are the themes of today’s show. We begin by mourning the untimely death of paracyclist Matt Bradley, who was a guest on The Outspoken Cyclist last September. We send our condolences to his family and many friends in Utah; we were fortunate to have encountered him during his too-short life.

Next, we happened to catch renowned racer and coach Jock Boyer during one of his rare visits to the United States. Jock was the first American to race the Tour de France, and won RAAM twice. These days, he concentrates his energies on Team Rwanda, which has produced the Rwandan National Cycling Team, along with a lot of hope for the people of Rwanda.

After the break, Renold Yip of YiPsan Bicycles joins us from Fort Collins, Colorado, where he builds custom bikes, with a special emphasis on city bikes and proper fit. His innovative designs have won awards at the 2010 NAHBS.

And we wrap up with news of an upcoming celebration of all things bicycle-related in New York City. Joanna Virello took time to chat as she gets ready to open the 2nd annual New Amsterdam Bike Show, April 28th and 29th. “Bigger, Better, and Bikier” than last year’s show, the whole affair sounds like a ton of fun. Highly recommended if you’re anywhere near NYC on those dates.

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Show #85, April 14, 2012

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Look in your thesaurus and you’ll see this week’s guests listed as synonyms for “eclectic”.

Bill Humphreys, aka “Bike Guy” has racing roots that go back to the Raleigh days in the early 1970’s, becoming a member of the first American team to race in Europe. Lately, he’s been working on something called The Jersey Project, a photo history book devoted to cycling jerseys from teams and clubs in Europe and the U.S. Neither cyclists like Bill, nor jerseys like the ones in his book are being made anymore! Be sure to check out Bill’s excellent blog.

John Campo, aka “Campocat” rounds out our show today with a free-wheeling conversation about music, guitars, and oh by the way, track cycling. John is a well-traveled and successful jazz and folk musician who was also instrumental in restoring the Kissena Park Velodrome in Flushing, Queens. And, we even get to hear John perform a couple of tunes for us!

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Show #84 – April 7, 2012

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Another week, and another Outspoken Cyclist with something for everyone. This week it’s Parks, Nutrition, and Ultra-Cycling.

Leading off is an interview with Jon Jarvis, Director of the U.S. National Park Service. Director Jarvis has served the NPS in various capacities for 36 years now, and he has an exciting perspective on the increasing role of cycling in the national parks, including news of a collaboration between the Park Service and Adventure Cycling.

After a short break, Diane speaks with Monique Ryan, MS, RD, author of Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes, 3rd Edition. This comprehensive book gives you the facts and figures you need to know about eating right to ride, run or swim during training and extended duration events.

And we wrap up with a conversation about an event close to home, and close to my heart: Calvin’s 12-Hour Challenge. Race Directors Larry and Christine Graham fill us in on all the details about this ultra-distance event coming up in the Dayton, Ohio area May 5th.

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Show #83 – March 31, 2012

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We celebrate Diane’s return from last week’s National Bike Summit with a well-rounded show that includes some advocacy, some art, and a little racing thrown in for good measure.

Leading off, Andy Clarke of the League of American Bicyclists give us his take on the recently completed Bike Summit in DC, including the passage this week of a three-month extension to the national transportation bill.

Next, we talk with Nick Czerula, who has combined his love for cycling (he’s a cyclist himself) with his talent for photography to produce a photo essay book about Richard Sachs. The book is entitled Richard Sachs bicycle maker. As a bonus, he also got to hang out with Richard for a year while working on the book. Can you say jealous?

After some news, we wrap up with a wide-ranging conversation with Tony Eberhardt. Tony is a physical therapist and racer who also coaches the road cycling team at the University of New Hampshire.

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Show #82 – March 24, 2012

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First up this week is Rich Olken, whose roots in cycling go back to his late father Ben Olken, who was a pioneering bicycle dealer and importer of fine bicycles. To say that Rich has held leadership positions with the National Bicycle Dealers Association, Bikes Belong, and Hosteling International doesn’t really convey how deeply he and his family are woven into the fabric and history of cycling in America. To understand that, you’ll have to listen for yourself.

Featured in the second half of the hour is a guy who’s been ‘actually making his own [stuff]’ since about 1974. Bruce Gordon is the founder, owner, and resident curmudgeon of Bruce Gordon Cycles, where he makes (and sometimes even sells) extremely durable, gorgeous frames, racks, and other components. He’s also the Benevolent Co-Dictator for Life of SOPWAMTOS, whose website contributed to the 90 minutes I vaporized writing this post. Perfect browsing material while you’re listening to Bruce and Rich!

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Show #81 – March 10, 2012

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Diane’s back from NAHBS this week, and fired up with a show that runs the full spectrum.

