Latest / Full Spectrum Cycling / Full Spectrum Cycling #82 – Sam Mentkowski Joins the Guys to Chat Cycling

Transcript

Full Spectrum Cycling #82 – Sam Mentkowski Joins the Guys to Chat Cycling · Full Spectrum Cycling

• 0:00
  [upbeat music] Welcome, listener, to Full Spectrum Cycling, show number 82 today.
• 0:21
  82. 82. [whistles] I don't really have anything for that. No, no. Uh- It was, uh- The year before-... Jim Jones maybe on the pack, receiver... year, year before- Some, some receiver somewhere... Empire Strikes Back.
• 0:32
  [laughs] Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. So, uh, yeah, we're here at the, uh, Riverwest studio at Everyday Cycles', uh, bike emporium, and we got JK over yonder. Hello, hello. Actually, it was before Return of the Jedi.
• 0:46
  I just did some math because- [laughs]... n- it was like 1981 was, uh, Empire Strikes Back. Empire Strikes Back. All right. I had to just autocorrect that one.
• 0:56
  [laughs] Tony's wearing his fancy new Showers Pass jacket across the table there. I am. It's wonderful. And, and splitting them right down the goalpost, just like right up the middle, is Sam. Hello.
• 1:05
  Welcome to the show, Sam. Thanks for having me. JK, uh, kind of unearthed Sam. Yeah. [laughs] I guess is how that, how we could sort of describe that. Uh, a- You're a zombie? Ah, he found me on the barroom floor.
• 1:19
  [sighs] [laughs] Uh, Sam is a, a, a purveyor of, of boozahol at The Nomad- Yes... here in Milwaukee. Push a man. [laughs] Which I was gonna- [laughs]...
• 1:28
  I was gonna kinda give them the most bike parking at a bar award, I think, in Milwaukee. Certainly Brady Street in the Eastside. Oh, yeah. Yeah. There's a lot of bike parking there.
• 1:39
  If you, uh, if you wanna, if you wanna visit a place where you got good outside, uh, accommodations, a nice bar outside, and a nice patio area and, and the, the super dome of, uh- [laughs]...
• 1:50
  what- whatever the, uh, inside thing is gonna be for the winter- Yeah... um, Nomad is your place to go. Wedding event space. [laughs] Oh, yep. Yeah. There's this like [laughs] Cock fights, whatever you want. Yeah.
• 2:00
  [laughs] Or dog petting area. Yeah. Sam related, The Barn. [laughs] The Barn, yes. Uh, Mike Idol owns Nomad. We've talked about Mike before and, uh- He's actually...
• 2:09
  Yeah, we had him on during- During a Santa Rampage- Yes, indeed, indeed... uh, episode, which by the way, might as well get that out of the way 'cause- [laughs]... that's coming up on the 5th of December. Ah.
• 2:20
  There will be some semblance of a Santa Rampage and probably in more places than just Milwaukee. Indeed, indeed. 'Cause we know Rochester's doing it. Yeah. Is it- Oh, really? Yeah. I thought...
• 2:31
  I had no idea that was nationwide. And there's- Well, it, it start-... pockets. Yeah... basically, I think it's...
• 2:35
  I'm pretty sure it started here, and I know Idol was part of the first couple with Chlebowski and all those guys. But there are other places around that do them, for sure. Austin, I know was like the- Yeah, they, yeah...
• 2:45
  latest, like, large, large organization- Right on... type thing. Uh, Cleveland, I believe, has one too. I'm sure they're popping up. Did you know that Cleveland rocks? Cleveland does rock. [laughs] And- Ohio, io, io.
• 2:58
  Great show. Great show. What, what's round on, what's round on both ends and high in the middle? Ohio. [laughs] That would be [laughs] Ohio. Dad jokes here on, uh, Full Spectrum Cycling, folks. Ew.
• 3:09
  Pretty, pretty good week for riding, uh, which is- Yeah... kinda weird 'cause I haven't ridden at all this week since I've been working in the warehouse nonstop to try and get some- It's a blustery one...
• 3:19
  space in that joint. It's been blustery the past couple rides I've done. Yes, yes. Yeah, I don't, I don't think I turned a pedal in the last four days. I feel kind of bad. I, I- Body-wise and emotionally? Yeah.
• 3:30
  I mean- [laughs]... you know, it's sort of the cleansing of the soul most days, but- No shit... just haven't- I needed a...
• 3:35
  Sunday I had to get out, so I came here and I grabbed three batteries and I went out and did, like, a lakefront run all the way around and back as fast as I [laughs] could with full throttle going up the hill.
• 3:45
  Uh, and just busting balls, sweating so hard. And, uh, got back- With your, sweating on the e-bike. Y- yeah. Oh. 'Cause I was, I was going [laughs] like 20...
• 3:54
  At, at some points I was well over 25, and once it's a three-speed it'll be well over 30. Right on. You know. Not on the trails. On the trails I was very, you know, was not a pathlete.
• 4:06
  [laughs] Uh, but it was chilly- In, in-... and it was Sunday night- That's a-... and no one was on the, out and along the lakefront, so I could just rip it. That's a new term, an e-pathlete. An e-pathlete.
