Pedal, Bourbon, and Friendship: A Road Adventure Unfolds BRAG 2024 PART TWO

Ever wondered how a retired firefighter gets the nickname “Boo-Boo Master”? Join us as we catch up with our incredible friend John Athens, who shares his unique journey from firefighter and paramedic to EMS educator and Special Olympics volunteer. We reminisce about heartwarming moments shared with John and delve into his enriching post-retirement life, filled with community service and personal growth.

Celebrating the spirit of camaraderie, we recount an unforgettable evening at Nona Pica with familiar faces like Mike, Vick, Walter, and Virginia. From the joy of finishing our century ride just before the rain to testing groundbreaking cycling gear, our experiences offer valuable insights and memorable stories. We also provide an exciting update on our friend Armando's recovery, reflecting on how our cycling adventures foster deeper connections and friendships.

Alongside sharing individual achievements and the beautiful landscapes of Georgia, we highlight the extraordinary efforts of cycling enthusiasts giving back to their communities. We hear from Franklin, BRAG's calm and collected executive director, who reflects on the event’s success while balancing personal milestones. As we wrap up, we celebrate Donna Freeman's first century ride and the overwhelming support from our listeners, hinting at our next thrilling adventure in Michigan. Join us on this inspiring journey with the Cycling Men of Leisure!

Support

Transcript

Road Adventure Product Reviews and Experiences

Speaker 1 0:19

Well , it's time for Road Adventures with Cycling Men of Leisure , the podcast for cyclists who understand that riding is not just about getting to the destination , but the experience along the way . Now here are the original Cycling Men of Leisure Adam and Michael .

Speaker 2 0:34

The following show is part two of a two-part series . If you're listening to this and you have not listened to part one , we recommend that you go back and listen to part one . There'll be a link below . Please enjoy the continuation of the big brag 2024 wrap-up show . Thank you and have a great day . So , anyways , um , as far as the armando thing going , he's home , he's resting .

Speaker 2 1:00

Uh , we wish him nothing but the best absolutely so and then , uh , uh , we did finish our century , and we finished it just in time . Uh , because floodgates opened up and it started raining the minute you and I were done , so we got our coveted bandana . For those who've never brag , once you do the century , you , you do get the bandana . So anything else from that day besides , of course , our , our friend and everything , oh yeah , we did have dinner with him later on . He did not spend the night in the hospital . We all ended up at a Mexican restaurant , surprise , surprise . So no , I think you covered everything it up . At a Mexican restaurant , surprise , surprise .

Speaker 3 1:43

No , I think you covered everything .

Speaker 2 1:48

Besides that , we got back and slept in the gym again and then I guess we just rode the last couple days , saw tons of our friends . But you know , the one thing I'm curious about is you had two products , um , that you were testing and trying out in the middle of georgia . Are you willing to speak on those ?

Speaker 3 2:20

I am , as part of what I've deemed as our success . Here we go . Yeah , I did have two products that I tried out , and the first one was the old thinned helmet here , right here , okay .

Speaker 2 2:43

We had actually highlighted what's that why ?

Speaker 3 2:47

is it back in the box ?

Speaker 3 2:48

it's not in the box , okay , okay see what I gotta work with here , folks . Um fend , we actually talked about this product last last november , about one of the products to buy a cyclist . It's a collapsible helmet . Didn't know how it was going to work , took a big chance because I decided to only take one helmet , and so this is a little bit . It folds up , looks like a you know a nice rectangle here , and then when you are ready , it pops out , out , pops open . That type of thing Fits in my bag way better . Wore it for the entire week .

Speaker 3 3:33

I would say it's a success . I had really no problems with it . Had a lot of people asking me is that one of those collapsible helmets and things ? And I actually took it off and showed a number of people how it works . It's one of those collapsible helmets and things and I actually took it off and showed a number of people . You know how it works . It's just got a couple of little tabs on the side here that you just click and it just folds in on itself . So voila .

Speaker 2 3:57

What's that ? Did you use the real estate on the back for a cycling men of leisure sticker ?

Speaker 3 4:02

yet I did not . I wanted to make sure that I was a hundred percent satisfied with this product before I started branding it with our stuff , so I think it's time to brand it . I think it is time I'm going to brand it . But , um , great helmet , I was . It normally I'm carrying I think we mentioned before I'm carrying it on the outside of my backpack in the airport . I was able to get this in there no problems whatsoever .

Speaker 2 4:28

I just want to say it would be a lot funnier if you put it on your head inside the airplane .

