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. Hey, how you doing? Good to be with you again, Adam.

It's been a while. Oh my gosh. It has been a while. I, I am trying to think the last time we actually, uh, recorded together. Was it in person? February In Florida? Yeah. Well, yes. Not the January in Florida. The Feb, second time February in Florida is the last time that we recorded, uh, together. Wow. I mean, we've had episodes, but they were, you know, recorded previous to that.

So what I know. No, we're actually head of the game a little bit sometimes, so that's all right. Well, that's good. What you been up to? Uh, been busy, we're getting to the last half of school. Uh, just got back cruising the, uh, Caribbean with the family, you know, uh, nice. Took, took my boat out and, uh, me and 2000 of my closest friends hopped on a ship with, uh, with Mickey running the show and, uh, had a good time.

Hey, I'm Mickey Mouse. Mickey and Donald Goofy and all the princesses and, uh, you know, captain Marvel and Spider-Man. Uh, that was a good time. Cruised around for seven or eight days. Nice. Uh, I assume your kids absolutely love that. Oh, they did, they did. Had a good time. Well, we went on a cruise too, uh, a cruise through.

Uh, uh, well, this is a clean show, but, uh, we, we, uh, this year's, uh, Spring break, if you will, or, or a vacation, uh, was, was a staycation. We, we decided to do a bunch of home projects, so we, uh, tore up the floor and put new, new floors in and, and, uh, tore up the tile, which is, makes everything nice and dirty. And, but uh, you did the downstairs bathroom too, didn't you?

Yeah, I've seen pictures. You've been giving me updates on the pictures, so it's looking. Yeah, we got the, got a, it took a 1985 bathroom and turned it into a 2023 bathroom. And so that's nice. And then, uh, um, yes it is. So now sir, next time you visit the uh, great Eastern Time zone, you will have a modern first class restroom to come to.

Sweet. So now the shower price goes up from $8 to $10, is that what you're saying? I've, I've gotta recoup some costs, so if, if you don't mind, I would appreciate it, but leave it in the jar when I'm done. Does that include towel service? Oh, if you pay 10 bucks, tile service is complimentary. I'm even providing a washcloth for that.

Wow. Whoa. Hey, that's more than I've got some bicycle weeklong, bicycle rides. I'm happy with that. We'll even give softened water and warm water for 10 bucks. So, um, wow. Love it. Hey, seriously, I was just joking about the modern bathroom, but isn't it Iowa that has that sign right before Des Moines that says Next rest.

Next Mo. Next. Modern rest area is next rest area. No. Next. Yeah, next modern rest area. Yeah. I was like, what is a non-modern rest area? Like an outhouse or what? So yeah, that's not too far outside of, uh, outside of Des Moines. That's right. We were heading up there. Yeah. Hey, speaking of that, did you, uh, since the last time you and I got together, did you see what, uh, came out?

Uh, a lot of things have came out, but I'm assuming you're speaking about the official complete. Uh, Bri, uh, no. Uh, rag Bri. There we go. Get my rides. Right. Rag Bri. Um, full route. Route. Route. Yep. 50 Pass through towns to go along with the 50 years of Rag Bri. Yeah, I, I think that's, that's good. I like that. And I, what, I'm not gonna, what I'm gonna call, excuse me, uh, what I'm gonna call the optional dip site in Mutan.

I mean, you could dip there, you could dip in, well actually you could dip in any, any river you wanted, but, um, I was kind of, we, you know, it's funny, I, um, you know, we, uh, we had our, our winner for our contest. Um, and, um, He, somebody guessed Mustain and I was like, well, now that it's got the full route, do we need to go back on our own?

But oh, we already announced a winner, official, official route and gotta stick with that. That's true. You know what we could do though, is we could just go to the Missouri River, uh, we could just, right across the bridge, you know, dip the, the back tire in there, go across, dip the front tire there and we'll just call it.

