'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' w/ McKenna Peterson & Jed Yeiser (Blister Book Club)

From Bend, we announce the release of a new special-edition Blister Pro, then talk to Blister reviewers David Steele and Andrew Forward about growing up in Alaska; speed flying; Glacier National Park; funny & painful ski touring missions, Super Burrito, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Meet the new reviewers (2:30)Our take on Bachelor and a recap of the week (4:00)News about the release of a special-edition Blister Pro (7:50)Andrew Forward's story: Growing up in Alaska, why he turned from skiing to snowboarding; etc (10:00)David Steele's story: Growing up in Kalispell, Montana; from mogul skier to park rat to backcountry beast; (16:06)Cy and David's most excellent "adventure" skiing Mt. Olympus, Washington (19:00)David's deep relationship with Glacier National Park (34:45)Andrew's new obsession: Speed Flying (aka, "Kite Running"??) (39:30)David on skiing and climbing and teaching—and why he loves them all (49:00)Super Burrito! (54:50) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Dec 20161h

We talk to Semi-Rad.com's Brendan Leonard about creativity and the process of creating: How to stop procrastinating and get started; why - or why not - to try something new; and what it takes to keep going.TOPICS & TIMES:The reception of Brendan's book, "60 Meters from Anywhere" — and what it's like to do a 43-stop Book Tour (5:50)Brendan's new book, "Make it Till You Make It" (16:00)On How — and How Not — to Get Started (22:29)The Difference Between Art and Narcissism (24:33)How to Deal with Criticism — and Internet Trolls (25:39)Saying Yes to Things that Terrify You (31:50)On Busy-ness (39:11)Book, Movie, and Music Recommendations from Brendan (47:05)Brendan's foray into filmmaking (56:00) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Dec 201657min

We stopped by Armada’s headquarters in Park City, Utah, to sit down with Andy Hytjan and Logan Imlach to talk about Armada’s past, present, and future; Armada’s stacked team and how they work with Andy and Logan; how Logan landed a design job in the industry; and we discuss a number of specific skis in the Armada line, including the history of the JJ, the evolution of the Edollo, the Invictus 108, and the new ARV 106.TOPICS & TIMES:How Logan broke into the ski industry & the ski design industry (6:50)The tricky business of setting recommended mount points on skis (14:00)“Symmetrical” park skis — overrated? (25:30)How do you design skis to work for a broad range of customers while also satisfying Armada athletes? (26:40)History of the Armada JJ (29:00)Andy Hytjan’s background (33:30)The evolution of park skis & Armada’s future in park (~36:00)Possible redesign of Henrik Harlaut’s pro model, the Al Dente / Edollo (~39:00)The Armada Invictus 108Ti (44:20)The Armada “ARV” line & particularly the new ARV 106 (47:38)The Armada Invictus 99Ti & B-Dog (53:20)Armada’s Touring Skis - Declivity, Kufo, and a peek into what’s next... (54:50)Big Indie or Small Major? Armada’s unique position in the industry (1:04:04)Manufacturing in the US vs. China vs. Europe (vs. Dubai?) (1:15:00)Park & freestyle are such a big part of Armada’s roots, but as the company grows, do you let go of certain segments that used to be important? Or do you fight like hell to maintain those original segments? (1:22:15) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Nov 20161h 29min

We talk to our bike editor, Noah Bodman, right from the showroom floor about the highlights — and lowlights — of Interbike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Sep 201629min

We recorded this podcast a few days ago in Canterbury, New Zealand, where we were wrapping up our ski review trip from one of our favorite ski areas in the world, Craigieburn Valley Ski Area. Our four reviewers talk about the skis they've been testing from Kastle, Moment, Salomon, Armada, 4FRNT, K2, and more — which of them surprised us the most, which impressed us most, and which skis we’d most want to add to our quivers this season. We also talk about the Salomon MTN Lab boot vs. the new Tecnica Zero G Pro, and we may or may not also talk about Millennials and Tinder profiles.TOPICS:Gear that surprised you the most?A/B Results: Salomon MTN Lab boot vs. Tecnica Zero G ProA/B Results: Armada ARV 106 vs. K2 MarksmanIf you had to spend the entire upcoming season on one of the skis we brought, which would you pick?Which of the skis we have down here would you most want to add to your regular quiver?Paul Forward offers his take on MillennialsWhich reviewer won the most spectacular crash award on this trip?Tinder profile advice from Cy WhitlingA quick word on the new Tecnica Cochise Pro 130 AT Boot Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Sep 201635min