Speaker 3 4:36

Not going to do it , ah , come on . So definitely success .

Speaker 2 4:43

I would say this is a product that everyone would be good buying Another product that I'm not sponsored by , but I'm going to tell you it's about $100 on Amazon . Okay , f-e-n-d , f-e-n-d . If you're looking for a folding helmet . I have to say , when you first mentioned , mentioned it on the christmas show , and then you told me that your wife had , uh , blessed you with it for christmas . You were concerned , I was a little concerned because of impact and crash and safety and testing , but , um , look , look at you today . You're just fine .

Speaker 2 5:17

So right here but , uh , actually seeing it , touching it , feeling it , giving it the once-over and watching you wear it for six days of riding at 407 miles . It seemed aerodynamic , it seemed strong . It seemed like if you did need the helmet for an actual helmet crash , that it would have actually been just as easily on par with what I had in my head as well , except for it didn't have a debrim , but that's okay . What was the other product ? I know what it was , but how would you talk about this ?

Speaker 3 5:57

The old A2 tire inflator by Cycle Plus . Now , this one was a long shot . We always have that problem because you can't fly with those canisters . Now , when we just , you know drive someplace , we just have the canisters , the , you know , the air canisters , with us and get us to pump it up . Not doing that , we have to find a place to buy it , or buy it ahead of time , have it shipped so that we have those . So I decided to go do some research and I did do a lot of research and I found this particular brand and I think you were a little wary when I said I was going to be doing this , taking this with me .

Speaker 3 6:35

Absolutely admit that we still took canisters , but it was actually a really , really interesting tool . I didn't know if it was going to work . Once we got the bike set up in the hotel room and it had everything going , we blew up four tires , not a problem . So it's a great little thing . It's even got a flashlight on it , that type of thing but it worked beautifully . We pumped up four , five , six tires at a time , got a little display here you can program it to . You know , I think up to 120 psi , it was higher was it ?

Speaker 2 7:17

yeah , I mean I'm not trying to correct you , but we did , I mean , in full transparency , we kind of of learning curve a little bit a couple of times . You know how to get it to what , because Michael rides at about 10 PSI lower than I like , and so I was like , well , how do I get it where I want it , how do we get it where you want it ? So we spent a couple of times just kind of playing with it . You set the PSI that you want and then you just turn it on and then it slowly brings your tire to the psi of your , of your wishing and it'll show it right on the little screen here .

Speaker 3 7:51

And all the tires that we blew up . Uh , it never went , pat , never went below three bars , no , and one day I even used the back to charge up my phone , because for some reason my phone must have been doing a lot of , you know , trying to find networks and stuff . I actually just plugged it in here with usb and charged up my phone off of it too , uh , and it kept the power . It pumped up the tires . Uh , you can do pesta , you can do shred , shredder . Um , you can even do your you know , soccer balls and basketball balls off of it . If you really wanted to , you can actually put it into your car tire and inflate it . So great I would say . This is awesome .

Speaker 3 8:34

It also comes with a kind of like cage . So I took off one of my water bottle cages , because I had three . I took one off , replaced it with this holder and it just straps right on there and I had it the whole time . So it even went through a rainstorm and didn't affect it . So definitely something to do , especially if you're one of those people doing the manual thing . Forget that . The great thing about this is you get rid of those cartridges . You're not wasting all those cartridges every time . You just simply put it in . You pull out the little , the little air pump here and and screw that in and just go to town .

Speaker 2 9:18

So I was really impressed .

Speaker 2 9:19

Two products I was very just go to town , so I was really impressed . Two products I was very , very happy with I was impressed . I mean , as you mentioned , we usually ship CO2s in . So the hotel we stayed in I had drop shipped 12 CO2s . We gave those away on our last day because we couldn't fly home with them , although you and I have both gotten through airports with them before . But you minute you put them in your bag then you know they're there , tsa is going to give you a love letter , so , anyways , we donated those . Costa doing business . So the one thing I glossed over the last two days of brag was the last night , and I think we need to talk about our speakeasy .

Speaker 3 10:01

Yes , was the last night and I think we need to talk about our speakeasy .

