A new chapter for BRAG starts here. We’re welcoming Domestic Ride Director Ron Ward to the family, spotlighting how he went from rider to crew to the person orchestrating the weeklong road adventure so many of us call summer camp on wheels. Franklin Johnson shares why international tours are accelerating, what growth means for the classic Georgia road experience, and how the team keeps rider joy at the center while scaling up.
You’ll hear the stories that make BRAG feel like home: chasing siblings across the state on mismatched bikes, spotting decade-old route arrows on backroads, and the unsung heroes who keep the ship steady—especially Stephanie, the glue behind the scenes. We talk real-world logistics, from rest stop strategy to layover day riding, and poke fun at hills that humble even the strongest legs. It’s the blend of humor, community, and care that turns a line on a map into a lifetime memory.
And because speculation is half the fun, we’re launching a listener-powered challenge: guess the 2026 Big BRAG route. Submit six towns in order, score 10 points for a correct town on the correct day, 5 for a correct town on the wrong day, and 20 if you nail the layover town. Share a screenshot showing you follow our podcast or YouTube for a 10-point head start. If there’s a tie, we’ll draw live. The prize is a one-of-one, co-branded winner’s jersey made in your size—the kind of trophy you can wear with pride.
Come for the ride stories, stay for the friendly competition, and get ready for our upcoming route reveal show with fresh trivia. If this conversation made you smile or start plotting towns, follow, subscribe, and leave a quick review. It helps more riders find the road—and the community waiting around the next corner.
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Adam and Michael’s friendship has grown through years of shared miles, challenges, and laughter on the bike. Their passion for cycling has carried them through life’s twists and turns, creating a bond full of stories, jokes, and unforgettable rides. In their podcast, they bring that same spirit to the mic—sharing adventures, trading banter, and welcoming listeners into their cycling community. Whether tackling steep climbs or cruising open roads, their conversations capture the fun, friendship, and freedom that cycling brings. Tune in for stories that celebrate the ride and the camaraderie that makes it unforgettable.
and Remember,
It's a Great Day for a Bike Ride!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_04 (05:18):
Well, it's time for Road Adventures with Cycling Men
of Leisure, the podcast forcyclists who understand that
riding is not just about gettingto the destination, but the
experience along the way.
Now, here are the originalcycling men of leisure, Adam and
Michael.
SPEAKER_03 (05:32):
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
welcome to Road Adventures withCycling Men of Leisure for a
special episode.
Hey Michael, how you been?
SPEAKER_00 (05:40):
I have been good.
Things are going well.
Not thrilled about the snow, butyou know what?
This episode, we're going totalk about things that are not
happening in the wintertime.
SPEAKER_03 (05:50):
Well, that is for sure.
That is for sure.
We're going to talk about abeautiful place that I love to
go to, been many a times.
Hopefully, one day get to goback, right?
I hope so.
I hope so too.
So let's go ahead and bring ourspecial guests on.
Ladies and gentlemen, weconsider this gentleman a friend
of the show.
He's been on many a times.
Please welcome Mr.
Franklin Johnson.
(06:11):
Franklin, welcome.
SPEAKER_02 (06:12):
Yeah, happy to be here.
Thanks for having me yet again.
SPEAKER_03 (06:15):
Yet always happy to have you, Franklin.
Man, one of our best listenshows to this day still includes
Mr.
Franklin Johnson.
So we we we feel we feel veryhonored.
But more than that, we haveanother special guest.
Ladies and gentlemen, the newdomestic ride director for
Bragg, Mr.
Ron Ward, is also joining us.
(06:35):
Welcome.
SPEAKER_01 (06:37):
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
Longtime listener, first timecaller.
SPEAKER_03 (06:40):
Wow.
I'm a Howard listener too.
I love it.
So I can I can get back onthere.
Well, welcome, Ron.
Happy to have you on the show.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
So normally we talk about theexecutive ride director of
Bragg.
I mean, there he is, the man,the myth, the legend.
Sometimes we call him all kindsof things.
Not derogatory, but friend orexecutive director.
SPEAKER_00 (07:03):
But now Adam, there was that one time you put us on
a mountain route.
Remember that?
And I think we were using a fewwords that may have been a
little derogatory.
SPEAKER_03 (07:11):
You mean the one I had to be honest.
They mean the one I was walking.
SPEAKER_02 (07:14):
Yeah, that one.
I'm sure it was called to manythings that day, and none of
them were kind.
SPEAKER_03 (07:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:20):
Not only by you guys, but the rest of the
ridership as well.
SPEAKER_03 (07:24):
I did hear a couple of what the hell was Franklin
thinking?
But on a more positive note.
I assume with the domestic ridedirector title, that means Bragg
is growing and yourinternational trips are going
well.
SPEAKER_02 (07:36):
Yeah, so international trips started
going uh really well.
And I, you know, been doing uhat the helm of Bragg for over 10
years now and wanted to continueto grow and scale, and I think
in a in an effort to do that,need some assistance.
And um so I think it's you knowit's two-prong.
It's you know, A, to give metime to focus on a lot of the
international stuff.
(07:57):
It's definitely still gonna behere and involved um uh in Brag
moving forward and you know,still gonna be at all the
events.
And as you said, Adam, uhshaking hands and kissing
babies.
So I'll still be still be theredoing that, uh, so not going
anywhere.
Uh, but definitely want to focusa lot of my time on a lot of the
overseas rides because those arethose are growing so quickly.
(08:17):
Um and also want to givesomebody who has you know done
the rides before and has someyou know experience in the
cycling community and uh bringsome fresh energy and excitement
into the role.
And Ron actually I'll let himtell his story, but we had some
really good experiences with Ronand decided to bring him over to
head up over all the rides thatare taking place uh here in the
(08:39):
United States.
SPEAKER_03 (08:40):
And I know that uh not being repetitive, I I mean I
I love your brag and rightsnewsletter, and you did put it
on Facebook, but some people arenot social media, and some
people are not people who readon a newsletter on a regular
basis.
And so, Ron, uh, would you tellus a little bit about yourself
for those who get all their Bragnews on podcasts?
(09:01):
Can I have an introduction?
SPEAKER_01 (09:03):
Or well, sure.
As uh Franklin said, uh I've gota little bit of experience with
uh the Bragg family.
I actually had the opportunityback in the early 90s to go on
the the ride from Rome, Georgiadown to America, I think it was,
through Columbus.
It was a funny story.
I had a mountain bike that Iused to commute around Athens
(09:25):
where I was in school, and itwas you know fitted out with
nothing special, didn't evenhave toe clips.
And my brother had his uh hisyou know narrow race bike, you
know, straight out of breakingaway.
And uh anyway, I just spent theentire week trying to catch up,
and I would just go barrelingdown hills after him, and then
by the time I would catch up tohim at a rest stop, you know,
(09:47):
he'd be full up and ready to go,and I'd have to stop and but it
was fun.
We're still, you know, we westill ride together and and and
have a good time.
So it was a lot of fun.
That was a great experience,really enjoyed it.
So that was sort of my firstforay into the Brag world, and
I've ridden a lot across uh thestate and in my region in small
(10:10):
groups.
Did uh got into gravel ridingback in late 23, and so I got a
gravel bike, and in the regionwhere I live, we have a pretty
pretty extensive rails to trailsuh project uh around that you
can it's a network of trailsthat includes all kinds.
(10:31):
Mostly paved, but there's someopportunity for a little gravel,
so that's a lot of fun, and I Ido some uh bike packing and that
sort of thing.
And I was gonna do the big bragin 24.
I had some scheduling issues,but I was kind of going back and
forth on it.
I was gonna go by myself becauseI I didn't have my brother
wasn't gonna go with me, and Ididn't have anybody else.
