Outspoken Cyclist – 8/28/2021

My first guest is Jim Sayer. Jim was the Executive Director of the Adventure Cycling Association or 15 years, stepping down at the start of 2020.

Now, he’s on a bicycling tour to complete the perimeter ride he’s been working on for many years.  One of his stops was right here in NE Ohio and we invited him to stay with us.

On his way into town, Jim wheeled into Brian’s shop about noon and after some mech work, headed on over to the house for a shower, a beer, and a chat before we all had dinner.

We talked about a lot of things – his time at ACA, his work in non-profit, and the climate advocacy that he’s raising funds for on this trip.

He is diligently recording his thoughts about his trip, accompanied by lots of photos and a few videos, on his FB page.

We sent him on his way the next morning after a hearty breakfast and a morning rain storm.  You can see a photo of him and find the links to the organizations we talked about – 350.org, the sunrise movement, and climateride.org on our blog, outspokencyclist.com.  And, by the way, Jim did get his tahinii milkshake from Tommy’s.

Our second conversation is a serious one.

I don’t know if you’ve been watching the paralympics, but these athletes are something else!

And today, we speak with a past gold medal paralympian cyclist by the name of Jamie Schanbaum. Her story is nothing short of amazing, if not terrifying.

Jamie, who is a spokesperson for G-S-K and Dr. Iriny Saleb, who is a vaccine researcher and educator at GSK.  are both passionate about immunizations and educating people about the disease that can afflict teens and young adults.

Before her first semester of college was barely underway, Jamie found herself in a  hospital, fighting for her life with what was quickly diagnosed as meningitis – and just the word strikes terror.

Jamie survived and left the hospital after seven months – but, had to have her fingers and both of her legs amputated to save her life.

 A long time bike commuter, she thought she’d never ride a bike again – but, as she tells us – she’s “adaptive” and she went on to not only ride again, but win gold as a paralympian.

Today, Jamie is a spokesperson with GSK and along with Dr. Iriny Saleb, encourages us to not only learn about the disease, but to get your kids vaccinated!

And if you want to know more about the importance of understanding meningitis and how you can protect your children in helping to prevent the disease with vaccines, ask your doctor about the two different meningitis vaccines or go to asktobesure.com.