Speaker 3 10:07

Yes , we had , um , we had an opportunity to have a speakeasy and that's kind of our like , kind of our get together . Um , I brought along , uh , several bottles of a uh of j reager's whiskey , which is a uh of Jay Rieger's whiskey , which is a local , uh regional distillery here in Kansas city , a very old one , and um , we had cycling men of leisure , brag 2024 , uh labels made that they uh Jay Rieger's happily made for us , put on those bottles . Um found a hillside above where the music was and we brought out , uh , some glasses , some ice and a couple of bottles of that and we had our speakeasy . Basically , that just means we're setting up there , we're inviting anybody who wants to come around , drink whatever they brought , drink some of what we brought . You know , don't have to drink , you know , alcohol at all , listen to music and just have some fun .

Community Connections and Shared Experiences

Speaker 3 11:03

And we wound up chatting with a lot of people . Armando was able , was feeling up to it , so he was able to come out , so it was just really a good time .

Speaker 2 11:12

The only thing that I personally felt bad is is the way the band was set up . There was like an amphitheater , semi-circle amphitheater , so half of our group was up top and half , because of Armando , obviously could not use the crutches to get up the hill . That was the part I felt bad about . But you and I did a nice job . We split time in between .

Speaker 3 11:29

I mean there's no , no way around it . So I mean we , you know , spend a little time at the top of the hill , go down to the bottom of the hill .

Speaker 2 11:35

You know we made a joke before leaving about gnats and everything , but I mean they weren't that bad this year . I mean just a couple here and there , not as bad as they had been in the past . Right , you know what else was funny that night ? Not funny , I'm sorry , not funny . But what was fun is we went to Nona Pica . Nona Pica .

Speaker 3 12:00

The pizza place yeah .

Speaker 2 12:05

The pica . No , no , no , no , pica . Uh , the pizza place . Yeah , pizza place . Oh , here it is noma pica , wood fired pizza . I had to look at my notes , sorry .

Speaker 3 12:08

That was really fun , because it was mike and vick and walter , I mean everybody , virginia and uh , people that we've known for a couple of years , yeah , and that we've we've shared meals with before and ridden with before and that type of stuff , and you know it was a really good time and we've got a couple of . That was an evening where we were able to get a couple of interviews from people , so that was also cool , let me play one of those right now .

Speaker 2 12:33

So one of the people at dinner with us was John , who is EMS John . His name is John Athens . I'm going to let him tell you about him . I don't need to tell you . Let's listen to this real quick , okay .

Speaker 4 12:52

Hi , my name is John . I am a paramedic that has been volunteering with this organization for 14 years now . Cool , I am a retired firefighter . I spent 22 and a half years in the fire service . I've been a paramedic now for 14 years . Now Cool , I am a retired firefighter , spent 22 and a half years in the fire service . Have been a paramedic now for 46 years . And now I am fortunate enough to be able to teach EMS at a technical college in the Metroland area . That's cool .

Speaker 2 13:14

So we met you three years ago . When we did but by saying that we met you , you rode by us many times on your motorcycle . At first we thought who is this guy ? What's going on Music blaring ?

Speaker 1 13:25

Music going by .

Speaker 2 13:27

And Michael carries a little Thai beanie baby because it's his daughter's and he takes it everywhere and we said , oh , we should get a picture . So next to it was somewhere in our archives . We do have a picture of his .

Speaker 4 13:41

Yes , I remember putting it on the back . It was at one of the ends , I believe . Yep , yep , we did that .

Speaker 2 13:46

You got it and so . But then now , of course , we saw you at Spring Tune-Up , and now this is our third brag with you , and so far you've probably put about 1,000 miles on your motorcycle .

Speaker 4 13:57

I am sitting at just over 900 today .

Speaker 2 14:01

Okay , so by the time , we end , it'll be over 1,000 . It'll be over 1,000 .

Speaker 4 14:04

By the time I get home it'll be over 1,200 .

Speaker 3 14:07

So right now , just to give perspective , we are sitting at Friday , so we still have one more day of riding One more day of riding Over 1,000 , then yeah , it'll be over 1,000 for this ride .

Speaker 2 14:17

Cool , and on your motorcycle jacket you do have a patch that says Boo-Boo Master . Yes , and so you does . It take a long time to get training in that .

Speaker 4 14:27

Well , the Boo-Boo Master was started out as kind of a joke . Sure Me being a paramedic , I take care of boo-boos so , and I'm also a special effects makeup artist and make boo-boos that look real . So the name kind of stuck and it ended up becoming my road name with my Harley chapter . So the name Boo Boo Master has fit , it's stuck and it won't go away .

Speaker 3 14:50

That's awesome . Yeah , I think we actually heard about your being able to make the makeup artist stuff from Luke . Yes , yes , we rode with him for a couple of days and he was like he knew you through paramedics or something . Right , he was explaining that you did this .

