My Back 40

I first spoke with Sofiane back in Episode 001 of the My Back 40 podcast and it was great to connect with him again.

A few days ago Sofiane won the 1,858 kilometre, Silk Road Mountain Race in 8 days, 14 hours, and 35 minutes. An incredible time considering the terrain, the challenging weather and a major mechanical.

Sofiane has a pretty impressive resume:

Two Volcano Sprint 2020 2nd place
French Divide 2020 winner
Three Peaks bike race 2020 2nd place
Hope 1000 2020 2nd place
Atlas Mountain Race 2020 winner
Inca Divide 2019 winner
Italy Divide 2019 co-winner
Bikingman Taiwan 2018 3rd place
Trans Am bike race 2017 8th place
Tour Divide 2016 3rd place

Sofiane chats about his experience on this race and relates it to others he has challenged. We discuss his recovery from a devastating knee injury, that happened only 9 months ago. We discuss mindset and post race depression and he shares his story of the devastating mechanical he had. He is known for being able to really push forward without sleep. His strategy on this route was a little different, due to its immensity. 35,000m of ascent.

I really enjoyed speaking with Sofiane again, as I always seem to learn something. I hope you find some take aways too.

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Sorry for the delay in getting this out to you. I had some technical difficulties and had to start over. So this one is just me chatting about my experience on the Alberta Rockies 700.

Despite having some deep mental obstacles on day one, I was able to to finish the route in 5th place in 2 days, 15 hours and 9 minutes. I am super proud of that! My target was 3 days.

Something that I neglected to talk about in this podcast was post race depression. After the yoyo I didn’t really feel it. I thought that perhaps it was because my mind and body knew that we weren’t done yet. We still had the AR to do, after all. The last week I have been a bit in the dumps as reality floods back into existence. Family, work, bills; getting back into the routine of life can feel like swimming upstream, especially after being immersed in the flow of an endurance race. Being on the trail attenuates reality to some extent and maybe that’s one reason competing in endurance events is addictive. Essentially, you’ve crossed a barrier into an alternate reality. I place filled with like minded people. A place where the only thing you have to deal with is your body and your rig. A place where the only work that needs to be done is to navigate your way from one place to another and to keep the tank full of gas.

I’m coming out the other side though. Yesterday was rough, I admit, but I got through it. Sometimes sleep is all you really need. Lots of sleep. I also think planning for the next adventure is a good way to keep the sights on the next battle. Tour Divide, perhaps? Not sure I can afford that to be honest. This summer’s races have already set me back financially so we’ll have to see. The AR again? Only time will tell.

I hope this podcast isn’t to disjointed and I hope you find some takeaways.

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This week, I’m speaking with Meaghan Hackinen, winner of the BC Epic 1000.

Meaghan lives in Kelowna and has ridden a few sections of the Epic before but this was her first time riding the Epic in its entirety. This was also her her first time riding an off road event like this. She had only purchased her Cutthroat weeks before and had to tune up her riding skills for the dirt. All things considered, she crushed this track.

Growing up in Surrey, BC, Meaghan spent a lot of her time playing team sports, but her attention was drawn to individual sports once she began to work in the ski industry. After a knee injury, her physiotherapist recommended cycling as a low impact way to stay active and keep the body moving well into “old age”. Personally, being a half century old, I relate to this advice.

Meaghan’s endurance resume is impressive, having ridden events like the Trans Am Bike Race, her Everesting of Knox Mountain and the North Cape 4000. All of her accomplishments can be found on her website. Meaghan is also a writer with many published pieces such as her book, South Away: The Pacific Coast on Two Wheels.

This was a great conversation and it was a pleasure getting to know Meaghan and what makes her tick. We discuss the Epic as well as some of her other accomplishments. We share stories from the event and also discuss the importance to endurance athletics, creativity and vulnerability and the ways these things help us grow as humans. I hope you dig it.

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I feel like the Universe gives us what we need, when we need it. Pushing through these events is physically tough, but the highs and lows also take their toll on you. The morning I met Angela in Rock Creek is an example of this. We both got the emotional boost we needed right when we needed it most.

