Day Fire Podcast

This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Mitchell Connell. Mitchell is an avid cyclist who splits his time on the bike between commuting, touring, and riding roads, trails, and gravel. As long as Mitchell’s riding bikes with his friends, he’s happy.

Mitchell works as a bicycle nonprofit professional and freelance photographer and writer. Mitchell is the founder of Two Bikes Knoxville, Two Bikes Chattanooga and is a contributor to The Radavist.

Mitchell has helped grow Two Bikes from a small grassroots nonprofit to a regionally-leading organization that has provided more than 1,000 bikes to underserved community members, more than 50 paid internships to at-risk youth, and helped lead more than 100 community-focused group rides.

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This week Clint and Dawson sat down with three guests, Luke Swab, Matt Schweiker and Michael Kohn . In December 2023, these three friends from Chattanooga Tennessee, packed their bags and bikes for a trip to Nepal to tackle the Annapurna Circuit on bike. Nepal is renowned for being the home of the world’s highest mountains, the Himalayas. The route climbs 33,776 feet over 240 miles and reaches a high point at Thorong La Pass at 17,769 feet. Matt, Luke and Michael came back with stories of battling high altitude, freezing temperatures and the remarkable culture and hospitality of the Nepalese people. Join us as we listen, learn and laugh as they share stories about their adventure and each other.

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This week Clint and Dawson sit down and catch up with Shawanna Kendrick. This is the second time we have had Shawanna on the podcast. Shawanna is the Founder and CEO of The Hiking Healing (H2) and Outdoors (O) Life. H2O, as it’s often called, is a licensed business providing a safe space for black women to grow personally as they seek to find a sense of self in nature. Shawanna's organization is based out of Chattanooga Tennessee.

Since its inception, H2O has curated spaces for just over 500 black women and girls with programs like Women on Water, the Black Women Paddle, The H2O Life Outdoor Girls Leadership Academy as well as hikes, meditative nature walks, and paddling excursions.

In addition, Shawanna is an American Canoe Association (ACA) certified Community Paddlesports Leader, which allows her to teach basic paddling skills while helping black women especially overcome obstacles preventing them from enjoying all that nature has to offer.

To learn more, support or join an adventure go to: https://www.theh2o.life

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This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Meaghan Hackinen. Meaghan is a Kelowna-based writer and ultra-cyclist whose two-wheeled adventures have taken her from Haida Gwaii to Mexico’s high plateaus, across Canada and the United States, and from North Cape to Tarifa along some of Europe’s highest paved roads. Meaghan loves to compete and doesn’t shy away from pushing her limits. She is a Trans Am Bike Race, Transcontinental Race, NorthCape4000, and Paris-Brest-Paris brevet finisher.

In 2023, Meaghan placed first overall in the Silver State 508, the Buckshot and Lost Elephant bikepacking races, established an overall course record on the Log Driver’s Waltz as an Individual Time Trial, and set a women’s FKT with her second-place finish at the Dark Divide. Meaghan has an MFA in Writing and is the author of two books: South Away: The Pacific Coast on Two Wheels and Shifting Gears: Coast to Coast on the Trans Am Bike Race.

We focus our podcast on her Book Shifting Gears, a Coast to Coast race across the United States. Meaghan is an amazing woman who is pushing her boundaries on a bicycle. Join us as she shares her journey and her insights from her coast to coast race. I have read the book, "Shifting Gears", and it is a book that everyone will enjoy reading.

Purchase links available in ebook and print USA:

NeWest Press (publisher): https://bookshop.newestpress.com/products/shifting-gears-coast-to-coast-on-the-trans-am-bike-race

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shifting-gears-meaghan-hackinen/1143174637

Amazon.com: https://a.co/d/6IF9xLI

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This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Cameron Muilenburg. Cameron is a freelance filmmaker living in Chattanooga. We talk with Cameron about the making of his new award winning film; A Couple Screws Loose. The film is the story about a three day ultra endurance ride in the Cherokee National Forest. Follow Luke Swab and Matt Schweiker as they link together the Dirty 130, Tellico Highlands and the Death March and ride the mileage between the routes. A funny and inspiring film that everyone will enjoy.

The Film won the Lookout Mountain Film Festival Audience Choice Award.

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This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Lisa Randall. Lisa graduated with the highest honors from Georgia Tech in 2000, She worked full time as a civil engineer while juggling a heavy training and racing schedule. She entered the professional mountain bike ranks in 2004 after 2.5 years of racing, but definitely struggled to see results since she was trying to train at the pro level while working full time. In 2006, she discovered a new addiction, Adventure Racing, and has competed in dozens of multisport races ranging from 3 hours to 5 days. Lisa has had the opportunity to complete the TransRockies Mountain Bike Stage Race as well as the 2013 Trans North Georgia Mountain Bike Race, a 350 mile non-stop MTB race across the mountains of North Georgia. While it was definitely the most physically and mentally draining event she had done, she completed the route in just under 2 days, which is still the women's record. In 2015, Lisa was proud to earn a stars and stripes jersey at the Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships. Being drawn to difficult events, she is a two time buckle recipient in the Marji Gesick Duathlon (2019 and 2023) and one of maybe 4 women who have ever earned buckles in the event's history. In 2021 Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer so her treatment for that was how she spent a lot of 2021 and 2022. By 2023 she was feeling strong enough to get back out into endurance racing and she competed in Expedition Ozark, a 5 day adventure race, where her team was the 2nd US team to finish. She also raced solo at the Chattanooga Epic 48 hour adventure race (2nd overall) and won the women's title at the Solo Adventure Race Championships. She participates in competitive orienteering and has even dabbled in some 50K running events. Lisa is happiest on her bike but generally just loves to be outdoors.

