FIVE THINGS RAD DAD EDITION: CYCLIST PHIL VELO
Five Things is a weekly feature on the Banjo Brothers Blog we started in 2018. Five Things posts are short articles (interviews) we publish every Friday where we talk to different kinds of cyclists about life and bicycles.
The Rad Dad Edition is a variation of Five Things articles leading-up to Father’s Day which shows how kids and family-life factor into these Dad's bikestyle!
Rad Dad #2 is Phil Velo. Phil and his wife Jana are fixtures within the Minneapolis cycling community. Both are strong and accomplished riders who do an incredible job of making newcomers feel welcome and at home in Minneapolis.
Phil works as a Project Manager at Exosite, but started his career in the restaurant business — including stints as Executive Chef for the Birchwood Cafe and General Manager/Executive Chef for Common Roots Cafe.
Phil also helped found the Powderhorn 24 — "a round-the-clock community ride celebrating the Twin Cities bicycle community and the greater Powderhorn Neighborhood. The event is based on the Riverwest 24.
Last but not least, Phil is an admin for a dozen local Facebook groups — including Twin Cities Bicycle Trading Post and Twin Cities Stolen Bikes which have over 30K members.
Enjoy this Rad Dad Edition of Five Things.
BANJO BROS: WHAT ARE YOU AND YOUR KID(S) RIDING?
PV: My daughter hasn’t been too excited about riding her own bike quite yet, and we’re not pressuring her to be as into bikes as her parents. However she absolutely LOVES riding behind me on her WeeHoo!
We’ve been doing more exploring lately, going off the beaten path. We took the WeeHoo to both Cuyuna and Chequamegon trail systems last year and ripped miles upon miles of singletrack together.
BANJO BROS: WHERE DO YOU RIDE WITH YOUR KID(S)?
PV: We’ve been doing more exploring lately, going off the beaten path. We took the WeeHoo to both Cuyuna and Chequamegon trail systems last year and ripped miles upon miles of singletrack together. She kept saying ‘Faster, faster, faster, Papi!!” The more twisty and flowy the trail, the better--just watch the corners!
BANJO BROS: WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING/READING/LISTENING TOO WITH YOUR KID(S)?
PV: Lately we’ve been getting into all sorts of British reality shows, it started with the Great British Baking Show, and now we’ve moved into the upcycling genre with shows like “Find it, Fix it, Flog it” and “Money for Nothing.” For music, she rotates between obscure German kids’ music , to the most bubblegum pop music you can imagine. She’ll read anything that we put in front of her. Currently she’s obsessed with The Jungle Book: she’s Mowgli, and I get to be Baloo, Bagheera, and Shere Khan.
BANJO BROS: WHAT ARE YOU COOKING/EATING/DRINKING WITH YOUR KID(S)?
PV: Chocolate, and more chocolate. If we could get away with eating cupcakes and/or ice cream for every meal, it would happen.
BANJO BROS: WHAT’S STUCK IN YOUR CRAW ABOUT RAISING KIDS?
PV: Our daughter is on the autism spectrum, so one big thing that I’ve been focused on is being patient and accepting, always. Everyone’s mind is wired a little differently, and instead of trying to push her to be something she’s not, I’m working hard to focus on her strengths and helping her to adapt the best she can. I’m doing my best to give our daughter the tools and support she needs to be a successful human being, whatever she chooses to be. She’s a pretty amazing little kid, and I’m proud to be her father!.
MORE ABOUT THE FIVE THINGS INTERVIEWS FROM BANJO BROTHERS
A big Banjo Brothers thank you to Phil Velo for participating in this special Rad Dad edition of Banjo Brothers' Five Things. These short interviews about life and bicycles will appear every Friday on the Banjo Brothers Blog. If you liked this FIVE THINGS from Banjo Brothers you should check our full series of past five things interviews.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR FIVE THINGS?
Use the contact form on our website to send us a note. See you next Friday. Also, since you're here, we do need to mention, Banjo Brothers makes a whole line of tough, practical and affordable gear for cyclists. Thanks for reading.