Category: General Page 1 of 17

Pedaling a New Path: The FredCast Rides onto YouTube

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On July 19, 2024

In Announcements, Blog, General, Podcasts

Follow along on the new adventures of David from The FredCast on YouTube!

David from The FredCast cycling at the Grand Canyon
That’s me on a ride at the Grand Canyon last year.

Hey there, FredCast family! It’s David, your old cycling podcast host, and I’ve got some exciting news to share. First, let me address the elephant in the room – yes, it’s been a while since The FredCast graced your earbuds. I know I promised to return, and life had other plans. But here’s the thing: while the podcast may have gone quiet, my passion for adventure never did. It just… shifted gears.

So, what’s new? Well, everything!

We’re documenting this grand adventure on our new YouTube channel: Destinations, Dents, and Discoveries. Our tagline? “This is how WE RV.” And let me tell you, it’s been quite the ride already!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “David, what about cycling?” Don’t worry, fellow Freds – cycling is still a HUGE part of my life, so while our channel focuses on RV living and travel, you can bet there will be two-wheeled content mixed in. After all, you can take the Fred out of the podcast, but you can’t take the Fred out me!

My wife Donna and I, along with our 100lb Labrador co-pilot Doug, have embarked on the journey of a lifetime. We’ve swapped our traditional home for a life on wheels, specifically an Airstream Flying Cloud travel trailer. Our mission? To visit every US state, every U.S. National Park, and most Canadian provinces. It’s ambitious, it’s exciting, and it’s a little bit crazy – just like attempting a century ride for the first time!

Here’s what you can expect from Destinations, Dents, and Discoveries:

  1. Real, unfiltered experiences of full-time RV living
  2. Breathtaking views from coast to coast (and beyond!)
  3. Practical tips and how-tos for aspiring RVers and anyone who loves to travel and enjoy the great outdoors
  4. The occasional cycling adventure (because some habits die hard)
  5. A healthy dose of humor, humility, and the unexpected

We’re just getting started, with three episodes already available and plans to release new content weekly. Right now, we’re on an epic journey from SoCal to Alaska and back. Talk about a change of scenery from my old studio setups in L.A. and Park City!

David, Donna, and Doug at a Canadian National Park
Here we are at Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, just a few weeks ago.

As I sit here, typing this post from Talkeetna, Alaska, I can’t help but reflect on the incredible journey that led us here. The FredCast and The Spokesmen weren’t just podcasts – they were communities. Each of you, whether we met in person or connected through emails, tweets, or FredCast schwag orders, played a part in shaping that community. Your names bring smiles to my face and, I’ll admit, sometimes tears to my eyes.

Even if RV life isn’t your thing, I want you to know how much you all still mean to me. The support, friendship, and sense of belonging we created together have left an indelible mark on my life. It’s that same spirit of community and adventure that Donna and I are carrying forward into this new chapter.

So, here’s my invitation to you: Come along for the ride! Check out Destinations, Dents, and Discoveries on YouTube. Watch, like, subscribe, and if you’re feeling generous, share it with friends who might enjoy our adventures. We’d love to have you with us as we navigate this new path – bumps, discoveries, and all.

Thank you for being part of The FredCast family. Your support meant the world to me then, and it means just as much now as we embark on this new adventure.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that life is full of unexpected turns. Sometimes, those turns lead you to the most beautiful destinations. Here’s to new roads and the joy of discovery!

And as always, enjoy the ride!

David (and Donna, and Doug!)

P.S. You can also follow our adventures on Instagram, where we are currently known as @AlDentyAdventures (Al for the aluminum of the Airstream and Denty because, well, dents happen!)

Letter to the Editor

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On July 29, 2012

In Blog, General

On Friday, I was on the phone with DL Byron from BikeHugger.com. He was telling me how impressed he has been with the road and mountain biking in my adopted home town of Park City, Utah. Of course, I said, that’s why we moved here. Despite that, however, I shocked Byron when I told him how dangerous the roads in Park City have become, and how I see both cyclists and motorists behaving badly.

In fact, I told him, I had just completed and sent a letter to my local paper, The Park Record. It sounds like they’re planning to publish it in the next issue of the paper, but I thought I’d share it with all of you whether they choose to publish it or not.

Interestingly, the Park Record had two articles on cycling in the most recent issue. The first article discusses the drain on law enforcement resources associated with local cycling races and events, while the other, an opinion piece, addresses road rage and the need to share the road. I love the final line of the editorial (“if you can’t share it, get off the road”) and, I suppose, that is also the point of my letter.

