Veteran Cycling Network

Andre sits down with RegRides and Melvin for a wide-ranging episode on what actually happens after you buy a bike — the fitting, the gear, and the mistakes almost everyone makes on their first setup. Reg lays out his "if I had $2,000 to start over" philosophy (fit, consistency, fitness, then contact points), Andre breaks down the hard lessons from dialing in a brand-new e-mountain bike, and Melvin explains why mountain biking is a seasonal sport back in Northern Virginia. The back half turns into a rapid-fire "best purchase / worst purchase" round — Fidlock bottles, Rev Grips, a $200 mahogany-handled bike pump, and one Bontrager water bottle that gets fully roasted. They close on helmet safety, road-rage close calls, and a mention of Tadej Pogačar's crash, plus shoutouts to Mike's Bike Shop (Korea), the new Dirt Therapy Project chapter in Grafenwöhr, Germany, and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Key topics:
Why the bike shop fitting isn't enough — get a real bike fit first
Reg's $2,000 first-purchase philosophy: fit → consistency → fitness → contact points
Mountain bike ride-day prep vs. road bike prep
Why mountain biking is seasonal in the U.S. but not in Germany
Power meters: "speed lies, power doesn't"
Best purchases ever: Fidlock bottles, Rev Grips, e-MTB, a $200 bike pump, photochromic glasses, Wahoo Element Ace
Worst purchase: Bontrager Slimline water bottles
Helmet safety, MIPS, and the one-crash-and-replace rule
Road safety: riding defensively, the Pogačar crash, a road-rage shooting story
Mentioned / resources:
Fidlock water bottle system — fidlock.com
Rev Grips — revgrips.com
Wahoo Element Ace
Lezyne bike pump
Mike's Bike Shop (Korea) — future guest tease
Dirt Therapy Project, Grafenwöhr, Germany
Wounded Warrior Project — wounded warrior project.org
Visit us at www.veterancyclingnetwork.com

Andre and Melvin catch up after a few weeks apart, trading ride stories from two very different training grounds — Andre's e-bike missions on Germany's enduro trails and Melvin's pre-dawn gravel commute through Northern Virginia. Along the way: an honest N+1 confession about bike addiction (Melvin's new titanium Moots Womble frame included), the special pain of ordering bike parts to an overseas APO address, and Andre's long-shot entry into The Traka 100 gravel race in Girona, Spain.
The back half is the practical core of the episode: a full show-and-tell of what each of them actually carries on a ride — multi-tools, CO2 vs. tubes, tubeless plug kits, snacks — followed by a rundown of tire pressure and width preferences, bone-conducting headphones for situational awareness, and a head-to-head on Garmin Edge computers (530 vs. 830 vs. 1050). They close with a shoutout to Disconnect to Reconnect, a veteran-run outdoor community supporting vets through mountain biking, backpacking, and more.
In this episode:
Catching up after a few weeks off the mic
E-bike enduro riding in Germany vs. gravel commuting in Fairfax, VA
Melvin's new (secret) titanium Moots Womble frame
Bike addiction and the N+1 rule
The pain of ordering parts to an overseas APO
Finding riding partners while PCSing
Signing up for The Traka 100 (Girona, Spain) and comparing it to Unbound Gravel
Gravel suspension forks (Lauf, RockShox, DT Swiss)
What's actually in their saddlebags: tools, CO2, tubes, tire plugs, snacks
Tire pressure and width preferences for gravel and mountain biking
Bone-conducting headphones (Shokz OpenRun) vs. riding "raw dog"
Garmin Edge 530 vs. 830 vs. 1050 showdown
Shoutout: Disconnect to Reconnect (veteran outdoor community)
Mentioned in this episode:
Moots Womble (titanium gravel/hardtail frame)
The Traka gravel race, Girona, Spain
Unbound Gravel, Kansas
Lauf, RockShox, DT Swiss gravel suspension forks
Shokz OpenRun bone-conducting headphones
Garmin Edge 530 / 830 / 1050
Disconnect to Reconnect (veteran outdoor nonprofit) — link in show notes 
https://www.d2rvets.com/

Andre and Melvin call in from Germany and Virginia to link up with guest Reggie Smith (RegRides) in South Korea — three time zones, one conversation. They rib on road bikers vs. everybody else, swap crash stories, nerd out on affordable carbon bikes closing the price gap, and dig into why cost and access — not talent — keep so many riders out of the sport. Reggie shares how a knee injury pushed him from running into cycling, and the conversation lands on why this sport might be one of the best tools veterans have for managing the weight of service.
This episode's featured veteran cycling org: Rally4Vets Bicycling — connects veterans, active-duty, families, and supporters through group rides and a shared Strava community. https://www.rally4vets.com/programs/bicycling
Follow VCN: Discord | Strava Club | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | TikTok — all linked at www.veterancyclingnetwork.com
 

Join Andre and Melvin as they share their recent cycling adventures, gear upgrades, trail explorations, and the joys of riding in Germany and the US. Discover tips on bike maintenance, e-bike insights, and the vibrant mountain biking community.
 
https://veteransfuture.org/pages/dirt-therapy

In this conversation, Andre and Melvin discuss the challenges of balancing busy lives with family commitments, particularly during the holiday season. They share their experiences with winter cycling, bike upgrades, and the evolving landscape of e-bikes, including regulations and trends. The discussion also touches on the costs associated with cycling, the role of bike shops in the community, and their future plans for cycling and bike maintenance.

In this episode we discuss counterfit bike frames and parts, the barriers in getting into cycling as well as a non profit helping veterans tackle PTSD with Cycling. 
 
https://weareprojecthero.org/
 

Welcome to the first real episode of the Veteran Cycling Network. In this episode we introduce ourselves, talk about our rides and talk a little about why the podcast. Hope you all enjoy

Welcome to episode 0 of the Veteran Cycling Network. Consider this the test run. More to come