Speaker 4 15:05

I do things like disaster drills , I do emergency drills for hospitals and I actually teach , with our EMS organization , people across the state how to do makeup at different levels . That's cool , cool . Yeah , that's cool Cool .

Speaker 2 15:18

Yeah . So the other thing , when you and I were at the last break stop you said something that really resonated with me , which was your involvement with Special Olympics . Yes , Would you mind to just touch on that ?

Speaker 4 15:29

Oh it is .

Cycling Enthusiasts' Giving Back

Speaker 4 15:30

I retired in 2009 from Gwinnett County where the fire department I worked with , and in 2010 , I wanted to do some kind of give back . So I have had a very blessed career . I have got a wonderful family that supports me through this . My wife and daughter are home right now , waiting on me to come home , you know . But in 2010 , I joined Special Olympics of Georgia on their medical side and also called Vicki up with Bragg and said this is what I am , this is what I do , can I help you ? She invited me into the fold . So those are my big givebacks . That's awesome . My career has been blessed . It's still serving me well , so why not ?

Speaker 2 16:14

Well , that's great and , john , we've really enjoyed meeting you . You've always been so wonderful and personal to us . I love when you pass me and you know I have the Debrim on , so you look in the mirror and give us a big thumbs up . So it means the world to know that if I needed help , that you would be there . I am there . So , John , thank you for spending the time with us .

Speaker 3 16:33

One more thing I have Sure For taking the time to spend and give us a few minutes of your time for the interview . We'd like to give you the official cycling men of leisure patch .

Speaker 4 16:42

Thank you , I will find a home for that very , very quickly . Thank you so much , but I've enjoyed this and I've enjoyed meeting you guys and it's this is , this is a family , that is a second family to me . Oh yeah , that's incredible .

Speaker 2 16:56

That's great , john . Thank you so much . Thank you , so you know we had a lot of fun with him .

Speaker 3 17:04

I mean , he's just , he's just a nice guy , just a nice guy and just has a desire to to give back to people . Um , and you can see that just in his actions and and , um , you know the passion and the way that he talks about , uh , you know brag , and and the special Olympics that he , that he donates his time to .

Speaker 2 17:24

So good guy . Very interesting when we all had dinner together with Mike and Vic , and and and .

Speaker 2 17:31

Steven and Cindy and everybody , I mean just all of our table . We just got in this conversation about why I started to lose weight and and didn't realize , you know , with him being a paramedic and his education and we just went down this rabbit hole of like what I do for a living and everything , it was kind of like lined up . You know . It was kind of really one of those things that just was like I never would have thought that we would have jumped in a conversation like that , but it was really cool . So the other interview that we did is a little known guy , just , you know , one of the small guys I'm just kidding we were able to . I mean , franklin was pretty much on call . His wife was any moment ready to give birth to their third .

Speaker 3 18:22

Which , by the way , he managed to get through the entire race without having to race home .

Speaker 2 18:29

He could ride without having to race home because I wasn't racing .

Speaker 3 18:32

Well , the ride without having to race home . So he did successfully do that and I believe he has his third child at this point .

Speaker 2 18:41

So I believe it's close . It's either now or , I mean , if this comes out , it's either . I talked to him last night Not to name drop , but talk to him . Last night they were in the hospital , so I think it's got to be close . So I mean they're getting there , but why don't we play his interview now here ? So here we are . We're with the executive director of RAG . So far we've had such a wonderful time . Franklin , how do you think it's going ?

Speaker 5 19:09

I think so far so good . It's gone super smooth , meeting all the expectations . I think everybody's having a great time . I've gotten quite a few I love you man's so far , so that always makes those are new and that makes me proud .

Speaker 2 19:22

Well , I'm going to join that crowd . I'll say I love you , man , so I love you too . It's been a wonderful time . I mean , michael and I decided to attempt and completed the century yesterday , so we got our bandana . We're bandana strong and proud . That's right , we made it . So what I'd like to talk about is you seem so calm and so relaxed . Is that because you've done it many times or just because you have a phenomenal team ? A little mixture of both .

Speaker 5 19:53

I think it's always multivariate , right ? I think it is a mixture of both . I have a baby due on the 10th , so I've intentionally staffed up a lot more this year than typical years . So , in case I had to hop in the truck and head back to Atlanta to welcome our third child in the world , I knew our bases would be covered here . So with that in mind , I think it's certainly a little bit easier to have as much staff as we have to lean on . And then also , you know , this is our , this is , I think , the eighth or ninth brag I've put together . So you know , with age comes wisdom .