(10:52):
And I saw the um the the linkfor volunteering or paid gigs
that Franklin had out on thewebsite, and I sent him a text,
or I or maybe he sent me a textafter he read my volunteer form.
And so I ended up going on theride as as you know, hired hired
hand there for the logisticsgroup and just fell in love with
(11:13):
it.
I mean, I had a great time.
Uh and it's it's a lot of work,but it's it's really rewarding.
I love being outside.
Um and ever since then, Franklinand I kind of kept in touch.
You know, I go off and do otherstuff, and you know, we cross
each other's paths on email orwhatever, and so here I am.
Um it's a great decision.
I've loved every second.
(11:34):
I'm learning a lot.
There's a lot still yet tolearn, but uh I I appreciate the
tight-knit cycling community.
It's a diverse group, but withone goal, and that's to have fun
on two wheels and keep therubber side down, and that's uh
that's a great way to approachlife.
SPEAKER_03 (11:54):
For sure, for sure.
Especially uh don't don't runover garden hoses, right, buddy?
SPEAKER_00 (12:00):
Yeah, I heard I heard that story on really the
rule the the whole point of thething is don't put garden hoses
out in the road.
That's my point.
SPEAKER_03 (12:09):
So I'm sorry.
unknown (12:11):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (12:11):
Well, listen, it wouldn't be a regular episode
for you and I if we weren'triveting each other.
So that's true.
That's true.
Well, Ron, I I I welcome you.
I was introduced to Bragg in themiddle of Iowa.
I saw the big red tent, and andMichael and I were looking for
rides to do, and we decided uhBrag was for us, and it was
just, you know, I don't want tosteal Franklin's word, but it
(12:33):
was almost like summer camp, andand the the community in Georgia
that's opened their arms to notonly myself but Michael, but you
know, cycling men of leisure andand you know the entire team.
We had 43 team members last yearin Bragg.
It was just amazing.
And and just the camaraderie andthe welcomeness that when we
(12:53):
come to Georgia, every time I'mfrom Michigan, for those who
don't know, if you are a newlistener, because I think this
is gonna get shared to peoplewho probably haven't listened to
you and I before, Michael.
And I love flying into Atlantaand then usually either catch in
a commuter somewhere else or abus, and and Georgia's just
absolutely beautiful.
So I I think you probably took ajob that you're gonna have a
love relationship with, in myopinion.
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
So we haven't run them off just yet, so that's
good.
SPEAKER_03 (13:17):
Well, that's good.
That's good.
I say yeah, I was gonna say Isay the same thing about people
I hire all the time.
Well, they're still here, sothey must like it somewhat.
So I keep showing up.
I have to tell you somethingfunny, Ron.
So we were lucky enough to seeStephanie in the middle of
Kentucky.
Michael and I decided to go downand do the bourbon country burn,
and we met Stephanie and herpartner, and and we were in a
(13:38):
bar and and a brewery, not abar, brewery.
And I said, uh, how's the huntfor for a director?
And and she said, We got one.
You start September 20th.
And she couldn't tell me fastenough that that she knew the
day and when you're starting.
And I said, I'm excited aboutthat.
And she did not hold hesitateone bit.
She said, Yes, I am.
So I asked her if I could sharethat story.
(14:00):
So she said that was fine.
SPEAKER_01 (14:02):
If any of your listeners have ever met
Stephanie, she is a big part ofthe heart of the Bragg program,
and that means staff volunteersand participants.
She is she is right there in thethick of it.
I mean, uh the the ship sinkswithout her, so she's she's a a
real plus.
SPEAKER_00 (14:22):
We often said she's the one doing all the heavy
lifting, so without a doubt.
SPEAKER_03 (14:27):
We've tried to get her on the show, and I'll tell
you of all the wonderful thingsI will say about Stephanie.
Plus plus, A plus, A plus, Aplus.
I won't say anything negative,but she has declined to be on
the show.
She said that's just not hershow.
SPEAKER_02 (14:41):
Yeah, I don't know if that's her back.
She she's great at many things,but I don't know if she can take
the abuse from you guys, youknow?
SPEAKER_03 (14:46):
We would never treat her in a derogatory manner.
SPEAKER_00 (14:49):
No.
Gotta know your place, Franklin.
I mean, really.
That's true.
That's true.
Gotta know where you fit in.
SPEAKER_03 (14:56):
Well, behind the scenes, being transparent, the
four of us had an idea to kickoff the new domestic ride
director for Bragg withsomething exciting.
Franklin, you and your teamhistorically put out the brand
new 2026 Big Brag route atmidnight on New Year's Eve.
Many times, Michael can tell youthat I've stayed up and waited
(15:17):
to watch this video on YouTube.
Um, you've been gracious enoughfor us for the last couple of
years.
We record about a week early,and then we we uh are sworn to
secrecy.
We signed the documents and ourlawyers send it back.
Well, that's not true, but andthen we put out our show uh in
noon that day.
And we thought the four of us,with this new kickoff and the
(15:40):
family of Bragg growing, that wewould have a contest.
And a contest would be a guessthe route for Big Brag 2026.
Uh, the the route that's gonnabe released at New Year's Eve on
midnight.
What do you think?
All right.
SPEAKER_02 (15:55):
Everybody always typically does it, you know,
impromptu on Facebook.
Everybody will put their guessesout there, but this will be a
good way to culminate and putall the guesses in one spot.
And I hear there's a prize.
There is a prize.
SPEAKER_03 (16:07):
Nico, you want to you want to talk about this?
SPEAKER_00 (16:09):
Yeah, so when we were thinking about this, we
thought we need some cool prizethat you know, and we didn't
want to do just, oh, here's asticker pack or here's a hat or
here's a shirt.
So what we came up with iswhoever the winner is, we are
going to design a specialjersey.
(16:37):
Their size.
Uh, it's gonna hopefully beco-branded with with Brag and
with uh you know, RoadAdventures of Cycling Men of
Leisure, and it is going to bethe winner's jersey, and
there'll just be one of theseever produced, and whoever wins
can wear that with pride thatthey were the person that
guessed the the 2026 BraggRoute.
SPEAKER_03 (16:59):
So and how are they going to enter this, sir?
SPEAKER_00 (17:03):
Uh well, as far as entering it, what you're gonna
want to do is you'll want to goto our social media, um which
you can find all over our pages,and we'll be putting it out on
Facebook and all that just tomake sure you can find it.
And you will want to put downyour six guesses.
And uh I know it's a seven-dayride or seven-night ride, but we
do have that Wednesday, which isyou know the layover day.
(17:26):
You'll put down your six guessesin the order that you think
they're gonna hit and send thatto us.
And then what we're gonna do iswe're gonna do a scoring system.
We will give anybody who guessesthe right town and the right
day, they get 10 points.
If you guess a right town andit's not on the right day, we'll
give you five points because yougot one right.
(17:49):
Uh, if you guess the correcttown on Tuesday, we're gonna
give you 20 points because it'sa layover day.
You get double points.
We thought that was fair.
The other thing we're gonna dois if you will take a screenshot
um showing that you're followingus on uh, you know, YouTube or
(18:11):
our podcast, whatever podcast uhversions you use, or you're
following us on some type ofsocial media, if you'll take a
screenshot of that and send thatto us, we'll start you off with
10 points right off the rightoff the start line.
So that's how we're gonna do it.
We're gonna culminate all thoseup.
We'll keep a tally of all thethe points, be it zero or what,
(18:31):
eighty points.
And then whoever gets the mostpoints is gonna be a winner.
Now I know everybody's sayingwhat happens if multiple people
guess correctly.
SPEAKER_03 (18:40):
Hey, Michael, yeah, what are we gonna do if multiple
people guess correctly?
SPEAKER_00 (18:44):
I knew people were thinking and we're gonna ask
that.
