Tag: Olympics

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Show #655 July 30, 2024

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Guests: Chris Morris; Joe Lindsey

In our ongoing series on favorite riding trails, I took Jim Sayer’s advice and contacted the Empire State Trail’s Chris Morris for a look at New York’s 750 miles of cycling and walking paths through the State.

Chris is the Empire State Trail Program Manager, living a short distance from one of the trailheads as well as having traversed many a mile on the trail himself.

Brian and I spent a couple of days riding our tandem on the Erie Canal Towpath back in 2016, traveling from Lockport to Brockport and back, staying in a lovely B&B overnight, and discovering some of the rich history of the Canal.  We loved the adventure.        

With three basic sections to the trail – North from Albany to Canada; West from Buffalo to Albany; and South from Albany into downtown Manhattan, the Empire State Trail offers some of the most diverse riding opportunities on the east coast. You can access the interactive map as well as the GuideBooks and more on the website.

 

Even though the Tour de France is over, and we are almost a week into the Olympics, I wanted to wrap-up this year’s Tour – especially in light of upcoming events – including the Worlds’.

And who best to fill us in on all of this?  Escape Collective’s Joe Lindsey.  From jersey winners to breakout stars and some observations on what might be coming up during the Olympics and beyond, I don’t know anyone who can speak bike racing like Joe.

Well – we’ve seen the entire Tour de France come and go – and WHAT a race this year.  Now, we’re smack-dab in the middle of the 2024 Olympics with America showing up all over the place.

So, who better to talk to about all-things- tour-de France and the Olympics, than the managing editor of Escape Collective, Joe Lindsey.

Joe can recite chapter-and-verse about the riders, the teams, and the individual stages of a race that both started and ended differently than in the past and, I always learn so much about bike racing when we talk.

At the time we spoke, the Tour had already completed its 21 stages and we had a short breather before the Olympics – so, while we now know some results, Joe had some predictions.  We’ll see how he did in the second part of the show.

We’ll be watching the men’s and women’s road races coming up as well as some of the track events to see who takes home the medals. You can check out more from Joe (and the rest of Escape’s crew) at escapecollective.com.

Next time on TOC, we’ll be speaking with Jill Warren, the CEO of the European Cyclist’s Federation. With lofty goals to see more biking, safer biking, stronger political support, higher investments, and more and better infrastructure, Jill details the role of the ECF’s large umbrella under which 65 members in 40 countries have all signed on for a better cycling future.

We’ll also be highlighting a portion of the ECG including CT, RI, and MA – with Bruce Donald, the Greenways’ Southern New England ECG Manager.

Transcript_July 30

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Show #565 – July 24, 2021

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Guests: Justin McCurry; Iris Slappendel & Lexi Brown

Well… it’s a version of the summer Olympics we’ve never seen before and I hope all the athletes are safe! One of the cycling events I’ll be watching is a version of Keirin – Japanese track racing..  And, auspiciously, The War on Wheels, Inside the Keirin and Japan’s Cycling Subculture, the first really in-depth book about the sport, the riders, the bikes, and the subculture has just been published.

Justin McCurry. who has lived in Japan since 1991, is the author of the book, and the Guardian’s correspondent in Tokyo where he covers Japan and Southeast Asia.


So – what IS Keirin?  We know it’s a form of track racing – but, it is a very different sport in country  – and it’s apparently pretty crazy.

Keirin – pronounced Ka-Rin in Japan and Ke-Rin, which is the UCI approved version – are actually two different types of the sport.

Steeped in a culture of betting and slogging it out in a tight formation on concrete tracks, Japan was, in a way, revitalized by the sport when it was the idea of two returning soldiers in 1948.

 Iris Slappendel and Lexi Brown are part of the Cyclists Alliance, a great organization formed to help professional women riders.  

When I saw the appalling statistics from the 2021 rider survey conducted by the Cyclists Alliance, I wanted to understand if what I was seeing was real – and unfortunately it is.

From a dismal 34% of professional riders with no salary – up from 17% in 2018 to 38% of professional riders working a second job alongside their career, women are not thriving in the peloton.

With a goal of supporting and protecting women pro cyclists, the Alliance’s mission is simple: in a word, they are seeking fairness.  And, their annual survey makes it painfully clear just how unfair things are.

The cyclists alliance was formed to not only help with salaries, but to offer guidance, legal support, and mentor-ship.

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Show #562 – July 3, 2021

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Guests: Leah Goldstein; Russell Newell

Well, this week saw some really cool things happen… Mark Cavendish winning some Tour de France stages, some impressive athletes in many disciplines ready to head to Tokyo for the Olympics, and a record breaker for the ages!

RAAM rider, Leah Goldstein crossed the finish line in Annapolis, MD in 11 days, 3 hours, and 3 minutes – ahead of EVERYONE ELSE!      Walking the last kilometer because she had nothing left, supported by her amazing crew, this endurance athlete says she’s not done yet.

So, who is Leah Goldstein?  Her storied career in sports started at the age of 9 and at 17 she became the world’s champion kickboxer.

While serving in the Israel Defense Forces she was introduced to the duathlon and between her love of the bike and her love of endurance sport – Leah, now 52, has become the first woman to win what is arguably the world’s toughest endurance event – Race Across America.

I knew there would be cameras and journalists and television and radio all wanting to talk with Leah, so I hurried up the moment I heard and sent a message to her crew chief, Lori Moger, and she set up our conversation – which you’ll hear in a moment!

