April 25, 2024

#18 Built by Habit — Endurance, Consistency, and Respecting Limits

#18 Built by Habit — Endurance, Consistency, and Respecting Limits

"It's not selfish to honor your ability 💪. While I can, I have an obligation to use my gifts and make my mark 🏆. Someday I won't be able to, so I'll make the most of the time I have ⏳." Matt Eggleton, a former US Air Force veteran and accomplished endurance athlete, challenges age stereotypes by dominating the world of mountain biking. Despite discovering the sport in his 40s, Matt's dedication and discipline have propelled him to achieve impressive results in competitive races across the ...

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Season 1

"It's not selfish to honor your ability 💪. While I can, I have an obligation to use my gifts and make my mark 🏆. Someday I won't be able to, so I'll make the most of the time I have ⏳."


Matt Eggleton, a former US Air Force veteran and accomplished endurance athlete, challenges age stereotypes by dominating the world of mountain biking. Despite discovering the sport in his 40s, Matt's dedication and discipline have propelled him to achieve impressive results in competitive races across the country. He's a 2x winner of the Stokesville Stoopid 50 (Smart 40, Master Men 50+) category, a 4th place finisher in the 2019 National Ultra Endurance (NUE) MTB Series Masters Division, and the Overall Winner of the 2019 Tour de Gravelly Masters Division. 


We cover:


  1. Training regimens for mountain biking?
  2. Power of habit stacking
  3. Obligation to honor ones gifts
  4. Safety….“Only spend on a helmet what your head’s worth” 🤩
  5. Is yoga worthless for enduro sports? 🧘🏾 

References:


Matt’s website: https://www.eggleton.net/


Matt’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matt.eggleton/




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WEBVTT

00:01:12.979 --> 00:01:16.250
Folks welcome back to the ageless athlete podcast.

00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:18.169
This is a host Krish Condell.

00:01:18.199 --> 00:01:21.049
Well, Broadcasting from San Francisco, California.

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Bringing you stories each defining genre, defining adventure athletes.

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Doing extra ordinary things in the outdoors.

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It is gorgeous out.

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I did my physio this morning.

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Stretched.

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And can't wait to get outside in a couple of hours.

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Are you ready to be inspired?

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Today we have an ageless Mount biking, phenom.

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Matt Eggleston.

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At 59 years, young, Matt is defined age stereotypes by sending it harder than ever.

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On the gnarliest, downhill and Enduro courses.

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But here's the surprising part.

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He did not even start mountain biking until his forties.

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From bracing, the pure stoke of very new phase two cultivating mindset, the laughs and the face of suppose H limitations.

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Throughout our talk.

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Matt do from his military discipline to drop wisdom on the mindset, training and habits for achieving mastery lead real life.

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We will tap into his deep develop, visit him on.

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Everything.

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From Mon biking, safety to training.

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At an elite level, despite the late start to habit stacking for continued self-improvement.

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To savoring each moment in the wondrous outdoors.

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And hate.

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What's harder.

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Uh, running marathon or a modern bike marathon.

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Do unit.

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Whether you are a diehard Strader, or just looking to get more active maths, hard won insights, like spark your inner flame.

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And motivate you to get after it.

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Lace up those boots and get stoked.

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It's time for an inspiring download from the ageless.

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Mountain biking, phenom, Matt Egerton.

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I really appreciate you tuning in France.

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If you like the show.

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Please subscribe so we can.

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Continue to bring the goodness right to your Favorite podcast.

00:03:28.651 --> 00:03:30.560
Matt, great to have you on the show.

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To start off, can you please tell us where are you right now?

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Where are you from?

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And, uh, what did you have for breakfast today?

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Hey, Kush.

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all right, Matt Eggleton.

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I live in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside D.

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C.

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in the D.

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C.

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metro area.

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This morning I had the same thing that I have almost every single morning for probably the past seven or eight years.

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I have some form of oatmeal.

00:03:57.704 --> 00:04:08.913
So today's oatmeal was a third cup of organic rolled oats with half a banana and a handful of blueberries and a little dab of maple syrup and a cup of coffee.

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With a scoop of collagen.

00:04:10.540 --> 00:04:13.766
got it, I have a very similar breakfast myself.

00:04:13.836 --> 00:04:19.026
I'll sometimes, instead of the maple sort of thing, I'll, uh, add some kind of nut butter

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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All of us need a good breakfast to fuel our day.

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So let's jump right in.

00:04:26.843 --> 00:04:33.235
Now you have tackled some pretty brutal endurance races.

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What's the craziest thing you have experienced out on the course?

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gosh, I think, you know, crazy things.

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I might have to come back to this if something later on, uh, sparks, but I think that the craziest thing is, you know, I've been in several races where I have mentally quit multiple times in the race.

00:04:59.303 --> 00:05:01.704
And then ended up finishing and doing very well.

00:05:02.132 --> 00:05:17.112
for example, in a hundred mile mountain bike race, you might have five or six aid stations and I'll get, Not even to the first aid station and I'll say today's just not my day I'm not feeling it.

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I'm not feeling motivated.

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I don't know why I do this to myself and I said, okay I'm just gonna get to the first aid station and you know and then I'll ask for a ride back or something and then I get to the first aid station and Take a breath.

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Okay I'll go to the next one, and then I'll go to the next one.

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So there are, I can think of probably 10 races or more, but this is probably half the time this happens, where it's a mental challenge, more so than a physical challenge.

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Um, and so I think that's probably a familiar scenario for people who do ultra endurance, uh, racing.

00:05:59.836 --> 00:06:07.576
Um, But it's it's what makes it especially interesting and especially rewarding when you complete it.

00:06:08.762 --> 00:06:13.932
I'm just learning about the, the, the world of ultra endurance mountain biking.

00:06:13.942 --> 00:06:18.312
I've, I've heard about it for many years and I'm, I'm completely fascinated.

00:06:19.331 --> 00:06:20.042
Would love to.

00:06:20.972 --> 00:06:47.732
Learn a little bit about what is the mountain bike race world all about, what are perhaps the different kinds of races out there in terms of, uh, distances, categories, which ones might be the most sought after, and then, yeah, also what is a, a normal mountain bike race versus let's say, uh, Weather.

00:06:48.418 --> 00:06:51.239
endurance race versus an ultra endurance race.

00:06:51.434 --> 00:06:51.824
Yeah.

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Okay.

00:06:52.364 --> 00:06:58.321
Um, so I would say there's probably three, Yeah.

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Three primary forms of mountain bike racing.

00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:05.831
Well, I should say three primary forms of endurance mountain bike racing.

00:07:05.831 --> 00:07:12.170
Of course you have outside of that, you have, uh, you know, like downhill racing, we call it gravity sports.

00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:43.096
So it'd be like downhill racing or, um, uh, Enduro where you do a downhill and then you shuttle to the next downhill and then you do another, and it's, Timed like those downhill sections are timed in between the shuttles, uh, but in what I would say traditional mountain bike racing, you have what's called, uh, cross country, uh, Olympic style cross country generally is an hour, hour and a half long, uh, mountain bike race.

00:07:43.115 --> 00:07:49.100
So you're, you're on red line the whole time, just pinning it, uh, full gas.

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For an hour, hour and a half, something like that.

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And that's, those are exciting.

00:07:54.471 --> 00:07:56.311
I mean, in fact, that is an Olympic sport.

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And so, um, one of the people that I would consider a friend and a mentor, uh, Tinker Juarez was at the very first, um, Olympics in Atlanta when, uh, the mountain biking was, was introduced as a Olympic sport besides, um, Olympic cross country, then you would have what we call, um, marathons.

00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:19.350
All right.

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So.

00:08:21.196 --> 00:08:24.475
Olympic XCO, Marathons XCM.

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Those are generally 50 miles, a hundred K, something like that.

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Um, each of these becomes.

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Kind of a gateway drug to the next.

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Okay.

00:08:36.140 --> 00:08:39.530
So people often enter, you know, these hour long events.

00:08:39.530 --> 00:08:56.579
They can visualize themselves doing that, you know, mountain bike marathon of 50 to 100 K is, you know, going to be a good bit longer, maybe, Four, five, six hours, depending on, you know, the, uh, the amount of elevation.

00:08:57.539 --> 00:09:06.620
And so you might have somewhere between 6, 000 feet of climbing to as much as maybe 9, 000 feet of climbing in a hundred K race.

00:09:07.362 --> 00:09:12.313
after that generally is, upper echelon would be the a hundred mile racing.

00:09:12.843 --> 00:09:24.603
And, uh, that's was really, really popular in the, um, like say 2010 to about 2020 COVID, uh, that took all racing.

00:09:24.603 --> 00:09:28.014
And in fact, all outdoor sports, I think really took a big hit from COVID.

00:09:28.423 --> 00:09:41.884
Um, but there's, it has recovered to some, uh, and there's still a lot of hundred mile mountain bike races, uh, every year, uh, primarily here in North America, And then there, there are some like epic events.

00:09:42.094 --> 00:09:48.484
There are some stage races where you might be out like, uh, like Tour de France is a stage race, right?

00:09:49.594 --> 00:09:50.844
like that.

00:09:50.844 --> 00:09:51.214
Yeah,

00:09:51.334 --> 00:10:00.283
Uh, explainer helps us, uh, helps me and others get a little bit of, to speak into this, uh, into this world of mind biking, racing.

00:10:01.903 --> 00:10:07.224
What is the type of racing, Matt, that you specialize in?

00:10:07.254 --> 00:10:16.644
Are you more of an all rounder, but my sense is you go for like the, the long, gnarly ones and, and maybe how did you find yourself there?

00:10:17.484 --> 00:10:24.940
this is a progression that a lot of people experience but how I got into it pretty much the same way most people get into it.

00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:30.509
my daughter, uh, bought a bike, uh, with her own money, saved up her own money.

00:10:31.009 --> 00:10:42.019
Bought herself a mountain bike, uh, thought it was cool, wanted to do it, uh, rode around the neighborhood, some local trails, and then encouraged me to join her.

00:10:42.580 --> 00:10:56.230
I had been a cycling commuter years prior, so I was, you know, I'd kind of stopped doing that and taken up other pursuits, but it was a great opportunity to spend time with her, so of course I did.

00:10:56.647 --> 00:11:04.287
I really fell in love with it very quickly and like everyth Like a lot of us adventure sports, people became obsessed with it.

00:11:04.297 --> 00:11:09.856
And while I was learning as much as I can and be on every internet forum group that I could find.

00:11:09.856 --> 00:12:12.465
And, you know, but then, uh, not long after that, maybe three or four years, she went off to college.

00:12:12.885 --> 00:12:14.875
We found ourselves as empty nesters.

00:12:15.195 --> 00:12:17.865
I had all this extra free free time, right?

00:12:17.865 --> 00:12:20.705
Because I'm not shuttling her to her activities.

00:12:21.246 --> 00:12:30.076
And, uh, I just filled the gap with, with cycling and then training and signing up for my first event.

00:12:30.105 --> 00:12:42.060
And I was living in Germany when, uh, in Stuttgart, Germany, when I just finally decided I'm going to Being my first mountain bike race, uh, did that.

00:12:42.270 --> 00:12:56.671
So not only was I, you know, exploring a new sport, but I'm exploring a new sport where the whole registration and everything is in a different language, but, you know, navigated my way into that.

00:12:57.280 --> 00:13:02.840
And, uh, And did my first two mountain bike marathons while I lived there also.

00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:16.510
And so that was, again, it was kind of a gateway into, um, when I knew I'd be coming back to the States and I, through YouTube and whatever, had discovered that there is this whole community back in the States for when I moved back, I want to get involved in.

00:13:16.510 --> 00:13:18.172
And that's exactly what I've done.

00:13:19.433 --> 00:13:29.221
Little did you know that when you introduced that, uh, bicycle to your daughter, that, in this, uh, brilliant turn of events.

00:13:29.572 --> 00:13:29.981
yeah,

00:13:30.422 --> 00:13:31.682
It will come back to you

00:13:32.036 --> 00:13:33.405
It's a big part of my life.

00:13:33.526 --> 00:13:37.375
I mean, it really, and I, I mean, it's a big part of my identity.

00:13:37.905 --> 00:13:40.536
You know, I made a post about that yesterday.

00:13:40.536 --> 00:13:47.925
I signed up for one of our, you know, very prominent races and I, the post was it's because it's what I do.

00:13:48.326 --> 00:13:49.766
This, this is what I do.

00:13:49.776 --> 00:13:53.615
You know, I, I sign up for things that are scary and hard.

00:13:54.163 --> 00:13:56.452
I mean, I, I've done this race many times before.

00:13:56.452 --> 00:13:57.452
I know I can do it, but.

00:13:58.708 --> 00:14:00.028
It's very, very difficult.

00:14:00.317 --> 00:14:09.657
It's, uh, it takes a real commitment to prepare for it, especially if you want to do fairly well or do better than you did last time.

00:14:10.497 --> 00:14:10.936
Great.

00:14:11.017 --> 00:14:15.537
Many nuggets out of that, that I want to tap into later.