First up is Tim Blumenthal, President of People for Bikes. Tim is here talk about the recent bombshell announcement that the three major bicycling organizations in the U.S.: The Alliance for Biking and Walking, The League of American Bicyclists, and People for Bikes intend to unite to form a single, consolidated entity to promote and encourage cycling. There is still a lot for the leaders of the three groups to discuss and decide, but it appears that cyclists will have a unified umbrella after more than 30 years of wishing and hoping. I’m sure we’ll hear more about this, especially after the Bike Summit toward the end of March.

Argyle Armada
After a refreshing dip in the pool of cycling news, and a much needed rest stop, Diane welcomes Mark Johnson, the author of a new book about Team Garmin-Cervelo. Mark was lucky enough to be invited to embed with the team during the 2011 racing season, and talented enough to write and photograph a book about it. The book is titled The Argyle Armada!

 

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Show #80 – March 3, 2012

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Holy smokes! Even though Diane is on the other side of the country at NAHBS, she still managed to leave us with a blockbuster show.

First up is an interview with cycling renaissance man, Thomas Bowden, from Richmond, Virginia. Tom is a bike commuter from Richmond VA, a corporate lawyer with an MBA, and a board member of Bike Virginia. He also contributes to Commute By Bike. You can hear all about his activities in those arenas, plus the big event he’s been working to bring to Richmond, Virginia in 2015.

And in the second half of the show, an interview with a true cycling legend, Graeme Obree. Yes, that Graeme Obree, The Flying Scotsman himself. Twice-decorated as the Hour Record holder, Graeme is still designing, building and riding bikes, and right now, he’s “tuning up his engine” for a run at the HPV land speed record in Nevada this fall.

Does it get any better than this? I think not, at least until next time…

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Show #79 – February 25, 2012

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Before we dive into this week’s show, let me take a moment on behalf of myself, Diane, and everyone at WJCU, to thank Outspoken Cyclist listeners for their generosity during Radiothon 2012. Thanks to your support, The Outspoken Cyclist doubled our pledge amount compared to 2011, and more importantly, you helped WJCU meet its overall fundraising goal. Chapeaux to everyone who donated to Radiothon!

Now to why you came here in the first place. We start this week’s show right in our own backyard. After years of talk and rumor, Cleveland is finally, actually getting a velodrome. Brett Davis, board chair of Fast Track Cycling, the non-profit that is spearheading this project, stopped into the WJCU studios to bring us up to date on the latest, including an expected June 2012 opening!

From track cycling in Cleveland we move on to the upcoming North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS), which opens March 2 in Sacramento, California.

In conjunction with NAHBS, Paul Skilbeck and Julia Beckner are curating and coordinating ArtBike, a bicycle-centric community art exhibition designed to bridge the Sacramento community and the bike show. Paul and Julia were nice enough to join us by phone and give us a preview of what to expect in Sacramento this coming week.

Moving on with more about NAHBS, Don Walker, the founder and Chief Executive Everything of the handmade show (and owner of Don Walker Cycles) joins us from Louisville, Kentucky. Don had just finished loading the trailer for his road trip from Louisville to Sacramento, when we caught up with him. He shared some info about this year’s show, and a detailed, inside look at a very unique bike project Don will be exhibiting at the show.

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Show #78 – February 18, 2012

Radiothon is officially here for The Outspoken Cyclist, although a number of our listeners have already pledged at wjcu.org. Thank you to everyone who has pledged, and if you haven’t, there is still time. The Radiothon donation page will be available until February 25th. We need your dollars to keep local, commercial-free radio on the air and on the Internet. Now, on to our show, which is a shining example of why you’d voluntarily pay for something you’re already getting for free.

Our first guest is Kriss Worthington, council member from Berkeley, California. Kriss sponsored legislation giving bicyclists who’ve been harassed by motorists a means to hold their harassers accountable in court. The ordinance passed unanimously, and just this week it officially became law in Berkeley. Kriss explains the motivation for the new law, and how he sees it helping his constituents.

Next up is Sarai Snyder, Editor-in-Chief of girlbikelove.com. Sarai has “been there, done that, and got the commemorative t-shirt” in the biking biz, including owning a bike shop. As the name suggests, Girl-Bike-Love is about empowering, inspiring and encouraging more women to ride bikes. A tall order, for sure, but Sarai and her team are knowledgeable and passionate about their mission. And guys, you should check out this site, too, for tips on how to get your wife, girlfriend, sister or mother on a bike!

The last half-hour of today’s Outspoken Cyclist is devoted one man’s stunning transformation. About 4 years ago, Bill Cole of Lexington, Kentucky decided he didn’t want to weigh over four hundred pounds anymore. So he started eating better, took up walking and then biking, and now he’s about half the man he used to be (at least in the physical size department). Now Bill is active with the Bluegrass Cycling Club, has ridden a century, and helps put on the Horsey Hundred, held each Memorial Day weekend in central Kentucky.