• 4:15
  That's like the scourge. Yeah, that would be. Oh, it drives me nuts. But then you have to be on, like, a Raleigh bike. I mean, at least make the, you know, make the appearance like you're fucking pedaling.
• 4:24
  I mean, come on. [laughs] Oh, no, I was pedaling. Oh, no, no, no. In the inner office, but yeah. I'm just an audience of it. Ring.
• 4:31
  And the like, auto- There's a guy in Riverwest who's got a folding e-fat bike, and I have never once seen him pedal. [laughs] Nice. No, I, I saw him on the bridge the other day- Yeah, he never pedals...
• 4:38
  going across the, uh, Chapel Drive bridge. I think that might be [laughs] what I'm- I don't think Sam-... complaining about... Sam doesn't have a, a motor on his bike. Well, he is the motor. Yeah. Yeah.
• 4:47
  [laughs] So, uh, Sam, what, what, what do you ride? We've, we've seen it all over town. It's got stickers on it. It's, uh- Uh, my green limousine, my everyday bike, is a Fuji Touring from 2006 or '07. Nice.
• 5:01
  We saw the, uh, the Colin My Turn, uh, head badge on there. Yes. [laughs] I love it. It's, it's, it's be- be- be- be- stickered up with stickers. Oh, yeah. Colin and I go way back. We grew up BMXing,
• 5:14
  hell, 20, 25 years ago. Nice. I don't know how well Colin's known to your listeners, but- Oh. Oh, we all know Colin. Colin's, Colin's been on... He was on, uh, the old show quite a bit. Yep. Yeah.
• 5:23
  Since he left our fair city, we haven't talked to him enough. And as a matter of fact, we should probably put a note in the, uh, the, uh, the notes that says, "Call Colin and get him on a show." Yeah, we should.
• 5:34
  Yeah, he was just here, what, uh, a couple month, three months ago or something. Yeah, about three, about three months. Yeah, I heard I missed him. Gas. So what... So, uh- Gas... where did you guys BMX? Well, he, I've...
• 5:44
  I'm from Whitefish Bay. I believe he was from Shorewood, or at least his posse was from Shorewood. But anyway, like, you know, back then BMX was still for losers, so finding BMXers anywhere, you became instant friends.
• 5:58
  So even though, you know, I was-... five or six years older than him, which is weird, you know, when you're a teenager, is like hanging out with like a 12-year-old.
• 6:05
  [laughs] But, you know, and he- You, you knew he'd be cool- Yeah. Oh, yeah... down the road, right? So, yeah. [laughs] You could see that from miles away.
• 6:13
  So were you, were you doing, uh, like street BMX, flat land stuff, or did you race, or? Street. No, I... Well, street almost predominantly. I do, or it's been a while now, but, uh, there's an old track down in St.
• 6:26
  Francis that has a, a, b- like a burnout league that I used to go to, but that was more to just do X-ups over, you know, the jumps and shit like that. [laughs] Wha- uh, burnout league?
• 6:35
  Does that mean- Just, you know, like old fat guys and stuff like that... you gotta drink beer at it and stuff? Yeah, pretty much. And- Right, right. So can you still bust some pretty good air? No. Uh, it's funny.
• 6:43
  Um- [laughs] No. [laughs] Uh- Nice... nowadays, like, you know, I'm just happy to 180, but on my birthday every year, which was just last Tuesday, I make sure I can still do a bunny hop 360,
• 6:54
  and it took me about an hour and a half. [laughs] [laughs] That, that's impressive. But you did it. Yes. Yeah. But my arms were up, like, I looked like a walking sh- uh, coat rack or something- [laughs]...
• 7:03
  for the next two days, 'cause- Oh, shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah... muscles don't have it anymore. No, no, the snap back is... Yeah. [laughs] So you still have a BMX bike? Oh, yeah, I've got a bunch.
• 7:12
  Uh, I have a s- a few Sundys, which is co- company- Uh-huh... out of Rochester, New York, I think. I think so. I remember those. Um- I got a, I got a Sundy stem on one of my bikes. Uh,
• 7:26
  I don't know if it's here, I think it might be at the, at the warehouse, but yeah, that's holding up my, uh, Surly, uh, Sunrise bars. Oh, right on. They did- Oh, no, you know what?
• 7:35
  It might be on the n- it might be on that bike right... No, that's a Thompson. Nevermind. But anyways, s- somewhat familiar with Sundy, not big into BMX though, no. They do, their, their, their components...
• 7:42
  I mean, I don't... I think they went out of business actually, but, uh, their components were good. They're made by a company named Odyssey. Mm-hmm.
• 7:48
  And they, you know, they were the be all, end all for BMX probably since the late '80s. Oh, you can still get them through our friends over at QBP if your local bike shop works with, uh, Quality Bicycle Products.
• 7:57
  You can still get some Sundy parts from them. Very cool. I don't know. I, I'm not sure how much, uh, people do BMX in their shop. I, I don't do a bunch of it. It's like trying to deal with Dan's online.
• 8:09
  It's like, how do you- Right... how do you compete against a guy that has- Yeah, he-... pretty much cornered-... got it across the area... the market on BMX stuff. Oh, yeah.
• 8:14
  I, uh, in high school I worked for the only BMX shop in town at the time called C4 BMX, and
• 8:20
  that sh- I don't even know if that shop stayed open three years with like it being the only show in town and fiercely loyal customers. But yeah, it's hard. He's got a- Chicago's got one. That's where Dirty Dan works.
