Show #253 – July 4, 2015

Guests: BMC’s Sport Director Jackson Stewart; Rails-to-Trails President Keith Laughlin

It’s time for the Tour de France! (As if you didn’t know…) AND, this evening we are right there – well, not really; but, our first guest is and it turns out, his team rider Rohan Dennis WON STAGE ONE!

Team BMC Pro racer-turned-sport director Jackson Stewart spoke with me from Utrecht, Holland on Wednesday night right after the team arrived to settle in for Stage 1 on Saturday.

Jackson gives us his perspective on the how the race might unfold – including his hopes for a Yellow Jersey for team leader Tejay Van Garderen. We talk weather, equipment, race radios, and more.

Meantime, Rohan Dennis wears the maillot jeune going into Stage II and I’m sure all of team BMC is celebrating tonight!

After a break and some news, I’m heading on down to Washington, D.C. to speak with Rails-to-Trails director Keith Laughlin about what progress Congress and the Senate have made on the Federal transportation bill.

We also talk about the 50th anniversary of the Elroy-Sparta trail in Wisconsin the first of now over 22,000 miles of trails that have been developed nationwide and how these trails have changed the communities through which they travel.

We also talk about how technology is impacting the Rails-to-Trails organization in an effort to give folks access to information while still keeping the trails pure and serene.

Hope you’re having a safe and fun 4th of July! Just remember to include Outspokencyclist in your plans! 

Show #243 – April 25, 2015

Guests: Phil Liggett; Leah Missbach Day

Last show in April and it’s a doozy!

Tonight I speak with the person who arguably has the most famous voice of all time in professional cycling.  From his early days as a budding journalist to the announcer of all the European Classics including Paris-Roubaix, Fleche Wallone, Giro D’Italia, our American Amgen Tour of California, and of course the Tour de FrancePhil Liggett is a wealth of information and fun as he makes bike racing thrilling for us all.

Phil talks about his love for statistics, what he sees as those things that have changed bike racing irrevocably, and how cycling is again coming around to being a sport we will want to support and watch.  And, because of Phil’s close bond with Africa, we talk of the rise of the MTN Qhubeka team and how he too sees an African on the Podium in Europe in the not-too-distant future.

We wrap up our conversation with his Helping Rhinos campaign (watch the video too!)– which means as much to him as his work as a journalist.  He tells us how we can support the cause, ride with him in several events, and about the efforts being made to protect the few remaining Rhinos from the horrific poaching that is going on in Africa.

We have news of course – including a massive recall from Trek – and then head on to SRAM headquarters in Chicago to talk with Leah Missbach Day about World Bicycle Relief.

WBR celebrates 10 years this month and Leah, who along with her husband FK Day, are the founders of the hugely successful movement to get people who could not otherwise go to school, work, or even bring food and water to their families on the African Buffalo bike. We talk about the very first delivery of bikes right after the devastating Tsunami in 2004 through the Africa Rides trips that you can take.

So, get ready for a great evening of cycling talk as we head over the pond to speak with Phil Liggett!

Show #196 – May 31, 2014

Guests: Tech Guru and author Richard Hallett; Traithlete David Brumley; Tour de France announcer and television “star” Paul Sherwen

We’re back with another brand new edition of the Outspoken Cyclist and welcome three guests with very diverse stories.

For those who enjoy the nitty-gritty of cycling, U.K. “tech Guru” Richard Hallett will offer up a delightful “deconstruction” of the machine in his new book: “The Bike Deconstructed – A Grand Tour of the Modern Bicycle” Richard talks about history, materials, the 650B wheel, and what he thinks about disc brakes for road bikes – among a lot of other things. Richard is also a frame builder – specializing in steel frames at RichardHalletBikes.com. The book is a coffee-table quality oversize tome with many lovely photographs and a lot of tech-talk in layman’s terms.

Second up is triathlete David Brumley. By all rights, David should be happy to just walk to the end of his driveway and pick up the local paper in the mornings, but a question from his then 3-year old daughter in 2008 made him take a more proactive role in the management of his chronic and incurable disease CVID. We’ll learn what it is, why it often goes un-diagnosed even though the patient is ill much of the time, and how David has become a super Dad for his daughter! Since his “epiphany” about his situation, he’s decided to share his experience and give back to the “Primary Immune Deficiency – PI” community with his Triforbetter.com organization.

After a short break, we’ll scurry back with some news and then head on over to Uganda to speak with one of the most famous cycling voices on the planet. Paul Sherwen is the historian and storyteller at the major races like the Tour de France, The Amgen Tour of California, and many more. What you’ll learn though is more about Paul and his how his background reaches back many decades into our sport. It’s a delightful chat!
Enjoy!