Open Mic With Mike Creed

THIS EPISODE Mike grabs a bite to eat and chew the fat with old friend Shawn Milne (along with interloper Ian MacGregor of Skratch Labs). Milne recently culminated his road racing career with 5-Hour Energy p/b Kenda to become the new team director of Team Rio Cycling, a Colorado-based development cycling team. In addition to his prestigious palmares on the road, the Gloucester native also races cyclocross for the Keough Cyclocross team, where this past season he won at Cycle-Smart International and NBX Gran Prix of Cross. In between bites at Yellowbelly Chicken in Boulder, the trio reflect on the past, discuss the critical differences between cyclocross and road racing, have a vent-fest about some of the less wonderful team experiences they've had, and Shawn reminisces on his New England racing achievements and what it was like to live a hardscrabble life as the son of a fisherman. We also learn of Shawn's love of Ducati motorcycles, the good old days racing with Creed, and what this next chapter holds in s

THIS EPISODE Mike sits down to chat with pro cyclist/athlete/journalist/activist/filmmaker Kathryn Bertine, whose groundbreaking documentary, "Half the Road," about the passions, pitfalls and power of women's professional cycling recently premiered to a sold-out audience in Tucson, AZ (a premiere which, sadly, Mike was unable to get into...) They talk about the nascency of the documentary project, Kathryn's frustration with "sports journalism for women" as a separate media thread, the popularity of obscure Olympic sports, and what it was like to be a sports journalist for ESPN. Throughout, Kathryn delights and entertains Mike with her fascinating stories, and in the process illuminates us all with respect to the challenges facing women in sports to this day. You will absolutely love this clever and engaging interview with one of the most influential women working in the realm of cycling today. As always, Open Mic with Mike Creed is sponsored by The Colorado Cyclist, Mike’s very first professional cycling

THIS EPISODE Mike settles in for a chat with women's cycling legend Meredith Miller in January, just before U.S. Cyclocross Nationals in her hometown of Boulder, CO. You will be hearing this conversation after the Cal Giant star stood on the bronze medal step of the podium there, and just as she's prepping for Hoogerheide, Belgium, to compete in the UCI World Cyclocross Championships. Recently retired from road racing, the Alabama native had a successful 15-year road career, most recently with Team TIBCO, that included winning the 2009 USA National Road Championship. Miller announced that 2013 would be her last as a professional road cyclist. How that decision will affect her future as a cyclocross racer is still unclear at this point, and Worlds will likely play a large part in that decision. Over the course of an hour and a half conversation, Mike and Meredith go from being acquainted strangers to fast friends as they discover common interests, debate the merits of Facebook stalkers and the games that get

THIS EPISODE Mike shoots the breeze with old friend and best man Pat McCarty, who has spun his cranks for such teams as US Postal, Phonak, Slipstream-Chipotle, OUCH-Maxxis, SpiderTech-C10, and most recently Bissell. Along with guest interloper Shawn Milne, Mike and Pat wax philosophical on all sorts of fascinating topics including the future, what it's like to be directing a women's cycling team, surviving the Giro not once but twice, getting drunk with Andy Rihs, the wacky times at Ouch/Maxxis and Rock Racing, and good Cipo stories (who doesn't love a good Cipo story?). We also get some choice intro moments from Team Smart Stop p/b Mountain Khakis ace mechanic Chris Kreidl, and become privy to yet another of Mike's embarrassing confessions. As always, this episode of Open Mic is brought to you by The Colorado Cyclist, sponsor of Mike’s very first professional cycling team in 1998. Thanks to everyone at Colorado Cyclist for their support of Mike over the years, and a big thank you to them for stepping up an

THIS EPISODE Coming to you live from Team SmartStop-Mountain Khakis training camp in Tucson, AZ, it's Mike's old friend Mike "Meatball" Friedman, a multi-time national champion and 2008 Olympic cyclist, most recently of Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies. Over the course of an hour and a half of reminiscing, they cover such diverse topics as guns, bleached hair, Friedman being intimidated by Creed and Pate, racing in Tasmania, the nuances of track cycling, team pursuit, and the Madison, as well as being at the Olympics and calling the cops on anti-cyclist zealots. And somewhere in there we learn even more about Creed's youthful fervor for Pace salsa. You're sure to be dazzled, entertained, and thoroughly confused by this high-energy conversation between two old friends and former teammates. Open Mic with Mike Creed is sponsored by The Colorado Cyclist, Mike’s very first professional cycling team in 1998. Thanks to everyone at Colorado Cyclist for their support of Mike over the years, and a big