00:14:16.397 --> 00:14:22.887
One thing immediately is, uh, it's just your journey as you progress through the world of mountain biking.

00:14:23.938 --> 00:14:25.897
I mountain bike a little bit myself.

00:14:26.478 --> 00:14:32.307
Uh, I don't aspire to race competitively, at least.

00:14:32.712 --> 00:14:34.093
What happened first?

00:14:34.123 --> 00:14:37.833
Did you start mountain biking recreationally?

00:14:37.853 --> 00:14:47.212
And at some point you realized you had the talent or is it that you were competitive in other sports in your life?

00:14:47.252 --> 00:14:51.772
And this was like some sort of, uh, uh, coming together of worlds.

00:14:52.022 --> 00:14:53.863
Uh, where does this begin?

00:14:53.863 --> 00:14:55.252
Mm

00:14:55.837 --> 00:14:59.448
uh, because I would, I would be very quick to point out.

00:14:59.508 --> 00:15:02.188
I don't necessarily come with a lot of talent.

00:15:03.178 --> 00:15:07.548
Uh, I, I did not, uh, I wasn't very lucky in the, you know, gene lottery.

00:15:08.242 --> 00:15:10.367
you know, uh, any success I've had is, I think.

00:15:10.877 --> 00:15:15.168
through, uh, you know, determination, um, maybe even persistence.

00:15:15.583 --> 00:15:22.655
yeah, I was competitive even as a kid, I was always competitive playing street hockey out front.

00:15:22.655 --> 00:15:24.326
I grew up in Western New York in Buffalo.

00:15:24.546 --> 00:15:28.205
You know, so, um, basically football and hockey culture.

00:15:28.346 --> 00:15:35.105
Um, uh, so played a lot of those kind of sports, uh, growing up.

00:15:35.286 --> 00:15:41.445
uh, again, it wasn't, Particularly good at any of them, but they really always interested me.

00:15:41.445 --> 00:15:45.511
And I think I was more of a frustrated athlete than anything else.

00:15:46.257 --> 00:15:51.416
competed in some other, uh, endeavors in, in between then in cycling.

00:15:52.836 --> 00:16:01.497
But, uh, I found that if I worked hard, I guess, again, this is, would have been the first couple of years.

00:16:01.777 --> 00:16:03.656
I found that if I rode regularly.

00:16:04.067 --> 00:16:23.326
And if I kind of put a little bit of structure and rhythm and routine into this, that I could, that I was quickly, um, quickly becoming more capable than some of the people I was writing with, you know, just again, through frequency of writing three or four times a week.

00:16:23.555 --> 00:16:27.714
and it's like anything you practice, the more you do it, the more you're going to get better at it.

00:16:27.805 --> 00:16:28.025
Right.

00:16:28.455 --> 00:16:34.624
I've found success, a little bit of, pride, a little ego boost, right.

00:16:34.703 --> 00:16:40.534
And, um, and started to formulate and integrate this into my identity.

00:16:40.947 --> 00:16:43.237
so that, right.

00:16:43.237 --> 00:16:47.537
We, we pursue things that, where we feel we're, we've been rewarded to some degree, right.

00:16:47.576 --> 00:16:50.557
If you get to your first gold star, I want another gold star.

00:16:50.557 --> 00:16:53.517
I want another, you know, and so I, uh.

00:16:53.781 --> 00:17:01.211
A little bit of success resulted in, you know, more interest, which resulted in a little more success and more interest.

00:17:02.328 --> 00:17:06.419
One of my favorite maxims is success breeds success.

00:17:06.689 --> 00:17:07.138
sure.

00:17:07.588 --> 00:17:11.480
And it's kind of like my favorite class in high school was history.

00:17:11.945 --> 00:17:22.875
And it was because I had this great history teacher and I had little, I think, interest initially, but she was just so encouraging and she kept complimenting me on, uh, how well I was doing at class.

00:17:22.925 --> 00:17:27.445
Somehow I just became really interested in history and I ended up like doing really well with the subject.

00:17:27.506 --> 00:17:33.816
So for sure, it's, it's good to feel one is getting some rewards to keep pushing us to the next milestone.

00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:36.380
How old were you, Matt, when you started mountain biking?

00:17:36.605 --> 00:17:40.595
So that's a fair, that's a good point, is I would definitely a late adopter.

00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:40.835
Right.

00:17:40.835 --> 00:17:42.785
So I was in my forties, I guess.

00:17:43.106 --> 00:17:49.896
yeah, I would've been, so this, it really took off for me in like 2009 or 10.

00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:59.873
I'd have been well into my 40s, maybe, you know, 44, 45, yeah, I just grinding away since, and again, no end in sight.

00:18:00.219 --> 00:18:03.709
can't envision not participating in this.

00:18:03.959 --> 00:18:04.368
So.

00:18:04.876 --> 00:18:07.717
Matt, I can just see the fire in your eyes as you.

00:18:08.237 --> 00:18:13.116
Said the last thing! And how old are you now?

00:18:13.777 --> 00:18:14.896
So I'm 58.

00:18:14.947 --> 00:18:16.836
I'll be 59 this season.

00:18:16.836 --> 00:18:19.717
As cyclists, we often refer to our, my race age.

00:18:19.747 --> 00:18:21.136
My race age is 59.

00:18:22.657 --> 00:18:24.107
45.

00:18:24.718 --> 00:18:29.207
you started biking your mid 40s.

00:18:30.267 --> 00:18:52.545
And it's funny how since I started this show, I am meeting more and more, let's say, remarkable seasoned athletes who, contrary to first impressions, Started their, their sports journey at, uh, at a later age by conventional, standards.

00:18:52.977 --> 00:19:04.066
The thing that is, I think, badass about what you're doing is, as somebody who's dabbled in mountain biking, I know how difficult of a sport it can be.

00:19:04.536 --> 00:19:06.006
It is an enthralling sport.

00:19:06.965 --> 00:19:09.916
And I remember taking a little class.

00:19:10.486 --> 00:19:15.661
I hired somebody to teach me some basic, uh, basic, uh, Skills, jumps, whatnot.

00:19:15.961 --> 00:19:22.561
This is, I started this over COVID and he was this young buck, you know, maybe, uh, in his late teens.

00:19:22.581 --> 00:19:48.645
I just found him on some forum and he was trying to be patient and helping me learn how to navigate this, uh, in my opinion, uh, blue black, uh, type of, uh, downhill and it was scary and it was hard and I realized I don't have A particularly extreme bent of mind, even though yes, in some ways I do conventionally extreme sports.

00:19:49.746 --> 00:19:57.006
I was talking to him and then I talked to other people and I, I started thinking that this is one of the sports like gymnastics.

00:19:57.046 --> 00:20:08.296
You have to acquire those technical skills and the muscle memory and some of those fundamentals early, but you are, you are, uh, breaking my thinking here.

00:20:08.830 --> 00:20:17.039
so if I were coaching you through that blue black trail, I would just take you through it three times a week, every week for 10 weeks.

00:20:17.370 --> 00:20:22.980
You know, it, just as you become more and more familiar with it, it's less and less scary.

00:20:23.153 --> 00:20:32.233
I was in a race this past Sunday there's a, what I think is a fairly technical downhill section, um, with, uh, a lot of loose rock.

00:20:33.028 --> 00:20:37.087
Uh, and if you didn't know what you were doing, you can get hurt really bad.

00:20:37.508 --> 00:20:46.758
Um, and the first time I rode that was during a race, which is just nuts to ride it blind on a race day.

00:20:47.458 --> 00:20:50.408
And it scared the, it scared the dickens out of me.

00:20:50.408 --> 00:20:53.565
And I ended up like walking down most of it.

00:20:53.565 --> 00:20:56.384
And other people that I knew that I was.

00:20:57.660 --> 00:21:01.340
equally skilled or experienced with when they came, you know, bombing through there.

00:21:01.360 --> 00:21:04.840
And the difference was they'd been down it multiple times before.

00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:30.330
And so I think for me, the development of those skills and, uh, overcoming of fear is, Is, uh, just through not necessarily repetition, but through experience, just doing it and things like it more and experiencing it over and over and making it become familiar.

00:21:31.190 --> 00:21:33.029
Uh, and, uh, right.

00:21:33.029 --> 00:21:36.299
We're scared of things we don't understand or we haven't seen before.

00:21:36.610 --> 00:21:41.049
And the more you become familiar with it, the less scary it is.

00:21:41.130 --> 00:21:45.360
And this hearing me say this to myself out loud is.

00:21:46.259 --> 00:21:57.049
Kind of coaching me to, you know, it, I have this constant reminder that I need to ride technical terrain more frequently so that I am more familiar with it, more comfortable with it.

00:21:57.539 --> 00:22:04.560
Uh, and I think like a lot of people, I end up, um, uh, resorting to what's most convenient.

00:22:05.009 --> 00:22:14.289
And, you know, that's just breaking out the road bike and going down the cycling path and, you know, going over to the park and whipping around four times and coming home.

00:22:14.710 --> 00:22:20.430
When, in fact, What'll make me a better mountain biker is to ride my mountain bike more.

00:22:22.560 --> 00:22:27.317
And so it sounds so simple, but, familiarity, I think the key.

00:22:27.995 --> 00:22:32.163
it is indeed true that, some of this becomes self fulfilling prophecy.

00:22:32.193 --> 00:22:38.634
As we get older, people tell us, or we start thinking that we shouldn't be doing something because we're older and we can acquire those skills.

00:22:38.634 --> 00:22:44.163
And then the less you attempt those skills, the harder it's going to become for us to get good at them.

00:22:44.173 --> 00:22:57.144
So I certainly do want to tap into some of your learnings as a coach now, but going back to some of your beginnings, Matt, did you find a coach for yourself or were you self taught?

00:22:57.909 --> 00:23:02.889
I would say I was mentored, um, by some very, very patient people.

00:23:03.459 --> 00:23:15.009
Um, and you know, the difference between a mentor and a coach is that, you know, a mentor will share what they have learned, um, whereas a coach will help you discover.

00:23:15.614 --> 00:23:21.683
I come from a very formal coaching background before outside of athletic coaching.

00:23:21.683 --> 00:23:25.974
I come from a leadership and performance coaching background.

00:23:25.974 --> 00:23:28.534
I do this at work as part of my job as well.

00:23:28.832 --> 00:23:36.741
when I say coaching, I think of it in the leading somebody through the discovery process and problem solving process.

00:23:37.231 --> 00:23:39.322
I had some really solid.

00:23:40.187 --> 00:23:55.670
Mentors and very patient people who were willing to teach me and go through that learning and, uh, familiarity, um, with me and, uh, early in my, my mountain biking.

00:23:55.870 --> 00:23:59.299
Um, and again, I think it was, it was slow, right?

00:23:59.320 --> 00:24:06.670
It was just a lot of just riding the bike on gravel paths in Germany, which are everywhere, you know, the.

00:24:07.180 --> 00:24:14.380
A lot of Europe is just laced with these, you know, uh, fire roads and how they manage the forests.

00:24:14.580 --> 00:24:14.730
Right?

00:24:15.101 --> 00:24:17.431
you know, let me circle back on another point that you made.

00:24:17.441 --> 00:24:22.651
You discover how folks in their 40s start picking up sports on this.

00:24:22.681 --> 00:24:25.270
I really believe this has to do with.

00:24:25.961 --> 00:24:34.748
often becoming empty nesters or children becoming more independent and it frees up a lot of time, people in their forties, fifties.

00:24:35.212 --> 00:24:37.843
I think have a little more flexibility in their schedule.

00:24:38.393 --> 00:24:43.113
I got a couple more dollars in their pocket to a little, a little bit more disposable income.

00:24:43.615 --> 00:24:58.355
these are now my talking points that I try to put on to race directors all the time that you really need to have more categories for 40 plus 50 plus 60 plus 70 plus, because you put those categories there, people will want to come.

00:24:58.426 --> 00:25:01.756
And you don't need to give them prize money.

00:25:01.966 --> 00:25:08.326
You just need to give them the opportunity to, uh, to have this experience.

00:25:08.621 --> 00:25:14.259
Again, it might be simply there's, three women that show up in the 50 to 60 category.

00:25:14.278 --> 00:25:14.699
Great.

00:25:15.009 --> 00:25:22.999
Let's give them the opportunity to experience that, stand on the podium, take the picture, they post it on their social media.

00:25:23.339 --> 00:25:25.459
And what a rewarding experience that is.

00:25:25.939 --> 00:25:31.539
And, far too often, that opportunity is not there, I went off on a rant.

00:25:32.740 --> 00:25:34.660
It, it was not off tangent.

00:25:35.070 --> 00:25:48.279
You are right, right, uh, where the, the meat of this show is, which is about inspiring us to continue doing these things and to chase dreams.

00:25:48.910 --> 00:25:51.680
which others may not think, uh, makes sense.

00:25:52.906 --> 00:25:55.466
ageism, I think, is certainly a part of society.

00:25:56.145 --> 00:25:56.916
Absolutely.

