Not that long ago, Anne Galyean was a full-time professional mountain bike racer and a full-time scientist and she had to make a choice, like being torn between two lovers. We are going to talk about that today.
Anne did her graduate school research at a government research lab in Maryland. “You can imagine the people. A lot of pocket protectors,” she said. Meanwhile, she was sporting tattoos and a mohawk, and people would sort part ways when she walked down the hall, like the sea dividing. She has been called a punk to which she responds, “That’s Dr Punk to you, sir.”
That’s because Anne has a Ph.D in analytical chemistry, is a former pro mountain bike racer for Yeti Fox National Enduro Team. She won the Big Mountain Enduro Series, Scott Enduro Cup Series, and was the fastest U.S. woman at the Aspen Enduro World Series event. She is so smart, at times, I found myself not really knowing how to respond to her. You’ll notice those moments, trust me.
We’re going to talk about breaking stereotypes and the greater impact it has on society. also
With that, let’s listen in and gear up for whats next.
Where to Find Anne:
Resources:
When I first scheduled Jeff to do this episode, I was thinking it was actually going to put my mind at ease. I’m not totally sure that happened. Nevertheless, it’s good to have this conversation about wildlife encounters if nothing else, to gain some respect for the outdoors. Not take certain things for granted.
Jeff Thompson is a returning guest - he is the executive director of the Idaho Panhandle avalanche center and has been a forest service ranger for decades. We’ll talk about some common sense measures one can take to mitigate the danger in the wilderness. Nothing is failsafe of course, because animals are unpredictable but do not fear, you have greater odds getting hurt commuting to work than you do playing in the woods.
What you’ll learn today:
With that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next.
Where to find Jeff
Resources mentioned
In 2003, when I was in ski resort marketing, the snow reporters and I made a video called Powder for Peace. We had just invaded Iraq and we made a short movie where we took Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il and George Bush, along with Henry Kissinger out skiing. We showed them how awesome it is to ski powder and they loved it so much, they all became friends and the war came to an end.
So maybe Eric Grace is on to something here with his approach to land conservation. He and his team at Kaniksu Land Trust are developing innovative programming that has much broader impact to the entire population because land conservation, to be successfully implemented, must be relevant to a majority.
Eric is a good friend of mine and also the Executive Director of the Kaniksu Land Trust.
He’s going to share with us what a land trust is, what it does and how it benefits the public. He’ll discuss how access to the outdoors can be a huge solution to many societal issues and how we must do this work to leave a legacy for generations to come. You know, we take these things for granted right now - that we have access to land - that’s not guaranteed for future generations if land trusts and people like Eric Grace aren’t working to guarantee it.
Resources Mentioned:
Amy Schweim, today’s guest lives in Oaxaca, Mexico where she guides single and multi-day trips, there and in Spain and Peru. Her business, Women’s Radical Pursuits, combines mountain biking, yoga, and mindfulness designed to inspire and empower women through adventure travel trips.
How she got to here, from being a school teacher in the States, is a great story with a couple catalysts; one of them being heartbreak.
Amy is proof that periods of difficulty can lead to a higher trajectory. It reminds me of this awesome quote from Ariana Huffington:
“I have an incredible trust in life. One of my favorite quotes is a little misquote: ‘Live life as though everything is rigged in your favor.’ I really profoundly believe that whatever has happened in my life, including the biggest heartbreaks, the biggest disappointments, was exactly what was needed to help me get to the next stage of my own personal evolution and growth. I always had a sense of that, but now I believe that so profoundly. I can literally see the hidden blessing in every bad thing that happened.”
With that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next:
Resources
Where to Find Amy
Sarah Rawley races pro in the enduro circuit, is the co-founder of Colorado’s first women’s only mountain bike race, the Yeti Beti Bike Bash, and the VIDA MTB Series, a women's mountain bike clinic. She also has a full time job with Yeti Cycles. In case you didn’t have time to get that “thing” done, I think your excuses have just been removed by Sarah’s display of Type a level achievement.
What I love about Sarah is she is a woman on a mission. A mission to grow the mountain bike community and get women into racing and mountain biking. She is that person who makes ideas happen. You might be sitting around with Sarah and casually suggest, “ we should have a mountain bike clinic for women,” and she says, “OK, let’s do it. and she does.”
We talk about launching a ideas. Overcoming challenges. We tackle other topics like partnering with the right people and knowing your strengths. Not only in work but in life. She wraps up by sharing with us aspiring to be better riders on how to use a safe profession to build your skills.
Lots of good stuff today to let’s listen in and get up for what’s next:
Resources and where to find Sarah:
Rider to Racer registration
Sarah on Instagram
My favorite subject, food! is on the docket for today.
The last time I did a big race which for me is 25k trail mountain run, I posted on instagram (are you following me on instagram by the way?) a photo of my favorite recovery meal - Hammer Nutrition Recoverite drink, strawberry flavored, and cheddar cheese flavored Kettle Chips. Today, we’ll learn why that’s not such an awesome idea, in case you thought it was. Meredith is a sports nutritionist and an ultra athlete, in fact she competes in the Ultra Man in November - essentially a three day double ironman. Day 1 is a 10k swim and 91 mile bike, day 2 is 170 mile bike and day 3 is a double marathon. That’s over 52 miles of running on the last day.
She has a lot of great advice for those of us aspiring to improve performance or simply feel better. Time management for training is a big one. She shares her system that she and her husband have found work well for them. It’s like having a baby and you need to divvy up the chores. Lastly, she walks us through an approach to finding what works for you - throw those fad diets out the door - and how to think about nutrition during different phases of your training.
With that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next
Resources:
Where to find Meredith:
Liam Fitzgerald’s former job sets the bar for stressful job. He was the lead avalanche forecaster for the Utah Department of Transportation (and the Little Cottonwood Canyon Highway - you know, the road that leads up to Alta and Snowbird). Every day, he decides whether it’s safe enough for the public to drive up the highway.