Oh, one more thing.

Normally I abhor plagiarism. In this case, however, if you have similar issues in your city or town, please feel free to plagiarize my letter and send it to your local paper under your own name. If you do, and it gets published, please let me know.

Here’s my letter:

Letter to the Editor of the Park Record:

There is a civil war brewing on our streets, and it is time to pull both sides back from the brink.

Like many other residents of Summit County, I am both a cyclist and a motorist, and I am therefore on each side in this dangerous and increasingly bellicose drama that is played out daily on our County’s roads. Tempers are flaring among both cyclists and motorists, as each side regularly flaunts the rules of the road with a sense of misplaced entitlement, leading to arguments, fights, accidents, injuries, and someday soon, death.

Cyclists ride 3, 4, 5 and more abreast on two-lane roads, run red lights and stop signs, refuse to signal their turns, and generally ride in a most unpredictable manner. Motorists fail to give cyclists a three-foot buffer, don’t use mirrors or glance over shoulders (thereby failing to see and avoid cyclists), honk unnecessarily at cyclists, turn in front of cyclists causing collisions and dangerous near-misses, throw things at cyclists, talk on handheld cell phones thereby drifting (or worse) into bike lanes, and generally drive in a most unpredictable manner.

The drivers and cyclists who behave like this not only serve to strengthen and enhance the stereotypes that already exist about motorists and bicyclists, but also are engaging in actions that are illegal, dangerous, and/or generally irresponsible. It is time for this to stop.

When I lived in Los Angeles, where the dominant car culture made it downright dangerous to be a cyclist, I would come home from a long bicycle ride and my wife would ask, “how many people tried to kill you today?” Zero was never the answer. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that this is the future we face here in Summit County unless attitudes and actions begin to change.

Abraham Lincoln is famously quoted as saying that, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” Here in Summit County where our roads are populated by increasing numbers of both cyclists and motorists (many of whom are both cyclists and motorists), it is time for both sides to realize the folly of their ways, begin to take responsibility for the safety and temperament of each other, and begin to back away from the brink of civil war.

As in the American Civil War, lives truly are at stake.

David Bernstein
Park City

Bike to Work Day!

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On May 21, 2010

In General, Products

Bike to Work BookToday is Bike to Work Day. Since I’m at the Amgen Tour of California, it’s going to be a bit tough for me to ride to work. I’ll just watch the peloton bike to work today, how’s that?

In commemoration of the day, Carlton Reid has released an updated and expanded version of The Bike to Work Book, and I’ve inserted it into The FredCast feed so that you all can enjoy.

Actually, I prefer the term Fred

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On May 1, 2010

In General

I suspect that many Freds have been called Nerds, Geeks, and Dorks at one time or another. Here’s a simple explanation, thanks to the Chuck & Beans comic strip, of the difference between all of these terms:

I prefer the term Fred

The FredCast in The News

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On November 14, 2009

In General, News

newsboyThanks to our People’s Choice Social Media Award, The FredCast has been showing up in the news quite a bit. Here are some of the stories that have appeared recently:

FredCast Makes The Guardian

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On September 15, 2009

In Announcements, General, News

Yesterday’s furor over the James Martin article in the Daily Mail hasn’t died down and continues to be a Twitter meme with the likes of Bradley Wiggins and Robbie McEwen skewering Martin in their online comments.

Meanwhile, today’s online edition of another UK publication, The Guardian, includes this article criticizing Martin’s supposed ‘humorous piece’ as a ‘pretty lazy way to get a laugh.’ The article also references last night’s special episode of The FredCast in which I interviewed Rachel Konrad, Tesla’s Senior Communications Manager.

According to The Guardian piece, Martin refused to comment, but a source close to him says that it was meant as humor. So far it sounds like no apology will be forthcoming, but considering the furor, I hope that will change.

We’ll keep you posted.

UPDATE: More news stories quoting The FredCast:

Bike Biz
Cycling Weekly
Road.cc

Garmin-Slipstream Recipes

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On July 2, 2009

In General

logo_teamgarminIn Episode 130 of The FredCast, I spoke with Dr. Allen Lim from Team Garmin Slipstream and we discussed some recipes for on the bike food. You can download the recipes here.

Video: TOC Prologue Start House Action

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On February 15, 2009

In General


START HOUSE ACTION – TOC’09 from CYCLEFILM on Vimeo.

Does Your Bike Have a Name?