Uh, who's gonna know? Um, I'm not gonna tell anybody, but, um, in 18, that's what we did. My, well, that's not what we did, but I mean, we went out and dipped our tire in our front tire in, but yeah. Yeah, I mean, I mean, you're making us sound like we faked our whole 2018 ride. Oh, no, no, no. That's what we did in 18.

No, it's not. You know, because now the wives will be going, oh yeah. What golf course did you guys spend the week at? Listen, I mean, I think we need to move on before we get ourselves into bigger trouble here. That's, that's true. I mean, uh, no, actually 18 was a great, I mean, cyclone Stadium and, and Iowa City and uh, that was a great ride that year.

So Was it That was a, that was the eagle, yeah. Jersey Best Jersey. I love that jersey. So, all right, so you did vacation. Kids are, gosh, it's kind of weird when you say like, almost on the ending of school, I mean, I just, it's hard for me to believe, but it's only what, a couple months away? Yes, month and a half.

But you also know what that means. That means cycling season is starting and I, I don't know. About you, but I'm, I'm, I've been out there every day, like putting in miles and, and riding hardcore, and I am the biggest liar ever because I haven't even pulled my bicycle out once. Well, I was thinking to myself, this is a podcast, not a video show.

So, uh, I would've let you get away with it. But, uh, I, I will confess that I have written. One time. And so, uh, luckily for us, we do have something coming up though. We do, uh, the first big ride is gonna be what, in just a couple weeks? Yeah. Yeah. And that is gonna be the spring tuneup in Georgia. Rutledge, Georgia, uh, what is the, um, uh, three day music and cycling festival on Sunflower Farm?

Just one out one hour outside of Atlanta the website says. So, um, this is a first for you and I, I mean, we, we are gonna know many people there. Yeah. And this is another, a ride hosted by Franklin and Yeah. And all his folks at, at Bragg bike right across Georgia. So, um, that'll be, that'll be cool. Um, Rutledge.

You know me. I like a little history. I got a couple of interesting facts if you wanna know 'em about Red Ledge. Now don't get us in trouble. The last time you, you, uh, gave some historical facts. I got emails behind the scenes about, about a couple things. You said that you weren't a hundred percent right.

So before I get blasted by email, are you, uh, okay. Are you pretty sure on your historical facts? I was sure last time. The only difference was I said Indian reserv. Yes, and somebody was nice enough to point out that it, that the reservation that I spoke of in Iowa isn't actually a reservation. Now reservation implies that it's, it's land that's granted by the government, um, and not really truly owned by those people.

The one in Iowa is in fact actually owned by the tribe. So it is different and. I thank her for pointing that out and I need to step back. I said blasted, but our listeners have been actually great. They've actually been really helpful. But I, all I know is that we put out that show and that morning I woke up and it was like, bam, bam, bam, bam.

I'm like, oh, what did we do? We misquoted a number just because we couldn't read our own handwriting, which it just goes to show you, uh, communication and, and weakest link is, you know, not reading your own ink. But, um, uh, we, we've messed up. Big time by, by mentioning that we said it was 2100. When it was 21,000.

Oops. Oops. Uh, so, uh, we fixed that. Um, but, uh, yes. So anyways, your point, sir. I would love to hear the history on Rutledge. Well, the only thing I could really come up with Red Ledge, uh, 871 people. So it's not a large community. Um, it's gonna be pretty good size when all the cyclists roll in, but it is the gateway to Hard Labor Creek State Park, which is the second largest state park in Georgia.

Really? Okay. That's cool. That's all I got. That's all I got. Well, I'm, I'm excited. I mean, the last time you and I, um, were in Georgia together, you know, there is something to be said you miss about flying in. So the, the, the, the perk, of course is we were there within one day and set up in our hotel and had our bikes ready, and we went out for a beautiful ride, uh, that day.

