James Stout Interview: Part 2

Part 1, Part 2, Parts 3 & 4, Postscript

Part 2

Martin Hardy’s letter to TT1 on behalf of James Stout

James Stout blog entry regarding his issues with Team Type 1

Bz:

Martin Hardy is “A” lawyer, but not your lawyer? He wrote TT1 strictly as a friend and supporter, right?
 
JS:

“Yes, that’s right. Yes.

“Martin isn’t registered as a lawyer in the U.S. and he can’t represent me there. But he’s been a very good friend to me throughout this thing, when I went through some pretty dark times.

“Martin’s always been there for me.”

 
Bz:

Is Martin working with you on the case, now?
 
JS:

“He’s working with me. But, as I said, Martin is not a lawyer in the U.S.

“But I still turn to Martin for a load of advice, with regard to lots of things.

“He advises me in the capacity of someone who I trust.”

 
Bz:

How long were you with TT1, altogether?
 
JS:

“Two years.”

 
Bz:

I remember reading somewhere that the first year was actually pretty good.
 
JS:

“Yeah, it was fantastic! I loved it!

“That’s why this year I was incredibly enthusiastic.

“During any of my interviews from last year you’ll see that I wasn’t just on the team, but I was allllll about the team. It meant a lot to me. The diabetes things meant a lot to me. The team meant a lot to me.

“I was passionate about TT1.”

 
Bz:

Were you performing well, I mean at a high level, at the time?
 
JS:

“Yeah! I mean, we won the Race Across America, I won a criterium last year, I finished a few tough races in Belgium. So, yeah, things were all roses, until January of this year.”

 
Bz:

How did you go from point “A”, happily employed as a professional cyclist, to point “C” unemployed and at odds with your former team? We seem to be missing something important in between.
 
JS:

“I wasn’t really making anything public, because I was told not to by the team. I thought everything would be ok.

“And it turned out that everything wasn’t ok.

“At some point I realized that things weren’t gonna be ok. I had spoken to Martin and Martin gave me advice and we tried our hardest to resolve things amicably and it wasn’t working. So, at some point we had to reveal everything that happened, into the public sphere. We had to, unfortunately publish some things.

“TT1 still means a lot to me. I don’t want to run that name into the ground. But they didn’t act in a manner that was consistent with the image which they portray and at some point you have to be accountable for your actions.

“So, after five months of not receiving a paycheck, when I lived in my car, moved out of my house because I couldn’t pay rent, when for months I didn’t have a visa in the U.S., when I had to return to Europe at my own expense, I realized that the only way I was ever going to salvage anything out of this situation was to publish what I did publish on Martin’s website.”

 
Bz:

At what point, or how, did it begin going from good to bad?
 
JS:

“Well, there was a delay with the visas, a delay with pay. Eventually I never received any pay, from January of 2011.

“From then I tried my best to reach out to the team and I asked what was going on. At first they just told me, it’ll be sorted, it’ll be sorted. And I trusted them because I thought they were my friends . . . well, long story short, I shouldn’t have trusted them, at least in that capacity. Because,  I still haven’t received a penny.

“That got worse and worse. At first it’s one month without pay, then you can’t afford the rent on your house, then you’re sleeping on your friend’s couch, then you’re living in your car, then you’re selling all your shit to buy food.

“Then one day you realize that it’s not happening and you need to go home.”
 

Bz:

In your own writing and even in articles about you, your poltics are front and center. Was that ever a source of conflict between you and the team? Was there a grind between your way of thinking and team owner Phil Southerland’s way of thinking?
 
JS:

“I can’t say that there was, because Phil hasn’t communicated with me for months. And the reason I was dismissed was not officially that.

“But, it’s clear, as you say, that I wear my heart on my sleeve and if I feel something then I say that. Some people might not like that. I don’t know if he’s one of them and I wouldn’t like to presume to speak for him.

“But it’s not beyond the realms of possibility.”

 
Bz:

Whenever you were face to face with Phil, was there any friction? Or did it seem that things were ok?
 
JS:

“No, things seemed ok.

“The day before I left the United States I rode 100 miles with Phil. We chatted. It was ok.

“I mean, Phil was never like my best buddy and I didn’t see him that much. But, yeah, I turned to Phil for advice. I used to turn to Phil for medical advice all the time. There have been times when I’ve rung Phil at two in the morning to ask him what I should do with my insulin.”

 
Bz:

When things started turning, did he confront you? Or did he just kind of disappear out of your life?
 
