Show #529 – November 21, 2020

Guests: Chris Carmichael; Lou Mazzante


Photo Of Eddie B. Courtesy of Mitchell Clinton

This past week, the cycling world lost Eddie Borysewicz – or Eddie B as so many knew him. Eddie died November 16th from COVID 19 while visiting his home country of Poland.

I wanted to talk with someone who knew Eddie well and so, I invited Chris Carmichael, who first met Eddie when Chris was a junior racer way back when.

Born in 1939 in what is now Belarus, then part of Poland, Eddie B was a junior national cycling champion in his home country. He served two years in the military and, after a misdiagnosis and subsequent treatment for tuberculosis, gave up racing and studied for a physical education degree and became a coach.

Coming to Montreal for the 1976 Olympic Games as an assistant for the Polish team, he made his way down to New Jersey where he met Mike Fraysee, the head of the organization that ran cycling is the US at the time.

He spoke no English – but he knew how to coach and train riders and became the US Coach. Over his career, he garnered 30 national and world championships for coaching.

Then, we’ll have the third and last of our gift giving ideas from Bicycling Magazine’s test director, Lou Mazzante. This week, we’re talking apparel, helmets, and shoes. (Photo of Lou by Trevor Raab)

I’ve been so impressed with the time and effort that Lou Mazzante has put into our gift giving segments and today is no exception. Here is the last of our three weekly chats.  Today, Lou tells us about The Black Bibs – only the knicker version Specialized’s Propero 3 helmet with MIPS AND their “Angi” crash system.  He also reviews the Bontrager Rhythm mountain bike shorts, Swift-Wick’s new ultralight pursuit 7 wool socks, and Shimano’s RC3 road shoe.

Show #528 – November 14, 2020

Guests: Dennis Markatos-Soriano; Chuck Marohn; Lou Mazzante

As many of you know, I am an advisory board member to the East Coast Greenway and when something exciting happens with the organization, I like to share it with you.

One of the BEST things about the Greenway is its commitment to the environment, knowing that infrastructure that expands walking, biking, and other outdoor activities is good for all of us.

On Monday, November 17th (yep THIS coming Monday!) the first in the Impact Series – this conversation about climate – with take place between my guest, ECG’s executive director Dennis Markatos-Soriano, and Dr. Michael Oppenheimer, who is also an ECG advisory board member. You can listen to the conversation for free at greenway.org

Then, it’s another great conversation with Strong Towns‘ founder Chuck Marohn. 

Today we discuss a specific traffic situation that led to a young boy’s untimely death as well as exploring the self-defeating decisions that are made by cities and towns when they try to turn a road and a wealth-creating area into what Chuck has coined as a
“stroad.’  And, because this conversation happened in advance of the presidential election, I posed a question to Chuck about infrastructure in a post-election world.

Lastly, my 2nd in a 3-part series with Bicycling Magazine Test Director Lou Mazzante focuses on “high tech” gift items this week.   With the necessity to stay in and stay away from others, we discuss the entertaining as well as training assistance of the Wahoo Kickr indoor trainer, the fun of the new Go-Pro camera, the Whoop strap app, and a 3D printed saddle from Fizik.

(photo courtesy of Trevor Raab)

Show #527 – November 7, 2020

Guests: Paul Brodie; Lou Mazzante

Tonight I welcome Paul Brodie.

His handle is fussy framebuilder and at one time, Paul Brodie’s business produced hundreds of frames.

Paul, who was originally born in England and has lived in British Columbia now for most of his life, has transitioned from producing frames to teaching frame building to starring in videos on his You Tube channel with over 2,000 subscribers.

Watching Paul as he goes through his processes offers a glimpse into the expertise he has as well as a style of instruction that is easy-to-follow and not so technically scary to even the novice.

From fabricating brake levers from scratch to extending a steerer tube, Paul Brodie’s teaching style is casual and explicit. And, he’s about as guileless in conversation as anyone I’ve spoken with in a very long time – if ever!  Wait until you hear about his pets too!

After listening, you can contact Paul at fussyframebuilder@gmail.com with questions, take a look at his videos on the Paul Brodie You Tube Channel, or browse his extensive archives on his web site Flashback Fabrications Ltd.

They’re comin’ around the bend sooner than you might think and, I figured it was none too soon to start thinking about holiday gift giving – especially since many of us will be ordering on line.

Today, we have our first of a three-part series on gifts for the holidays with Bicycling Magazine‘s Test Director Lou Mazzante. This week, we’ll look at a few gifts under $25.00, including the Timber Bell, Stan’s No Tubes Dart System, Feedback’s Chain Keeper, and Memory Pilot Socks.