The con, of course, is I didn't get to see. You know, the, some of this vast country that I've ha haven't, you know, experienced. So this time you and I, sir, we are, uh, we are both driving. We're driving it. Yes. So I'm, I'm excited to see some, uh, some of those areas and get to go from my area, get to go back through Kentucky.

And so last time you and I were there was the bourbon burn and that's a beautiful, beautiful area. So I'm, I'm looking forward to that. Hopefully it's a good drive. So, Um, you know, something we forgot to talk about. Was the fact that you're wearing a cycling mini leisure jersey right now? Yes. Yes. I The brand, the brand new one.

I appreciate that. I'm looking here at you on the computer and it's like, that is a fine looking jersey. I like it. Yeah, listen, I mean, uh, uh, I, I decided that since they happened to be at my house in the Eastern time zone where the time is correct, um, that I would, uh, wear this in honor of us getting back together since it's been a, been a while.

I like it looking good, but I, I don't think that's what you were talking about. No, no, no, no. I was gonna talk about March 8th and what we did March 8th. Oh. This is big. This is pretty cool. And this, this will, this is exciting. I forgot about it. It has something to do with, uh, international Women's Day, doesn't it?

That's right, that's right. So, um, any of, uh, our listeners or anyone who's been to our Facebook pager website, um, they have seen our logo where it has the, uh, 1920s guy on a bicycle with a button up jacket. And, uh, and. I forget what kind of hat you call that right now. My brain went dead, but um, you call it not bowler's hat, no bowler's hat.

Any different? No, no. It's kind of like a, I don't know, a 1920s workman's cap type looking thing. I don't, you know, and, and of course it says CYC of Leisure, established 2022. All this crazy idea that you and I had started, uh, in Georgia. And gruesome roots and, and, uh, we've told that before on some other show.

But, um, then of course fertilizer hit it in Iowa. And by the end of the year, boom, we had, we had, we had paid our friend to, uh, create our logo. But in honor of International Women's Day, we decided to have a sister logo. And for, uh, all the ladies who listen to us and follow us, we now have a cycling, women of leisure.

Uh, logo and instead of having the guy, uh, on his bicycle, it is a, a woman enjoying her best life. So, um, 1920s. Yes. Young lady en enjoying cycling. That's right. So now you know why this is, this is super important because I'm gonna probably jump the gun and get out of order from the things you wanted to talk about, but it's okay.

We did, we did finalize our team for Bragg. Yes. And we've got, I think 24, 25 rider. And a couple of them. Our ladies. That's correct. We are happy to have ladies. I actually had, um, one of the ladies write me behind this scene and said, um, love your podcast, been listening to your show. Uh, love what you guys talk about.

Um, love what, uh, but can I just make sure that you do allow women? Absolutely. Uh, of course cycling men of Leisure is for everybody. And so it was that, uh, notion behind the scenes that you and I started talking. Why don't we do something to encompass everybody? So, uh, we now have our sister logo. Um, and so, uh, you'll be seeing that, uh, uh, on a jersey near you soon.

So. Nice. I love it. So after we, uh, visit, uh, Rutlands, Georgia and come back, um, you got anything going on? I don't think I've got too much going on until we hit our next ride, which I believe is the. It's the brag. Gotcha. So I've got a local bike right across Georgia. Yeah. Um, oh, you're doing a local ride?

Yeah. Yeah. Which one? Um, it's called Dawn Farm. It's, uh, Dawn Farm Ride for Recovery. Uh, this is the 14th annual ride. Um, I got in involved in this ride because the bike shop that I go to, wheels in Motion out of Ann. Uh, they sponsor it every year. And so, um, I've been doing that ride for a while and, and I just gotta say, if you are in the Michigan area or close by and you're looking for a great ride, um, gonna do a little plug here for Dawn Farm, ride for recovery.dot org.

Um, it's a pretty cool, um, organization where, um, individuals. You don't need a little help in life. They have a place to recover. It's actually a farm. And, um, part of their recovery is taking care of animals and taking care of, uh, different shores and stuff on the farm. And, um, it's a great ride. Uh, it's safe.