Curious what it’s like to do that job? What goes into keeping us safe as we drive highways through mountains without giving it a second thought? Then listen on because I’m excited to have Liam with us today. You’ll find articles on Liam in New York Times. Powder Magazine, puts him in the category of iconic figures who defined skiing.
He has a fascinating life story how he sort of happened into this industry, and kept getting jobs he wasn’t qualified for but worked himself into it. (not the UDOT job, don’t worry.)
Hope you have fun listening to the many stories.
There are turning points in life where one decision leads to another and your path diverges from the one you had envisioned. Then, there are moments, shall we call them epiphanies? When you realize that turning point was meant to be.
Ashley wanted to be a high end couture designer and live in New York City, or even Italy. She’s the founder of Shredly, a mountain bike and women’s apparel brand based in Colorado. I’m no math major but that’s a wide trajectory off the path. One day she found herself on a mountain top in Switzerland and realized she was “home.” In the mountains, that is. She realized she was doing the right thing, in other words.
We only get to choose one path as it turns out and we talked about that a little bit. Hopefully, it’s a long enough path and we get to fit everything in we want.
The best products and brands typically result from a unique combination of two very different concepts or ideas. In Ashley’s case, she brings high end fashion design to mountain bike shorts. Why can’t we be super cute while we’re mountain biking!? She also drew from other textiles and home decor for inspiration to create what has become a sort of cultish but highly coveted clothing line.
Some of the lessons in today’s conversation:
I hope you enjoy as much as I did.
With that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next.
Where to find Ashley and Shredly:
Today, travel writer Dina Mishev joins us and we’re going to talk about finding and pursuing your passion, not the direct route, but taking the scenic, if not altogether, more difficult way of getting there. Dina deferred entry to law school to move to Jackson Hole with the hopes of learning to ski and running into Harrison Ford. The detour opened new doors for her that eventually led to her becoming a travel writer for magazines and online publications such as Sunset Magazine and the Washington Post. We get to learn more about that and what the creative process is like. When the media landscape began to shift in the past decade, she shifted accordingly. When cancer struck, again, she had to adapt.
A few things really struck me with the conversation and I think it bears repeating here. She sent out 1483 queries for her first travel writing assignment and instead of being discouraged by the single assignment she received , her reaction was “their loss” to the “NOs” and the unresponsive. I would have decided then and there I’m not good enough but there is something to be said for perseverance and self-confidence (or the naïveté of the young?)
When Dina says, on dealing with cancer and MS ”It’s crazy what your body can get used to.
Physically, my body can get used to a new normal - much quicker than mind and emotions can.” I thought about that when I was listening to the interview during editing. I wish I had noticed it when we were talking so we could have discussed it more. It’s so true - our minds and the story we tell ourselves can be destructive. That’s something I talked about a few episodes ago in my backcountry ski trip, when I let my mind spiral myself into insanity.
Listen up and gear up for what’s next!
Where to Find Dina
Resources
I invited my friend Brian Harder back to the show to share his training advice he had for me in preparing for that 7-day backcountry ski trip I told you about in last week’s episode. Along the way we also talked about what happens when you suddenly find yourself on a career track and you wonder what else there is in life. (So, maybe you ditch it for a different lifestyle, one that makes you happier even though it might mean you have to live in a car.)
You’ll also learn about skimo racing - ski mountaineer racing. Maybe it’s time for a new sport for you? If nothing else, it could become an Olympic sport and I think it will be fascinating to watch.
Brian is a board-certified physician assistant working mainly in orthopaedics. He has a B.S. in exercise science and completed a year of graduate work before going to PA school. He is basically, a geek about all things exercise related and has competed in bicycle racing and skimo racing. He’s climbed and skied all over the old and is a former Exum climbing guide - he’s guided in the Tetons, Alaska, Himalaya, and South America.
Listen on and let’s gear up for what’s next.
Training principles:
Resources:
Find Brian:
Hi everyone, we are BACK.
After taking the past two months off the show to take some time to interview a whole bunch of new guests, I’m excited to bring you episode 33.
I have been having so much fun talking to outdoor active professionals and athletes about what makes them tick, how they overcome hurdles and make ideas happen. The only reason, after a year that I’m on episode 33 and not 52 is because of the time it takes to source and schedule interesting guests. If you know of someone who should be on the show, please send them my way. you can reach me on twitter @lisagerber or via email: lisa at big leap creative dot com.
We have a great round of episodes lined up for the coming weeks. Dina Mishev, a top travel writer for magazines like Sunset, Washington Post, Ashley Rankin, the founder of Shredly mountain bike shorts, the former avalanche forecaster for the Little Cottonwood Canyon highway. lots of interesting topics and people.
But first, today, it’s just me sharing an experience I had last month at Selkirk Mountain Experience, a trip that pushed me beyond my limits. It’s was scary. it was awe-inspiring. It was amazing, after I knew I would survive it.
This is about more than a 7-day backcountry ski trip. It’s about how I disconnected, got outside into the great silence, found some new emotions, new ideas, raised the bar on existing, you know, big deal shit like that.
If you are considering a trip like this, you’ll learn more about what to expect. Whether you are or not, there is something to be said for doing your own thing that scares the hell out of you.
I do want to underscore the importance of subjectivity here. at times, it might seem like I’m making a big deal out of the impact this trip had on me. It was a big deal on me. For many. this trip would have been a cake walk. for others, it’s out of the question. These things are purely subjective. what matters is we do something that scares us, that raises the bar. If nothing else, according to a friend, it wards off dementia as you get older. So there’s that.
Resources mentioned in the episode
Leg blasters workout