Speaker 4 20:25

Hopefully that's right , it's trying to get smoother yeah .

Speaker 2 20:28

So , michael , what are some of been your highlights that you can mention and what you think with Franklin here ?

Speaker 3 20:35

I think it's went really really well . I mean , I haven't had any complaints . I've heard tons of good things out on the road about it . You know , overall the weather's been pretty decent . We've missed a lot of the rain . The rains came at night when we weren't on the road , so that's been very beneficial . But overall the ride's been great and , honestly , where we're staying tonight is like a luxury hotel .

Speaker 2 20:57

I mean the facilities here are awesome . I mean there was a sauna , a hot tub , a pool , wonderful showers , a big gym , air-conditioned . We chose the indoor camping , so it's been a great time . So , franklin , one of the biggest questions that everyone always has is how many people are here . I get that from my family . I get that from my friends , coworkers . How many people are you doing this ride with ? Can you talk about registration for this year ?

Speaker 5 21:27

Absolutely so . We had just over 1,000 people pre-registered sign up before the ride actually started . And then we had a number of people I haven't counted them yet because they're all in paper forms but a number of people have registered probably an extra 100 or so on site , whether it be for one day , three days or the full week

RAGBRAI Community Appreciation and Shoutouts

Speaker 5 21:44

Cool . And then , with any event you also have , you know , we've got a large contingent . You know , usually around 10% of people that don't show up for whatever reason last minute changes or cancellations . So , yeah , we should be rocking right over 1,000 for the week .

Speaker 3 21:58

And that is for a full week , as well as your three days .

Speaker 5 22:03

It's like 85% of us , people are about full week and then the rest are . We have a number of people that do just the first three days or the last three days and a handful of people that just do a single day cool now , with the some of the extreme heat that we had this week .

Speaker 2 22:18

One of the things that you did was really cool is in Iowa . I've had churches and young ladies hand me freeze pops while I was going down the road . Can you talk about what you were willing to ?

Speaker 5 22:27

do this week . So yeah , I wouldn't call it extreme heat . We got to like 91 , which is very hot , on the blacktop especially . But it was an 80-mile day , a little bit hilly in the beginning of the day , a lot of it hilly in the beginning of the day and then it flattened out . So I knew a lot of people were going to be struggling . So we went and bought 1,000 Freezy Pops , had the manager at Walmart put them in their freezer overnight , went and picked them up in the morning , I loaded them up in the back of my truck and then handed them out along the route and , funny enough , we did it . I did it two days in a row and the first day I probably said Freezy Pops a million times at Cyclist going down the road . And then the next day I did it . I didn't have to advertise at all . Everybody pulled in and took the Freezy Pops off my hand .

Speaker 5 23:14

Yeah , definitely . You gave us one , so we were really appreciative . We got the record . People kept trying to beat the record , so some guy took down three , some guy wanted to up that took down five . And then there was a young lady she was probably 13 , 14 years old took down seven Icy Pops in one sitting . Wow , there we go .

Speaker 2 23:29

Yeah , told her diabetes is a real thing . It's like I was telling Michael about the Choco Taco . He had never heard of that . I said look it up , that's diabetes in a package right there . Well , Franklin , we know that you're a busy man . You've got a band that's about to play here . Thank you for your time . We really appreciate you sitting down with us .

Speaker 5 23:46

No , absolutely Appreciate you guys coming , appreciate the support .

Speaker 2 23:49

Thank you . You know this show could go on and on . There's a couple things I'm going to mention and then I'm going to let it go . But I want to mention the Team Paparazzi honorable photo . I mean I was really , oh , that was nice , I mean , you know so , throughout the years , you know , we didn't know our first time about the team atmosphere that had . I mean , it made sense and we , we saw it at Ragbri , but I didn't realize that Bragg had it as well .

Speaker 2 24:15

And team paparazzi has just always been people that have just opened their arms , I mean from Savannah , you know , helping us find a spot when we came in last or almost last at the one town last year just just always cordial , kind , polite , and I mean Jason has said some wonderful things , how we bring positivity to the cycling community , and so they've always been nice . And so , um , mandy wrote me , um , and said we'd like to really like to offer you guys to have a photo with us at 6 45 . And , um , you didn't need an alarm . People started getting up at 4 30 in the morning , so you didn't have to worry about getting up . So , uh , you alluded to sleeping in gy , so you didn't have to worry about getting up , so you alluded to sleeping in gyms .

