Today we hang out with Erin Stark! Erin is a National Director of the Arthritis Foundation's Cycling Experience. She's part of the team that plans the California Coast Classic as well as the Carolina Hills Classic. Erin is awesome and is here to help us! Let's find out how!

You know Nancy Travis from the Three Men and a Baby movies, So I Married and Ax Murderer, Last Man Standing and many others! Nancy rode with us in 2018 and is itching to come back. We talk about the experiences on tour that made a lasting impression on her, and what it's like to ride in the memory of a loved one lost to complications resulting from rheumatoid arthritis.

Buckle up! Today we're talking with NASCAR driver Natalie Decker! She was diagnosed at age 2 and had been suffering silently with arthritis for most of her life until the Arthritis Foundation stepped in and supported her sharing her story with the world! 
This was a fun one! It's not every day that you get to talk with a professional athlete!
You can follow Natalie on Instagram here:
instagram.com/nataliedecker/

Today we talk with Eli Campbell! Eli's company Sentio Cycling used to provide support logistics for the California Coast Classic. He was our main guy for years! Today we get some BTS (behind the scenes) on what all is envolved in planning and executing a massive event like this. 
Eli shares some fun stories from behind the walkie-talkie, and some other surprising lessons he's learned along the way. We learn about his struggle with gout and how the AF has supported him in return. 
Please enjoy Eli Campbell!

Chef Biju Thomas is one of our Celebrity Ambassadors this year! He'll be joining us on the Carolina Hills Classic as a rider and an honoree. You might know Chef Biju from his travel shows like The Road Less Eaten on Outside or YouTube or from some of the books he's written like The Feedzone Cookbook. Ever eaten anything from Scratch Labs? Biju helped start that!
Chef and his team prepare meals for thousands of people at a time and he's done a lot of work with professional and Olympic cycling teams. 

Here are some links:
Chef's CHC Fundraising page
Chef's Instagram account
The Road Less Eaten on YouTube
Amazon link for Chef's books

Listen closely to the episode intro for a registration code to save 25% on registration for CHC or CCC for 2025!

Lily!
This picture of us was taken in 2018.
Youth honorees get a ton of new riders mission connected. If you've been on tour before, you know Lily very well! She started as a youth honoree when she was just 2 years old. Since then she has grown to love the California Coast Classic and all of it's riders. You can often find Lily and her mom Stephanie at the Buelton and Ventura sites. Sometimes even ringing cowbells at rest-stops! Lily loves checking in riders at checkpoints too. She turns 18 this year! Can you believe it? Maybe we'll see her on tour as a rider on tour sometime soon?

I've been one of the top fundraisers for a few years now, but it wasn't always this way! This is a recording from a Zoom meeting a few weeks back that I hosted to get people fired up about their fundraising. It's never to late, and it can be fun!
Hope you enjoy it!

A double episode for a double set of very special riders!
Anne and Troy are CCC legends! I'm very happy to share them with you. We talk about their story, how they found the CCC and (in turn) how they found each other. Anne and Troy are one of a small handful of couples that got engaged on tour! (I say "married on tour" in the episode, but I meant "engaged".)
We also talk about Day 4! They each have unique experience with Day 4 in that Troy is an absolute beast of a rider and likes to repeat certain sections, wherein Anne takes it slow and has encouraged and supported a number of riders through what can be an intimidating day.
They are true characters, and I really feel like we only scratched the surface with them. Please enjoy Anne and Troy!

Smile for the camera!
Today we talk with Anna Droge, a new rider with a very rich Instagram account. She posts about everything from learning new aspects of her recently diagnosed RA, training for tour, issues she's faced that day, successes she's had that day... everything! Social media, at least for me, can be very tricky. Many of the accounts I see are pretty one-dimensional. I think Anna is a great example of what's possible with social media, so I invited her to share her perspective!

Follow her on Instagram here: 
instagram.com/bikewithra/

Find Anna's fundraising page here: 
events.arthritis.org/participant/Annadroge

This is a more somber episode. Not the usual, lighthearted faire I've posted previously. Today I'm by myself talking about helmets in an effort to plead with you to check yours. How old is it? Should it be replaced? What's out there now that might be better than what you have?
The second part get's a little touchy-feely, so I'll let you know about 10 mins from the end when the helmet part is over.
Stay safe out there, and look into a helmet with sphirical MIPS!