So thank you, Adam.
It's a good question.
What we're gonna do is on a liveyou know podcast, we will put
all the names of the people whoguess correctly onto chips.
We'll put them in a hat.
We will have a non-biased thirdparty, probably maybe Stephanie.
(19:06):
Maybe Stephanie will fly up toMichigan in the wintertime,
Stephanie, and you can pull itout.
SPEAKER_03 (19:12):
We could get some tokens.
We could we could, we could.
SPEAKER_00 (19:14):
Someone will uh put them all in a hat, pull it out,
and whoever uh name is drawn isthe winner and gets that jersey.
SPEAKER_02 (19:22):
So if you guys give me one second, I'm actually
gonna go to your socials andthen to your website, and I'm
gonna submit my entries now justbecause that jersey sounds so
cool.
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:32):
And actually, uh yeah, if you go out to our it'll
be our website and it's privateright now.
SPEAKER_03 (19:39):
But uh the minute this is done recording, I'll hit
on private.
SPEAKER_00 (19:42):
So there will be a page there that actually has a
uh actual submission form.
And you can just put that inthere and send it to us.
It'll be great.
Super easy.
SPEAKER_02 (19:51):
All right.
Well, hopefully it's not just meand Ron that are uh our our
chips are in the hat there toget pulled out.
Well, you guys can fight overthe one jersey.
SPEAKER_00 (20:02):
Uh hey, Ron doesn't need a jersey because he's a
ride director and he ain't gonnabe riding.
So however, my big question is,Franklin, are you gonna ride?
Because now you have a littlemore free time.
SPEAKER_02 (20:15):
That's true.
I don't want to call it freetime.
I'm sure um I forgot the name ofthe theory, but there's a theory
that um the stuff you have to doexpands to fill the amount of
time you have to do it.
So I frequently find that'salways the case on these rides.
So we'll see how that goes.
I have a couple years I haveridden um one year we're in
Millageville, one year we're inDeloniga.
I rode on a layover day, so I'lldefinitely try and do that.
(20:37):
But I find too that it's hard tobring my bike for the whole week
only to get like a 30-mile ridein.
It's annoying to keep up with itand move it from town to town to
town to town to town every week.
So maybe I'll find somebodywho's not gonna ride on the
layover day and we'll just do abike swap.
SPEAKER_03 (20:52):
There you go.
It's like when you make moremoney, you spend more when you
make more.
So it's not like you have I'msure you won't have as many.
But I have seen you ride at atuh Ragbri once.
You mu you came you back to onelike the the end town.
We saw you coming back.
SPEAKER_02 (21:08):
Yeah, a lot of times on Ragbry, you know, because
I'll be there setting up tentsor whatever, and then uh try and
ride back halfway and then youknow ride in with the the group.
Uh they call that swimmingupstream.
So you do definitely feel like asalmon, you know, going against
the grain.
And I know they hate that, andyou know, don't let the uh
ragbri folks hear hear that Idid that.
(21:29):
But um, but that's a good way toget some miles in if you're uh
if you're working.
SPEAKER_03 (21:34):
Well, all right, ragbride 53.
We're not going.
Yeah, I mean my first year doingragbri, I'm like, what?
And these people write them thewrong way.
What I never understood untilfinally I, you know, five times
in, I'm a quick learner.
Then I realized they were comingback to the back to the the town
to you know close it out.
SPEAKER_02 (21:54):
So um and ragbright's usually better
because you know there's notnearly as many cars on the road,
you know, it's a lot of thesmaller rural towns in Iowa, and
you know, they obviously avoidthe route just because they know
that the ragbri route's gonna begoing on there.
So um it's a little bit safer todo it there than a lot of other
rides for sure.
SPEAKER_03 (22:11):
So in prior years, you have graciously trusted us
with the route.
Can we can we announce that herethat we'll get to do that again?
Can we do a route release showwith you guys?
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (22:23):
I think it was very successful last year.
We might get Ron to uh come upwith our our trivia questions.
Love it.
SPEAKER_03 (22:29):
I love it.
I love it.
Absolutely.
We can definitely record andrespect for you guys right
before Christmas.
We'll sign the no complete causeand everything and send our
lawyers and document it and sendit back.
We won't tell anybody, butactually in prior years, people
have, I mean, you know, the lastcouple years people have said,
so you guys knew about it?
We're like, yeah, like a weekahead of time.
It's like, did you tell anybody?
(22:50):
I'm like, who am I gonna tell inMichigan?
I mean, hey, guess what?
What I'm going, this is theroute.
Yeah, okay, good enough.
So but no, it's uh the onlybenefit has been hotels.
Usually Michael and I go becausewe fly in, we look at our
flights and look at a hotel forus, has been one of the things.
But it's exciting, and manytimes people on the route uh we
(23:13):
got to hear things like, oh,Franklin had the trivia, and
then he said what distilleriesand breweries were gonna be
there.
And so then um that's the onlyreason I knew it is because it
was your show, and that kind ofmade us feel like yes, that
worked, you know, for all of us.
So it's the small things, right?
On the on the show.
SPEAKER_02 (23:29):
So um Ron's got some intimate knowledge of a lot of
these towns because we've uhwe've driven a lot of the um
gone to a lot of the towns andthe meetings and whatnot.
He'll always be sitting theretalking, I I was here and you
know, such and such a year doingthis thing, and it's like some
random town in Georgia.
I'm like, Where how in the worldhave you been to all these small
towns already?
SPEAKER_03 (23:48):
I love it.
I love it.
That's kind of like I was atRagbury.
Michael can tell you if I'm ifI'm telling you a lie right now.
We were somewhere and on thenorthern route of Ragbury, and I
said, I've been by this housebefore.
I said, I can't believe it.
And he goes, No, there's no wayyou've been by this house.
And Ron, I'm sure you can guessright now.
(24:09):
We've our friendship isdefinitely, you know, it's a we
definitely think the world ofeach other, but we love poking
each other a little bit.
And I said, I'm telling you, I'mlike, when I get to camp, I'm
pulling up Strava.
I have I know that stone sign onthat house.
I I I know I was there.
SPEAKER_00 (24:25):
Come on.
He's pointing at a stone sign inthe middle of a yard saying
we've been here before.
That sounds bogus to me.
And we got back, and had we beenby there?
We had been by there, yes.
Had we been on that road andthat we've been on that exact
road going that exact directionthree years before.
SPEAKER_02 (24:46):
Well, you know, Adam, when you get to be
Michael's age, memory becomes alittle bit of an issue.
SPEAKER_00 (24:50):
Oh wow.
Well, Franklin was my favoriteguest on the show.
Ron, you got a chance here tomake up some ground.
Finally.
That was good.
I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_03 (25:03):
Only if he only knew Michael.
Gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (25:06):
Yeah, that's funny.
That same thing happens to usall the time.
Just you know, I live in Georgiaand I've driven, I swear, every
road that there is to drive, soall the time we'll be on a
family road trip or goingsomewhere and I'll be, oh yeah,
we've had a rest stop there, andoh, this is our route went right
back here.
And a lot of times I'll bedriving and I'll tell the kids
to look out the window to lookfor old brack markers because
some of those things will stickaround for like 10 years.
SPEAKER_03 (25:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:28):
You know, if it's a really rural road, you know,
that doesn't get a lot of umtraffic on it.
I mean, we've we've seen markerson there from you know, rides
that are from 10 years ago.
So it's kind of cool to alwaysjust driving around with your
family or friends, like, lookdown there on the road.
See if you see a marker likethat.
They're like, what are youtalking about?
And I was like, I painted thatthere.
That's where I tagged.
SPEAKER_00 (25:47):
Yeah, they don't get the harsh winters, they don't
get the snow, they don't get theyou know, the ice melting salts
and things like that.
