The Cross Section Podcast

The end of season 1 is near ... editing and recording the final episode with one of my great friends . It's taking some time to get it all done - we did it once and are recording a 2.0 version as well. It's been amazing. But it's time to pause for awhile. There may be a sneaker episode in there from time to time so stay tuned.It's been a labor of love and I will cherish every recording! Thanks for listening in so far!

It's the penultimate episode of season 1 and a session that I had in mind from the very beginning. This week’s episode is unique in that I have not one, but two guests - Emily Kachorek and Chris Namba of Squid Bikes. They joined me from Sacramento where their unique HQ is located; a place where art and cycling become one.  I first met Emily and Chris and their third wheel Pete  years ago when they hosted the 2nd live screening of my short film State of Cyclocross. We projected the film on a Saturday night onto the side of one of the many shipping containers right there in their courtyard. A intimate gathering of 'cross devotees and an experience that I treasure even more now due to the lack of such things today.On this episode we caught up and talked about Squid’s origins, their design process, and how it has used the gap year of 2020 and the bike boom to transition a bit with a renewed focus on its roots. While it may seem that they fly by the seat of their pants, they are a very professional outfit and they always have a plan; nothing is ever arbitrary.  We of course  talked tracklocross and cyclocross, the past and the future as well as their legendary 'Cross Nationals After Parties (how the cops weren't ever involved I'll never know). As The Cross Section has no sponsors for this first season, I decided that this episode is brought to you by Mid-Town Taqueria in Sacramento - the best chips and street tacos I have ever tasted and I eat a lot of street tacos.This is the penultimate episode of the first season. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I appreciate you all for listening in the past 4 months. It's been a labor of love and a celebration of friends and their stories. One more episode to go, but for now … let’s hang out with Emily and Chris co-founders of Squid Bikes … I think you’ll like it.Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram@dcmediahausand also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

Well, friends, this one is insanely good! It's an episode full of laughs, stories, and serious discussion and we just couldn’t hang up so to speak. We started the wrap up at one point and the went on for nearly another hour. In other words, this is a long one, folks … but my guess is you won’t even notice.I got to sit with one of the most genuine and honest and joyful people I know. Her mantra is "Be kind. Do good. Have as much fun as possible." A graphic designer in addition to being an elite cyclist, she is unbelievably fun to talk with as I know you’ll discover and I can’t wait to get into this one with you all. Her instagram is a great follow - @sarah_strumy - and here are a pair of wonderful videos on her from Wahoo Fitness and from Rapha ... Check them out … trust me.All you need to know about Sarah as a cyclist is captured  in a Bicycling Magazine article titled "These 12 Badass American Women Are Crushing Cycling Right Now". In it she was described this way: “If you’re ever looking for an all-around cyclist, look no further than ultimate badass Sarah Sturm. She has raced criteriums, singlespeed cyclocross, mountain bikes and gravel grinders—most notably the Belgian Waffle Ride in California in 2019, which she won in a stacked field of pro women. After that, she jumped into the pro women’s criterium at the Sea Otter Classic and took the win… also on her gravel bike. The same season, she was second in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race.”In the course of the episode we discussed creativity, changes, the zen of single speed, the benefit of doing things you suck at, the human need for challenge and so, so much more. If you don’t know who my guest is before, after this you will definitely become a fan.Magnetic, fun, authentic, and thoughtful, Episode 13: Sarah Sturm ... I think you'll LOVE it!(Side Note: My smallest human made an appearance at the end. Also, you may hear a slight echo of my voice ... so not pro ... but that's fine)Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

This episode of “The Cross Section” is one of my favorite types of episodes because I got to finally meet and talk with someone who I feel like I know due to social media but we haven’t ever been face to face or had the chance to be due to the pandemic. And we hit it off as I figured we would. We talked black dogs, skiing, broken noses and, of course, cyclocross. She is a professional ‘cross racer based in London, Ontario, Canada and she is someone who I admire the shit out of because of her determination, commitment and courage. One of only a handful of North Americans to head overseas to race this year, she was the last Canadian in Belgium and hung on until the very end barely escaping the severe Canadian lockdown. And she does it all as a privateer. This year she went at it alone and endured a broken nose, covid testing galore, police knocking on her door as well as living in a bubble for months in Oudenaarde (Aud en ard uh) with some other racers. She is bright and funny and thoughtful. I recorded this one a bit ago when she joined me during her quarantine upon her return from Europe just as I was getting ready to head over there myself and it’s a great look into what it’s like.Today we hang with Siobahn Kelly. I think you’ll like it. 