JS:

“Ummm, he’d occasionally send me a couple of official emails. They were always in official language. And then he just hasn’t really spoken to me.

“When my contract was terminated, etcetera, that never came through Phil.

“So, since things have started really turning, I’ve not heard from Phil.”

 
Bz:

Phil started out as a mentor, almost a friend, and then he just vanished?
 
JS:

“Exactly,  yeah. Yeah. I don’t really hear from him.”

 
Bz:

And you were never really aware of the reasons behind that change?
 
JS:

“No. No, I don’t know what I did to him. I considered him a friend at one point, and I wouldn’t go that far now.

“I don’t know what I did to warrant that.”

 
Bz:

Were you on the team at the same time as Willem Van den Eynde?
 
JS:

“No. No, all I know about Willem is what you’ve read on Cycling News.

“I’m afraid I’ve never even met Willem.

“I’ve raced in Belgium, and I’ve never even seen another diabetic bike racer in Belgium. So, maybe he’s not in the sport any more.

“I’m afraid what I know about Willem is what you know about Willem, or anyone else who’s read the Cycling News.”

 
Bz:

His story is very similar to yours. His medication was withheld, he was forced to sleep on the floor of Southerland’s hotel room. He was denied food, berated by management, and he didn’t really understand what was going on, either.

Were you aware of other similar stories? More than just yours and Willem’s?
 
JS:

“Not of that kind of thing. But obviously when you’re on a team they don’t say, hey, do you know about this guy and this guy and this guy. So, if that had happened I’m sure that I wouldn’t have heard of it.

“But I’m not aware of any other stories in the same light.

“With the delays in our visas, that didn’t only affect me. But I wasn’t aware of anyone in the exact situation.

Willem Van den Eynde’s story, and here’s a discussion at Cycling News forums that contains a better translation of that article

Bz:

Willem Van den Eynde’s case was resolved successfully through the Belgian cycling federation and UCI. Have you attempted to seek a settlement or arbitration through your own national federation? Have you contacted UCI? If so, what were the results? What’s the status of your claims vs TT1?
 
JS:

“Yes. I was licensed through the USA cycling federation. I’ve been in touch with them and received no help and no response.

“Likewise Pat McQuaid (president of UCI – Bz), likewise UCI.

“That disappoints me, I’m not going to lie.

“There is a mountain of organizations who are designed to catch riders cheating, move bikes around, enforce all the rules.

“There should be an organization which supports the riders. There should be a (formalized – Bz) union of professional cyclists, which will step in on riders’ behalf.

“I really strongly feel that.

“I’m now with the Spanish federation (RFEC — Bz). Previously I went through USA Cycling.

“British cycling, in their wisdom, refused to grant me a license when I wasn’t living in the U.K.

“Which is total bullshit. Hundreds of riders which aren’t resident in the U.K. have British licenses; Mark Cavendish, David Millar, Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas. Those guys don’t live in London or Oxford. Everyone lives in Italy or France or Spain.

“For whatever reason an official in the USA decided to kick up a fuss about me being registered in the U.S. from a British license even though I spent half the year in the United Kingdom.

“So I was forced to federate with the USA Cycling federation, who have not been that helpful in this case.”

 
Bz:

Have you tried to get help from the Spanish federation?
 
JS:

“Because I wasn’t licensed by the Spanish federation at the time, I haven’t. But, they have been entirely supportive in all my interactions with them. As far as processing my license,  helping me find teams, helping me get carpooled to races. I can’t fault the Real Federación Española  for anything.

“I think that, whatever you want to say about Contador, they stick up for their riders. Until they’re proved to be guilty.

“There are enough people who exist, as I say, to persecute the riders. I strongly believe that what they (RFEC – Bz) do is right. They stick up for their riders. I can’t speak highly enough of them.”

NOTE:
Since this interview RFEC has agreed to help James with his case – Bz.
 
Bz:

RFEC is an advocate for its riders?
 
JS:

“Specifically my interactions have been with the Catalan federation. Things have been great

“They supported Contador. I know there are cases where they haven’t supported riders. So I don’t know if this is a change of policy. I know the supported Valverde, as well.

“But even down to the fact that they make you take a physical before they give you a license, because it makes sense to check if you’re healthy before they take your money, not just take your money and watch you drop dead in a race.”

Bz:

Who was your DS at TT1?
 
JS:

“Director with the development team was Jack Seehafer. The year before that, with the elite team, it was Bob Schrank, who I cannot speak highly enough of.