So, yeah, they could stickaround for a while.
SPEAKER_03 (25:55):
Yeah, some of them are are there.
One of my favorite things abouthaving many friends from Georgia
and and a lot of people we'vemet, you know, throughout the
times that we've been there isI've become Facebook friends
with them on my personalFacebook page.
And when you guys have a snowday, you guys are like
celebrate.
You're like, Snow day! And I'mlike, I I got it outside right
now, you can have it every day.
But kind of funny, one time Iwas coming back to Atlanta,
(26:18):
ladies and gentlemen, we doregret that all flights are
delayed.
There's an inch of snow on theground.
I'm like, an inch of snow?
I'm like, I'm gonna land inDetroit, and there's 12 inches
of snow.
But you guys don't obviouslyhave the same infrastructure.
I get it, but um very, very,very interesting.
But uh well, Ron, I uh on behalfof Michael and I personally want
(26:38):
to welcome you to your to yournew uh gig, not not 100% new,
but new to us, of course.
Uh so anything that the RoadAdventures of Cycling Measure,
uh Men of Leisure can help youshare.
If you're trying to get a wordout or you're trying to get some
information out, don't hesitate.
We'll be glad to talk about iton the show.
We want to open that olivebranch, of course.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
So absolutely.
I appreciate it.
You guys have a have far reachand a and a good reader uh
listenership, um, and always anentertaining show.
So I think we're we're blessedto be part of it and look
forward to the coming days whenwe can get this uh get this
wonderful route and news of itout to the world and um go from
(27:21):
there.
SPEAKER_00 (27:23):
It'll be fun.
We will be mentioning this onnot only our regular podcast,
but we'll probably throw out acouple of other podcasts or
quick reels and things like thatjust to remind people how to do
it and when the uh the timeframe is.
I'm gonna we haven't reallydiscussed a time frame.
I'm gonna assume it needs to bedone by, you know, I don't know,
(27:43):
10 o'clock on the 31st ofDecember.
But we'll we'll work that exactdate out.
But we'll be reminding everybodyto get out there and put your
put your votes in.
I mean, it's number one, it'sgonna be, well, probably in
Georgia.
Occasionally we've left, butwe've never stayed outside of
Georgia that I'm aware of.
So uh pick some towns right in arow and uh and go with it.
SPEAKER_02 (28:05):
Twice first brag.
We started in Ufala, Alabama.
So that's not a hint, but thereare some times where we've been
outside the state.
That would be cool.
SPEAKER_00 (28:14):
Or there were times that we've been outside the
state too on rides that we'vebeen with you, but we you know,
we went out briefly and we cameback in.
We never spent the eveningoutside of the state.
So that's true.
SPEAKER_02 (28:24):
I've heard you love those South Carolina roads, and
I listened to that podcast and Ijust thought, man, they're bad
roads, but they're not that bad.
But you guys really hated theroads.
SPEAKER_00 (28:33):
You know, going 60 in a you know, a Ford pickup
truck.
Yeah, roads don't really seemthat bad, do they?
SPEAKER_02 (28:39):
You know, the hills aren't the the hills are pretty
flat at that point, too.
SPEAKER_00 (28:42):
Yeah, I bet they are.
SPEAKER_02 (28:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (28:44):
Well, your roads are a hundred thousand times better
than Michigan, so I have to saythat uh that's I didn't even
know that I was in SouthCarolina last year until I saw
the sign that said, Well, cometo Georgia.
SPEAKER_00 (28:56):
I was like, I didn't know I left.
SPEAKER_03 (28:58):
When did I leave?
I didn't even know I left.
Um, but that was a great ridelast year.
I really enjoyed that except forthat one hill where I had to
push my bike.
SPEAKER_02 (29:08):
It's you know, it's those challenges though that you
know make sure you're pushingyourself enough that it's it's
not too easy.
SPEAKER_00 (29:15):
Says the guy driving in the pickup truck.
SPEAKER_03 (29:18):
Hey, hey, that guy helped me.
He he went up to the top of thehill, brought me an icy, and
then got got uh Aztec, Chrisfrom Aztec to pull over and help
me out as I was going clunkclank clank clank clank clank
clank.
So it all works out.
So well, okay, contest, guessthe route.
As soon as I release this, uhwe'll the website will be open.
(29:40):
We'll we'll spread it on social.
We'll put the links to Franklinand Ron.
Uh they can share to theirprospective places.
Uh, we look forward to theguesses.
10 points for the correct townand night, five points for the
correct town, 20 points for thecorrect town if it's the
layover, and 10 points if youcan prove that you follow the
(30:00):
road adventures of cycling menof leisure somewhere, somehow,
but it's gotta be a screenshotand show us so now.
SPEAKER_02 (30:07):
Do those points stack?
If I follow you on Spotify,Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and
Facebook, can I stack thosepoints?
SPEAKER_00 (30:13):
I I think you should try, but I'm gonna tell you they
don't.
SPEAKER_02 (30:16):
But go ahead and and do that.
Okay.
We should have told them itstacks, and then after how to
correct it.
SPEAKER_00 (30:23):
Oh, did we say it stacks?
I'm sorry.
No, unfortunately, we're we'renot gonna stack it.
You just get a straight.
But if you want to follow us onmultiple platforms, that would
be fantastic.
SPEAKER_03 (30:33):
We we started this thing, and after this, we can
end this.
We started it with the podcastwith no intentions of ever doing
the YouTube.
And then we can't believe thegrowth that we've had on YouTube
recently.
It's it's really changed.
So I don't know if people liketo watch our facial expressions
or laugh at each other orwhatever.
And then then we'll have someshows that the the the
(30:54):
viewership on YouTube uh isnowhere near what the
listenership is.
So it's kind of funny, it goesback and forth.
We think there's a value add,and we've decided to keep both
platforms.
So whether you like to listen tous or watch us, you can see
Michael's uh bourbon of choice.
I saw you had one tonight, sir.
I did.
SPEAKER_00 (31:11):
Well, you know, I'm leisuring.
Yeah.
Soon to be unemployed andleisuring, so you know, hey, you
know, but uh if you're hiring,Michael's looking.
SPEAKER_03 (31:20):
That's right.
Franklin, you don't need abusiness architect.
SPEAKER_00 (31:24):
That darn ride director job already's gone.
Shucks.
Yeah, beat you too.
SPEAKER_03 (31:31):
But but maybe he needs a business architect.
Nobody knows what that is.
I couldn't help him.
SPEAKER_00 (31:36):
Sorry.
SPEAKER_02 (31:37):
You know, we were talking about this.
Ron was like, what what isMichael doing?
I was like, you know, I mighthave told you at one point, but
not anymore.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (31:46):
He's uh he's gonna be driving a bus in the county.
He's gonna have to learn whatthe yellow standee line is,
though, because if he doesn'tfigure that out, it ain't gonna
work, buddy.
SPEAKER_00 (31:57):
So it's just a fake thing you people say.
But anyway.
SPEAKER_03 (32:01):
Well, we're gonna wish you luck, buddy.
Um, appreciate you being in goodspirits.
Not a good time of the year.
Not ever, and there's never agood time, but obviously this is
the worst time of the year.
So we'll we'll think the bestfor you.
If you are hiring a businessarchitect, reach out to us on
our socials.
Michael would be so thankful.
So um, well, Ron, thank you somuch for your time this evening.
(32:23):
We will get some guesses going.
We will once we if we see like auh a conglomerate of of cities
or whatever, we'll run up by youguys and and we'll put out a
show and try to see where peopleare trending to, which wouldn't
where they think it may begoing.
After you released the logo, Idid see all kinds of questions
and your correction.
(32:44):
Just to be clear, after they sawthe logo, many people said, Are
we going gravel?
