The end of season 1 is near ... editing and recording the final episode with one of my great friends . It's taking some time to get it all done - we did it once and are recording a 2.0 version as well. 

It's been amazing. But it's time to pause for awhile. There may be a sneaker episode in there from time to time so stay tuned.

It's been a labor of love and I will cherish every recording! Thanks for listening in so far!

It's the penultimate episode of season 1 and a session that I had in mind from the very beginning. This week’s episode is unique in that I have not one, but two guests - Emily Kachorek and Chris Namba of Squid Bikes. They joined me from Sacramento where their unique HQ is located; a place where art and cycling become one.  I first met Emily and Chris and their third wheel Pete  years ago when they hosted the 2nd live screening of my short film State of Cyclocross. We projected the film on a Saturday night onto the side of one of the many shipping containers right there in their courtyard. A intimate gathering of 'cross devotees and an experience that I treasure even more now due to the lack of such things today.

On this episode we caught up and talked about Squid’s origins, their design process, and how it has used the gap year of 2020 and the bike boom to transition a bit with a renewed focus on its roots. While it may seem that they fly by the seat of their pants, they are a very professional outfit and they always have a plan; nothing is ever arbitrary.  We of course  talked tracklocross and cyclocross, the past and the future as well as their legendary 'Cross Nationals After Parties (how the cops weren't ever involved I'll never know).

As The Cross Section has no sponsors for this first season, I decided that this episode is brought to you by Mid-Town Taqueria in Sacramento - the best chips and street tacos I have ever tasted and I eat a lot of street tacos.

This is the penultimate episode of the first season. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I appreciate you all for listening in the past 4 months. It's been a labor of love and a celebration of friends and their stories.

One more episode to go, but for now … let’s hang out with Emily and Chris co-founders of Squid Bikes … I think you’ll like it.

Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram@dcmediahausand also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.

Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

Well, friends, this one is insanely good! It's an episode full of laughs, stories, and serious discussion and we just couldn’t hang up so to speak. We started the wrap up at one point and the went on for nearly another hour. In other words, this is a long one, folks … but my guess is you won’t even notice.

I got to sit with one of the most genuine and honest and joyful people I know. Her mantra is "Be kind. Do good. Have as much fun as possible." A graphic designer in addition to being an elite cyclist, she is unbelievably fun to talk with as I know you’ll discover and I can’t wait to get into this one with you all. Her instagram is a great follow - @sarah_strumy - and here are a pair of wonderful videos on her from Wahoo Fitness and from Rapha ... Check them out … trust me.

All you need to know about Sarah as a cyclist is captured  in a Bicycling Magazine article titled "These 12 Badass American Women Are Crushing Cycling Right Now". In it she was described this way: “If you’re ever looking for an all-around cyclist, look no further than ultimate badass Sarah Sturm. She has raced criteriums, singlespeed cyclocross, mountain bikes and gravel grinders—most notably the Belgian Waffle Ride in California in 2019, which she won in a stacked field of pro women. After that, she jumped into the pro women’s criterium at the Sea Otter Classic and took the win… also on her gravel bike. The same season, she was second in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race.”

In the course of the episode we discussed creativity, changes, the zen of single speed, the benefit of doing things you suck at, the human need for challenge and so, so much more. If you don’t know who my guest is before, after this you will definitely become a fan.

Magnetic, fun, authentic, and thoughtful, Episode 13: Sarah Sturm ... I think you'll LOVE it!

(Side Note: My smallest human made an appearance at the end. Also, you may hear a slight echo of my voice ... so not pro ... but that's fine)

Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.

Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

This episode of “The Cross Section” is one of my favorite types of episodes because I got to finally meet and talk with someone who I feel like I know due to social media but we haven’t ever been face to face or had the chance to be due to the pandemic. And we hit it off as I figured we would. We talked black dogs, skiing, broken noses and, of course, cyclocross. 

She is a professional ‘cross racer based in London, Ontario, Canada and she is someone who I admire the shit out of because of her determination, commitment and courage. One of only a handful of North Americans to head overseas to race this year, she was the last Canadian in Belgium and hung on until the very end barely escaping the severe Canadian lockdown. And she does it all as a privateer. This year she went at it alone and endured a broken nose, covid testing galore, police knocking on her door as well as living in a bubble for months in Oudenaarde (Aud en ard uh) with some other racers. She is bright and funny and thoughtful. I recorded this one a bit ago when she joined me during her quarantine upon her return from Europe just as I was getting ready to head over there myself and it’s a great look into what it’s like.

