It’s not really weird; it's just fun! Print

The Pedal America team just completed shooting its Austin, Texas episode. Austinites have built a world-class cycling culture here. Bicycle racks practically litter the streets. As promised in my last blog, we taped the Austin episode’s teaser open at the Tour de Fat bicycle parade that included more than 400 bicyclists celebrating "two wheels" except for the snake bicycle that most likely used 20 wheels.  The parade lasted only 15 minutes so I had little time to land the opening dialogue.  With guest co-host Kati Lightholder by my side and Andrew Freund and Peter Pilafian behind the cameras, we squeezed in three takes. It all happened so fast that I was certain the second take was best, but after looking the footage, the team agreed upon the first take. It’s true what they say: the camera never lies.

A big thanks to our Austinite friend Sara DeShong from the Austin Cycling Association, and Eileen Schaubert at Lance Armstrong's co-owned Mellow Johnny’s bicycle shop, for serving as our home-base for much of our production staging and catering to all of our bicycle-related needs.    

A massive "HUG" plus one "free ticket" to our camera ace, Andrew Freund, for capturing the 1.5 million bats flying out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge at 7:15 p.m. If you’re wondering about Andrew’s hair, "no" the bats didn't get to him, it's always a bit moppy and we here at Pedal America love it! Thanks Andrew!