• 8:30
  They're predominantly, uh, BMX. But that's Chicago. And he... Well, he came from, uh- Rockford... Rockford. Yeah. Oh, yeah... Rockford. Rockford, yeah. Which- He's an old kid rider...
• 8:39
  which had, which has a great BMX track. Uh-huh. And it's about 30 years behind the times, so [laughs] I got some stuff from Torq Center. Rest in peace. Oh, yeah, the Torq Center. But that- [laughs] So did I...
• 8:52
  that was multi... I don't know how old Sam is, but that might... Torq Center might've been at- Oh, no, that was my first, that was my first BMX store. Yeah. Cool.
• 8:59
  What's the, uh- I was a New Berlinite, so it was kinda near. He's got the FBM, he's got the FBM Bike Company hat on too, by the way. Oh, yeah. Uh, Fat Bald Men or Fire Beer Mayhem.
• 9:08
  [laughs] There was, uh- I forget which one. So our guys, we, we always, uh, or have been putting up these punk rock shirts, uh, from Bifocal Media. Oh, yeah, yeah. And they do an FBM in the van shirt. Oh, really? Yeah.
• 9:22
  [laughs] Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, they had s- some, I don't know which artist, 'cause they got several artists that, um, produce their kick-ass shirts. Most of them are,
• 9:30
  you know, old school punk rock bands, but some newer stuff. And, but I was like seeing the FBM guys, I'm like, "Yeah, that's pretty cool." [laughs] Hell, yeah.
• 9:39
  So what kind of music do you listen to when you do your BMX-ing? Oh, oh, that's funny. I, when I... Growing up, I was a, a, a hippie. I guess I still kind of am. I'm too lazy to be a hippie now. But- [laughs]...
• 9:49
  uh, you know, growing up, you know, my teenage years, I liked jam music a lot and bluegrass.
• 9:54
  So like, you know, I'd be hanging out with all these scenester BMXers with pants, you know, they'd have to like grease themselves up to get into. [laughs] Yeah.
• 10:01
  I'd, I'd be wearing like corduroys and t- uh, tie-dye T-shirts.
• 10:06
  [laughs] But, you know, but through BMX, you know, I fell in love with bands like The Cramps and stuff like that, like old, old punk and dirty rock and roll and stuff like that. Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
• 10:13
  So like, you know, after college year BMX-ing, it was all Velvet Underground, and Stones, and you know, just the dirtiest punk rock I could get my hands on. [laughs] Great minds, man. Great minds. Yeah.
• 10:26
  [laughs] Uh, we were talking outside the shop just a little bit ago and, and, uh, talking about your, your, your longest touring ride. You've done quite a bit of touring. Tell us about your kinda touring experiences.
• 10:37
  Oh, well, um, I mean, most of it's local, like, you know, quick rides up to Kohler Andrae or something like that, you know, just a drink on the beach for a weekend.
• 10:45
  But, um, my longest ride was from here to Los Angeles with a buddy of mine. Hell, that was probably about 10 years ago now though, now that I think about it. On that Fuji of yours? Yeah. Yeah.
• 10:57
  And did you use the Bob on that one? I did. So you've had a Bob for a long time? Yes. What sold you on the Bob? You know, um, I was... That's actually a funny story.
• 11:08
  Uh, I was hanging out at a friend's house, uh, across the street from Corey The Bike Fixers, and,
• 11:14
  you know, I was, we were just talking about what to do f- for the ride, and this nextdoor neighbor of my friend, who none of us knew, was like, "Oh, I have a Bob trailer if you want it."
• 11:23
  And I was like, "All right, deal." How, how much- What, what's a Bob trailer? Yeah. I was like, "Huh?" [laughs] "I'm Sam." But, uh- [laughs]... you know, so I think... And then he sold it to me for like 50 bucks. Yeah.
• 11:33
  So I was like, "Deal, whatever." Yeah. And I loved it except for the mountains, 'cause if you start going over about 50 miles an hour- Oh, it w-... it fishtails on you. [laughs] And, you know,
• 11:44
  you wanna get up to that speed at least once where, you know, jam it down a rocky mountain or something like that, and holy hell, I skidded out so hardcore. [laughs] Oh, shit. Got the, got the speed wobbles? Oh, yeah.
• 11:52
  No, I, it totally went like, it like ping pong balled for a while and then just kicked right really hard, and it just sent me flying.
• 11:58
  Be- being an old school like motorcycle racer, I remember bikes having the tank slappers. So you can get yourself maybe a- Maybe a hydraulic, uh, arm between the bike- [laughs]...
• 12:10
  and the trailer that would damp it so it doesn't- Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's something for Bob to look at.
• 12:14
  Over 50 miles an hour, I, I, I wondered, it's like when you get, when you rent a, a, a U-Haul it says, uh, you know- 45 maximum... 40, 45 maximum. [laughs] Oh, yeah.
• 12:21
  No, I, I'm pretty sure there's a warning like, "Keep it under 35," or something. Yeah. To hell with that. Right. [laughs] Yeah, so yeah, that sounds cool. So what was your basic route out to LA? West.