00:25:57.784 --> 00:26:06.514
that perhaps things are changing now because maybe, maybe in more mainstream sports, you do see athletes continue to excel at a later age.

00:26:06.884 --> 00:26:15.274
In some of our niche sports, it's maybe slower to come, but there are people setting an example, people such as yourself and others.

00:26:15.433 --> 00:26:32.234
I just think that, you know, People will see athletes do well in their 30s and 40s, but the recognition and the acceptance like opening up categories for like the 50s, 60s, 70s, I think those are yet to come, but, but hopefully those things are coming.

00:26:33.024 --> 00:26:35.634
Going back into your race career, Matt.

00:26:36.244 --> 00:26:40.774
So let's see, you started, picked up biking, became obsessed in your mid 40s.

00:26:41.219 --> 00:26:46.078
so now you're maybe about 15 years or so into mountain biking.

00:26:46.839 --> 00:26:57.219
Love for you to share some of your, uh, apex moments as a mountain biker, whether it's racing, absolutely new racing, but maybe even outside of racing.

00:26:58.153 --> 00:26:58.453
okay.

00:26:58.484 --> 00:27:06.534
So my, uh, first mountain bike marathon was a milestone for me because I, you know, completed the first one I attempted.

00:27:06.884 --> 00:27:07.604
I was, um,

00:27:08.269 --> 00:27:14.227
And sorry, is the marathon again, is it, uh, in the same vein as, uh, as, as like running that?

00:27:14.297 --> 00:27:15.467
Is it like 26 miles?

00:27:15.467 --> 00:27:17.417
There's a lot of online debate.

00:27:17.417 --> 00:27:18.116
What is harder?

00:27:18.147 --> 00:27:20.417
A running marathon or a mountain bike marathon?

00:27:20.947 --> 00:27:34.707
You know, it's all I, I might argue that a mountain bike marathon is, is far more difficult because it takes far more attention and far more focus for probably twice as long.

00:27:35.299 --> 00:27:40.090
a runner would say, well, you know, uh, running a marathon is very difficult on your body.

00:27:40.340 --> 00:27:51.370
You know, anything, once you pass that mile 20 point, it's just, now it's extreme mental challenge, extreme difficult, uh, on your body and it's a test of will.

00:27:51.721 --> 00:27:54.228
I think those are the same in our sport as well.

00:27:54.557 --> 00:27:55.168
they're different.

00:27:55.178 --> 00:28:00.143
but mountain bike marathon is typically 50 miles to a hundred K.

00:28:01.143 --> 00:28:04.500
So I did my first one, in Munich, uh, Germany.

00:28:05.141 --> 00:28:08.240
And then I did another one that same year.

00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:10.101
So now I did two in one year.

00:28:11.236 --> 00:28:14.976
Then that would've been 2013 or 14.

00:28:15.096 --> 00:28:26.596
And then I did a couple more, and then I, next thing I know, I, I've done maybe like eight a year, and this is now 2017 or so.

00:28:26.931 --> 00:28:31.351
and in fact in 2016, I did my first a hundred mile mountain bike craze.

00:28:31.772 --> 00:28:36.292
but apex accomplishments generally happened in 2019.

00:28:37.062 --> 00:28:38.682
I had a very successful year.

00:28:39.501 --> 00:28:39.961
Finish.

00:28:40.022 --> 00:29:47.291
I compete in this series called the National Ultra Endurance Mountain Bike Race Series, and it's a series of about 10 events across North America.

00:29:48.241 --> 00:29:56.375
Uh, this year there's one in Spain as well that's included in this series, for years, it was if you, take your best four finishes of that series.

00:29:56.799 --> 00:29:59.339
And then you were, you know, ranked.

00:29:59.809 --> 00:30:09.910
And so in 2019, I finished third nationally in the master's category, which was 50 and up and I'm very pleased with myself with, with that, uh, result.

00:30:10.219 --> 00:30:15.075
I also won a gravel race out in Montana that same year.

00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:21.058
that was an interesting race and probably as difficult as any mountain bike race I've ever done because.

00:30:21.544 --> 00:30:27.304
It was a 57 mile race, but the first 40 miles of it is one single climb.

00:30:27.943 --> 00:30:29.574
So it's a 40 mile climb.

00:30:30.294 --> 00:30:37.374
Then I think, yeah, then it was 12 miles to descend that same amount of elevation.

00:30:37.953 --> 00:30:39.723
And then it was five miles on the flat.

00:30:39.764 --> 00:30:43.774
So it was 40, 40, 12, five.

00:30:43.913 --> 00:30:48.134
So yeah, 40 going up, 12 going down and five to finish.

00:30:48.134 --> 00:30:49.243
So 57 miles.

00:30:49.764 --> 00:30:51.153
It's called the tour to gravelly.

00:30:51.153 --> 00:30:53.203
It's out of Ennis, Montana.

00:30:53.213 --> 00:30:55.743
It's part of the greater Yellowstone adventure series.

00:30:56.000 --> 00:31:02.560
So not only did I win the master's category, but I won, won the overall, I was the first one to cross the finish line.

00:31:03.681 --> 00:31:06.951
So that, uh, that was really, really exciting.

00:31:07.194 --> 00:31:09.264
2019 was, was my banner year.

00:31:09.711 --> 00:31:13.246
and like we talked about earlier, Success, pre success.

00:31:13.576 --> 00:31:19.145
I was all geared up, full go, all chips in for 2020.

00:31:19.586 --> 00:31:22.496
you know, I had made all kinds of logistics plans.

00:31:22.810 --> 00:31:24.810
I had bought a lot of new equipment.

00:31:25.361 --> 00:31:33.076
I had, uh, really prepared myself, uh, mentally very well and, coming into the 2020 season.

00:31:33.155 --> 00:31:36.466
And then, uh, I went to my cycling camp out in Tucson.

00:31:36.476 --> 00:31:39.175
I had a great experience out there in March.

00:31:39.556 --> 00:31:40.105
And.

00:31:40.624 --> 00:31:46.163
Maybe within three days of coming back from that cycling camp, the world just turned upside down.

00:31:47.699 --> 00:31:48.229
Very nice.

00:31:48.358 --> 00:31:49.098
Congratulations.

00:31:49.419 --> 00:31:49.649
yeah,

00:31:49.947 --> 00:31:50.287
Thanks.

00:31:51.122 --> 00:31:54.052
Mountain biking, again, is such an interesting sport.

00:31:54.822 --> 00:31:58.913
I'm trying to put myself in in the picture of a mountain bike racer.

00:31:59.044 --> 00:32:02.683
Like I said, I'm on bike a little bit myself, very recreationally.

00:32:03.064 --> 00:32:05.493
And it's such a technically demanding sport.

00:32:05.884 --> 00:32:13.574
When I do some other, let's say, when I go maybe for a run or a road bike, I will have my, my headphones on and listen to music and podcasts.

00:32:13.884 --> 00:32:16.334
I found that I could not do that at all.

00:32:16.413 --> 00:32:17.824
You have to be so focused.

00:32:18.774 --> 00:32:30.451
So now you're racing In these, insanely long courses, like the one you described, and even longer, you have to keep your focus on, you have to, you know, look out for, your physical needs.

00:32:30.903 --> 00:32:41.813
Also for bikers around you, how do you manage the couple of things I want to ask you about, uh, the situation.

00:32:41.813 --> 00:32:47.692
So one is managing some of the physical risk comes with mountain biking.

00:32:47.952 --> 00:32:50.432
I wonder, are you scouting some of these trails?

00:32:50.462 --> 00:32:55.363
Are you figuring out, you know, where you should navigate, how you should navigate?

00:32:55.413 --> 00:32:56.023
That's one thing.

00:32:56.512 --> 00:33:00.242
Secondly, I want to ask you, you are not the trail yourself.

00:33:00.604 --> 00:33:01.884
are crashes normal?

00:33:02.004 --> 00:33:03.693
Like, are you crashing people?

00:33:04.114 --> 00:33:05.983
You, how do you avoid those things?

00:33:06.134 --> 00:33:11.504
Some of, yeah, if you get my drift, that's kind of what I want to understand is like, what happens with managing some of these aspects?

00:33:11.908 --> 00:33:22.038
if some of my cycling friends see this deal, they'll say, oh, yes, he crashes because uh, for years, I, I crashed almost every ride I would ever, ever went on.

00:33:22.648 --> 00:33:27.958
and in fact, I think there were years where I had at least one crash in every single race.

00:33:28.545 --> 00:33:43.075
now knock on wood, I haven't had any significant crashes this year, but I definitely became familiar with the emergency room, you know, uh, a lot of broken ribs, um, and I had a really bad, uh, concussion.

00:33:43.644 --> 00:33:47.225
Well, I've had two really bad concussions in the past 10 years.

00:33:47.644 --> 00:33:53.855
Um, again, I think it comes, uh, through preparation and familiarity.

00:33:54.194 --> 00:33:54.725
And that.

00:33:55.309 --> 00:34:00.630
Develops confidence because like you said, we are weaving through the forest.

00:34:00.819 --> 00:34:05.009
Um, and every single tree is reaching out and trying to grab your handlebar.

00:34:05.660 --> 00:34:13.470
You know, um, every every rock is trying to slip its way underneath your rear wheel to kick it out.

00:34:13.910 --> 00:34:19.570
Um, every route is slippery or trying to grab your pedal.

00:34:19.600 --> 00:34:22.980
I've had that happen where you're, you're, you're, you're pedaling and.

00:34:23.345 --> 00:34:26.745
A route that's up off the ground will just grab that puddle.

00:34:26.745 --> 00:34:31.555
And it's like, uh, it's like a plane landing on an aircraft carrier.

00:34:31.555 --> 00:34:33.375
It just arrests you and you'll just.

00:34:35.100 --> 00:34:36.630
You'll just fly right over the bike.

00:34:37.079 --> 00:34:48.230
Um, yes, there are people and there are occasionally, you know, a little bumping or rubbing, you know, with, with single track trail is typically very narrow.

00:34:48.564 --> 00:34:52.838
that said There's a lot of courtesy in mountain biking.

00:34:53.247 --> 00:34:57.222
There's a lot of, um, etiquette, it'll come naturally.

00:34:57.222 --> 00:35:01.182
If anybody's thinking about pursuing this and then, Oh, I don't really know what the etiquette rules are.

00:35:01.211 --> 00:35:02.001
It'll come natural.

00:35:02.182 --> 00:35:03.312
You just want to be courteous.

00:35:03.942 --> 00:35:10.331
So what happens to me very frequently is someone will come up on a long descent and say, Hey, can I get by?

00:35:10.681 --> 00:35:15.211
You know, yes, just a moment, you know, let me find a wide turn and I'll go extra wide.

00:35:15.221 --> 00:35:16.851
You take the right, I'll get in on the left.

00:35:17.161 --> 00:35:23.411
And so, there's not a lot of that in, especially in the, the longer events.

00:35:23.991 --> 00:35:28.692
In the, the shorter events, there's maybe a little bit more, well, a lot more aggression.

00:35:29.072 --> 00:35:55.643
And there's a little bit more of like, maybe leaning into somebody next to you and, and things like that, which, again, through experience, it's, Um, you just become comfortable with, to, to your points about, uh, like danger or risk of injury and all that, I guess I, I don't, I don't find it much different than many of the other things we pursue, you know, I, I, we live in a dangerous world, right?

00:35:55.643 --> 00:36:09.054
We get in a car and drive 80, you know, 70 miles per hour down the highway all the time, and we don't think anything of it, you know, but we know that's one of the most common ways people are killed all across our country.

00:36:09.054 --> 00:36:09.068
Right.

00:36:09.478 --> 00:36:19.578
Uh, you know, we eat food that we don't know where it came from, you know, very, um, and people get ill from.

00:36:19.578 --> 00:36:28.389
I think you have to kind of, um, categorize and weigh the risk, um, and, and then calculate.

00:36:28.858 --> 00:36:32.208
It, you know, is, is this risk I'm not willing to take.

00:36:32.628 --> 00:36:41.067
And I think experience definitely reduces that as you become more familiar with what the risk is and how to manage it.

00:36:41.713 --> 00:36:45.163
uh, but you had, uh, another point about concentration.

00:36:45.596 --> 00:36:52.637
I find that there's a lot of transferable skills, uh, between the work I do, uh, in the office.

00:36:53.072 --> 00:37:10.342
You know, managing, whether it be managing budgets, managing people, managing projects and deadlines and things like that, as well as just having all those things going on simultaneously, you know, in a mountain bike race, I have many things going on simultaneously.

00:37:11.427 --> 00:37:22.487
I'm trying to apply a certain level of power, you know, wattage, uh, you know, in, into my pedals at some given point, I want to keep an eye on my pace.

00:37:22.897 --> 00:37:31.017
I want to keep an eye on where my competitors are, uh, you know, people that I'm targeting to compete with.

00:37:31.577 --> 00:37:36.657
I want to keep an eye on my surroundings, you know, like, is there someone coming up on me?

00:37:36.657 --> 00:37:37.927
Am I coming up on somebody?

