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We’re back to share two unique stories from the 350-mile UNBOUND XL gravel race! In this episode, you’ll hear from Peter Rajcani and Max Abner. Peter, who I have since discovered is the king of ultra riding (check out his Strava), finished the race in almost 48 hours. While he was outside the time cut, he endured 2 nights of pedaling (and hiking) and certainly is the toughest rider of the almost 5000 who took part in all of the UNBOUND race distances.
Max competed for the 2nd time this year, and shares how his calm demeanor helped him, but also about how his bike choices each year should have been flipped!
Both have great advice on how to get through a race like this, as well as some good stories about the challenges they faced, the bad (and good) food they ate, and more.
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Curtis Jackson was an ironworker who worked on many of the new buildings that dot the Boston skyline and now teaches ironworking. We chat about this side of his work and his work in several hand-built bike companies in the Boston area in the past. We also talked about his intro into the sport as a kid riding and racing BMX and how that led to his love for mountain biking now. It was a great conversation, and I really am hoping that he starts welding his own frames in the near future!
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Bill Shattuck is a cycling coach and director of the AP Junior Development Team. We chatted about all things youth cycling. It is more of a conversation than normal, so let me know whether you like it. Bill has been coaching for years, so is a wealth of knowledge on the topic. AP Junior Development is one of the long-standing New England teams that has helped riders get into the sport to race and enjoy riding. It was very interesting to hear his perspective on youth cycling and the rise of youth racing leagues.
Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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David Green is someone whose products you likely use every day, either on or off the bike. He is an engineer at Amazon Web Services. The work his team does on messaging services helps you enjoy seamless experiences during activities such as online purchases. David is also the creator of the Epic Ride Weather app, an incredible resource for cyclists to see what the weather will be like during each part of a ride or race and plan accordingly. His story is one of a combination of a passion for riding, his variable-weather commutes around Vancouver, and his tech background. I can say from personal experience that it has saved me numerous times from being unprepared and miserable on my adventures and in races.
Download the app: https://www.epicrideweather.com/Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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Ali is a cancer survivor and the founder of Wellness on Wheels, which aims to empower cancer survivors through mountain biking. She also teaches in higher education in Vermont. Her backstory about falling in love with riding and the benefits it has given her is something I think everyone, even those who have not faced the hardship of cancer, can relate to. Her organization does incredible work, and I’m excited for you to hear about it from her as Wellness on Wheels grows.
Contact Ali and Wellness on Wheels here: https://wellnessonwheelsvt.com/contact-usThanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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I’m very excited to have Elliot Singer on the podcast today! Elliot is a sophomore at Colorado College and a member of the cross country and track and field teams. She has had some very impressive results, including winning the SCAC individual title in XC in 2021 and being invited to the World Youth Skyrunning Championship in Italy that same year. We had a fascinating discussion about her impressive running career, how she found cycling, and how watching cycling has helped inform her racing on foot. This was something I did not expect to hear, but Elliot explains why one sport can inform her work in the other. She also shares some great perspectives on balancing elite sports with school.
You can follow her here.Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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Matt Sousa is a perennial smiling face at races, a bike messenger (semi-retired) and a mechanic at JRA Cycles. We talk about how he got into being a bike messenger thanks in part to his insane bike commute, the challenges and benefits of that job, and why he loves being a mechanic. If you’ve ever been to JRA or to a race and met Matt, you’ll know he is always outgoing, and, of course, a fast racer.
Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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Mike McCormack runs the legendary Breck Epic mountain bike stage race along with several other events. It was great to catch up with him outside the race week when he is VERY busy. We chat about his path into the sport and to becoming a race promoter, his view on the world of cycling and the direction it is headed, and how he has developed the welcoming atmosphere that Breck Epic is known for… oh, AND some SECRET NEWS about Breck Epic 2023!!
Learn more about Breck Epic here.Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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Joe Catale is a rider himself who is also the “oil” in keeping Team KellCat running. Kelly Catale, his wife, is a professional racer, and Joe is her mechanic and general support person, besides, of course being her husband. We chat about how Joe found mountain biking (hint, it involves crazy modifications to his bike and some big drops), how he ended up becoming an incredible mechanic despite not working in a shop, and the fascinating perspective of developing a very close relationship with a racer as a support person off the course.
Learn about Kelly and Team KellCat here: https://www.kellycatale.com/Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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Spencer is a former teammate on Bear National Team and is now an engineer working in the space program at Northrup Grumman! He is also the creator of StealthTags, which are a super cool way to keep track of your bike by hiding an AirTag in it. The conversation covers Spencer's shift from a relatively inactive childhood to becoming a really talented racer and then how he has managed the transition from that into the “real world” of working as an engineer and expressing his passion for engineering and design through his 3D printing work.
Check out StealthTags here: https://spencer3dprints.com/Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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Victor Pérez-Abela is a high-level amateur road and MTB racer based in Málaga, Spain. We chat about his path into the sport and the Spanish biking culture including youth cycling, gravel racing, and the community among racers and riders. It is super fascinating to hear about the differences and similarities between cycling in the US and in southern Spain. From the ubiquity of e-bikes to the lack of gravel riders to the challenges the community is facing with getting kids involved in the sport, Málaga has some major differences compared to the US but also shares some surprisingly similar elements and issues.
Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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Noah Leavitt sightings are frequent if you live on the North Shore of MA. He is out there in all weather conditions and always greets people with a smile and a wave! He is much more than just a cyclist, though. Noah is a great advocate for making the cycling community more welcoming, particularly on the North Shore, through events like his weekly Bikes and Bánh Mì rides. He is also the communications director for Northeast Arc, a nonprofit based on the North Shore which helps those with developmental disabilities. We chat about his work in the communications space as well as his path into cycling and his efforts to create a welcoming atmosphere for all riders at his events.
Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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From immigrating to the US from Serbia in 2012 to joining the US military and now working as a Special Agent in the US Army Criminal Investigations Division, Marko Zivanic's path in life has been very different than most people's. After finding cycling, Marko has used it as a physical and mental health tool to deal with his stressful job and his equally stressful role of being the father of a young son. We talk about all of this, life in the military, as well as how he uses his cycling commutes and what the sport means to him.
Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
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Sharon Sloan is an ER doctor, mountain bike racer, traumatic brain injury survivor, and former rower. She has done everything from local New England cyclocross races to 6-day mountain bike stage races like Breck Epic. We chat about her childhood, her start in elite rowing, her switch to cycling, her two brain injuries, and her remarkable stage racing resumé. Her resiliency and toughness and tough to beat!!
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Cycling allows us to meet some of the coolest people and hear their amazing stories. Riding with someone even just once can turn a fledgling relationship into a lifelong friendship. So much time is spent focused on professional racers, so Everyday Cyclist Chats will share the stories of the people you might see often but may not know well. It will take the amazing conversations had on rides with others and allow everyone to listen to them. We don’t hear from everyday riders as often, but their adventures and paths to cycling and in the sport are often the most inspiring. We’ll talk to the commuters, local racers, shop owners, cycling advocates, and other community members who make this such a great space to be in! Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts! First episodes coming the week of Thanksgiving!
Thanks for listening! As always, please subscribe if you have not already and please share this with friends and rate us!
Follow us on Instagram: @everyday_cyclist_chats_podcast