• 12:32
  Um- [laughs] No, um, well, actually that's kind of a funny- That, and boom. [laughs] Mic drop. That is absolutely the most basic way. [laughs] No, it was actually a funny story, like, 'cause for a while we, um,
• 12:44
  we, you know, we kinda just, we went to the r- the rides we knew at first. So like, you know, it was like Milwaukee to Madison, Madison to Monroe, Monroe to like Dubuque.
• 12:52
  But then when we went to Iowa we were just kinda like, "Ah- [laughs]... let's, let's get to Omaha somehow." [laughs] And then- Would, but by not using I-80 though, because- No, no. Yeah, no...
• 13:00
  that would be the, the- Well, actually we did, we did have to cross the freeway. It wasn't I-80, but like whatever freeway it is to get across the Mississippi into Iowa,
• 13:07
  we had to do that, and that was, uh, pretty terrifying. [laughs] But on a ride through Iowa, it was the craziest thing.
• 13:12
  Like, the first few days, you know, we're just, me and my buddy, you know, got all our gear, we're riding on the, the highway or whatever, and all these cars are honking and being like, "You're going the wrong way.
• 13:22
  You're going the wrong way." And we'd be like, "Fuck you, asshole." You know, like- [laughs] They don't know where we're going... "California's that-a-way, man."
• 13:27
  [laughs] And then, like, on the second or third day into Iowa people are like, "Oh, you're here for RAGBRAI, right?" [laughs] And I have no idea what it was, but it's, for your listeners- Yeah...
• 13:37
  it's this great ride across Iowa. And then- Re- Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. There you go. I was trying to think of that word. Yeah. [laughs] And, um, so we accidentally did that year's route backwards.
• 13:49
  So for like- Ah. [laughs]... the, the last four days in Iowa- Oh, nice... it was just the most surreal experience. 'Cause like any small town we got to they're like, "Oh, you're here for RAGBRAI."
• 13:56
  And you know, it's, it's a huge money-making event for all these small towns.
• 14:00
  So they're like, you know, we're in like this shithole honky-tonk bar in Spittle County, Iowa, and you know, they're like, "We got a margarita machine just for RAGBRAI." Oh, nice.
• 14:08
  "Do you want a bunch of free margaritas to see if it works?" We're like, "Yeah." [laughs] You know, and like, so like, you know, every city we rolled into they treated us like kings.
• 14:16
  And then finally, you know, we're like, "Like maybe this is a big deal." But then we get to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and apparently that's where RAGBRAI was starting.
• 14:23
  There must have been 50,000 cyclists just camped out everywhere that night, and it, it was one of the most rocking parties I'd ever been to.
• 14:30
  Like, it was- [laughs] That's what RAGBRAI is, it's seven days on a bike- Yeah... drinking 40 beers a day. Yeah. [laughs] That's, that's...
• 14:37
  I, I wanna do it the right way one of these years, 'cause man, I, I had a hoot doing it backwards.
• 14:41
  Well, I used to, uh, I used to support a bunch of the bike shops that do RAGBRAI that have the trailers that do the maintenance on the ride.
• 14:48
  So I've done it, I've done the whole thing twice, but have done RAGBRAI seven times or something, at least partially. And the final years with, uh, with Ron Moffitt and a few other people- Sure...
• 14:59
  that we have on the show now and again, we'd do the anti-RAGBRAI, which is basically pick a route that's 20 miles off the real route and go backwards. I love that. So yeah. [laughs] I love that. Yeah.
• 15:10
  And, or, you know, just kinda bob in and out of it, kinda maybe you'll pass them somewhere and you'd be like, "Hey, hey, whatever." You're going the wrong way. Yeah, you're going the wrong way.
• 15:17
  [laughs] Yeah, it's a tradition to dip your rear wheel in, in the Missouri River, and your front wheel in, in the Mississippi River, and that would be your, your RAGBRAI.
• 15:26
  And it's usually somewhere around 500 miles over seven days. Yeah, that sounds right. What kinda... So did you have a, an agenda on your way out west, or did you just kinda wing it? W- it was mostly winging it.
• 15:36
  How, well, you know, there's, there's towns you had to stop at 'cause there's people with beds and showers we could use and stuff like that.
• 15:42
  But, uh, for the most part, uh, it was, you know, get up, look at the map, hit the road. Except for Nebraska, where for some reason there's a... You know, like, nah, man, now my brain's not working.
• 15:54
  But, uh, we caught up a part of, like, the transcontinental bike path, and like that was just something to do to say we did it. And- Mm-hmm... that was a waste of time.
• 16:06
  But like, yeah, for the most part it was just- [laughs]... it was just, you know, see where, see what city we could get to or, you know, we hear there's good beers over there or something like that, so.
• 16:14
  So yeah, once, once you get across Nebraska and you, you're through Colorado a little bit, you might... Where, where, where's the thing? [bell ringing] Yeah. Hey, hey. Top of the hill.
• 16:22
  You, you might have to get to the top of the hill. There. There. A ham-fisted segue. [laughs] Todd, Todd, the tomfoolery will just not stop. Folks, this week's beer is brought to you by Three Floyds.
• 16:36
  Uh- I can't read it... we probably had Three Floyds on here almost as much as Black Husky. [laughs] But it's called, uh, Münsterfest Ale. Oh, there we go.
• 16:44
  Which would be your, uh, Oktoberfest-style Marzen lager type deal.
