Podcast
Bike Shop Life
Hosted by Ethan Johnson · EN
Bike Shop Life is a podcast about the life and times of an independent bike shop located in Buffalo, New York called Campus WheelWorks. Campus is a community-centric, urban, full service shop that puts on over 50 events a year! We cater to all kinds of cyclists and therefore have an interesting mix of clientele and staff. No two days at Campus are the same... The host, Ethan Johnson is a 30 year veteran of the bike industry. He is an active participant in cycling as well as the shop Co-owner. These stories and interviews are from his perspective and those he brings into the Bike Shop Life stratosphere. Join Ethan as he searches for the secret to what brings people like himself to choose this line of work as a career. Bike shops are a great example of the classic American small business model, one that is more and more scarce by the day as technology and convenience slowly take over. Independent bike shops continue to fight for survival and relevancy as they evolve or dissolve with the times. Why won't we give up? Tune in as we find out why... Support Bike Shop Life by: 1. Subscribing on your favorite player!2. Giving us a [positive] review on your favorite platform!3. Give me a follow on Instagram at @bikeshoplifepod 4. Donate to @CampusEthan on Venmo (mention Bike Shop Life!) or Donate to the Campus Cycling Collective, Inc. at www.campuscyclingcollective.com
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Episode 22: Ethan Goes to College
Mar 401:11:47Tap to summarizeMilo or Ethan, rather goes to college... That's right. On year 30 of his bike shop life Ethan is forced to search out another craft to hone. He finds GIS as his next passion and goes back to complete a long abandoned undergrad degree at UB. Come lend your ear while he walks you through the multi-year journey that has led to this transition. Will the Bike Shop Life continue, tune in to find out...Thanks for listening!Intro/Outro: Little acoustic ditty I've been working on for way too long. Like maybe 2009? Some day it'll be a song. For now its still a work in progress.
Transcribe →Episode 21: Catch up: September 2021 to December 2023 a Summary...
Dec 20, 202302:11:54Tap to summarizeSo... It's been over 2 years since my last episode. I've been busy riding the roller coaster of the Bike Shop Life... Boom. Bust. We. Are. Still. Here. The show must go on. So much has happened. I run through some of it and get you-all caught up on what we've been up to. Expansion. Closing a store. It's been a wild ride. Most of which I did not want to re-live through podcasting, lol. But here we are. Going to give it a go once again and make you-all some content!Thanks for tuning in!Intro/Outro: Little acoustic ditty I've been working on for way too long. Like maybe 2009? Some day it'll be a song. For now its still a work in progress.
Transcribe →Episode 20: Cross in the Park 2021
Sep 16, 202101:05:47Tap to summarizeCross in the Park is our (Campus WheelWorks/Campus Cycling Collective, Inc.) biggest event of the year. Cross in the Park 2021 is this coming Sunday September 19th. I had been fielding many questions regarding our race, cross races in general, and USA Cycling / Bikereg.com related questions. I decided to answer as many of them as I could in one place... here. This is also my annual ringing of the cow bell to get people off the side lines and onto the starting line. Cyclocross is the best discipline of cycling to begin at, and it's pretty great to be ok at... Come join me. Thanks for tuning in! Intro/Outro: DIRT WAR "C.P.S." off of their album Loss. DIRT WAR was a Buffalo band consisting of one former and one current co-worker. 3/4 members are cyclists. Seemed only fitting I include them on this episode as they have helped make this race happen in the past. Check them out at https://dirtwar716.bandcamp.com/album/lossCommercial Audio by Jack Toft off an original Campus Commercial from 2012.
Transcribe →Episode 19: Buffalo vs The Catskill Bike Packing Route Part 3 (Ethan's Story)
Jul 13, 202101:31:38Tap to summarizePart three of this saga is the event solely from my perspective. This episode includes all the live audio I recorded while on the route. It captures a bit of the emotion and sounds of walking riding or flying down dirt roads, moments of clarity, moments of insanity. I hope you enjoy this third and final part from our adventures on the Catskill Bike Packing Route. From the New York State Adventure Racing Association's website: “This self supported bikepacking route is not a race. There is no entry fee, no starting gun, and no cheering finish line. The 250+ mile route circumnavigates the Catskill mountains while climbing over 25,000 vertical feet. On this route you will find all types of terrain: smooth paved road, flowing single track descents and gnarly hike-a-bike. For the fit and experienced bikepacker, this route is intended to be completed in about 3 days. Additional time would be needed for those who plan to travel more slowly, or at a touring pace.” (It's definitely a race).Thanks for tuning in!Intro/Outro: Trystero: Conception Apparatus. Trystero was my last band I was in this was off our final ep "The Cold Machines" released at our last show in 2010. This album and more are available at: https://trystero716.bandcamp.com/album/the-cold-machinesCommercial Audio by Jack Toft off an original Campus Commercial from 2012.
Transcribe →Episode 18: Buffalo vs The Catskill Bikepacking Route (The Aftermath)
Jun 25, 202102:56:37Tap to summarizeWe went, we saw, some of us conquered and some of us were conquered... Welcome to the aftermath interview of our attempt of the Catskill Bikepacking Route. Please enjoy our stories of triumph and tribulation. From their website: “This self supported bikepacking route is not a race. There is no entry fee, no starting gun, and no cheering finish line. The 250+ mile route circumnavigates the Catskill mountains while climbing over 25,000 vertical feet. On this route you will find all types of terrain: smooth paved road, flowing singletrack descents and gnarly hike-a-bike. For the fit and experienced bikepacker, this route is intended to be completed in about 3 days. Additional time would be needed for those who plan to travel more slowly, or at a touring pace.” (It's definitely a race).Thanks for tuning in!Intro/Outro: Sonorous Gale: Let Your Darkness Shine. Sonorous Gale was one of my favorite Buffalo bands to watch and play with. They were a two piece consisting of Aaron Weese on bass and Steve Kerfien on drums (two of my longest Buffalo friends). Two dudes, big sound. This album and more are available at: https://sonorousgale.bandcamp.com/album/twos-a-crowdCommercial Audio by Jack Toft off an original Campus Commercial from 2012.
