Audio – WJCU

I wanted to get this episode up before Omloop- the first European One-Day Classic this coming Saturday.

Indeed, it’s Spring Classics time and as always, I turn to my bike racing expert, Joe Lindsey, the managing director of Escape Collective, for his knowledge and insights.

Interestingly enough, as many times as we’ve spoken over the years, it never occurred to me to define certain terms until now! Duh! 

And so, we begin this early spring conversation with a few definitions such as – what is a classic?  Which races are termed Monuments and what does that mean? And, why are the cobbled races so difficult?

And, why hasn’t Tadej Pogacar won all 5 of the Monuments? Which women should we watch? And how about the exciting 4th place TdF finisher Oscar Onley?  What’s he up to for 2026?

We chat about team rider changes, bad-fan behavior, and whether state-sponsored teams are a good idea.

We delve into some of the questions that arose for me out of the protests at last year’s Tour of Spain and how racing might be changing in this time of short-attention spans and instant news.

I have a bit of housekeeping before we get to our two great guests today.

First – it’s WJCU’s annual fundraiser – RADIOTHON! This year’s theme “Carrying the Torch for College Radio,” is particularly pertinent as another well-loved local college station was recently sold and converted to our local NPR affiliate for a jazz format, much to the disappointment of Cleveland State University! 

But WJCU – 88.7on your FM dial here in NE Ohio, is alive and well.  The station is the on-air voice of John Carroll University and has been the gracious host for The Outspoken Cyclist since our very first show in September of 2010. 

At that time, we produced the podcast as a companion to our one-hour radio show. Eventually we phased out the radio show and continued to offer the podcast. Now, 16 years and 683 shows later, we are so honored that WJCU has seen fit to continue to partner with us.

Here’s just a little bit about why I’m so proud to be a part of WJCU.  The station is the reigning International Student Broadcasting Championship People’s Choice Radio Station and College Media Association Pinnacle Awards Small College Audio Outlet of the Year. It has established itself as a worldwide leader in college radio.

SO – All of this is said in the hopes that you will help support their work, which in turn gives me the platform I am so honored to have.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the station.  All the money raised during Radiothon goes directly to the station – not the University. 

Just log on to WJCU.org and click the pledge button.  Make sure you let them know you are an Outspoken Cyclist listener too!  And, thanks!

Item #2 is about my conversation with Maynard Hershon and his new book, The Dysfunctional Cycling Club.  I neglected to give you a way to contact Maynard directly: You can find him at buymeacoffee.com and search for Maynard Hershon.

My show this week includes a conversation with Caron Whitaker, the Deputy Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists.

With the upcoming reauthorization of the Transportation Bill this fall – well, the supposed reauthorization – there is the opportunity to include a bill that would require automobile manufacturers to incorporate automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems that reliably detect pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users in real-world conditions — day and night.

Its goal is simple: ensure lifesaving technology that actually works for everyone, before crashes happen.

Caron gives us a Cliff’s Notes Course on that bill and what else is happening in Washington as well as how we can help.

My second guest is Andy McGrath.  Andy is an award-winning freelance journalist, and he began our conversation with a super fun fact – he’s a triplet!

I’ve only ever known one other set of triplets; their Mom was a client of ours.  Such a cool fact!

Anyway, Andy has written a biography of Tadej Pogacar titled “Unstoppable.”   An apt title if there ever was one, yes?

And I think our conversation has to be one of my all-time favorites.  Andy is thoughtful, forthright, and has truly done his due diligence in authoring this book.  I think you’ll agree.

My guest today is an old friend and perhaps someone many of you might consider your friend too.

If you subscribed to Winning Magazine or Velo News back in the day, you relished Maynard Hershon’s column, “Tales from the Bike Shop,” at the back of each issue.

Maynard is the bicycle world’s storyteller and, in many ways, is keeping the story of proper bike riding alive.

His now out-of-print book “Tales from the Bike Shop,” is a classic – mixing his astute observations about bike-shop-behavior with humor and a plainspoken honesty about what went on in our shops back in the day. 

In his new book, “The Dysfunctional Cycling Club and Other Stories. Maynard turns his  thoughts to today’s cycling club culture, such that it is, and what has been lost from the days of his bicycling education.  

Unlike Tales from the Bike Shop, where most of the stories, while based on his observations and experiences, were fiction, this book describes the real people he’s met, the actual rides he’s done, and his candid thoughts about the many changes that he’s experienced in today’s bike club culture.

