OFF BIKE

Mikkel and David are joined by Tim Marlow, the CEO of the Design Museum, and former Director of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. This is an introduction and explanation to the four upcoming episodes that will offer a different point of view to the Tour de France. Every Monday morning, starting on June 28th, you will be taken on a journey into France and the geography, history, art, food, wine, music and people that surround  and form the culture of the regions the race passes through.

CLICK HERE FOR CHPT3
CLICK HERE FOR THE DESIGN MUSEUM

Gloria is the Founder and CEO of Thousand Helmets. Gloria launched the concept on Kickstarter in 2015, a recreational cyclist herself she could see there was a need to create a helmet that wasn't just safe but also had style. After losing a friend in a bicycle accident Gloria decided to create a helmet people would want to wear, with a mission to save a thousand lives. Mikkel and David talk to Gloria about her journey on and off the bike to where she is today and how the collaboration between CHPT3 and Thousand came about and what it means.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE

What we wear and how we dress is important. We live in a fast fashion world, where it's considered normal for the lifecycle of the clothes we buy to deteriorate from the moment they leave the shop. What about if that's when the journey began? Maybe it's time we remembered that clothes are important, how we look after them defines how we take care of ourselves. Lucinda (aka Lulu) O'Connor founded Clothes Doctor, a company created to look after our clothes: repairing or washing, most importantly, it's about caring.

FIND CHPT3 CLOTHES DOCTOR HERE

In this episode we go to the old town of Girona to meet Kasia Niewiadoma; one of the world's best cyclists. Kasia is 26 years old from Poland and has been racing since she was 14 years old. She rides for the Canyon-SRAM team and has won some of the most prestigious races that exist for women.
 
 Kasia is known in the cycling scene for being one of the most exciting competitors - her handling of a bike is next level, her attitude is inspiring. For Kasia cycling has always been about play: the freedom of escape and speed, the opportunity for adventure, and discovering new people. We talk about how she came into cycling, what it’s like to race at her level and what cycling gives her apart from crossing a finish line first. We also talk about how cycling can be more welcoming to women. Kasia knows cycling from the inside out and gives us her insight on what needs to change to make cycling more equal between men and women. 

Find Kasia  here on IG.

CHPT3 can be found here.

Lachlan Morton is one of the most interesting characters in professional cycling. He is better known for his championing of an alternative style of biking, one that involves breaking free from the shackles of what's expected. Only 28yrs old yet already an icon within the world of cycling. I was his team mate when he first entered the World Tour back in 2012, we became friends immediately even though I was 35 and he was 20, I saw so much of my 20yr old self in him and have always followed him from afar since our paths separated. Mikkel, on the other hand, only knew Lachlan from his film "Thereabouts" - a film Lachlan and his brother Gus made in 2014 as an antidote to the professional racing life - that film reignited a passion for cycling that Mikkel had lost. It's become a movement since, and without knowing it Lachlan and Gus created what is now a zeitgeist.

Find Lachlan here on IG.
His film Thereabouts here.

Mikkel Rasmussen's ReD Associates can be found here.
David Millar's CHPT3 can be found here.

We thought we knew Taylor Phinney.
It turns out we didn't know Taylor Phinney.

Taylor used to race bikes, he was one of the best the USA has ever produced, yet he abruptly pulled the pin on his professional career in 2019 as a 29yr old. He hasn't stopped riding bikes, in fact he's discovered a style of cycling that is about as far removed from racing as is possible, and in the process he's found himself.

Mikkel B. Rasmussen and David Millar interview Taylor separately: Mikkel from Copenhagen and David atop a hill, next to a chapel, near Girona while on a mountain bike ride.

Find Taylor on Instagram here: @taylorphinney
Find Taylor on Twitter here: @taylorphinney
Find Taylor's art here: @manifestbutter

We interview the modern voice of cycling, Mr Ned Boulting, in many ways this was an opportunity for us to learn more about him. In the words of David, 'Ned got me into the TV business, and funnily enough I was one of his first interviews when he entered the fray of professional cycling, he asked me about the "the yellow jumper" - over the years our relationship has transformed from being separated by a barrier to sitting side-by-side; at times sharing a microphone trying to tell the same story. I think it's important to learn about him because he's easily as interesting, if not more, than the people he's so passionate talking to and about.'

Ned founded, edits and publishes the first ever cycling bible, it's called The Road Book - FIND IT HERE

Find Ned's numerous excellent books on the above website - but first listen to this extract from How I Won The Yellow Jumper HERE ON YOUTUBE

Ned on Twitter: @nedboulting
Ned on Instagram: @ned_boulting

This episode is about Mikkel and I, how cycling introduced the two of us and the off-bike friendship it's created. I interview Mikkel about his life and work: it's a conversation we would never have in normal circumstances. Mikkel talks about cycling, economics, design, and anthropology, and ultimately; what being human means.

We did this in Copenhagen at the HQ of the company Mikkel co-founded, ReD Associates - thank you to Thomas Hughes, Ian Dull and Martin Gronemann for putting up with my interrupting their day to interview them. ReD is a company like no other, and that was the other reason I wanted us to do this episode, because personally I wanted to understand more about what they do. It filled me with hope, and in this crazy time we're living in that's important, because without hope there is no optimism.

I recommend everybody reads Mikkel's book: The Moment of Clarity.

I mentioned I'd list some Scottish inventions - here are the ones relevant to this podcast: pedal bicycle, tarmac roads, pneumatic tyres. Find more here.

Find David's CHPT3 here.
Find Mikkel's Red Associates here.
Find the OFF BIKE SOCIETY here.

We speak to Stuart O'Grady, Rolf Sørensen, and Steve Smith. A winner, a contender, and a sponsor;  all of them fans (through love and hate) of Paris Roubaix.

Mikkel and I were supposed to be riding it as amateurs in 2020, it seems mad to think we should even care about that right now, yet we do and so we thought we'd investigate why.

This is a special edition of OFF BIKE, in the words of David:

What is Wheels For Heroes? I’ll try and explain from my perspective…

Bicycles have always represented fun to me. When I was a kid they gave me the freedom I needed. As I got older that freedom led to adventure, and as I got stronger the bicycle introduced me to speed, eventually it led me to racing. I’ve spent the majority of my life racing. I stopped in 2014.

In 2015 I went to a big lunch in London and I met Will Butler-Adams, the CEO of Brompton, he asked me, “You’re the Tour de France racer, right?”  He told me he worked at Brompton, and I said, “You’re the folding bike guys, right?”

He had an idea: there were all these MAMILS out there whom looked down upon Brompton, because it was… well, it’s wasn’t a road bike, and it folded.

I was one of those people - it wasn’t until Will convinced me to borrow a Brompton for a few days that I got it. It was the first bicycle that was more than fun, it served a purpose, it’s designed to be utilitarian, to improve your life, to make things simpler, to make things better.

So back to Wheels For Heroes. Brompton wants to help our key workers, the people whom have such an important purpose right now, they’re going to supply bikes to help them get to their jobs, and they’re going to make a loss doing it, this isn’t a marketing exercise because I know Brompton so well, they’re an engineering company first, and if they do something it’s to solve a problem.  

Please donate, or at least consider how you can help our key workers."

SUPPORT HERE