• 16:49
  Uh, again- My arm isn't long enough and these glasses are the other- Well, I was gonna, I was gonna pick up a different beer 'cause we've had it twice now and haven't had it on the show from Three Floyds, but I just saw the, I saw the artwork for the [laughs]- Oh, right on...
• 17:00
  the Münsterfest. I'm like, "God, we gotta have that beer." Plus it's Oktoberfest time. So it's a Marzen fest-style beer. Pre- please bring four beers, thank you.
• 17:09
  [laughs] [laughs] With the finest German malted barley, aromatic Bavarian, Bavarian noble hops, blah, blah, blah. Uh, 6%, and at very low, uh, 30 IBUs. Those bitter girlfriend units. Real girlfriend units.
• 17:25
  The marriage of Pr- oh, wait. Like, we maybe should read more about this. Uh, the tradition of beers, of, of fest beers originally brewed to honor the marriage of Prince Ludwig in 1810.
• 17:35
  We hope you enjoy this fall offering. Prince Ludwig. Es ist- Like it... es ist nicht normal. It's- It, it's not normal. No. No. It- [laughs] It's, it's my, that's my German. I don't know of German.
• 17:49
  Gotta re- I gotta remember to, to, to turn Tony down when he takes his, uh, his stuff off. Now put that right by your bag and dig in there and get your keys for me. [laughs] [laughs] Jingling keys, jingling keys.
• 18:01
  Uh, so what, does anybody have a commentary on the beer quality and/or flavor? The label's cool. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's for sure.
• 18:08
  No, it's a nice beer too, but- Yeah, uh, I mean, they have some of the best, the best beer artwork. Yeah, they do. That's- And they have some of the best beer, frankly. [laughs] And frankly, yeah.
• 18:16
  Um- And, you know, to be fair- To be fair... to be fair, I do often buy beer because I like the artwork on the label. Oh, absolutely. Which- Fashion over function. S- Yeah... that's amazing, isn't it?
• 18:26
  And I like art, and good kick-ass art. Yep. It's m- makes me thirsty- You know what?-... so I buy beer. [laughs] Do you know what I really think is cool? Your Paul bottle opener. Me? You think I'm cool?
• 18:39
  I, I think you're so cool, I put your sticker on my bottle. Oh, for [laughs]. I like my MSE one. Oh. 'Cause it's- I think that's a very fine ma- Is that, does that work? Yes. Are you sure? May I test it? Try.
• 18:53
  So there's a very- Is there a side I should use? There's a very- There's a side that opens it... there's a very limited number of Sven Hammer stickers now.
• 19:00
  [laughs] Well, well, who, who, who's the guy with the biggest head in the room? I, I... Sam said it was him, but it's not. I- My head is huge. [laughs] I can't even get through the door.
• 19:10
  My f- my friend, Tyra, did a, a, a reasonable facsimile of Sven with a, with a hammer, and- Ah. Oh, I just got that. [laughs] I got that. [laughs] See the, the tire in the background- Yeah...
• 19:22
  and it's Sven, and the hammer. And you're wearing headphones. Hammer. I, and I am wearing headphones. Oh, yeah. I thought about, I, and th- So everything is- I thought about having her do, do JK and Tony.
• 19:31
  Tony wouldn't be that hard except he just cut his hair off, and JK changes his looks so often- [laughs]... I don't think you'd ever know who the hell it was. It comes with a Sharpie.
• 19:39
  [laughs] She's, she's a, she's a great... She's helped me a lot with stuff, with logos and- Sharpie and a white out... graphic design stuff. You can just sit there and play with facial hair different.
• 19:46
  [laughs] Probably if you need that kinda stuff, you probably already know somebody in your local area, but if you don't, Tyra is great. Wow. Uh, we might as well mention a couple rides that are coming up.
• 19:58
  Oh, speaking of rides, and this is because one of these is, is a Zito organization this year. His birthday was a couple days ago. Indeed. Well, it's actually today, but- Happy birthday-... not Friday. [laughs]... to you.
• 20:12
  Um, so he's doing a, and Bill isn't doing Biketoberfest this year. Zito is doing. Braptoberfest. Braptoberfest. Braptoberfest. I like that idea. It's looking like it is Friday the 23rd,
• 20:25
  6:00 meetup in, at, uh, Milwaukee Bike Bike on the little southern edge of the Cooperage. Gonna Right off, uh-... kind of zone... National Avenue and South Water Street down there. Yeah, yeah.
• 20:38
  Uh, this, it should be a good event. I mean, m- he knows the city better- Yeah, he's dialing in, yeah... than most, and it's- He said he's dialing in... been, he's been working on some routes and this, this, and that.
• 20:48
  So it's- Is this, like, a pub crawl thing, or? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But basically, typically it'll be a thing where you don't know where you're going until you're at the, the stop you're at, and it's like- Oh, cool...
• 20:58
  "Next stop, it's follow us. We're gonna be here at the next-" Right. Great way to do a ride. Kind of a thing. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Uh, Bill, uh, Bill from Rushmore- Oh, okay...
• 21:05
  normally organizes, uh, Biketoberfest in the f- fall, and Tour de Farce. I don't know when the hell that is normally. Well, there's a springtime one. Yeah, that. Okay. But, but he- Spring, then. But- Spring and fall.
• 21:19
  Bingo. Yeah. [laughs] But yeah, it, it, it's, it's normally a big deal. Is Tour de Farce the one with, um, Matuszak? No, that's just, uh, the Goonies. That's just a Goonie ride. That's not Bill, though. No. That's Matt.
• 21:30
  That's Matt, right. Okay. All these people doing rides- I know... in Milwaukee. Heck, and if you guys wanna do a ride in Milwaukee, I'm pretty sure every weekend there is something. Yeah. Yeah.
• 21:37
  And if not, make up your own. Right. And on this- [laughs]... on this particular weekend, um, uh, the 23rd being Friday, the 25th is Pieride, which is- That's, that's two weekends from now... which is- Pieride...
• 21:50
  this, it's the same weekend, the 23rd and the 25th. Oh, gotcha. Got it? Okay. You got it? [laughs] You understand? Can you- No, 'cause I was worried that I missed a job I was supposed- Pieride. Pieride. Pieride.
• 21:58
  Have you been on a Pieride? What is that, like, three point- No. You should, it's great... four miles or something? It's 3.14 miles. And [laughs] No, it's actually going to people's- 17931- 3.14196...
• 22:07
  establishments and feeding pie. Oh, I love that. Yeah, and, uh, it, it, it has been around Thanksgiving in the past, but, uh- Yeah... it's usually stopping at somebody's house who has it out.
• 22:17
  And this year for sure, 'cause Ian from Bicycle Benefits is one of the guys that sets it up, and he was here. S- Sam even met him today. Oh, yeah.
• 22:25
  Um, he, he said that it will be people who have, uh, safe outside areas, and people make pies, and then you eat the pie, and then you go to another place [laughs] and eat more pie.
• 22:36
  [laughs] And they're usually 20, 25 miles. They start at Vulture Space, downtown Milwaukee, 9:00 AM. Great pie there. Yeah. Uh, [laughs] I don't remember who it was, but I- but, uh, Ian, uh, had a, a,
• 22:49
  um, what do you call that stuff that goes on top of the pie, the white stuff? Whipped cream. That stuff. That- Wow. He had a whipped cream pie that he th- in one of the guy's faces. Boom.
• 22:57
  [laughs] To, to start the ride off. Like, I'll, I'll, uh- The Riverwest 24 shirt... I'll, I'll have 10 of that. [laughs] I don't know. Pies, that's kinda cliche now.
• 23:05
  What about, uh, vegan cheese with an electric bike burnout- Oh, no... going all over Tony? Yeah. 'Cause that should be a new T-shirt. Yes. Still on my shoes. [laughs] I hope that's a true story. It is a very true story.
• 23:16
  [laughs] Yeah, right at the start-finish line they had a little jump that went over vegan cheese, and went over it a couple times.
• 23:22
  And then I'm like, "I have an electric bike, so I'm just gonna stick it in there and go..." [laughs] He, he didn't know I was- Not, not knowing that Tony was standing right behind me.
• 23:29
  [laughs] He literally, like, just pelted me with vegan cheese. That is the best thing ever. Like, a horse taking a bloody shit right on my- Like, it was pretty early in the morning, too.
• 23:39
  [laughs] Yeah, it was pretty early in the morning, too, and oh man, that was- Oh, boy... that was a rough one. [laughs] That was a rough one. So I registered, actually, the domain name finally, fullspectrumcycling.com.
• 23:55
  Mm-hmm. And I was talking to my buddy, John, out in Colorado Springs today about what we might end up doing with the site, and it sounded like we might be able to do some pretty fun stuff with it. Nice.
• 24:03
  So look, look for that down the road, uh, fullspectrumcycling.com. Don't look for it now 'cause it's not there, but, you know, keep it in the back of your mind that- Yeah...
• 24:13
  this show will have a home, as well as several other-... folks we know that do shows and also do cycling-oriented journalism, photography, uh- That's pretty exciting... event organizing, uh, whatever.
• 24:25
  You know, it's gonna be, it's gonna be a good thing. Social media influencing. [laughs] We're not doing any goddamn social media. [laughs] I dunno. Baby maker? I, I mean, you know. Are we doing Baby Maker? Oh.
• 24:35
  Mighty Baby. Mighty Baby. Mighty Baby- What? [laughs]... Maker. Mighty, [laughs] Mighty Baby Maker. Maker. Mighty, Mighty Baby Maker. The- how does this guy, this M- Baby Maker guy, get in the news all the time?
• 24:47
  'Cause I just read something else this week about him. Advertising. I think he just... He's... They're hardcore advertising experts, apparently. They're such bras, bro. They're total bras. They're total bras, bro.
• 24:59
  You know? And it... Yeah, it... You're gonna find th- that's gonna be a complete flop, I'm calling that right now. But, but they already raised the money- Right... so for them, it's not a flop. Exactly.
• 25:09
  For them, they're great, but th- it's gonna be mad complaints, I can see it already. 29,000% of their goal or something to that effect. Yeah. Many millions- What?... of dollars. Oh, yeah. Oh, hell. Oh, yeah.
• 25:20
  Hell, hell, hell. I mean- Yeah, they claimed it... Well, they set it at $40,000. That was their, you know, that's how you get- Oh, here we go...