This week marks the Centennial of the National Parks Service. So we headed to Bar Harbor, Maine — right next to Acadia National Park — to talk about the parks with James Kaiser, who has been writing about the parks and spending a whole bunch of his time in them for years. James is the author of best-selling guides to national parks, including exceptional guidebooks to Acadia, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and Grand Canyon.TOPICS & TIMES:The history of the parks & Abraham Lincoln’s role and their unprecedented nature (3:55)Grand Canyon National Park, and its wild, contested past (5:50)What’s the difference between National Forests, National Parks, and National Monuments? (9:08)What are the biggest problems facing the parks? (16:43)Why do the national parks matter? At their best, what do they do? (24:50)Why do people do such stupid things when they go to national parks? (28:15)How optimistic or pessimistic are you about the future of the parks? (31:30)James’ background, and how he got into creating guide books (36:45)The history of Acadia National Park and what makes it unique (38:22)Joshua Tree National Park (46:25)Yosemite: James’ recommendation for where to go when it’s crowded; the history of climbing there, etc. (53:00)What's the most famous park you haven't visited? Which do you most want to visit? (58:12)Why James wrote a guidebook to Costa Rica, the history of their parks, and why it was the most difficult of his books to write (1:00:02)How do you go about building & updating a guidebook? And what makes a guidebook good or bad? (1:10:15)Back to Acadia: James’ best recommendation for where to go in Acadia to escape the crowds on the busiest days (1:18:25)Random Questions for James, including: "Allen's Coffee-Flavored Brandy — What the ???" (1:23:26) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Aug 20161h 35min

On today's podcast, we present a rather quintessential American Success Story that goes by the name of ENVE Composites. If you ride bikes and have a thing for high-quality gear, you already know ENVE. But you almost certainly don’t know the whole story. You’d never guess from the look of things now, but ENVE’s trajectory wasn't exactly a rocket ship, but more of a roller coaster ride with lots of peaks and a number of nerve-wracking valleys.Last week I headed to Ogden, Utah, to visit ENVE’s headquarters and tour their factory, and I then sat down for a conversation with three people who have each have played (and continue to play) an important role in ENVE’s past, present, and future: ENVE’s CEO, Sarah Lehman; ENVE’s chief engineer Kevin Nelson; and ENVE’s product manager, Jake Pantone.TOPICS & TIMES:Our guests introduce themselves, and we discuss the origins and the early days of ENVE (3:25)Sarah on the “Cinderella story” of ENVE, including the dark days, name changes, and the decision to keep manufacturing in the US (6:20)Why carbon, and what does it mean to “Do carbon right”? (29:45)Manufacturing in the US vs overseas: What are some of the misconceptions, challenges, and benefits? (36:10)Can an intermediate rider notice the performance benefits of expensive carbon wheelsets? (46:40)ENVE’s future: what is ENVE’s plan to grow, how is “price” related to that growth, and how does ENVE intend to differentiate itself as more companies get into this space? (50:00)Working with the Santa Cruz Syndicate — which Syndicate rider breaks the most stuff? Which rider provides the most product feedback? (1:00:00)Team Dimension Data vs The Syndicate — Which team is providing the most feedback? (1:03:30)Sarah’s best day at ENVE (1:07:57)What’s next? (1:10:00)My Grand Finale Question (1:11:53) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Aug 20161h 14min

Luke Jacobson has been Moment's head ski designer, and he is also now Moment's new CEO. We talk to Luke about their new 16/17 lineup (including the new Meridian, the new Bibby Tour, and the redesigned Tallac), and Luke breaks some exclusive news about two other new skis. We also discuss how Moment’s rather unique aesthetic came to be, why Luke thinks that the "Deathwish" isn't the worst name ever for a ski, and more...TOPICS & TIMES:Talk about your new role at Moment, and what you guys are up to now? (1:50)What do you miss about the early days of Moment, and what don’t you miss? (5:55)The 16/17 lineup of skis, starting with the redesigned Tallac (9:55)The new Bibby Tour (13:15)The new Meridian, and how it evolved from the Chipotle Banana (16:25)What’s your current favorite ski in the line? (21:20)Breaking News: Luke announces a new ski (23:50)More Breaking News: Luke announces another new ski, the “Chief Commander” (25:25)Art and the ‘Moment aesthetic’ (32:15)Music - what Luke’s listening to (40:55)Outside of skiing, what are you into these days? (Answer: aerobatic flying?!?) (43:15)Luke’s DJ name (48:50)Wes Anderson films! (50:20)How drunk were you when you named a ski, the “Deathwish”? (~52:00)Ski Shops (59:00)Bidets, and why Moment is a more eco-friendly company than ON3P (1:04:55) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Juli 20161h 9min