Today I get to share my conversation with a dude who I have admired for years. In fact our pre-pandemic pub chats are a bit of an inspiration for this show. We would get together often and talk about creation and film and photography and design and whatever else we each had going on. And inspiration is the word. Chris just goes for it. Fuck the rules. He eschews convention and traditional pathways. Just. Make. It. Happen.  His DIY spirit really is all about making your own luck rather than waiting around for someone to call.  For a short burst from 2017-19  we had a bandit 'cross race here in Portland  - COBRA racing - and it was his brainchild born from his days of BMX and love of cyclocross. They were fast moving, set up & compete & tear down and leave no trace event that were one part race and two parts party. You had to sort of know in order to know. Locations weren't posted until mere hours prior. I first met Chris at these events and did a pair of videos ... HERE and HERE. Check them out! They are amongst my favorites. His story is complex and layered - as it is with all interesting people. His magazine - Broken & Coastal -  is a publication that I personally have been honored to be involved with, and he has used it as a vehicle to benefit others such as The Trevor Project which is the unofficial official sponsor of this episode and in light of recent bullshit legislation in states such as Arkansas and Kansas it's LGBTQ advocacy has never been more important. He is a humanist, an activist, an environmentalist, an art director, a cyclist ... basically all of the things this podcast endeavors to explore. Episode 11: Chris San Agustin ... I think you'll like it!Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

Well, folks, this one is a long one - by far the longest to date - but it is  also one of my favorite conversations . Trust me, this one is worth your time. For this episode of “The Cross Section” we have a little story time with someone whom I love talking to and someone whom I admire a great deal: 3 time U.S. Cyclocross National champion and two-time Pan-American champion, Stephen Hyde.  If you weren’t a fan of this man before, spend a couple of hours with him and you will walk away as one. We discussed his growing up on the panhandle in rural Florida and how those experiences were so vital in his journey and his life is defined by the road and discovery of self. His life is one of reflection and self-examination. He is a human who is unafraid to undo and redo self, worldview, and belief. As we all should be, he is in constant revision mode - as a cyclist and more importantly as a human being.  His journey has taken him from coast to coast and back again and in the flow of conversation I also discovered that the first 'cross race he had ever seen was at a Cyclocross Crusade at Alpenrose Diary here in Portland and that it changed the trajectory of his life. We also talked about his transformation as a humanist and as a social justice advocate as well as his love of birds and nature. In short, we covered  a LOT of ground. I say this about every episode, I think, but if you’re only going to listen to just one, this is a great place to begin. Today it’s story time with Stephen Hyde … I think you’ll like it.Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

On Episode 9 of “The Cross Section Podcast” I got to hang out with one of my favorite people - Ruby West. She is a Canadian professional cyclocross racer and I first got to know Ruby in 2019 when I was able to cover her and her team that season. I picked her up at the airport on my way Bellingham for team camp and we hit it off immediately. I am very blessed to be able to say she is a good friend of mine. She is clever, smart, insightful and super fun to be around. And she can rider her bike. As there was no racing in 2020, she is still the U23 Pan American champion (as we had no PanAms in 2020). When we chatted, she had just wrapped up her 2020 European season - one of only a handful of North Americans to venture across the pond this year - and we covered a lot of ground. From Belgium to tacos to Taylor Swift (which is one of the ties that binds us), we kept it fun. She joined me from the farm upon which she lives in Dundas, Ontario which is about as picturesque of a place as you will find.Today we get to chat with Ruby West. I think you’ll like it.Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

On Episode 8 of “The Cross Section Podcast” I got to hang out with one a very influential filmmaker in the cycling world - Sam Smith. He was the creative mind behind a seminal 4 season series with Jeremy Powers - "Behind The Barriers" - as well as two long form documentaries about cyclocross - "Transition" and "Transitions 2" - which pretty much captured the zeitgeist of 'cross during the era of the U.S.G.P. and what many consider to be the high-water mark of American Cyclocross. His work has been very, very influential on me over the years and I've studied BTB, Transitions as well as his more recent work for Castelli which included his "Mindful" series with Stephen Hyde and Kaitie Keough. His work is patient, calm, beautifully shot with no special tricks in post in terms of editing which I appreciate a great deal. Today we chat with Sam Smith ... I think you’ll like it.(NOTE: Due to connection issues, occasionally there is some pops and crackles in the audio. Apologies ... blame it on COVID.)Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

