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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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
Quarantine Companion #6 with Ellen Noble
Four-time cyclocross national champion and world champion silver medalist Ellen Noble returns to The Adventure Stache to chat about how life has changed since her first appearance on the show way back in Episode 34. They talk about the pressures of being a role model in women’s cycling, the lose/lose reality of being a female athlete on social media, and why Ellen has finally started her own program this year. They also discuss misconceptions about money, share some cringeworthy dad jokes, and attempt to uncover Ellen's skills as a dancer. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #5 with Todd Ballard
Todd Ballard is the former Chief Marketing Officer at GoPro. During his nine years there, he was instrumental in elevating the brand to global recognition and choosing which athletes the company sponsored. In this conversation, he tells Payson and Justin what drew him to GoPro long before it was a household name, why passion is more important that fame when it comes to sponsored athletes, and why he chose to leave GoPro after so many successful years there. They also talk about impostor syndrome, business pressures, and the parallels between professional sports and high level companies. They also swap jokes, argue over favorite snacks, and hear the one story that’s impacted Todd the most in his career. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #4 with Ayesha McGowan
Ayesha McGowan is a professional road cyclist. As the first African American woman to reach pro status in cycling, she balances her racing career with advocacy for greater representation in the sport. In this conversation, she talks with Payson and Justin about using her platform to elevate athletes from underrepresented backgrounds, and her previous career in classical music and teaching. They also talk about unconscious racism, the snowboarding accident that ended her music career, and whether or not she has plans to start her own team. Things get contentious when Ayesha reveals her shoe of choice, stakes a position on which musical instrument is most like triathletes, and an investigation is launched into the origins of Justin’s inconsistent hairline. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #3 with Robert Gesink
In the third episode of Quarantine Companion, Payson and Justin are joined from Andorra by pro cyclist Robert Gesink, whose many accomplishments include 4th place at the Tour de France in 2010 and 1st place in the Tour of California in 2012. He currently rides for the ProTeam Jumbo-Visma. In this conversation, Robert talks about how his training has changed since Andorra went into one of the world’s strictest lockdowns nearly two months ago, why homeschooling his kids is harder than racing, and how to get the most out of at-home training. He also talks about the pressures of being a team leader early in his career, what European racers could learn from Americans when it comes to media interaction, and how he thinks the Tour de France should evolve with the times. He also showcases his favorite quarantine shoes, and tells the story of the 16-screw injury that forces Payson and Justin to make an alteration to the usual Quarantine Companion push-up challenge.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
One Year Anniversary Episode with Reggie Miller
In celebration of The Adventure Stache turning one year old, Payson visited Reggie Miller, the show's first ever guest, at his home outside Los Angeles. Along with filming the first episode of "StacheTV", the new sibling YouTube series to the podcast, they sit down to discuss what legacy means to Reggie, his ever-growing ambitions in cycling, and an epic never-before-told story about Kobe Bryant. Head to Payson's YouTube channel to watch the YouTube video from this visit, where Reggie shows no mercy in a game of PIG, and Payson helps Reggie conquer some challenging switchbacks on his local trail. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #2 with Rahsaan Bahati
In this episode of Quarantine Companion, Payson and Justin are joined by cyclist Rahsaan Bahati, whose twenty-year career in criterium and track racing included ten national championship titles and multiple appearances on the USA Cycling Worlds team. They talk about his career and transition into activism through his creation of the Bahati Foundation, which works to promote the health and education of inner-city youth through cycling, and his current role as Social Impact Manager for Zwift. Other topics include his childhood in Compton, his unlikely introduction to cycling, and how he became one of Justin’s closest mentors when Justin was an aspiring teenager. They also swap favorite jokes, discuss Rahsaan’s time as a member of the controversial Rock Racing team in the 2000's, and share some opinions about his unconventional quarantine essentials which include airplane simulators and Zombie Dust. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Quarantine Companion #1 with co-host Justin Williams
In this first installment of Quarantine Companion, Payson is joined by co-host Justin Williams to lay the groundwork for this new limited series. They talk about how they’re getting by in the age of social distancing and lockdowns, including what books they’re reading, what snacks they’re consuming, how they’re maintaining motivation to train, and what their daily schedules and workflows look like. They also give some hints about what’s in store for future episodes of Quarantine Companion, including big name guests, shoe choices, and maybe even some listener-included push-up challenges. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Brook MacDonald, downhill mountain biker
Brook MacDonald is one of the best downhill mountain bikers in the world and has snagged multiple podium spots on the UCI World Cup circuit since he began racing professionally in 2011. Known as “The Bulldog” for his fearless, full-throttle racing style, Brook is no stranger to injury, and 2019 saw the most brutal setback of his career so far. At Mountain Bike World Championships in Quebec in September, he fractured his spine in two places and lost feeling in his legs, leaving his future on and off the bike uncertain. In this interview, Payson sits down with Brook to talk about the injury and how the crash itself was just the beginning of a grueling saga that left him on the mountain and without sufficient medical help for nearly five hours. They talk about his recovery process and celebrating the little victories, which other athletes he’s taken inspiration from during this process, and why he isn’t afraid to start racing again. They also talk about his love of road racing and its importance in his training, and why you might be seeing him at the Olympics in the future in a completely different cycling discipline. A New Zealand native, Brook also shares some of his favorite (explicit) Kiwi slang, and why driving in the U.S. has a steep learning curve. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Justin Williams round 2, road cyclist
Justin Williams returns to the podcast after appearing for the first time in episode 48 with Kate Courtney and Colin Strickland. In this episode, he and Payson confront some controversial topics, including the death and legacy of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, social media backlash, and why we should accept the shades of gray in the lives of influential public figures rather than choose to only see black or white. They also swap stories of their worst racing experiences, including a food shortage in Uruguay and fermented mare's milk in Mongolia, and Justin tells Payson about winning a cross country race in Belize that has special significance for his family, and the time he won a professional road race on a borrowed women's bike. Justin's cycling career started in his early teens and has included multiple national titles, including both the road and criterium races at the Elite National Championships in 2018. As one of the small number of professional cyclists of color, he has prioritized inclusivity and representation in a sport that still lacks diversity. In 2019, he and his brother and fellow racer Cory Williams founded their own team, Legion of Los Angeles, which seeks to elevate the careers of cyclists from diverse backgrounds. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc
Larissa Connors, mountain biker
Larissa Connors is a two-time winner of both the Leadville 100 mountain bike race and Belgian Waffle Ride. Payson caught up with her at her home in Orange County, California in February to talk work/life balance, over-training, and why she has unfinished business in Leadville. They also talk about why she’s glad she doesn’t live near any of her toughest racing competitors, how she manages to maintain her infant daughter’s breastfeeding schedule while training for races and working full-time as a math teacher, and how her work in the classroom allows her to find a consistent source of self-worth that is so elusive in the unpredictable world of professional cycling. Known for her love of extreme physical challenges, Larissa also has a few cautionary tales up her sleeve, including the time she did five 100 mile mountain bike races in less than six weeks, and her first (and last) experience at La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica when she nearly died of kidney failure and found herself alone in a rural hospital in the jungle with nothing but the kit she was wearing and a very limited understanding of Spanish.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc