The Paceline Cycling Podcast

Peter Flax is the editor in chief of The Red Bulletin, the 10-times-per-year magazine from energy drink maker Red Bull. He is also the former editor-in-chief for Bicycling Magazine, features editor for The Hollywood Reporter and a contributing writer to CyclingTips as well as RKP. For the three plus years…

Someone smart told the boys that most podcasts don’t ever produce 100 episodes, so this one is a bit of a milestone. We’re not sure if they’re too determined to quit or too clueless to know when to stop. Milestones aside, they take 100 seconds (give or take) to favorite…

This week we switch our format up a bit with each of the guys taking one hard pull. Up first is Hottie with a confession. For the first time in roughly 20 years he isn’t taking out a USAC license. Hottie says he’s got several reasons for not renewing: less…

It’s winter time and conditions aren’t exactly fun for riding in many parts of the country. For this week’s Very Important Question we asked, “Which of these is the absolute worst conditions to ride your bike in?” A. Hard crosswind 28% B. Cold rain 35% C. Slushy road 30% D….

Fatty has been vacationing and says his kits don’t fit. In the spirit of truth in advertising, we’re actually pretty relieved. A skinny Fatty is not a fatty, right? Recently, he went with the Hammer to St. George, Utah, for some riding. Misadventure ensued. In other news, how important is…

Jake Pantone, Director of Marketing and Product at ENVE Composites Jake Pantone is a cycling success story. He started at ENVE lacing wheels and taking customer support phone calls—often at the same time. So the fact that he’s now the marketing and product director is no small thing. In this…

Hottie is away this week so Fatty and Patrick or holding down the fort, so to speak. For our big interview this week, Patrick interviewed Aaron Gulley of Outside Magazine about his recent essay about being hit by a car while on a mountain bike ride and how the specter…

With the holidays looming, we look at the spirit of the season. Fatty interviews Yann Bertaud who is an ambassador for World Bicycle Relief. He recently made a trip to Africa on behalf of the organization to help distribute bikes to children so they can go to school. For this…

Even thought the racing season is over, pro cycling is back in the news. Peter Sagan is even more amazing than we knew and Chris Froome (finally?) tested positive. As a result, for this week’s Very Important Question we ask, “What would happen if you attempted to do the splits?”…

Cold and flu season. That’s what we call it, right? As if it were restricted to a few months of the year like maple sugaring or cyclocross Nordic skiing. No matter how long it’s meant to last, it’s here once again and while Hottie’s rides are getting longer, Patrick is off…

Now that it’s the off season the boys are dreaming of bike purchases. Fatty wants a full-suspension cross-country bike for when he does Breck Epic next year. Hottie finally purchased a gravel-oriented frameset and even Patrick admits that he’s considering trimming one from his arsenal to add something else. This…

Thanksgiving is here and with it the need to preemptively burn calories. Of course, before they get to that, Fatty has a wound to clean. Hottie is back on the bike and Patrick wonders if his number is up next. Do you have a bucket list? A buddy of Hottie’s…

Running. On a cycling podcast. What is the world coming to? Well, it is that time of year, thanks to cyclocross and, in some places, inclement weather. Hottie and Fatty admit they’ve turned to the dark side, at least some. Patrick? Off mic he said he’d rather get dental work….

We discuss Halloween and costumes, and how cycling clothing is a costume of its own. Friends of Fatty’s (FoF) used some bike tubes to make a killer Thor costume. Fatty dressed up as Superman (or something like him) and they want for a ride called Helloween. His friend who dressed…

In the Paceline Tandem episode #2, Fatty has two great conversations with people who are doing amazing things with bikes. First, he talks with Decker—a high school senior who loves mountain biking, and is one of the nicest, most positive kids you’ll ever meet. Decker tells the story of an…

We open with discussion of the Santa Rosa fires and how they are affecting the local cycling community. Our man on the scene reports he is back home after a week in West County, and nearly everything he placed with other friends is back home as well. The family—both humans…

Phil Gaimon sits in on this edition of the Paceline. He plays along with all our normal antics: The Very Important Question and Paceline Picks. But what he really wants to talk about (and so do we) is his new book, “Draft Animals: Living the Pro Dream.” You’re going to…

After a difficult week in which schedules just didn’t meld (Vulcan or otherwise), the boys are back at it. This week’s Very Important Question concerns clipless pedals. On average, how many tries does it take you to clip your second foot in on uphill starts? A: First time, every time…

We’ve got our results from last week’s Very Important Question: would you still ride if you forgot your helmet at home and drove to the ride start. Patrick checks in from Las Vegas and the Interbike trade show. It sounds like he’s happy he won’t be going back there anymore….

