Professional mountain biker Payson McElveen sits down with some of the biggest names in sports and adventure to get an inside look at what sets them apart. With no script, the casual conversations are as diverse as the guests, with topics ranging from harrowing tales of survival, to debates on current events, to everyday tips and tricks and everything in between. As Payson travels the world for his two-wheeled day job, listen in as he rubs shoulders with and learns from some of the most inspiring athletes, entrepreneurs, academics, and others as they chase and inspire greatness.
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Remi Gauvin, enduro racer
Remi Gauvin is a professional enduro racer from Squamish, BC who has made numerous podiums and top ten Overall Series finishes in the Enduro World Series. In this conversation, Remi talks about how riding dirt jumps in Jordie Lunn's backyard as a kid fueled his passion for cycling. He talks about finding early success as a downhill racer and working on an oil rig to support his cycling career, at one point working 56 days in a row on night shifts in temperatures around -30ºC. He talks about why he transitioned to enduro, the different skillset required for downhill, and what it’s like dating a fellow pro racer (2017 Downhill World Champion, Miranda Miller). He also talks about his tips for fast descending and the Youtube channel he created with Miller and teammate Jesse Melamed to highlight the community and skill-building of pro riding. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Jesse Melamed, enduro racer
Jesse Melamed is an enduro mountain bike racer who is currently ranked #3 in the world for that discipline. In this conversation, he talks about growing up in Whistler, BC, his love of skiing, and his relationship with his teammate and competitor, Remi Gauvin. He talks about the mixed response he received from fans and sponsors when he won the 2020 Enduro World Series which had several notable absences from riders due to the pandemic. He also talks about why big miles on the road is the best form of training, why filming and editing his own content has remained a priority in spite of a busy race schedule, and the bike touring trip he took from Texas to Louisiana this winter.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Lance Haidet, professional road and cyclocross racer
Lance Haidet is a professional road and cyclocross racer who currently rides for L39ion of LosAngeles. In this interview, he tells Payson about racing mountain bikes as a teenager in Bend, OR and going on to win U23 Road Nationals for Aevolo under the leadership of Mike Creed. He talks about why he's decided to jump into the gravel racing scene for the 2022 season with the Lifetime Grand Pre, and how he juggles multiple disciplines while getting an engineering degree at CalPoly. He also tells Payson about why he decided to join L39ion in 2020, what he thinks of the backlash the team receives, and how they've changed road cycling in the US. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Sam Pickman, Director of Product and Engineering at Allied Cycleworks
Sam Pickman worked as an engineer for Specialized for 11 years before joining Allied Cycleworks in 2016. As one of the brand’s first employees, he has been instrumental in developing their unique designs and manufacturing process. In this interview, he tells Payson why he chose to move his family from the Bay Area to northwest Arkansas to work for an as yet unproven brand. He talks about why Allied’s “made here” ethos creates a higher performance product: by designing and manufacturing all their bikes and components under the same roof, they’re able to explore and test more innovative designs than a brand that outsources their manufacturing to other factories. He talks about his own creative process, how some of Allied’s most successful designs were developed, and goes through the steps of how a bike is made. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Marley Blonsky, co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes
Marley Blonsky is the co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes, an organization that seeks to make the cycling community more size inclusive. In this conversation, Marley talks about the longtime lack of inclusive sizing in cycling, from clothing options to equipment, why she recently decided to leave her job in corporate America to move to focus on growing her role in the cycling community, and why she views the word "fat" as neutral rather than derogatory. She also talks about ignoring criticism in favor of positivity, her program sponsoring non-traditional athletes to race at SBT GRVL, and her new database matching companies to plus size gear testers around the world. Links to topics mentioned in the episode:All Bodies on Bikes Resources All Bodies on Bikes + SBT GRVLAll Bodies on Bikes Film Plus Size Wear Testing DatabaseMarley's former careerInstagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Cam Wurf, WorldTour cyclist and Ironman triathlete for Ineos-Grenadiers