Are we doing mountain biking?
And I saw that Brad kept saying,This is a road ride, this is a
road ride.
So I I I did see that there weresome guesses there, so I don't
want to steal anyone's guessesthere.
Um, hopefully they can uhtranspose those guesses for the
official contest.
SPEAKER_00 (33:05):
But get get your guesses in early because it
would be fun for us to kind ofkeep track as we go.
Don't everybody wait till theend because you know, okay.
SPEAKER_02 (33:13):
Well, we'll get some trivia ready for you guys for
the uh route release, too.
SPEAKER_03 (33:17):
That sounds good.
Well, appreciate both of youguys being here.
Uh we will uh we'll get thisout, and as always, it's a great
day for a bike.
Thank you guys.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (33:29):
Thank you, appreciate it.
SPEAKER_04 (33:31):
Thank you for coming along with Adam and Michael on
Road Adventures with Cycling Menof Leisure.
If you have enjoyed this, pleasesubscribe to the show on the
podcast app of your choice.
Well, it's time for Road Adventures with Cycling Men
of Leisure, the podcast forcyclists who understand that
riding is not just about gettingto the destination, but the
experience along the way.
Now, here are the originalcycling men of leisure, Adam and
Michael.
SPEAKER_03 (05:32):
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
welcome to Road Adventures withCycling Men of Leisure for a
special episode.
Hey Michael, how you been?
SPEAKER_00 (05:40):
I have been good.
Things are going well.
Not thrilled about the snow, butyou know what?
This episode, we're going totalk about things that are not
happening in the wintertime.
SPEAKER_03 (05:50):
Well, that is for sure.
That is for sure.
We're going to talk about abeautiful place that I love to
go to, been many a times.
Hopefully, one day get to goback, right?
I hope so.
I hope so too.
So let's go ahead and bring ourspecial guests on.
Ladies and gentlemen, weconsider this gentleman a friend
of the show.
He's been on many a times.
Please welcome Mr.
Franklin Johnson.
(06:11):
Franklin, welcome.
SPEAKER_02 (06:12):
Yeah, happy to be here.
Thanks for having me yet again.
SPEAKER_03 (06:15):
Yet always happy to have you, Franklin.
Man, one of our best listenshows to this day still includes
Mr.
Franklin Johnson.
So we we we feel we feel veryhonored.
But more than that, we haveanother special guest.
Ladies and gentlemen, the newdomestic ride director for
Bragg, Mr.
Ron Ward, is also joining us.
(06:35):
Welcome.
SPEAKER_01 (06:37):
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
Longtime listener, first timecaller.
SPEAKER_03 (06:40):
Wow.
I'm a Howard listener too.
I love it.
So I can I can get back onthere.
Well, welcome, Ron.
Happy to have you on the show.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
So normally we talk about theexecutive ride director of
Bragg.
I mean, there he is, the man,the myth, the legend.
Sometimes we call him all kindsof things.
Not derogatory, but friend orexecutive director.
SPEAKER_00 (07:03):
But now Adam, there was that one time you put us on
a mountain route.
Remember that?
And I think we were using a fewwords that may have been a
little derogatory.
SPEAKER_03 (07:11):
You mean the one I had to be honest.
They mean the one I was walking.
SPEAKER_02 (07:14):
Yeah, that one.
I'm sure it was called to manythings that day, and none of
them were kind.
SPEAKER_03 (07:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:20):
Not only by you guys, but the rest of the
ridership as well.
SPEAKER_03 (07:24):
I did hear a couple of what the hell was Franklin
thinking?
But on a more positive note.
I assume with the domestic ridedirector title, that means Bragg
is growing and yourinternational trips are going
well.
SPEAKER_02 (07:36):
Yeah, so international trips started
going uh really well.
And I, you know, been doing uhat the helm of Bragg for over 10
years now and wanted to continueto grow and scale, and I think
in a in an effort to do that,need some assistance.
And um so I think it's you knowit's two-prong.
It's you know, A, to give metime to focus on a lot of the
international stuff.
(07:57):
It's definitely still gonna behere and involved um uh in Brag
moving forward and you know,still gonna be at all the
events.
And as you said, Adam, uhshaking hands and kissing
babies.
So I'll still be still be theredoing that, uh, so not going
anywhere.
Uh, but definitely want to focusa lot of my time on a lot of the
overseas rides because those arethose are growing so quickly.
(08:17):
Um and also want to givesomebody who has you know done
the rides before and has someyou know experience in the
cycling community and uh bringsome fresh energy and excitement
into the role.
And Ron actually I'll let himtell his story, but we had some
really good experiences with Ronand decided to bring him over to
head up over all the rides thatare taking place uh here in the
(08:39):
United States.
SPEAKER_03 (08:40):
And I know that uh not being repetitive, I I mean I
I love your brag and rightsnewsletter, and you did put it
on Facebook, but some people arenot social media, and some
people are not people who readon a newsletter on a regular
basis.
And so, Ron, uh, would you tellus a little bit about yourself
for those who get all their Bragnews on podcasts?
(09:01):
Can I have an introduction?
SPEAKER_01 (09:03):
Or well, sure.
As uh Franklin said, uh I've gota little bit of experience with
uh the Bragg family.
I actually had the opportunityback in the early 90s to go on
the the ride from Rome, Georgiadown to America, I think it was,
through Columbus.
It was a funny story.
I had a mountain bike that Iused to commute around Athens
(09:25):
where I was in school, and itwas you know fitted out with
nothing special, didn't evenhave toe clips.
And my brother had his uh hisyou know narrow race bike, you
know, straight out of breakingaway.
And uh anyway, I just spent theentire week trying to catch up,
and I would just go barrelingdown hills after him, and then
by the time I would catch up tohim at a rest stop, you know,
(09:47):
he'd be full up and ready to go,and I'd have to stop and but it
was fun.
We're still, you know, we westill ride together and and and
have a good time.
So it was a lot of fun.
That was a great experience,really enjoyed it.
So that was sort of my firstforay into the Brag world, and
I've ridden a lot across uh thestate and in my region in small
(10:10):
groups.
Did uh got into gravel ridingback in late 23, and so I got a
gravel bike, and in the regionwhere I live, we have a pretty
pretty extensive rails to trailsuh project uh around that you
can it's a network of trailsthat includes all kinds.
(10:31):
Mostly paved, but there's someopportunity for a little gravel,
so that's a lot of fun, and I Ido some uh bike packing and that
sort of thing.
And I was gonna do the big bragin 24.
I had some scheduling issues,but I was kind of going back and
forth on it.
I was gonna go by myself becauseI I didn't have my brother
wasn't gonna go with me, and Ididn't have anybody else.
(10:52):
And I saw the um the the linkfor volunteering or paid gigs
that Franklin had out on thewebsite, and I sent him a text,
or I or maybe he sent me a textafter he read my volunteer form.
And so I ended up going on theride as as you know, hired hired
hand there for the logisticsgroup and just fell in love with
(11:13):
it.
I mean, I had a great time.
Uh and it's it's a lot of work,but it's it's really rewarding.
I love being outside.
Um and ever since then, Franklinand I kind of kept in touch.
You know, I go off and do otherstuff, and you know, we cross
each other's paths on email orwhatever, and so here I am.
Um it's a great decision.
I've loved every second.
(11:34):
I'm learning a lot.
There's a lot still yet tolearn, but uh I I appreciate the
tight-knit cycling community.
It's a diverse group, but withone goal, and that's to have fun
on two wheels and keep therubber side down, and that's uh
that's a great way to approachlife.
SPEAKER_03 (11:54):
For sure, for sure.
Especially uh don't don't runover garden hoses, right, buddy?
