My Back 40

Tyler Hamilton @realtylerhamilton is a former professional road cyclist best known for being one of the key assets for Team Postal from 1995-2001. If you haven’t already read the book “The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France”, which he coauthored with American writer Daniel Coyle, I’d suggest you grab a copy.

In 2009, Tyler founded Tyler Hamilton Training and since then has been helping individuals achieve their fitness goals through affordable training and individualized programs. Tyler also started MS Global, which is an annual charitable bicycle tour with the mission of helping to fight Multiple Sclerosis by supporting MS research and programs that empower people with MS to take charge of their lives.

Tyler also co-hosts the Adventure Audio podcast featuring conversations with inspirational athletes. covering the topics of cycling, outdoor adventures and life. I had the honour of being a guest on their podcast back in April 19, 2020!

Needless to say, Tyler is a busy guy and I am so grateful for him taking the time to chat. We cover many topics in the conversation and I’m sure you will find some takeaways after this episode.

Most of you will already know this fine lady. Bonnie Gagnon @loves_to_mtnbike is one of the admins/moderators of one of the Great Dived Mountain Bike Route groups on Facebook. Those of you who follow Bonnie will know how passionate she is about cycling and what the GDMBR and the Tour Divide race means to her.

Bonnie’s journey hasn’t been an easy one, battling injuries and a bout with Lemierre’s Syndrome that nearly took her life. Through it all, her infectious smile and desire to spread positivity while sharing her struggles inspired many.

This week on the My Back 40 podcast Bonnie and I sit down to discuss her athletic background, facing fears and the importance of a positive growth mindset. I hope you find as many takeaways in this podcast as I did. Her openness to share is inspiration enough and anyone looking to tackle the GDMBR will enjoy listening to her stories in this great episode.

I think it’s safe to say that any bikepacker will know who Mike Dion is. 12 years ago, Mike stumbled upon the Tour Divide and was immediately drawn to this epic race, an annual mountain biking ride traversing the length of the Rocky Mountains, from Canada to the Mexican border which follows the 2,745-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. It is an ultra-distance cycling ride that is an extreme test of endurance, self-reliance and mental toughness.

Mike decided to ride and document his journey and since the films release, many passionate cyclists have become familiar with the film and would say that it was the driver for them to attempt this track.

That film is now 10 years old and to celebrate, Mike and his team have put together an event that celebrates the route and the people that created this life changing journey that hundreds of people attempt every year.

In this episode Mike give details of this virtual event and what to expect upon entry. We also discuss Mike’s creative process, what his own personal journey was like and the meaning the route has for many of the riders who have participated.

When I first reached out to Kerry Staite @klite_dynamo_power, the master mind of kLite, I had no expectations as to where the conversations was going to lead, but I knew it would be interesting.

This week on the My Back 40 podcast, Kerry and I dive deep into mental health. You’ll hear how good timing and following his instincts led him to his journey into building the best dynamo powered lighting systems on the market. But this dedication had a cost.

Poor mental health and depression are often also burdened with shame. People don’t openly talk about their struggles in this area as, often times, it’s too difficult and uncomfortable. Kerry knew he was going to pop and had to do something about it. Communication and positive lifestyle changes helped flip the switch and facilitate his healing.

I really appreciated Kerry’s openness and vulnerability during our conversation. As hard as it is to discuss, talking about our mental health can be extremely cleansing and I would encourage anyone that is struggling, to try to find someone to talk to. It could be a close friend, it could be a mental health professional. The key is communication.

I’m sure you’ll find some good takeaways after listening to this chat. I believe everyone struggles sometimes, so it’s helpful to know that we are not alone in our struggles to attain better mental health.

“There’s a beast in the woods in the Rocky Mountain Trench. It’s very, very old but it’s patient. It silently waits and watches. It weathers harsh winters and is home to a rich diversity of life. It is generous and will bestow the gifts of crisp, clean drinking water, places to rest and beautiful views but you better put your back into it because this unrelenting beast will try to break you.”

Steve O’Shaughnessy

This week on the My Back 40 podcast I speak with a couple of the creators of the Lost Elephant Ultra Race which will start on July 25, 2020 in Cranbrook, B.C. Nathan Siemens and Eric Ross are locals to the area and have been part of the event since it’s inception.

What used to be misrepresented as, the Kootenay Gravel Grinder, was later renamed more fittingly to reflect the epic nature of the event.

As with most years, there will be two routes. The Jumbo, which will be comprised of the last two Dumbo routes, except reverse and the Dumbo route each 520 and 300km respectively.

In this causal chat, we cover a number of random topics over a coldie or two. I’ll apologize in advance for the audio quality of this one but I still think you’ll enjoy the conversation. Nathan and Eric are both experienced and passionate cyclists and it was a blast to have an in person chat here at the “studio” after a great rip on my local, mosquito infested trails.

