Stay ConnectedThe award winning JustGoBike Podcast is all about the culture of biking just for the fun of it, and tales from the RAGBRAI Nation. Your hosts Kathy Murphy (Murphology), and Andrea Parrott (RAGBRAI and ParrotTalk), are joined by a variety of guests each week that delve into the social side of cycling.
Come for the bikes, stay for the fun, leave with a smile.
So…. just go bike!
Theme song by Ryan Stier
Logo by Suzanne Milosevich
Intro by Pumpkin
With only 11 finishers this year the Iowa Wind and Rock is not for the faint of heart. Tatianna Wawrzynski leapt at the chance to take on the race despite never having raced before. What started as a weight loss journey transformed into an obsession with ultra cycling and showing her two daughters the importance of overcoming obstacles.
It's a ParrotTalk Week! We catch up on the World of RAGBRAI, and hear another legendary John Karras article about registration, KYBOs, and Alan "Captain America" Jones. ParrotTalk also gets a crash course in roman numerals.
Meet Tammy from the Pork Belly Ventures! For almost 30 years Tammy and her brother Pete, along with a top notch crew have been providing support to cyclists, supporting them during RAGBRAI, and many other Midwest bike rides. Be sure to check out the Pork Belly Ventures website at pkbelly.com for more information on all they offer as well as bike rides they support. And if you are listening to this episode before May of 2021, register to ride the Birds and Bees ride in Council Bluffs and you can ride with Murph! www.pkbelly.com www.murphologypodcast.com
This week we catch up with Mark Wyatt, his recent cycling travels (travels!!) to Bentonville, what's up with cycling in the Statehouse, and the announcement of the return of some of our favorite bike rides! www.pigtailsride.com www.bacoonride.com www.bigrove.com
The father-son team of Forrest and Bif Ridgway of Bike World--close friends to RAGBRAI for decades--sit down with co-host Kyle Munson at the bicycle retailer's headquarters in West Des Moines to give us a preview of the bicycle market in 2021. In short, this is going to be another wild year in the industry, after last year's pandemic spurred a tidal wave of new riders onto bikes (that's a good thing), leading to bike shortages (not so great, but we do love to see more people pedaling). Our discussion includes: (1) the 2021 bike backlog and how to approach it as a buyer, (2) the rise of e-bikes, (3) why tubeless tires may be the right option, (4) when and how to schedule your spring tuneup, (5) which parts and components have been the hardest to get from the strained supply chain, and (6) of course, what to expect on RAGBRAI 2021.
ParrotTalk jumps in with a quick note about RAGBRAI 2021, and then you'll be treated to Murphology's interview with The Pork Tornadoes' Mike Schulte. For the uninitiated, The Pork Tornadoes is a popular band in the Midwest and a RAGBRAI favorite. Mike is the drummer and we can only imagine what it is like to be on stage, playing popular sing-a-long covers to thousands of high energy cyclists. We can tell you first hand that they are such a fun band to experience. And it is pretty cool to hear Mike’s story about getting back into cycling. Look for the Pork Tornadoes on any of the social media sites to find more info as well as contact info to get them to play at your next event. linktr.ee/theporktornadoes info@porktornadoes.com www.stitcher.com/show/the-confused-breakfast www.ragbrai.com www.murphologypodcast.com
2015 marked the first RAGBRAI to include an option gravel loop and this year, RAGBRAI upped the ante is offering the option of a full gravel day. Hear from Director Dieter Drake and gravel enthusiast Cole Ledbetter on how the day came to be, what riders can expect if they chose the gravel option and where Dieter and Cole see gravel riding heading in the future.
This week meet Brian O'Leary, executive director of the Dream Team which is a five month program that partners youth with adult mentors to provide a unique opportunity to build relationships, achieve personal growth, and learn life skills. They train and prepare as a team to ride every mile of RAGBRAI. Their mission is to use the power of a bicycle to assist youth in developing a positive approach to life’s challenges. Brian is going to give us more info on the The Dream Team, including how you can help this Central Iowa nonprofit group. www.dreamteamdesmoines.org www.ragbrai.com www.murphologypodcast.com
ParrotTalk continues her throwback series, this time with an article by John Karras on The Joy of Negative Thinking, written after SAGBRAI. You'll also get the latest on RAGBRAI Registration, the RAGBRAI Route Announcement, Iowa Bike Summit, and the Iowa Bike Expo! Links: RAGBRAI Registration: RAGBRAI.com/registration Route Announcement Tickets: https://ragbrai.com/events/RAP/ Iowa Bike Summit: https://iowabicyclesummit.com/ Iowa Bike Expo: https://iowabikeexpo.com/ To send John Karras a note: RAGBRAI c/o John Karras 400 Locust St, Suite 500 Des Moines, IA 50309
Bicyclist Kevin Nicholson checked the weather before he left home, but Alexa apparently had no clue. The Iowan's routine bike ride in central Iowa on this fateful morning in August left him in the middle of an historic storm--a derecho, or inland hurricane, with winds of more than 100 miles per hour that flattened corn fields, peeled roofs off houses and toppled trees. Co-host Kyle Munson talks with Nicholson about how he survived the storm on his bike, what he witnessed, and what he thinks about experiencing one of the legendary bike rides of 2020.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
