Joe and Danny contemplate asphalt and gravel, bemoaning the pain and unfairness of both but acknowledging that the alternative might be worse.  They pay a short visit to New York City and reminisce about some of the friends that Danny left behind. Joe finds an old photo that features a current TV play-by-play man and a former World Champion mountain biker. They also pay a visit to French chateau - fancy! There's too much to write about. You're going to have to listen for yourself.

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The boys survive this fast and furious stage through the state of the bicycle industry.  What's it like running a bike shop through a pandemic? Is a "gravel bike" the new "touring bike"? What do you do when you've ingested too many "edibles" at the bike shop? Why is granny on an aero-road bike? All these questions and more are answered on this episode of the Bike Shop Society Podcast.

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Go behind the scenes with Joe and Danny as they fire up the podcast hotline for the first time. The possibility of bringing in a guest is discussed live on the show. But before they do anything,  they need to run a test of the equipment to make sure everything works.  Danny gives us an impromptu report about what he witnessed at the Cyclocross World Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He also gives us a review of the the "SmartLess" podcast, which he listened to during his road trip. The pod features Jason Bateman, or as Joe refers to him,  "Justine's little brother". We also learn that Danny thinks of "Three's Company" anytime he sees a tandem bicycle. Listen as Joe and Danny turn a simple phone call into a bonus episode of the "Bike Shop Society Podcast".

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Joe and Danny debut the new show open that they spoke about on Stage 3. Two strangers appear at the bike shop, which leads the boys to talk about some of the people they have met through cycling. Joe shares some stories about the times he was pulled from the bike shop floor to a Hollywood set to perform  stunts in a Mel Gibson movie and ride his bike in a  Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts pic.  It doesn't stop there; apparently, he also sold a bike to Robin Williams. Danny stays on pace and tells us about his experience writing a feature article about serial entrepreneur and cofounder of PayPal Max Levchin.  We also hear a little more about his days at the Tour de France filing reports from the the EF Team bus. Come along for this meandering ride through Joe and Danny's past.

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On Stage 3 we spend all of our time learning about our hosts. We learn that Danny spent some time in the Peace Corps, got to party with Massive Attack, and learned how to breakdance on the mean streets of Oak Lawn, Illinois. Joe shares some stories about his involvement in the early hip-hop scene in Chicago, tagging buses and trains and avoiding the law in his early teens. We learn that cycling has a way of changing lives, and that the boys share a love for the movie "Beat Street."  All this and more on Stage 3 of the Bike Shop Society Podcast.

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Joe and Danny are concerned about the health and well-being of Phil Collins. Grandmothers are throwing down watts, which led Joe and Danny to discuss power meters and their love-hate relationship with Big (Cycling) Data. The boys are reconnecting with the sport they love, but they aren't sure what kind of riders they will be at this stage of their lives. Riding in a team car is not as much fun as you'd think, especially when Stephen Roche is tailgating you down the side of a mountain. Joe and Danny want to bring back the Peace Race and discuss former communist bike racers. All this and more as Joe and Danny begin to ride their way into the podcast life.

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Joe and Danny crack the mics for the first time. Danny tells us that one of his first podcast memories is listening to Bill Simmons. He also shares some stories about the time he spent racing bikes in France. Danny frequented a pub in Nice popular with the the local pros, including one Lance Armstrong. Who knew that a mysterious bartender from Nice would make a surprise appearance 20 years later in Chicago? Joe shares a few of his own stories about the time he spent living and racing in Spain, and spending the last 30 years in and around bicycle shops. The nerves of the first stage are palpable: It's all about avoiding the crashes and making it to Stage 2 safe and sound. Join Joe and Danny as they begin their journey into podcasting and beyond. Bike Shop Society is up and running.

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A prologue is kind of a stage but not really. Tour de France prologues are generally between 5 and 9km in length. Historically the Tour has used prologues most years since (arguably) 1967.  At first a prologue-esque time trial was considered stage 1a, and when that wrapped up the peloton would go back to the start line for a mass-start stage, called 1b. Riders don't like doing two stages in a day, so in 1971 the Tour started running the prologue on its own, and by 1974 the word "prologue" began appearing in place of a stage number. If the prologue was Saturday, then stage 1 was Sunday.

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