Today we hang with Siobahn Kelly. I think you’ll like it. 

Today I get to share my conversation with a dude who I have admired for years. In fact our pre-pandemic pub chats are a bit of an inspiration for this show. We would get together often and talk about creation and film and photography and design and whatever else we each had going on. And inspiration is the word. Chris just goes for it. Fuck the rules. He eschews convention and traditional pathways. Just. Make. It. Happen.  His DIY spirit really is all about making your own luck rather than waiting around for someone to call. 

For a short burst from 2017-19  we had a bandit 'cross race here in Portland  - COBRA racing - and it was his brainchild born from his days of BMX and love of cyclocross. They were fast moving, set up & compete & tear down and leave no trace event that were one part race and two parts party. You had to sort of know in order to know. Locations weren't posted until mere hours prior. I first met Chris at these events and did a pair of videos ... HERE and HERE. Check them out! They are amongst my favorites.

His story is complex and layered - as it is with all interesting people. His magazine - Broken & Coastal -  is a publication that I personally have been honored to be involved with, and he has used it as a vehicle to benefit others such as The Trevor Project which is the unofficial official sponsor of this episode and in light of recent bullshit legislation in states such as Arkansas and Kansas it's LGBTQ advocacy has never been more important.

He is a humanist, an activist, an environmentalist, an art director, a cyclist ... basically all of the things this podcast endeavors to explore.

Episode 11: Chris San Agustin ... I think you'll like it!

Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.

Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

Well, folks, this one is a long one - by far the longest to date - but it is  also one of my favorite conversations . Trust me, this one is worth your time. For this episode of “The Cross Section” we have a little story time with someone whom I love talking to and someone whom I admire a great deal: 3 time U.S. Cyclocross National champion and two-time Pan-American champion, Stephen Hyde.  If you weren’t a fan of this man before, spend a couple of hours with him and you will walk away as one.

We discussed his growing up on the panhandle in rural Florida and how those experiences were so vital in his journey and his life is defined by the road and discovery of self. His life is one of reflection and self-examination. He is a human who is unafraid to undo and redo self, worldview, and belief. As we all should be, he is in constant revision mode - as a cyclist and more importantly as a human being. 

His journey has taken him from coast to coast and back again and in the flow of conversation I also discovered that the first 'cross race he had ever seen was at a Cyclocross Crusade at Alpenrose Diary here in Portland and that it changed the trajectory of his life. We also talked about his transformation as a humanist and as a social justice advocate as well as his love of birds and nature. In short, we covered  a LOT of ground. 

I say this about every episode, I think, but if you’re only going to listen to just one, this is a great place to begin. Today it’s story time with Stephen Hyde … I think you’ll like it.

Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.

Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

On Episode 9 of “The Cross Section Podcast” I got to hang out with one of my favorite people - Ruby West. She is a Canadian professional cyclocross racer and I first got to know Ruby in 2019 when I was able to cover her and her team that season. I picked her up at the airport on my way Bellingham for team camp and we hit it off immediately. I am very blessed to be able to say she is a good friend of mine. She is clever, smart, insightful and super fun to be around. And she can rider her bike. As there was no racing in 2020, she is still the U23 Pan American champion (as we had no PanAms in 2020). When we chatted, she had just wrapped up her 2020 European season - one of only a handful of North Americans to venture across the pond this year - and we covered a lot of ground. From Belgium to tacos to Taylor Swift (which is one of the ties that binds us), we kept it fun. She joined me from the farm upon which she lives in Dundas, Ontario which is about as picturesque of a place as you will find.

Today we get to chat with Ruby West. I think you’ll like it.

Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.

Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

On Episode 8 of “The Cross Section Podcast” I got to hang out with one a very influential filmmaker in the cycling world - Sam Smith. He was the creative mind behind a seminal 4 season series with Jeremy Powers - "Behind The Barriers" - as well as two long form documentaries about cyclocross - "Transition" and "Transitions 2" - which pretty much captured the zeitgeist of 'cross during the era of the U.S.G.P. and what many consider to be the high-water mark of American Cyclocross. His work has been very, very influential on me over the years and I've studied BTB, Transitions as well as his more recent work for Castelli which included his "Mindful" series with Stephen Hyde and Kaitie Keough. His work is patient, calm, beautifully shot with no special tricks in post in terms of editing which I appreciate a great deal.

Today we chat with Sam Smith ... I think you’ll like it.

(NOTE: Due to connection issues, occasionally there is some pops and crackles in the audio. Apologies ... blame it on COVID.)

Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.

Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).