Show #537 – January 16, 2021

Guests: AJ Roan; Chris Carmichael; Scott Bricker

My first guest lives in Wasilla, Alaska. And, if you think back a few years, that should sound familiar. (I’ll leave it at that for now.)

I always think of Alaska as being exotic and so far away. I know many of you have been there, but I haven’t. So, almost like being there, we’re going to talk with AJ Roan.

AJ writes for North of 60 Mining News and you might wonder what we’d have to talk about since his work is in mining – which is another whole topic we don’t get into a lot in our conversation. His article, titled 1000 Miles Ride From Dawson to Nome, is what grabbed my interest.

What we DO talk about is a gentleman named Edward Jesson who lived in Alaska at the time of the Great Gold Rush.

In 1899 Edward Jesson was a successful businessman. It was during the time of the insanity of the Gold Rush and thousands of people were heading to Nome, Alaska to stake a claim. It was also the beginning of the new-fangled safety bicycle – similar to what we know today.

Edward decided to sell all his belongings, buy a bicycle – something he didn’t even know how to ride at the time – and ride from Dawson City in the Canadian NW to Nome – 1,000+ miles.

We’ll speak with Chris Carmichael of CTS Training Systems out in Colorado Springs in the second of our 4-part series about training. Today we talk about cadence, how and why it’s an important indicator of your performance, and how to determine what is optimal for you.

Then, we head on over to Pittsburgh. Yes, Browns fans, you can gloat about football, but when it comes to a great advocacy organization, I think Pittsburgh is probably at the top of the list.

It’s been over 7 years since we spoke with Scott Bricker the executive director of Bike Pittsburgh, and I thought it was high time to see what the organization is up to these days.

Along with some great events, the organization does a remarkable job with combining advocacy, community building, and education addressing just about every aspect of urban cycling.

 

 

Show #151 (really?) – July 13, 2013

GUESTS: GREG BORZO, SCOTT BRICKER, LINDSEY VOREIS

 

With the TdF, RAGBRAI, XOBA, et al, the July Effect is getting into full swing about now. Objects in your favorite tour may be closer than they appear. But it’s not all about the road, or even all about the wheel, as this week’s Outspoken Cyclist illustrates.

We do start on the road, the road across Iowa to be exact. Every summer since 1973, tens of thousands of cyclists have participated in the rolling Mardi Gras known as RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa). Our first guest, Greg Borzo has written a new book entitled RAGBRAI: America’s Favorite Bicycle Ride. Warning: if this ride isn’t on your bucket list already, it will be after reading Greg’s book.

You may wonder what a walking advocate is doing on a show about cycling, but really biking and walking are fraternal twins in the transportation family, and a city that’s walkable is also bikeable almost by default. Hence, we’re pleased to welcome Scott Bricker, the Executive Director of America Walks. Scott’s organization is active all over the country, and with a wide variety of partners to promote walking as the “no tech” solution to better health and transportation.

News? Ain’t nobody got time for that, at least not with guests like we have this week. So in the second half of the show we hit the dirt for an in-depth conversation with Lindsey Voreis. Lindsey is a mountain bike racer and mountain bike skills instructor who also participates in just about every outdoor sport there is. In 2001, she appeared on Survivor: Africa. These days she’s most passionate about teaching mountain biking to women through her series of camps around the world.