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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Nichole Baker: Part 4, on the struggles and successes of creating a medical nonprofit
Nichole Baker returns for the last episode in this four part series to talk about her nonprofit organization, Path of Logic. Founded in 2016 after Nichole’s eye-opening trip to Haiti (which is detailed in Part 2 of this series), Path of Logic supports the research, supply, and staffing of pathology labs in southwest Uganda, which provide services for several million people. Nichole talks about how she used the disastrous experience in Haiti to inform the creation of Path of Logic, and explains why she's chosen to putt her efforts towards a community so far removed from her own country. She explains why the preparation she did for her first trip to Uganda was a big mistake, how she gained the trust of the local medical professionals in spite of some early missteps, and how she and her team cut the hospital’s turnaround times for patient diagnoses from 47 days to just 13. She also talks about the tenacity and realism required to create permanent change, why her personal connection to cancer diagnostics and the people she works with in Uganda is so vital to the success of Path of Logic, and where she hopes to take the organization in the future. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Nichole Baker: Part 3, on exploring the world by bike, screaming monkeys, and finding adventure in your backyard
In this third part of our ongoing series, Nichole Baker talks to Payson about some of her most thrilling and harrowing adventures by bike. From screaming monkeys, tree climbing tigers, and unexpected snowstorms at 13,000 ft., her stories in this episode span a range of continents, physical demands, and levels of discomfort. She talks about uncovering a mythical trail in the Colorado backcountry, trekking across the Himalayas, and finding herself in the middle of a Ugandan hostage exchange. She explains why making the outdoors accessible to those who are new to adventuring is important, what she always brings with her on backcountry expeditions, and how she’s built the confidence to go on solo bike packing trips in some of the most unforgiving environments the world has to offer. She also talks about how the death of a loved one led to her discovery of cycling and her work in cancer diagnostics, and the social media post that made her want to stop telling her story until now. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Nichole Baker: Part 2, on “voluntourism” and the two weeks in Haiti that changed her life
Nichole Baker returns to the show to talk about her rocky introduction to international charity work while on a trip to Haiti in 2016. Tasked with setting up a pathology lab and teaching local pathology students in Cap Haitïen, she arrived to discover that her students were on strike, her translator didn’t speak English, and the lab had no electricity or running water. Nichole talks about this rude awakening to the realities of foreign aid work, where many organizations are ignorant of the communities they are trying to help and end up doing more harm than good. She also talks about the chance encounter she had with an executive of one of the biggest cruise ship companies in the world, where she learned about the underhanded and predatory nature of the tourism industry in Haiti. Other stories include a mugging attempt, two American lab technicians who bailed on their trip just two days in, and the culture shock Nichole experienced while driving home from the airport upon her return to America. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Nichole Baker, adventure athlete, philanthropist, and medical professional
Nichole Baker is an adventure athlete, philanthropist, and medical professional (who also happens to be Payson’s girlfriend). Her work as a pathologist’s assistant and athlete has taken her all over the world, including to Uganda, where she founded a nonprofit that supports pathology students and medical facilities. In this conversation, Nichole talks about how she became a pathologist’s assistant after an unconventional and at times difficult childhood. She talks about dissecting body parts, saving lives by identifying disease in patients’ tissue before it spreads to the rest of the body, and how the pandemic has caused a life-threatening decrease in cancer diagnoses. She also talks about her brief stint as a deputy coroner, when her job was to show up at crime scenes by herself and retrieve bodies. She talks about picking body parts up off the side of road, and one of the times when an autopsy turned a straightforward accidental death into a homicide investigation. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Eliot Jackson, downhill mountain biker
Eliot Jackson is a downhill mountain biker who rides for the Giant Factory Off-Road Team. He’s competed on the UCI World Cup circuit and on the Crankworx World Tour, finishing 3rd at Crankworx Rotorua in 2017. In this interview, Eliot talks about his many interests off the bike, and how his passion for computer programming has led to his latest venture, Reggy, which he describes as a combination of Strava and Airbnb. He also talks about the surge in attention he’s received from brands following the current spike in social justice awareness, and why he tries to keep social media at arms’ length. He also talks about his data analysis project of Pinkbike’s entire back catalogue, and how his recent role commentating for Crankworx got off to a rocky start. Eliot's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliotjackson/Reggy's official website: www.goreggy.comEliot's article in Outside: https://www.outsideonline.com/2415055/eliot-jackson-mountain-biking-protestingEliot's blog post about the Pinkbike data project: http://www.eliotjackson.com/2017/11/21/pinkbike-exploration/Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Mark Twight, mountaineer, author, and trainer
