Four-time cyclocross national champion and world champion silver medalist Ellen Noble returns to The Adventure Stache to chat about how life has changed since her first appearance on the show way back in Episode 34. They talk about the pressures of being a role model in women’s cycling, the lose/lose reality of being a female athlete on social media, and why Ellen has finally started her own program this year. They also discuss misconceptions about money, share some cringeworthy dad jokes, and a...
May 26, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Todd Ballard is the former Chief Marketing Officer at GoPro. During his nine years there, he was instrumental in elevating the brand to global recognition and choosing which athletes the company sponsored. In this conversation, he tells Payson and Justin what drew him to GoPro long before it was a household name, why passion is more important that fame when it comes to sponsored athletes, and why he chose to leave GoPro after so many successful years there. They also talk about impostor syndrome...
May 19, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Ayesha McGowan is a professional road cyclist. As the first African American woman to reach pro status in cycling, she balances her racing career with advocacy for greater representation in the sport. In this conversation, she talks with Payson and Justin about using her platform to elevate athletes from underrepresented backgrounds, and her previous career in classical music and teaching. They also talk about unconscious racism, the snowboarding accident that ended her music career, and whether...
May 12, 2020•1 hr 46 min•Season 1Ep. 62
In the third episode of Quarantine Companion, Payson and Justin are joined from Andorra by pro cyclist Robert Gesink, whose many accomplishments include 4th place at the Tour de France in 2010 and 1st place in the Tour of California in 2012. He currently rides for the ProTeam Jumbo-Visma. In this conversation, Robert talks about how his training has changed since Andorra went into one of the world’s strictest lockdowns nearly two months ago, why homeschooling his kids is harder than racing, and ...
May 05, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 61
In celebration of The Adventure Stache turning one year old, Payson visited Reggie Miller, the show's first ever guest, at his home outside Los Angeles. Along with filming the first episode of "StacheTV", the new sibling YouTube series to the podcast, they sit down to discuss what legacy means to Reggie, his ever-growing ambitions in cycling, and an epic never-before-told story about Kobe Bryant. Head to Payson's YouTube channel to watch the YouTube video from this visit, where Reggie shows no m...
May 01, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 60
In this episode of Quarantine Companion, Payson and Justin are joined by cyclist Rahsaan Bahati, whose twenty-year career in criterium and track racing included ten national championship titles and multiple appearances on the USA Cycling Worlds team. They talk about his career and transition into activism through his creation of the Bahati Foundation, which works to promote the health and education of inner-city youth through cycling, and his current role as Social Impact Manager for Zwift. Othe...
Apr 28, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 59
In this first installment of Quarantine Companion, Payson is joined by co-host Justin Williams to lay the groundwork for this new limited series. They talk about how they’re getting by in the age of social distancing and lockdowns, including what books they’re reading, what snacks they’re consuming, how they’re maintaining motivation to train, and what their daily schedules and workflows look like. They also give some hints about what’s in store for future episodes of Quarantine Companion, inclu...
Apr 21, 2020•57 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Brook MacDonald is one of the best downhill mountain bikers in the world and has snagged multiple podium spots on the UCI World Cup circuit since he began racing professionally in 2011. Known as “The Bulldog” for his fearless, full-throttle racing style, Brook is no stranger to injury, and 2019 saw the most brutal setback of his career so far. At Mountain Bike World Championships in Quebec in September, he fractured his spine in two places and lost feeling in his legs, leaving his future on and ...
Apr 14, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Justin Williams returns to the podcast after appearing for the first time in episode 48 with Kate Courtney and Colin Strickland. In this episode, he and Payson confront some controversial topics, including the death and legacy of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, social media backlash, and why we should accept the shades of gray in the lives of influential public figures rather than choose to only see black or white. They also swap stories of their worst racing experiences, including a food shor...
Apr 07, 2020•1 hr 37 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Larissa Connors is a two-time winner of both the Leadville 100 mountain bike race and Belgian Waffle Ride. Payson caught up with her at her home in Orange County, California in February to talk work/life balance, over-training, and why she has unfinished business in Leadville. They also talk about why she’s glad she doesn’t live near any of her toughest racing competitors, how she manages to maintain her infant daughter’s breastfeeding schedule while training for races and working full-time as a...
Mar 29, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Sarah Bidgood is a leading nuclear nonproliferation expert and Director of the Eurasian nonproliferation program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. As a specialist in US-Russia cooperation in nuclear security, she has written books, appeared on news outlets such as CNN, and presented her research at the United Nations in Geneva. In this conversation, Sarah and Payson talk about why the US-Russia rivalry is still so conten...
Mar 25, 2020•1 hr 35 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Following Payson’s win at the historically muddy “The Mid South” gravel race, many asked for a Q&A episode giving a look inside the race. In this episode, Payson responds to the questions you've been submitting over the past few days about the race, including why he chose to use slick tires for one of the muddiest races on record, how he kept his head in the game and managed to catch the lead group after early setbacks, his power, heart rate, calorie, and other race data, and his thoughts ab...
Mar 18, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Nik Hawks is an entrepreneur, athlete, and veteran (Navy SEAL). Among his many pursuits, he is a paraglider, writer, podcaster, Red Bull athletic performance consultant, and founder of a paleo dessert company. In this conversation, Nik talks to Payson about why it took him three tries to complete the Leadville 100 ultramarathon, choosing between health and athletic performance in regards to diet, what it’s like working within the individually-minded world of elite athletes as opposed to the team...
Mar 09, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Tyler Jewell is an athlete performance coach at Red Bull, and has been instrumental in helping athletes reach the heights of their sports and come back from injuries. In this conversation, Tyler talks about his early career as a two-time Olympic snowboarder, why he doesn't necessarily like the word "talent", how years of persistent relationship building was key to creating a successful coaching career, and why he often favors on-the-spot training plans rather than the industry standard ones. He ...
Mar 03, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Hans Rey is a pioneer of extreme mountain biking and a former trials riding world champion. After retiring from professional competitions in 1997, Hans forged a new path as an adventurer, traveling the world with camera crews and journalists to document his explorations by bike. To date, these experiences have taken him to over 70 countries and landed him over 400 magazine covers. Because of this, Hans is considered by many to be the original content athlete, paving the way for a modern generati...
Feb 25, 2020•57 min•Season 1Ep. 50
In the summer of 2019, acclaimed photographer Chris Burkard set a new record in the WOW Cyclothon in Iceland, completing the 844 mile ride that traverses the perimeter of the country in 52 hours, 36 minutes and 19 seconds. In his second appearance on the show (he appeared previously in Episode 2), Chris does a deep dive on his record-breaking effort, which included 45mph crosswinds, zero sleep, unicorn hallucinations, and nine hours of torrential rain. He talks about why he puts himself through ...
Feb 18, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Justin Williams is a professional cyclist who has raced both domestically and internationally. He’s won multiple national titles, including both the road and criterium races at the Elite National Championships in 2018. As one of the small number of professional cyclists of color, Justin has chosen to prioritize inclusivity and representation in a sport that still lacks diversity. In 2019, he and his brother and fellow racer Cory Williams founded their own team, Legion of Los Angeles, which seeks...
Feb 11, 2020•1 hr 53 min•Season 1Ep. 48
John Collinson is a big mountain freeskier whose accomplishments in the sport have earned him multiple podiums on the Freeskiing World Tour and awards for his frequent appearances in Red Bull and Teton Gravity Research films. Equally skilled in the tricks and style of free skiing and in the speed and scale of big mountain skiing, Johnny is known for his versatility and range. In this conversation, he and Payson talk about how a recent knee injury has helped him discover an affinity for a whole n...
Feb 04, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Reilly Brennan is an early stage investor in the transportation industry and a lecturer at Stanford’s School of Engineering. As cofounder of Trucks, a venture capital group that funds the future of transportation, he has played a crucial role in the development of self driving car technology and other advances that will modernize the way we move from place to place. In this conversation, he explains to Payson how transportation touches every part of life, the thousands of decisions that go into ...
Jan 28, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Angel Collinson is one of the most accomplished big mountain freestyle skiers in the world. Throughout her career, she's won two championship titles at the Freeskiing World Tour, and was the first woman to be awarded Best Line at the Powder Video Awards in 2016. Angel is perhaps best known for her many appearances in Teton Gravity Research’s (TGR) annual ski films, which have featured some of her most spectacular and daring runs. When Payson interviewed Angel last week at Red Bull headquarters, ...
