The Paceline Cycling Podcast

In the second part of my interview with Tom Kellogg, we begin with a discussion of geometry for track bikes, and while this subject may not seem super-compelling on its face, it brings in a very interesting discussion of position, weight distribution and handling geometry on the bike. As a…

Pennsylvania in spring is a good place to be a cyclist. The landscape glows in technicolor and the events can be unusual with equal doses of nutty, fun and camaraderie. Selene shares some of the unusual events that she does, like the 666 Cinder Race Series. For her, these oddball…

This week my guest is Tom Kellogg of Spectrum Cycles. Kellogg’s career in the bike industry spans more than 40 years and includes relationships with brands like Merlin, American Bicycle Group and Time. His bikes have won more dozens of national championships and even world championships, which is why…

Patrick is back from the Sea Otter Classic so we are back on our normal schedule. This week he reports on a new gravel bike, one that happens to be fully suspended, to be released later this year. The Niner MCR offers 40mm of travel in the fork and 50mm…

This week my guest is frame builder Steve Rex. Back in 1997 I moved to Redondo Beach, Calif., and began doing the local group rides. There was a guy on that ride who wasn’t on a Trek, Specialized or any of the other big brands. He was on a Steve…

This week Selene takes on a couple of training questions, and prepares Patrick for some of the hard work he’s going to need to do as he gets ready for this year’s Dirty Kanza. She discusses the usefulness of group rides and intervals, even for a rider planning to do…

No. 22 is a newcomer on the custom bike scene. The company was founded in 2012 by Bryce Gracey and Mike Smith on the idea that titanium just rides better. After working with a couple of different contract shops that produced prototypes for them, they settled on Saratoga Frameworks—the operation…

We’re gratified to report that we’ve been hearing from listeners who have been getting health issues checked out as a result of Mark Weir and Jess Cera’s stories. Selene just did the Hell of Hunterdon and it sounds like she says the first word in the event’s name was well-earned. It…

This week my guest is frame builder Nick Crumpton. We may be in the golden age of frame building thanks to the fact that some of the finest steel frames ever produced are being built today. That didn’t stop Nick Crumpton from deciding he wanted to apply his knowledge to…

Before Lance and LeMond, and 7-11 and Motorola, there was a group of cyclists paving the way for American racing on the International level. They were the Raleigh Boys of the 60s and 70s. The Raleigh Boys set the benchmark as the first fully sponsored American Cycling Team competing abroad…

Chef and racer Jess Cerra is the brain behind one of the newest bars on the market, JoJé Bar. With her knowledge of nutrition, the needs of elite racers and her understanding of food as a chef, she decided to formulate a new bar with less carbohydrate, more fat and…

The UCI has announced the first-ever eMTB world championships. There will be multiple categories for both men and women and the prize money will be equal. Of course, there are people who think that this should be sanctioned by the American Motorcycle Association, not the Union Cycliste Internationale. And then…

To hear Aaron Barcheck tell it, he wasn’t even planning to be a frame builder when he went to UBI to take their titanium frame building class. He definitely wasn’t thinking of starting a brand. But after finishing the class and working for Dean Titanium, well, one thing led to…

It may be February and she may live in Pennsylvania, but Selene has started her season with the first of the season’s Spring Classics. It was cold and reasonably wet, but she says all in all, this year’s edition was more pleasant than last year’s. Patrick takes on another listener…

In the annals of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show few builders have been as celebrated as Curtis Inglis, the man behind Inglis Cycles and Retrotec. Inglis has taken awards home more than a half dozen times from the show, due in no small part to the artful curves of…

Again, we take on some listener questions this week (you guys are killing it!). Selene takes a look at night riding and how to get past the fear of not being able to see all that much, even with the addition of lights. She also gives her take on the…

My history with Brad Devaney goes back more than 30 years to Memphis, Tennessee, when we were both students at the University of Memphis and working as wrenches for the Peddler Bike Shop. Even then, Brad was impressive. His work was as thorough as it was efficient. After I moved…

