My Back 40

One of my main goals with the My Back 40 podcast is to explore my curiosities and cover topics that pique my interest.

This podcast with Vince Hempsall, Managing Editor of Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine, is about a journey, not through the vast forests of British Columbia or across the deserts of Morocco, but a journey inward, deep into consciousness.

After reading the story, Ayahuasca – Should You Do It? I was compelled to reach out to Vince to hear his story first hand and to hear what the Plant Teacher had shown him. For those of you not familiar, Ayahuasca is a beverage brewed from a combination of plants, one of which is rich with DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) a powerful psychedelic. The other plant is responsible for priming our biology to be more receptive to the psychedelic compound. Without this plant, the DMT would have no effect. Vince’s trip dredged up his deepest fears but also rewarded him with the insight that all things are connected and has changed the lens through which he looks at the world. I appreciated Vince’s vulnerability here as he unpacked his experience.

If you have a moment, I would encourage you to read the article linked above. This will provide some context and perhaps more background about the compounds we discuss. This is my first departure from endurance athletics and though his account may terrify you, psychedelics have helped thousands of people face their demons and improve mental health.

I became interested in the use of psychedelic compounds for mental health a couple of years ago. John Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research who has been researching this area since 2000 and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies are places to visit to gather more information about this research.

I hope you enjoy this conversation. So let’s dive down the rabbit hole of reality and see what comes out the other side.

Ty Domin is an Australian single speeder, bikepacker and all around good dude. I’ve wanted to have a conversation with Ty for a long time and it was a blast talking with him. Ty spent this past summer touring around western Canada looking for a place to call home in the not so distant future.

Ty is a passionate cyclist having dipped his toes into many of its disciplines, from road to track to MTB. In the early 2000 he was a state champion road racer and has been competing in 24 hour events single speed since 2005. In 2014 - 2015 he cycled around the word covering 27 countries and 30,000kms. He has tested his mettle on the 2016 Race to the Rock and the Hunt 1000 that same year. In 2017 he tackled the Tour Divide completing it in 19 days, single speed.

I fully enjoyed shooting the shit with Ty and I hope you enjoy listening in. This is a long chat, so stuff a couple coldies in your frame bag, head out for a ride and enjoy.

In this episode of the My Back 40 Podcast, I chat with Marc SInclair. Marc is passionate about building the bikepacking scene in Ontario and has done so by creating a couple of great events.

Cannon Ball 300 - The Cannon Ball 300 route was created as an introductory 300Km bikepacking route that allows riders to gain experience bikepacking without having to choose between weeks away from life's responsibilities and a multi-day adventure.

The route connects some of Ontario's most under-utilized rail trail, waterfront trail and greenbelt routes for all skills and adventuring cycling disciplines. 

8 Hours of Hurtin’ in Haliburton. The Haliburton Forrest and Wildlife Reserve is home to hundreds of kilometres of private back country logging roads and trails creating the perfect recipe for epic Ontario back country gravel racing!

Complete as many laps in 8 hours of the 27km course as a Solo rider or invite your friends and join a team of two (Duo) or three (Trio) and participate in the popular relay race format.

I had a blast speaking with Marc about building the gravel community in Ontario.

What better way to round out the trifecta of Atlas Mountain Race podcasts than to bring you the top women’s finisher, Jenny Tough.

Jenny @jennytough is an explorer, an endurance athlete and finds meaning by pushing her limits in the mountains. Jenny is no stranger to endurance events and is on a mission to run a mountain range on every populated continent.

Jenny has completed runs in Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania and still plans on adventures in Europe and North America. She has also raced her bike in the Silk Road Mountain Race, the Transatlantic Way Race, the Transcontinental Race and of course, the catalyst for this conversation, the Atlas Mountain Race.

We chat about Jenny’s AMR experience but also touch on topics like self esteem, gender issues in sport and self identity. This was an inspiring conversation and I hope you enjoy it.

One of the most interesting things about bikepack endurance racing is how different the experiences can be from one athlete to the next. This week on the My Back 40 Podcast, I speak with RJ Sauer. RJ finished the Atlas Mountain Race, but not without him walking over 150km with an angry drivetrain. To say that this man possesses perseverance is an understatement. While many would have scratched and called it a day, RJ pushed on living up to his intentions of finishing what he started.

RJ is a director, writer, producer for Brüdder, the production company he started over 15 years ago. He balances this with his life as a husband, father and his goals as an endurance athlete.

It is always a pleasure speaking with RJ and this time was no exception.

Welcome to the first episode of the My Back 40 Podcast. What better way to begin then to have a conversation with Sofiane Sehili, the winner of the inaugural Atlas Mountain Race, which took place in Morocco on February 15 2020. The race, which starts in Marrakech, would take riders 1148km through the Atlas Mountains to the finish in Agadir. Sofiane finished this arduous track in 3 days, 21 hours and 50 minutes adding to his other two wins on the Italy Divide and Inca Divide in 2019. I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Sofiane before and this round of conversation did not disappoint. Enjoy.