Um, uh, it is on the road, but it's definitely well sponsored and, um, it's a beautiful country, so hopefully, oh, by the way, also, I happen to know that April 30th, the day of the. It'll be windy because every year I do this ride, it is windy. So if you're looking for some wind for your, your wind turbine in the local area, it'll be windy on April 30th.

So, but seriously, if you're not doing anything, uh, the website, you can check it out as Don farm Ride for recovery.org. g.org. So, um, sounds like. Oh, it's, it is a good day actually. So too bad I'm stuck in Kansas that day or I'd, uh, come up there and, uh, write it with you, but I'm glad to see you're representing.

Absolutely. Thank you, sir. Maybe I'll, uh, wear my new cycling, man of Leisure podcast jersey that day. So I think you should Absolutely. So, uh, You know, we're, uh, really looking forward to a lot of stuff this year. Um, you know, the one thing we haven't talked about is are, are we flying for, for a big brag this year?

I haven't even, yes. Yes. Okay. Yes. Yeah. All right. Well, we're gonna have to pack our bikes again. Huh? We're gonna have to pack our bikes. And I think what we need to do is probably, this is April. Probably next month we need to have an episode talking about flying with your bikes. Um, we've talked to a couple people and they've asked us about it when they found out that we've flown with our bikes.

And I know you and I were kind of the first ideas of flying with our bikes. Um, seemed a little daunting. It's like, Ooh, yeah. Do we really wanna do this? Can we do this? Um, we've done it. Uh, we're gonna do it again. And we have some, uh, you know, pro tips. Helpful little hacks and things like that to, uh, help people feel more secure about taking their bike down, packing it up, and then, uh, putting it together on the other side.

Yeah, definitely. I mean, uh, it was definitely one of those feelings for me when we did that, which I wasn't sure about it, but, um, through some research and some friends and some cycling, uh, a bike shop actually I talked to a bike shop and gave me some, some cool pointers. Made it really simple. So yeah, we can definitely talk about that.

And don't forget the rubber mallet, because when something doesn't fit, I just hit it with a rubber mallet and it seems to work. You know, last year that's not, uh, that wasn't too far off. You had those two extra screws. We weren't sure where they went. So we just, they, they always have a couple of extra pieces that are not important.

That's just the way they build these. Don't worry about that, derailer, you're not gonna need that. Don't worry about that. So in all honesty, we did get them all together. There was no loose pieces and no hammers were involved to do it. So I didn't even think we had a hammer, did we? No, we didn't. No, but it would've helped out when we started camping each night.

So that wouldn't have been a bad idea, but, um, well, cool. I'm, I'm excited. I mean, um, Like I said, the wife and I have been working on some stuff here, but I'm, I'm ready, I'm ready to get out there. And the weather hasn't been real great here in Michigan. Um, we have different years. I mean, some years you could be, I mean, there's some guys who go out and ride, don't get me wrong, but I'm just not gonna go out ride when This's ice and snow still on the ground.

That's just not my style. Um, but we've had years where you can go out and you can go on a nice ride, go on the trails and stuff. Mm-hmm. We just, every, I mean, Just keeps randomly snowing. Like today. This today was a day where I wore shorts to work. It was supposed to be 60 some degrees. Yep. Middle of the day starts raining, dark clouds come, goes from 60 to 48 in two seconds, and um, and then it rained all afternoon.

So we just, we just, this year has not been real great for weather. What about you guys? You know, uh, weather was pretty, has been. We've had some pretty good stretches of decent weather, uh, out here in the, in the plains. Um, unfortunately with my schedule and everything else going on, I really not have not had an opportunity to take advantage of that.