SPEAKER_00 (12:00):
Yeah, I heard I heard that story on really the
rule the the whole point of thething is don't put garden hoses
out in the road.
That's my point.
SPEAKER_03 (12:09):
So I'm sorry.
unknown (12:11):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (12:11):
Well, listen, it wouldn't be a regular episode
for you and I if we weren'triveting each other.
So that's true.
That's true.
Well, Ron, I I I welcome you.
I was introduced to Bragg in themiddle of Iowa.
I saw the big red tent, and andMichael and I were looking for
rides to do, and we decided uhBrag was for us, and it was
just, you know, I don't want tosteal Franklin's word, but it
(12:33):
was almost like summer camp, andand the the community in Georgia
that's opened their arms to notonly myself but Michael, but you
know, cycling men of leisure andand you know the entire team.
We had 43 team members last yearin Bragg.
It was just amazing.
And and just the camaraderie andthe welcomeness that when we
(12:53):
come to Georgia, every time I'mfrom Michigan, for those who
don't know, if you are a newlistener, because I think this
is gonna get shared to peoplewho probably haven't listened to
you and I before, Michael.
And I love flying into Atlantaand then usually either catch in
a commuter somewhere else or abus, and and Georgia's just
absolutely beautiful.
So I I think you probably took ajob that you're gonna have a
love relationship with, in myopinion.
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
So we haven't run them off just yet, so that's
good.
SPEAKER_03 (13:17):
Well, that's good.
That's good.
I say yeah, I was gonna say Isay the same thing about people
I hire all the time.
Well, they're still here, sothey must like it somewhat.
So I keep showing up.
I have to tell you somethingfunny, Ron.
So we were lucky enough to seeStephanie in the middle of
Kentucky.
Michael and I decided to go downand do the bourbon country burn,
and we met Stephanie and herpartner, and and we were in a
(13:38):
bar and and a brewery, not abar, brewery.
And I said, uh, how's the huntfor for a director?
And and she said, We got one.
You start September 20th.
And she couldn't tell me fastenough that that she knew the
day and when you're starting.
And I said, I'm excited aboutthat.
And she did not hold hesitateone bit.
She said, Yes, I am.
So I asked her if I could sharethat story.
(14:00):
So she said that was fine.
SPEAKER_01 (14:02):
If any of your listeners have ever met
Stephanie, she is a big part ofthe heart of the Bragg program,
and that means staff volunteersand participants.
She is she is right there in thethick of it.
I mean, uh the the ship sinkswithout her, so she's she's a a
real plus.
SPEAKER_00 (14:22):
We often said she's the one doing all the heavy
lifting, so without a doubt.
SPEAKER_03 (14:27):
We've tried to get her on the show, and I'll tell
you of all the wonderful thingsI will say about Stephanie.
Plus plus, A plus, A plus, Aplus.
I won't say anything negative,but she has declined to be on
the show.
She said that's just not hershow.
SPEAKER_02 (14:41):
Yeah, I don't know if that's her back.
She she's great at many things,but I don't know if she can take
the abuse from you guys, youknow?
SPEAKER_03 (14:46):
We would never treat her in a derogatory manner.
SPEAKER_00 (14:49):
No.
Gotta know your place, Franklin.
I mean, really.
That's true.
That's true.
Gotta know where you fit in.
SPEAKER_03 (14:56):
Well, behind the scenes, being transparent, the
four of us had an idea to kickoff the new domestic ride
director for Bragg withsomething exciting.
Franklin, you and your teamhistorically put out the brand
new 2026 Big Brag route atmidnight on New Year's Eve.
Many times, Michael can tell youthat I've stayed up and waited
(15:17):
to watch this video on YouTube.
Um, you've been gracious enoughfor us for the last couple of
years.
We record about a week early,and then we we uh are sworn to
secrecy.
We signed the documents and ourlawyers send it back.
Well, that's not true, but andthen we put out our show uh in
noon that day.
And we thought the four of us,with this new kickoff and the
(15:40):
family of Bragg growing, that wewould have a contest.
And a contest would be a guessthe route for Big Brag 2026.
Uh, the the route that's gonnabe released at New Year's Eve on
midnight.
What do you think?
All right.
SPEAKER_02 (15:55):
Everybody always typically does it, you know,
impromptu on Facebook.
Everybody will put their guessesout there, but this will be a
good way to culminate and putall the guesses in one spot.
And I hear there's a prize.
There is a prize.
SPEAKER_03 (16:07):
Nico, you want to you want to talk about this?
SPEAKER_00 (16:09):
Yeah, so when we were thinking about this, we
thought we need some cool prizethat you know, and we didn't
want to do just, oh, here's asticker pack or here's a hat or
here's a shirt.
So what we came up with iswhoever the winner is, we are
going to design a specialjersey.
(16:37):
Their size.
Uh, it's gonna hopefully beco-branded with with Brag and
with uh you know, RoadAdventures of Cycling Men of
Leisure, and it is going to bethe winner's jersey, and
there'll just be one of theseever produced, and whoever wins
can wear that with pride thatthey were the person that
guessed the the 2026 BraggRoute.
SPEAKER_03 (16:59):
So and how are they going to enter this, sir?
SPEAKER_00 (17:03):
Uh well, as far as entering it, what you're gonna
want to do is you'll want to goto our social media, um which
you can find all over our pages,and we'll be putting it out on
Facebook and all that just tomake sure you can find it.
And you will want to put downyour six guesses.
And uh I know it's a seven-dayride or seven-night ride, but we
do have that Wednesday, which isyou know the layover day.
(17:26):
You'll put down your six guessesin the order that you think
they're gonna hit and send thatto us.
And then what we're gonna do iswe're gonna do a scoring system.
We will give anybody who guessesthe right town and the right
day, they get 10 points.
If you guess a right town andit's not on the right day, we'll
give you five points because yougot one right.
(17:49):
Uh, if you guess the correcttown on Tuesday, we're gonna
give you 20 points because it'sa layover day.
You get double points.
We thought that was fair.
The other thing we're gonna dois if you will take a screenshot
um showing that you're followingus on uh, you know, YouTube or
(18:11):
our podcast, whatever podcast uhversions you use, or you're
following us on some type ofsocial media, if you'll take a
screenshot of that and send thatto us, we'll start you off with
10 points right off the rightoff the start line.
So that's how we're gonna do it.
We're gonna culminate all thoseup.
We'll keep a tally of all thethe points, be it zero or what,
(18:31):
eighty points.
And then whoever gets the mostpoints is gonna be a winner.
Now I know everybody's sayingwhat happens if multiple people
guess correctly.
SPEAKER_03 (18:40):
Hey, Michael, yeah, what are we gonna do if multiple
people guess correctly?
SPEAKER_00 (18:44):
I knew people were thinking and we're gonna ask
that.
So thank you, Adam.
It's a good question.
What we're gonna do is on a liveyou know podcast, we will put
all the names of the people whoguess correctly onto chips.
We'll put them in a hat.
We will have a non-biased thirdparty, probably maybe Stephanie.
(19:06):
Maybe Stephanie will fly up toMichigan in the wintertime,
Stephanie, and you can pull itout.
SPEAKER_03 (19:12):
We could get some tokens.
We could we could, we could.
SPEAKER_00 (19:14):
Someone will uh put them all in a hat, pull it out,
and whoever uh name is drawn isthe winner and gets that jersey.
SPEAKER_02 (19:22):
So if you guys give me one second, I'm actually
gonna go to your socials andthen to your website, and I'm
gonna submit my entries now justbecause that jersey sounds so
cool.
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:32):
And actually, uh yeah, if you go out to our it'll
be our website and it's privateright now.
SPEAKER_03 (19:39):
But uh the minute this is done recording, I'll hit
on private.