“Bob is one of my best friends in the whole world. Bob is someone who I still turn to even though I’m not with TT1. If I have a problem, he’s someone I call.”

 
Bz:

So up to the DS level you felt pretty supported?
 
JS:

“Yeah, highly. They were good people, reeeeally good people.

“My father suffered some mental health issues in the past twelve months. I knew.

“I was 23, 22. You still need a father figure to look up to, and a lot of those guys on TT1 are people who I did look up to. People who I could turn to for help when I didn’t know what to do because I haven’t been alive long enough.

“Those guys who I met through TT1 were people who filled in for my dad, in a way, when my family was so far away.

“They’re good people and they’re people who have done a lot for me.”

 
Bz:

It’s rumored that treatment of riders was tiered, that those riders who won more, were treated better, given more and better food, medical supplies, shelter. Is there any accuracy to that?
 
JS:

“Ummm,  nope.

“I wasn’t living with the team. I was living by myself in California. But until the medication stopped I was receiving the same medication as everyone else. I followed two medications, the best on the market.

“There were issues with getting bikes out on time, with getting kits out on time. I wouldn’t say that was tiered treatment by any means, but I’d say it was just poor organization.”

 
Bz:

Because of your lack of medication did your own performance suffer?
 
JS:

“Oh yeah! I was creeeeping. If you don’t take your insulin for a week you’re about to go blind. You don’t take your insulin your kidneys will shut down.

“It’s not just about your performance, it’s your ability to stay alive. The insulin is absolutely integral to your survival. Without insulin the diabetic cannot survive.”

 
Bz:

How did it work, did your performance drop after they cut off the insulin? Or did they cut off the insulin when your performance dropped off?
 
JS:

“One day I just received an email saying I wasn’t going to get insulin any more.

“Pretty much I continued to use supplies that I had. I started having problems a couple months after that.

“It wasn’t just the lack of insulin it was also the stress that I was dealing with. I mean, I hadn’t been paid, I was living in my car, I didn’t know where my next meal was going to come from, I hadn’t received any race schedules.

“I think lack of insulin combined with just a ton of lifestyle issues.

“I mean, my performance wasn’t great. But, because I wasn’t racing I wasn’t resting enough. I beat shit into myself training, which was my fault.

“My performance may or may not have decreased. They would never have known, because they never took me to any races.”

“They stopped it (taking him to races – Bz) in 2011 because I never got my visa. You can’t be cycling professionally if you don’t have a visa to be a professional cyclist.”

Bz:

At what point did the insulin stop?
 
JS:

“The insulin stopped in March.”

 
Bz:

How did it work with the visa? Or how was it supposed to work? Do they typically help you get your visa?
 
JS:

“That was their obligation. I have a contract that states that they’re the employer and it’s up to them to get a visa.”

 
Bz:

How did that fall apart?
 
JS:

“I don’t know exactly what happened. But, there was a horrendous delay so that the Visa didn’t come till April.

“I was continually being told, it’ll come in five days, it’ll come in five days, it’ll come in five days.

“So, why that happened, I don’t know.”

 
Bz:

In April you finally got the visa?
 
JS:

“I was on a student visa at UCSD and I went to change to a professional athlete visa and that never came. I took a sabbatical to ride full time.

“In April the visa was approved provisionally. I then had to go back to the United Kingdom to conduct an interview and collect the visa.

“Previously TT1 had told me I’d be able to do that in the U.S., but it turned out you can’t do it in the U.S.

“So I returned April 11th, which was the last day I was legally able to remain in the U.S. on my old visa.

“I left the U.S. and came to the UK in order to pick up my visa, thinking I’d be back in a couple of weeks. so I brought one bag of clothes and my bike.

“At that point they terminated my contract.”

 

Bz:

With TT1′s connections to pharmaceutical companies, they would seem to have easier access to doping products through the back door. Were you aware of doping occurring on any level by any rider or with the knowledge or consent of any staff, management or ownership personnel? 
 
JS:

“That’s not something I want to comment on right now. I never saw anyone taking any performance enhancing substances. But I don’t want to talk about doping on TT1 at the moment if that’s ok.”

 
Bz:

I’ve heard that TT1 is being investigated for insurance fraud, were you aware of that? Have you been contacted about it? Do you have any information about it?
 
JS:

“I wasn’t aware that they were being investigated for insurance fraud.

“It upsets me to read shit about TT1, because I get angry so I try not to.

“Because, I’m torn between really resenting what they did to me, and wanting my friends to do well. And it really upsets me.

