Episode 35: September 2, 2020: Like Fine Wine featuring Christina Gokey-Smith of Team Colavita

Photo courtesy of USACRITS. Thechampions of the 2019 USACRITS Women’s team competition. (left-to-right) Tina Pic, Laurel Rathbun, Jolene Holland, Natalia Franco Villegas, Yussely Soto, and Christina Gokey-Smith.

Christina Gokey-Smith (center) at the Boise Twilight Criterium, 2019. Photo courtesy of USACRITS

Perseverance is far from easy. When you get tossed off your horse and break your back, or when a tragic crash shatters bones in your body, you could be forgiven for giving up. However, Christina Gokey-Smith of Team Colavita never got that memo about giving up. She’s battled hardship, injury, and adversity to get to where she is among the elite of crit racing in North America. As she has gotten older she hasn’t slowed down; but rather gotten better and stronger. Each year she dedicates herself to refining and developing new traits to improve her training and performance; including delving deep into meditation and mindfulness, two often overlooked elements of athletics.

In late 2017, long after most teams were formed and with full rosters, she and long-time friend Tina Pic, picked up the pieces of Team Colavita, a legendary women’s organization with a storied history. Through trial and error, and with some serious bumps along the way, they cobbled together a group of women who would in time become sisters and cement themselves as the best crit team in the United States. They have the hardware to prove it, with the overall women’s team title and best U25 racer jersey from the 2019 USACRITS competition. Listen to their story here.

The women of Team Colavita, Sun City Criterium, 2019. Photo Courtesy of USACRITS.

Follow the team on Instagram @colavitacavaliered_oro or Christina @gokeysmith.

And don’t forget to visit their website.

Episode 34: August 19, 2020: In Formation featuring Eric Hill and Zach Gregg of Project Echelon

The motto of Project Echelon. Photo by SnowyMountain Photography.

Zach Gregg in yellow at the Tour of Southern Highlands, pre-Covid 2020. Photo by SnowyMountain Photography.

Everyday 22 veterans commit suicide in the United States. It’s a sad reality that has plagued our nation for far too long. In the absence of comprehensive public assistance programs, private citizens and organizations have stepped up to provide much needed services to this community. Enter Eric Hill of Project Echelon. After a veteran friend of his made his third attempt at suicide Eric acted to create a program to help veterans confront the emotional and psychological struggles they face through physical activity. At the same time he created an elite cycling team to help spread the message beyond Wisconsin and the Midwest. Thus was born Project Echelon the team, and the foundation.

Move forward 5 years and that team is now one of the best in the country and poised to start European campaigns in addition to their domestic schedule. This is where Zach Gregg comes in, already a collegiate national champion, and at 27 years old, at the beginning of an incredible career in bike racing. Zach’s rise in the sport mirrored that of his new team, coming from obscurity in 2016 to winning the general classification this year at The Tour of the Southern Highlands, he has quickly become a leader on Project Echelon, by his actions.

But when Covid 19 brought the in-real life season to a halt. Eric, Zach and Project Echelon went online into virtual racing where they have fundamentally altered its development.

Eric Hill of Project Echelon. Photo by SnowyMountain Photography

Follow the team on Instagram @projectechelonracing follow Eric @erhill and Zach @zachgregg3.

And don’t forget to visit their website www.projectechelonracing.com.

Episode 33: August 5, 2020: Reviresco featuring Ryan Cady of Eliel, Simon Marks of Feature Story News, and Spencer Haugh of the Slow Ride Podcast

The women of ButcherBox in the Eliel kit, photo by Patrick Daly Photography, San Diego 2020 (pre-covid).

Alex McLaughlin of ButhcerBox Cycling in his Eliel kit, photo by Patrick Daly, San Diego 2020.

Reviresco is a latin word which translates multiple ways; but our favorite is “I shall rise again.” Six months into the quarantine and amidst social turmoil we are confronted with unprecedented challenges to our cycling community. Those challenges face not just individual bike racers; but also the companies in the cycling industry. We are learning just how interconnected we all are, the lack of races means less marketing opportunities for clothing manufacturers, less bike racing means people are foregoing upgrading equipment and bike companies are struggling to keep up with a demand that went through the roof at the outset of the quarantine.

The events of 2020 have exposed the limits of our industry; but also they are creating new opportunities. In this episode we speak with 3 storytellers about the industry. First we speak with Ryan Cady of Eliel Cycling Apparel about creating a brand and what it takes to grow a company in the challenges of normal life. Then we speak with Simon Marks of Feature Story News about the macro impacts of the economy facing North America. We also talk to Spencer Haugh, the genius behind the Slow Ride Podcast and a life-long cycling insider about how 2020 is impacting our narrow part of the world.