“Day 1: ~180km

I looked at my GPS. It’s midnight. The rain is falling and I see that the track is taking me down a rushing creek. It would appear as though the track had been washed out. I shrug my shoulders and push my bike into the darkness and shin deep, rushing water. “I’m sure the track is just past this ‘little’ washout.” I assure myself, but as I descend, I have doubts.

This can’t be right. I leave my bike by the creek, grab my GPS and head back up the bank. I probably spent 30 minutes trying to figure out what was going on.

Trying to peer through the darkness with my headlamp, all I could see were more alders. The light couldn’t penetrate the thick brush reducing my visibility to a metre. Trackleaders will show my dot yoyo a section a few times before I make my final decision, which was the right one.

As I plowed through the wet jungle, finally the tracks converge and I am back living on the line. But it’s not over yet. Within the next km I sustain sidewall damage and now I’m leaking air. Just when I thought I was “out of the woods” I’m thrust right back in….”

Lyle Wilson, owner at Nipika Mountain Resort is a trail advocate living in Invermere BC, a small town in the East Kootenays.

Invermere is already a popular mountain biking destination, but as the pressure on the trails in the area build, it’s people like Lyle and groups like the Columbia Valley Trail Society and the Columbia Valley Greenways Trail Alliance who work hard to ensure that cyclists interests are protected.

Lyle believes in trail access for everyone. He wants user groups to stop pointing fingers and start working together to make Invermere the best outdoor recreation area around. The positive impacts of outdoor recreation cannot be understated because not only is it good for the economy but it’s also good for our general and mental health.

In this episode of the My Back 40 podcast, Lyle and I not only discuss trail advocacy, we also chat about training and coaching principals, how Nipika Mountain Resort came to be as well as his cancer survival story.

There are a lot of take aways in this one, so pop the buds in and hit your local trails!

This week, I’m keeping the My Back 40 podcast local as I sit down with Invermere’s Chris Skinner of Playwest Mountain Experience @playwest.

Honouring his mantra, (dis)Connect, Engage, Experience, he wants his guests to unplug from life, plug into nature and experience what makes being in the mountains so special by guiding them around the Canadian Rockies, Columbia Mountains and the Columbia River area.

In this episode, we get to know Chris and discuss the transformation Playwest has made through its various iterations. We talk about recognizing your calling when it presents itself, taking risks when they matter most and share stories about life and lessons learned.

Chris also wants to extend a promo code! Head on over to playwest.ca and check out some of his offerings. If you see something you like, use code MB40POD at checkout to save 15% on your booking.

I had a great time sitting down with Chris and chatting. I appreciate his vulnerability during our chat and I hope you enjoy this episode.

It was such an honour to be able to connect with Paul Brodie @brodie8191 this week on the My Back 40 podcast.

He would hate for me to use the word “legend” to describe him, but for anybody that was riding a mountain bike on the west coast in the 80’s and 90’s, Paul Brodie was a household name.

We discuss his background and the events that led to him to starting Brodie Bikes in 1986. We also chat about his Framebuilding 101 course, Flashback Fabrications and his Excelsior project (building early 1900’s board track racing motorcycle replicas from the ground up).

For a deeper dive into Paul Brodie’s history, pick up a copy of his book, Paul Brodie: the Man behind Brodie Bikes. Paul also has a YouTube channel where you can watch him work on interesting fabrication projects.

Thanks for listening!

In this Episode of the My Back 40 podcast, I chat with Dale Marchand about the evolution of Rollingdale Cycle @rollingdalecycles, based in St. Albert, Alberta. 

After taking Paul Brodie’s @brodie8191 Framebuilding 101 course and then a titanium frame welding course at UBI in Ashland, Oregon, Dale launched himself into the world of building custom titanium frames.

Dale is a details oriented guy having years of experience since being nurtured by his dad, who had his own shop. The meaning he gets by providing his customers with the right two wheeled tool for them really drives Dale and you can hear this passion when he speaks about his projects.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the My Back podcast on your favourite listening platform so you don’t miss an episode. Enjoy!

Heather Plewes @h.p.sauce and Paulo LaBerge @crankngrind are a dynamic bikepacking duo that I have been following on Instagram for some time now. If you’re not already familiar with these folks, you will be after this episode. It was a pleasure to finally sit down and have a chat with them.

Heather and Paulo are well travelled bikepackers, passionate Esker Cycles ambassadors and fantastic story tellers. In this episode we discuss their travels and the meaning they get from planning and executing exciting adventures.

I’m sure you’ll thoroughly enjoy listening to them share tales of their adventures. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite listening platform so you don’t miss an episode.