In this episode we talk to Priority Bicycle owner Connor Swegle. Connor and his partner Dave Weiner are both from the Bay Area. In pretty short order they have gone from a Kickstarter concept to a full blown bike brand. Connor shares how he met his now business partner in college and how they set out with pretty modest goals initially. I really enjoyed this conversation and hope you do as well. Support the show Thanks for listening and following along with our podcasts. We are available...

Greater Movement is something that we should all be striving for. My guest this week Amanda Gullo was introduced to physical therapy and stretching at a very young age due to a car accident and has now built a business around improving mobility and wellness for others thru proper stretching and training. In this episode we find out how she got her start in the industry and some of the options that are available at her wellness center. Amanda gives us some pre and post ride stretch ideas. I kn...

It's hard to believe we have put out 200 episodes of the Cycle Jerks Podcast. Looking back when we started this thing I had no idea how long or even what it may become. It's been a great ride and hopefully we've got another 200 more in the making. It was great getting Dave and Chris back in today to discuss some of our more memorable moments that we have shared over the past year or so. Of course, we also derailed a bit and went on a few tangents. Good times and thank you all so much for all ...

Krista Halling is a veterinary surgeon and creator of Dogpacking.com. I know this is not our typical cycling specific content but so many of us have our fury trusted companions that we would love to integrate more into our active lifestyle. Krista has so many helpful insights on how to properly get your dog out on adventures with you. I don't know if you have ever tried to take your dog on a ride with you but there are so many challenges, and it can be discouraging when you first start. Give ...

Jessica and her husband Joel are a power couple when it comes to Ultra Cycling. They both ride epic Ultra events together and in some instances separately. This is somewhat unusual in the Ultra space as we discussed on the podcast. Many couples have one athlete while the spouse will take on the support role. Jessica and Joel just returned from the 24 hours in the Canyon Race at Palo Duro Canyon near Armadillo Texas. This is a pretty unique event as it offers both road and off road options. Je...

Kevin is someone that I have been trying to get on for some time. He grew up working at the retailer Bike N Hike in Albany. He eventually became a manager and then a part owner at the tender age of 25. He later went on to open more locations and when he decided to shut it down he owned 4 Bike N Hike locations outright and even some real estate. Tough local market conditions forced the closure of the business in 2016. This as you might imagine was a very tough decision. The reason I want...

This week I'm joined initially by 3 of the Enjoy Cycling Team Vince Murdock, Jeremy Ferguson, and Scotty Ostrander, and later in the podcast Nick Spano joins us. We all just recently returned from competing in the Unbound Gravel Event in Emporia Kansas presented by Lifetime. This is a first-class event on every level! join us as we break down our individual experiences on this epic event. Heads up we let the F bombs fly on this episode so not for the younger audiences. Fit, Healthy...

Join me as I welcome Dan Hughes, Gravel racing Hall of Famer and the only 4 time winner of the prestigious Unbound Gravel Race, well actually 5 time if you count the time on the tandem! Dan shares his insights on what it takes to tackle some of the toughest ultra events in the world from Unbound to the Trans Iowa. We touch on some of his career highlights, his life growing up in the bike business and ultimate ownership of Sunflower Outdoor and Bike shop, as well as his fitting wedding proposa...

Matt Fitzgerald is back for a second visit to the podcast and this time to discuss his new book Chasing Mastery. Regular listeners should be familiar with Matt and his books as they are regularly referenced on the show. Matt is known for his insightful writings on endurance sports and personal development. Chasing Mastery offers a fresh perspective on what it takes to achieve greatness in sports and in life. This book really is a manual on how to take your athletic dreams and turn them into r...

From Ski Racer to Bike Racer. Get ready to shift gears with my guest Bill Miller, a veteran product engineer and manager with stints with industry leaders Trek and most recently Giant. Bill brings his wealth of knowledge from the bike industry trenches, sharing his insights on product development and his experience working for the big brands. Bill has served in many rolls over the course of his career. He was a prototype engineer, and a manufacturing engineer in his early years with Trek and ...

