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Show #323 – November 26, 2016

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Guests: Bill Strickland; Guy Andrews

Our Thanksgiving week show is really sweet!

Editor-in-chief of Bicycling Magazine Bill Strickland is my guest and we have a GREAT conversation about a lot of cycling stuff – from his book Ten Points to the state-of-the-magazine.

Probably need to have a bunch more of these chats to get the whole picture!

Then it’s off to Mallorca, Spain where I catch up with Guy Andrews. The founder of Rouleur Magazine has just launched the definitive book spanning the entire career of Greg LeMond.

Yellow Jersey Racer is arguably the “coffee table book” gift for this holiday season. Guy found an amazing array of folks to cover each phase of Greg’s career – beginning in 1977!

There are photos and commentary heretofore never seen or read!

As previously stated… it’s a “sweet” show!

Happy Thanksgiving.

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Show #322 – November 19, 2016

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Guests: Paul Brodek; Scott Kasper

It’s the week before the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. and some folks are celebrating while others are licking their wounds.

I for one am grateful for the weather that has been warm enough to ride right up until this weekend here in the NE Ohio area and for the great guests we will introduce you to this evening.

First, we meet Paul Brodek. Paul goes WAY back in our industry – back to the early days when Sun Tour, Shimano, AND Campagnolo were all headquartered in New Jersey.

Paul decided in his senior year at Rutgers that maybe what he was thinking wasn’t what he really wanted, and so turned his attention to the bicycle business, putting his college career on extended hold..

He worked for Sun Tour USA and was right in the thick of it when index shifting began to change the world of bicycle components forever.

As the story unfolds, Paul has amazing recall of events and people throughout the 80’s including a fascinating dinner in Asia where Paul learns some unsavory Japanese fueled by competition and booze.

In the end, Shimano emerges victorious as the sun in Sun Tour sets and Paul is one of the few people who knows the story from beginning to end.

In the second half of the show this evening, I catch up with Scott Kasper as he prepares to ride the El Tour de Tucson with 200 JDRF riders.

Scott is intimately involved with Type I diabetes as two of this three sons, his mother, and his sister-in-law all suffer from the disease. Scott became immersed in the cause of searching for a cure and tells us his story along with an excellent explanation of the disease, what research is in the works, and what breakthroughs have been made.

 

 

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Show # 321 – November 12, 2016

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This week we begin the first of our “holiday” shows with a delightful conversation about bicycle paintings. Taliah Lempert’s work is immediately recognizable for its style and color.  Her “statement” says:

“Bicycles are important, beautiful, and worth a close look.

Most bikes I paint are, or have been, used daily for transportation, recreation, messenger work and/or for racing, They are worn and customized uniquely,
being at once a specific bike and a collective symbol of empowerment.”

Her work has been applied to all kinds of “stuff“: magnets, coffee cups, coloring books, and T-shirts.  And, she uses her talents to paint custom bike portraits, much like you’d have a painting of your wife, husband, children, or pets.

It’s a fun and chatty conversation!

Then, we wrap up 2016 and look at the new cycling season with one of my favorite cycling journalists and man-in-the-know, Dan Wuori.  Author of the popular column “At the Back” for Velo News, Dan breaks down the 2016 season from the Spring Classics to the Olympics.

We talk about winners and losers, teams and riders, and who to watch for the upcoming year.

 

 

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Show #320 – November 5, 2016

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Guests: Ayesha McGowan; Keith Laughlin; Marlaine Koehler

First show of November and it’s a great one!

We start with a bright, energetic go-getter by the name of Ayesha McGowan. Ayesha began racing at 28 and quickly shot up the ladder – winning the Cat 4 NY State Criterium Championship in 2015, she took first place at the 2016 NY State Road Race, and has her sights set on stage and time trial races for the upcoming season.

What’s so interesting besides the quick one-two wins? She’s a music teacher and is involved with the tandem group InTandem that trains captains to ride with sight-impaired stokers .

There’s a lot more to this young lady; just listen in!

Then we head to Washington, DC to talk with Keith Laughlin, executive director of Rails To Trails. Keith is a Washingtonian who has a great feel for what’s happening that might impact biking and waling at the highest levels of government and I always like checking in with him before a big election.
We also talk about what’s happening with the Rails to Trails organization including the roll out of a new program after years of study.

