Brian Cookson is the former president of British Cycling, helping to oversee the miraculous transformation of the sport to become Team GB's most successful Olympic sport. Brian also loves trees and posts a daily Tree of the Day photograph on Twitter.
Show Notes
Brian Cookson is the former president of British Cycling, helping to oversee the miraculous transformation of the sport to become Team GB's most successful Olympic sport. He was also the president of UCI (Union Cycliste International), tackling the doping problems which have plagued the sport. Brian is a keen amateur cyclist himself. He also loves trees and posts a daily Tree of the Day photograph on Twitter.
THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Adventurous Ink, the book club for adventurous folk. Each month you'll receive a new book or journal featuring writers, photographers and illustrators who really 'get' the great outdoors. Their unique subscription will inspire more memorable experiences and help you reconnect with the natural world whilst you're out there.
(If your company or organisation is interested in sponsoring
Living Adventurously, please
get in touch!)
(It’s completely free, zero hassle to do (click here), but very helpful for me. If you’re feeling extra kind, please leave a review on the app – that really helps.) Listen on
Apple Podcasts,
Spotify,
Stitcher,
TuneIn (“Alexa, please play the Living Adventurously podcast”) or on your favourite podcast platform such as Overcast,
Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts,
Breaker, Soundcloud, Castbox, Castro.
SHOW NOTES
- If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a "coffee" here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
- Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/newsletters
- Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
- https://www.briancookson.com/
- https://twitter.com/BrianCooksonOBE
- There will always be a percentage of people who try to cheat, in whatever activity in life
- The National Cycling Centre - http://www.nationalcyclingcentre.com/
- Britain had won one cycling medal in 76 years' of Olympics pre 2000
- It was 'extremely gratifying' to see all the results at the Beijing Olympics
- The beauty, the passion, the colour, the complexity of the sport
- Cycling is like Test cricket in its complexity
- The whiteness of cycling needs to change - that has not progressed in the way that other changes in cycling have done
- There's a difference between not being negative vs making a proactive way to make cycling less white and less middle class
- There will probably never be a full-length Women's Tour de France (mostly due to sponsorship reasons)
- Fiona Kolbinger won the Trans Continental race - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/49248126 (MY MISTAKE in the podcast, mixing this up with the Tour Divide race)
- If you were inventing cycling today you probably would not invent the Tour de France
- We need to move away from the exclusivity of cycling - if you ride a bike you are a cyclist
- We are too snooty about who is a real cyclist
- Cycling a sport but it is also a pastime and a means of transport
- We need to invest in more cycling infrastructure if we are to broaden its reach and lower the perception of danger
- Once everyone has someone in their family who is a cyclist, people will drive more safely
- Brian owns 7 bikes
- Favourite cycling is road cycling
- Recommendation for touring cycling - titanium frame, mudguards, relaxed pose, Reynolds 531 tubing, wider tyres
- Electronic gears, Shimano DI2
- Fred Whitton challenge - https://alastairhumphreys.com/fred-whitton-challenge-2/
- The miles are 'twice as good' in the Lake District because there are so many ups and downs
- Tree of the Day - https://twitter.com/BrianCooksonOBE/status/1301156089422139392
- Trees have always been a big part of my life. My favourite tree is a beech tree.
★ Support this podcast ★
What is Living Adventurously?
Living Adventurously, with Alastair Humphreys, is the story of ordinary people choosing to live extraordinary lives.
Alastair interviews artists and chefs, students and pensioners, athletes and travellers. He wants to discover what living adventurously means to different people, what universal obstacles stand in the way, and how each of these people took the first step to overcome them and begin their own fascinating journeys.