THIS EPISODE Mike has margaritas and conversation with Marianne Martin, the winner of the first Tour de France for women in 1984, covering the 18-stage 616-mile course in 21 days, 29 hours, 39 minutes, and 2 seconds. We hope you enjoy this intriguing conversation with a legend in women's cycling. We certainly did. Open Mic with Mike Creed is sponsored by The Colorado Cyclist, Mike’s very first professional cycling team in 1998. Thanks to everyone at Colorado Cyclist for their support of Mike over the years, and a big thank you to them for stepping up and sponsoring the podcast and offering $50 gift cards to our Twitter contest winners. Please visit their website at coloradocyclist.com and give them a follow on Twitter at @Co_Cyclist to show your appreciation for everything they do for us. Be sure to call them at 1-800-688-8600 and mention the podcast for 15% off your purchase.

IN THIS EPISODE Mike sits down for a chat with Mara Abbott (that's with two b's and two t's), the first American ever to win the Giro Donne, one of the Grand Tours of women's bicycle racing. In between trading smoothie recipes and Twitter stalking confessions, they discuss favorite places to cycle, Mara's Game of Thrones addiction, strategies for making riding the trainer more interesting, and which of them is the bigger dork. Mara shares the story of her love affair with triathlon, what it was like to quit being a bike racer and then come back and win one of the biggest races in women's cycling, and the dangers of self-sabotage. And somewhere along the way, an interloper in the bookstore where they're chatting walks into the middle of the podcast recording and steps on their conversation to amusing results. They also consider the merits of loneliness, the benefits of cycling fame, and why who you are is more important than what you do. You're sure to be intrigued and charmed by this chance to get to know o

THIS EPISODE Mike gets together with Timmy Duggan again for a heart-to-heart post-retirement chat with the former Saxo-Tinkoff rider. Over the course of an hour and a half the pair wax philosophical about what led Timmy to his decision to hang up his race wheels despite several legit team offers to continue racing. Their conversation meanders over topics including motivation, goals, hopes, dreams, and Bourbon as a truth serum. Enjoy this postscript to a career that's really a glimpse at the doorway to the future. Open Mic with Mike Creed is sponsored by The Colorado Cyclist, Mike’s very first professional cycling team in 1998. Thanks to everyone at Colorado Cyclist for their support of Mike over the years, and a big thank you to them for stepping up and sponsoring the podcast and offering $50 gift cards to our Twitter contest winners. Please visit their website at coloradocyclist.com and give them a follow on Twitter at @Co_Cyclist to show your appreciation for everything they do for us. Be sure to call the

THIS EPISODE Mike talks to Dean Golich, the training guru who was a physiologist for USA Cycling from 1994-1996 and established training protocols for the 1996 Olympic Cycling Team across all cycling disciplines. Dean has been working with athletes in road cycling, MTB, cyclocross, motocross, supercross, MotoGP, and NASCAR, and is a wealth of knowledge about physiology, power training, altitude training, and hydration. Their conversation runs the gamut from leftist politics, wingsuits, death spirals, coaching, motivation and Dean's acknowledgment that even though he'd never listened to any of the podcasts prior to his interview, this is the podcast's sophomore slump. Thoughtful, intriguing, and extremely entertaining, you're sure to enjoy this sort of long, slightly cerebral, but really good chat between two fascinating characters. You can follow Dean on twitter @Deangolich. Open Mic with Mike Creed is sponsored by The Colorado Cyclist, Mike’s very first professional cycling team in 1998. Thanks to everyo

THIS EPISODE Mike settles in for dinner and conversation with the one-line wit of Twitter, the rational anchor to Tour Chat's bon vivant Neil Browne, the bard at the back of Velo Magazine, the one and only Mr. Dan Wuori, aka @dwuori. Many of you first came to know of Dan via his lanterne rouge Twitter avatar and his extremely witty and clever Twitter jokes - one line wonders that encapsulate the zeitgeist of the cycling world on everyone's favorite 140-character thoughtstream. Much like the standup routine of Creed's Twitter account, Dan's tweets primarily consist of standalone jokes that tickle the funny bone and engage the grey matter. It was this clever ability to tweet that which everyone else wished they'd thought of first that brought Dan to the attention of mainstream cycling media, and led to a happy partnership with VeloNews.com and Velo Magazine, a dream come true in some respects for the humble and hardworking Wuori. Over the course of their mealtime chat, which I've affectionately dubbed "My Din

