You don’t know Julian Wall. You’ve never heard of him. But if you’ve watched pro racing over the last decade plus, then you’ve seen his work. Not only is he co-director of London’s Cyclefit, one of the premier fit studios in Europe, but he also fits pro cyclists across the spectrum, including the EF/Easy Post […]

Of the many builders I’ve met over the years, I don’t think I’ve met any with a more unusual background. Bryan Hollingsworth is a New Englander who cut his teeth working for Seven Cycles. He may be the only builder I’ve ever met who has fabricated frames from carbon fiber, titanium and steel. I’m reasonably […]

Of the many frame builder who can capably be called masters of the craft, it is distinctly possible that no one has been at the bench longer than Mark Nobilette. His credentials are impeccable. He was trained by Albert Eisentraut in the first frame building class that Eisentraut taught, which was held in Chicago, before […]

In this second part of my interview with Toby Stanton, we discuss his team of juniors and what the ingredients are that has made the team so incredibly and consistently successful. Hot Tubes riders and stars and stripes jerseys are kinda like peanut butter and jelly. There are other things you can do with peanut butter, but peanut butter with jelly doesn't really surprise anyone. Stanton is incredibly candid and he gives insight not just to what makes his riders ride so well, but also how he sees his relationship to him and how he defines leadership. He could teach a course. This is one interview that is so full of keen insight into the human condition I expect I'll be listening back to this one for years to come.

I first met Toby Stanton at a mountain bike race in 1991. He was coaching a team that included future cyclocross supahstah (this was in Massachusetts, mind you) Jonathan Page and their kits were white with red, yellow and blue dots, signifying their sponsorship by Wonder Bread. A year or two later I sent him my Canadian-built Miele frame to be repainted and to have a second set of bottle bosses added. I would go on to ride in his VW Vanagon helping him provide neutral support at some races in New England, gradually getting to know the intense builder, painter and coach. For as long as I've known him his life has revolved around cycling: building frames, painting them and shaping some of the finest young riders the U.S. has produced.For anyone who has done serious time in national-caliber juniors racing, the Hot Tubes name is as respected as it is feared. With 115 national championships to the team's credit, Toby Stanton is the most successful coach in U.S. history. It's a distinction of such superlative achievement, I can't find another coach who has even five years of coaching juniors; Stanton has been doing it for 29 years and he's been operating Hot Tubes for just as long. Because our conversation went on for two hours, I've split the interview in two halves, one that deals with his business and one that deals with his team. The start is a little unconventional because when he picked up the phone we were immediately into old friend catchup mode and I never really had a chance to do the traditional intro before we were off and talking about his business. Oh, and be forewarned, there is plenty of salty language in this interview.

My guest today is frame builder David Wages of Ellis Cycles. There was a time when the most common career path for a frame builder was to put in solid years building bikes for a brand that sold bikes in production sizing. Only after having put in a couple of decades at the bench was a builder established enough in reputation to venture out and order decals with his nam. David Wages may be among the last builders to have worked for established brands before he concluded it was time to make his name known. Of course, by the time he did decide to open his own shop, he was one of the more experienced builders in the U.S. with more than a dozen years split between Serotta Competition Cycles and Waterford Precision Cycles. By any contemporary standard, Wages was a master builder by the time he set up his own shop.Since then, his work has gone on to be highly recognized. At the North American Handmade Bicycle Show he has won the categories of best road frame, best steel frame, best lugged frame and best fillet frame, as well as winning Best in Show. To my knowledge, he is the only builder ever to win both the best lugged and best fillet categories, which speaks to the breadth of his talent.

This week my guest is writer and flow state expert Steven Kotler. Kotler is a New York Times-bestselling author known for his work decoding the neurochemistry of flow. What began as a series of articles for Discover Magazine led to his first book of nonfiction, West of Jesus, a tale of surfing, spirituality and a reappraisal of mystical states. His book The Rise of Superman explores how flow states lead extreme athletes to progress at a rate that is unheard of in other sports. He breaks down how chasing flow leads to progression in ability, no matter what the realm is. He goes on to identify flow triggers so that anyone can improve the frequency and quality of flow in their own lives. Rise was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction. While flow is a term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, it was Kotler’s work in West of Jesus that first aggregated all the research that had been done on flow, creating the first portrait of the experience at the biological level. For me, finding out that flow was a verifiable, tangible phenomenon, and not just some cute name for a good mood made a huge impact on me, helping to legitimize many of my life’s pursuits, and my ongoing love of the bike. In 2017 Kotler and then-business partner Jamie Wheal released Stealing Fire, a book that explores how altered states of consciousness—not just flow—lead to breakthroughs and optimal performance. It’s a book that asks the reader to suspend judgment on commonly held beliefs about psychedelics and what they may offer us as a tool to a richer, more rewarding life. Be sure to listen to the end; Kotler hints at something in store for RKP's audience.

My guest this week is the former executive director of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, the organization that oversees, administers and fosters mountain bike racing for high school kids. McInerny has been involved with the organization almost since its inception and became the executive director in 2012. At the time, McInerny told the board he planned to do the job for three to five years, but ended up staying on for seven years. The organization has grown dramatically, and will soon have leagues in 30 different states. He’s about to take an extended vacation, but before leaving he has lent some effort to a new advocacy organization in mountain biking, and we will talk about them and their purpose as well as his efforts on their behalf.

This week my guest is sports psychologist Dr. Kristin Keim. Keim came to my attention several years ago when I began to see her posts on social media reshared by friends of mine in the bike racing world. Her posts were fonts of positivity rooted in practices that can bring about real change in a person’s life. I began to follow her as well and quickly realized hers was an outlook built on a backbone of daily effort and supported by a rigorous study in clinical psychology.Put another way, I was watching someone walk the walk at a world-class level.Her work dismantles what may often be decades of counterproductive habits and builds a new practice that reinforces better mental skills, improved life balance, strengthens relationships and eases transitions. At the ground level she deals with cancers like negative self-talk, overtraining and burnout, time management, interpersonal relationships, team dynamics, injuries including traumatic brain injuries, mindfulness, career counseling and even body image.Significantly, she works from a first-hand knowledge of what she addresses. She’s a former ballet dancer, elite tennis player and pro cyclist. And the currency of her work is an unfailing devotion to kindness, empathy and compassion.Truly, I felt such a deep sympatico with her than I could have talked to her all day, which is, I suppose, how everyone should feel when speaking with a psychologist.

This week I’m taking a slightly different tack and am interviewing an academic. My guest is sociologist Ben Brewer of James Madison University. Brewer picked up the cycling bug in the 1980s as a teenager and had the good sense never to lose his interest in the sport. Like many cycling enthusiasts, he appreciates a great custom frame; Brewer has owned several, including a Land Shark. As an academic, he became interested in just how big the custom frame building community is. It’s an interesting question: just how many custom frame builders are there? But Brewer wanted to know more than how many people are building, he wanted to get a picture of the profession. He has created an interesting survey for frame builders and he’s with us today to discuss it and what he hopes to learn from it.