Podcast

School of the World is in Jaco, Costa Rica and they offer classes in surfing, yoga, photography, AND Spanish! I took this as a sign and an opportunity to start fulfilling the two goals I made for myself, to learn Spanish and spend more time in Latin America.

Enter Maria Osowski, PT, DPT, who is a licensed Physical Therapist and lifelong Athlete. She has been on the podcast before on Ep. 133 ~ Red Granite Grinder Recap when she won the 144 mile version of that race. This time she’s back to help keep us injury free so we can enjoy the sport we love and the bodies that move us!

I started following Lindsay Shepard’s journey when I saw on social media that she had built her own bike frame and was planning to race on it. To my surprise the first race she signed up for was my East Texas Showdown! Right after that, she turned her van North East and did the Gravel Doom race, in Arkansas.

Eric House joined our community during the pandemic, like many others. However, two and a half years later, I don’t think this pandemic-born-bike-baby is going anywhere, but up! His first bikepacking race was the 2022 East Texas Showdown. He packed light, read “nothing”, went fast, placed 9th, and learned a lot, but most importantly, he … Read more

My guest this week are Hannah Simon and Stephanie Hall who are veterans to the ETS and this year shared a first place finish. Also joining me are Russell Pickavance and Ariel Marlowe who both completed the LOWdown, which is a new 160 mile bikepacking group ride and not a race.

During the pre-race meeting for the 2022 East Texas Showdown Hannah Simon asked me, “have you ridden the entire course?”. Even though I’d ridden many of the roads over the years and was very familiar with the area and the route, I had to say “no”. I hadn’t ridden this particular route. The fact that I couldn’t answer that question in the affirmative stuck with me. It ate at me. So I decided to do something about it.

On today’s episode we tackle the topic of Winter Riding. Some of the topics discussed are layering, eating, keeping water from freezing, managing electronics, and going potty. The information is this episode is invaluable and it’s a result of Rebecca’s extensive personal experiences.

Jerry Kopack followed the “laminated playbook” that many Americans are familiar with; go to college, get a job, buy the house, save for retirement, have the family, etc. etc. While he was on the path to a traditional standard of success, he wasn’t fulfilled.

A lot has happened since the the last time we spoke back in the Fall of 2019. During the pandemic he moved back to Connecticut and ended up staying there and ramping up on his entrepreneurial efforts. What he’s been able to accomplish in the cycling industry is truly inspirational.

As the East Texas Showdown heads into it’s third year the excitement is growing and so are the questions. To help answer the questions we brought in a few past participants who are also competing again this year. Our guest are Kuya Takami who won the Showdown last year, Emily Miller who is hoping to … Read more