Cam Wurf started his athletic career in rowing, where he represented Australia at the 2004 Olympics, and went on to compete in road cycling for WorldTour teams including Cannondale-Liquigas. After retiring from the sport in 2015, he started racing triathlons, attaining 5th at the World Championship in 2019, and setting a World Record for the bike leg of the race. In 2020, he was lured back in to professional cycling at the highest level when Ineos Grenadiers came calling. He now leads an unprecedented dual career as a WorldTour cyclist and Ironman triathlete. In this conversation, Cam talks about why he's never wanted to be defined by one sport, the training camp with Chris Froome that brought him out of retirement, and why he isn't afraid to call himself "the original ruiner of gravel." Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Gretchen Reeves, former professional cyclist and CPA on managing finances as an athlete
Since leaving her career as a professional cross country mountain bike racer, Gretchen Reeves has worked as an accountant for athletes and self-employed people from the outdoor industry. In this interview, she offers some financial best practices for athletes just starting out, those who are already established pros, and anyone who wants to get more value out of their income. She talks about the ways self-employed people often overlook significant deductibles, how to set yourself up for a comfortable retirement, and mistakes she often sees people make in their financial planning. She also tells Payson about her career racing for Tokyo Joe's in the late 90s and early 2000s and her subsequent adventure racing career, which included the 2020 Eco-Challenge in Fiji. She talks about what it was like being on camera for the race, which was hosted by Bear Grylls and streamed on Amazon Prime.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Ashton Lambie, track world record holder and gravel racer
In 2021, Ashton Lambie became the first person in history to ride 4000m in under four minutes. He completed the distance in 3:59.93, surpassing the previous record held by Filippo Ganna, the current time trial world champion. This was Ashton's third time to break the world record, which he had first held in 2018. He went on to win the individual pursuit at the Track World Championships two months later. Given this history, it is perhaps surprising that Ashton grew up racing gravel in Nebraska before discovering his talent for track racing. In this interview, Ashton tells Payson about his history in gravel and decision to break the four minute barrier on the track. He tries to explain the specific pain that a rider experiences at that speed, and the bike setup that allowed him to average 62km per hour (38.5mph). They also talk about his complicated relationship with gravel's competitive trajectory, and why he's decided to race the Grand Prix after spending years on the track. He also talks about his recent move to Houston where his partner is training to become a NASA astronaut. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
2022 Preview Q&A: listener questions, new sponsors, and events schedule
Payson answers listener questions about his upcoming 2022 season, including new and returning sponsors, his race schedule, and a few personal developments as well. He also shares some thoughts on the privateering model in gravel, and addresses what mountain bike he'll be riding this year. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Molly Cameron, professional cyclocross racer and transgender athlete
For over two decades, Molly Cameron has been advocating for LGBTQ+ rights within cycling. In her career as a racer, she was banned early on from racing in the women's category, and was forced to race with the men. In 2015, she was briefly banned from racing in the men's cyclocross national championship when the rules were changed to require a person's gender to correlate with the gender on their driver's license. In this interview, she talks with Payson about being thrown into the spotlight after the outdoor community's reckoning with social justice issues in 2020 and 2021, after decades of advocating in relative anonymity. She talks about why she continues to fight for trans rights after so many years, what brings her hope, and how she plans to focus her mission in the coming years through her organization, Riders Inspiring Diversity and Equality (RIDE). She and Payson also talk about the controversy surrounding USA Cycling's decision not to remove anti-trans protestors as Cyclocross Nationals last month, and why the conversation surrounding trans women in sport cannot be limited to scientific data points.Link to International Olympic Committee guidelines on transgender athletes: https://olympics.com/ioc/documents/athletes/ioc-framework-on-fairness-inclusion-and-non-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-gender-identity-and-sex-variationsInstagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Jack Aitken, Formula One reserve driver
