Podcasts about GPX

In this episode of The Trail Network, Leah Yingling, Katie Asmuth, and Rachel Drake tackle listener-submitted questions — from the most essential pieces of gear to the do's and don'ts of early trail running. They reflect on their own first races, share stories from their original local trail crews, and discuss the learning curve that shaped their ultra journeys.The trio dives into topics like:The gear they wish they had when they started (spoiler: good socks and GPX watches go a long way)Why finding your local trail community might be the best investment of allNavigating the overwhelming flood of information in today's media-heavy running sceneTraining structure for long ultras — whether double runs or extended sessions work bestThe beauty of learning through mistakes (hello, 5-hour “easy” runs with one snack)Plus, they explore the value of coaching, celebrate female-led races pushing for parity in the sport, and close with a few words of wisdom for anyone just starting out.A perfect listen for new runners, seasoned trail vets, and anyone chasing joy out on the dirt.Teaser for next time: How would the crew race Western States if they were toeing the line this year? Tune in next week for that deep dive.This episode is edited and produced by the Sandyboy Productions Podcast Network.A special thank you to Osprey for supporting this episode. Visit Osprey.com to explore their incredible products!And a big thanks to our newest sponsor, ⁠Janji with the code TRAILNETWORK for a 10% discount on your Janji order.

Mercedes and Andy Lilienthal take us on a deep dive into their ambitious plans to traverse the Transamerica Trail - a 7,100-mile network of back roads, dirt paths, and trails stretching from North Carolina to Oregon. This adventure represents the ultimate American road trip for off-road enthusiasts who want to experience the country's hidden landscapes.With years of experience between them, the Lilienthals break down the preparation required for their month-long journey. Their 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness will serve as both transportation and home base.  Outfitted with a rooftop tent, recovery gear, specialized lighting, reinforced components, and carefully considered power management solutions to make a long stay feasible. Mercedes explains her methodical approach to navigation, using a combination of digital GPX files and traditional paper maps to guide their path across 15 states.What makes this journey particularly challenging is the ever-changing nature of the trail itself. Recent hurricanes and flooding have altered sections of the route, requiring extensive research and flexibility in planning. The couple shares insights into their emergency preparedness strategy, including redundant communication devices and how they approach the inevitable challenges of remote travel.Beyond the technical aspects, they offer a glimpse into the human side of such an ambitious undertaking - how they manage the dynamics of spending a month together in close quarters, their methods for documenting the journey, and what they hope to gain from this coast-to-coast adventure on America's less-traveled paths.Curious about their progress or planning a similar journey yourself? Follow their adventure through social media and their website at @CrankshaftCulture, where they'll be sharing updates, photographs, and insights throughout their Transamerica Trail expedition.Be sure to subscribe for more In Wheel Time Car Talk!The Lupe' Tortilla RestaurantsLupe Tortilla in Katy, TexasDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.---- ----- Want more In Wheel Time car talk any time? In Wheel Time is now available on Audacy! Just go to Audacy.com/InWheelTime where ever you are.----- -----Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast provider for the next episode of In Wheel Time Podcast and check out our live multiplatform broadcast every Saturday, 10a - 12noonCT simulcasting on Audacy, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and InWheelTime.com.In Wheel Time Podcast can be heard on you mobile device from providers such as:Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music Podcast, Spotify, SiriusXM Podcast, iHeartRadio podcast, TuneIn + Alexa, Podcast Addict, Castro, Castbox, YouTube Podcast and more on your mobile device.Follow InWheelTime.com for the latest updates!Twitter: https://twitter.com/InWheelTimeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/inwheeltime/https://www.youtube.com/inwheeltimehttps://www.Facebook.com/InWheelTimeFor more information about In Wheel Time Car Talk, email us at info@inwheeltime.comTags: In Wheel Time, automotive car talk show, car talk, Live car talk show, In Wheel Time Car Talk

On today's episode of The Wholesome Fertility Podcast, I am joined by Dr. Nayan Patel @aurowellness, a pharmacist, researcher, and glutathione expert, to explore the critical role glutathione plays in fertility and overall health. Dr. Patel shares his journey from traditional pharmacy to developing a breakthrough delivery system for glutathione through the skin, and why this antioxidant is essential for protecting egg and sperm quality. In this episode, you'll learn how oxidative stress impacts fertility, why diet alone might not be enough, and how his innovative technology can support the body's natural detoxification process. Be sure to tune in for this fascinating conversation packed with practical advice and insights for anyone on the fertility journey! Key Takeaways:  Glutathione is the body's most abundant and powerful antioxidant. It plays a vital role in protecting reproductive health by reducing oxidative stress. Most oral supplements don't get absorbed effectively, making Dr. Patel's skin-delivery innovation a game-changer. A healthy lifestyle and cysteine-rich foods are essential for maintaining glutathione levels. Guest Bio: Dr. Nayan Patel @aurowellness is a highly sought-after pharmacist, wellness expert, and thought leader in his industry. Since 1999, he has collaborated with physicians to custom-develop medications and design patient-specific drug and nutrition regimens. As the pharmacist of choice for celebrities, CEOs, and physicians alike, Dr. Patel is recognized for his innovative approach to health and wellness. He is the author of The Glutathione Revolution: Fight Disease, Slow Aging & Increase Energy, which distills over a decade of clinical research on the master antioxidant, glutathione. His patented technology for delivering glutathione topically has revolutionized how the body absorbs this essential molecule. From this breakthrough, he also created the Auro GSH Antioxidant Delivery System, a skincare line designed to deliver antioxidants more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Websites/Social Media Links: Learn more about Dr. Patel's Products Follow Dr. Patel on Facebook For more information about Michelle, visit www.michelleoravitz.com  To learn more about ancient wisdom and fertility, you can get Michelle's book at: https://www.michelleoravitz.com/thewayoffertility  The Wholesome Fertility facebook group is where you can find free resources and support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/  Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewholesomelotus/ ------------------------------- Transcript: # TWF: Dr. Nayan Patel [00:00:00] [00:01:00]    **Michelle Oravitz:** So welcome to the podcast, Dr. Patel. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Well, thank you for having me. I appreciate the time today. **Michelle Oravitz:** Yes, I'm very excited to talk about what we are going to discuss, which is glutathione. But before we get to that, I would love to get your backstory and how you got into the work that you're doing today. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Oh my god, absolutely. So start off as a pharmacist, as a career as a pharmacist, and after graduation [00:02:00] from pharmacy school. In Southern California, we were, we were trained to take care of the patient's needs and medications. And very quickly I realized that the medications we have at that time were actually not solving any problem. They were just maintaining people's problems. And very, very early on, you know, you have an aha moment in your life. That oh my god, what what did I just do right? Oh, I'm just not solving any problems So I had to turn my career to a completely different angle no former educations in in making medications or doing compounding or customizing medications that dive into the that practice and 25 years later here we are today and looking back at that and said, what a journey, what a turning point I had, because it shaped me for who I am today. I had the privilege of making medications and design treatment plans and drug plans for so many individuals helping them in their health and wellness journey. And then all [00:03:00] roads led to me to a discovery of a novel technology that can deliver glutathione. And it all started because I was just curious to find out how we can help people solve their own problems instead of trying to figure out medications to solve the problems. Right? Even though glutathione is not a, it's, it's something that body produces internally we're using it as a supplement today, but. And overall my goal was not to do anything and just enhance the body's own ability to to defend itself. And so here we are today it's a very interesting career for me for sure. **Michelle Oravitz:** For  sure. And first of all, just for people listening that don't really know much about glutathione, I'd love for you to share really what it is and also why it could be so challenging to supplement with. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Absolutely. so the glutathione in a nutshell Is three amino acids coming together in a single chain. It's a one of the smallest form of peptides we have You two amino acid chains, three amino [00:04:00] acid chains, four, five, 30, 40, 50, and thousands of the chains as well. The simplest form, of course, is glutathione, which is about three amino acids coming together. It's by far the most abundant molecule produced in the human body. And if that's produced so much, we ought to know what it's supposed to do for us. And so that's what my research came back for 140 years that we have known about glutathione. Nobody's ever figured out how to actually get inside your body. And so, 60 years ago, 70 years ago, we had a medication approved by FDA to enhance glutathione level. And as of today, that is the only medication that has been approved ever. In the whole, in the whole world, which is N acetylcysteine, which is one of the amino acids that's been used to produce chlorothione. And that's the only thing that has been available for the last 60, 70 years. **Michelle Oravitz:** So let's talk about what so we definitely, that's one of the things that um, I've been doing for egg health and also sperm [00:05:00] quality, cause it's such a high potent antioxidant. And one of the things that I have always suggested is N acetylcysteine because that's the precursor and we knew that that was like the one way that the body was able to produce it. Okay. Thank you. But then there were some supplements that still supplement with glutathione, liposomal, like different ways, which I know are not really shelf stable. So there's always been challenges with that, but before we continue on with that, I'd love for people to hear, like, what glutathione can benefit, how it can benefit the body. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** So, I understand your audience is interested more in the fertility side of the whole thing. So, you're dealing with rather younger individuals overall which is a good sign because younger patients have, everything at their disposal for the body to respond to even the smallest amount of nutrients that they receive. If the same amount of nutrients is given to an 85 year old person, they're not [00:06:00] going to feel anything, right? But if 20 year old person gets a small amount of good nutrition, they respond very, very well. And so I want to make sure that people understand that **Michelle Oravitz:** And also just to kind of mention um, sometimes we have 40 year olds too, that are trying to conceive or like trying to do IVF. So just kind of like, yeah, the whole, **Dr. Nayan Patel:** They're still spring chicken to **Michelle Oravitz:** okay. Okay. It's good for them to hear that. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** I mean, I've helped people in the very, I mean, in the late forties to get babies as well. So it's not something that's not doable. It's just gets incredibly hard after the age of 40. So it's, not that easy to do so, but the glutathione has multiple properties and understanding what glutathione does is, monument in over. in our therapies because with the two things that we do know is it's the ability for glutathione as an antioxidant to detoxify, neutralize all the free radicals in your body. But the second component is also help you detoxify by conjugating [00:07:00] inside your liver with metabolites and chemicals binding to them. So we can basically get rid of it from from your body. So the two functions that we do know That exists today. There's a lot more research still existing that we need to do. So we, we still are urging researchers to go back and use this new technology product and see if we can find out more things that glutathione can do for us. So one two the sperm or the egg quality is dependent on how your body is able to neutralize those free radicals. Those free radicals are actually toxic to all the embryonic membranes and embryos itself and the quality of the sperm and the egg itself. And neutralizing those free radical of body, there's three ways to do that part. One, you take outside products like vitamin C, and vitamin E, and CoQ10, and and C60s, and I mean, methylene blues, I mean, there's a slew of products that says, oh, we are so called antioxidants, right? So that's [00:08:00] category one. The category two of the products are produced endogenously inside your body are enzymes like catalase, supra oxide, puase, SOD, for short glutathione peroxidase, or GPX for short. So these are the enzymes that the body produces to deal with the oxidative stress or the free radicals. Okay, so those are the category one are the category two. The third category is only one product, which is glutathione. And if you look at it, the body produces so much of glutathione, and the effects of glutathione is so powerful, that if you combine the category one, which is all the antioxidants from outside sources, and the enzymes that your body produces, those two combine, Glutathione can surpass the antioxidant properties. And so I want listeners to understand very carefully is that the glutathione needs to be a basic cornerstone in everybody's arsenal. Every medicine chest in the world should have a [00:09:00] bottle says glutathione And in that bottle either you have a product or it have a note saying that eat healthy food to Let your body produce its own glutathione Either way that note has to be there on every medicine chest out there and you're right There's so much noise out there I want to cut to the noise today because if you just put your favorite search engine or your ai robot is going to tell you hey glirathion, there are a thousand different products out there. Choose one You Right. And as a consumer it's very hard to find out what to choose correctly and people hide behind a great technologies that that exists in the world and said, Oh, my, my product uses this technology. So it's the best one in the world. And you mentioned liposome technology, by the way, I just will let, you know, we were one of the very first few people that actually use liposome to produce the first liposomal glutathione. This was 25 plus years ago, right? And we made the liposome because at that time that was the [00:10:00] best technology that existed in the pharmaceutical world. And the doctor that owned the patents for those came to me and said, Hey, we've been very successful in making this for medications. Can you help me make nutraceuticals with it? Like vitamin C and CoQ10 and PQQ and S Xanthine and Glutathione and so on and so forth. And so we made the products for that doctor. And then a couple of years later. Some work, some did not work. Gluten was one of the products that did not work. So I go back and says, why is that working on everybody? The question I always ask is, hey, it helped my girlfriend. How come it's not helping me? Or it helped my sister. Why, how come it's not helping me? What, what, what am I, how am I different than the other human beings? and in reality, only your face is different. Internally, we are identical. A body has the same heart, the same organs, everything is the same, right? So we have not changed for the last 40, 000 plus years, [00:11:00] how to expect that I'm different than my sister, or I'm different than my girlfriend, or whatever, right? Maybe your genomic mixture is different, but your overall organs and organ systems are identical. And so to me, I said, okay, if it works in one person, it should work on everybody. If I get absorption in one person, I guess you should get absorption in everybody. What's the rate limiting factor? Why is it not happening? And so I didn't have answers at that time. I did not know what to do. So next story is that, okay, you know what? I'll make the intravenous form of glutathione. Hey, if I inject him into the bloodstream, my job's done. Again, took me a few months to figure that portion out how to