My Back 40

A few weeks ago, too long ago actually, Justin reached out to me to share his idea for a Bonnie Gagnon fundraiser. For those who don’t know who Bonnie is, she’s been a ever present force in the bikepacking community for a long time, sharing the love of endurance athletics and the joys of experiencing the world from the saddle of a bike.

Bonnie’s journey hasn’t been an easy one, battling injuries and a bout with Lemierre’s Syndrome that nearly took her life. Most recently, a strike to her head has cause more trauma and her treatment resulted in spinal fluid leaks, rendering her bed ridden. She needs help.

Justin designed a kick ass sticker that we’re making available in the My Back 40 store. For $25 +s&h, we’ll send you a two pack of these iconic decals to display on your Nalgene or Stainless coffee vessels and flasks to show your support.

I was also interested in learning a bit about Justin, who seems to be constantly getting after in the many bikepacking events that litter the U.S. Justin is an artist, both visually and musically and creates bike related tunes that touch on the cycling culture that we can all relate to.

You can find him on Facebook and can check out his music videos on YouTube.

I had a great time chatting with Justin, and I hope you enjoy this chat too. Please visit the store to grab a 2 pack of these stickers, or check out her GoFundMe to give that way. Either way, it’s going to help this iconic cyclist get back on the pedals.

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A coach just doesn’t send you workout schedules and nutritional advice. A true coach engages with his or her athletes to guide them along their own athletic path.

A couple of weeks ago I was having a high level of existential angst about my current condition, so I called Ryan to chat. Dealing with my resent injuries is feeling like a setback, but Ryan doesn’t think so. He says that this is an opportunity. An opportunity for self care.

Being a guy with a 20 year old mind and a 50 year old body has been hard for me to reconcile, and I didn’t realize just how badly I was beating myself up, physically and mentally. And if I have any chance of riding 4,400km of the Divide this summer, I need to pull my head in, and get my shit together.

In this episode we chat about some of the things we discussed during or phone conversations, topics like, reframing setbacks as opportunities, about asking ourselves “Who am I” in trying to find our own identities and Ryan shares some of the struggles his other masters athletes have while they pursue their own athletic endeavors.

Lots of takeaways in this one, folks. I hope you dig it.

Cycling 101
Dynamic Cyclist
Dirty Loops - Bitten by the Kitten

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This week on the podcast, I’m speaking with Theo Kelsey-Verdecchia, last years winner of the Alberta Rockies 700.

I saw Theo briefly at the start of the AR before he swiftly rolled away into the Rockies. Just over two days later, 53 hours if I’m not mistaken, he crossed the line to win the event.

Theo hails from Toronto but aspires to move closer to the mountains in the near future. In Ontario, he has set and then broken fastest known times on the BTXL, a route that combines The Butter Tart 700 (768km) and the Grand Nith Ramble (350km), boasting just over 1,100km and 10,400m of ascent which he crushed in just over 84 hours.

Theo has been obsessed with the Tour Divide for a few years and plans to tackle the route in 2022. Theo’s dot will be one to watch, so stay tuned!

As always, we cover a lot of ground in this conversation. We chat about racing and doing hard things. He speaks to the simplicity of bikepacking and racing and how it allows you to really take in your environment. We also chat about mindset and fear. I really enjoyed chatting with Theo. I appreciated his insight on life and think we’re going to see big things from him.

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When I first encountered Ryan’s YouTube channel, I was struck by his intense optimism and positive energy output. As I dove into some of his content, some current and some from 15 years ago, I was drawn to his adventures and storytelling, as well as his openness and vulnerability.

Ryan’s intention, when it comes to the content he produces, is to inspire us to get out there. To try things we’ve never done before. To push our limits. To connect with nature in a way that will not only make us stronger physically, but mentally as well. He wants to make the world a better place which he accomplishes by showing us the beautiful landscapes he traverses, as well as the warm human connections he makes along the way.