“There are individuals who I hugely resent the way they treated me. There are other individuals who are some of my best friends.

“It upsets me when I see my friends cooperating with people who I know have done such horrible things to me. So, I try to avoid any type of interactions with TT1. I just try to keep them out of my life as much as I can.”

_________–

You can also find this and future interviews, plus a lot more cycling related content, at Cyclismas.

Cyclismas.

James Stout Interview: Part 1: School and Motivation

Part 1, Part 2, Parts 3 & 4, Postscript

James Stout was a twenty-something year old PhD student who also happened to be a bike racer struggling with a form of Type 1 diabetes while studying at UC San Diego.

After a chance encounter at the Tour of California where he met some like-minded individuals who shared his perspective and his struggles, James joined his new soulmates on Team Type 1, a professional cycling team comprised of athletes also suffering from Type 1 diabetes.

For a year or more things went beautifully for James and his relationship with the team.

Then, inexplicably, things fell apart.

This is my discussion with James about his ups and downs during and since that time.

—

Bikezilla:

In an interview with, Ioana Patringenaru, at  This Week @ UCSD, you said:
 
“I used to use diabetes as an excuse for doing badly. Now, it’s a motivation for doing well.”

It sounds like you had some problems before getting into cycling. What kind of problems?
 
James Stout:

“When I got diagnosed, my doctors told me I had to start playing chess.

“I told them I wanted to be a professional cyclist, they told me to give up.

“I used to get wicked low blood-sugars in races. Or I’d go high and my body would fill up with lactic acid. I would eat the wrong stuff, or eat at the wrong time, I wouldn’t know when to take my insulin before a race. Things like that.

“There’s no advice, there’s nothing out there.

“You go to your doctor and you say, I want to ride bikes, I want to race 200 kilometers (km).

“The first time I said that he said, that’s not possible, people don’t do that. I told him they did and he just told me I was lying.

“Then I produced evidence to the contrary and he just said, well that’s not for you, you can’t do that.

“So I fought to overcome that, I guess with trial and error. And I made loads of errors on my way to finding out the right way to do it.

“Definitely turned the page, really. Perhaps more so even now that I’m not with Team Type 1.

“I don’t know how much the diabetes thing really means to anyone anymore. I thought it meant a lot to everyone there. Now I know that it means a lot to me and I had to experience some things, like all of these things just recently, in the U.S. especially with the healthcare system.

“I’m just deeply passionate and really involved in showing diabetics that they can do whatever they want and spreading that message. Being something of an example as best I can.”

Bz:

When they told you you had to go play chess, that really had a big impact on you.

JS:

“It really did, yes.

“I think about that every time I get on my bike. That pissed me off.

“If you want me to do something, the best way is to tell me I can’t. Because I’ll make sure that you get proved wrong. That pissed me off more than I can say.

“I’m prepared to sacrifice an awful lot. I wanted something. I wanted it really badly and someone telling me I couldn’t have it, especially that coldly, then laughing about it and saying, well you can go play chess.

“Yeah, every single day I think about that. Every single day I think that guy should fuck off, he’s wrong. It made a huge impact on me.”

Bz:

The doctor was laughing when he told you to play chess?

JS:

“Yeah, it was like, ha ha ha. It wasn’t like, sorry son. It was like, you’re taking a pinch if you think you’re going to be a bike racer and you’ve got type 1 diabetes.

“It was like I told him, hey, I wanna be a hedgehog.

“My little cousine told me once that when she grew up she wanted to be a hedgehog.

“Yeah, it was like I’d just manifestly told him something clearly impossible.

“So I like to think that I’m doing the impossible and proving it’s possible.”

Bz:

You rode for both TT1, a professional team, and UCSD, a collegiate team, at the same time?

JS:

“Yes, you can ride collegiate in the U.S. So I rode UCSD in a collegiate capacity and TT1 in all the other races.”

Bz:

How did you handle that schedule?

JS:

“There weren’t too many conflicts. The collegiate level was just kind of fun.

“While with TT1 I was studying for my PhD.

“The nice thing about being a history PhD, is you don’t have too much of a schedule. You’re never massively obliged to be in any one place at any one time. Aside from my teaching (JS was a teaching assistant – Bz) I could set my own schedule.

“That meant I could spend most of my time riding and the rest of the time reading.

“It would seem that I’m very organized, but at eye level I’m really atrociously organized. But somehow I made it work.

“And when I do my research on history, it’s on cycling, the history of cycling as national identity here in Catalonia.

“It kind of segued together nicely.