You’ll probably find our conversation a lot like two old fogies who haven’t seen each other for a very long time – yapping, even sometimes interrupting one another, and just generally having a good time.  I’m delighted to be able to share our conversation with you.

As many of you know, I have a real soft spot for traditional steel frame bikes and so I always feel somewhat justified in my “curmudgeonly-ness” when I have the opportunity speak with a master frame builder who is still practicing the art of building steel bikes.

Bicycling started out as a “working class” sport and those who supported it were working class folks.  Today, we hold our custom frame builders in high esteem at the same time that the craft of building steel bikes tries very hard to fade into history.

Framebuilder Paul Gibson not only doesn’t want to see that happen, he is actively doing things to ensure it won’t.

Paul is now the proprietor of Ellis-Briggs Cycles, the 90-year-old British bicycle company, founded by brothers-in-law Leonard Ellis and Thomas Briggs in 1936. (Yes, this makes it 90 years!) Their vision was to create high quality lightweight racing frames. 

Through the years, there have been many changes in the custom bicycle business and Paul is hoping to preserve the traditions by teaching the skills to build lugged, steel frames as well as keep the long heritage of the craft alive and well.

While our conversation isn’t terribly long, it is full of juicy nuggets of interest from the history of the company to Paul’s desire to develop a curriculum for students – especially students who aren’t inclined to sit in a classroom day after day but rather wish they could learn some hands-on skills.

I’ve had so many conversations about the art and science of building steel frames over the years and always appreciate someone who is still immersed in the craft.

You can follow and help support Paul’s Patreon at patreon.com/ellisbriggs.

Log onto his website, ellisbriggscycles.co.uk for a deep dive into the company and what Paul is up to now.

In my Substack post about Tucker Schwinn’s new book, Closure – The Final Days of the Waterford Bicycle Factory – I said I had hoped to be able to speak with him directly.

That happened over the past weekend, and I wanted to share that conversation, even though this will be a short podcast episode.

Tucker is the son of Richard and Debra Schwinn.  He grew up in the world of Waterford Precision Cycles and when the announcement of the closure of the factory was made and even before, decided to use his photography degree to document everything – from the eyewash station to the paint booth and anything in-between.

From beautiful descriptions of some of the photos to allowing others to just stand alone, I think the book is a must-have if you are a collector of bicycle related keepsakes.

My relationship with the Schwinn’s goes back a long time and, while I lament the loss of the factory and the beautiful frames produced there, the book helps to cement some of the memories in a way I hadn’t expected.

I’m really pleased to welcome two great guests to the show today.

The first is not new to TOC, and in fact has been someone I’ve not only spoken with in the past but have also referred to many times on episodes where he doesn’t even appear.

I love catching up with Strong Towns’ founder Chuck Marohn because I always experience an enlightening and encouraging conversation.  Today is no different.

In this episode we cover a myriad of topics from the Ride for Life Rally that was held in D.C. to Chuck’s thoughts about how we might be getting our advocacy for cycling and walking wrong by looking to the Federal government for help as well as his thoughts about how we can all be part of a Bike Walk Revolution.

Once you hear it, you can’t un-hear it. It makes so much sense. And it just might spur you to action.

In the second half of the show, I speak with Esther Walker, the executive director of Outride.

Founded in 2012 by Specialized’s former CEO Mike Sinyard, who suffers from ADHD and found that riding a bike helped him to focus and learn, Outride started by investigating how bike riding could become an important part of a comprehensive therapy program for kids with ADHD.

Today, in addition to their extensive research, the organization has grown by leaps and bounds as their “Riding For Focus” program has spread to hundreds of schools across the U.S. positively impacting thousands of middle-school kids.

Every time I think our issues with cars vs cyclists are getting so much worse, which of course they are, I come across something that is even more dreadful!

Seems that Canada – a place where I would have thought cyclists would be not only safer but encouraged – is definitely not that!

In my conversation with David Shellnutt, The Biking Lawyer, I learn that there is not only open hostility to cyclists, but the police seem to be complicit in making cyclists “pay” for infractions while drivers’ who have been issued tickets find themselves with no consequences whatsoever. David has good things to talk about though too, including a program he started during the pandemic that is still going strong today.

In the second half of the show, we feature the first of our holiday giving segments with Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists.

The LAB does some great things – from offering a multitude of helpful options to get involved on a local or national level to helping make our communities more bicycle friendly, which in turn makes them safer.  The LAB also hosts the National Bike Summit where, as a delegate of your community, you have the opportunity to make your case for legislation directly with the officials who can make those votes happen.