Transcribe →Episode 17: Buffalo vs The Catskill Bikepacking Route (Before)
Jun 8, 202102:51:37Tap to summarize5 guys from Buffalo are traveling to the Catskill Mountians this Friday (June 11th) to attempt the Catskill Bikepacking Route. I gathered them around a table and had a little before interview. I hope you enjoy it. We will be following up a week after the event for part 2 The Aftermath... From their website: “This self supported bikepacking route is not a race. There is no entry fee, no starting gun, and no cheering finish line. The 250+ mile route circumnavigates the Catskill mountains while climbing over 25,000 vertical feet. On this route you will find all types of terrain: smooth paved road, flowing singletrack descents and gnarly hike-a-bike. For the fit and experienced bikepacker, this route is intended to be completed in about 3 days. Additional time would be needed for those who plan to travel more slowly, or at a touring pace.” (It's definitely a race).For those interested in following along at home you may do so at: http://trackleaders.com/catskill21fThanks for tuning in! Intro/Outro: Sonorous Gale: Dogmatic Equations. Sonorous Gale was one of my favorite Buffalo bands to watch and play with. They were a two piece consisting of Aaron Weese on bass and Steve Kerfien on drums (two of my longest Buffalo friends). Two dudes, big sound. This album and more are available at: https://sonorousgale.bandcamp.com/album/twos-a-crowdCommercial Audio by Jack Toft off an original Campus Commercial from 2012.
Transcribe →Episode 16: Patrick Meszler Interview Part 3
Jan 6, 202101:32:30Tap to summarizeSo you want to be a bike mechanic? Welcome to part three of my conversation with Patrick Meszler. It took an entire episode for Pat to tell us how he got into the bike industry. AN ENTIRE EPISODE. From walking into a barn-basement-bike-shop near Utica, NY at 15 to working at Campus, not once but thrice. Now we will move onto what his life has been like working in Campus and find out what makes him tick. Besides rockets... I hope you enjoy hearing about it.Thanks for tuning in! Intro/Outro: Pat is a major rocket, orbits, space, science enthusiast(nerd). He brings up something about space and or rockets nearly every day at our morning meetings. I thought it only apt to include some launch audio as his third episode accompaniment. All NASA communications are of the public domain (as Patrick informed me) so this unique mix is the result.Commercial Audio by Jack Toft off an original Campus Commercial from 2012.
Transcribe →Episode 15: Patrick Meszler Interview Part 2
Dec 30, 202000:54:35Tap to summarizeSo you want to be a bike mechanic? Welcome to part two of my conversation with Patrick Meszler. Today we move onto the question of how Pat got into the bike industry. From walking into a barn-basement-bike-shop near Utica, NY at 15 to working at Campus, not once but thrice, he has followed a unique path. I hope you enjoy hearing about it.Thanks for tuning in! Intro/Outro: Original music by Art and Robin "Broadway Bigwig" One of Pat's other greatest loves is showtunes. This may be the result of being a stage techy and band nerd from a young age. If you haven't figured it out yet, music is important to us Campus peeps...Commercial Audio by Jack Toft off an original Campus Commercial from 2012.
Transcribe →Episode 14: Patrick Meszler Interview Part 1
Dec 23, 202001:02:42Tap to summarizeWelcome to the beginning of my conversation with Patrick Meszler. Pat has a deep bike racing history all the way back to starting out as a junior road racer. He has been in, out and about of the bike industry since around the same time. His relatively recent love has become bike touring and bike packing. Last year he completed the Great Diving Mountain Bike Route from Banff, Canada to (New) Mexico. This first episode of our conversation will focus on his touring exploits and adventures. This will conclude (for now) my (now) 5 episode series on Adventure by Bike. I hope it has been interesting to you. I also hope that some of you are now inspired to give it a try. Traveling by bicycle is an amazing experience I hope you will give it a try. No more excuses....Thanks for tuning in! Let's send it...Intro/Outro: Original music by 95turboSol "Impact" some symphonic black metal for you... Pat's a bit of a metal head so I had to oblige. Commercial Audio by Jack Toft off an original Campus Commercial from 2012.
Transcribe →Episode 13: Ryan Sarka Interview Part 2
Dec 16, 202001:00:32Tap to summarizePart 2 of my second interview in a series of conversations with folks who embody adventure by bike. Ryan is a lifelong cyclist, adventurer, mountaineer, bike racer and now bikepacker. He recently completed the TATR a 585 mile self supported bikepacking race in the Adirondacks. We will cover that event in depth as well as touch on several other epic adventures he has completed, for your enjoyment...Ryan documents many of his journeys and posts them on Youtube and Vimeo. Search “Ryan Sarka” and you can find his work. Feel free to suggest a better channel name (sorry Ryan…) Also check out “Between the Peaks” a documentary he made on his trip to climb two of the largest mountains in the world Aconcagua and Denali and volunteer in every country they’d pass through between them. Ryan is the real deal.Intro/Outro: Original Music from Bread and Roses from Boston, MA. The intro and outro track is "Mamma Tried" off of Deep River Day. These guys are old friends and graciously allowed me to use some tracks, they played Buffalo many times back in my show house days. Check them out on Bandcamp.com
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