“I had a very supportive set of professors.

“The staff at UCSD, they still check out my Twitter, they look up my race results, they email me when they know I’ve won a race. They’re great.

“I owe them a lot.”

Bz:

You lined up some sponsors for UCSD’s cycling team and became the team’s “Coordinator of Sponsorship”. Was that on your own initiative?

JS:

“The thing about collegiate cycling is that, people aren’t sponsoring you because you’re The Shit.

“If you’re under the impression that they’re sponsoring you because you’re good, then you’re misleading yourself. Because if you’re in collegiate cycling, you’re not that good.

“No one buys a frame because they saw a dude on a collegiate team riding it.

“But what the sponsors do realize is that, everyone started out as a beginner. And they want to help guys who are just starting, especially when they don’t have much money, and if you can support these kids and build a sense of loyalty to your brand, then years to come when they’re doctors, dentists, lawyers, then they’ll keep buying your stuff.

“So a big deal when I did the sponsorship thing wasn’t so much getting a killer deal on 18 mil carbon front wheels. It was getting a killer deal on a $600.00 alloy frame bike that any kid could buy.

“I come from Europe, where I didn’t buy a bike until I as 18. Because, I’d go to the club and people would give me bikes, and give me kits, and give me helmets, and drive me to races.

“In America cycling is such a middle class Bourgeoisie sport. It disgusts me that you can be priced out of it.

“So my big goal was that no one was priced out of the sport.

“There was one guy who came to us. He had seen our race one year and he said, I want to be a bike racer. And he brought this bike he put together from stuff he found in trash.

“Different types of wheels and . . . We managed to cobble him together a proper racing bike somehow.

“And that’s the biggest achievement for me in collegiate cycling, was getting these kids bikes so they could start racing. Giving them access to the sport.

“I strongly believe that’s what it should be about.

“I strongly believe that the U.S. has a really big problem with its cycling culture in that they fundamentally hug the wrong target.

“The target should be people from the age of fifteen to the age of thirty. It should be about getting those people on bikes, getting them racing.

“Not people in the range of thirty-five to fifty, buying bikes that cost more than I earn in a year. Those are people who’ll buy bikes anyway if they want to buy bikes.

“It upsets me that there are five Masters categories and no Juniors categories at some races. That’s not right.”

 
Bz:

Did any of that carry over to your time on TT1?
 
JS:

“Not at all, not as a coordinator. I was able to reach out with a lot of our sponsors and make contact with them directly.

“I would never say I coordinated a sponsorship. But, I was lucky enough that I’d do some product days with our sponsors. I was able to connect with Glacier Gloves, with Hammer Nutrition, with all the guys at training camp, like VSP vision care, like the guys from Shimano. And obviously I did some work with the diabetes industry sponsors.  They gave me some great opportunities.

“I remember doing a crit earlier this year in L.A. somewhere and I’m off the front and one of the dudes from Shimano, he’s standing in the pit. He comes out and he’s holding out his hand like he’s going to give me a feed and he just wanted to give me a high-five because he was so stoked to see someone from this team off the front.

“I built some pretty good relationships with sponsors, but I was never involved directly in coordination of that. That was something that went on in some office somewhere.

“I don’t like racing around with stuff painted all over my body if I don’t know . . . I don’t like representing people if I don’t know who they are or what they produce. It always meant a lot to me to get to know the sponsors.”

 
Bz:

You’re originally from England and you did your undergraduate studies at Oxford?
 
JS:

“Yes. I’m in Spain, now. I studied my undergraduate at Oxford, then went to UC San Diego.”

 
Bz:

You went from Oxford, a very prestigious school, to UCSD, which is anything but prestigious. How did that transition happen?
 
JS:

“UCSD has one of the best Spanish History programs in the English speaking world. I’d go as far as saying the best in the U.S.

“So, in my small field it was probably the best place to go.

“I had offers from Harvard, Princeton, all those places.

“I wanted to ride my bike. I wanted to enjoy my PhD, and I didn’t want to be in an environment that was highly competitive, as I was as a grad student. I worked pretty hard at my undergraduate.

“UCSD has a super supportive, nurturing environment. It’s a wonderful place to live.

“So, that’s how I ended up there, really.

“They had a great faculty and I revere them for the time they spent with me.”

 
Bz:

Prior to your time with TT1, when you were attending UCSD and riding only for them, how did you get your insulin and testing supplies? Who helped you with your treatment?
 