00:37:38.527 --> 00:37:41.732
So you're managing several things simultaneously.

00:37:41.742 --> 00:37:55.592
And I think of the, these skills, or again, I've used this word a hundred times already today, familiarity, it becomes, that, that chaos becomes familiar, you, you learn to prioritize and to.

00:37:55.887 --> 00:38:06.177
Sing, single out what you need to focus on in this moment, um, and let, let the rest of it kind of trust yourself and, and stay in that flow.

00:38:07.088 --> 00:38:17.318
Incredible indeed, how with practice and discipline, one can make very difficult things seem reasonable.

00:38:17.495 --> 00:38:17.630
this.

00:38:18.115 --> 00:38:25.615
Three dimensional world that is mountain biking indeed that, you know, all kinds of hazards, but which also make for a very compelling experience.

00:38:26.951 --> 00:38:34.210
let me, let me interject one thing and try to soak in some of the beauty and wonderment of being outside.

00:38:35.855 --> 00:38:37.995
Yeah, I want to actually double down on that in a second.

00:38:38.485 --> 00:38:49.625
One kind of a bit of a pedestrian question here is with some of my mountain biking friends, you know, this, this question comes up about protective gear we should have on our recreation rides.

00:38:51.175 --> 00:38:56.515
I will go out with a simple, you know, MIPS helmet, I think.

00:38:56.815 --> 00:39:01.130
And then sometimes I'll wear pads, sometimes I won't wear pads.

00:39:02.040 --> 00:39:08.620
I want to ask you what kind of protective gear do you have when you do this riding?

00:39:08.830 --> 00:39:17.990
What kind of protective gear did you either embrace or discard as you progressed through stages?

00:39:18.512 --> 00:39:21.292
MIPS helmet, very important for those that aren't familiar.

00:39:21.352 --> 00:39:26.377
MIPS, is a, technology within a helmet that is like a shell inside a shell.

00:39:26.387 --> 00:39:33.756
So, When your head hits the ground and twists, the helmet will twist and your head doesn't necessarily.

00:39:34.102 --> 00:39:39.060
the helmet costs 200 or more, only spend on a helmet what you think your head is worth, right?

00:39:39.424 --> 00:39:41.294
that's, that's a no brainer.

00:39:41.564 --> 00:39:45.384
You gotta have a MIPS helmet if, I think if you're, if you're going to.

00:39:45.944 --> 00:39:48.454
Be pursuing mountain biking seriously.

00:39:48.704 --> 00:39:52.864
other protective gear gloves, I'd really think is absolutely mandatory.

00:39:52.914 --> 00:39:56.364
Um, and it has to do with crashing more than anything else.

00:39:56.714 --> 00:40:02.074
Um, anybody that's crashed a mountain bike with bare hands will, will tell you, you want to have gloves on.

00:40:02.516 --> 00:40:04.306
That's generally it for me.

00:40:04.556 --> 00:40:23.319
now when I go out like I say, scouting a new course, there are some, for example, the USA cycling mountain bike marathon national championship in 2021 and 22 was on a course, not too far from here in Maryland, uh, Gamble state park, very technical terrain, very dangerous.

00:40:23.472 --> 00:40:48.697
during the national championships, several people got injured very seriously, way more technical, challenging than I so I went out with, uh, knee pads and elbow pads, you know, um, the first several times, uh, that I wanted to learn my way through the course, learn the lines I wanted to take, and become familiar with it.

00:40:48.990 --> 00:40:56.320
The first time I raced it in 2021, I did wear, um, knee pads and elbow pads, and I think I was the only one.

00:40:56.320 --> 00:41:04.710
And I'm like, okay, so, so this is what gives me the confidence to, to ride as fast as I can, as hard as I can, as long as I can.

00:41:05.210 --> 00:41:08.750
And then in the second year, uh, I, I, I had shed them by that point.

00:41:08.900 --> 00:41:17.088
Um, I didn't have knee pads or elbow pads, but I think for anybody starting out in you're learning a new course and trail.

00:41:17.568 --> 00:41:19.838
Knee pads, elbow pads, absolutely make sense.

00:41:20.217 --> 00:41:21.647
you will fall again.

00:41:21.647 --> 00:41:23.797
You, it's just part of the deal.

00:41:23.847 --> 00:41:29.107
It's, um, it's like saying, you know, you're not going to fall playing soccer.

00:41:29.107 --> 00:41:30.477
You're not going to fall playing football.

00:41:30.477 --> 00:41:31.387
You're going to fall.

00:41:31.457 --> 00:41:35.727
It's part of, it's essentially part of the sport.

00:41:36.147 --> 00:41:37.577
Um, doing it smartly.

00:41:37.860 --> 00:41:43.190
minimizing it and, are important aspects of it, but it's, it's going to happen.

00:41:43.600 --> 00:41:48.201
So, yeah, helmet, knee pads, elbows, elbow pads, gloves.

00:41:48.988 --> 00:41:51.557
and then proper shoe, I think is important also.

00:41:51.757 --> 00:41:56.307
I see a lot of beginners not wear a good shoe.

00:41:56.307 --> 00:42:15.337
And when I say good shoe, meaning with a stiff sole and that's not so much protective gear, that's more about, um, just a pedaling efficiency as to have a very stiff sole, if you go out there and you're running shoes, you know, with a very flexible sole, uh, you're not going to transfer power efficiently into the pedals.

00:42:15.649 --> 00:42:30.219
something like a skate, skateboarder shoe, you know, or the old school Chuck Converse, you know, uh, or Converse Chuck Taylors, uh, something like that with that stiff sole is even a better beginner shoe than a running shoe, silly as that sounds.

00:42:30.528 --> 00:42:43.128
Yeah, I have, uh, these climbing approach shoes made by 510 and I think 510 also makes, uh, smart biking shoes and I looked at those shoes and I'm like, you know, they're really similar.

00:42:43.138 --> 00:42:46.488
So I just do double duty with my, with my approach

00:42:46.493 --> 00:42:47.793
They probably, yeah, fine.

00:42:47.793 --> 00:42:48.793
So,

00:42:49.198 --> 00:42:51.148
where I am, I think they're totally fine.

00:42:52.338 --> 00:42:54.018
What about a full face helmet?

00:42:54.698 --> 00:42:56.798
As compared to what you read.

00:42:56.798 --> 00:43:00.978
I'm guessing for racing days, it probably doesn't make sense.

00:43:01.753 --> 00:43:18.943
for, yeah, you know, I don't really know the full logic of, like many sports, you just kind of have what's the norm, and it's just not the norm in our sport to wear a full face helmet in downhill racing, for sure.

00:43:18.943 --> 00:43:29.713
Where you're really likely to get hurt bad, um, then, then, yeah, uh, I think this might also be a function of.

00:43:30.528 --> 00:43:37.485
You know, breathing and, uh, whether you, you run the risk of, your eye protection getting foggy.

00:43:37.525 --> 00:43:53.074
Oh, that's another safety eye protection period that no matter what, I, there are a few folks that will ride without eye protection of some kind, but, um, but I've graduated to the point to where I generally ride with contacts, but I'll still wear eye protection.

00:43:53.222 --> 00:44:22.722
But getting back to full face helmet, there are some, you know, they have even some that are convertible where like the bottom part snaps off and I have a friend that, that wears those and I, uh, you know, he'll, he has it kind of like tucked in his pack or something, you know, and then for a real nasty long descent, he'll, he'll put that on that gives him the confidence, you know, that he can maybe, you know, be, uh, slightly more aggressive.

00:44:22.722 --> 00:44:22.962
Okay.

00:44:23.447 --> 00:44:26.527
Whatever you can do to instill confidence is a positive thing, right?

00:44:27.137 --> 00:44:32.357
So, and feeling safe is going to instill confidence.

00:44:34.797 --> 00:44:39.847
Yeah, can't, can't say those words, uh, you know, too many times.

00:44:41.437 --> 00:44:45.217
Whatever one needs to feel confident and feel safe.

00:44:45.632 --> 00:44:52.192
And maybe, uh, uh, on the side of being conservative is, is probably a good idea.

00:44:52.592 --> 00:45:18.392
Now, this, this thing that you briefly mentioned it, which I'm really excited to ask you about is it is such a demanding sport on the body and the mind and the training and the grueling intensity of like the super long, Enduro races, you know, what is it that keeps you coming back for more?

00:45:18.413 --> 00:45:25.307
And, and, you know, yeah, after all that training, hundreds of hours of like work, what do you get out of it?

00:45:25.737 --> 00:45:28.427
You, you talked about the, you know, the nature element.

00:45:28.957 --> 00:45:31.507
So we'd love for you to talk about that as well.

00:45:32.090 --> 00:45:37.655
anybody that studies wellness recognizes being outside is super important, right?

00:45:38.161 --> 00:45:40.692
just breathing outdoor air is important.

00:45:40.731 --> 00:45:43.192
Getting some sunshine on your face is important.

00:45:43.587 --> 00:45:51.051
putting yourself in, a new environment, uh, or a relaxing environment, unplugging that's all goodness, right?

00:45:51.280 --> 00:45:58.971
All that said, I don't necessarily do this for the purpose of getting outside.

00:45:58.971 --> 00:46:01.230
I think it's a, it's a bonus.

00:46:02.485 --> 00:46:06.915
Um, I will go back to the competitive thing that not something.

00:46:06.915 --> 00:46:08.335
Um, it's just within me.

00:46:08.335 --> 00:46:10.295
That's just part of what who I am.

00:46:10.506 --> 00:46:19.366
but what brings me back every year, I think is largely the people largely FOMO fear of missing out.

00:46:19.735 --> 00:46:22.375
but I think the biggest thing is.

00:46:22.681 --> 00:46:27.961
honoring my ability, uh, and capability.

00:46:28.021 --> 00:46:33.070
And I have, I'm able to do this, therefore I'm going to do it.

00:46:33.471 --> 00:46:36.610
Um, there will be a point where I'm not able to do this anymore.

00:46:36.996 --> 00:46:43.057
and that day could be, that could happen this year, you know, that could happen next year.

00:46:43.563 --> 00:46:47.773
but while I'm able to do it, I need to, I feel a need.

00:46:48.313 --> 00:47:18.038
Again, to, to honor that ability and that, um, that good fortune that I've gotten to this point in my life and have some resources to enable me, uh, so I, yeah, I feel, um, an obligation to myself and to the others who have helped me get to where I am to, to follow through with this, to continue to follow through with it.

00:47:18.408 --> 00:47:19.668
Until I can't anymore.

00:47:20.044 --> 00:47:27.087
it's, uh, almost an unselfish honoring, even though one of the external people is myself.

00:47:27.177 --> 00:47:31.437
One of the people that I'm honoring is, is, is myself.

00:47:31.437 --> 00:47:33.227
And I'm not even sure how to unpack that.

00:47:33.227 --> 00:47:37.663
Respect It does actually make sense.

00:47:39.992 --> 00:47:46.342
You have this calling and there is this, this need to respect that calling.

00:47:46.422 --> 00:47:48.517
You of it.

00:47:48.517 --> 00:47:48.937
Yeah.

00:47:49.217 --> 00:47:49.467
Yeah.

00:47:49.467 --> 00:47:53.047
It's a respect for, I talk about this in my coaching all the time is respect.

00:47:53.302 --> 00:48:01.842
for yourself is, is, is the root of any degree of, of confidence and success, you know, is, is based on respect.

00:48:02.282 --> 00:48:06.270
We spoke about your racing journey a bit yourself.

00:48:06.270 --> 00:48:06.500
Yes.

00:48:07.620 --> 00:48:14.250
And, uh, besides racing for yourself, you are also a coach, you coach other, uh, athletes.

00:48:15.520 --> 00:48:21.701
Do you think you are more talented as a coach or as an athlete?

00:48:22.330 --> 00:48:28.710
I think you mentioned you bring a background of training from your, uh, regular career.

00:48:29.460 --> 00:48:34.250
And I'm guessing those aspects help your, coaching in some way.

00:48:34.913 --> 00:48:37.009
And then do the two in front of the other.

00:48:37.349 --> 00:48:40.879
to your athletic performance and your coaching.

00:48:41.588 --> 00:48:42.458
Yes to all that.

00:48:42.618 --> 00:48:48.098
Um, so let me, let me tackle the talent one first.

00:48:48.208 --> 00:48:52.628
I definitely think I'm a more talented coach than a talented athlete.

00:48:52.953 --> 00:49:01.221
And I think a lot of that comes from some of the things you mentioned earlier is, I am curious and introspective.

00:49:01.721 --> 00:49:04.521
And I genuinely want people to succeed.

00:49:05.001 --> 00:49:06.641
You know, I want you to succeed.

00:49:06.771 --> 00:49:09.871
I want anybody who lives near you to succeed.

00:49:09.881 --> 00:49:12.091
I want, I want all of us to succeed.

00:49:12.583 --> 00:49:15.563
and I do see it as my responsibility.

00:49:16.004 --> 00:49:20.709
to, in whatever way I can, as much as possible.

00:49:20.879 --> 00:49:24.907
I think I'm more, more talented as a coach.