In our first VIQ (Very Important Question) we asked you, our audience, which foot you place forward when descending. We assumed most riders would indicate they put their left foot forward. We got an amazing 516 responses, so a pretty solid sample. As it happens Fatty, Hottie and Patrick all ride…

Patrick is away in Tennessee working on a feature for Bicycling Magazine on Memphis. Memphis’ fortunes have changed in the last few years and the city has made a huge investment in infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians. Patrick says this has made the city wholly more livable and infinitely more…

Fatty had a meeting with a doctor that gave him an unusual frame of mind for this show. The colonoscopy made him hungry and maybe a little freer with his opinions. Some of those opinions regard his feelings about his performance at a new event called The Punisher. Apparently the…

So what do you do at the end of the season when you have massive fitness and all your goals achieved or finished? Fatty is busy compiling a new late-season race schedule now that he’s flying, post Leadville. As cyclists, we’ve all experienced stuff breaking, right? That just happens, part…

Hottie and Fatty are back from Leadville. Are they ready to stop talking about it? Heck no. The talk about how their races went, how that’s different from the result they expected, and their best guesses why. The boys actually Patrick a chance to talk about the race he did…

Fatty and Hottie (it’s like Laurel and Hardy, only not) are in Leadville for the annual Leadville 100. They’ve unpacked, done some course recon and have taken their final rides ahead of the race. And now they are eating. We talk about those final preparations, Jonathan Vaughters’ (name drop!) final…

Dream Chaser: A Normal Guy Confronts the Tour Divide You’re a normal person who wants to do something completely not normal: a 2700-mile mountain bike ride. You want to ride the holy grail of endurance mountain biking events — the Tour Divide. To make this happen, you’re going to need…

Fatty and Hottie are busy packing for the looming rendezvous of each of their seasons: Leadville. Yep, it’s that time once again. Fatty has a whopping six people in his contingent. The boys break down what they are taking with them, from clothing to tools and equipment and what food…

Fatty crashed and got a big raspberry on his hip. Went down on a wet descent right by a spot cyclists call Hamilton Falls because Tyler Hamilton fell there during the Tour of Utah. The staff here thinks they want to avoid that road at all cost. In the fall,…

The Tour de France is into its final days and Chris Froome looks likely to win. With Fatty away on a job interview, Patrick and Hottie hold down the fort and discuss Froome, Team Sky, (Sir) David Brailsford, journalist hostility and parallels to another episode in history. Patrick even suggests…

Fatty and Hottie went to Beaver, Utah, to partake in the wonderfulness known as the Crusher in the Tushar. Good suffering was had by all. Imagine an event that goes uphill more than downhill. Or don’t. It doesn’t sound easy, or fun. Fatty and Hottie interview organizer Burke Swindlehurst about…

With Peter Sagan’s recent expulsion from the Tour de France, all of social media has blown up with whether or not he caused Mark Cavendish’s crash and what the appropriate action, if any, was warranted. As our man Patrick put it, “Pinning all of the problems of that sprint on…

PressCamp took place in Park City last week and our man Patrick was in attendance. We open the show with his reporting on a few of the bikes he rode there. He checked out the new to the U.S. brand Factor, a new aero road bike from 3T, plus two…

Everyone is back in their usual chairs this week, thank heaven. Fatty is just back from the Vision Relay, an event he’s been waiting for all season, and frankly, we at the Paceline have been waiting for him to do. He and his team kicked butt, but not enough butts. Say…

