The Pull

You don’t know Julian Wall. You’ve never heard of him. But if you’ve watched pro racing over the last decade plus, then you’ve seen his work. Not only is he co-director of London’s Cyclefit, one of the premier fit studios in Europe, but he also fits pro cyclists across the spectrum, including the EF/Easy Post […]

Of the many builders I’ve met over the years, I don’t think I’ve met any with a more unusual background. Bryan Hollingsworth is a New Englander who cut his teeth working for Seven Cycles. He may be the only builder I’ve ever met who has fabricated frames from carbon fiber, titanium and steel. I’m reasonably […]

Of the many frame builder who can capably be called masters of the craft, it is distinctly possible that no one has been at the bench longer than Mark Nobilette. His credentials are impeccable. He was trained by Albert Eisentraut in the first frame building class that Eisentraut taught, which was held in Chicago, before […]

In this second part of my interview with Toby Stanton, we discuss his team of juniors and what the ingredients are that has made the team so incredibly and consistently successful. Hot Tubes riders and stars and stripes jerseys are kinda like peanut butter and jelly. There are other things you can do with peanut […]

I first met Toby Stanton at a mountain bike race in 1991. He was coaching a team that included future cyclocross supahstah (this was in Massachusetts, mind you) Jonathan Page and their kits were white with red, yellow and blue dots, signifying their sponsorship by Wonder Bread. A year or two later I sent him my Canadian-built Miele frame to be repainted and to have a second set of bottle bosses added. I would go on to ride in his VW Vanagon helping him provide neutral support at some races in New England, gradually getting to know the intense builder, painter and coach. For as long as I've known him his life has revolved around cycling: building frames, painting them and shaping some of the finest young riders the U.S. has produced.For anyone who has done serious time in national-caliber juniors racing, the Hot Tubes name is as respected as it is feared. With 115 national championships to the team's credit, Toby Stanton is the most successful coach in U.S. history. It's a distinction of such superlative achievement, I can't find another coach who has even five years of coaching juniors; Stanton has been doing it for 29 years and he's been operating Hot Tubes for just as long. Because our conversation went on for two hours, I've split the interview in two halves, one that deals with his business and one that deals with his team. The start is a little unconventional because when he picked up the phone we were immediately into old friend catchup mode and I never really had a chance to do the traditional intro before we were off and talking about his business. Oh, and be forewarned, there is plenty of salty language in this interview.

I first met Toby Stanton at a mountain bike race in 1991. He was coaching a team that included future cyclocross supahstah (this was in Massachusetts, mind you) Jonathan Page and their kits were white with red, yellow and blue dots, signifying their sponsorship by Wonder Bread. A year or two later I sent him […]

My guest today is frame builder David Wages of Ellis Cycles. There was a time when the most common career path for a frame builder was to put in solid years building bikes for a brand that sold bikes in production sizing. Only after having put in a couple of decades at the bench was […]

This week my guest is writer and flow state expert Steven Kotler. Kotler is a New York Times-bestselling author known for his work decoding the neurochemistry of flow. What began as a series of articles for Discover Magazine led to his first book of nonfiction, West of Jesus, a tale of surfing, spirituality and a […]

My guest this week is the former executive director of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, the organization that oversees, administers and fosters mountain bike racing for high school kids. McInerny has been involved with the organization almost since its inception and became the executive director in 2012. At the time, McInerny told the board he […]

This week my guest is sports psychologist Dr. Kristin Keim. Keim came to my attention several years ago when I began to see her posts on social media reshared by friends of mine in the bike racing world. Her posts were fonts of positivity rooted in practices that can bring about real change in a […]