On Episode 7 of “The Cross Section Podcast” I got to hang out with one of the most balanced and competitive humans I know. Her name pretty much captures her spirit - Sunny - and she really is someone you want in your orbit. She joined me from Colorado where she lives and trains and works as a scientist.  We talked about her backstory, bikes and many other topics including the origin of her Instagram handle: @run4funner .  A gifted and hard-working athlete she once came within a whisker of qualifying for the Olympic Trials in track. Even more impressive was her decision to stop and move on with her education which ended up with a PhD. She is a professional cyclist and three seasons ago finished on the 2nd step of the podium at cyclocross Nationals. Our paths have crossed many times and many places around the country. She is funny, thoughtful, and wicked smart.This episode of “The Cross Section” is brought to you by no one officially, so I figured I would highlight one of my guest’s key sponsor’s:  Grimpeur Brothers Coffee  who is also a huge supporter of cycling and women’s cycling in particular. They have numerous fundraising blends in addition to their usual offerings. A link is provided in the show description. Go support the supporters of the sport we all love.The longer we spent exploring the topics that we venture into on this episode, the more I came away from it grateful to call her a friend of mine.Today we chat with sunny Gilbert. I think you’ll like it.(NOTE: Due to connection issues, occasionally there is some scratchy audio. Apologies)Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

This is part 2 of my talk with Dan Steinle. The first talk is a good primer for this episode when we dive into his style of imagery and the kinds of photography he does: street, photojournalism, editorial and sport. If you haven’t listened to that one, he is a freelance photojournalist who has been pretty immersed in the year of the protest covering both sides and being fair, in my opinion, to the whole story. To learn more, stop, go listen to Part 1 and come back to this one. This talk focuses on January 6th, 2021 and upon his experiences being at the Capitol on the day of the insurrection. He goes into great detail about the scene and how it unfolded for him and how the mood and tone and tenor shifted throughout the day. Tear-gassed at one point he stayed with the moment. He discovered some astonishing things that day and sat to share it. He also discussed the Inauguration for which he returned to DC a week later.I still can’t believe that Dan was there. I mean there’s documenting history - a ‘Cross National Championships or an Olympics - but then there’s a moment that causes a shift in thinking around the country; one that will be discussed for years to come. And Dan is so fair … while he may have his sympathies, he covers the whole story. “No mud, No lotus” as it is said … I’m so grateful he volunteered to sit for a follow-up. He won’t ever tell you, but it’s been very hard to process what he’s been through and I hope this helped him a bit.  This was a hard talk for him and one that he cancelled a few times as he was and is still emotionally processing and dealing with what he experienced that day. I hope you appreciate his insights and his courage. Next show we sit and hang out with one of the best humans  in all of cyclocross. Her name simply captures her spirit. Stay Tuned. Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.

Episode 5 of “The Cross Section Podcast” is pretty unique in the sense that this is Part One of a conversation with one of my good friends - the freelance photojournalist, Daniel Steinle who has been deeply involved with covering the  protests in Portland and other places around the country from the earliest days in May and he is still at it. Part 2, tentatively titled, “January 6th” will air a few days from now and it’s a pretty amazing tale! To get a glimpse of his work go to his website or check out his Instagram: @catdaddypdx.If you’re into photography and art, buckle in because we take a deep dive on film vs digital photography, what constitutes a photograph, approaches to and the dangers of covering protest events, the goals of and the ethics of street photography and photojournalism. In short, we cover a lot of ground. In addition to being a deep-thinker, serious artist, and well-travelled person, Daniel is one of the most committed and courageous photographers I know. If you’ve ever been curious about what it’s like to cover the protests and what the scene is really like, this is a good one to tune into.This episode of “The Cross Section” is brought to you by no one in particular so I’ll just throw out a plug for Don’t Shoot PDX - which is an organization that I believe in and have donated to over the years. To quote their website: “Don’t Shoot Portland is a Black-led human rights nonprofit that advocates for accountability. Since 2014, we have implemented art, education and civic participation within our programming to create social change.” Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also sign up, download, rate, review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.And remember, there is a Part 2 … and trust me … wow. So for the week we hang with Daniel Steinle. I think you’ll like both of these!Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

On Episode 4 of “The Cross Section Podcast” I got to hang out on a  wintery evening with one of the raddest humans I know. She is pretty much the embodiment of what I like to explore on the podcast - bikes, music, and art - so there is little wonder that we hit it off immediately and became good friends over the years. She is something of a rolling stone and we discussed her journeys around the country and around the world since leaving Mississippi after high school. She joined me from Arkansas where she has settled into during the pandemic. In addition to her travels, we talked about her backstory, art, bikes and many other topics including the origin of her unique Instagram handle: @aunicornvomited (she's a great follow, I highly recommend it). She is a professional cyclist in many disciplines - mtb, road, ‘cross, fixed gear … a true all-arounder. Our paths have crossed many times and many places around the country - from Cyclocross Nationals to Tracklocross Nationals in 2019, which she won  ... and is as crazy and wild as it sounds. To get a sense of that here is a link to a video I made about this wild hybrid of a fixed-gear riding. The longer we spent exploring the topics that we venture into on this episode, the more I came away from it even more amazed at how worldly she is and how much wisdom she has garnered as a result of her experiences.She is currently studying art at SCAD. She is very articulate, a deep-thinker, and very kind. Above all else, it is her giggle that makes Sammi, Sammi.  What a great hangout. Today we chat with Sammi Runnels. I think you’ll like it. Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