For Angela, the last handful of years have been a journey of making positive lifestyle changes, improving her health and fitness. Cycling drew her in, as did her affinity for riding longer distances, which eventually led her to participating in the 2021 BC Epic 1000.

Angela lives in Vancouver BC and lives the cycling lifestyle commuting to her job downtown, where she works as an accountant. Due to the sedentary nature of her job, she said that cycling is the perfect way to stay active. By leaving the car at home, she saves money, keeps the air clean and gets some training in at the same time. win, win, win!

Angela shares her passion of cycling with other women athletes as a Liv Vancouver Ride Leader and is also an ambassador for Hammer Nutrition. In this episode we chat about how she prepared and trained for the race. She shares some stories from her adventure and some of the highs and lows she experienced. We chat a little about what drew her to getting into bikepacking and take some other tangents along the way.

Enjoy!

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Hey everyone! First of all, apologies for the delay in getting a podcast out. The last couple of weeks have been a blur since the Epic. One moment I’m out in nature on my bike, the next I’m sitting in the car with a swollen body on our way to Vancouver Island to visit family and do some glamping. Recovery has been slow.

In all honesty, the whole thing is a blur. I sat down and started to record and this is what came out. I can’t guarantee the coherence and this certainly isn’t a day by day breakdown but this is what I came up with and I hope you enjoy it. I share some thoughts about the ‘why’ and tell some stories from the adventure. I talk briefly about gear as well.

There are so many people to thank who made this adventure even possible for me. I’m so grateful for all the support, encouragement and generosity from the community. We reached the fundraising goal of $2000 and helped built a legacy in Masaka Uganda for all the up and coming athletes there. Be proud!

If you have any questions or thoughts on what you’d like me to talk about, please reach out and I’ll answer on the next podcast. I hope to be getting things back on track in the next couple of weeks.

Jen and Eric Betteridge both grew up in active families and have always carried on leading an active lifestyle. They have both continued to enjoy adventuring by bike and like to see people getting out there on whatever bike they have.

Ontario has so much to offer in terms of outdoor recreation and that motivated this adventurous couple to develop a route that showcases some of the fantastic bikepacking in the province. They spent time out on the bike developing different sections and then eventually joined all the routes together creating the Log Driver’s Waltz, “an 800 kilometre, multi-day cycling route that traverses a vast variety of terrain in the Ottawa Valley and Outaouais regions of Ontario and Quebec.”

It was a pleasure to finally connect with Jen and Eric. They have a ton of experience and they shared a lot of their methods during the conversation.

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Ben grew up in Barry’s Bay, Ontario in the Ottawa Valley, cycling and paddling. Growing up being self sufficient and self propelled became a focus for Ben and after convincing his parents, he took his first big bike trip as a teen from Pembroke, Ontario to Niagara Falls which kick started his desire for cycling long distances.

He wanted to find a way to still do what he loved and make a career out of it so after a Guiding course, he was off and running. He saw that TDA Global Cycling was offering a Silk Road expedition and sent them his resume. His persistence paid off and soon he was guiding a trip from Istanbul, Turkey to Beijing, China on the Silk Road.

For Ben, one of the most meaningful parts about being a guide is witnessing his guests grow and learn on tour. He said, people don’t give themselves enough credit. They are resilient and he finds seeing them progress very rewarding.

Ben works for Wilderness Tours and is a lead instructor of a two year Outdoor Adventure Guide Diploma Program through Algonquin College. Ben practices what he preaches and trains guides to help them find their path in the world Adventure Guiding.

We discuss his path to becoming a guide and instructor as well as some of the adventures he’s been on. We chat about balancing a busy career in outdoor recreation with satisfying his own adventurous drive along with fatherhood. And finally Ben shares some fun stories from his trips.

If you want to learn more about what Ben has been up to, please checkout his website, benshillington.com and sign up for his newsletter. Ben also wrote the book Winter Backpacking: Your Guide to Safe and Warm Winter Camping, which you can find on Amazon.

I hope you dig it!

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This past winter I received my first gift from a listener. Michael sent me his book, Divide by Two Wheels: Racing a Mountain Bike Unsupported, 2,700 miles from Canada to Mexico on the Continental Divide. This book told stories, in great detail I might add, of Michael’s experience during his race in 2016. Why we hadn’t connected until now I have no excuse for, but let me tell you, this is a conversation full of inspiration that, if you’re planing on riding the 2021 TD Classic starting on June 11th, you must listen to.

Michael lives in Boise Idaho and works at his private Physiotherapy clinic, Focus Physical Therapy . He grew up in an active family and was inspired by his father, who lived his own dream of riding across the United States while he was between jobs. As the idiom goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Despite his father’s failing health, he was always there as part of the support crew, cheering the family on and shuttling them to and from their adventurous activities, such as running the Grand Canyon, rim to rim. When his father passed, the family spread his ashes in these meaning places so that he would always be there to cheer them on from the great beyond.

As a natural storyteller, Michael’s writing was a joy to read. An invitation to the reader to take a ride on the TD roller coaster. A type 2 amusement ride full of highs and lows that continually challenge an athlete’s resolve, especially when things fall apart, like his rear hub did. Trail magic and the kindness of strangers was a common theme on his adventure and in this conversation.

One particular topic that we dwell on is the meaning behind pushing ones limits in whatever one does. Whether that be athletics, a major career change or public speaking. It’s part of our personal growth and an important aspect of living a full and satisfying life. Another interesting topic was how adventure racing connects us back to nature in a primal way, causing a “remembering”. The reminiscence of primal feelings of movement through nature, self reliance and vulnerability. Something that modern life has stripped from us but something that is so innate, it’s triggered easily under the right circumstances.

This is one for the books, my friends (pun intended) and one that I think could be listened to again and again. If you’re inspired by this chat, please visit the link above and purchase a copy of Michael’s book. And if you happen to be listening to these words while you’re on your own personal journey of the Tour Divide. Savour every moment, relish in the new relationships you’re going to make and please keep the rubber side down.

Enjoy

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60. Brad Wade - @onelungedwanderer

May 28 Written By Steve O'Shaughnessy

Brad Wade is a dad, a substitute teacher an environmentalist, musician and long distance cyclist who lives the punk rock ethos. Brad also has some physiological differences that make him unique; One lung and a heart that decided to reside on the right side of his chest.

While Brad was growing up, searching for his sport, he discovered some of the limitations of his condition. When he found that cycling was something that he could do and do well he never looked back.

One of his first and longest tours was a ride he did with adventurer, environmental activist, and entrepreneur Rob Greenfield. To bring awareness to food waste, a major problem in our society, this hardcore group of cyclists rode across the united states resupplying on discarded food from grocery stores and restaurants. Along the way, they would work with local garden centres to plant fruit trees and other plants to increase pollination in difficult areas.

Brad was struggling to find community in his home town of St. John’s, Newfoundland, so he’s working on trying to increase awareness to cycling in his region. He and his wife started a weekly coffee outside group in his area to bring cyclists together. He’s also part of a critical mass ride that occurs once a month, to motivate more people to ride bikes thereby increasing the need for more bike friendly infrastructure. He is also working on an Everesting project to raise money for the St John’s Status of Women Council. Brad has found so much inspiration from women in sport that he wanted to give back.

Brad is a good dude. I really enjoyed chatting with him and I’m sure you’ll enjoy this session of the My Back 40 Podcast.

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Dion and I were finally able to connect a few weeks back and have a chat about training, nutrition and the mental puzzle that is ultra endurance bikepacking.

Every athlete is different, but in all the conversations I’ve had with amateur and endurance athletes, the one topic that comes up is the mental strength required to persevere. The mind is powerful and is primitively wired for preservation, so how do you keep moving forward, while attenuating the intense messages our bodies give us to quit? How do you set things up for success and reduce the emotional baggage that you may carry with you during an event?

Dion’s endurance athletics career has been a roller coaster and he shares some of the struggles he faced along the way. I appreciated his vulnerability during this conversation and it was such a pleasure to finally sit down with him and shoot the shit.

Another topic we chat about is the benefit of having a coach or mentor to guide our training and help us to succeed. Dion has been getting after it lately and has some awesome goals this summer. I’m looking forward to seeing him out there on the trail!

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