This episode was going to be an audio with commentary for my Substack.  But, as often happens when I speak with Joe Lindsey from the Escape Collective, the conversation becomes so interesting that I just couldn’t see NOT sharing it on all my platforms.

Another reason I wanted to share this with everyone is that Joe, is an expert on competitive bike racing, which I am not, and since the 2025 continental and world races are pretty much over, I figured it was time to review them.

We begin with a short discussion about this year’s World’s, which for the first time was held on the African continent.  Political for sure; but all seemed to go well.

Not so with the Vuelta A Espana as Joe and I move into a conversation about the Israel-Premier Tech team and how politics and protest, which have always been a part of bike racing, has now reached a level that is truly dangerous to the riders, the sponsors, and the sport itself.

Since Joe and I spoke, much has happened, both in the Middle East and with the team itself.  Premier-Tech pulled their sponsorship, saying that “the core reason to sponsor the team has been overshadowed to a point where it has become untenable.”

Sad to say the least, but I think you will hear some good reasoning in my conversation with Joe.

As we cover some of the women’s racing from this past season, we get into the topic of fueling and weight.  Ugh!

Weight is an especially tough topic for women – just look at the endless ads for weight loss and what defines beauty in all forms of advertising.

But there has been a seismic shift in thinking about fueling for bike racers and with that a shift away from just focusing on weight to the importance of nutrition.

Joe also talks about course design as it relates to the physique of a rider.  Certain courses do favor a light, sprite rider while others offer advantages to a different body type. 

And then there is course design as it relates to the safety of the riders.

We get into the weeds a bit with the UCI vs SRAM dispute about gearing as the discussion runs headlong into where the UCI should focus its work and what might happen if everyone rode the same bike – much like stock car racing. So you see, it’s a solid discussion and I hope you enjoy it.

We read or hear about corruption from a lot of places and when I came across a story from Kevin Duggan from Streetsblog NYC about a prominent family in Brooklyn NY that bribed officials to kill a protected bike lane, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to find out more.

The Argentos are big-whigs in the Greenpoint District of Brooklyn, NY – many high-profile television shows are shot on their “Broadway Stages” properties. 

This past August, they were indicted for bribing the mayor’s assistant with not only money, but a cameo on an upcoming show episode. Ah, vanity!

It’s a juicy story that is still unfolding and we’ll talk more about with Kevin in just a moment.

Then, in my conversation with Sarah Davis, the active transportation senior planner for the City of Cleveland, we unpack the Cleveland Moves initiative supported by Mayor Justin Bibb. 

While Cleveland’s population was in decline for several decades, it recently seems to be trending upwards again. 

But one of the consequences of fewer people and cars is that perception that you can go faster on the roads.  But the greater speed has resulted in the horrific statistic of 75 traffic fatalities in 2024.  Bad stuff!

Sarah will give us the lowdown on what Cleveland Moves is and some of the good things that have been happening in Cleveland in the past few months.

Scott Tong is one of my favorite NPR hosts. Most days, along with Robyn Young and several other Here and Now folks, I listen to Scott on WKSU, our local NPR affiliate.

Over the past year or so, I’ve heard Scott talk about riding his bike, crashing his bike, and more recently, training for a long-distance cycling event.

So I reached out to him, and he was happy to talk about his riding experiences, the bike he rides – which is only one of my all-time favorite brands – and the event he was training for with his brother-in-law and his wife.

My first guest, Scott Tong, is wondering whether he might be getting too old to ride his beautiful Serotta Road bike and I assured him he is not!

It is true that while training for a long-distance event a couple of years ago, he fell and broke his collar bone and this year, while training for the same event, his wife fell and broke HER collar bone.

Still, he’s really not that old and he likes to ride!  He got back on the horse and completed the Seagull Century in Maryland right after our conversation.

If I were to ask you if there is enough parking wherever you go, what would you say?  Probably – No.

But what if I told you there is actually too much parking in many places, and that parking in general is poorly managed by most cities?

That’s the starting point for my conversation with the president of the Parking Reform Network, Tony Jordan, an organization that educates the public about the impact of parking policy on climate change, equity, housing, and traffic.

From the bizarre parking codes for every conceivable building, business, and residence, to a need for rethinking the miles and miles of concrete that take up precious land and contribute to climate issues, Tony Jordan helps to answers my many questions, and helps to give us actionable ideas to make our parking, driving, and especially biking and walking concerns better.

And for my extended conversation with Tony about how bicycling and parking reform are connected, log into my Substack entry.  It’s a little bonus track!