Mountain biker Lydia Tanner has won two collegiate national championships and raced internationally with Team USA. She is a long-time coach at Boulder Junior Cycling and content strategist at TrainingPeaks. You may have read some of her gear reviews in Bike magazine.

Colby once coached Lydia, and in this interview, she recalls her apathy toward training and riding during that period of her racing career. Lydia reveals why she was struggling so much at the time: Sadly, she was dealing with the all-too-common issue of an eating disorder. That, in combination with a myriad of serious injuries and concussions, eventually took its toll; she got to a point where she didn’t touch a bike for years.

Now, the bike is all about adventure for Lydia. She and Colby talk about some of their epic rides in the past, including Lydia’s 500-kilometer, 40-hour ride.

They emphasize the importance and struggle of finding and understanding one’s identity outside of sport and career. As coaches, they discuss the issues with training young girls to be aggressive with their teammates and training partners.

This and much more on today’s episode of Cycling in Alignment.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydlovesmud/

Lydia on Bike Magazine https://www.bikemag.com/author/lydia-tanner/