I felt an instant connection with Ryan that I hope you feel in this episode. His kind, honest and open nature resonated very strongly with me and made for an awesome conversation.

We talk about growing up in Colorado, and his athletic life. We get into his epic trip to Venezuela where he and a group of strangers were dropped into the jungle with limited supplies and no shelters, then filmed as they tried to find their way back to civilization. We chat about his almost 6 years of sobriety and the positive results of quitting alcohol. We discuss the importance of creativity, vulnerability and community as well as the usual tangents.

I hope you dig it.

@duzer
Rüfüs Du Sol - Desert Night
Tangentially Speaking

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Since I started My Back 40 a couple of years ago, I knew it was going to evolve into something. I wasn’t sure what that was going to be, but I’ve been thinking more and more about that lately.

Based on some feedback that I have received from listeners, I’m thinking that, from time to time, I am going to publish solo episodes, so I can just talk about other things that interest me. There will always be bikes, but episodes could also include books and podcasts that I have been listening to and how I have integrated what I have learned, stories from rides and races, habit hacks, opinions on gear and stuff like that. Is that cool?

You already know that I like to lean into mental health and the benefits of moving through nature, so that will always be a common thread with most if not all of the content I produce.

I certainly love a good conversation, and those won’t stop any time soon, but sometimes a guy just needs to talk, you know? Please let me know what you think in the comments.

In this episode I chat about changes and projects for 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope, cannabis, taking smile breaks, fat bikes, training, doing hard things, mental health and books.

I hope you dig it.

Sex at Dawn - Dr. Christopher Ryan
Civilized to Death - Dr. Christopher Ryan
Tangentially Speaking - Dr. Christopher Ryan (podcast)
Loving What Is - Byron Katie
Bad Asteroid - The Aristocrats

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”You retire when you’re dead”, a quote from the trailer of her documentary, No Limits, exemplifies Leah’s presence when it comes to the challenges she has faced in her life.

It is her grit, perseverance and her never quit attitude that secured her win of The Race Across America, which is a 4,800km, trans continental race that takes riders from the west coast to the east coast of the United States. Leah’s time of 11 days, 3 hours and 3 minutes means she was averaging over 436km per day, sleeping no more than 3 hours per night, if she slept at all.

Since she was young, she was a fighter, figuratively and literally. At the age of 17 she won the Bantamweight World Kickboxing Championship and was the Duathlon champion in Israel. She still uses her martial arts to warm as part of her training.

Leah Immigrated back to Israel to join the Israeli Defense Force where she became a Krav Maga specialist and the first female elite commando trainer. There, she discovered cycling which developed into her goal of becoming a pro cyclist and the desire to eventually ride in the 2004 Olympic Games. The universe had other plans when a crash altered her trajectory which eventually led to her discovery of ultra distance cycling. 

Leah’s commitment to finishing what she started spans not only her athletic endeavors but also her life. She shares a ton of wisdom in this conversation about discipline, chasing your dreams and paying attention to unique opportunities. We talk about the importance of pushing our limits and doing hard things, setting goals and seeing them through, as well as other tangents and topics along the way.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and hope you do as well.

Enjoy

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Those of you in the Canadian bikepacking scene will know Brian, and if you have ever attended the Bikepack Canada Summit, you may have had the pleasure of meeting him.

Personally, I look at riders like Brian as very inspirational. If I can still get after it like he, and other older riders do, when I’m their age, I will have been blessed. You’ve heard me say this on the podcast before: Moving water don’t freeze. Brian exemplifies this as an active cyclist and skier. He’s always on the go.

In August 2021, Brian participated in the AR700, a challenging 687km ultra endurance bikepacking event which took us on a figure eight route through the Canadian Rockies and which boasted over 10,000m of gain. Those who followed the event may remember that Brian crashed and ended up breaking his hip. Admittedly, he made a mistake in trying to ride a section that he shouldn’t have. A lesson I’m sure many of us will take value in learning, especially on longer events. I wanted to hear his story and share it with all of you.

In this episode, we talk about the 2024 BC Winter Games, which will be taking place in his home town of Quesnel, BC. We chat about the the Cariboo region and it’s unique terrain and challenges of cycling there. We talk about the recent flooding in the Sumas valley and how our environment seems to be rapidly changing and of course we get into his story of the AR, the people who helped him and his recovery.

It was great to connect with Brian and I hope you enjoy our chat and the wisdom he shares.

The Tragically Hip - Ahead by a Century

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Canmore, Alberta’s, John Freeman is going to see the world from the saddle of a bike and he’s taking his pal Mira with him. Originally from Peterborough, Ontario, John grew up like most kids, exploring the world and his surroundings on two wheels. Later, his passions for the outdoors and climbing led him to becoming a Ropes Access Professional. He helps companies with projects involving access to difficult-to-reach locations without the use of scaffolding, cradles or an aerial work platform.

When mountain bikes broke onto the scene, he saw them as adventure machines but instead, fell into the world of competitive mountain bike racing. Not until later when he started bikepacking did he fully realize the full potential of the worlds noblest off road machine and there was no question that his canine pal was coming along for the ride. With increased distances came more specific requirements and Dogpacking was born.

Hi dog, Mira, has been at it since she was 3 months old, so this is familiar territory for her. Their plan is to pedal to Ushusia, Argentina and then to keep moving until they have covered all seven continents.

In this episode we cover a lot of territory. We chat about Johns background in cycling and how the requirements of bikepacking with a dog emerged. We discuss the random acts of kindness he receives and how having a canine travel companion helps to bridge the the gap from his natural introversion. I ask him about how he manages fear and chat a little about Mental Health.

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Eye of the Tiger
Mike Myers - Canada
Dr. Andrew Huberman - Huberman Lab podcast

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Most of you probably know who Bonnie Gagnon is - An inspiring, adventure driven woman who seems to have a grin permanently installed on her face.

It took a while to connect with Bonnie after Jon Rudolf reached out to me suggesting we connect, but I finally found some time to sit down with her. In her case, lie down because she is bed ridden due to spinal fluid leaks she sustained during medical treatments received after striking her head off the trunk of her vehicle after a ride.

This isn’t Bonnie’s first rodeo when it comes to battling for her health, or in the case of her 2010 bacterial lung infection that spread through her body, her life. Lemierre’s Syndrome is a rare bacterial infection that moved from her lungs, settled into her lower back and began to liquify her insides. She survived and then proceeded to push her limits in races like the Leadville 100, the Arrowhead 135, the Tour Divide in 2016 and again in 2019.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with Bonnie. You can catch another inspiring chat I did back on episode 27. Bonnie Gagnon - Keep On Smiling where we chat more about Lemierre’s Syndrome and her recovery.

“Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of who we are - in moments of discouragement, in doubt, in hurdles. I'm so grateful for all of the adventures and blessings in my life and I hope to add a few more!”

This quote summarizes her mind set. That despite all of her challenges, she preservers. To echo the mantra that many of us bikepackers use when pushing our limits in ultra endurance efforts, we keep moving forward. Life is the ultimate endurance race and through all the highs and lows, there’s no going back. We need to move forward.

I was sensitive to her condition so I wanted to keep this conversation short. Regardless, the dialogue overflows with Bonnie’s positivity, wisdom and inspiration.

In this episode, Bonnie gets us caught up on her battle with a major tear in her hamstring which sent her on a mission to find a better saddle. We cover the state of the world in regards to the global pandemic and planetary changes that are testing our adaptability. She shares her most recent journey after her head injury and the battle to find a cure and of course she shares her secrets to maintaining a positive mindset through it all.

I so enjoyed connecting with Bonnie again and, as always, I hope you enjoy this conversation and find some takeaways.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Bonnie with living expenses while she battles back to health. If you’d like to Help Bonnie Ride Again she would be grateful.

Beautiful Day - U2

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