make that part. And yes, This is long story short, we were Well, again, we were one of the first company pharmacy early on in 2001 to make the injectable form of glutathione. Now, very quickly, we realized that the effects of this glutathione was very short, right? And then I looked back in the research and said, there was a study done in 1991 [00:12:00] saying that if once you inject glutathione, it only stays in the body for between four It takes five to 15 minutes and everything gets destroyed or gets, get, get, it gets into the urine and you pee it out, but an hour and a half later, there was an increase of cysteine, which is one of the amino acids that went up in the blood. And so the researchers concluded that the body was breaking down this glutathione and cysteine was getting reabsorbed by the body and cysteine is being used for your body to produce its own glutathione. I said, okay, I don't care how the body makes it. As long as the body has a gluten, I don't care. But the results were very short lived. And I don't know if you know this thing, but back in early 2000s, one of the doctors came to me. I said, Hey, if it's short lived, that's okay. Let me take you to Vegas because when people drink, they deplete their glutathione levels. If it only stays for 15 minutes, I can revive somebody who's passed out drunk of their minds and I can get them. So. He literally took this product to Vegas and [00:13:00] start helping patients. I read scripts for those kinds of things. And again, I have nothing to do with it. I, unfortunately, I was just the supplier and I was just the maker of the product, but we saved so many lives. We helped so many people, but we were, we learned one thing that the action was not long term. And if I want the long term benefits, because if it's one of your patient, if it's one of your listener, who's, who's trying to get pregnant she, or he has to plan for A 30 day cycle, not a 15 minute. Give me some push right now and I'll be done. No, it's a 30 day cycle. You have to plan everything methodically, right? What am I supposed to do from day one to day seven and from day seven to day 14. And after ovulation, what do I do? And after post ovulation, if there's an embryo implantation, what do I do? And so on and so forth. It's a, it's a whole process and your body needs to be clean this whole time. And none of the products were actually getting the results I was looking for. Later on, I found out, this was 2011 [00:14:00] University of Texas in Austin did a study on the liposome technology product of glirathione. And what they found out was same thing that they saw in intravenous form. The body actually breaks down the glirathione, never absorbs a single molecule of it. Absorbs the cysteine and cysteine is later used to produce his own glutathione. And the end story is, it still works. It still works. But people need to understand, just because it works, it does not mean your body absorbed it. And there's a there's a difference between that one and maybe some people may not appreciate that part But I do appreciate that part because in my case i'm dealing with thousands of patients across the country across the globe now And I want to make sure that I want to give assurance to everybody that hey if I give you a glutathione product No matter what it is going to get inside your body [00:15:00] and absorb it And so the liposome technology product was great until now People got a lot of people got results for almost 80 got results from it but not because it absorbs it because the body was able to Conjugate or take the cysteine and make its own glirathione today Today the things have changed now. Why? because 15 20 years ago We started doing gene testing gene snips You Right at that time it was nobody can afford it. I was fifteen twenty thousand dollars for a blood test Oh gosh, no, nobody can afford that today Same test is 200 bucks 300 bucks, **Michelle Oravitz:** Right.  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** right? So now what's happened is that now everybody's doing these gene testings And finally got hey, do I have gene mutation where my body cannot produce gluothione if the answer is yes Then I don't care how much product you take from outside sources, the body is not [00:16:00] able to effectively produce glutathione correctly all the time. And so that to me is one more proof, one more proof that we need a product that your body can actually accept it, incorporate into their own DNA and use it when it needs to. Anyways, I just went off too many tangents no, Thanks very much, interesting. I want you to continue. So how did you find out and, and like how did you discover the product that you have now and what kind of technology does it use and how does it really impact the body? Absolutely. Those **Michelle Oravitz:** nerd in me wants to know **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Yeah. All great, great questions. And I want to, I really want to be an open book. I don't want to hide any information from anybody so that I'll be more than happy to open it up and let everybody know. So earlier when I first started the book. So we had a, we had a couple of barriers. One, what we knew was the body's not going to take any peptides, any amino acid chains to get it to and incorporate it into their own DNA. [00:17:00] What we, what I found out was the body has to make 100 percent of all peptides in the body, the body has to make it. Right. So we knew that I knew that part very early on. So I said, okay, there is no way on earth I'll be able to make a product that your body can use it up. Okay, so now I had to figure out Okay, how do I get this simple tripeptide three amino acid chain peptides into the body? So I first of all, I want to do, I want to create a stable molecule because if I have a stable molecule in my lab, I can work with it. If it's unstable, I don't have time to really experiment on it, right? So my first goal was to make a stable molecule. So that we achieved pretty fast. It took us a couple of years when we got the stable molecule. We took it by mouth. Again what we saw was Sistine went up, so it was not working really, it was getting broken down. We scored into the nose, I said, and if the nose was burning, I said, oh, nobody's going to use this on a daily basis. Of course not, right? It's not a, it's not a fun thing to do. I knew the [00:18:00] injectables was a little bit of an uphill battle because it requires FD approval and all those things. I said, you know what? The only route that was remaining was skin route. And of course, skin is a physical barrier, right? So it's a physical barrier that I have to overcome. And the physical barrier is, is a particle size barrier. So I had to reduce the particle size so small, It can get through the cracks or the pores of your skin and get inside your body. So that was the first challenge I had, which we were able to crack the code in about a couple of years. We had to take this peptides, twist it in such a form that doesn't get broken apart and gets a small, you know, like when you twist the towel, you know how it gets smaller and smaller and smaller, but you twist enough, it can get really small. And so that's what we did with this molecule. It forces microscopically, and we were able to reduce the particle size to much smaller. We got to the skin. The bigger challenge is this glutathione is inside your cells. So now the issue is that, [00:19:00] okay, we release a particle size, we get through your skin. Now, so the physical barrier, we, we all work in the physical barrier. The second was a chemical barrier. Because the cell wall is a lock and key. Hey, you say the magic word and the castle opens up and you can go inside. But if you don't say the magic word, the castle will never open for you. So the question then becomes is that what does the body needs? What does the cell needs to survive? All your mitochondria, the energy powerhouse in your body is in the cells, right? And that to produce the energy, what you need is carbohydrates and sugars. I cannot give you sugars because I give you diabetes and we already have an epidemic of diabetes in the United States across the world nowadays so I said, okay, how do I get a polysaccharide sugar type molecule? That doesn't doesn't do anything about the sugar is completely inert FDA has tested it out and it's completely safe to give to anybody pregnancy no pregnancy children's everybody And can I use that molecule? So we found [00:20:00] dextrin technology. This was a technology that has been out for about 20, 30 years now, but there are no good medications in the world. As even in today's state, there's not too many medications out there. People are still dabbling around. those technology products. And so we use the technology to literally, instead of working with medications, we start working with glutathione. We do the sugar molecule and stuff inside with glutathione. It's like, do you need M& Ms? Do you need **Michelle Oravitz:** No, not anymore,  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Not anymore,  Okay, Good. Good. Do you, do you eat M& Ms for the peanuts or for the chocolate? **Michelle Oravitz:** I guess well, I used to like the chocolate ones when I was really, really little. And then later on peanuts, **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Exactly. But the thing is, you don't eat M& Ms for peanuts, you eat M& Ms for the chocolate. But the peanut inside, if you get a peanut, do you spit it out? Or you know what? It's not so bad. I can use it up. **Michelle Oravitz:** It's like I compare it to like, you know, the being able to take those pill things for your dogs where you put it inside a treat and get the dog to eat it. And[00:21:00]  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** That's exactly right, right? So I took the carbohydrate, the sugar molecule, stuffed the glutathione inside, you know, so the body, when the carbohydrate hits the cell wall, the cell goes, oh, I can use this up. Right? And sucks it in. Inside is glutathione. But he goes, well, I can use this up too. It's not something new to me, so I can use this up too. Right? And so now, it's like you somebody tells you that, hey, I have a billion dollar coming to you, but it's coming in the mail. Well, that's not helping me right now, but if it hits my wallet, gosh, I can spend it today. Right? So, you can check the mail, it's in a transit, but until it hits the wallet, you cannot do anything about it. Saving glutathione, if the glutathione is in your body, but it's not inside your cell, the, the cell says that, okay, I need the glutathione, but it's way out there. It's not in my cell. I cannot use it up. Here we got inside the cell directly. [00:22:00] When we did that part, like magic just happened. All of a sudden, the body has a product. The body needs it. The money's in the wallet right now. I can go spend it today. And the body can actually use the glutathione immediately To start doing what? Two things that we know of as of right now. One is start neutralizing all the free radicals. That's number one. Number two, start getting my liver cleaned up and start detoxifying all this, all this metabolism in my system. When you do those things up, all of a sudden your whole body or your temple, your, your the sanctuary in your body starts getting healed from inside, starts getting cleaner. And all of a sudden the, main thing, which is our sperm and the eggs. Are not been invaded or not been attacked by this toxic chemicals. **Michelle Oravitz:** Right? **Dr. Nayan Patel:** And so that's, there's, there's my technology. We discovered this in 2007, as you can imagine 2007 it was too far [00:23:00] ahead of the game. There was nothing in the world that exists something even close to this thing. And so there was no studies being done. There's no research articles published. There's nothing out there in the world that I can fall back and say, Hey, go ahead and use it safe. **Michelle Oravitz:** Yeah.  