• 25:28
  290,000% over your, your goal is to- Well, you gotta have a good story too, and some good videos with some hot chicks riding a nice bike I guess. Well, that's exactly what they're doing. Right.
• 25:36
  You know, and every seat's too low. I mean, exactly spot on for that. What about the 6'6" dude on the bike? Seat too low. There's only two sizes. Yeah. There's like a 49 and a 50-something. Yeah.
• 25:46
  They're not- No, that, that bike was way too small for that guy. Well, s- th- 36- Any, any stock bike off the rack is too small for a 6'6" guy. Right, right. You're gonna, you're gonna wanna go to- And-...
• 25:55
  Leonard Zinn, the only tall guy that ever built really good bikes for tall guys. Well, and you're gonna... Yeah, you're gonna wanna custom-build something. That's what I'm talking about.
• 26:03
  Have you ever seen Shaquille O'Neal's bike? It, it, it- No, I bet you it's awesome... it's, it looks like a clown bike, but it has big 26-inch mountain bike wheels, but the frame is so humongous that it just looks like,
• 26:15
  I mean, it's- Like he's a- Like spinners... regular guy on a BMX bike? Yeah, kinda. Yeah. Yeah. Like he would, he would look at home on a Spinner's 36er. Yeah. Oh, maybe. Wow. 'Cause, you know- That's funny...
• 26:25
  small people like Berta didn't look that at home on it. [laughs] Oh. [laughs] Oh, that would be so hilarious. That'd look... [laughs] A bicycle with 36-inch wheels. Jesus. [laughs] Yeah, they're big. Coker.
• 26:34
  Is that a penny-farthing? That's a... [laughs] It's... No, front and rear. It's a safety bike. It's just got 36-inch- A safety bike. [laughs] That's what they were- What is this, 1910? [laughs] Yeah, yeah.
• 26:42
  [laughs] Um, they were... It's just got... It's, it's a 36-inch wheeled single-speed cruiser. Okay. So it's basically... It's made by Coker, the people that make the unicycles. Oh, sure. Okay.
• 26:53
  That thing must rip, actually, if you get it going. It, it was really fun. It's pretty cool, yeah. You know, so that... I mean, it came from unicycle stuff, basically. Yeah.
• 26:59
  'Cause nobody in their right mind would make a 36-inch wheeled bike- Yeah... with... You wouldn't... Nobody would make that stuff unless it had another purpose. Right. Uh, Eddie Van Halen. Did we...
• 27:11
  We didn't talk about him last week. We didn't. We forgot him last weekend. 'Cause he, 'cause he- He died Wednesday, a week a- a week and two days ago if you're listening to this on Friday.
• 27:17
  Well, it's been, you know, a, a week of people doing tributes and shows and stuff, and there was a, a great one on our, our favorite station in the world, WMSD Milwaukee. 91.7. 91.7. 91.7. WMSD.org.
• 27:33
  On, on the show on the 12th, Monday the 12th, three hours of real Van Halen, right? There wasn't one Van Hagar song in that. Nope. Good. 'Cause there shouldn't be. [laughs] So go to, go to the show archives.
• 27:45
  Uh, there's a link in the show notes. It should probably go right to the one. Yeah. But it's the Rock Ride show, and you just have to pick the 12th, and you'll have, you'll have three hours of Van Halen. Bliss.
• 27:55
  And it just... I, I, I don't listen to it all that often anymore, and I just- Mm-hmm... was like, "Man, that's some good ashit right there." [laughs] Oh, yeah.
• 28:04
  [laughs] I, uh, I had a, uh, Facebook friend once who said, um, Hagar won't make it into the Hall of Fame, the Rock, uh... What am I saying here? What's the- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
• 28:15
  Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because of his political views, and every post was, "And he sucks." [laughs] Like every response. No, no, no, no, no. Oh, cold-blooded edit.
• 28:25
  Uh, Ed, uh, I, I liked Sammy with Montrose back in the olden times. I didn't even know that. That was awesome. Well, I like Montrose, so [laughs] And I like Sammy. Sammy's just...
• 28:36
  He reminds me of just a good old fun-loving dude. Oh, yeah. Good old Shaggy hammer. The Guy Fieri of rock and roll. [laughs] Speaking of guys that get a lot of shit talked about them- Oh...
• 28:46
  um, David Byrne has this thing coming up called- Yeah... American Utopia. It premieres on HBO, I think today. No, tomorrow. Saturday. [laughs] Soon. One of the guitarists on that is from Milwaukee, I'm pretty sure.
• 28:58
  Right on. I, I looked at the trailer, both trailers, and I'm like, "That is so cool." [laughs] I caught his last show at the Riverside, and- Oh, nice... it was...
• 29:07
  I've maybe seen better concerts, but I can't remember when. It was- [laughs]... it was art. It was beautiful. Yeah, I bet. You know, he takes a bicycle everywhere and rides- Oh, yeah... have a lot...
• 29:15
  Like, we should have him on the show next time he's in Milwaukee. Yeah. Yeah. I hear he's a prick and hard to work with, so good luck. [laughs] Yeah. That's why the band broke up. Yep.
• 29:21
  [laughs] Somewhat of an a- But he was genius... somewhat of an acquaintance of, uh- Yeah, man... of Jerry Harrison, and he never talked ill of the man. But then he's not a good friend either. No.