So that's, uh, I'm a little behind the little behind on my training, but, um, I'm kind of looking at the spring tuneup as a, uh, piece of that training. So, um, I, I think I'll get there. It's fun. I think we're gonna have some good times. We've got a lot of friends that are gonna be showing up at these rides and, um, looking forward to it.

I think it's gonna be a good, good season. Even though you've had nice weather, they, you know, your work gaslighted you and, and it's definitely kicked up your responsibility. So I think you should bill 'em. Oh, wait, they already pay you. I don't know how I could get out a double bill in the, yeah, no, I just better then I don't have a job and then I can write all the time.

But, uh, yeah, let's not, let's not do that. But, um, so yeah, it's, uh, it's gonna be fun and we'll, uh, we'll have some good episodes coming up. What, what have we, what have we got after this episode? What can, uh, folks look forward to? Uh, I got a couple things. First thing as, uh, our next show is gonna have a couple of VIPs, uh, these, these, these VIPs for us, which we better, we better say that, uh, are our beautiful be better beautiful wives.

So we, um, you know, a lot of people ask us about, um, our family life and what we do and stuff, and so we thought, what better way to. Open our world to our listeners, um, and subscribers and, and say, Hey, this, these are our, these are our wives. And so we sat down with them in February. Um, And we are gonna release that.

So, but the other thing that we're gonna do is while we're at spring tuneup, uh, Franklin has agreed to sit down with you and I, and so they'll mm-hmm. They'll be, uh, some highlights from the spring tuneup, maybe all things brag, um, and maybe not, maybe something he might throw a little surprise, maybe non brag.

So, uh, we, who knows what we might hear down in Georgia, so it'll be. Cool. The, uh, the, the, the wife's show will be good. We, we opened the mics up to them to let them, uh, air whatever laundry they, they wanted to air. We did, we no holds barred. We wanted honest opinions and, you know, we asked 'em stuff about, you know, what they thought about us doing, uh, rides and podcasts and, you know, things like that.

And so it should, should be a good show. So that got that to look forward to. And then if, uh, we, we can hook up with Franklin there, it's always a good. And then I think after that, um, just, just, um, not exactly sure when, but we'll definitely be talking about, you know, packing the bike up, getting ready to fly, and, um, and getting tips.

Tips for. What to bring, what you and I bring, I mean, at least what you and I have been successful in bringing and if that helps someone out there, I mean one of, some of the things that, um, if you're listening to this, uh, please don't hesitate. We have a few ways to get ahold of us. We have cycling of leisure gmail.com.

Um, also our Facebook page, uh, message. We have been getting some requests of some things to talk about, um, and, and some of those things we've already mentioned in, in prior shows, and we slip it in when we can. Um, and we, we talk about it. So please don't hesitate if there's something that you'd like to hear or a ride that you've done or want us to talk about, or a ride that we should look into, don't hesitate to let us know about Absolutely.

That either. So we're, we're always planning for next year and we wanna try some new rides. So if you have some ideas there. Um, the other thing to remember when, you know, sending us a message or replying, um, Michael's the guy that. He's got all his information in order and his right, and if there's anything wrong, well that is Adam.

Um, so just keep that in mind. You know what, uh, uh, my previous life I was, I liked that by the way. But in my previous life, um, before I was in the position I am now, um, I was a bus driver and, and was a hard job and I loved it and I did it for 10 years of my life and I'm proud of what I did. But what I would always tell my clients is, is if you liked your ride, my name is, If you didn't like the ride.

Hi, I'm Jim. So That's right. So, but, uh, well, great. Well, I, I am, uh, I've been excited to be, be with you again here today. Um, it's been a while. It's been too long, actually, so. Absolutely, absolutely. Cool. Well, thanks for, for joining me today. Thanks for our, our subscribers for listening, and thanks for all your support.

Sounds good. And remember today, A great day for a bike ride. Absolutely. Thank you for coming along with Adam and Michael on Road Adventures with Cycling Men of Leisure. If you have enjoyed this, please share the podcast or tell a friend about it.