Speaker 2 24:56

What you forgot to mention is the guy who wears flip-flops at one in the morning . Click , click , click , click , click . Or the door that needed WD-40 . Yee-hee , you know . So I'm carrying WD-40 and a wrench , and I'm just kidding . I didn't hear any of that . Yeah , must be nice , it was . So I just really want to say thank you to Team Paparazzi for asking us to get in the photo , which was awesome , because Franklin jumped in the photo as well , and so that's one of the ones that .

Speaker 2 25:26

I've said a few times since I've been home . I want to make sure we mention um Donna Freeman .

Speaker 4 25:35

Oh yes .

Speaker 3 25:37

Awesome job .

Speaker 2 25:39

Kudos to her . She was on our team and it reminded me of 2016 , when you were supportive of me , sir Um and Donna said to us at the last break that how much longer do we have ? This is my first century . And not only did she complete it , but she came in and she thought that she had erased it on her computer and I thought , oh man , I'm so sorry , but it turns out that not only had she not that she didn't lose it the way that she got on the shuttle to go to town , the computer was still on , so it shows her last ride like a 50 miles an hour , but uh , uh , she was able to stop it and kudos to her .

Speaker 3 26:24

Um , she was a fellow team member cycling women of leisure .

Speaker 2 26:27

Yes .

Speaker 3 26:29

Uh , while we're doing shout outs , I have a couple too . So please , uh , uh , happy to see bill . Great job , bill . Uh , I'm really happy that , uh , we've cycled with him before . We were cycling with him in kentucky . I'm really happy that the pizza I brought to you in kentucky , uh , ever so slowly , uh didn't in fact kill you .

Speaker 2 26:52

So what killed them is we all waited in kentucky for two and a half hours for you to . I don't know what you were doing . Were you making ? Were you making the yeast , I mean let it .

Speaker 3 27:01

I mean , they made it seem like , yeah , it was just up around the corner . It was not , it was all the way in town and they messed up our order so I had to wait . So , um , andrea and uh , natalie , um Andrea and uh Natalie . Audra , audra excuse me , can't read my own writing . Uh , happy to be riding with them again . We've ridden with them several times .

Speaker 2 27:23

Let me , uh , let me , let's go back and forth .

Speaker 2 27:25

Go ahead Racking Tom 2024 . Uh , we slept next to Tom a couple of nights . We we got to see him Hashtag tracking Tom 2024 . His granddaughter , a couple years ago , had said hey , if you see my grandpa out there , make sure you take some pictures and show us . And people have just ate it up and there are hundreds of pictures with Tom . So good to see him . I'm going to go a couple here and give it back to you . I'm going to start with our team International Italo . Very big fan , neil David Chase . You mentioned Audra . Stephen Don Bill Keith and Melanie . Keith and Melanie .

Speaker 3 28:11

Oh no .

Speaker 2 28:13

Don't be . These are the Brim Melanie . Oh no , Don't be . These are the Brim fans too . We met them on the bus on the way to Rag Bry , and they are tandem riders and they have this really cool bike that comes apart in cases and told us all about that time . They had some travel snafus where some of the stuff didn't come in , but anyways , they all made it and we all made it across Iowa and Georgia now , and so they flew in and great to see them . I'm going to pause there and let you go .

Speaker 3 28:48

Big shout-out to Justin . Congratulations on his , his wedding . He finished the ride and the next day he was going to Savannah to get married and we got to , got to meet his bride and that was really cool . So hope everything worked out there for you . Uh , congratulations you too .

Speaker 2 29:07

It did , yeah , and there's some photos and nice photos . He was all here . We saw him in cycling outfits for you know , for six , seven days and he looked all dapper Dan . So Well , good .

Speaker 3 29:19

And a big shout out to Scott and Cricket Kind of our , our adopted Georgia family . Those two are incredible , Ridden with them before . They are just so willing to . They're just giving people . They're willing to go out of their way to help people out and they've certainly helped us out and was willing to help us out again if we needed it . So definitely want to say thank you and a big shout out to them Not to be confused with the first official family of cycling . Oh yes .

Speaker 2 29:51

Jeffrey Woods and his beautiful bride , and five mark them . One , two , three , four , five children at brag and I believe I'm gonna say four to five weeks . Uh had just given birth to number five and rode her bike many a mile . So uh , kudos .