THIS EPISODE Mike gets together with a man who needs no introduction. At the tender age of 23, BMC's Taylor Phinney can list on his resumé: Olympian, Worlds Medalist, U23 World Champion, Junior World Champion, US Track Champion, US Time Trial Champion, heartthrob of the peloton, and all around snappy dresser. Mike visits Taylor at his home in Boulder and is introduced to Phinney's "high class frat house lifestyle," as Taylor dubs it. The two kick back and pleasantly pass the time chatting about the correct pronunciation of Phil Gaimon's name, the value of early social media training, how avoiding dating improves cycling performance, saddle sore woes, hoping for the most-loved award in the peloton, and Olympic girlfriends. Along the way they also cover what it's like to be the child of cycling legends, saddle sore woes, being the brash young American on a stacked international World Tour team, surviving the grind of the BMC racing schedule, and what the future holds. We guarantee you're going to be thoroug

THIS EPISODE For our Thanksgiving edition of Open Mic, Mike catches up with old friend Patrick "Maddog" O'Grady, cartoonist and wordsmith extraordinaire, an unsung legend of the cycling industry, and one of the chain gang members on the Colorado Springs group ride who taught Mike the etiquette of riding in a pack on the road. They trash talk Arcade Fire, consider the merits of Tom Waits, Charlie Bukowski, and Netflix, and cover the origins of Patrick's obsession with comic books and cartooning, in addition to covering an immense range of other topics throughout their hour-long conversation. Irreverent, candid, funny, intellectual, and filled with stories, Patrick's chat with Mike is going to become one of your favorite podcasts. WARNING. Mike goes all self-indulgent and honors a Thanksgiving tradition for many by playing the entire 18:34 version of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant." After you listen to Mike's opening comments, if you want you can fast forward to the actual interview with Patrick, which s

Fear not, faithful listeners. We're not messing with the regular "Open Mic with Mike Creed" podcast. Every Friday you'll still get an in-depth conversation with Mike and a featured guest. This new joint is Mike's Tuesday call-in show. Over the weekend Mike will tweet a number and a time for listeners to dial in and join him for a free-ranging hodgepodge of pranks, music, fan questions, heckles, and other random tips from cycling's most handsome and ripped plus-sized head model with a rapier-like wit. Imagine "Punk'd" crossed with Howard Stern, but with bikes and music. Yeah, that. So download this sucker to your iPod, break out the sick whip, and get lost for an hour. This week's show features some old friends and new acquaintances, including Daniel Benson of CyclingNews worrying about whether or not he's gossiping live on the air, a guy from Norway with an awesome Christopher Walken question, Byron the dentist, Roxanne of @CyclingRox fame, our friend Chris Garrison of TrekUK, and some crank calls just to

THIS EPISODE Mike gets together with Skratch Labs saveurs Allen Lim and Biju Thomas, and the trio talk about everything from soup to nuts (well, really, rice cakes to smoked barbecue). We learn some fascinating parallel immigration stories from Allen's and Biju's childhoods, and discover the early experiences that shaped their respective drives to succeed. The guys share stories about how they got their start in cycling, and reminisce about the seminal years together on the TIAA-CREF team. We learn from Allen Lim – whom Creed asserts actually invented the idea of "marginal gains" – that it's less about marginal gains and more about removing the limiting factors - the bottlenecks - to performance and training, and how those innovative principles became the foundation for not only Lim's methodology as a DS, but the very core tenets to this next adventure with Biju and Skratch Labs. Along the way we also get some funny stories about Creed using the Secret Salty Drink Mix sleeves as pixie sticks, as well as som

Fear not, faithful listeners. We're not messing with the regular "Open Mic with Mike Creed" podcast. Every Friday you'll still get an in-depth conversation with Mike and a featured guest. This new joint is Mike's Tuesday call-in show. Over the weekend Mike will tweet a number and a time for listeners to dial in and join him for a free-ranging hodgepodge of pranks, music, fan questions, heckles, and other random tips from cycling's most handsome and ripped plus-sized head model with a rapier-like wit. Imagine "Punk'd" crossed with Howard Stern, but with bikes and music. Yeah, that. So download this sucker to your iPod, break out the sick whip, and get lost for an hour. This week's show features some old friends and new acquaintances, including Phil "The Thrill Gaimon," someone who sounds suspiciously like Jeremy Powers, and co-host of the "Race Radio" podcast Derek Troy helping Mike give iTunes advice.

