Take the Bike Show Survey

Your bike is in tip-top condition, and you're not in such bad shape yourself for the beginning of the season. Yet, with no brevet this weekend you find yourself knocking around the house, checking hourly for volcano updates on the innernet, in need of some direction. Well, I have the solution! I urge you to spend some time listening to The Bike Show podcast. Download a few shows, or all of them, as they're available in the archives. They're great to listen to, especially while on the trainer.

I have a few favorite cycling-related podcasts, and Jack Thurston's, The Bike Show, is bar none the best cycling-culture focused podcast going. Jack covers a broad range of cycling topics including on-the-bike rolling interviews, PBP, the Giro, Belgium pavé, the summer solstice Rolling-to-the-Stones ride, as well as a tour from England to France linking 12 bakeries en route! Oh la la!!

And while it might be a push for brevet-riding Alaskans to relate to the London fixie scene or a tour of London's lidos, Jack imbues his show with a real continental flavor, and an inspiring excitement about being on the bike that is easy to appreciate. And his music selection is terrific.

Jack's show is like no other, and is refreshingly different from the racing-centric podcasts dominating the internet. Be sure to sample a few as some shows are better than others. It'd be a shame if you passed judgement too early and missed some of the really good ones.

And after you're hooked...take the Bike Show survey.

I Like to Watch

I'm not a sports fan...conventional, American-type sports that is. Stuff like football, baseball, basketball, golf, etc. And bars? I've never done the bar thing either. I mean, there was college of course... So the 'sports bar' is something I really never got. Sports + bar  = wrong. That was until today! Today I had a short e-mail correspondence w/ a cycling advocate here in town who asked if I knew of any place in Anchorage where a person could go to watch the Tour on television. Of course I was dumbfounded. How would I know any place like that?! TV?! Watch? I got rid of my TV back in 1982.

But the question reminded me of one of my favorite podcasts by Jack Thurston of The Bike Show. A couple of years ago one May, Jack recorded his weekly podcast whilst (d'ya like that?) watching the Giro from Bar Italia in London. They rode their bikes to the bar. It was a great show. They were really having a grand time, you could tell. Anyway, you can still download and listen to it.

So I reached for the phone book, flipped through the pages and immediately called the Peanut Farm. And you know what? The have Versus. AND...if you ask, they'll put it on for you! Right on! I'm heading to the Peanut Farm! Just like Chauncey Gardiner, "I like to watch."

Will they let you bring your trainer? It's a sports bar, isn't it?

(By-the-way, if you get a charge out of watching bicycle racing, check out this trailer for Road to Roubaix)

Here's the Versus schedule:

Tour of California

Feb 14 @ 5PM ET, Feb 15 @ 6PM ET

Feb 16 LIVE @ 12:30PM ET, Feb 17 LIVE @ 5PM ET

Feb 18-20 LIVE @ 4PM ET and Feb 21-22 @ 5PM ET

Paris Nice - Mar 8 and Mar 15 @ 5PM ET

Criterium International - Mar 29 @ 5PM ET

Tour of Flanders - Apr 5 @ 5PM ET

Paris Roubaix - Apr 12 @ 4PM ET

Liege Bastogne - Apr 26 @ 3PM ET

Fleche Wallone - Apr 26 @ 3:30PM ET

Tour de Romandie - May 3 @ 4PM ET

Dauphine Libere - Jun 7, 9, 14 and 15 @ 5PM ET

Tour de Suisse - Jun 14 and 15 @ 6PM ET and Jun 21 @ 5PM ET

Tour de France - July 4-26

Vuelta A Expana - Oct 11 @ 5PM ET

Paris Tours - Oct 11 @ 6PM ET

Tour du Faso - Nov 8 @ 6PM ET