Follow Eliel on IG @elielcycling. Follow Simon on Twitter @SimonMarksFSN. Follow Spencer on Twitter @spencerhaugh and The Slow Ride Podcast @TheSlowRidePod.

Harriet Owen, ButcherBox Cycling in Eliel at the Tour de Murietta, San Diego, CA 2020, photo by Patrick Daly Photography.

Episode 32: July 22, 2020: A Message from the Future featuring Maize Wimbush of Team Twenty20 and her father Mark

With the stormy present surrounding us all the time, sometimes it’s hard to remember that the future exists, and that the sun will rise tomorrow. Judging by the athletes who make up the juniors ranks, that future may be way brighter than we think. Take Maize Wimbush of the Team Twenty20 Junior Team, and a 14-year old from southern Maryland. Maize is already a multi-time champion in the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association; but she’s set her sights on an even loftier goal— becoming the first African American woman to represent Team USA in cycling at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. We had the opportunity to sit down with Maize and her father Mark to talk about her growing up a bike racer and how she’s primed herself to be one of the next great ones. But beyond that, this episode explores the issue of diversity in bike racing and how it takes a whole community to raise a champion. This community must be strong and vibrant, because Maize’s future looks solid.

Follow Maize’s story on Instagram @amaizencyclist or her team, @teamtwenty20.

Episode 31: July 8, 2020: Titanium, Sait Arana, Kelly Benefits Strategies

Titanium was first discovered in Europe in the late 1700s. Its value was immediately apparent as a lightweight yet incredibly strong metal. It goes into our bikes, and in some cases our bodies. After coming to the United States from Colombia, Sait Arana started racing bikes in the Mid-Atlantic in 2015. His rise up the ranks was legendary and in 2019 he landed himself on a UCI continental team, Skyline Bicycles. The bike racing world was his oyster. Then, at Spartanburg, he caught the edge of a metal crowd control barrier at full speed and found himself in the hospital. That crash earned him a titanium rod in his right arm and recalibrated what he considers important in the bike racing world.

2020 dawns with him sporting a slightly darker shade of green for Kelly Benefits Strategies and a positive attitude about life on and off the bike. That’s where this story picks up, I was lucky enough to get him to come over and hang out with me in the courtyard for a socially distant in-person interview.

Follow Sait on IG @saitaranofficial or his team Kelly Benefits Strategies on IG @kbs_cycling

Episode 30: June 24, 2020: Mr. Automatic, Tom Gibbons Automatic Racing

USA Crits leaderboard after the 2019 San Rafael Sunset Criterium (left to right) Justin Williams, Legion of LA, Tom Gibbons, Automatic Racing, Connor Sallee, ButcherBox Cycling.

Tom in the USA Crits Colavita Leader’s Jersey at the 2019 Littleton Criterium. He loves racing at night.

In Mr. Automatic, the 2019 USA Crits men's individual champion Tom Gibbons of Automatic Racing joins Rob from the back porch of a cabin in Idaho City, ID, to talk about the proper pronunciation of Boise. After getting that out of the way, we voyage on to "is it really the dream we think it is to race in Belgium." But mostly we focus on the place we all love and know-- criterium racing and what it takes to be the best in the country. Follow him on IG @vandergibbon and Automatic Racing @automatic_racing. And visit the Automatic Endurance website.

We also announce, in this episode that I will donate $1 per every mile I ride from June 24 - July 8 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to help support the continuing struggle for racial justice and equality. Please consider donating yourself as well.

Episode 29: June 10, 2020: Even Cleaner Faster Better with ButcherBox Cycling

Photo by Patrick Daly Photography. Left-to-Right Dino Piskopanis, Steve Cullen, and Steven Ramirez.

Photo by Patrick Daly Photography of Steve Cullen at the 2020 Tour de Murrieta, in California.

This episode was intended on being the first installment in a season-long documentary about the ButcherBox Cycling team. It features the three founders of the organization and they have a message for the cycling community-- we can do better. Unfortunately, most of the other episodes have been claimed by the lack of racing this year. But that doesn't stunt the message of this organization and its mission to bring human-high performance to city centers and downtown criteriums everywhere.

Follow them on Instagram @butcherboxcycling

or on their website: www.fasturdaysracingalliance.com

I had the privilege of spending a week with this team as they went through their team camp just outside of San Diego, CA. It was an incredible opportunity to see how, from the bottom of they were refocusing the way that bike racing is done. Dialed in and built for criterium racing, these women and me knew their mission and were working their way to get there for the 2020.

The women of ButcherBox Cycling training in California, March 2020. Photo by Patrick Daly Photography.

Episode 28: May 20, 2020: Flamingo Racer

Madison Kelly of CWA Racing p/b Trek

The time away from the hustle of commuting and office jobs has given some of us a little bit more time to think and an opportunity to be a bit more introspective than normal. So we thought we’d use that extra bit of introspection to talk with this week’s guest Madison Kelly of CWA Racing p/b Trek about her earliest memories of bike racing and what motivated her to come back time and again to the pointy end of the peloton. We also ask what is it that defines success in racing and it isn’t always finishing on the podium.

Follow Madison on Instagram @madison_m_kelly or check out her team @cwa_racing.

And definitely don’t miss the CWA Racing p/b Trek website. Or for more views of these super cool Safetti kits and the remainder of their lineup, click here.

Episode 27: May 8, 2020: Our Criterium Nation with USA Crits

The men of CLIF Bar and ButcherBox lining up before the Benchmark Twilight criterium in August 2019. It was all on the line in the USA Crits team competition at the series finale, and the gloves definitely came off. Photo courtesy of USA Crits.

As Steve Cullen of ButcherBox eloquently put it back in Episode 21, criteriums are America, they are the ultimate test of racers, machines, and teams. They are also a style of racing that lends well toward modern cycling media and with a huge fan engagement both at the event and remotely, the crit could quite possibly be the way forward for road racing in America. If we let it. And we see no reason why not, so we dive in with Scott Morris of USA Crits to talk about the league that he and others are working to create— a legitimate professional criterium league complete with standards, expectations, and savvy marketing.

Follow all the action from 2019 and in the future with USA Crits by visiting its website. Or find your favorite racer in any number of competitions and get ready to follow him or her in the future by going to Road-Results.com.

Follow USA Crits on Instagram or Twitter (@usacrits). Or check out the live-ish replays featuring expert commentary from the racers.

Episode 26: April 22, 2020: Gravel an Intro for Road Racers Featuring Amanda Naumann and Adam Mills

Amanda Naumann, 2 x Dirty Kanza winner. Photo by Peter Morning, courtesy of Amanda Naumann.

Adam Mills of Source Endurance. Photo by Danny Munson courtesy of Adam Mills.

Now might be the best time in the past couple of years to give something new a shot. This is a message for myself as much as it is for anyone else. The popularity of gravel racing and riding is on the rise and the industry is pushing people to explore and test the limits of their equipment. In this episode we offer an intro course into the who, what, where, when, and how of gravel taught by two of the best in the game- Amanda Naumann, 2x Dirty Kanza winner and Adam Mills of Source Endurance the promoter of the Belgian Waffle Ride Survival Camp.

Follow Amanda on Instagram (@amanda_panda_) or Twitter (@_amanda_panda_) and Adam Mills on Instagram (@the_adam_mills) or Twitter (@worldofmills).

Adam Mills during the Belgian Waffle Ride Survival Camp. Photo by Danny Munson courtesy of Adam Mills.

Some high quality spreadsheet artistry from Colin Reuter, lead developer BikeReg.com showing the breakdown of gravel registrants and the differences across the disciplines. All data is based on events that use BikeReg and is nationwide. So yes, this includes MidSouth but no it does not in DK.

For more on gravel visit the Gravel Cyclist and for all your gear needs check out Pure Gravel.

Episode 25: April 8, 2020: Lily Williams The Golden Girl

The 2020 season has been interrupted moving forward, but it doesn’t mean that cycling didn’t happen in 2020. Just ask Lily Williams of Rally Cycling and Team USA. She earned her rainbow stripes in the team pursuit in Berlin. Alone that is worth the story; but there is way more to Lily than just being a world champion. In this episode we talk about what it’s like to be an Olympic hopeful, her rise to prominence in cycling and how it took a total burnout in her prior life in track to discovery the simple joys of just being on a bike.

Follow Lily on Instagram: @willy_lilliams or on Twitter: @runt2pb

And learn more about her team Rally Cycling and all their great partners. And don't forget to register your bike at Bike Index.

Watch her and her teammates, Chloe, Jennifer, Emma win the rainbow jersey.

Before there was road or track there was CX. Photo by Ethan Glading courtesy of Lily Williams.