After 20 plus years with Trek and most of his life in the bike business Kevin decided to take a break and sell Trailers. After a couple of years of that he knew he needed to get back in the bike business. Since his return he is now director of United Wheels for Specialty Retail. United Wheels supplies Niner, Batch, and Vaast bicycles to the IBD channel. In his younger days Kevin was quite a rider and was part of the early days of Freestyle. Kevin and I have shared many similar experiences ove...

You may have noticed that I have been flyin solo for these past couple of episodes and there is a good reason for that. My co-host took a job with Trek Bicycle managing a store and the position requires his full attention. Chris is a longtime friend of mine and I really appreciated having him as my co-host, that said I totally understand trying to manage a demanding new position and still keep some balance in your life. Chris and I are still good friends and I'm sure he will have great succes...

Liz is a sociologist and has a very creative and analytical mind, while at the same time being an overachiever. She is an Author a Podcaster and Also just created a new Magazine that is both digital and in print dedicated to Women in Mountain biking appropriately called MTB Girls Magazine. While she has multiple books to her credit in this podcast we focus on her new book that just launched yesterday called 23 Principles of Mountain Biking, it is currently available on Amazon. Take a listen a...

Avery is someone who has been on our radar for quite a while. He is living his best life, doing epic adventures via bicycle and photography. From Nepal, to France, to the Tour Divide, Leadville, the list goes on and on. Avery has also been working closely with Gravel Pro Alexy Vermeulen creating lots of great race and lifestyle content. Check out their new Youtube Channel Alexy and Avery. This was a lot of fun, Enjoy! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happ...

Like Father Like Son! Adam grew up in the bike business thanks to his father Nick. Nick did some big things in the Bike biz throughout his career that included stints at West Coast Cycle, Giant Bicycles, and Schwinn/GT amongst others. On thing that we are grateful for is Nick giving Adam his first real opportunity on the distribution side of the bike industry. Prior to that Adam was a pastry chef in New York? Things took a left turn when Schwinn/GT hired Nick to clean up their business. Nick ...

I was fortunate enough to meet Bill early in my career at GT Bicycles and he had a big impact on me in those early years. Bill is semi-retired currently after many great years in the industry. He started his career at Bell Helmets and was involved in the Bell V1-Pro development and sales programs. Anyone else have one of those hideous buckets back in the day, Sorry Bill :) He moved from Bell to GT Bicycles and that is where we met. Bill was in charge of helmets and soft goods at GT and genera...

Ray Keener is a jack of all trades when it comes to bicycles. He has literally done it all in this business. From working in and then ultimately owning a bike shop to working with Bicycle Retail and Industry News, and the NBDA. He is also a bike fit specialist and an incredible advocate for all things bicycles. I first was made familiar with Ray when I was a young manager at a bike shop and bought into his sales training program called Selling Cycling. I found this program super helpful back ...

Today’s Cycle Jerks Podcast guest Thierry Attias can be described in one word, Entrepreneur. Thierry has spent several decades establishing roots not only in the Bay Area cycling community but also made his mark in the International cycling community. Thierry began his journey when he opened the legendary Bay Area bike shop Cycle Sports in Alameda and Oakland. But in the Entrepreneurial spirit Thierry also established the Health Net Professional Cycling Team which would eventually become the ...

16 Years as a social worker dreaming of one day working in a bike shop, who would have thought? Chris Cover's story is a great reminder of just how fortunate we are to work in the bike business. After working for Cycle Jerk Chris Padavana at Eden Bicycles in Castro Valley for 13 years Chris Cover decided to transition into a new role working for Trek Bicycle. There are pros and cons, check this one out. Some of Covers answers might surprise you and if you like and appreciate what we are doing...

Sometimes you have to ask yourself how bad do you want it? Aaron Kerson and his wife Emily had a vision of creating a rider focused company that provided high quality serviceable components that didn't break the bank. They made the decision to go all in on their business idea with an initial order of 10K in product while only having 12K in the bank and living in a Hotel! Working together they have built a great company. Give this one a listen and find out how Aaron got started in the bike bus...