Show #234 – February 21, 2015

Guests: Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer; Rody Walter from Groovy Cycleworks

As we dig out from yet another snow storm, Tim and I want to thank you for your generous support during Radiothon 2015! We are pretty certain the station met its lofty fund raising goals AND you helped that, so thank YOU!

And, in an effort to take our minds off of the weather this week, we think ahead two weeks when I will head on down to Louisville, KY to attend NAHBS 2015.

With a promise of 55 degrees and sun for our weekend visit to NAHBS March 6th through 8th, Greg Fischer, Louisville’s pro-cycling Mayor, talks with us about all the important things that are happening in his town – Bourbon, The Cyclocross Worlds from 2013, the Mega Cavern Underground Mountain Bike Park, of course NAHBS 2015, and did I mention bourbon?

Mayor Fischer leads two cycling rides each year and 10-12,000 folks show up to join him. Bubbly enthusiastic about his city and its cycling amenities, Mr. Fischer is a forward thinking guy who is looking to “calm traffic”, increase ridership, and make Louisville a showcase for a good place to live, work, and ride.

After our news, we head on down to Wooster, Ohio to speak with Rody Walter from Groovy Cycleworks. (Remember, it’s not WOO-ster, it’s Wuh-ster.)

In his unique and eloquent style, Rody explains his version of handmade – a holistic way of looking at his work – that produces his one-off creations. Rody shares his advice on how business works – not only for a frame builder, but also for anyone who is thinking about entrepreneurship.

At NAHBS, Rody and 4 other frame builders will join me to talk about the “custom business” and our conversation this evening will give you some insight into what that discussion will be.

Smoked Out Live! from NAHBS 2013

Last Saturday evening, I was honored to co-emcee a Velocipede Salon “Smoked Out Live” special along with Josh Simonds.

We had a rock-star panel of frame builders who all graciously gave up a couple of hours of their evening to answer questions for both a live audience and a live web cast.

Included in our evening were:

– Gary Smith of Independent Fabrications
– Nick Crumpton of Crumpton Cycles
– Tim O’Donnell of Shamrock Cycles
– Eric Estlund of Winter Bicycles
-Dave Wages of Ellis Cycles
– Rody Walter of Groovy Cycleworks

LISTEN & WATCH THE VIDEO!

The “Smoked Out” session begins around 29:30.  Previous to that, there are some interviews and talking among ourselves!  Enjoy!

 

Out thanks to George Thomas of “Over The Top Radio” for his patience in recording this!

Show #63 – November 5, 2011

Jim Ochowicz (needs no intro!), Rody Walter, Groovy Cycleworks

Here in northeast Ohio we’re enjoying some unseasonably gorgeous weather, knowing that the ‘gales of November’ will be upon us soon enough. ‘Every day’s a holiday and every meal’s a feast’ as the saying goes, and this week’s Outspoken Cyclist is both.

Our first guest is none other than Jim Ochowicz, cyclist, speed skater, former manager of Team 7-Eleven, and current manager of BMC Racing (you know, Cadel Evans’ team). Jim, or “Och” as he’s known was the catalyst for the first U.S. pro cycling team to have success racing in Europe, and his new book, Team 7-Eleven: How an Unsung Band of American Cyclists Took on the World – and Won has just been released. Jim joins us from Palo Alto, California to talk about how he moved from the road to the ice and back to cycling as a team manager.

For the second half of the show, we stick a little closer to home as Diane welcomes Rody Walter of Groovy Cycleworks to the studio. Rody trucked on up from his home in Wooster, Ohio, where he’s a mountain biker, family man, firefighter/paramedic, and the mind and flame behind Groovy, not necessarily in that order. If you’ve got the patience and some cash, Rody can build you a custom road or mountain machine that fits you both physically and aesthetically, and it’s almost guaranteed that he’ll make you laugh out loud at least once during the process.