JS:

“That was sketch. My mum shipped me some from home. I saw a doctor who I wasn’t able to get UCSD to pay for all the time and he hooked me up with samples.

“I begged, borrowed and stole. I did what I had to do. My control wasn’t the best.

“I did what I had to, but essentially my health paid the price.”

 
Bz:

The demands on your body and how they stress your diabetes riding at a collegiate level must be somewhat less than riding at a professional level.
 
JS:

“Yes. But cycling or not, if you aren’t getting the correct insulin it’s not good for you. You will go blind, you will lose limbs, you will have kidney failure. Without it you can’t survive.

“I didn’t realize quite the extent of the U.S. health insurance kind of shambles until a bit too late.

“I had to get insulin, where I could get insulin and when I could.”

——-

You can also find this and future interviews, plus a lot more cycling related content, at Cyclismas.

Bikezilla’s Love and Relationship Advice

Dear Bikezilla,

Recently my BF of a couple months has started sending me emoticons. He sends them in texts, in emails, he even tweets them to me.

I really love his sexy cycling legs, but, emoticons? Gosh! I just don’t know.

Should I be concerned?

Possibly Concerned in Seattle.

Dear Possibly,

Your “man” has gotten in touch with his feminine side.

I’m sure that at first you found this charming, even endearing. But once that five minutes passed you realized that if you wanted to date someone that chickish you could just go lesbo and save yourself a lot of headaches to boot.

At first offense you should have immediately pulled your BF’s Man Card for a period of no less than one week.

If, during this probationary period, he refrained from all use of emoticons and had not participated in any other girly activities or mannerisms, he could then have said Man Card reinstated.

However, repeated offenses, such as you have indicated, should (in fact must) be taken as a very clear “coming out of the closet” statement.

If there is any doubt remaining, look for any of these other signs:

Has he started playing golf?

Does he follow curling, no matter how casual he tries to pretend his interest is?

Has he ever had a manicure or a pedicure? Both?!

Does he drink hazelnut coffee?

Does he wear Lampre kit?

If even a single one of these additional signs is present, you should assume that when he leaves you it will be for another man.

Be smart, leave him first.

Hope this helps.

Bikezilla

Bikezilla News

I have a couple announcements about Bikezilla that I’d like to share with you.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that my writing production has dropped way off. There are several reasons for that, beyond the fact that I’m stupid and lazy.

First there was a lot of research and writing I had to do for Strickland and Vaughters interviews (and, again, my thanks to both of them for being so cool to the site), then the studying for my state professional license, now there’s more.

– I’ve been preparing to become a part of a new website. It’s a collaborative site, a lot like the original incarnation of The Postgame, which I wrote for as the NFL writer. But this site will be entirely focused on cycling and I’ll be the primary interviewer, which is very exciting for me.

The new site is called Cyclismas and it should be live any day now (I’d hoped even today, but there’s a lot to get ready).

It’s run by . . . well, I’m not sure I’m allowed to give that away just yet, but it’ll feature guys like @UCI_Overlord and Dan Wuori (who it’s just fine to hate for being funnier than you. I do.) and Joshua Hunt (who it’s ok to hate for being more brilliant than you. I do.) and several other most excellent and equally hateable writers.

AND!

– Bikezilla has just (and FINALLY!) started bringing in new writers. I’ve been dying to do this for a long time, but when the pay is zero it’s hard to find good help.

I know, duh, right?

Eric Bowen, who’s worked with the site previously on bike fit related articles, is coming on. He’ll be publishing some of the articles that he writes for his VeloFit news letter and website, here. Yay, here!

If we’re very lucky maybe we’ll get the occasional cycling history article, too, because Eric is a freakin’ encyclopedia of that stuff.

Here’s Eric’s contact info should you require such brilliant, expert service.

Eric Bowen, Owner and Bike Fitting Specialist
VeloFit Revolution
Phone: (858) 414-7093
Web: www.velofitter.com
email: velofitter@yahoo.com

Publisher
The Virtual Musette
web: www.thevirtualmusette.com

Eric, at least I hope, is not the last of the writers who will come on board here at Bikezilla. Cross your fingers for me as I continue contacting writers who I know can expertly support my mission for Bikezilla to be a prime resource of helpful cycling knowledge, especially for beginner and intermediate riders, and writers who can present some edge-of-the-cliff, intelligent opinion writing.

And my time will again be limited by needing to study for work, this time to add “sections” or “parts” to my license.

Thank you all for coming in like you do, for sticking with me and for supporting Bikezilla. You rock.

Tom / Bikezilla