00:49:24.967 --> 00:49:31.077
It is becoming an increasing percentage of my life every year.

00:49:31.578 --> 00:49:38.509
There's only one pie and there's, you know, multiple different slices and the, the size of each slice changes every year.

00:49:38.518 --> 00:49:38.828
Right.

00:49:39.480 --> 00:49:57.404
I do spend more time on coaching and preparing for my coaching sessions, um, each year, um, I'm spending more time with that as well as developing training plans that are available, that make available circle back to the original part of that question.

00:49:58.295 --> 00:50:05.978
because I find myself as an athlete making, mistakes that I think, most coaches would pick up on immediately.

00:50:06.437 --> 00:50:12.330
generally overtraining, is my most common athletic, mistake.

00:50:12.954 --> 00:50:14.924
training for the wrong reasons.

00:50:15.204 --> 00:50:30.434
Um, you know, not necessarily training to get better, but training so that I can crew more miles per week, and kind of, again, put the gold stars together than really what is best for my body.

00:50:30.830 --> 00:50:33.090
maybe not get the rest that I need.

00:50:33.250 --> 00:50:40.270
maybe put too many things on my plate that, uh, you know, a coach would.

00:50:40.850 --> 00:50:41.190
would.

00:50:41.270 --> 00:50:42.150
recognize.

00:50:42.760 --> 00:50:59.820
So, um, so yeah, I think my coaching then helps me regulate my athletic pursuit, my cycling, maybe it's too late, but I often find myself making errors and then correct, um, and adjust.

00:51:00.707 --> 00:51:12.949
for sure the, um, my experience, having raced in a lot of places, you know, a lot of different formats helps in the coaching as well.

00:51:13.779 --> 00:51:29.047
But I think, I have a, a lot of my work experience helps in the coaching also is because I, you know, I've, I've been a supervisor of dozens and dozens of people, you know, maybe 100 people over the years.

00:51:29.286 --> 00:51:32.356
And I, work on problem solving with them all the time.

00:51:33.056 --> 00:51:42.306
And you, uh, you have to listen, you have to engage, you have to treat each, um, uh, circumstance as a unique.

00:51:43.422 --> 00:51:43.821
issue.

00:51:44.541 --> 00:51:56.391
And so I generally think I do a pretty good job of, of focusing on, on the issue at hand and, and being creative in resolving it.

00:51:57.392 --> 00:52:03.842
there are many aspects of what's going on in my work life, my coaching life, my athletic pursuit, my family life.

00:52:03.862 --> 00:52:05.742
I think they all inform each other.

00:52:06.444 --> 00:52:10.344
the, the trick is to optimize, right?

00:52:10.404 --> 00:52:17.154
And the challenge, I should say, the game is to how to, how to get them all to synchronize just right.

00:52:17.494 --> 00:52:21.264
Um, so that they're all mutually support, so they're all supportive of each other.

00:52:21.964 --> 00:52:29.414
And this is, the big challenge that I end up coaching a lot of people through at work is the work life balance challenge.

00:52:29.904 --> 00:52:31.204
And, you know, and I think.

00:52:31.629 --> 00:52:33.879
I like to reframe it as just life balance.

00:52:34.159 --> 00:52:39.230
You have many things in your life to balance and to synchronize.

00:52:39.230 --> 00:52:41.149
And I use this meaning like gears.

00:52:41.149 --> 00:52:49.079
You have many things to get lined up, uh, with each other so that they can be, uh, supportive of each other.

00:52:49.562 --> 00:52:53.812
a lot of this comes through developing habits and routines.

00:52:54.420 --> 00:52:56.989
using, different people have different methods.

00:52:57.009 --> 00:53:06.009
I like, structure and calendars and lists and, you know, and, um, what we, what we call habit stacking.

00:53:06.018 --> 00:53:06.838
Do you know what that is?

00:53:06.838 --> 00:53:12.598
Where you have maybe a habit and then you, you associate it with another habit and what you're trying to develop.

00:53:12.788 --> 00:53:17.231
those kinds of things, are all part of my life, but in, in different aspects,

00:53:18.063 --> 00:53:19.793
Thanks for elaborating on that.

00:53:20.373 --> 00:53:22.003
Habit stacking and structure.

00:53:22.013 --> 00:53:26.663
Those are, those become important when one is trying to juggle many things.

00:53:27.154 --> 00:53:39.134
What are some things you've learned in your own training as well as training others on what works well and what does not work well, especially for.

00:53:39.494 --> 00:53:40.704
older athletes.

00:53:41.514 --> 00:53:43.554
For example, you mentioned overtraining.

00:53:43.914 --> 00:53:46.064
So that is, that could be one thing.

00:53:46.074 --> 00:54:00.681
You mentioned the importance of structure just diving a little bit deeper into the actual training, even to the point of understanding what is the balance between training on the bicycle versus training off the bicycle

00:54:01.285 --> 00:54:16.989
we often focus on the training when the training is a means to the end, right, we don't spend enough time, formulating exactly what the end is, I have adopted this formula of envision, plan, prepare, execute.

00:54:17.704 --> 00:54:20.804
And so the envision part I think is the most important part.

00:54:21.144 --> 00:54:28.855
And it's, envisioning what you want to be or envisioning the outcome that you want to pursue.

00:54:29.694 --> 00:54:39.864
And as part of that exercise, I ask people to close their eyes, think about that goal, think about that.

00:54:39.914 --> 00:54:44.362
And think about the next day after they've accomplished it.

00:54:44.849 --> 00:54:46.169
and what do they feel?

00:54:47.109 --> 00:54:48.789
Where do they feel it in their body?

00:54:48.909 --> 00:54:50.539
How does that make them feel?

00:54:51.235 --> 00:54:53.555
And then we hold on to that for a little bit.

00:54:53.815 --> 00:54:56.745
And so again, this, this works at work as well.

00:54:56.755 --> 00:55:00.735
You know, I want to, I want to get promoted.

00:55:01.005 --> 00:55:04.015
I want to balance my budget.

00:55:04.065 --> 00:55:05.875
I want to reconcile my books.

00:55:05.945 --> 00:55:08.485
I want to resolve this conflict with my boss.

00:55:09.218 --> 00:55:17.806
each of those objectives It pursued as an end that next day, once you've resolved this, how does that feel?

00:55:18.413 --> 00:55:22.103
that helps you gauge what you're willing to do to get there.

00:55:22.494 --> 00:55:32.763
if the feeling is, well, you know, maybe that wasn't such a big deal that I resolved that, then that helps inform what you're willing to do to get there, but if it's going to be a life changing.

00:55:33.868 --> 00:55:42.548
a very, very satisfying result that we want to emphasize the importance of achieving that.

00:55:43.025 --> 00:55:45.515
then ask yourself, what are you willing to do to get there?

00:55:46.245 --> 00:55:52.675
You know, and then we start developing a plan to get to what we've envisioned.

00:55:53.371 --> 00:55:58.031
when, once we develop that plan, then we have to prepare along the way.

00:55:58.031 --> 00:56:03.551
And that in, in that preparation is training ourselves, equipping ourselves.

00:56:04.004 --> 00:56:07.554
and, uh, simulating some of that experience.

00:56:08.234 --> 00:56:13.534
And then you go ahead and step off and execute that plan.

00:56:13.704 --> 00:56:23.355
And it, it becomes self executable once, once you, again, you have practiced and trained and equipped yourself to pursue this.

00:56:23.864 --> 00:56:32.804
So that, that structured approach of envision, plan, prepare, execute, I think is applicable.

00:56:33.344 --> 00:56:39.984
To any, most, any goal oriented pursuit.

00:56:40.534 --> 00:56:48.704
And again, in cycling, like any other sport, we've, we spent so much of our time focused on the training methods.

00:56:49.474 --> 00:56:50.514
And we can talk about that in a minute.

00:56:51.101 --> 00:57:00.271
but really having a clear understanding of what you're trying to do will help inform what you need to put in place to get there.

00:57:01.101 --> 00:57:02.681
that matrix that you laid out.

00:57:03.580 --> 00:57:04.270
envision.

00:57:04.460 --> 00:57:06.530
plan, prepare, execute.

00:57:07.117 --> 00:57:07.811
Absolutely.

00:57:08.118 --> 00:57:11.418
maybe we can do a tiny bit of role playing.

00:57:11.678 --> 00:57:12.168
Sure.

00:57:12.723 --> 00:57:22.384
So let's say somebody comes to you and they want to participate as a, as a new mountain biker in a 50 mile mountain bike race.

00:57:22.843 --> 00:57:30.803
How would you begin with laying down their training plan?

00:57:32.273 --> 00:57:35.503
The mountain bike race could be, let's say, give it like six months.

00:57:36.223 --> 00:57:36.863
down the line.

00:57:37.638 --> 00:57:40.482
So again, I would start with why is this important to you?

00:57:41.222 --> 00:57:45.642
and you know, why, why, why do you want to do this?

00:57:46.562 --> 00:57:49.002
And, uh, you know, I don't, I don't know how much you want to role play here,

00:57:49.495 --> 00:58:01.635
I love mountain biking and the idea of experiencing a race and seeing what I'm capable of could be really fascinating for me to explore.

00:58:02.326 --> 00:58:11.365
And I love having these long term goals and working towards them, but ultimately it comes back to the love of mountain biking, the love of a challenge.

00:58:11.920 --> 00:58:22.400
And what it allows me to, so maybe I think people in the running world do this a lot, you know, they join like, uh, let's do a marathon club and they would prepare for marathon together.

00:58:23.020 --> 00:58:27.440
And for me, mountain biking is fascinating.

00:58:27.590 --> 00:58:29.810
And, uh, that's where we begin from.

00:58:30.110 --> 00:58:30.420
Yeah.

00:58:30.451 --> 00:58:49.946
So there, and interestingly, there are opportunities to train as a group for the, so like a mountain, like a running club, there are, there are smaller clubs, not, not, not as common as there used to be, but that would train together it was interesting to hear you say, I've got six months to prepare for it.

00:58:50.427 --> 00:59:17.346
Um, because, you know, what you've done is immediately put a limitation on, you know, the time we have to plan and prepare I, I wouldn't say that that's a problem other than Let's explore what, what we can really get done during that time and be open to the idea that if this goes well for you this year, you might want to do it again next year or six months after.

00:59:17.755 --> 00:59:33.710
And so in fact, what you experience at this rate, six months from now might be even a greater experience if you then a year from now, Have a personal record, you know, so that you, you do better even.

00:59:34.156 --> 00:59:57.842
with an endurance sports, uh, I think you'll find that, uh, it's often a multiple year, um, pursuit to achieve, I don't want to say to achieve your goal, but to achieve some level of satisfaction, it depends on the goal, it really depends on the goal and what it means to the person and how important it is.

00:59:58.355 --> 01:00:05.346
it, and it's, it generally falls back to the why, you know, why, why, why is this important to you?

01:00:05.795 --> 01:00:12.890
Uh, and again, I don't, I don't, I don't ever try to put somebody on the spot or make them uncomfortable, but it's, it's, it's important to me.

01:00:13.360 --> 01:00:17.780
I'm asking that of the person so that they can hear themselves say it.

01:00:18.210 --> 01:00:20.110
It's not because it matters to me.

01:00:20.360 --> 01:00:26.140
It's not going to impact, you know, my life other than it helps inform how I help prepare you.

01:00:26.685 --> 01:00:27.346
you.

01:00:28.076 --> 01:00:33.355
Telling yourself by telling me you hear yourself explain why this is important to you.

01:00:33.355 --> 01:00:47.167
That's enormously reinforcing, you know, that, that ties, all that back together and, and really, speaks to your ego, speaks to your identity, of who you are and what you're capable of.

01:00:47.247 --> 01:00:49.147
And that's super, super important.

01:00:50.299 --> 01:00:51.549
I really appreciate that.

01:00:51.559 --> 01:01:22.105
I think being able to clarify that for oneself, because something, Like this could be quite audacious for somebody who's a beginner and getting into it for the Wrong reasons or let's say getting into it for reasons that are not very clear to oneself Can probably not be as successful in achieving whatever outcome one is hoping for.

01:01:22.485 --> 01:01:29.135
So let's say that we are able to go through that process and we, and then we come up with all of that and whatever the articulation might be.

01:01:30.065 --> 01:01:39.475
One thing about the training, which I think you talked about earlier, which is a little bit maybe different than let's say a road race or a slightly less technical.

01:01:40.780 --> 01:01:45.040
Some of the stuff can, a lot of coaches are able to operate online these days.

01:01:45.373 --> 01:01:54.491
Somebody who is still learning how to navigate, slightly technical trails, much less try to race down them.

01:01:54.991 --> 01:02:01.351
You mentioned earlier, Hey, you would go with me and, you know, you would accompany me until, and help.

01:02:03.371 --> 01:02:09.451
Is your coaching online entirely, or are you also working with people in person?

01:02:09.491 --> 01:02:12.011
And let's say, would you take somebody?

01:02:12.976 --> 01:02:19.113
A remote, client, if they are still learning the technical nuances of the sport.

