Category Archives: United States

No Cops, No Cars, No Concrete: Gary Fisher’s Life on Two Wheels

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Jack talks with founding father of the mountain bike Gary Fisher about his life in cycling, the subject of his new book “Being Gary Fisher”, published by Blue Train Publishing.

After talking with Gary, Jack chats with Guy Andrews and Guy Kesteven about how they made the book happen, and their own reflections on Gary’s impact on the world of cycling.

The brilliant film of the 1980 Crested Butte to Aspen Klunker Classic is on YouTube here (part 1) and here (part 2).

Being Gary Fisher is available from Blue Train Publishing over here.

For free UK postage and packaging quote the code THEBIKESHOW at checkout. This is a time limited offer at the discretion of the publishers.

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The Healing Machine

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What makes a 40-year-old man take up bike racing? Jack Thurston talks with Bill Strickland, American cycling journalist, author of a clutch of cycling books including a memoir, Ten Points, which tells of how his quest to make a mark on his local amateur bike racing scene helped him come to terms with his own inner demons caused by the torture he suffered as a child at the hands of an abusive father. Bill also talks about the fallout from the disgrace of Lance Armstrong, the state of doping in today’s pro peloton and his #CapsNotHats campaign. Plus Jon Spencer tells of his journey to become a Super Randonneur.

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Podcast Special: The Gospel According to St Grant

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Grant Petersen thinks most cyclists need to ‘unrace themselves’, that is to say, stop following what professional racing cyclists do. Instead we should all ride more comfortable bikes in more comfortable clothes and be more relaxed about the whole experience. He’s written a book called Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike and, in an extended interview, he tells Jack Thurston exactly what he means.

Grant Petersen is a highly regarded bicycle designer, formerly of Bridgestone USA and founder and owner of Rivendell Bicycle Works in northern California.

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The Lost Cyclist with David Herlihy

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In 1892 a young accountant from t, USA, quit his job and set off to cycle solo around the world. Frank Lenz rode a Rover Safety Bicycle, a revolutionary new design that would soon consign the traditional high wheeler – or penny farthing – to obscurity. It was the birth of the bicycle as we know it today. And Lenz is one of the pioneers of cycle touring. Cycling historian David Herlihy’s latest book tells the story of his courageous, extraordinary and ultimately ill-fated journey.

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Paris-Brest-Paris: part two

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Following on from last week’s documentary feature by Kieron Yates is a studio discussion of Paris-Brest-Paris, the world’s most venerable long distance bicycle race. In the studio are PBP veterans Judith Swallow and Dave Minter, and PBP debutant Pete Kelsey. Chris Ragsdale, one of this year’s stars, clocking in an exceptionally impressive sub-45 hour time, joins us down the line from his native Seattle.

For more information about audax in the UK see the Audax UK ride calendar and the audax pages of Yet Another Cycling Forum.

Image credit: Wig Worland, from Pete Kelsey’s short film Towards the Ocean.

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Bart Kyzar: Man on a Mission

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The messenger bag is one of the defining elements of the “new urban bike culture” and Bart Kyzar has been making bombproof bags for bicyclists since the mid-1990s, first with Chrome and now with Mission Workshop, based in San Francisco.

Last summer Mission Workshop opened a new store at the Truman Brewery, Brick Lane. While riding through the sunny streets of London, Bart tells how he and a couple of friends started making messenger bags while living in a warehouse in Boulder, Colorado, how rising osteopathy bills led to a fundamental rethink of traditional messenger bag design and why Mission Workshop is proud of its tiny niche in the US military industrial complex.

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Montreal-New York City by bicycle (part two)

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The cycle camping tour continues into the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, through Vermont and into Massachusetts. Struggles with thunderstorms and flying insects and a visit to the Crane paper mill where US dollar bills are made. Picture above shows the view back down the road from the summit of Whiteface Mountain.

Play on links below. There is an online map of the route here.

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