Sam Pickman worked as an engineer for Specialized for 11 years before joining Allied Cycleworks in 2016. As one of the brand’s first employees, he has been instrumental in developing their unique designs and manufacturing process. In this interview, he tells Payson why he chose to move his family from the Bay Area to northwest Arkansas to work for an as yet unproven brand. He talks about why Allied’s “made here” ethos creates a higher performance product: by designing and manufacturing all their bikes and components under the same roof, they’re able to explore and test more innovative designs than a brand that outsources their manufacturing to other factories. He talks about his own creative process, how some of Allied’s most successful designs were developed, and goes through the steps of how a bike is made. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Marley Blonsky is the co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes, an organization that seeks to make the cycling community more size inclusive. In this conversation, Marley talks about the longtime lack of inclusive sizing in cycling, from clothing options to equipment, why she recently decided to leave her job in corporate America to move to focus on growing her role in the cycling community, and why she views the word "fat" as neutral rather than derogatory. She also talks about ignoring criticism in favor of positivity, her program sponsoring non-traditional athletes to race at SBT GRVL, and her new database matching companies to plus size gear testers around the world.

Links to topics mentioned in the episode:
All Bodies on Bikes Resources
All Bodies on Bikes + SBT GRVL
All Bodies on Bikes Film
Plus Size Wear Testing Database
Marley's former career

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Cam Wurf started his athletic career in rowing, where he represented Australia at the 2004 Olympics, and went on to compete in road cycling for WorldTour teams including Cannondale-Liquigas. After retiring from the sport in 2015, he started racing triathlons, attaining 5th at the World Championship in 2019, and setting a World Record for the bike leg of the race. In 2020, he was lured back in to professional cycling at the highest level when Ineos Grenadiers came calling. He now leads an unprecedented dual career as a WorldTour cyclist and Ironman triathlete. 

In this conversation, Cam talks about why he's never wanted to be defined by one sport, the training camp with Chris Froome that brought him out of retirement, and why he isn't afraid to call himself "the original ruiner of gravel." 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Since leaving her career as a professional cross country mountain bike racer, Gretchen Reeves has worked as an accountant for athletes and self-employed people from the outdoor industry. In this interview, she offers some financial best practices for athletes just starting out, those who are already established pros, and anyone who wants to get more value out of their income. She talks about the ways self-employed people often overlook significant deductibles, how to set yourself up for a comfortable retirement, and mistakes she often sees people make in their financial planning. She also tells Payson about her career racing for Tokyo Joe's in the late 90s and early 2000s and her subsequent adventure racing career, which included the 2020 Eco-Challenge in Fiji. She talks about what it was like being on camera for the race, which was hosted by Bear Grylls and streamed on Amazon Prime.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

In 2021, Ashton Lambie became the first person in history to ride 4000m in under four minutes. He completed the distance in 3:59.93, surpassing the previous record held by Filippo Ganna, the current time trial world champion. This was Ashton's third time to break the world record, which he had first held in 2018. He went on to win the individual pursuit at the Track World Championships two months later. Given this history, it is perhaps surprising that Ashton grew up racing gravel in Nebraska before discovering his talent for track racing. 

In this interview, Ashton tells Payson about his history in gravel and decision to break the four minute barrier on the track. He tries to explain the specific pain that a rider experiences at that speed, and the bike setup that allowed him to average 62km per hour (38.5mph). They also talk about his complicated relationship with gravel's competitive trajectory, and why he's decided to race the Grand Prix after spending years on the track. He also talks about his recent move to Houston where his partner is training to become a NASA astronaut. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Payson answers listener questions about his upcoming 2022 season, including new and returning sponsors, his race schedule, and a few personal developments as well. He also shares some thoughts on the privateering model in gravel, and addresses what mountain bike he'll be riding this year. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

For over two decades, Molly Cameron has been advocating for LGBTQ+ rights within cycling. In her career as a racer, she was banned early on from racing in the women's category, and was forced to race with the men. In 2015, she was briefly banned from racing in the men's cyclocross national championship when the rules were changed to require a person's gender to correlate with the gender on their driver's license.

In this interview, she talks with Payson about being thrown into the spotlight after the outdoor community's reckoning with social justice issues in 2020 and 2021, after decades of advocating in relative anonymity. She talks about why she continues to fight for trans rights after so many years, what brings her hope, and how she plans to focus her mission in the coming years through her organization, Riders Inspiring Diversity and Equality (RIDE). She and Payson also talk about the controversy surrounding USA Cycling's decision not to remove anti-trans protestors as Cyclocross Nationals last month, and why the conversation surrounding trans women in sport cannot be limited to scientific data points.



Link to International Olympic Committee guidelines on transgender athletes: https://olympics.com/ioc/documents/athletes/ioc-framework-on-fairness-inclusion-and-non-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-gender-identity-and-sex-variations

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Jack Aitken has been pursuing a career as a Formula One driver since he was seven years old. He's raced in both Formula Three and Formula Two, and was signed as a reserve driver for Williams Racing in 2020. Later that year at the Sakhir Grand Prix, he made his F1 debut when another racer tested positive for coronavirus. 

In this conversation, Jack talks about his love of cycling, the cutthroat path to securing a seat in F1, and how he prepares physically and mentally for the demands of the job. He also talks about racing Lamborghinis on the GT racing circuit, going head to head with the sport's greatest stars at the Sakhir Grand Prix, and the crash he sustained at the famed Spa 24 Hours race in July that left him with a fractured vertebra and a broken collarbone. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Lizzie Deignan has held just about every title available to road racers. She was the 2015 World Champion, won silver medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, and is a four time British national champion. She has also won the prestigious trio of races consisting of the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the inaugural women's Paris-Rubaix earlier this year. 

In this conversation, Lizzie recounts her experience at Rubaix, including what it was like encountering the infamous cobbles for the first time, being pursued by Marianne Vos, and vomiting in the final miles of the race. She also talks about how becoming a mother midway through her career was a liberating experience. At a time when cycling wasn’t bringing her joy, she says that she “wanted to do something that was just an emotional, non-logical decision.” She talks about balancing family life with racing, and why having a child has actually extended rather than shortened her career.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

In his role as President of Events and Media at Life Time, Kimo Seymour has been instrumental in the acquisition and shaping of mass participation off-road events such as Unbound Gravel and Leadville.  Last week, Life Time announced a first-of-its-kind gravel series, where 40 professional riders (20 male and 20 female) will vie for $250,000 in prize money over the course of six races. The series, known as the Grand Prix, is comprised of three gravel races and three cross country races, including the Sea Otter Classic, Unbound Gravel, the Leadville 100, and Big Sugar. 

Kimo talks to Payson about why they decided to create the Grand Prix, how they think it will benefit the non-professional racers, and some of the criticism that the series has received since being announced. They also talk about Life Time’s surprise acquisition of the Sea Otter Classic, and where Kimo hopes mass participation off-road events are headed. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]