Jan 21, 2020•1 hr 44 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Neal Rogers has been a cycling journalist for nearly twenty years, writing for publications such as VeloNews (where he was Editor in Chief), Global Cycling Network, and Cycling Tips. Throughout his career he’s covered some of the biggest races and interviewed some of the most famous riders in the world. In this conversation, he discusses his unusual path into cycling journalism, the riders he most enjoyed interviewing, tough decisions about picking truth over friendship, the journalistic intrica...
Jan 14, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Todd Wells is one of the most decorated mountain bikers in U.S. history. Across his more than 25 year career, he's won three Cyclocross National Championships, three consecutive Mountain Bike National Championships, and represented the USA at three Olympic games. In addition to UCI racing, he's won multiple stage races, including La Ruta de los Conquistadores, Breck Epic, and the Leadville 100 three times. Although he retired in 2017, he continues to race occasionally, and has won the Telluride ...
Jan 07, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 43
For our final show of 2019, we’re bringing you a much requested Q&A episode. Payson sits down to answer some of your questions about training, motivation, diet, the kindness of strangers, off the bike hobbies, and much, much more. Instagram: @withpacepodcast YouTube: Payson McElveen Email: howdy@withpace.cc
Dec 31, 2019•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Sepp Kuss is a World Tour road cyclist currently riding for Team Jumbo-Visma. He's raced the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, and was just named to his teams's 2020 Tour de France lineup. His major wins include stage 17 of the 2019 Vuelta a España, and three stages and the overall in the 2018 Tour of Utah. Sepp and Payson recorded this interview in front of a live audience at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic registration event in Durango, Colorado, Sepp's home town. They talk about his transitio...
Dec 24, 2019•49 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Phil Gaimon is a former World Tour road cyclist who rode for Garmin-Sharp and Cannondale-Drapac among others. While racing, he blogged for VeloNews , Bicycling , ESPN , and Sports Illustrated and wrote the popular book Pro Cycling on $10 a Day (2014). He retired at age 30, expecting to hang up his race bike and put on some cookie-weight. He continued writing ( Draft Animals (2017)), but through a series of unexpected twists, launched his wildly successful YouTube show “Worst Retirement Ever,” wh...
Dec 17, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Christian Williams and Payson have been working together for over a decade, ever since Payson was a junior racing in local and state races in Texas. Over 20 years of coaching, Christian has led over a hundred riders to national podiums, and been the director of the Garmin development team and the USA Pan American Games team. In addition to his coaching, he's raced for over 35 years as well. In this conversation, he and Payson discuss why their relationship has lasted for so many years when most ...
Dec 10, 2019•1 hr 45 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Tiffany Cromwell is an Australian road cyclist who rides for Canyon-SRAM. Her many accomplishments include stage wins at the Gira d’Italia and victory in the Belgium Spring Classic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. She and Payson caught up this summer at Steamboat Gravel (SBT GRVL) to talk about her early introduction to the world of professional cycling, starting her own fashion line, how she’s hoping to turn her passion for travel into a post-cycling career, and what she wants to see change in women’s ro...
Dec 03, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Carson Storch is a freeride and slopestyle mountain biker, best known for his participation in the Mountain Bike Freeride World Tour and Red Bull Rampage. He and Payson caught up in L.A. only a few days after this year's Rampage to talk about the event and its challenges. They discuss the behind-the-scenes build process that can make or break a good run, and the alliances and politics involved with it. They talk about techniques Carson uses to keep his cool during such a high stakes competition,...
Nov 26, 2019•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Ted King is a former professional road cyclist and current gravel racer. Ted's diverse interests off the bike are nearly too numerous to count, but include hosting his own podcast (King of the Ride), co-owning a maple syrup based nutrition company, Untapped, and founding the acclaimed gravel event Rooted Vermont. Before his gravel racing career, Ted was a professional World Tour road racer with Liquigas, during which time he raced the Tour de France and was a key domestique to Peter Sagan. Payso...
Nov 19, 2019•55 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Ned Overend and John Tomac dominated professional mountain biking during its hay day of the late 80’s and 90’s in a rivalry that is permanently etched in off-road racing history. Their battles defined the sport for nearly a decade, and were made even more memorable by the diverse and dynamic technological advancements of the time. One year ago, Payson got Ned and John together for a rare one-on-one conversation, which they recorded at Tomac's 800 acre ranch in Cortez, CO. They talk about what it...
Nov 12, 2019•1 hr 55 min•Season 1Ep. 35