The podcast is titled in a way that allows me to and reminds me to explore many avenues that I find interesting - bikes and cyclocross, but also art and music and photography. Hence, "The Cross Section". In the spirit of the goal to explore a wide-range of topics, for Episode 3 I reached out to someone who checks a lot of the boxes that pique my interest. He is an artist I have known only in the sense of IG posts,  comments, DM’s and emails but I have never actually had the chance to meet and talk with in person and this is the next best thing.I first encountered his work at the Breadwinner Cycles Cafe a couple of years ago.  His work is really wonderful. As with all artists who evolve and change, his current period is one of geometry and balance and feels very mid-century. Additionally he is a talented self-taught musician (who is actually crafting new, original theme music for the show) as well as a skier and cyclist. He does large murals, custom paints bikes, wheels, windows, walls and whatever else you can think of. Follow him on INSTAGRAM and check out his WEBSITE to see more of his work. Once we got rolling, day turned to night and I discovered we have many parallel interests and passions. We talked art, music, fixed-gear riding and went down a variety of rabbit holes. Thanks for listening in! Please subscribe and rate and review the show wherever you source your podcasts! Man, I'm stoked to have you here to hang out with me and Chet Malinow. I think you’ll like it. Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

On Episode 2 of “The Cross Section” I got to sit down with someone very special and one of my good friends. She is person who I feel a special kinship with because my own photography career has, in some ways, paralleled her rise through the ranks of cyclocross. 4 years ago I heard of a local group of women riders based out of Sellwood Cycles who were making an all-in go at professional cyclocross. I had recently broken down as a racer and began to pick up my camera. I wandered the two blocks from my house in Sellwood to the bike shop and asked if I could make an intro video for the team. "Sure!" was the response from, and I maintained a relationship with the team for years. Sometimes you ask and the gift you receive is far greater than what you can possbily do for them. My guest today was a shop mechanic then at Sellwood Cycles and was one of the riders for the upstart band of cyclocross pirates known as Team S&M CX, which is an extension of one of the earliest teams formed in Oregon. I was lucky enough to tag along the past three years documenting the team’s steady rise through the U.S. Elite Women's Cyclocross scene which culminated in my guest winning the Elite  National Championship last year at Fort Steilacoom - the first person not named Katie Compton to win since 2004. Now my guest is off to the legendary Cannondale Cyclocrossworld.com team, and is wrapping up her European season. She joined me from the Netherlands where we talked about a wide-range of topics which you would expect from some as bright and thoughtful and accomplished as she is. Today we hang with Clara Honsinger. I think you’ll like it. Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly by the  host).

When I thought about who I wanted to sit down with for the first episode, really, it was a no-brainer about who I wanted that person to be. Due to his bike racing and bike-building, I have known OF this person for as long as I’ve ridden and raced a bike in the PNW and in the past two years I have gotten to know him very well and a great friendship has blossomed. He is the co-owner of and steel bike fabricator at Breadwinner Cycles here in Portland. I have been blessed enough to work with him twice on bike builds and it has been one of the highlights of my cycling life. In January of 2020 we began meeting regularly about an idea we had been tossing around for the entirety of the 2019 cyclocross season and that was doing a photobook together of my images from the season. As a cultivator of ‘cross books and something of a historian, he had always wanted to do one. As such he was the driving force behind my photo book “Of Crank & Chain”.  One of my favorite things to do when I have a new camera or lens or tool that I need practice with is to go down to Breadwinner and shoot with them. He is one of the great figures in cycling particularly in the Pacific Northwest. He is an artist, cyclist, competitor, dad, craftsman, deep thinker and all around amazing and loving Human. We had a great talk the other night. Just him and I having a couple of distanced beers and we cover a wide-range of subjects from bikes to mental health to his amazing backstory from Iowa to Oregon. My friend and inspiration, Ira Ryan.  I’m super stoked to have you listen in.Thanks so much for taking some time out of your life today and I hope you had as good of a time as I did with this one. Follow me on Instagram @dcmediahaus and also Sign up and download, rate and review and subscribe wherever you source your podcasts so you’ll always know when a new show drops - it means the world. Stay Safe. And just keep pedaling.Content Warning: A small handful of curse words by both host and guest (but mostly host).