Patrick is back from Dirty Kanza and while there may be no place like home, he says there’s no place quite like Emporia. Fatty is away on business, so it’s the duo of Pattie and Hottie (Patrick/Padraig is going to hate that.) for yet another show. Patrick fills us in…

This week the Paceline is down to two, with Hottie and Patrick trading pulls. Patrick is in Emporia, Kansas, for Dirty Kanza. He’ll be riding the 100 with the intention of getting back and then greeting the 200 finishers as they roll across the line. He interviews Adam Blake of…

This week we tackle every young boy’s favorite topic. We discuss the struggles Tom Dumoulin experienced at the Giro, where he suddenly hopped off his bike and ran out of sight to respond to the call of nature. Fatty tells his Daisy story in which he encountered a port-a-potty at a…

Are you feeling tired? We are, but not of doing this show. We talk sleep, ingredients of better sleep and the value of a good nap. We also discuss a few hormones that are involved and how much we dislike legs that throb after a hard ride. There’s a new…

This week, we ask a question: Are you okay with changing a ride’s plan? What do you do when a ride goes off plan? Fatty encountered some serious wind on a ride and had to ask himself a question. And what about when work is out of control and you…

In this week’s episode we discuss bike commuting because our man Hottie is now working for a radio station and his duties require him to be up at 3:00 a.m. to be able to make his eight-mile ride into work. We talk about the challenges of the work commute, from…

We got the band back together. Patrick is finally back from Japan and the Sea Otter Classic and tells tales of tiny roads, crazy descents and lots of hot water, not to mention a new mountain bike that might be the one to rule them all. Hottie interviews David Rosen…

This week we talk vows—wedding vows and how they might be tested if one of you forgets your Camelbak. Patrick is back from Japan but at a bike launch for Marin Bikes while Fattie and Hottie hold down the fort. Fattie got a specific assignment from Coach Max Fat, aka Jonathan Vaughters;…

Fatty is back and he has an update on his Jonathan Vaughters intervention training. It’s a basement-trainer session beyond belief. We take a look at an interesting study on why and where cyclists break traffic laws. The researchers found that survival instinct is a major player but so are social…

We kick things off with some Tour of Flanders talk. The brave move, the crashes, the mechanicals and the U.S. national anthem played during ONE of the podium ceremonies. As part of our Flanders discussion, we also take a look at what some race organizers say is imminent: charging spectators….

What’s the best part of being on a team? Fatty has a favorite feature, and it’s not going fast or the camaraderie. Though they haven’t yet named their team, their quartet knocked out a stunningly quick century last weekend with the blessing of Coach Max Fat, aka Jonathan Vaughters. A trip…

To say we’re a man down isn’t quite enough. Hottie just started a new job and Fatty is buried under mountains of software code, or something. So our man Padraig took this one mostly on his own. We open with a discussion (monologue?) of last weekend’s Milan-San Remo and Peter…

Fatty went on vacation and his weight went up in equal proportion to his fun. What’s up with that? And after getting back he went to St. George and the True Grit Epic … and his race ended before it really even started. Fatty also checks in with his personal coach, Jonathan…

Just as we thought the rain was past tense, it comes roaring back for another good soaking. We discuss conditions at last weekend’s Super Sweetwater Grasshopper, which is to say wet the way the sun is bright. On the advocacy front, Tom McClintock a Republican from here in Northern California…

This week we’ve got two great interviews with guys who know their way around the manufacturing of bikes. First up, though, we recap last weekend’s sogtastic (ultra-soggy) Super Sweetwater Grasshopper. Rain fell for most of the day. In other news, Santa Rosa is celebrating its rainiest year on record. In…

In #6, we discuss some new legislation that has been introduced at the state level, including one for an Idaho stop—which would allow cyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield, provided the intersection is clear. We also discuss IMBA’s new executive director Dave Wiens and some of the…

Fatty and Patrick are back with a trio of interviews Patrick conducted at the recent Team Rally training camp in Oxnard. They are the second-longest-running team in the U.S. and arguably the most successful domestic program in the U.S. as well. Patrick interviewed team director (and former pro) Jonas Carney,…