Episode 24: March 25, 2020: Life and Cycling in the Time of Coronavirus

The era of social distancing is upon us. Stay safe everyone.

The coronavirus pandemic may be a defining moment in our lifetimes, and it certainly has been a story that has, and will continue, to dominant the world and our news cycles. It definitely has had an impact on our lives including the sport of bike racing. With events being postponed/cancelled, and an uncertain future, we are confronted with options on how to respond. In this episode we change the script a bit and talk with four different people from four different parts of the sport to see how it is effecting them.

First we speak with Bill Schieken, @CXHairs on Twitter and Instagram, about his views on the impact the virus has had on the cycling season and the emotions that come with it. Then we turn to Zack Allison, @zacharylallison on Instagram, a cycling coach for Source Endurance (www.source-e.net), a pro with Team CLIF Bar Cycling, @clifbarracing on Instagram, and an event director for the FoCo Fondo, @focofondo on IG. Zack tells us how he’s approaching the situation when it comes to his event and how Team CLIF Bar is managing to maintain its focus without racing.

Up third is Ali Sheehan, @ali.sheehan on IG, you may remember her British accent from last season’s show about her journey to the US from England to explore our crit scene. She had an adventure three times as large planned for this year and because of the virus it’s all been interrupted. That would upset the best of us; but Ali shows us how she’s managing and keeping a positive attitude despite it all. The episode wraps up with Adam Pulford, @coach_AP on Insta and Twitter, a cycling coach for Carmichael Training Systems (trainright.com) and provider of perspective. As always, Coach Adam helps us see the forest for the trees and dial in on the things that are really critical.

Episode 23: March 3, 2020: Bruce Buckley Cycling Photographer

Our sport denies slowing down, it is fundamentally antithetical to bike racing. But when live at Mach 12 with your hair on fire, you miss details. That’s why photography remains so important, it allows us to freeze a moment in time, and to embrace all that is within it, the good, the bad, the triumph and the failure. Bruce Buckley is a photographer extraordinaire who specializes in capturing imagery of two-wheeled accomplishments. In this episode we explore the how, the why, and most importantly the details of capturing the fastest paced action for all time.

Julie Kuliecza, formerly of Hagens Berman/Supermint now of Butcher Box Cycling, on her way to winning the Poolesville Road Race in 2019. Along with Angela Parrotta, then on team pink but now on RISE p/b Rapha DC

Learn more about Bruce and check out his work: www.brucebuckleyphotography.com or follow him on Instagram: @bruce_buckley.

And listen to some serious stream of consciousness here with Bruce and Bill as they navigate the roads of Western NY.

You can find more out about him by reading this article from CX Magazine:

Bruce Buckley is the Official Photographer of North American Cyclocross

Episode 22: February 18: Brad Sheehan of Velocio

Few things in bike racing are more personal than the kit we wear. A well made/good looking kit can make any ride incredible and a bad one... In this episode we sit down with Brad Sheehan, one of the founders of Velocio to talk about the future of cycling apparel and the building of a company.

Brad Sheehan and the Velocio fall/winter line in their natural environment.

Check them out www.velocio.cc. Or visit them on Instagram @VelocioApparel.

Taking the uncompromising approach to quality and sustainability.

Episode 21: February 4, 2020: Steve Cullen of Butcher Box Cycling

This is a big one, they are all big ones, but this one is bold, statements and predictions are made. Passion is on full display. And we go deep into the world of criterium racing with Steve Cullen of Butcher Box Cycling, the men’s team champions from the 2019 USA Crits competition. But let’s not stop there, let’s go bigger and better, can Butcher Box Cycling become the first team to win both the men’s and women’s competition in 2020.

Photo by Patrick Daly Photograph

Learn more about the team and Steve by visiting their website: fasturdaysracingalliance.com or follow them on Instagram at @butcherboxcycling. Check out Steve’s personal adventures @Fasturdays.

Follow the action of USA Crits at their website usacrits.com. Or on Instagram at @USACrits.

Photo by Adam Koble

Photos by Patrick Daly Photography and Adam Koble.