Jack Aitken has been pursuing a career as a Formula One driver since he was seven years old. He's raced in both Formula Three and Formula Two, and was signed as a reserve driver for Williams Racing in 2020. Later that year at the Sakhir Grand Prix, he made his F1 debut when another racer tested positive for coronavirus. In this conversation, Jack talks about his love of cycling, the cutthroat path to securing a seat in F1, and how he prepares physically and mentally for the demands of the job. He also talks about racing Lamborghinis on the GT racing circuit, going head to head with the sport's greatest stars at the Sakhir Grand Prix, and the crash he sustained at the famed Spa 24 Hours race in July that left him with a fractured vertebra and a broken collarbone. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Lizzie Deignan, professional road cyclist
Lizzie Deignan has held just about every title available to road racers. She was the 2015 World Champion, won silver medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, and is a four time British national champion. She has also won the prestigious trio of races consisting of the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the inaugural women's Paris-Rubaix earlier this year. In this conversation, Lizzie recounts her experience at Rubaix, including what it was like encountering the infamous cobbles for the first time, being pursued by Marianne Vos, and vomiting in the final miles of the race. She also talks about how becoming a mother midway through her career was a liberating experience. At a time when cycling wasn’t bringing her joy, she says that she “wanted to do something that was just an emotional, non-logical decision.” She talks about balancing family life with racing, and why having a child has actually extended rather than shortened her career.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Kimo Seymour, President of Events and Media at Life Time, on a new era of off-road racing
In his role as President of Events and Media at Life Time, Kimo Seymour has been instrumental in the acquisition and shaping of mass participation off-road events such as Unbound Gravel and Leadville. Last week, Life Time announced a first-of-its-kind gravel series, where 40 professional riders (20 male and 20 female) will vie for $250,000 in prize money over the course of six races. The series, known as the Grand Prix, is comprised of three gravel races and three cross country races, including the Sea Otter Classic, Unbound Gravel, the Leadville 100, and Big Sugar. Kimo talks to Payson about why they decided to create the Grand Prix, how they think it will benefit the non-professional racers, and some of the criticism that the series has received since being announced. They also talk about Life Time’s surprise acquisition of the Sea Otter Classic, and where Kimo hopes mass participation off-road events are headed. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Riley Amos, XC mountain bike racer
Riley Amos became the breakout star of cross country racing earlier this year when he became the first American male to win a U23 World Cup . At just 19 and in his first year out of the junior ranks, he also snagged the podium at two other World Cup races in Albstadt, Germany and Nové Město, Czech Republic. He entered the 2021 season with uncertainty about his prospects as a professional rider, only to leave the season with offers from every factory team on the circuit. Last week, it was announced that he would be joining Trek Factory Racing for the 2022 season.Riley tells Payson about getting to grips with his success, learning to negotiate contract terms, and the agonizing decision between two of the industry's most celebrated teams. He also talks about balancing college finals while racing World Cups in Europe, why he's already thinking about paying it forward by mentoring young riders, and what it's like becoming teammates with your heroes. He also tells the story of his final race of the season, OZ Trails, when he bonked so hard that he started riding the course backward when he was less than half a mile from winning the race. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Jamie Bestwick, 14x X Games BMX champion, on discovering gravel and the dark side of athletic greatness
For over 20 years, Jamie Bestwick reigned as one of BMX's most decorated athletes in the history of the sport. Since competing in his first X Games in 1996, he's won 14 gold medals at the event, including in nine consecutive years. In 2005, he won every single event in which he competed. Now he's found a new outlet: gravel racing. In this conversation, Jamie tells Payson about his harrowing experience racing at Unbound Gravel earlier this year, including what made him complete the 206 miles in spite of nearly quitting halfway through, and why he can't wait to do it again next year. They also talk about his BMX career and the tradeoffs he had to make to be the best in the world. They discuss the dark side of achieving athletic greatness, and the tragic passing of his friend and competitor, Dave Mirra. Jamie also tells Payson about coaching Team GB BMX rider Charlotte Worthington to victory at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year, and explains why her surprise upset of American superstar Hannah Roberts was actually the result of a carefully calculated strategy.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc