Home
The Pro's Closet •

Pursuing perfection: The Michelin-star chef who rides...hard

Chef Matthew Accarrino's passion for food is matched only by his love for cycling. Photo: Christopher Stricklen

Sixteen hours a day of prepping, cooking, and managing an award-winning restaurant would leave most people depleted. Not Chef Matthew Accarrino.

In addition to earning 10 consecutive Michelin stars for SPQR, his restaurant in San Francisco – a star every year since 2012 – Accarrino was voted the 2014 Food & Wine “Best New Chef," and is a five-time James Beard Foundation Award nomine
The Pro's Closet •

Bikes saved his life and now he runs a shop

Rob Walker got a call from his good friend, Derek: “Hey man, get $800.00 cash and meet me in an hour.” Concerned that Derek was in trouble; Walker took out the money and met him. Much to his surprise, Derek was standing next to a sleek, electric lime green, full-suspension mountain bike. “You’ve gotten too big, bro. You gotta buy this bike and start riding.” Walker was over 300 pounds. But he wasn’t always heavy for his size.


Bicycles changed Rob Walker's life. Photo: Chris H. Hadgis


Walke
Bicycling •

This Cyclist Now Rides for the Pure Joy of It—Not to Escape Her Past

This past July, Alex Showerman went on a mountain bike trip to North Conway, New Hampshire, with two of her closest friends. The three women ripped around the trails of North Conway, hike-a-biked, jumped into swimming holes, and camped. Although the trails were full of challenging features—sharp and chunky rocks, roots, and steep, technical singletrack—Showerman had never felt so free and at peace on the bike. She was riding for the pure joy of the sport, rather than to outrun the shadows of her
Los Angeles Times •

L.A. Affairs: Dating means I need to learn to fall — and get back on the bike

We met in a high-end cycling pop-up shop on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. He came in from a group ride. Tall, blond spiky hair and a birthmark around his left eye. There was something about this little “imperfection” on his face that made him even more attractive. His black and yellow helmet was tucked under a surprisingly muscular arm. His upper body looked more like a swimmer’s and less like the typical road cyclist physique: twig-like arms and soccer-player-strong legs.

I don’t remember who spoke
The Pro's Closet •

10 health tips for cyclists from a doctor (and Olympian)

Kristine A. Karlson rowed in the 1992 Olympics while also putting herself through medical school. Doctor Karlson has since become an avid cyclist as well as a sports medicine physician. She has worked with everyone from a WorldTour cyclist to Olympic athletes to top master’s racers. When asked for her top 10 professional medical tips and advice, here is what Dr. Karlson told us:

1. Diversify. I tell this to almost every masters age athlete. Only training in one sport is not a good idea. If you
Norwich Times | Good People, Good Places, Good Things Happening •

Good People SHARe: What Norwich’s Nick Krembs and Dean Seibert Are Doing to Help Asylees and Refugees | Norwich Times

In October 2018, Nick Krembs, a retired carpenter and builder from Norwich, traveled to the United States border in El Paso, Texas. That year marked a huge surge in migrants seeking asylum from their home countries. Due to the drug cartels, corrupt police, torture, oppression, gang violence, and abuse, as well as the devastation and destruction of farms and their livelihoods from hurricanes – they fled.

Krembs’s sister, Jane Greiling, a retired nurse, had been volunteering in El Paso with the A
Quechee Times •

Perseverance the Piecemeal Pies Way

In early February 2020, everything was looking up for Piecemeal Pies restaurant owners Justin Barrett and Joshua Brown. They had developed a loyal customer base since opening their doors in downtown White River Junction in October of 2016. Piecemeal Pies had become the go-to brunch spot in the Hartford area – a place where customers came, not just for the quality, up-scale food, but for the experience. The establishment was a vital connector, interwoven into the fabric of the local community.

B
Swimming - UVAC •

A UVAC Member Turns His Life Around for Better Health

In December 2019, Jeff Libbey went to a doctor’s appointment to get blood work done. His doctor delivered unexpected news. “You’re 52-years-old and your A1C [a test that measures average blood glucose levels over three months] is starting to get too high,” his doctor said. “If you don’t get this under control,” he continued, “you’re going to end up [diabetic and] on insulin.”

This was difficult to hear: Libbey was stunned but not completely surprised. When he asked his doctor about treatment

o
Norwich Times | Good People, Good Places, Good Things Happening •

The Legacy of a Community Institution | Norwich Times

To see Norwich Bookstore owners Liza Bernard and Penny McConnel in action, you would think they are fraternal twin sisters. The pair move and speak in harmony; finish each other’s sentences, encourage, laugh, compliment, and prod – the way only the best of friends can do.

One would never guess McConnel and Bernard’s ages of 82 and 67, respectively. Perhaps bookselling is a tonic that keeps people young, witty, and vibrant. But every story has an eventual ending, and thoughts of retiring have cr