THIS EPISODE Mike spends a solid chunk of time with his hometown pal Colby Pearce during an attempt at the U.S. Athlete Hour Record at the velodrome in Colorado Springs. The accomplishments on Pearce's resumé are impressive: Olympian, 14x national track champion, time trial record holder, U.S. Masters hour record holder, national team coach, World Cup medalist... Mike and Colby sit down in the evening after Colby made his attempt on the Hour Record in October, and over the course of two hours they take a jaunt down memory lane, reminiscing about their days racing together for the Colorado Cyclist team, trading story after story of exploits and adventures from a lengthy career spent spinning wheels. Prepare to be enthralled as these two old friends effortlessly travel back and forth across the years with their fascinating reminiscences. Open Mic with Mike Creed is sponsored by The Colorado Cyclist, Mike’s very first professional cycling team in 1998. Thanks to everyone at Colorado Cyclist for their support

Fear not, faithful listeners. We're not messing with the regular "Open Mic with Mike Creed" podcast. Every Friday you'll still get an in-depth conversation with Mike and a featured guest. This new joint is Mike's Tuesday call-in show. Over the weekend Mike will tweet a number and a time for listeners to dial in and join him for a free-ranging hodgepodge of pranks, music, fan questions, heckles, and other random tips from cycling's most handsome and ripped plus-sized head model with a rapier-like wit. Imagine "Punk'd" crossed with Howard Stern, but with bikes and music. Yeah, that. So download this sucker to your iPod, break out the sick whip, and get lost for an hour.

THIS EPISODE Mike took a road trip to California and got together with Jesse D. Anthony, his former teammate on Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies. From skidding contests to crashing BMX bikes to racing mountain bikes and cyclocross to becoming one of the most-capable all-arounders on the domestic road racing circuit, Anthony has crammed a lifetime of experiences in his relatively short career span. They pair sat down in Jesse's hometown of Thousand Oaks to talk about their teammates, transfer rumors and the goings on in the silly season, and where Jesse's travels will take him next. They consider the merits of underpants humor, career trajectories, and Jesse's early years as a junior and his cyclocross roots in New England. The way their personal stories intertwine into a shared history of bike racing is both fascinating and heart-warming. Open Mic with Mike Creed is sponsored by The Colorado Cyclist, Mike’s very first professional cycling team in 1998. Thanks to everyone at Colorado Cyclist

Fear not, faithful listeners. We're not messing with the regular "Open Mic with Mike Creed podcast." Every Friday you'll still get an in-depth conversation with Mike and a featured guest. This new joint is Mike's Tuesday call-in show. Over the weekend Mike will tweet a number and a time for listeners to dial in and join him for a free-ranging hodgepodge of pranks, music, fan questions, heckles, and other random tips from cycling's most handsome and ripped plus-sized head model with a rapier-like wit. Imagine "Punk'd" crossed with Howard Stern, but with bikes and music. Yeah, that. So download this sucker to your iPod, break out the sick whip, and get lost for an hour.

THIS EPISODE Needing no introduction, this week's guest is Adam Myerson. Erudite, opinionated, slightly obsessed with Prince, inked, hooped and bespectacled, he's been called the godfather of cyclocross, although he'll tell you he's slightly uncomfortable with that moniker. I'll go with the Don of Dirt, the Baron of Barriers, or the Capo of Cyclocross. His official biography will tell you that "Adam Myerson is a professional cyclist and coach who specializes in criteriums and cyclo-cross. A former collegiate national cyclo-cross champion, he began racing as a junior in 1987, and has been a professional since 2003. He currently captains Team SmartStop presented by Mountain Khakis based in Winston-Salem, NC. He is the founder and president of Cycle-Smart, Inc., President of the New England Cyclo-Cross Series, organizer of the Cycle-Smart International Cyclo-Cross which is the oldest UCI event in North America, a former member of the UCI Cyclo-Cross Commission, and a former member of the management committee of