Mark Twight returns to the show to talk about transitions, decision paralysis, and, of course, the nuances and science of athletic optimization. Throughout his varied career, Mark has been a pioneering mountaineer, photographer, writer, and trainer to military personnel and some of Hollywood’s most famous actors. In this episode, he reflects on psychological impact of leaving his celebrated climbing career for an unknown future at the age of 39, and his struggle with finding new avenues of fulfillment. They talk about the modern predicament of having infinite options, and why getting uncomfortable in conversations with those around you can help resolve inner conflict. They also get deep into the weeds of exercise science, and Mark shares some of his philosophy on appearance vs. fitness, performance vs. health, and why deadlifts should be a thing of the past. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Sean Hopkins, SRAM engineer
Sean Hopkins is a quality engineer at SRAM. He joins Payson to talk about how he fell in love with bikes while growing up on the south side of Chicago, being stopped by the police as a child on suspicion of stealing the bike he was riding, and the pattern of obstruction he faced as a junior racer that eventually led him to quit racing altogether. He tells Payson about discovering a love for writing and reading as an adult, his recent article in Bicycling Magazine, and how his grandmother’s battle with Alzheimer's brought about his passion for film photography. They also talk about how he’s feeling as a person of color during this moment of widespread reckoning with racial inequality, and the 1980s cult film that inspired his Instagram handle.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Koen de Kort, road cyclist
Koen de Kort is a professional road cyclist who currently rides for the UCI WorldTeam Trek-Segafredo. After 15 years on the WorldTour, he is one of the most respected road captains in professional cycling, making tough tactical decisions during races and maintaining the focus and collaboration of his teammates. In this interview, Koen talks about why he ended up in this role, and why it fits his style of racing. He also talks about the self doubt he struggled with early in his career during the era of pervasive doping, and what it was like to lead out some of the best sprinters in the world such as Marcel Kittel. He also talks about learning the hard way that injuries can’t be rushed, and how his love of Australian cafe culture has led to his latest off the bike venture. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #13 with Rachel Olzer
Rachel Olzer is an activist, evolutionary biologist, and mountain biker, who has become a leading voice in the current wave of racial justice advocacy taking place across the world. As a transracial adoptee growing up in an all white family, she had to navigate the cognitive dissonance of a grandmother who vocalized deep-seated racism and a family whose conservative politics were directly at odds with her own experiences as a person of color. It wasn’t until she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota for college, however, that she encountered systemic racism and segregation on a large scale, in spite of the city’s reputation for being a liberal stronghold. Her Instagram post detailing her observations of moving from the south to the supposedly radical north went viral, and she is currently writing a series for Bike Magazine about elevating the voices of the BIPOC community within cycling and the outdoor industry. In this interview, Rachel talks about internalizing racism from an early age, the recent conversations she’s had with her brother that bring her hope, and why we should shouldn’t stop talking to our friends and family who express racist opinions. She also talks about her work in evolutionary biology and how the mating behavior of male crickets relates human immorality, why she feels conflicted about virtue signaling, and why her experience living in a mostly white neighborhood in Minneapolis caused her to move across town. She also shares her quarantine must-haves, and explains why you should approach your social justice work like bike racing. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #12 with Ruth Winder
Ruth Winder is a professional road cyclist who rides for the UCI Women’s WorldTeam Trek-Segafredo. In this conversation, she talks about her nail-biting win at road National Championships last year, and why her experience doing the Everest Challenge in May was even harder. She opens about her struggle with an eating disorder early in her career when the team she was on requested that she lose weight in order to enhance her skills as a climber. She talks about the ways in which disordered eating is perpetuated and even encouraged in competitive cycling through slogans like “eating is cheating” and the privileging of numerical data over health and wellbeing. She also tells Payson and Justin about her baking subscription service in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado, and why she’s already thinking about what she’d like to do in retirement. Finally, they discuss the 2016 Rio Olympics and why it was a largely unhappy experience that has prompted Ruth to shift her focus towards goals that encompass the whole year and don't predicate happiness or success on one or two races. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #11 with Kate Courtney
In this episode of Quarantine Companion, mountain bike World Champion Kate Courtney returns to the show to talk about how her life and training have changed in the last few months. She and Payson talk about her covid-19 fundraising challenges, why the last few months have provided her with greater confidence in her process, and why the support of the global cycling community is more important now than ever. They also talk about some of her top secret preparations for the postponed Tokyo Olympics, what her backup plans are if the remainder of the 2020 World Cup season is cancelled, and her “95% Rule” for balancing work and life. With Justin out this week, Kate answers some audience questions in addition to the standard Quarantine Companion rapid fire questions, including a much asked and highly controversial one about plant-based diets. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #10 with Chloé Dygert
Chloé Dygert is a track cyclist who has won five world championships and a silver medal from the Rio Olympics in 2016. She currently races for the UCI team Sho-Air Twenty20. In this conversation, she tells Payson and Justin about how her extensive history of injuries has only served to strengthen her drive and competitive mindset, how she managed to win every single title at the 2019 Colorado Classic, and why she’d rather quit than get second place. She also talks about her goal of competing in seven Olympic Games, her passion for Barbie collecting, and why she has a lot more in common with Michael Jordan than you might think. They also have a debate about the growing importance of social media in professional sports and whether or not it’s a positive change for athletes, and Chloé explains why she can’t stand talking to people at races. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #9: A conversation about racial justice with Christopher Blevins and Justin Williams
In this special episode, Payson and Justin are joined by fellow pro cyclist, Christopher Blevins, for a wide ranging conversation about racial justice. Growing up as one of the only people of color in his small mountain town, Chris confronted the realities of race in America from an early age, and has gone on to study criminal justice and prison reform in college. Justin shares his own experiences of growing up in a predominantly black and Latino part of Los Angeles, and how racial inequality was apparent from his early days as an elementary school student as well. They also talk about the problem with expecting athletes to ignore political and social realities and just do their jobs, and how sports can both break down the barriers of racism and reinforce racial stereotypes. They discuss what “defund the police” actually means, and whether or not it’s realistic to hope for change within the hearts of those who discriminate against people of color. They address the merits and limitations of tokenism within athletic marketing, and suggest ways in which to avoid fatigue and cynicism in the face of so many global crises. And last but not least, they double down on the pushup challenge, and learn Chris’s must-haves while in quarantine. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #8 with Coryn Rivera
Coryn Rivera is a road cyclist who rides for the UCI WorldTeam Team Sunweb. Over her 16 years of racing, she’s achieved 72 national titles and won the Tour of Flanders in her first year on the World Tour. In this conversation, she talks about growing up racing and training with Justin in California as a junior, the nail-biting team relay at Collegiate Nationals when she went head-to-head with Payson’s team and forced him to dig deeper than he’s ever gone, and the cultural challenges of moving to Europe and being the only American on her team. They also talk about her surprise win at the 2017 Tour of Flanders and how she navigated the pressure of achieving early success. Her ability to find mental fuel in spite of prestigious competition has been key to her ongoing success in the WorldTour, and she highlights the importance of finding a “why” after transitioning from junior and collegiate racing to the pro ranks. They also talk about elevating the profiles of entire teams rather just the team leaders in road cycling, and the life-threatening crash that made her turn down her professional racing opportunities and go to college instead. Lastly, they raise the difficulty of the Push Up Challenge yet again, and Coryn brings the heat. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #7 with Chase Garrett
Chase Garrett is a former Red Bull athlete marketing manager, and founder and CEO of Icon Source, an online marketing platform connecting brands with like-minded athletes from all realms of professional sport. Throughout his career, Chase has managed athletes and agents in tennis, NFL, MLB, NBA, cycling, snow, and motocross. In this conversation, he talks with Payson and Justin about why he chose to leave his dream job at Red Bull after six years to start his own company, what it was like working for one of the biggest companies in the world and befriending world famous athletes, and how he's keeping his small business afloat in the time of the pandemic. They also talk about how he identifies marketable athletes from outside mainstream sports, and the time he ended up in the trunk of a car in Monaco with NFL star DeMarcus Ware.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc