We’re more than a month into the new year and in the northern hemisphere it’s a time for many athletes and mountain bikers to focus on their base mileage and keeping their cardiovascular system healthy even when the trails are off limits. It may be cold and wet outside, the couch is too cozy, or you have to finish that TPS report – we’ve heard all the excuses and that’s why we’ve put together this playlist for whenever you need a little bit of motivation to go the distance.
You’ll hear from mountain biking legends young and old, bikepackers, Olympians, and overall badasses from our sport. Some of our favorite interviews are found below and you can find the complete list here.
Lael Wilcox
Lael Wilcox, Tour Divide winner and bikepacking record setter, talks about the importance of having balance. On competing in multi-day, multi-thousand mile solo bike races she says:
“[There’s] balance in having a very social active life involved with other people, and then being out racing and it being quiet and alone. The good thing is neither will last forever so I’m always looking forward to one or the other.”
Jeremiah Bishop
Jeremiah Bishop talks about the importance of visualization and good mental habits. Here’s his powerful advice for race training, or, for life in general:
“Your body follows your mind, if you fill your head with positive thoughts and execute positive actions it will often lead to positive outcomes. Instead of thinking what could go wrong, think of how it’s going to go right.”
Rebecca Rusch
Rebecca Rusch, explains her theory of “Blood flow = Brain flow”:
“The more we move our bodies the healthier our minds are […] For our mental health, our physical health, emotional wellbeing, I really do believe that being outside in movement and sport, in whatever form that you take, is the magic pill for all of us. It’s right there waiting for anybody and it’s accessible to anybody.”
Carl Decker
Carl Decker has been crushing it in the race scene since 1997. He still gets after it on a singlespeed armed with decades of experience and humbly accepting the truth that:
“The bad part about getting old is that you need to take more rest days, but the good part about getting old is you get to take more rest days.”
Kurt Refsnider
Kurt Refsnider, the only person to have won all three events in the Triple Crown of Bikepacking, is a self-coached cycling coach who has seen athletes achieve results faster with a little help:
“If you want to improve at something really quickly, I think having an expert in that area helping you, that’s the way to do it. And if you’re just doing it out of passion, it might actually be better to do it on your own and figure it out on your own….”
Kate Courtney
Kate Courtney, Cross-Country World Champion, works on technical skills and does yoga as part of her training:
“I think some people in endurance sports in particular are always looking for the secret thing that they need to be doing and they can do every day. I think people lose sight of the fact that often the best thing you can do is something you like to do and I always have loved going to yoga.”
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