Speaker 3 30:11

Yeah , we've officially dubbed them the first family of cycling of leisure .

Speaker 2 30:15

So I'm going to go a little bit here . We had Rich and John , sandy and Steven , mandy and Warren or , excuse me , kimball , and so Mandy and Warren we've seen a couple of years now and we actually did something for her daughter , and so that was cool and so good to see those guys again . I'm going to put a little hashtag here , so your turn .

Speaker 3 30:46

Annette , happy to see her again and on the team . She is one of the original cycling women of leisure With Mandy Yep her again and on the team . She is one of the original cycling women of leisure with mandy yep and uh . Virginia happy to see her out . She started the same year we did riding brag and uh , we just always always see her and she's always fun to hang out with and cycle

Georgia Adventure and Listener Spotlight

Speaker 3 31:07

with .

Speaker 2 31:07

So um , you mentioned scott kara . Uh , we have a big one we haven't mentioned yet . I know . Okay , don't want to forget that one . No , no , no , I'm gonna let you do that . Uh , michael alvin larry , armando zach , some guy named michael sharp uh , total clown . David and william , father and son , very , very great to meet them . Um , gary vaughn , who we mentioned in our first mailbag . We got to spend a lot of time with him . Um , and jeffrey williamson I mentioned my name because he's been very supportive of us on on facebook and everything else . So that was our team and I'm going to let you go with the big one , okay .

Speaker 3 31:59

Last year during Bragg , we kept running into these two on a tandem bike and we found out that there was an aunt and her nephew and they were riding on a tandem bike on this and we met them last year . I believe the aunt's name was Carrie , the young man's name was Phoenix and they completed the ride last year . They were back this year and they were on individual bicycles and it was so much fun to see those two every day and wanted to give a big shout out to Phoenix . We loved the dad jokes . He always had funny dad jokes for us every day . Now , unfortunately , there was a little bit of a mishap and he wasn't able to finish the ride , but we wanted to make sure that we gave a big shout out to him , said we let him know we really missed his presence in the ride those last few days and we hope that he's bouncing back and we'd really love to love to see him and ride with him next year .

Speaker 2 33:05

He , he was so fun to be around , such positive energy Every , every break . Stop just smiling , having a wonderful time . And one day he had a like a button up shirt . He says what do you think of my Jersey ? And it was just , it was just great . I mean I just loved it . And and and it was just , it was just great , I mean I just loved it and and you know he would . He would say , well , what about this ? And I would be like , oh , I know it's a dad joke , but I can't figure out the punchline fast enough . And then so it was definitely fun , and so , and I felt bad because then he , he actually came back to hang out with his aunt and unfortunately , he asked about us and we were I don't know what we were doing , having dinner or something , probably somewhere .

Speaker 2 33:44

So , uh , but uh , phoenix , uh just want to tell you awesome to see you again . Uh , recover , get better . Uh , we'd love to see you next year and , by the way , I would love to extend an olive branch to have you our youngest member of cycling , men of leisure .

Speaker 2 34:02

So uh , if you don't you want to drop the jersey and get a jersey , so we can , we can hook you up , we can hook you up .

Speaker 2 34:11

So I mean , honestly , I guess , for me , as far as brag goes , uh , I could go on and on I just thought it was a huge success . Uh , armando might not think this , but uh , I think he still had had a good time and we got to meet his wife . Yeah , we should would have been under better circumstances . We had to pick her up , but I know we're leaving somebody out . We love you all and I vow to be back next year , and I know , I know that you and I have already talked about that . Vow to be back next year , and I know I know that you and I have already talked about that . So , um , so , brag 2025 I'm going to start campaigning right now . If you want to be part of the the biggest team , that's right . Give us a call . So , um , anything else that you want to say about brag before we ?

Speaker 3 35:01

you know , um , great time , as always , always happy to see the people . The thing that my biggest takeaway from the whole ride was um , I mean , georgia is a beautiful state , right , you know , you've got mountains , you've got rivers , you got lakes . A lot of times when you're going through the farmlands , uh , there was times when there was peanuts on one side of the road and pecan trees on the other Just a fantastic state . And the people that we meet who aren't on the rides , you know , work in the restaurants , work in convenience stores , that kind of stuff are some of the friendliest people I mean . They're just super friendly and they're always so genuinely interested in what we're doing and that type of thing , and so it's just a really nice environment , environment there . So , you know , really enjoy , uh , writing it every year .