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On February 4, 2009

In General

Cole - The guy on the top tube of my Colnago C40

Cole - The guy on the top tube of my Colnago C40

I asked this question on Twitter and received a flood of responses, but since some people wanted more room to answer I thought I’d pose the question here and let everyone answer in the comments.

So, here goes . . .

Have you given your bike a name? If so, what’s the name and why did you choose it?

My red Colnago C40 is named Cole. To be more accurate, the little guy painted on the top tube is Cole (I’ll post a photo when I get home – UPDATE: Cole’s photo has now been added to this post).

Okay, now it’s your turn. Can’t wait to hear the names and the stories.

UPDATE: Great minds seem to think alike, because just three days after I posted this, the same question was asked by KarlOnSea on his own blog. Check it out too.

10 iPhone Criticisms Revisited

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On July 9, 2008

In General, Opinion

Last September I wrote a blog post entitled 10 Reasons Why I Returned my iPhone. I purchased an iPhone just prior to leaving for Interbike, and by the time I came home I was happy to get rid of it. And I told you some of the reasons why.

With the new 3G iPhone coming out on Friday, I am once again caught in the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field and have caught iPhone fever once again. This time, however, I’ve decided to carefully analyze whether or not this really is, as some have called it, the Jesus Phone.

So I decided to go back to my original post and revisit some of my earlier criticisms of the iPhone as an objective way of determining whether I need to be at the Apple Store at 8:00 a.m. on Friday Morning. Under each, criticism I explain the new situation and indicate whether this is still valid or has now become moot.

Here goes:

Criticism 1: 3G v. EDGE
This should be easy, right? I mean, the new iPhone is called the 3G iPhone after all. Unfortunately, all is not as it seems. Yes, the new iPhone has 3G capabilities on AT&T’s HSDPA network. Unfortunately, this network is nowhere near as widespread geographically as the CDMA 3G networks of Sprint and Verizon. As a current Verizon 3G customer, I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have 3G coverage. Looking at AT&T’s Coverage Viewer, I won’t have 3G more than I will. Including at home.
Valid

Criticism 2: Typing
Nothing has changed here.
Valid

Criticism 3: Third Party Apps
In a matter of hours, iTunes 7.7 will be released and, along with it, the iTunes App Store. The App Store is supposed to launch with thousands of applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, many of them free.
Moot

Criticism 4: They Want to Brick my iPhone
Prior to the App Store the only way to install third party applications was to unlock your iPhone, something Apple and AT&T looked down upon. So much so that if you did it, you might just end up with a doorstop instead of a communications device. Now that the App Store is here, I don’t care if they want to brick unlocked phones because there’s just no reason to unlock one in the first place.
Moot

Criticism 5: I Can Do That With My Treo . . . Only better
Once again, the App Store has made this a moot point. Apple’s developers are well-known for creating elegant, easy-to-use, powerful programs to handle a wide variety of tasks. Compared to what I expect on the App Store, the Treo’s apps are about to look about as elegant as those on my old TRS-80.
Moot

Criticism 6: Headphone/Microphone/Speaker
Steve listened loud and clear (pun intended) to this criticism. The headphone jack is no longer recessed, the speakers and microphone are improved. All is right with the world.
Moot

Criticism 7: Crippled Bluetooth
Just when I was on a roll! Bluetooth is still inexplicably crippled on the iPhone. You can’t use stereo Bluetooth headphones and you can’t use Bluetooth for tethering the phone with your computer. Come on, Apple!
Valid

Criticism 8: GSM Buzz / GSM Gurgle
Apple chose GSM presumably so that the phone would work all across the world. There’s no changing the technology so this is a take-it-or-leave-it issue.
Valid

Criticism 9: AT&T Can’t Port My Number
Turns out this is more a problem with my present carrier (Verizon) than with AT&T. When I moved to Utah, Verizon gave me a number that coincides with a prairie dog colony somewhere in the middle of nowhere. AT&T doesn’t offer service there (who whould?) and so they therefore can’t port my number. I can live with a new number.
Valid, but who cares?

Criticism 10: Not Enough Memory
16GB is better than 8GB, so I guess this has become moot. 32 or 64 would have been better, but I can live with this too. How often do I listen to Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five anyway?
Moot

Okay, give me a second while I tally the score. . . .

You’ve got to be kidding me!

It’s a tie. 5-5 on the Valid-Moot-O-Meter.

Oh well. Guess I’ll see you Friday morning. You bring the coffee and I’ll save your place in line.

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