01:02:20.424 --> 01:02:44.611
what I specialize in and I think I am most valuable to clients is in coaching them through the, the goal development and the, and the training plan, which can almost all be done remotely, the actual skills development, I would recommend finding someone who specializes in that.

01:02:45.081 --> 01:02:50.995
Um, similarly, Without question, this generally will get into the discussion of nutrition.

01:02:52.005 --> 01:03:14.540
Similarly, I would, I would recommend, you know, I can offer you some, some things that I think are important, and some, training, approaches that, you know, providing nutrition and hydration during training and on race day, some things that I think are, are important, but if you're trying to pair this pursuit with losing weight and whatever, you know, I think that's where you want to.

01:03:15.290 --> 01:03:19.370
You want to look for, uh, someone who specializes in that.

01:03:20.060 --> 01:03:32.180
And I know this then starts to unravel into, Hey, I need nine specialized, you know, uh, practitioners to help me with my goal, which really was just about having a good time on a mountain bike.

01:03:32.640 --> 01:03:38.221
That's part of that discovery and exploration again about what it is we're trying to do while we're trying to do it.

01:03:38.260 --> 01:03:43.280
And I want to be clear, I, I don't think I would ever discourage anybody from pursuing it.

01:03:43.610 --> 01:03:45.600
I, what I think we want to do is.

01:03:46.035 --> 01:03:51.555
Is really gauge what it is, and how realistic it is.

01:03:51.846 --> 01:03:58.518
And if, I'm thinking it's maybe not as realistic in the timeline, then I'm going to share that with you.

01:03:58.548 --> 01:04:01.978
And we will talk about maybe modifying the goal in some way.

01:04:02.338 --> 01:04:04.428
You know, maybe you're not doing the a hundred mile race.

01:04:04.428 --> 01:04:09.438
Maybe you do the a hundred K race, or maybe you do the, you know, hour and a half race.

01:04:09.972 --> 01:04:24.582
and something smaller and or maybe you do some type of mountain bike adventure instead of a race, you know, but I mean, it would be again, I don't and I wouldn't even necessarily try to talk you out of anything.

01:04:24.582 --> 01:04:34.125
I think what I would end up doing is, helping lead you to your own discovery of what, what you're capable of on a, on a timeline.

01:04:35.434 --> 01:04:37.764
Yeah, absolutely.

01:04:38.134 --> 01:04:50.384
But again, I want to, um, you know, I want to circle back on the, uh, getting to specialize and having seven people, you know, you can do this with one coach.

01:04:50.674 --> 01:05:10.858
Um, I think if you want to have one coach who is going to take you out, um, And hey, follow me through this line and all that, then you definitely want to find somebody local, like local, local, you know, like probably like within 20 miles or so, I guess that's really my, my only point.

01:05:10.898 --> 01:05:15.808
And there are really, you'd be surprised how many folks really are available.

01:05:16.268 --> 01:05:22.238
Um, it might become frustrating to, you know, do I just Google cycling coach?

01:05:22.821 --> 01:05:39.071
that might be the way to start, but there's generally, uh, there's a network to work within and someone might know somebody and, Hey, I know somebody in San Francisco, or I know somebody that knows somebody in San Francisco, or I know a group that you can reach out to.

01:05:39.504 --> 01:05:45.934
like finding the right specialist for anything, there's, there's some hit and miss along the way.

01:05:45.944 --> 01:06:00.596
And it, and it does take, um, some determined exploration, but this finding somebody that's compatible with you, that, is interested in helping you achieve your goal is, is not an impossible task in itself.

01:06:01.015 --> 01:06:03.065
There, there, there are resources out there.

01:06:03.933 --> 01:06:09.763
Articulating that goal and the reasons, I think it becomes, begins with that step.

01:06:10.163 --> 01:06:13.983
And maybe second is like that bit of, uh, self assessment.

01:06:14.498 --> 01:06:16.848
of what one needs to get to those goals.

01:06:17.498 --> 01:06:26.858
And it could be to reaching out to a remote expert, like yourself, if you, if you happen to be remote, or it could be somebody else more local.

01:06:27.218 --> 01:06:37.168
And I think you're right that, uh, at least close to most urban cities, there are people out there who can help.

01:06:37.218 --> 01:06:52.259
I found This person I was alluding to through, I think it was a Facebook group and there's certainly a bit of trial and error to ultimately find the right partner in one's journey like there is with most endeavors.

01:06:52.844 --> 01:06:55.324
Moving on a little bit, we touched upon nutrition for a second.

01:06:55.324 --> 01:07:02.739
I know, again, that while it's not your specialty, You obviously follow nutritional guidance for yourself.

01:07:03.069 --> 01:07:09.909
So wondering what is your diet, what do you like to fuel yourself with?

01:07:09.909 --> 01:07:14.614
Supplements.

01:07:14.794 --> 01:07:24.400
unless I'm, I think of it maybe with a small d and it, you know, it's, It's my way of eating or my way of fueling.

01:07:24.952 --> 01:07:27.232
I guess I'm a creature of habit.

01:07:27.362 --> 01:07:43.306
Uh, so I generally have, as I mentioned earlier, the, the, the same breakfast almost every morning and then adapt it to, if I have a normal work day, I'll have, you know, This much oatmeal with one or two things on top.

01:07:43.336 --> 01:07:48.166
If I'm Saturday morning and I'm going out on a big ride, I might have this much oatmeal, right?

01:07:48.666 --> 01:07:52.317
You know, or if it's race day, I'm going to add some fats in there or something.

01:07:52.782 --> 01:08:07.574
and then I have almost the same lunch most every day and which is really just a ham sandwich, a bunch of chopped carrots and a small bag of nuts that I prepare, which are.

01:08:07.724 --> 01:08:09.424
almonds and walnuts.

01:08:10.106 --> 01:08:13.996
I generally have a banana in the, about one o'clock in the afternoon.

01:08:15.253 --> 01:08:23.333
then I'm on the trainer usually by four and, uh, or, or on a bike, somewhere by four most work days.

01:08:23.770 --> 01:08:29.341
I'm taking, you know, one of the, uh, powdered, uh, nutrition, fuels.

01:08:29.850 --> 01:08:34.971
Uh, generally I'm a, I'm a liquid fuel only, um, during training and racing.

01:08:35.091 --> 01:08:37.610
Uh, I really don't eat any solid food.

01:08:38.092 --> 01:08:39.082
everybody's a little different.

01:08:39.422 --> 01:08:53.113
but I would generally recommend pushing people towards that methodology, um, if possible, if they can, if they can, uh, train themselves to, to go liquid only during long events.

01:08:53.652 --> 01:08:55.021
There, there's many benefits to it.

01:08:55.712 --> 01:08:56.301
that's about it.

01:08:56.301 --> 01:08:58.042
I don't, uh, I don't need a lot of sweets.

01:08:59.006 --> 01:08:59.447
Pardon?

01:09:01.279 --> 01:09:05.128
I do, you know, um, I don't talk about this much to a lot of people, but I do, uh,

01:09:05.493 --> 01:09:06.594
collagen, uh, I think at

01:09:06.649 --> 01:09:09.059
yeah, yeah, so I take, I take collagen.

01:09:09.069 --> 01:09:18.415
This was kind of, you know, I don't know if it's, uh, uh, a placebo or not, but I'm telling you, it, uh, my shoulders feel better.

01:09:18.900 --> 01:09:26.398
I think a lot of cyclists, not just mountain bikers, a lot of cyclists struggle with shoulder health of all things.

01:09:26.398 --> 01:09:31.058
You wouldn't think it, but a lot of it just has your body position.

01:09:31.068 --> 01:09:32.238
You put a lot of weight.

01:09:32.753 --> 01:09:38.173
Uh, uh, through transfers of your torso through your shoulder, in mountain biking.

01:09:38.173 --> 01:09:41.413
Of course, there's a lot of vibration and a lot of control.

01:09:41.413 --> 01:09:42.973
And so some people struggle with wrists.

01:09:43.843 --> 01:09:46.153
I generally struggle with, with shoulders.

01:09:46.506 --> 01:09:54.793
I've had a few shoulder injuries as a result of crashes and all that, um, tears and all that, I find that the, uh, the collagen.

01:09:55.348 --> 01:09:59.588
relieves a lot of, it's not so much pain relief.

01:09:59.588 --> 01:10:08.658
It's just kind of, I feel more flexible and, and it maybe took 30 days or so, but this has been about two years that I've been doing this.

01:10:08.678 --> 01:10:10.388
It's just one little scoop every day.

01:10:10.678 --> 01:10:36.611
other supplements is I do, I do subscribe to, it's called Thorne, T H O R N E, and it's a, uh, it's a daily vitamin regimen where it's, it's two, two, two capsules, three capsules in the morning and three capsules in the evening, and evening one has a little bit of melatonin in it, you know, to kind aid with sleep, but it's, uh, thorn research I think is the, the product.

01:10:37.458 --> 01:10:44.358
again, I get that through subscription through Amazon and it's, it's one of those things I do without, I'm kind of mindless about it.

01:10:44.358 --> 01:10:45.358
I don't even think about it.

01:10:45.838 --> 01:10:46.808
Is it, is it worth it?

01:10:46.808 --> 01:10:47.458
Is it not worth it?

01:10:47.858 --> 01:10:48.198
I don't know.

01:10:48.198 --> 01:10:48.798
I just do it.

01:10:49.165 --> 01:10:52.525
I think the times I've missed it, I've not felt myself.

01:10:52.525 --> 01:10:56.205
So I just continue to do it and the cost is not prohibitive.

01:10:56.798 --> 01:11:06.509
I think it's about 60 a month and saying that out loud does sound expensive, but, but I, I just becomes absorbed into my monthly expenses.

01:11:07.153 --> 01:11:12.193
and I, I've been taking that for, since I think 2018 or 19.

01:11:12.504 --> 01:11:15.584
And then dinner is usually pretty, pretty modest.

01:11:15.584 --> 01:11:24.625
It's usually, uh, some type of, uh, chicken or pork and, a vegetable and then a starch like rice.

01:11:24.895 --> 01:11:28.405
Uh, and so, yeah, a lot of rice, a lot of vegetables.

01:11:28.950 --> 01:11:31.410
a lot of chicken, a lot of pork, not so much red meat.

01:11:31.831 --> 01:11:34.961
not a lot of sauces, things like that.

01:11:35.406 --> 01:11:41.606
I'll steal a french fry from my wife now and then, but generally I'm not eating, you know, a bag of french fries.

01:11:42.430 --> 01:11:47.285
I'll have a flat pizza now and then, but I'm not a You know, a big pizza eater.

01:11:47.651 --> 01:11:57.908
I have not been in a Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, or anything like that in at least 10 years, I did end up going through an Arby's about a year ago.

01:11:59.458 --> 01:12:02.898
And it was not a good, I just felt horrible afterwards.

01:12:02.898 --> 01:12:38.788
And I think it's just, uh, it's not necessarily a, like a, uh, Uh, a choice of good, bad, uh, it's just something I decided I, I didn't need or want anymore in my life, so I don't, you know, I, preparing my meals takes a little extra time, but it, I think it's well worth it, and I try to, try to eat as clean as possible, I just feel, feel better doing it that way, but I'm curious, is there an aspect of my diet that you're, uh, that I, that I've left out?

01:12:40.140 --> 01:12:41.250
think is the other big thing.

01:12:41.330 --> 01:12:47.473
Um, a lot, a lot of water, a lot of water, so pretty much as much as I can.

01:12:48.098 --> 01:12:48.698
Get in me.

01:12:48.988 --> 01:12:54.428
Um, so I have a water bottle within arm's reach 24 seven.

01:12:55.322 --> 01:12:57.562
I love drinking water all the time.

01:12:58.702 --> 01:12:59.032
And.

01:12:59.947 --> 01:13:01.907
About preparing one's own meals.

01:13:01.947 --> 01:13:06.327
Yeah, I think I also do a lot of that and it's not because there is somebody telling me to do that.

01:13:06.357 --> 01:13:10.087
I think I just feel more, more in control.

01:13:10.427 --> 01:13:17.720
And I also feel that if I eat a greasy meal late at night, I just feel awful after that.

01:13:17.750 --> 01:13:19.680
So I think a lot of it is just me

01:13:20.055 --> 01:13:22.735
Let me, let me riff off that point about control in that.

01:13:22.785 --> 01:13:31.020
I think it really, it's reducing anxiety or reducing risk, uh, more than necessarily for me being in control.

01:13:31.440 --> 01:13:35.280
It's if, for example, if I went to work without a lunch.

01:13:36.660 --> 01:13:40.590
you know, in the morning, like hoping that I would find lunch somewhere.

01:13:40.620 --> 01:13:48.480
Now I've added a task, you know, I've added this, I must go hunt and, and find, you know, something to eat.

01:13:48.950 --> 01:13:56.680
And so not only do I have to find something to eat, but I have to find something to eat that fits within what, now I have to think about what I want.