SPEAKER_00 (19:42):
So there will be a page there that actually has a
uh actual submission form.
And you can just put that inthere and send it to us.
It'll be great.
Super easy.
SPEAKER_02 (19:51):
All right.
Well, hopefully it's not just meand Ron that are uh our our
chips are in the hat there toget pulled out.
Well, you guys can fight overthe one jersey.
SPEAKER_00 (20:02):
Uh hey, Ron doesn't need a jersey because he's a
ride director and he ain't gonnabe riding.
So however, my big question is,Franklin, are you gonna ride?
Because now you have a littlemore free time.
SPEAKER_02 (20:15):
That's true.
I don't want to call it freetime.
I'm sure um I forgot the name ofthe theory, but there's a theory
that um the stuff you have to doexpands to fill the amount of
time you have to do it.
So I frequently find that'salways the case on these rides.
So we'll see how that goes.
I have a couple years I haveridden um one year we're in
Millageville, one year we're inDeloniga.
I rode on a layover day, so I'lldefinitely try and do that.
(20:37):
But I find too that it's hard tobring my bike for the whole week
only to get like a 30-mile ridein.
It's annoying to keep up with itand move it from town to town to
town to town to town every week.
So maybe I'll find somebodywho's not gonna ride on the
layover day and we'll just do abike swap.
SPEAKER_03 (20:52):
There you go.
It's like when you make moremoney, you spend more when you
make more.
So it's not like you have I'msure you won't have as many.
But I have seen you ride at atuh Ragbri once.
You mu you came you back to onelike the the end town.
We saw you coming back.
SPEAKER_02 (21:08):
Yeah, a lot of times on Ragbry, you know, because
I'll be there setting up tentsor whatever, and then uh try and
ride back halfway and then youknow ride in with the the group.
Uh they call that swimmingupstream.
So you do definitely feel like asalmon, you know, going against
the grain.
And I know they hate that, andyou know, don't let the uh
ragbri folks hear hear that Idid that.
(21:29):
But um, but that's a good way toget some miles in if you're uh
if you're working.
SPEAKER_03 (21:34):
Well, all right, ragbride 53.
We're not going.
Yeah, I mean my first year doingragbri, I'm like, what?
And these people write them thewrong way.
What I never understood untilfinally I, you know, five times
in, I'm a quick learner.
Then I realized they were comingback to the back to the the town
to you know close it out.
SPEAKER_02 (21:54):
So um and ragbright's usually better
because you know there's notnearly as many cars on the road,
you know, it's a lot of thesmaller rural towns in Iowa, and
you know, they obviously avoidthe route just because they know
that the ragbri route's gonna begoing on there.
So um it's a little bit safer todo it there than a lot of other
rides for sure.
SPEAKER_03 (22:11):
So in prior years, you have graciously trusted us
with the route.
Can we can we announce that herethat we'll get to do that again?
Can we do a route release showwith you guys?
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (22:23):
I think it was very successful last year.
We might get Ron to uh come upwith our our trivia questions.
Love it.
SPEAKER_03 (22:29):
I love it.
I love it.
Absolutely.
We can definitely record andrespect for you guys right
before Christmas.
We'll sign the no complete causeand everything and send our
lawyers and document it and sendit back.
We won't tell anybody, butactually in prior years, people
have, I mean, you know, the lastcouple years people have said,
so you guys knew about it?
We're like, yeah, like a weekahead of time.
It's like, did you tell anybody?
(22:50):
I'm like, who am I gonna tell inMichigan?
I mean, hey, guess what?
What I'm going, this is theroute.
Yeah, okay, good enough.
So but no, it's uh the onlybenefit has been hotels.
Usually Michael and I go becausewe fly in, we look at our
flights and look at a hotel forus, has been one of the things.
But it's exciting, and manytimes people on the route uh we
(23:13):
got to hear things like, oh,Franklin had the trivia, and
then he said what distilleriesand breweries were gonna be
there.
And so then um that's the onlyreason I knew it is because it
was your show, and that kind ofmade us feel like yes, that
worked, you know, for all of us.
So it's the small things, right?
On the on the show.
SPEAKER_02 (23:29):
So um Ron's got some intimate knowledge of a lot of
these towns because we've uhwe've driven a lot of the um
gone to a lot of the towns andthe meetings and whatnot.
He'll always be sitting theretalking, I I was here and you
know, such and such a year doingthis thing, and it's like some
random town in Georgia.
I'm like, Where how in the worldhave you been to all these small
towns already?
SPEAKER_03 (23:48):
I love it.
I love it.
That's kind of like I was atRagbury.
Michael can tell you if I'm ifI'm telling you a lie right now.
We were somewhere and on thenorthern route of Ragbury, and I
said, I've been by this housebefore.
I said, I can't believe it.
And he goes, No, there's no wayyou've been by this house.
And Ron, I'm sure you can guessright now.
(24:09):
We've our friendship isdefinitely, you know, it's a we
definitely think the world ofeach other, but we love poking
each other a little bit.
And I said, I'm telling you, I'mlike, when I get to camp, I'm
pulling up Strava.
I have I know that stone sign onthat house.
I I I know I was there.
SPEAKER_00 (24:25):
Come on.
He's pointing at a stone sign inthe middle of a yard saying
we've been here before.
That sounds bogus to me.
And we got back, and had we beenby there?
We had been by there, yes.
Had we been on that road andthat we've been on that exact
road going that exact directionthree years before.
SPEAKER_02 (24:46):
Well, you know, Adam, when you get to be
Michael's age, memory becomes alittle bit of an issue.
SPEAKER_00 (24:50):
Oh wow.
Well, Franklin was my favoriteguest on the show.
Ron, you got a chance here tomake up some ground.
Finally.
That was good.
I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_03 (25:03):
Only if he only knew Michael.
Gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (25:06):
Yeah, that's funny.
That same thing happens to usall the time.
Just you know, I live in Georgiaand I've driven, I swear, every
road that there is to drive, soall the time we'll be on a
family road trip or goingsomewhere and I'll be, oh yeah,
we've had a rest stop there, andoh, this is our route went right
back here.
And a lot of times I'll bedriving and I'll tell the kids
to look out the window to lookfor old brack markers because
some of those things will stickaround for like 10 years.
SPEAKER_03 (25:27):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:28):
You know, if it's a really rural road, you know,
that doesn't get a lot of umtraffic on it.
I mean, we've we've seen markerson there from you know, rides
that are from 10 years ago.
So it's kind of cool to alwaysjust driving around with your
family or friends, like, lookdown there on the road.
See if you see a marker likethat.
They're like, what are youtalking about?
And I was like, I painted thatthere.
That's where I tagged.
SPEAKER_00 (25:47):
Yeah, they don't get the harsh winters, they don't
get the snow, they don't get theyou know, the ice melting salts
and things like that.
So, yeah, they could stickaround for a while.
SPEAKER_03 (25:55):
Yeah, some of them are are there.
One of my favorite things abouthaving many friends from Georgia
and and a lot of people we'vemet, you know, throughout the
times that we've been there isI've become Facebook friends
with them on my personalFacebook page.
And when you guys have a snowday, you guys are like
celebrate.
You're like, Snow day! And I'mlike, I I got it outside right
now, you can have it every day.
But kind of funny, one time Iwas coming back to Atlanta,
(26:18):
ladies and gentlemen, we doregret that all flights are
delayed.
There's an inch of snow on theground.
I'm like, an inch of snow?
I'm like, I'm gonna land inDetroit, and there's 12 inches
of snow.
But you guys don't obviouslyhave the same infrastructure.
I get it, but um very, very,very interesting.
But uh well, Ron, I uh on behalfof Michael and I personally want
(26:38):
to welcome you to your to yournew uh gig, not not 100% new,
but new to us, of course.