Speaker 3 35:52

Um , and I think the big thing for me is all of the support we have for this show . I mean , you know , you and me , two clowns , uh , you know , decided we wanted to start this thing and we had so many people coming up to us that were just very positive that we're like , hey , keep doing what you're doing . We , you know like , we listened to your show , we watch your show , that type of thing . It really meant a lot and it really makes us feel like , you know , we're not just two clowns up here , you know goofing off , and that there's actually people listening and actually enjoy what we're doing . So well said .

Speaker 2 36:25

There's nothing else I can add to that . Well said , I'll just say thank you . So felt like a mini celebrity came home and I'm slup of the barrel . Thank you , that's all I'll add to that . What's up next for us ?

Speaker 3 36:48

um , what's up next for us ? Um , I believe we're headed to michigan .

Speaker 2 36:50

We are heading your , your neck of the woods , but we're going up north . We're going up north . We are doing a ride called shoreline ride , shorelineorg . Um , there is still a discount code cml24 . Enter that discount code to save you 100 bucks . Um , we would love anyone to join , come ride with us .

Speaker 2 37:07

If you're thinking , hey , those guys were , those two clowns were actually okay to be around . Come join us . You'll get the same thing up there . I'll be known to have a bourbon and a cigar in the evening and ride like the wind bullseye during the day .

Speaker 3 37:22

And we've actually got a couple of people that's already coming up to join us . So I mean we can always use a few more , so we could .

Speaker 2 37:29

I did get a quick update from the events director . He said that all sites are confirmed . Working on final details . Registration closes on July 3rd at 1159 PM , meaning on July 4th . If you are watching fireworks , feeling proud about this country and you're thinking I want to join that ride , it's too late . God bless America , but you're too late . Too late . July 3rd CML24 code save you a hundred bucks .

Speaker 3 38:00

Come and join us . It's all along the Northern Shoreline and the ride provides you breakfast and dinner . Jersey , a Jersey , a lot of beautiful scenery up there , so definitely look into it , come and ride it with us .

Speaker 2 38:22

You can check out previous shows if you want to know more about that . So otherwise , send me a message . I'll be glad to tell you about it . I think we need to . This has been a long show , long stories , but it was worth it . I mean , if you like us and you were down there , I think you'll love this part . But why don't we finish with one of the things that you and I really like to do , which is a listener spotlight ? All righty , Lay your quiz on me . Here we go .

Speaker 3 38:52

This episode's listener spotlight has the following clues Okay , this town , city Berg , was formally founded in the very late 1700s . Okay , early growth of this area of the city , uh , revolved around the commerce that was created from the district court , which was located there .

Speaker 2 39:20

okay , commerce from the district court .

Speaker 3 39:23

Okay during Civil War this town was set afire and burned except for four buildings . So basically for the remainder of the war it was basically uninhabitable . Here's one you'll appreciate . Next two , you'll appreciate . It was basically uninhabitable . Here's one you'll appreciate . Next two you'll appreciate . Mickey Mouse and Company had a vested interest in this town . I'm listening . I figured you would be Keep listening , because this is a good one too . It has over 38 golf courses within 20 miles of it .

Speaker 2 40:10

Okay , let me pack my bags . So there we go . Okay , so not St Louis .

Speaker 2 40:22

It is not St Louis . That's all the guesses I'm going to make . We've drug this stick long enough , so appreciate the clues , appreciate all of the listener spotlight responses . I am so thankful for everybody we met along the way in Georgia . Join us next year . We are already looking for our team again . If you have 10 or more , we go to Jersey , let's rock it out of the park .

Listener Appreciation and Georgia Adventure

Speaker 2 40:50

Um and uh , appreciate everybody that joined us . If we did not mention you , we still love you . We just can't mention everybody along the way , cause everybody is just awesome and it's just such a great time . Um the way , because everybody is just awesome and it's just such a great time . Um , so inspiring and and had just a wonderful time in georgia . I appreciate our next thing coming up in shoreline . Thank you for the listener spotlight , uh , clues . Uh , I'm curious . I'm intrigued with mickey mouse and golf courses , so I am listening . So , um , it was six wonderful days to say the following things , minus me destroying a carbon wheel . It's a great day for a bike ride .

Speaker 3 41:31

It was indeed Yep , you too .

Speaker 1 41:36

Thank you for coming along with Adam and Michael on Road Adventures with Cycling Men of Leisure . If you have enjoyed this , please subscribe to the show on the podcast app of your choice .