Then, in a different kind of endurance event, we meet Russell Newell. 

Russell, who has been a speech writer for some luminaries in D.C. as well as working for Disney as director of executive communications, and is currently working for United Health Care, is presently living in the D.C. area with his wife and 4 children.

His good buddy, Jim Kane, challenged him to race an Ironman event in 2012.  And, Russell, who would apparently jump off a bridge if his friends did it said – okay.

Out of that race – and more Ironman events since – has come his book, Irondad Life – A Year of Bad Decisions and Questionable Motives – What I Learned on the Quest to Conquer Ironman Lake Placid.

The book is filled with hilarity, a little profanity, and a lot of great stories

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Show #561 – June 26, 2021

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Guests: Dr. Harriet Fell & John Allen; Spencer Martin & Steve Maxwell

Want to hear the best bicycle pick-up line ever?

Harriet Fell chased down Sheldon Brown on a ride in 1979 and her first words to him were “you’re riding fixed gear aren’t you? and the rest as they say, was history.

Sheldon and Harriet were married 8 months later.

 

 


(photo courtesy of Harriet Fell)

So fast forward to June 13, 2021 when Harris Cyclery, in Ma. – the home of Sheldon Brown.com – announced its closing – the shock waves could be felt throughout the cycling world about what was going to happen to Sheldon Brown’s immense archives AKA sheldonbrown.com.

NEVER FEAR! It’s not going anywhere.

In fact, since Sheldon passed away in 2008, the site, which belongs to his wife Harriet Fell, has been lovingly and painstakingly managed by both Harriet and technical writer John Allen.

So, I reached out to Harriet and John to have a chat about the site.

But, as I began to look into Harriet Fell – DR. Harriet Fell actually -I found someone much different from who I expected. So much for expectations!
Harriet has a PhD from MIT. She was a tenured professor in mathematics but moved over to the college of computer science at northeastern university as computers became more mainstream. She retired after more than 50 years with an amazing array of accomplishments in her fields of study.

Almost more interesting though is her history with bikes – from building an aluminum fixie frame in 1971 that ended up in France for many many years and became an important piece of an industry lawsuit, to riding 8,000+ miles in 2020. And, she turns 77 this year.

Joined in the second half of our conversation by technical writer John Allen, I think you will truly appreciate this amazing woman!

In the second half of the show, we check in with The Outer Line‘s Spencer Martin and Steve Maxwell for a preview of the Tour de France and some thoughts on the 2020 – now 2021 – Olympics and how the U.S. is and has chosen our team.

As Stage One gets going today, Spencer is pretty certain there are only a couple of riders strong enough to stand atop the podium in Paris in three weeks.

And, Steve and I once again discuss the absence of cycling on mainstream media and how our sport would so benefit from it.

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Show #524 – October 17, 2020

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Guests: Rob DeMartini; Tia Martinson; Ben Serotta

We turn to racing this week with a keen eye to the future. Rob DeMartini, the new CEO of USA Cycling, didn’t come from a cycling background and brings what I believe will be a fresh and welcoming approach to a national organization that we all can and might finally want to embrace.

From his forward thinking about the 2021 Olympics to every day riders being proud to display a USACycling sticker on their cars, Rob is asking that we take another look at what bicycles mean to us here in the U.S.

Then, as many long time listeners know, as we approach the holidays, I like to speak with non-profits that are doing really important and heartfelt work with an eye toward the giving season.

This week, it’s FreeBikes4Kidz Minnesota. A couple of weeks ago, Allina Health, which is a not-for-profit health care system based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and owns or operates 12 hospitals and more than 90 clinics throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin as well as employing over 27,000 people, and which sponsors FreeBikes4Kidz collected 7,000 bikes in a one-day effort. 7,000!

Tia Martinson, Executive Director of Free Bikes 4Kidz joins me to talk about the organization and how you process what is more than 10,000 bikes in total for the holidays.

Finally, and as promised, it’s a check-in chat with Ben Serotta – the iconic frame builder talks about what people are asking for from him, his thoughts on how the pandemic has affected cycling – not all for the bad – and what the future might hold.

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Show #268 – October 17, 2015

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Guests: Pro Racer Taylor Phinney; CruzBike CEO Maria Parker

Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with a young man who is thoughtful, interesting, introspective, and multi-talented.

25 year old pro racer Taylor Phinney rides for Pro Team BMC and is headed for the 2016 Olympics in Rio after qualifying for the time trial at the World Championships in Richmond, Virginia last month.

The son of Connie Carpenter-Phinney and Davis Phinney – both world class athletes and Olympians – Taylor gives us a glimpse into growing up in this athletic and down-to-earth family, how he found his artistic outlet when he was injured and rehabbing after a nasty crash, and how he really likes a great sandwich – among other things!

Then, after a break for some news, we head down to North Carolina to speak with multi-record holder endurance athlete and CEO of CruzBike, Maria Parker.

I met this energetic lady at the Recumbent Cycle-Con in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and wanted to know more about her and the company she runs.

CruzBikes are built differently than other recumbents and a lot of people came down to test ride them and find out how and why. Maria answers all those questions!

At 50, Maria is racing and winning – and raising funds for brain cancer research. Her sister, who died from the disease, became the impetus for redoubling her racing and riding efforts and continues to champion the cause for more funding and research to find a cure.

So, sit back and enjoy my chat with Taylor Phinney!