With Pace

Matt Phillips has ridden more bikes than perhaps anyone else in the world. And over the last 30 years reviewing cycling gear, he's tried just about everything the industry has to offer. But his job is not always the dream career that cycling enthusiasts might imagine. In this conversation, Matt opens up about the unsettled relationship between his work as a tech journalist and his struggles with mental health. While much of his job involves riding new bikes and testing cutting edge equipment, it also includes criticism from readers and brands, and the pressure to maintain quality content and adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of media and journalism.

He talks about why he pushes himself to be a technically skilled rider, what he wishes the industry would focus on more,  the death of print media, why gravel is the answer to road's innovation problem, and why he doesn't see athletes creating their own media as a threat to his own work. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Reed Boggs is a freeride mountain biker who placed third at this year’s Red Bull Rampage. The event is known for pushing the boundaries of freeriding and has seen its fair share of groundbreaking runs. Reed has competed in three Rampages, and explains why, in his case, experience was the only way to success. He also talks about how he got into freeriding as a teenager from suburban Ohio, why he wasn't sure that he'd even get to ride in this year's Rampage, and why he's outspoken about riding responsibly on public and private land.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Joe Cruz has been bikepacking since the 80s, when a college trip introduced him to the excitement and challenge of multi-day cycling adventures. Since then, he's raced and bikepacked his way across the world, including journeys through Ethiopia, Patagonia, Pakistan, and Tibet. When he's not riding his bike, he is Professor of Philosophy at Williams College in Massachusetts, where he also chairs the Cognitive Science Program. 

In this interview, Joe talks about how the physicality and adventure of bikepacking complements his academic work, why the pace of cycling invites a unique form of philosophical thinking, and how he works to avoid entitlement or expectation when encountering new cultures on his bikepacking trips. He also talks about being held captive for almost an hour in a village in Ethiopia, and the trip he took through Pakistan during the height of the War on Terror. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Alexey Vermeulen began his career racing on the WorldTour circuit for Jumbo Visma. After falling out of love with the road scene, he decided to transition to gravel and mountain bike racing in 2018. Since then, his results have included second and first place finishes at the Iceman Cometh in consecutive years, and third at Belgian Waffle Ride. In this conversation, he talks about his decision to change the trajectory of his career early on, and the steep learning curve of switching from road racing, which he had been chasing since he was a teenager, to the relatively unknown quantity of mountain biking. He also talks why 2020 was a good year for privateer cyclists, and the video series he created with Ryan Petry for Outside, in which they selected three amateur riders to train and prepare for the Leadville 100.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Nat Ross has many firsts to his name. He was the first rider to race a World Cup on 29 inch wheels, the first winner of the Marathon National Championships, and competed in the first X Games...in two disciplines. He's also competed in forty 24 hour races and won nine, including two World Championships. During his professional racing career, he was often at the front of the line to try the latest innovations from industry legends whose names are now synonymous with the technology they pioneered, including Gary Fisher, Keith Bontrager, and Stan Koziatek. 

In this interview, he tells Payson about the battle to get 29-inch wheels approved by the UCI, being one of the first riders to adopt tubeless technology and full suspension, and the year he competed in the Triathlon World Championships and won the four man relay Race Across America. He also talks about moving to Bentonville, Arkansas from Golden, Colorado, the initiatives he's starting there to get kids into cycling, and why his 1997 Gold Medal from the Great American Beer Festival remains his proudest achievement. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Sarah Sturm returns to catch up with Payson about how her life and career have changed since her first time on the show in 2020. She talks about learning to say no to things, why she doesn't like going back to races she's already done, and the imposter syndrome she still feels on the start line no matter how many wins and professional successes she achieves. They discuss how she chooses her race schedule, the hypocrisy of being an adventure advocate on Instagram, and why she's feeling pretty relaxed about getting older. They also talk about their Enneagram personality types, the sensitivity of teenage boys, and conducting social media from the toilet. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Chad Cheeney is the co-founder of Durango Devo, a non-profit mountain bike program for kids in Durango, Colorado. Since the program began in 2006, Chad has coached thousands of young riders, including Sepp Kuss, Christopher Blevins, Sarah Sturm, and Howard Grotts. But beyond those who have gone on to become world title holding pros, many more have achieved the program’s central objective: becoming life long riders. Chad talks to Payson about why he wanted to start a development program out of college and why he prioritizes fun and exploration over structured training. 

They also talk about their shared memories of Durango Sweet Elite, a U25 team that was created for graduates of Fort Lewis College and alumni of Durango Devo. In 2013 when Chad was Team Manager, the roster included Payson, Sepp Kuss, Sarah Sturm, and Stephan Davoust. They discuss some of Chad’s unconventional coaching methods that cultivated memorable moments between the races, and how his emphasis on community and team building has carried over into the training practices of some of Durango’s most successful pros. They also talk about how his coaching has changed since he became a father, and the moment he learned that Sepp Kuss had won a stage at the Tour de France.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

At just 19 years of age, Vali Höll is no stranger to the World Cup podium. In 2018, she won every Junior World Cup race and went on to win the overall title two years in a row, occasionally beating the fastest Elite times. Her 2020 season was cut short by injury and further complicated by the pandemic and studying for her final year of high school. She tells Payson about the rehab process at the Red Bull High Performance Centre in her native Austria and her rocky start to elite racing during the 2021 season. After a string of disappointing finishes, she made a mental reset, refocused on positivity, and dominated the final World Cup in Snowshoe, West Virginia, eventually winning the overall title.

She talks about the pressure that followed her from her success as a junior to her first elite season, and how she finally managed to overcome these expectations in time to dominate at Snowshoe. They also talk about the initiative she took early in her junior career to find and negotiate contracts with sponsors, and the importance of female mentorship in her career.

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Annijke Wade is a mountain biker who was finishing her third season of racing when a crash on a familiar trail left her permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Now, almost three months later, she talks to Payson about coming to terms with her life-altering injury. Shortly before the crash, Annijke became a certified mountain bike coach and founded BIPOC AF, an organization that seeks to make the cycling community more inclusive and accessible to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. 

In spite of her sudden change in circumstances, Annijke says that she found acceptance almost immediately. She attributes this mindset to her late grandfather and to her practice of non-attachment, a philosophy related to Buddhism. She joins Payson from Craig Hospital in Denver, a leading institute for spinal cord injuries, where she has been living for two months. She talks about the rigorous program there, why she calls it the “Hogwarts of spinal cord injuries,” and why she can’t wait to get back on a mountain bike. She also talks about how the accident has affected her relationship with her partner, and some of the changes she’ll have to adapt to when she leaves the hospital. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]

Today on the show, photographer and Iceland expert Chris Burkard turns the tables on Payson to interview him about his record-setting self-supported 257 mile ride from the northernmost tip of Iceland to the southernmost tip in just under 20 hours. They talk about his gear and nutrition choices and how the ride stacks up against some of the other challenges he's done in recent years. They also talk to Evan, one of the photographers documenting the effort, and Nichole, Payson's girlfriend.  Both had their own unique roles and vantage points from the media van and share their experiences. 

Instagram: @withpacepodcast
YouTube: Payson McElveen

Email: [email protected]