01:13:56.980 --> 01:14:00.630
And so it adds a whole lot of stress and anxiety.

01:14:00.630 --> 01:14:06.020
And just the thinking about having to do that is it's going to enter my thoughts.

01:14:06.950 --> 01:14:09.970
And every meeting I have from eight o'clock until noon.

01:14:10.570 --> 01:14:13.800
So I'm going to be thinking about where's my next meal coming from.

01:14:14.200 --> 01:14:16.350
And I know where my next meal is coming from.

01:14:16.350 --> 01:14:17.160
It's in my lunch bag.

01:14:17.160 --> 01:14:17.580
It's on my desk.

01:14:18.398 --> 01:14:19.848
I think it reduces.

01:14:20.558 --> 01:14:23.178
Anxiety and stress to prepare your own.

01:14:23.735 --> 01:14:24.135
I agree.

01:14:24.145 --> 01:14:29.695
Some people would call that predictability boring.

01:14:29.965 --> 01:14:32.365
I find that reassuring.

01:14:32.890 --> 01:14:34.600
Ah, comforting.

01:14:34.600 --> 01:14:35.485
Yeah.

01:14:35.545 --> 01:14:35.975
Absolutely.

01:14:36.535 --> 01:14:42.285
Um, quickly, just changing topics, mobility and cross training.

01:14:42.965 --> 01:14:51.600
I find as, as many others, as we get older, our body changes and We have to train and listen to by differently.

01:14:51.950 --> 01:14:56.910
Any kind of mobility and bodywork practices that you have embraced, you have changed.

01:14:57.429 --> 01:14:58.319
It could be foam rolling.

01:14:58.319 --> 01:14:59.649
It could be stretching.

01:14:59.649 --> 01:15:00.499
It could be yoga.

01:15:00.539 --> 01:15:01.489
It could be lifting weights.

01:15:01.649 --> 01:15:06.729
What do you do Matt to keep yourself in shape when you are on the bicycle?

01:15:08.209 --> 01:15:09.649
I do lift regularly.

01:15:09.919 --> 01:15:13.359
I lift usually at least once if not twice a week.

01:15:13.979 --> 01:15:16.339
And that's primarily lower body.

01:15:17.259 --> 01:15:18.299
Squats and deadlifts,

01:15:19.247 --> 01:15:20.957
Do you go heavy, heavy weights?

01:15:22.097 --> 01:15:25.767
Do you go for like, you know, the whole push, pull, hinge, uh, spectrum?

01:15:25.977 --> 01:15:53.486
Uh, uh, I'm not working upper, you know, I will tell you, you know, publicly, I don't do upper body, but I do, I do now and then, you know, uh, do a set of curls or, uh, you know, a little, uh, I'll put, I'll pull the bench press out, you know, uh, cause I have, I've set up a little gym in the basement, but generally it really is on, uh, the, the weight, the strength training, I will call it that is.

01:15:54.781 --> 01:15:56.661
I have a couple different workouts that I do.

01:15:56.661 --> 01:15:58.741
It's, I have like an A workout and a B workout, right?

01:15:59.031 --> 01:16:03.501
And so in the A1 it's, uh, it's deadlift and lunges.

01:16:04.381 --> 01:16:06.431
a little bit of pushups and things like that.

01:16:06.431 --> 01:16:09.991
But, and then the B1 is, is, is squats with the lunges again.

01:16:10.521 --> 01:16:16.811
Um, I'm not doing what I probably should be doing some, some jumping, you know, box jumps, things like that.

01:16:17.231 --> 01:16:22.941
I do recognize that that probably should be in my routine, but I really do have low ceilings in my basement.

01:16:23.361 --> 01:16:26.481
So I don't want, I don't want to, you know, experiment with that.

01:16:27.160 --> 01:16:27.950
I probably should.

01:16:28.372 --> 01:16:31.082
you know, it's probably a gap or a blind spot for me.

01:16:31.338 --> 01:16:35.758
the other thing that I think, uh, I'm a, I'm an advocate of is walking.

01:16:36.398 --> 01:16:46.573
And, uh, this really has to do with, using the muscles and connective tissue in your legs that you don't frequently use when cycling.

01:16:47.313 --> 01:17:03.090
So if you're not going to be walking as part of your job, and, and I generally work in an office environment and I don't walk as off as much as say, like my wife, who's a teacher, who's constantly walking, I have to do it, uh, like deliberately.

01:17:03.340 --> 01:17:03.790
So.

01:17:04.180 --> 01:17:09.870
My rest day, you know, my religious rest day is, is generally Mondays.

01:17:10.190 --> 01:17:14.590
And what I'll often do is cheat my rest day by walking.

01:17:14.850 --> 01:17:20.270
So I'll go on like a, uh, you know, like a 5k walk around the neighborhood or something like that.

01:17:20.580 --> 01:17:21.820
And I find that that.

01:17:22.276 --> 01:17:26.054
really supplements the cycling work really well.

01:17:26.444 --> 01:17:43.725
And in fact, for, for the folks I coach, I do put that in during the last two weeks before a race, to do some walking, because inevitably in mountain biking, there is what we call hike a bike, where the course just gets too steep to pedal efficiently.

01:17:44.055 --> 01:17:50.855
And you are going to move your bike faster across this terrain by walking it than attempting to pedal it.

01:17:52.115 --> 01:18:05.175
And so, um, whether that be picking it up or pushing it or whatever, uh, you're going to get it from A to B faster by walking it than you are by pedaling, stopping, getting back on, getting back off, uh, and all that.

01:18:05.735 --> 01:18:21.683
So in the hamstrings, and, uh, again, all that connective tissue around your knee, doing some walking, and ideally on trail, because that's, that's really good for, developing all that connective tissue around your knees and hips and ankles.

01:18:22.093 --> 01:18:33.807
Um, but if you can't around the sidewalk where I live, which are just as uneven as any other trail, is as valuable for you, you know, as, as possible.

01:18:33.977 --> 01:18:35.607
Walking on hiking on a trail.

01:18:36.227 --> 01:18:39.377
So yeah, I think walking is super important again.

01:18:39.727 --> 01:18:42.087
It's something that I integrate.

01:18:42.087 --> 01:18:45.598
It's something I prescribe For the folks that can do it now.

01:18:45.598 --> 01:18:49.506
I do have clients that have you know, lower back trouble and whatever.

01:18:49.506 --> 01:18:52.356
And they're like, eh, you know, walking, it just irritates my back.

01:18:52.986 --> 01:18:54.456
And I'm like, cycling doesn't like, no.

01:18:54.456 --> 01:18:55.116
And I'm like, okay.

01:18:55.403 --> 01:19:00.953
if they don't want to do it, if they don't, if they can't see themselves doing it, then, then, we would work around that somehow.

01:19:01.341 --> 01:19:06.061
What about mobility and massage and I asked it because

01:19:06.531 --> 01:19:06.551
Yeah,

01:19:07.171 --> 01:19:09.801
I mean, you know, you were in that position

01:19:09.961 --> 01:19:10.351
I know.

01:19:10.761 --> 01:19:17.243
so there's a lot of people that swear by stretching, you know, now I don't stretch.

01:19:17.573 --> 01:19:22.133
Um, you know, there, I guess if I'm feeling tight, I'll stretch.

01:19:22.163 --> 01:19:25.483
I used to have a lot of problem with like a sciatica.

01:19:26.043 --> 01:19:38.648
And so I did this, you know, um, What do you, leg over leg, and then you hamstring stretch, and you would, you would, if you had it in your right, you would put your left over your right and stretch, and that would stretch out the, that lower right part.

01:19:38.968 --> 01:19:42.568
And I used to struggle with that, but for some reason I don't have that problem anymore.

01:19:42.568 --> 01:19:48.278
Maybe it's the collagen, I don't know, but, but for whatever reason, I don't, I don't have that sciatic pain anymore.

01:19:48.328 --> 01:19:54.578
You know what I do, uh, and I should have mentioned this earlier, is I do a two minute plank every other day.

01:19:55.178 --> 01:20:04.967
So this, this is, One of those, uh, habit stacking things that I have, is part of my getting ready for bed every other day as I do a two minute plank.

01:20:05.357 --> 01:20:11.827
So I think that has probably helped to some degree, uh, that lower back and core.

01:20:12.337 --> 01:20:14.887
Um, and I don't, why two minutes?

01:20:14.977 --> 01:20:15.807
Why every other day?

01:20:15.867 --> 01:20:16.227
I don't know.

01:20:16.227 --> 01:20:16.547
It's just.

01:20:16.877 --> 01:20:23.987
The habit I've fallen into and it seems to be sufficient more, probably better, less might be better.

01:20:23.997 --> 01:20:24.547
I don't know.

01:20:25.276 --> 01:20:26.026
It's what I do.

01:20:26.504 --> 01:20:28.794
but yeah, stretching not so much.

01:20:28.864 --> 01:20:42.414
Um, when I had real bad shoulder problems, I used to do hangs from a pull up bar and installed a pull up bar in the rafters in my basement and would do, you know, a couple of 32nd hangs off of that.

01:20:42.544 --> 01:21:21.024
And, um, Would offer relief, but all it's really doing is pulling your shoulder joint a point, you know Part pulls the humerus away, you know, and so the relief is temporary And you know eventually it kind of settles back in and would be a problem because there's I have like a lot of people I have a little osteoarthritis developing on the ball the human So that nips away at the cartilage in there and, again, that just might, I don't, I don't know what the relationship is between the collagen and that not hanging anymore, but I don't hang much anymore, but it was stressful yoga and on my, my daughter's worried about yoga.

01:21:21.044 --> 01:21:23.444
I have done it with her a couple of times.

01:21:24.044 --> 01:21:30.042
it was enjoyable, it's a, for me, it's a time sink and, you know, that's something that's, that's time I could be sleeping.

01:21:30.720 --> 01:21:34.930
sleeping, I think is for me more important than that.

01:21:35.100 --> 01:21:44.955
I think sleep is the X factor that is often overlooked in any training plan, because you get stronger during your recovery, right?

01:21:44.955 --> 01:21:45.905
Not during your training.

01:21:46.355 --> 01:21:49.255
And the, the best way to recover is to sleep.

01:21:49.634 --> 01:21:50.894
There's no substitute for

01:21:51.561 --> 01:21:54.627
Sleep certainlyy is often ignored

01:21:55.307 --> 01:21:55.357
Sure.

01:21:55.647 --> 01:21:57.857
Yeah, yeah.

01:21:58.302 --> 01:22:14.504
just, just some final questions as we wrap up here, you know, you have raced competitively for many years, done many kinds of races, any big goal that you have coming up that, uh, you are fired up about?

01:22:15.009 --> 01:22:16.739
The answer to that was, should be.

01:22:16.769 --> 01:22:17.709
Yes, of course.

01:22:17.709 --> 01:22:19.659
I have, you know, this is my A race.

01:22:20.189 --> 01:22:25.224
So, I think the approach in putting together this year's schedule is always A race.

01:22:25.954 --> 01:22:29.144
You know, earlier you asked, what keeps you motivated?

01:22:29.144 --> 01:22:30.114
Why do you keep coming back?

01:22:30.344 --> 01:22:34.864
Why, um, and I was asking myself a lot of the same questions.

01:22:34.884 --> 01:22:40.554
So I talked about it with my wife and do I really want to pursue this race series year after year after year?

01:22:40.554 --> 01:22:48.064
What, what I've got, you know, for example, I don't know if you can see, I've got these three growlers right here.

01:22:48.064 --> 01:22:50.154
They're from a mountain bike race in Ohio.

01:22:50.514 --> 01:22:53.904
That, um, that I did the mount, the Mohican 100.

01:22:54.114 --> 01:22:56.034
I'm like, do I need a fourth growler?

01:22:56.154 --> 01:22:57.324
I don't, I don't know.

01:22:57.324 --> 01:22:59.274
Maybe I don't need a fourth one.

01:22:59.364 --> 01:23:03.794
You know, I've, I've, I've done that race like, seven times.

01:23:03.799 --> 01:23:06.374
When you do the a hundred mile version, you get the growler.

01:23:06.379 --> 01:23:08.204
When you do the a hundred K version, you get the pike glass.

01:23:08.234 --> 01:23:10.204
I got cupboards full of paint glasses.

01:23:10.534 --> 01:23:12.834
Uh, you know, do I need that?

01:23:14.124 --> 01:23:14.954
that reward.

01:23:15.074 --> 01:23:17.814
And I, you know, decided, no, I don't need that reward.

01:23:18.074 --> 01:23:19.294
Well, what reward do I need?

01:23:19.414 --> 01:23:21.664
Uh, I want to add some new experiences.

01:23:22.414 --> 01:23:29.017
So this year, I'm doing a race, in Butte, Montana that I've not done before, mountain bike race.

01:23:29.371 --> 01:23:33.003
the long race is the Butte 100, it's a hundred mile mountain bike race.

01:23:33.093 --> 01:23:35.563
the marathon version is the 50 miler.

01:23:35.563 --> 01:23:37.463
I'm going to do the 50 miler this year.