• 29:30
  [laughs] Uh, you know, that happens with a lot of people who are really, uh, artists that know exactly what they want. It's like, "Nah, it's n- I, no, we're not doing it that way.
• 29:41
  We're doing it my way or you can get the fuck out." Yeah. On a slightly- It's right here. It's just, just do it... similar vein, um- Sometimes you can't just do it...
• 29:48
  Bob Mould's got a new album out, and it's supposed to be really good. Yeah, I heard that too. Pretty excited about that. Very political but, you know, just, just- If you can't be political in your music- Yeah...
• 29:59
  where can you be political? He said, he said he just... He didn't even have to write it. It just, like, came out of him. Oh, sure. Like, very excited about this album. [laughs] No, you're inspiring me to watch that.
• 30:08
  I, well, I was just thinking- Mm... of the Bob Mould, uh, performance on, like, one of the last Lettermans where they just had, like, I dunno, the amps at 11, and it was, like, literally making the- Ah, man...
• 30:21
  like, the ceiling- Like fall [laughs] a little bit. [laughs] I mean, wow. He's, he's gotta be deaf by now, I'd imagine. [laughs] He's, he's getting up there, getting up there. Mm-hmm. Anytime. You know? Yeah.
• 30:33
  I wanna, I wanna go to a live show again. Oh, same. Same. 'Cause I always m- I have, like in, like the last two times Bob Mould's been around, I missed them too. Yeah, me too. Oh.
• 30:43
  Did you, uh, did you see The Flaming Lips, uh, concert sort of? Oh, their bubble? They did the full bubbles for people in- I saw s- a picture of something about it... O- Oklahoma City? Wait, where are they from? Yeah.
• 30:55
  Oh, I don't know. No idea. I think it's Oklahoma. I thought they lived in Band I know that's from there is Three 11. [laughs] Yeah. Ooh. [laughs] Oh, Three 11. It's a band. Three 11? Yeah. They're Oklahoma.
• 31:05
  Uh, I'll look it up. Oklahoma City. But yeah, they did a whole, they did a, a whole show- Yeah, no, they're, they're from the Plains somewhere. Yeah. Really? Somewhere. I was, I was...
• 31:11
  I just read that on the internet yesterday- Huh... so. The internet knows all. There's- There's a Northern Virginia connection to Three 11, at least I, I think Maybe it's the area code over there. Uh-huh.
• 31:19
  Maybe it's the area code in... I don't f- I don't know... how do I know? I'm not even gonna look it up. They're trying out on- I'm just gonna say I'm right.
• 31:24
  Thank God we [laughs]-- we didn't- If I say it convincingly [laughs] enough. Thank God we had Sam here to talk about something cycling interesting. Ha. Oklahoma City. See? What'd I just say? And they, yeah.
• 31:34
  That looks awesome. It's pretty. And they did a whole show where everyone was in bubbles. Just like Trusty, you will learn to trust me when I say something. Something? [laughs] You said something? Uh, well, I don't know.
• 31:49
  Sam, what do you got? You got anything left? We're, we're... Could, we could wrap this thing up and let our, our listener go back to work or, you know, maybe get off the train or... Oh. Gotta shout out to Sam's buddy.
• 32:01
  Oh, Jim. Jim was apparently hit. I don't have any more information other than that he's in a medically induced coma. He was hit Saturday at 5:30 in Wauwatosa, so. Just rode with Jim a couple weeks ago. He's- Yeah...
• 32:15
  an awesome dude. He's a cool dude, so keep your, uh- Good vibes, man. Good vibes... keep your good vibes. Yeah. And wear enough clothes to be seen.
• 32:22
  Yeah, by the- I mean- Check out, we gotta get a shout-out to Tony's coat outside, 'cause that Showers Pass coat lights up- It-... like a Christmas tree when something hits it... it. Oh, no shit. Huh. Oh, yeah.
• 32:31
  It may be my best purchase [laughs] of the year. I mean, it, it's- I, thank you for reminding me last week to buy one- Yeah, it's-... 'cause it hasn't shown up yet, but [laughs]...
• 32:37
  it's a pretty, it's a pretty- But it will... it's comfortable, it's warm, it's, uh... Yeah, and it's bright.
• 32:43
  [laughs] You know, if you wanna learn about Showers Pass stuff too, there's several reviews on the website about their stuff. You probably already know about it, maybe you don't, but- It ain't cheap-...
• 32:50
  it's good shit if you-... but it's fantastic... if you don't wanna get wet. Yeah. Definitely. Mostly is what it's for. I hear- Designed in Portland, baby... and I hear good things about the socks.
• 32:57
  I am- I got socks coming. I got gloves coming. [laughs] I got a coat coming. Oh, right on. All right, Sam. Well, thanks for being here. Yeah. I'm sure we could have you here- Nice meeting you, man...
• 33:05
  another 22 times and still get a lot more information out of you, so feel free to stop by anytime. No, that was it. [laughs] No, I'm just kidding. Thank you for having me. This was a blast. We will- Right on...
• 33:14
  uh, we will build upon the foundation we laid today next time you're on the show. [laughs] All right, then. Stay tuned for the next Sam episode. [laughs] Same Sam time.
• 33:24
  [upbeat music]