Lastly, we learn about Canada’s Waterfront Trail from executive director Marlaine Koehler. The Trail began as the vision of former Toronto Mayor David Crombie when the country started putting together the environment, the lake front, and bicycling.

Today, the Waterfront Trail is approaching 2,000km with dozens of great stops in historic places along the way.

Marlaine gives us some history, some travel information, and some incentive to put the Waterfront Trail on our cycling bucket lists.

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Show #319 – October 29, 2016

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Guests: Jacob VanSickle; Euan Wilson; Mighk Wilson

Great Show with 3 guests and 3 topics.

First up, Bike Cleveland’s director Jacob VanSickle talks about the Cleveland Refugee Bike Project. In its initial fund-raising phase, the project is “looking to fund a one-year pilot program, launching officially in Spring 2017. Before the project officially launches, the project partners – Bike Cleveland, Catholic Charities Migration & Refugee Services, and the Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op – will work together to secure the necessary supplies and develop culturally appropriate training curricula to provide to participants.”

According to the information on the fundraising platform, ioby.org:

Approximately 1,000 refugees relocate to Cleveland each year. They can provide new life and serve as an economic driver for our region, but only if they are able to access opportunities. Most new refugees lack access to a car, and many struggle to get around on a public transportation system that continues to cut service and raise fares.

The Cleveland Refugee Bike Project will provide refugees with a bike – an economic lifeline that can connect them to new employment, educational, and social opportunities. We will also give participants the training and tools they need to learn how to safely bike around the region. In this way, the program will help them to build a new life in Cleveland and guarantee that the city benefits from all the assets they bring to the table.

Then we head all the way over to Inverness Scotland to talk with Euan Wilson, director of H+I Adventures. The company offers mountain bike tours worldwide and just introduced a brand new 8 day tour to the Fjords of Norway they are calling Into the Labyrinth. Not for the faint of heart, the tour is rated “advanced” and offers spectacular riding along with breathtaking views.

Finally, we head down to Orlando to catch up with Mighk Wilson from Cycling Savvy. Mighk will be heading up to Philadelphia for the Philly Bike Expo where he and John Schubert will be talking about the instructional courses that Cycling Savvy is offering along with some current information about riding safely and confidently on the road.

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Show #318 – October 22, 2016

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Guests: Patrick Brady, Stephen Bilenky, Jason Sumner

Earlier this week, NPR’s Terry Gross (Fresh Air from WHYY in Philadelphia) interviewed Columbia Law Professor Tim Wu. He coined the term Net Neutrality and studies how and what we see on our screens. In a new book, The Attention Merchants, Professor Wu discusses how we are literally sucked in to such applications as FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, and pretty much everything else we see and search on our electronic devices. He also notes that we want everything for free – but is that the best way to get what we really want?

So, while this doesn’t directly address the conversation I have with our first guest, it does preface the proposal of paying for what we like and want with Red Kite Prayer‘s Patrick Brady. Earlier this week, Patrick introduced the idea of a “subscription model” to the popular cycling blog and I wanted to find out his thinking about asking for support in this way, how it might affect his sponsors as well as his readers, and what he sees the future might be for this kind of thinking.

We also talk with master frame builder Stephen Bilenky. He and his daughter Bina, started the Philly Bike Show a short 6 years ago and today it is one of the premiere bicycle events on the east coast . The PBE Show is coming up next weekend and I caught up with Stephen on the road to the new east coast Interbike Show Cyclofest to hear what is new at this year’s Expo.

Finally, we review the Bicycling Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills – 2nd edition with its author Jason Sumner. Jason’s book offers practical, intelligent, and cleanly described information on how to ride faster, stronger, longer, and safer!

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Show #317 – October 15, 2016

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Guest: The Laidback Bike Report’s Gary Solomon

This week, it’s podcast only so the show is a bit shorter than usual. WJCU’s football game has preempted out broadcast!

While attending Recumbent Cycle-Con last weekend, I met up with Gary Solomon. Gary is a retired pharmacist who lives in the Columbus, Ohio area and has been riding a recumbent tandem with his wife for 15 years. Last year, he started a new venture – the Laidback Bike Report, a monthly interactive video production that is broadcast on You Tube.

His “shows” cover the gamut of recumbent news, interviews, and reviews. His viewers can also participate in the show as it is happening. I wanted to know more and, since we do audio and he does video, I thought it would be an interesting conversation. In fact, it was! And this week I’m sharing it with you!

Let’s get to it!

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Show #316 – October 8, 2016

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Guests: Neil Flock; Michael Charney

Brian and I are attending Recumbent Cycle-Con in Sharonville, Ohio this weekend. It’s cool and sunny with hundreds of folks trying out all kinds of cool bikes on the outdoor test tracks.

Our show this week runs the gamut from a new line of affordable, smart, and well designed internally geared, belt drive bikes to a smart concept that, once adopted, will save lives!

First, we talk with Neil Flock from Cycle Monkey. Neil’s new line of Link Bicycles previewed at Interbike last month to rave reviews. Three simple offerings – mixte, cross, and road – 5 sizes from x-small to x-large – and internally geared, belt driven – will be available in Spring 2017.

Neil tells us about his philosophy and the market he thinks these bikes will best address.

In the second half of the show, we talk with Michael Charney in Boston. Michael is a retired doctor who abandoned his car many, many years ago and instead began cycling. He came across the “Dutch Reach” concept of exiting your motorized vehicle and dove head first into bike advocacy.

Michael’s case for changing the way you get out of your car is catching on and he wants everyone to we jump on that bandwagon.

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Show #315 – October 1, 2016

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Guests: Jeremy Powers, Niall Gengler, Charles Coyne

This week we have three guests including the “winningest” American cyclist ever!

With 60 UCI international wins and 4 USA National Cyclocross Championships, Jeremy Powers shares his not-so-secret-secret as well as some tips for anyone aspiring to race a bike. He also tells us about his JAM non-profit organization that is reaching out to promising athletes who might not be able to get in to the sport for a variety of reasons.

I also talk with Charles Coyne about next week’s Recumbent Cycle-Con and Touring Expo at the Sharonville Convention Center in Sharonville, Ohio (just north of Cincinnati).

Charles gives us a glimpse into the who, what , where, and why of the 3-day event that begins on Friday, October 7th with a “trade day” that then opens to the public on Saturday and Sunday.

This year, there are two test track courses – one for 2-wheel recumbents and one for trikes, giving the trikes the room they need to be put to the test.

After a short break for some news, we head to Easthampton, Ma to speak with Niall Gengler from Pioneer Valley Frameworks.

Niall builds some sweet steel bikes and gives us his philosophy about what it takes to get a rider dialed-in for optimum performance and comfort.

It’s a jam-packed show… so let’s get started!

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Show #314 – September 24, 2016

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Guests: US DOT’s Barbara McCann;  Arsenal Cycling’s Thomas Prehn; Ornithologist Eric Masterson

Hey – it’s The Outspoken Cyclist here!

Big show this week as we explore what’s happening at the federal, state, and federal level in bicycle and pedestrian issues with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Barbara McCann. Barbara is the Director of the Office of Safety, Energy, and Environment

Well known and widely considered the architect of the Complete Streets program that has been almost universally adopted here in the States, Barbara tells us about the Mayor’s Challenge Awards that came out of 2016 Summit for Safer People, Safer Streets last week as well as the new Federal Highway’s recently published Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation.

With an eye on safety, Barbara tells us how important our transportation system is and what it needs to be doing to keep us safe and efficient going forward.

I talk with Thomas Prehn, author, former pro racer, and now inventor. His new product, the 4Sync lighting system, is a synchronized system of 3-4 lamps, adding to the pattern of visibility that the human eye will follow. Thomas’ hope is that this new system will add to our visibility on the road in a way that catches the eye of anyone looking.

Lastly, I speak with ornithologist Eric Masteron. Eric is on a 5,000 journey following the migration of the broad winged hawk from his home in New Hampshire to South America.

500 miles in, I catch up with Eric in Gettysburg where he tells us about the birds he is following and what he hopes to see and learn.

Oh, did I say that he is traveling by bicycle? Why yes, that’s the connection!

Enjoy!