Uh so anything that the RoadAdventures of Cycling Measure,
uh Men of Leisure can help youshare.
If you're trying to get a wordout or you're trying to get some
information out, don't hesitate.
We'll be glad to talk about iton the show.
We want to open that olivebranch, of course.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
So absolutely.
I appreciate it.
You guys have a have far reachand a and a good reader uh
listenership, um, and always anentertaining show.
So I think we're we're blessedto be part of it and look
forward to the coming days whenwe can get this uh get this
wonderful route and news of itout to the world and um go from
(27:21):
there.
SPEAKER_00 (27:23):
It'll be fun.
We will be mentioning this onnot only our regular podcast,
but we'll probably throw out acouple of other podcasts or
quick reels and things like thatjust to remind people how to do
it and when the uh the timeframe is.
I'm gonna we haven't reallydiscussed a time frame.
I'm gonna assume it needs to bedone by, you know, I don't know,
(27:43):
10 o'clock on the 31st ofDecember.
But we'll we'll work that exactdate out.
But we'll be reminding everybodyto get out there and put your
put your votes in.
I mean, it's number one, it'sgonna be, well, probably in
Georgia.
Occasionally we've left, butwe've never stayed outside of
Georgia that I'm aware of.
So uh pick some towns right in arow and uh and go with it.
SPEAKER_02 (28:05):
Twice first brag.
We started in Ufala, Alabama.
So that's not a hint, but thereare some times where we've been
outside the state.
That would be cool.
SPEAKER_00 (28:14):
Or there were times that we've been outside the
state too on rides that we'vebeen with you, but we you know,
we went out briefly and we cameback in.
We never spent the eveningoutside of the state.
So that's true.
SPEAKER_02 (28:24):
I've heard you love those South Carolina roads, and
I listened to that podcast and Ijust thought, man, they're bad
roads, but they're not that bad.
But you guys really hated theroads.
SPEAKER_00 (28:33):
You know, going 60 in a you know, a Ford pickup
truck.
Yeah, roads don't really seemthat bad, do they?
SPEAKER_02 (28:39):
You know, the hills aren't the the hills are pretty
flat at that point, too.
SPEAKER_00 (28:42):
Yeah, I bet they are.
SPEAKER_02 (28:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (28:44):
Well, your roads are a hundred thousand times better
than Michigan, so I have to saythat uh that's I didn't even
know that I was in SouthCarolina last year until I saw
the sign that said, Well, cometo Georgia.
SPEAKER_00 (28:56):
I was like, I didn't know I left.
SPEAKER_03 (28:58):
When did I leave?
I didn't even know I left.
Um, but that was a great ridelast year.
I really enjoyed that except forthat one hill where I had to
push my bike.
SPEAKER_02 (29:08):
It's you know, it's those challenges though that you
know make sure you're pushingyourself enough that it's it's
not too easy.
SPEAKER_00 (29:15):
Says the guy driving in the pickup truck.
SPEAKER_03 (29:18):
Hey, hey, that guy helped me.
He he went up to the top of thehill, brought me an icy, and
then got got uh Aztec, Chrisfrom Aztec to pull over and help
me out as I was going clunkclank clank clank clank clank
clank.
So it all works out.
So well, okay, contest, guessthe route.
As soon as I release this, uhwe'll the website will be open.
(29:40):
We'll we'll spread it on social.
We'll put the links to Franklinand Ron.
Uh they can share to theirprospective places.
Uh, we look forward to theguesses.
10 points for the correct townand night, five points for the
correct town, 20 points for thecorrect town if it's the
layover, and 10 points if youcan prove that you follow the
(30:00):
road adventures of cycling menof leisure somewhere, somehow,
but it's gotta be a screenshotand show us so now.
SPEAKER_02 (30:07):
Do those points stack?
If I follow you on Spotify,Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and
Facebook, can I stack thosepoints?
SPEAKER_00 (30:13):
I I think you should try, but I'm gonna tell you they
don't.
SPEAKER_02 (30:16):
But go ahead and and do that.
Okay.
We should have told them itstacks, and then after how to
correct it.
SPEAKER_00 (30:23):
Oh, did we say it stacks?
I'm sorry.
No, unfortunately, we're we'renot gonna stack it.
You just get a straight.
But if you want to follow us onmultiple platforms, that would
be fantastic.
SPEAKER_03 (30:33):
We we started this thing, and after this, we can
end this.
We started it with the podcastwith no intentions of ever doing
the YouTube.
And then we can't believe thegrowth that we've had on YouTube
recently.
It's it's really changed.
So I don't know if people liketo watch our facial expressions
or laugh at each other orwhatever.
And then then we'll have someshows that the the the
(30:54):
viewership on YouTube uh isnowhere near what the
listenership is.
So it's kind of funny, it goesback and forth.
We think there's a value add,and we've decided to keep both
platforms.
So whether you like to listen tous or watch us, you can see
Michael's uh bourbon of choice.
I saw you had one tonight, sir.
I did.
SPEAKER_00 (31:11):
Well, you know, I'm leisuring.
Yeah.
Soon to be unemployed andleisuring, so you know, hey, you
know, but uh if you're hiring,Michael's looking.
SPEAKER_03 (31:20):
That's right.
Franklin, you don't need abusiness architect.
SPEAKER_00 (31:24):
That darn ride director job already's gone.
Shucks.
Yeah, beat you too.
SPEAKER_03 (31:31):
But but maybe he needs a business architect.
Nobody knows what that is.
I couldn't help him.
SPEAKER_00 (31:36):
Sorry.
SPEAKER_02 (31:37):
You know, we were talking about this.
Ron was like, what what isMichael doing?
I was like, you know, I mighthave told you at one point, but
not anymore.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (31:46):
He's uh he's gonna be driving a bus in the county.
He's gonna have to learn whatthe yellow standee line is,
though, because if he doesn'tfigure that out, it ain't gonna
work, buddy.
SPEAKER_00 (31:57):
So it's just a fake thing you people say.
But anyway.
SPEAKER_03 (32:01):
Well, we're gonna wish you luck, buddy.
Um, appreciate you being in goodspirits.
Not a good time of the year.
Not ever, and there's never agood time, but obviously this is
the worst time of the year.
So we'll we'll think the bestfor you.
If you are hiring a businessarchitect, reach out to us on
our socials.
Michael would be so thankful.
So um, well, Ron, thank you somuch for your time this evening.
(32:23):
We will get some guesses going.
We will once we if we see like auh a conglomerate of of cities
or whatever, we'll run up by youguys and and we'll put out a
show and try to see where peopleare trending to, which wouldn't
where they think it may begoing.
After you released the logo, Idid see all kinds of questions
and your correction.
(32:44):
Just to be clear, after they sawthe logo, many people said, Are
we going gravel?
Are we doing mountain biking?
And I saw that Brad kept saying,This is a road ride, this is a
road ride.
So I I I did see that there weresome guesses there, so I don't
want to steal anyone's guessesthere.
Um, hopefully they can uhtranspose those guesses for the
official contest.
SPEAKER_00 (33:05):
But get get your guesses in early because it
would be fun for us to kind ofkeep track as we go.
Don't everybody wait till theend because you know, okay.
SPEAKER_02 (33:13):
Well, we'll get some trivia ready for you guys for
the uh route release, too.
SPEAKER_03 (33:17):
That sounds good.
Well, appreciate both of youguys being here.
Uh we will uh we'll get thisout, and as always, it's a great
day for a bike.
Thank you guys.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (33:29):
Thank you, appreciate it.
SPEAKER_04 (33:31):
Thank you for coming along with Adam and Michael on
Road Adventures with Cycling Menof Leisure.
If you have enjoyed this, pleasesubscribe to the show on the
podcast app of your choice.
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