FIVE THINGS WITH BIANCHI BICYCLES SALES REP WILL MAHLER

FIVE THINGS is a weekly feature on the Banjo Brothers Blog. It’s a short interview about life and bicycles with a notable person. This week’s FIVE THINGS is with long-time Banjo Brothers friend and Bianchi Bicycles Super-Rep and marketing guru Will Mahler.  Will blogs over at Stickboybike.com. Enjoy this week’s FIVE THINGS

BANJO BROS: WHAT ARE YOU RIDING?

WM: I've been riding a lot on the new Bianchi Impulso Allroad.

 

BANJO BROS: WHERE ARE YOU RIDING?

WM: Living in the heart of Amish-landia, we have plenty of multi-surface roads and parks in which to cruise on your bike. As easy as it is to just head out of the driveway and road-ride for a few hours, I find it more therapeutic to link up these road routes with some of the greenways in and out of the city of Lancaster. Then I'll jump over to the parks and shred a little singletrack. Next, head north for slices of county's dirt farm roads, grab an ice cream cone from Fox Meadows Creamery and finally point the bike homeward. I love heading home through the eastern part of the county- minimal car traffic.

Pedaling keeps those demons down, negative thoughts at bay, and clears our head so we can be better people to those around us. Yes, this is anecdotal evidence, but let's it make it a point to bring someone into the world of bicycling!

BANJO BROS: WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING/READING/LISTENING TO?

WM: I just finished reading 'Dark Days'. A memoir by D. Randall Blythe. He's the singer for the metal band Lamb of God and was thrown into prison in Prague for a murder.  Next book to finish- Put Me Back on My Bik, In Search Of Tom Simpson.  Podcasts- The Jasta Show. (Some good material about what goes on behind the scenes in music, touring, promotions, etc); The Tim Ferriss Podcast (It's been years digesting the episodes. A great way to burn 90 min to 2 hours. Best episode 145 with Cal Fussman and the Power of Listening.)

BANJO BROS: WHAT ARE YOU COOKING/EATING/DRINKING?

WM: Eating: Making food that's savory and nutritional is my focus when I'm in the kitchen. Traveling a lot for work has taught me to keep an open mind, for food choices. This has led me to eat from food trucks and gastropubs across the nine states I roam for work. Any sort of soft shell taco has become my default meal when I'm short on time. Protein in the taco is usually leftover chicken or pork. Or I'll make a fried egg that I'll cook in coconut oil. I'll chop up some red onion and bell pepper to finish on top of the egg. I'll lay 3 to 4 slices of avocado on top of all that. And then finish it off with a drizzle of Texas Pete's, Siracha Cha.

Now that winter is here, I break out the gin. It keeps the belly warm and the sinus' cleared of crap. There's a brand of spice pickles they sell here in Lancaster which is soaked in garlic, thyme, and jalapenos. I'll slice up four cubes of a spear and impale them onto a stirrer to make a dirty gin on the rocks. Hendrick’s gin works best for this.

BANJO BROS: WHAT'S STUCK IN YOUR CRAW?

WM: Keep up the PMA (positive mental attitude). As much as it seems that all the world on social media, has turned into a temperamental 5-year-old, I see a lot of good in people as I travel for work. For me, sitting at a bar while eating dinner has re-enforced the saying that you never talk religion or politics with anyone, let alone strangers. True, who really wants an argument? But man, if you can get someone to open up about music, you'll make a friend in five minutes! The point being here... music and the arts are the last frontiers for developing a better society. No one talks better on the topic of PMA better than NYC's plant-based powerhouse and singer for the Cro-Mags, John Joseph. Adopt a form of meditation. All of us who ride bicycles are into meditation. Many just don't know it yet. Transcendental Meditation (TM) uses a mantra which is repeated over and over. How many of us have said that we (solo rides) are going on a ride to 'clear my head'? The steady cadence. The pulsing whir of the tire (we all pedal in squares, folks) serves as the mantra whether we admit it or not. Pedaling keeps those demons down, negative thoughts at bay, and clears our head so we can be better people to those around us. Yes, this is anecdotal evidence, but let's it make it a point to bring someone into the world of bicycling!

MORE ABOUT THE FIVE THINGS INTERVIEWS FROM BANJO BROTHERS

A big Banjo Bros. thank you to Will Mahler for participating in this week's edition of Banjo Brothers' Five Things. These short interviews about life and bicycles will appear every Friday on the Banjo Brothers Blog.

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.

PS: Will's image in the bog master post was taken by TMB images. Mr. Mahler purchased the image from TMB and allowed us to use it for  our FIVE QUESTIONS series.