It’s reader questions once again this week. Selene was asked how to structure a training plan so that a racer can maintain a high level of fitness year around, especially if there are six “A” events spaced throughout the season. Most training plans start from zero, and honestly, how many…

This week I’ve got a twofer for you. I’m interviewing two people responsible for creating new clothing for Pearl Izumi. Cory Hibbard is an apparel designer who has worked on a variety of products, from their BikeStyle line of casual but cycling-functional apparel to new jersey designs hitting bike shops…

Selene was recently a guest for Lovingthebike’s Bike School. She was asked a number of questions, but two memorable ones were: what is the lowest temperature you will ride in? How cold can you take it? Another was what your favorite ride distance is. How long does a ride need…

This week, my guest is Steve Hampsten, the man behind Hampsten Cycles. While Hampsten Cycles may draw its fame from Steve’s brother Andy, the only American winner of the Giro d’Italia and Tour de Suisse, Steve has been in the bike industry for more than 30 years. He has worked…

This week we take on a veritable buffet of reader questions. Selene opens with oval chainrings, moves on to whether or not frame material matters, why there aren’t more Clydesdale categories in races and winds up with the age-old question of whether or not your choice of chain lube matters…

In the second part of my conversation with photographer Brian Vernor, we talk about storytelling through photography as well as photography when it is in service to a written feature. We also discuss the difference between commercial work and editorial work and how storytelling is a more compelling way to…

You’d think eating is easy. We’ve all been doing it longer than we can remember. But eating on the bike while pedaling hard enough to make people miss the couch isn’t easy. If it was, we wouldn’t be getting listeners asking about how best to execute so they don’t bonk….

On this week’s show, my guest is photographer, writer and filmmaker Brian Vernor. For many cycling aficionados, Brian Vernor came to prominence as a result of his work with Rapha here in the U.S. His photography seemed to capture the experience of being a cyclist and doing the hard miles…

This week Selene veers into gymnastics. Don’t worry, she’s got a good reason. Perhaps you’ve seen the video of UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi’s perfect-10 performance. Selene muses on body image, what it means to be supported and guided, and ways in which we evaluate our bodies that don’t do us…

In the second part of my interview with veteran framebuilder Dave Kirk, we talk about the last phase of his career with Serotta, and then his move west to Bozeman, Montana, where he opened his own shop. This interview takes a really deep dive into fillet brazing and the finer…

My guest this week is Dave Kirk, the man behind Kirk Frameworks. The path to becoming a skilled framebuilder isn’t set. I’ve met masters who apprenticed under legends. I’ve met geniuses who chafed under menial tasks at big productions houses and left to figure it out for themselves. I’ve met…

This week Patrick and Selene take on two reader requests. First up is an explanation of flow states; Patrick begins with a definition of what constitutes flow and how to identify the experience as well as an explanation of why it feels so incredible. He also goes into the neuroscience…

It’s the new year and it’s a time to establish what the next 12 months will bring. Selene took a look at her year-end summary from Strava and was amazed by her totals. Nearly 8500 miles ridden, more than 600 hours spent on the bike and enough climbing to Everest…

“Spun” was an antidote to the driest of eyes. It was the story of Judi (nee Rothenberg) and Dominic LoPresti, two ex-junkies who had cleaned up, relapsed, cleaned up again and against the longest of odds, met, fell in love, and in the least likely of all turns, stayed clean,…

Winter is here, huh? Selene takes on some of the challenges of winter riding, lot least of which is staying warm on rides. She talks skin care, cloverleaf routes and something that may not seem like a typical winter topic: single speeding. She says there’s a logic to it this…

The Colorado Classic has announced a big change. It’s a women’s race now. Only a women’s race. With a new course and new prize list and a plan to livestream the race on Facebook, the Colorado Classic will be very different in 2019. It’s an intriguing change in direction and…

Jeremy SyCip is a real-life fantasy. He began college with an eye toward industrial design but quickly realized he wanted to be more hands-on. So he took a course in framebuilding at United Bicycle Institute. His teacher for the class? None other than Albert Eisentraut, arguably the most important builder…