But before you listen to this episode you gotta watch the seminal cycling documentary by Attack Pictures

Episode 20: January 21, 2020: Lindsay Goldman Open but not Obvious

Photo by Snowy Mountain Photography

Photo by Snowy Mountain Photography

Starting out with a bang. In Episode 20, or Episode 1 of Season 2, we go inside the mind and persona of veteran pro cyclist Lindsay Goldman. Formerly the owner/GM of Hagens Berman/Supermint, Lindsay has just started a new job as the Director of Membership for USA Cycling. In “Open but not Obvious” we explore the very real and public life that Lindsay created via her blog and social media accented by numerous articles in some of the biggest cycling publications in the country. At the same time there is a lot going on behind the scenes, with lessons learned from 4 years at the helm of one of the most dominant American teams in the continental peloton. More About Lindsay Goldman:

Read her blog, the Dirt Field,

Follow her on Twitter @thedirtfield, or on Instagram @thedirtfield as well.

And last; but far from least, listen to her new podcast, USACommunique on the Wide Angle Podium Network.

Episode 19: September 23, 2019: Rahsaan Bahati of Methods to Winning

What a way to end the first season of the podcast! Multi-time national champion and former professional bike racer Rahsaan Bahati and I got comfortable on his good friend Dan’s couch after a week of racing. We explored how a “punishment” turned into a passion and then a profession as he grew up in Los Angeles. Now that the glitz and glamor of the pro bike racer life is over, he’s working 9-to-5 with Zwift in Long Beach helping get more people more active more often and it’s working. We also talk about providing exposure to the sport for those who wouldn’t normal see it and the value of living outside of your bubble.

Follow Rahsaan on Social Media: @bahatiracing on IG and Facebook and learn more about the Bahati Foundation (a 501(c) organization empowering inner city youth) by visiting its website: https://www.bahatifoundation.org. And don’t miss this great video on the paving the way with Rahsaan

And don’t forget to follow his team @methodstonwinning on Insta and Facebook or their website: www.methodstowinning.com where you can get all the #BahatiYellow you can possible dream of.

And to learn more about his upbringing check out the recent article with his mom Queen.

Episode 18: September 10, 2019: Bill Schieken, CX Hairs

In the penultimate episode of the first season of No Training Wheels we went big, and by big we mean tall. When it comes to tall people in the world of bike racing few are as tall as the 6 foot 5 inch Bill Schieken, a/k/a/ CX Hairs. His persona and influence in the dirty parts of bike racing, i.e., cyclocross, downhill, and MTB is unprecedented so it was great to get a little off topic with him and delve into that world.

If you want to know more about Bill check him out all over the place

Website: www.cxhairs.com, Instagram: @CXHairs, on Twitter (he loves him some twitter): @CXHairs.

And just cause we talked about it in this episode, here is Babe Ruth on an early trainer, sadly Zwift was still a few years off for him.

And we could never forget the Wide Angle Podium Network of shows.

Don’t forget Cyclocross Radio and Cyclocross TV. You can grab the latest episodes from YouTube here:

Episode 17: August 27, 2019: Jen Darmody & Ali Sheehan Guest Riders for Butcher Box Cycling

A very special bonus episode for Season 1. Like a moth to accents, I was drawn to Jen Darmody (Sydney Uni - Staminade) and Ali Sheehan (Bianchi Dama). After a few minutes I learned that they came all the way from Sydney and the Southwest of England to race the summer crit series as guest riders on Butcher Box Cycling in the US and that got my creative thoughts churning. What makes us, as bike racers, do the daring and and sometimes crazy thing of traveling so far to race our bikes? And what do you learn when you go that far from home? Thankfully Jen and Ali were more than willing to answer all my questions.

For More About Jen & Ali:

ButcherBox Cycling: https://fasturdaysracingalliance.com and on Instagram @butcherboxcycling and don’t forget Butcher Box the company: https://www.butcherbox.com and on IG @butcher_box

Jen on Instagram at @jendarmody and @syduniwmn and don’t forget Jen’s article on Women in Sport Don’t Ask for Help - Why is That?

Ali on Instagram at @ali.sheehan and @bianchidama or on the web at Bianchi Dama Cycling Team: https://bianchidama.com #celesteisbest

Episode 16: August 6, 2019: Coach and Nutritionist Kristen Arnold

Just like Hawkeye or Black Widow, it’s about time that Coach and Nutritionist Kristen Arnold gets her own episode. In this episode we get right into the nitty gritty of diet and nutrition and help explain what you need to think about when it comes to fueling your body for training and racing. Eating right can be hard, but making good informed choices doesn’t have to be; so let Kristen guide you along the way.

For more about Kristen check out her website: www.arnoldrdn.com or Source Endurance’s website: www. source-e.net.

Follow her on Instagram @kristenkarnold or her team Butcher Box Cycling @ButcherBoxCycling

You can also check out her webinar on Weight Loss for Cyclists

Photo by Ron Short