Like Podcasts? Check this out!

Jason, founder of RocBike.com (one of my daily must-reads) recently started podcasting as well. The site has a few more regular writers, so I'd imagine the RocBike Review podcast stands to take off much like the rest of the site has lately. In the most recent episode (as of me posting this), Jason "... interviews Kevin J. Hayes, author of An American Cycling Odyssey, 1887 (University of Nebraska Press, 2002). The book tells the story of George W. Nellis, Jr., who pedaled a high-wheel bicycle from upstate New York to San Francisco in 1887, setting a new transcontinental record." - a synopsis I shamelessly ripped.

Bicycle touring has always fascinated me, even when I was younger. When talking to other and potential new bicycle commuters, I often draw parallels to bicycle touring. Tourers and commuters are some of the most eclectic types of bicyclists out there. The needs of a criterium, cyclocross, or triathlon racer, for example, are pretty straight-forward so everyone uses fairly similar equipment and clothing for their purpose. Tourers and commuters will borrow form, clothing, philosophy, equipment selection and anything else from all other kinds of cycling to come up with a bizarre breed of cycling pseudo-science that gets the job done for a particular individual. As such, most tourers and commuters end up looking awfully strange when placed next to your average recreational cyclist or road bike racer.

Now, imagine touring on a heavy Ordinary bicycle (Big-Wheel, Penny-Farthing, etc) with "airless" (solid rubber) tires. Yo, that's straight-up olde-school.

Seriously, though. Check it out. I'm only a few minutes in and it's good stuff. I'll finish listening on the bus trip to work this morning (it's soggy again!)