Lisa's passion for athletics, competition and the outdoors led to her voluntary resignation from the engineering profession in 2011 and the creation of Mountain Goat Adventures, which is an event company that specializes in Mountain Bike Races, Trail Runs and Off Road Duathlons.

The creation of Mountain Goat Adventures has allowed her to share her passion with like minded people, as well as given her a chance to really give back to the organizations that provide some of the best trail systems in the Northwest Metro Atlanta area. Between herself, her family members, and many great volunteers, they have logged hundreds of hours of trail maintenance in conjunction with her events, as well as over a hundred thousand dollars in donations to trail groups, with SORBA Woodstock being our largest benefactor.

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This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Tim Morgan. Tim is the Chief Sports Officer at Chattanooga Sports, a division of Chattanooga Tourism Co. We talk about the Chattanooga Marathon on March 1-3 weekend 2024. We dive into some of the details of the event and what it takes to host a highly successful event in downtown Chattanooga Tennessee. Tim says thank you to all the hundreds of volunteers it takes to host this event and also all the agencies involved. We also talk about the course and things to do in Chattanooga Tennessee while you are there. If you are not registered you want to sign up and spend the weekend in Chattanooga.

Find out more and register: https://www.chattanoogamarathon.com/

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This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Katrine Hase. Katrine last summer "2023 set out on her bicycle from Jasper, Alberta Canada to ride to Antelope Wells, New Mexico along the Great Divide. Katrine did this amazing trip because she wanted to do something epic to celebrate her 50th year on the planet and her 10th year of sobriety. What better way than to spend two months in the mountains cycling? With the support of family she sets off on this solo journey. Her journey on the Great Divide is uniquely hers with a few detours along the way to fit her needs and adapt to weather, safety, bike repairs and keep moving forward.

Early in her recovery, she realized that she needed to find new social outlets that no longer involved alcohol. She started taking movement classes called Nia, which led her to try ballroom dancing and finally to sign up for an adult ballet class. Luckily, around the time she was hitting limits in dance, she rediscovered biking. Katrina's son was working at a bike shop and starting to get involved in mountain biking. He and Katrina's husband were having a lot of fun on bikes, so eventually she took a leap and purchased a bike of her own. From there, there has been no stopping her. Mountain racing, bike packing and now the Tour Divide. SInce 2019 a few of the events and races she has accomplished.

2019—Won 1st place series age group in citizen category Minnesota Mountain Bike Series;

Bikepacking trips: Yellow River Loop (Iowa, overnighter); Tour of the Canyons hut trip (video)

• 2023—Duo category at 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo (video); 3rd place age group Epic Singletrack

Bikepacking trips: Extended Mammoth Gravel Loop (video) (3 days/2 nights); GDMBR starting in

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This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Jay Curwen. Jay is a veteran of hundreds of races...he has been fortunate enough to find his way to the front many times...from ice hockey, pole vaulting, cross country and swimming in high school & college, to a stint as a professional triathlete with 2 Ironman World Championship finishes and several US team appearances...as well as 3 USA Triathlon AG National titles...and finally a USARA National Championship in adventure racing. Jay is also the Race Director of the Mount Mitchell Challenge. Jay shares stories and tips from his personal races and as an Director of one of the hardest races in the southeast.

He has woven his love for the outdoors and competitiveness into a sales career for some of the industry's most iconic brands...Patagonia, The North Face, Kelty, Sierra Designs...and finally, one of the world's finest and largest outfitters, The Nantahala Outdoor Center.

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This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Moose Mutlow. Moose has nearly 4 decades of traditional and alternative education experience around the globe. He has course directed 58-day Outward Bound instructor trainings in Appalachia, been a deputy headmaster in the Kalahari Desert, managed a beach concession on the Mediterranean, slogged through Australian rain forests with middle school students, juggled as a street performer in too many cities to mention, has more than 2000 days of field instruction in a wilderness setting, spent four months as the Interim Head for an elite ski academy, and returned in 2021 to Outward Bound to instruct a canoe program for Veterans on the Gulf of Mexico. Moose's first jobs when he left high school were being a Water Bailiff, Bar Manager, and working on a fish farm in Southern Africa. It was a great introduction to the world of work.

Since 2002 Moose has been a member and senior trainer of Yosemite Search and Rescue, working as a technician and within Incident Command, at one of the busiest SAR operations in the world. He is a Rescue 3 Agency Instructor and a Lead Family Liaison Officer trainer for NPS.

Moose currently works for NatureBridge in Yosemite National Park as the Senior Projects Director responsible for planning, design and construction of the National Environmental Science Center.

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