Selene and Patrick open the show with an appreciation of broadcaster Paul Sherwen who passed away earlier this week. Sherwen was more than just a broadcaster; he was a pro rider in the 1980s as well as a media liaison for teams and PR specialist for races. Selene talked to…

On this week’s episode, we continue our interview with Carl Strong. Strong is unusual among framebuilders in that he has constructed bikes in every mainstream material being used in high-performance bikes: steel, aluminum, titanium and now carbon fiber in his new venture Pursuit by Carl Strong. In part two Carl…

Unless you’re racing cyclocross, the off season is here. Selene says she’s done her last event of the year and has recently returned to the gym for strength training. He gym routine may surprise you, but she says it’s what most cyclists ought to be doing when they are trying…

On this week’s show, my guest is frame builder Carl Strong. The Bozeman, Montana-based builder behind Strong Frames is best known for the titanium road and gravel frames he makes from titanium, something he’s been doing for more than 20 years. Recently, though, Strong launched a new venture, called Pursuit…

It’s November (you may have noticed) and that means that unless you’re at the height of your cyclocross season, November can present challenges in terms of motivation for workouts, and is the point in the year when finding time to ride in daylight can be a challenge if you normally…

Patrick is back from his trip to Taiwan. While there he attended a trade show, rode a few ebikes, did a bike tour down the eastern coast of Taiwan and then visited a series of factories. He even managed to squeeze in a group ride. Before the jetlag sets in…

Veteran Sarah Lee says she faced a choice. Figure out how to reconnect with her nation following her military service … or kill herself. Fortunately for her, and her many compatriots and fellow vets, she found a way to reconnect with her nation. She decided to ride coast to coast…

How hard would it be to climb the height of Mount Everest in a single ride? That is, riding until you climbed 29,029 feet. So what about Everesting on Mount Everest? If there’s a more difficult way to tackle that feat, it hasn’t occurred to us. Selene interviewed Shannon Bufton…

On this week’s show, my guest is writer and editor Peter Flax. Flax was features editor for the Hollywood Reporter. Flax is also a contributor to CyclingTips where he writes on a wide range of cycling culture topics. He is probably best known to cyclists as the former editor in…

Let’s talk about dressing for cold weather riding. How important is humidity in how you dress? Should 45 degree weather result in the same kit selection regardless of where you live? Maybe not. Selene digs into this with a funny story about some recent transplants who are struggling to adjust….

So just what is gravel? What should a gravel ride be? Should it include singletrack? Should there be creek crossings? What is reasonable for a person to expect when they sign up for an event and just what should a promoter be obligated to communicate to attendees? Selene has events…

Rebecca Rusch has what may be the ultimate nickname not just for a cyclist, but for any endurance athlete. She’s known as the Queen of Pain. And she has more than earned that nickname. She has won the Leadville 100 four times. She set the record for the Kokopelli Trail,…

For pro teams, finding sponsors and keeping said sponsors happy is more difficult than ever before. This week Selene takes a look at the new strategy from EF Education First-Drapac-Rapha. They have announced that they will be taking on some events that aren’t part of the World Tour, which means we…

Have you ever ridden across the country? It is one of those things that many of us have considered, and most of us haven’t found either the time or the motivation to do it. Selene encountered a vet named Sarah Lee who rode from the East Coast to the Golden…

Everesting. It’s a thing now, as we say. And Selene is a bit obsessed with the idea of doing one. Then she ran across a group that went to Everest Everest. How meta. How quintessential. How unbeatable. Image: Matthias Magg Patrick is back from Interbike and is afraid grandma might…

On this week’s show, my guest is Mike Ferrentino. In the early 1990s Ferrentino rose to national prominence with the launch of Bike Magazine and his column the Grimy Handshake. Since then, Ferrentino has gone on to help found the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship and directed marketing for Santa Cruz Bicycles. These days he’s in […]