Show #662 – February 13, 2025

Guests: Steve Frothingham; Steve Salinas

A Short Tribute To Greg Priddy

It is a tough day for the Outspoken Cyclist Podcast as well as the many shows and most of the staff of WJCU – the radio station at John Carroll University that hosts my show. 

Back in 2010, when TOC first went on the air – and we were a radio broadcast as well as a podcast for many years – my co-host, engineer, and mentor was a gentleman named Greg Priddy. 

He spent endless hours editing our show for podcast and taught me ins and outs of the studio sound board, how to edit, mix, and upload my shows, and would fill in for me when I had that occasional cold or lost my voice.

For those of you who have been listening to the show from the beginning, you will remember Greg.  He could be funny, but he was more likely to be the Abbott to my Costello, offering a serious note on many topics.

So, it is with a deep sadness that I report Greg lost his long battle with cancer this week.  Back in August of 2017, Greg asked if he could offer his thoughts about the disease and especially what he believed you might do to make sure you stay healthy.  I’ve added a link to that episode on our website if you’d like to hear it – or maybe replay it if you heard it back them as a reminder of what you can do for you and your family to ensure you detect any problems in a timely way.

Our best deepest condolences go out to Greg’s wife Jean, and we hope that Greg’s last days were peaceful.  There is a short tribute, with photos, on the WJCU website.

 

We have two great guests on the show today to talk about two timely topics – tariffs and the fires in California.

First up, I’ve invited Steve Frothingham, the editor-in-chief of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, to weigh in on not only the tariffs but the bicycle industry in general, as it struggles with everything from inventory issues to where our bikes are being manufactured and sold.

When one of my listeners suggested we look into tariffs and how they might affect the bike industry, I knew just who to call – BR&IN’s editor-in-chief, Steve Frothingham.  His immediate response was – tariffs?  I’m your guy.  Steve has been immersed in the issue of tariffs since the first Trump administration and can speak about them in depth.  However, it isn’t all about tariffs that are plaguing the bike business. 

 

In the second half of the show, we meet another Steve – yep it’s Steve squared today. 

We all watched in horror as unrelenting fire, fueled by massive Santa Ana winds, ripped through Altadena, California – leaving devastation in its wake.

Steve Salinas, who has lived and worked in Altadena for more than 40 years, couldn’t save his store.  He did help many others save their homes and got his own family and their beloved horse to safety.  And he just keeps on helping. I think you’ll appreciate his story.

You can help Steve rebuild his shop and continue his work giving bikes to those in his community who lost everything by donating to his gofundme account and follow him on Facebook.  

 

 

 

Episode 662 Transcript

 

 

 

Show #199 – June 21, 2014

Guests: Roanoke Times’ columnist Dan Casey; BR&IN web editor Steve Frothingham

Happy Solstice All! Why don’t you stay up late and listen to the show!?

This week saw reports of an almost unprecedented number of bicycle fatalities from coast to coast and from north to south. The admonition “be careful out there” is taking on a whole new meaning in light of these incidents and I decided to go outside my usual purview to look at the Roanoke, Virginia area – which had a triple whammy of fatal bike crashes back in March – from the perspective of an active cyclist who also happens to write for the “Roanoke Times” on these matters.

Dan Casey is the Metro Columnist for the Roanoke Times in Roanoke, VA and a 20+ year veteran cyclist. Dan puts an up-close and human spin to three fatal bike crashes that occurred in March in Roanoke as well as an update on a rider who is recovering from a recent and scary crash while on a long-distance training ride. We’ll also learn how Roanoke is starting to address the car-bike situation with their annual “Rally for Road Safety” events.

I also welcome Bicycle Retailer and Industry News web editor Steve Frothingham back to the show for a chat about how bicycle-media embargoes work and how the timing of new product introductions are handled by the media as well as a frank discussion about the changing environment for bicycle dealers in an ever more competitive environment.

Show #74 – January 21, 2012

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!