01:23:38.193 --> 01:23:44.493
And if everything goes wonderfully, then maybe I'll pursue the 100 miler next year.

01:23:44.493 --> 01:23:46.833
Again, this goes back to the, Hey, what is your goal?

01:23:46.833 --> 01:23:48.813
And what might be a stretch goal a year from now?

01:23:49.565 --> 01:23:52.835
I'm going to do the, the Butte 50 this year.

01:23:53.025 --> 01:23:55.125
Uh, that's in July.

01:23:55.550 --> 01:24:21.147
That's probably my, the one that I'm anticipating the most and the one that really kind of geeks me out and, um, you know, watching all the YouTube videos and learning as much as I can about the other one is, our, I don't want to say local, our regional big meeting of the tribal, you know, of the group of, uh, of our people.

01:24:21.217 --> 01:24:23.207
It's called the Shenandoah mountain 100.

01:24:23.987 --> 01:24:32.017
It's in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and it, it draws folks in from probably 20 or more states.

01:24:32.174 --> 01:24:37.541
for years and years and years, it really became a, a destination mountain bike event.

01:24:38.131 --> 01:24:42.603
And it's, it's one of those that has, stood the test of time.

01:24:42.603 --> 01:24:47.231
I think it's the 24th or 25th, running of it this year.

01:24:47.490 --> 01:24:49.700
In fact, this is the shirt, the Shenandoah Mountain 100.

01:24:50.029 --> 01:24:52.009
It's just one of those I have to do.

01:24:52.059 --> 01:24:53.389
It's, it's important.

01:24:53.469 --> 01:24:55.369
It's, it's important to our community.

01:24:55.369 --> 01:24:57.105
It's just, it's part of my identity.

01:24:57.145 --> 01:24:59.245
This is what I do every Labor Day weekend.

01:24:59.285 --> 01:25:00.575
I go to the Shenandoah Mountain 100.

01:25:00.975 --> 01:25:06.875
It's, it's again, it's the, it's, um, it's the gathering of our people.

01:25:08.099 --> 01:25:10.959
so those are the two big ones, Butte 50 and the Shenandoah Mountain one.

01:25:11.670 --> 01:25:13.750
Yes, I get geeked out thinking about both of them.

01:25:15.970 --> 01:25:27.960
Many people for their annual, uh, holiday weekend, go to a cabin by the lake, you know, and, uh, maybe go for a hike, but you are going to do this a hundred K year after year.

01:25:28.320 --> 01:25:30.910
That is certainly inspiring

01:25:31.315 --> 01:25:31.835
Yeah.

01:25:32.474 --> 01:25:42.744
couple of fun, final questions before we wrap it up, any habits or routines in the last say five years that have had.

01:25:43.539 --> 01:25:46.899
The most impact on your life.

01:25:47.104 --> 01:25:48.874
it's probably been longer than five years.

01:25:48.874 --> 01:26:00.667
It's probably been 10 years or so, but I think, using a calendar sounds so old school, but it's for me, it is extraordinarily helpful.

01:26:00.894 --> 01:26:06.114
the calendar I use is not the Google calendar or whatever is I use training peaks.

01:26:06.274 --> 01:26:10.284
It's a software where you plan out your workouts.

01:26:11.074 --> 01:26:11.604
So.

01:26:12.064 --> 01:26:16.634
And you, you, you lay out your, your training plan over a calendar.

01:26:17.175 --> 01:26:28.870
And it's also the, the software platform that's used for, selling training plans as well as, um, developing them and executing them.

01:26:28.880 --> 01:26:32.200
You know, when you complete the workout, the box turns green.

01:26:32.290 --> 01:26:35.640
And if you, if you complete the workout, partially it turns yellow.

01:26:35.640 --> 01:26:38.620
If you don't do the workout, it turns red, you know, okay.

01:26:39.020 --> 01:26:39.360
But.

01:26:39.635 --> 01:26:43.605
I end up using that TrainingPeaks software as my calendar.

01:26:44.155 --> 01:26:50.265
So, so like I put our appointment today on my TrainingPeaks calendar.

01:26:50.625 --> 01:26:55.085
So essentially this meeting is part of my training plan.

01:26:55.679 --> 01:27:00.269
my doctor's appointments are part of my training plan.

01:27:00.869 --> 01:27:08.839
My commitments to go to my wife's concerts as a music teacher, a part of my training plan.

01:27:09.349 --> 01:27:22.719
And so training plan is really just a different word for my life schedule and it all becomes this interconnected thing.

01:27:23.153 --> 01:27:37.652
and I just happen to use training peaks as my calendar, but it's, it helps me integrate, and align and prioritize all the things that I want to include in my life.

01:27:38.089 --> 01:27:50.239
It is love and the devotion to your sport, where your default is not, let's say your regular calendar and the training layered on it's the other way around, perhaps

01:27:50.944 --> 01:27:51.794
Yeah, it is.

01:27:51.799 --> 01:27:52.079
very

01:27:52.564 --> 01:27:54.584
So it's, It's.

01:27:54.954 --> 01:28:02.469
it's, weird because at work, you know, you're, beholden to your Outlook calendar, you know, or whether it or Google calendar, whatever.

01:28:02.856 --> 01:28:05.316
I'll have to bring up on another screen.

01:28:05.696 --> 01:28:08.616
I have to have my Training Peaks calendar because that's, that's, you know.

01:28:09.046 --> 01:28:12.456
That's the no kidding ground truth calendar that runs my life.

01:28:12.793 --> 01:28:32.243
no, I don't put my work appointment, my work day appointments, you know, on my training peaks calendar, but when I need to know, will I be in town that day or is, you know, am I taking that Friday off to travel, I consult my training peaks calendar and then trans that's again, that's the ground truth.

01:28:32.693 --> 01:28:38.643
And then transfer that onto my work Outlook calendar to share with, you know, my colleagues or whatever.

01:28:39.549 --> 01:28:45.719
Does the calendar also integrate with, let's say your, your training devices,

01:28:45.974 --> 01:28:46.484
Yes.

01:28:46.874 --> 01:28:47.454
Yes.

01:28:47.864 --> 01:28:48.194
Yeah.

01:28:48.274 --> 01:29:00.884
As well as, um, Whoop, uh, Garmin, Whoop, Fitbit, all the, you know, I stand on the Fitbit scale every morning and it beams my weight up to the training peaks.

01:29:01.374 --> 01:29:17.570
Um, yeah, it's all those interconnected Internet of Things, are then captured and cataloged and archived and researchable and studyable, you know, in training.

01:29:18.007 --> 01:29:43.114
In some ways, I learnt so much in this conversation, but in some ways, this might be like a top three, uh, knowledge nugget, which is honestly like, fundamentally focus on what's important and if this is indeed that important, make sure that that is the bottom layer over which other things should, uh, stack up on and Matt, maybe just one final question.

01:29:43.114 --> 01:29:43.144
Okay.

01:29:44.179 --> 01:30:01.389
I don't know how you devour, uh, your inspiration if it's, uh, from, from other sources, maybe you see, see movies or you read books, but is there any other, any, any good movie or a good book that you, uh, consumed recently that you would recommend?

01:30:01.579 --> 01:30:09.229
when I have free time, let's, um, between coaching sessions or like, you know, I had about a half an hour before we got on today.

01:30:09.819 --> 01:30:11.409
I find myself on YouTube.

01:30:11.779 --> 01:30:17.179
Um, and of course, so YouTube has its algorithms that present to you with.

01:30:17.565 --> 01:30:19.995
What it thinks you think are important in your life.

01:30:20.295 --> 01:30:39.135
And so generally my YouTube, uh, feed is cycling stuff, uh, pro football, maybe some watches, you know, these, these kind of parts of, you know, my curiosities, you know, um, uh, so I do end up spending a lot of time.

01:30:39.520 --> 01:30:49.356
Uh, watching YouTube videos, which on cycling, which are half research, half entertainment, half learning.

01:30:49.879 --> 01:31:00.319
there's what I would turn people on to a few cycling podcasts that I find especially valuable if, if, uh, if you, if you're open to

01:31:00.429 --> 01:31:00.809
Sure.

01:31:00.839 --> 01:31:01.459
Please mention them

01:31:01.509 --> 01:31:01.989
Okay.

01:31:02.749 --> 01:31:15.959
So, uh, there's a, an endurance cyclist named Dylan Johnson who does, uh, science based, uh, training and, uh, he's a fascinating, uh, guy.

01:31:15.959 --> 01:31:17.479
He grew up in the D.

01:31:17.479 --> 01:31:17.669
C.

01:31:17.669 --> 01:31:20.499
metro area and now lives in, in Western North Carolina.

01:31:20.849 --> 01:31:25.509
He's a really incredible, uh, mountain bike and gravel racer.

01:31:25.894 --> 01:31:28.404
That has some really cool content.

01:31:28.474 --> 01:31:29.954
I recommend his podcast.

01:31:30.124 --> 01:31:32.644
Um, I'm a dedicated subscriber to that.

01:31:33.404 --> 01:31:48.273
One that I've recently, uh, discovered in the only spoken, I don't really don't have much of a relationship, uh, with the guy, but it, it, he, I find him inspiring is a podcast called the stable cyclist.

01:31:48.638 --> 01:31:48.828
S.

01:31:48.828 --> 01:31:49.078
T.

01:31:49.078 --> 01:31:49.168
A.

01:31:49.198 --> 01:31:49.448
B.

01:31:49.488 --> 01:31:49.738
L.

01:31:49.758 --> 01:31:50.048
E.

01:31:50.478 --> 01:31:58.362
And it is, the topic really is, uh, an intersection of mental health and cycling.

01:31:58.813 --> 01:32:09.579
I think for many of us, especially since COVID, we're learning a lot about ourselves and our mental health, that we hadn't really explored before.

01:32:10.199 --> 01:32:11.609
I think that's.

01:32:11.809 --> 01:32:22.128
It's an area where we have a lot to learn and I think we have a lot to, a lot to learn and then adopt,

01:32:23.157 --> 01:32:23.607
Wonderful.

01:32:23.607 --> 01:32:24.007
Yes.

01:32:24.067 --> 01:32:28.317
Mental health is often not given enough attention.

01:32:30.014 --> 01:32:37.204
And talking of YouTube, uh, we are also launching a YouTube channel adjacent to this podcast.

01:32:37.424 --> 01:32:46.454
So, uh, we'll hopefully have this, uh, this delightful, uh, conversation with you up on YouTube as well.

01:32:46.944 --> 01:32:49.964
It's been wonderful to have you on the show.

01:32:50.094 --> 01:32:53.429
Thank you for sharing so much with, us today.

01:32:54.486 --> 01:32:55.016
You're welcome.

01:32:55.726 --> 01:32:57.136
I've really enjoyed it.

01:32:57.136 --> 01:33:06.738
It's, I think, uh, I probably benefited as, as much as, uh, anybody else's and, anybody that, gets something valuable out of this, I'm glad I could help you.

01:33:07.198 --> 01:33:09.048
Thank you so much for coming on.

01:33:09.088 --> 01:33:11.185
Have a lovely, uh, evening.

01:33:15.813 --> 01:33:19.773
What an incredibly inspiring chat with Matt Eggleston.

01:33:20.943 --> 01:33:27.123
At 59 and not starting mountain biking until his forties, Matt embodies the ageless athlete.

01:33:27.603 --> 01:33:32.433
Which is fired up energy and his consistency in sending it harder than ever.

01:33:33.453 --> 01:33:34.623
Throughout our talk.

01:33:34.923 --> 01:33:42.933
Matt do from his military discipline to drop wisdom on the mindset, training and habits for achieving mastery lead real life.

01:33:43.593 --> 01:33:50.493
We tap into his knowledge and workout regimens, habit, stacking, and cultivating an appreciation for the outdoors.

01:33:50.793 --> 01:33:53.163
With each heart, one ride.

01:33:54.183 --> 01:33:58.353
I hope Matt ability to laugh in the face of perceived limitations.

01:33:58.623 --> 01:34:02.283
Motivated you to get out there and pursue your wildest dreams.

01:34:02.613 --> 01:34:04.653
No matter your age or stage.

01:34:05.193 --> 01:34:08.943
The greatest adventures await by taking the first step.

01:34:09.813 --> 01:34:10.113
Huge.

01:34:10.143 --> 01:34:13.803
Thanks to Matt for these inspirational truth bombs.

01:34:14.433 --> 01:34:17.283
Let's chase our passions with the same zest.

01:34:17.673 --> 01:34:18.423
For living fully.

01:34:19.173 --> 01:34:24.243
Finally, if you enjoyed this episode, I would so appreciate if you would subscribe.

01:34:25.083 --> 01:34:25.383
And.

01:34:26.085 --> 01:34:32.325
I will continue to keep delivering more incredible stories of age to find our athletes.

01:34:32.985 --> 01:34:33.915
I'll do the next time.

01:34:33.945 --> 01:34:34.725
My friends.

01:34:35.685 --> 01:34:37.755
Get outside, stay adventurous.

01:34:38.415 --> 01:34:39.315
State ageless.