a note from e-RICHIE -
i have invited Diane Lees to join not only the Smoked Out world but the V place community at large atmo. i know she's been reading here for a while and many of us have been guests on her radio show. i have come to believe that with oprah retiring and larry king nearing his 118th birthday, diane and The Outspoken Cyclist will become the next big thing on the airwaves. the numbers there already dwarf those of The View. i think we have finally found the replacement for long time FM queen of the night, alison steele. the big machers on the V BOD are happy diane conceded and has agreed to this.



I’ve been invited to be Smoked Out so, here’s what I have to say. I’ve been in the bicycle business my entire adult life – okay, not ENTIRELY the entire… but since 1974. I started out not really knowing a 26” inner tube from a 27” and Presta vs. Schrader? Forget it! I was L-O-S-T. BUT, the bicycle captivated me. Not that I’d never seen one or ridden one; but, suddenly it was this work of art! And, I studied art (as well as a little journalism). I dived into learning about “the bicycle” and never looked back. I was particularly hooked on road bikes – and still am; although I’m a bit partial to tandems now too since I ride one!

Around 1984, I somehow got into fitting people on their bikes. It just didn’t add up that people wanted to ride a lot and were in pain – a lot. So, I got this funky looking “Cinelli” blue (like the old Cinelli roller drums) Italian fitting machine – you could raise and lower the saddle; move the saddle fore and aft; you could extend the stem a bit and, that was it. But it made a difference and became the start of what has become what I call the “art of bicycle fitting”. It must work because I do tons of fittings and re-fittings and seem to have a good success rate. The newest addition to my fitting repertoire is the work I’m doing with the feet-shoes-cleats interface. It’s very cool to have someone come in with pain and go out feeling great!

So, the shop is HubBub Custom Bicycles. We’re located in Ne Ohio. My partner is Brian Jenks, who is a long time member of VS, (and as far as I am concerned, one of the best damned bicycle techs on the planet! That is another story and some day, maybe you’ll want to smoke him out! Oh, and good luck with that; I can’t even get him to come on my radio show!)

HubBub fits, designs, and builds custom bicycles – we don’t fabricate frames at this time. You want more info on us – we have a web site Hubbub Custom Bicycles, The Path to Fit Perfection, Cleveland, Ohio. Lots of stuff on there. We each have blogs but as luck would have it, have little time to work on them since we’re a two-person shop.

So, along the way, I wrote a book about bicycle touring, became a certified yoga instructor, put on a bunch of events – biathlons, triathlons, and bike tours – wrote some stuff for both the trade and consumer, and then I was magically tapped to host a radio show in April, 2010. That show, Bicycling Today, was on an AM-Talk station in Youngstown, Ohio and it was the coolest thing – I doubt more than 10% of the listeners of that station knew ANYTHING about bicycles! So, what was so cool? That I learned a lot about radio and at the end of the 21 weekly shows, I was “ready for prime time” and got the gig I have now.

The guy who works on the show with me, Greg Priddy, is a customer, a friend, and a wickedly good sound engineer. He’s an avid cyclist who did his first Calvin’s Challenge this year and of course is now hooked on long distance events. Meanwhile, he brought me into WJCU to talk with the station manager – only it turned out I already KNEW the station manager; I just didn’t know I knew. They had this Saturday evening slot available and gave me free reign to host and produce a show.


To say that The Outspoken Cyclist is fun is barely scratching the surface. It’s a blast! I get to talk to fabulous people, learn about new things, and chat about bicycling – non-stop - for an hour ON THE AIR every week. The show is growing by leaps and bounds and my goal (I almost never have goals…) is to have it go “viral” – as in national – sometime in 2012.

So, I guess you need to know a couple of vitals? I’m a girl; I love animals and especially our dog Cassie; I grow indoor plants (that are taking over the house); I don’t like to cook; and, I am Outspoken! Thanks for reading. Hope you get a chance to hear the show. Oh, and a very important closing here… I would especially like to thank Richard Sachs (ATMO rules) and my partner Brian for “smokin’ me out!”

Here are a couple of links that might interest you:
Direct link to the main page for the radio show each week:
The Outspoken Cyclist « WJCU

Direct link to the show where I am the guest and interviewee (with more background, etc):
The Outspoken Cyclist – 1/1/2011 « WJCU