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** do that part. So it took me another 13, 14 more years to literally do everything that I can do on my own. I have no funding. I did everything on my own. I put every single thing I have back into this to basically research it out. Apply for the patents, all my work that I did. I, in fact, I published a book about three, four years ago. All the work I did for the first 13 years, I put in a book. I said, Hey. Guys, here's read it, right? This is this is all my work and it's just success stories that I've given to patients and clients and And found friends and family that uses product and and see how how much benefit they got in different areas of life right if you're an athlete versus if you have metabolic disorders versus you have [00:24:00] metabolism, defects if you're on the spectrum because spectrum patients have some sort of Metabolism issues of detoxification issues that they cannot clear the toxins out of the body And they are the autism or aspergers or whatever they got right? So i've all the stories and I have some stories about horses and and dogs and how how they it helped them as well in their in their wellness, thing as well as anyways So that's all the stories in the book the glutton revolution. That's my book. But after everything got done We had a pandemic **Michelle Oravitz:** Right. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** the product was not even released yet You And the pandemic comes around and I've been begged by all the doctors around the country. I said, oh my god Please give us the access to the glutathione because I was working with doctors So they knew about this product, but none of the consumers knew knew about it And so that's when we actually did a soft launch. We didn't have a bottling. We didn't have a boxing. We have nothing at that time No website, we had a website, but it was like a nothing nothing crazy So 2021 [00:25:00] was the first launch of the product now we are here today, but, so anyways, so thanks for asking me this question, but I just wanna make sure the story **Michelle Oravitz:** Yeah, no, I love the story because I think also I have very, very smart listeners, I'll be honest, like with a fertility journey, they are so educated. You know, it's such a motivator to really educate yourself. And a lot of times if I work with people in person online, I see the most educated people, they really know a lot. So I wanted to kind of have a background to really explain how the process works. Cause I feel like it's very empowering for them. And the two things that I know, like an N acetylcysteine. So that works as a precursor to get the cysteine. And then from that gets the body to produce glutathione. And then your product works through the skin and then is enveloped by the carbohydrates, right. Or the yeah,  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** is, it, it's, it's a polysaccharides is what we call 'em. And it's embedded inside that one. It's the, analogy I can [00:26:00] give you is that, hey if you need money, there's two ways to get money. One is I'll give you a job. You work at it. And you, you share your trades and then for the reward, I'll give you money. The second part is here's the money in your wallet. I'm not going to give you too much of it. I'm just going to give you enough to survive the rest. You still have to go make it yourself. Right. And so the second part, I give you enough to survive. Your body says to make the rest of the glutathione from the foods you eat and things like that. but a lot of people need, just need a little edge over everybody else. So I just give them extra glutathione to make sure that they are able to use up right now, because when you have a problem today, if you need the money today, and if you give you a job, I said, that's good, but I need the money now. I don't need money two weeks from now.  **Michelle Oravitz:** Yeah.  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** And so that makes it very, very useful. And in, in certain cases, I'm not saying that is good for everybody. What I am saying that is good for everybody, but the product may not be good for everybody,[00:27:00]  but having a healthier lifestyle, having the cysteine rich diet. Is absolutely a must I don't care what what age you are, right? That is absolutely a must So if you do that, if you have a healthy lifestyle, that means avoid the toxins that depletes the glutathione levels Having the diet that consumes that gives all the amino acids those two things combined Will will give you a fighting chance for long periods of time where you don't need any supplementations The supplementation is very good for people that need extra help or temporarily And then once your body gets under control then you can stop it, too **Michelle Oravitz:** Yeah. And then, so the couple of questions that come to my mind is you know, I'm, I'm a, also a big believer, obviously it sounds like it's doing something, but I'm also a big believer that like nature has a very a method for its madness. And I'm wondering, is there a reason why it's under such lock to allow um, glutathione in by itself, rather than having the body produce it? It was just [00:28:00] kind of like something that came to my mind.  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** know.  **Michelle Oravitz:** you were mentioning that. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** and you're right. I mean, the body is, is equipped to deal with, because any peptides that you, that the body can accept from outside sources can actually get embedded into your DNA. And so having the purity, what if you give somebody else's DNA inside your body? **Michelle Oravitz:** Right. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Wow. Right. Think about it. Think about it. You're injecting somebody else's DNA. Some, some of the protein from something else that is not made by humans. The body is going to start going to cycle, react to it and say, Oh my God, what if well, we have vaccines right nowadays. What are the vaccines are proteins by outside of viruses, right? How about we use those embedded into our own DNA? So that's the, that's a scary part to me. And so that's the reason why a body does not allow anything from outside sources to get inside your body. It's very [00:29:00] very protective. Glutathione we do know is produced endogenously. It's inside your body, making sure that the glutathione the raw materials that we use Is of the highest highest quality. I would say 99. 99 percent pure is what we need. Otherwise, we just going to have a chance of making sure we have a chance that we can harm our body. And so just so for when I, when I first heard that in 2007, I quickly, I realized that I have to bring manufacturing in house. I can't trust anybody to do this for me. It literally took me eight years to build my own plant out small plant But just enough so that I can control every single thing making sure the water that I use is the highest quality Everything that goes inside is for the highest quality products. That's why I had to Ensure that so I brought everything in house. It was too costly to make it It's still too costly to make it and to [00:30:00] reduce the cost. I had to make sure that I I am, I'm going straight from the manufacturers to the consumers and there's no too many middlemen in between to reduce the cost down. And so we've been doing whatever it takes and you're right. The by doesn't take it. So having that technology to bypass this is somehow empowering that we can do that part. But it's scary is that we can use the same technology to, to hurt somebody too. **Michelle Oravitz:** Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. And thank you for answering that. And also, my question is, what have you seen in the research? Like, what have you seen short term, long term, because you, it sounds like you guys have been working with us for a long time, in the response of people's bodies and conditions. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Absolutely. So just FYI of a human body gets everything gets, gets redone every 30, 60, 90 to 120 days. That means you get new cells in your bodies all the time.[00:31:00]  The body is constantly constantly making new cells, better cells so that you can rejuvenate yourself from inside out, right? So the body is, it's like you're having a house, constantly remodeling your house from inside all the time, right? So no matter what happens, if I make a hole in the wall, you know what, a few months from now it'll be a brand new wall again. I don't have to do anything, just have to wait and don't make it further damage the wall, right? And it'll be repaired by itself. So the body repairs itself. The issue is that. The glutathione can actually improve the repair process to the point where it repairs better. And you can feel the effects much, much faster. Now certain organs take them 12 to 18 months to repair. For example, liver, it takes a long time to repair. So, any, if you're looking for benefits for liver health that may take anywhere from 12 to 18 months. Even though if I have doctors I work with all the time and the doctor says, Oh, my, the liver function tests are coming normal. I said, just because the tests have [00:32:00] no, that doesn't mean the liver is normal, right? I guess you're right. Absolutely right. So they do ultrasounds. They do scans and things like that to figure that portion out. But again, it takes them 12 to 18 months to fix it. At a short term people when they have have issues with oxidative stress. The biggest issue I've seen is these are, these are people that have some gene mutations that cannot produce, they cannot conjugate and make enough glutathione. They have this brain fog that has been lingering on for decades, decades, right? For 10, 20 years sometimes. Of course, these are older people. These are not 20 year olds. And so they've been struggling and All of a sudden, they use a gluotide and about 15 minutes later, they can just see the, just brain just opens up. Now, it is not a, it's not a something to improve your memory. It's not this magic pill that you see in the movies. It's here, one pill, my brain just fires up and I'm, I can think and I can do anything I want to do. It's not that pill, it's a **Michelle Oravitz:** but I'm sure it can prevent things like Alzheimer's or things like that. Mm hmm, [00:33:00] mm **Dr. Nayan Patel:** well, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and things like that as well. But in the short term, when people see the brain fog clears up, all it's doing is reducing oxidative stress. **Michelle Oravitz:** hmm. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** If you need to reduce oxidative stress, so I've seen results as much as 5 to 15 minutes. Up to two to four weeks in most individual And two three to six months in I would say 99 of the people they see some improvement in their health and wellness and they're most of them are working with the physicians So they're doing some blood tests before and after the doctors are saying what the heck you're doing I don't know what you're doing, but keep on doing it. It's very good for you. So  **Michelle Oravitz:** That's really interesting. And then also, if you were to get, you know, outside source of glutathione, the body feels the glutathione, will it make an impact on the body's own production of glutathione now that it feels that it has more. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Absolutely. And the thing is [00:34:00] the the biggest concern that people have that hey What if if I take glutathione from outside sources with my body shut down his own production? And yes and no, I think the body probably may reduce the production, it probably will not shut it down because keep in mind when we're comparing, because most people have been burned by, hey, if you take steroids, your body will, it'll blow up like a balloon and because the body is not able to make its own regular, its own steroid production, which is true, which is 100 percent true. endocrine system is tightly regulated from your gonadal hormones, your pituitary and your ovaries and your testes and to the brain, which is the pituitary the hypothalamus, right? So they both work together, your brain tells your ovaries to produce the hormones, the ovaries produce the hormones, the ovaries cannot produce the hormones, The brain is going to keep on sending signals. Can you do more? Do more? Do more? Because I can't do anymore. I'm already tired. I'm burnt out. I'm just, I'm shriveled up. I can't do anymore. Right? Versus if you [00:35:00] take a hormone from outside sources, it affects straight to the pituitary. And the pituitaries will shut down and say, Hey, no more producing hormones. You got too much. I don't know where it's coming from,  but  **Michelle Oravitz:** like a thermostat,  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Right? It's a negative feedback. But when it comes to glutathione, glutathione is not triggered by any brain or hypothalamus. Glutathione is taking three amino acids together, two enzymes, two molecules of ATP, which is energy, and one molecule of NAD for electron transfer. All this to come together to make glutathione. Right? Now this same energy, ATP energy, NAD energy is being used in thousands of chemical reactions that happens every single day. So keep in mind, if your body does not have to produce glutathione, your energy is never wasted. It's used to do other reactions all day long. But the good thing is that glutathione is by far the most abundant molecule produced in the human body. [00:36:00] And after a couple of weeks or so, the body is saying, hey, everything is not working great. Now for two weeks later you see some increasing energy because now the energy is is Getting excess and your body goes. Oh my god. I have excess energy now all of a sudden. It's not a car It's not a caffeine type energy It's not like jumping up and down type of energy, but you do feel good from inside out Right. You do feel good. And all of a sudden you pick up other habits, walking, jogging, cycling, you know, or just going out and just, you just have this, this energy inside your body that you want to do other things. You just feel alive from inside. And so, and then when you stop the glutathione, the body says, okay, oh, should we have, we need more glutathione. So the first energy goes towards producing glutathione, but if you have enough glutathione, that energy has been used to produce other peptides. Keep in mind, a muscle needs what? 6, 100 amino acids coming together. Takes a lot of energy to produce muscle fiber. So if you're not [00:37:00] using the energy to produce glutathione, hey, hopefully it goes to producing more muscle mass. I'm hoping for that. **Michelle Oravitz:** Yeah. . And is there like a limit on how long you should take it? you know, is there a limit that you have? **Dr. Nayan Patel:** So, I do know that your body needs glutathione until the last day you die. So, until that day, you have to take it. After you're dead, I'm not sure if your body needs glutathione or not. So, that's a joke. I'm sorry. But your body needs glutathione to survive. Every single day. So the needs are going to be the endless. the better question to me is that do I need to supplement every single day of my life? That's a way better question for me to answer is to that that question came to me in my mind long time ago as well. And so what I have found out is that the body needs glutathione. to survive. Your body has the ability to produce glutathione, plenty of it on a daily basis. And what I found in [00:38:00] my research that up until about the age of 30, there is no need for any supplementation. None. Improve your diet, reduce your exposure to toxicities. You should be fine. **Michelle Oravitz:** Right?  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Between 32, 35, if you have a healthier lifestyle, don't drink alcohol. Don't expose yourself to heavy levels of toxicities. Don't do sunbathing a whole lot. And having a very clean diet, you might still be okay. 35 to 40, I would say 80, 90 percent of the people may need to supplement gluathione, over 40, I have yet to find somebody who has normal levels of gluathione and so the question that I ask is, Hey, what's Well, my mom in the fifties and sixties never had to use a gluathide, and she lived for long periods of time, so why is it today, right? But keep in mind, at that time, sixty years ago, maybe the world population was three billion, now we are eight billion population. And who are the biggest polluters in the world? Is it the [00:39:00] animals or the humans? **Michelle Oravitz:** Humans. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Humans. Animals don't even wear clothing. They don't even do anything. They don't have to build any houses and, and destroy the world. They just live, enjoy the world and leave the world the way it was when they came in. Us humans wants to fly, wants to build a hundred story buildings and wants to drive cars and wants to do all kinds of things. So we are the biggest polluters and the pollution has literally what more than doubled in the last 60 years. So if we say that the, the modernist society is polluted, the answer is absolutely yes. And it's not, it's not like we are turning the tables and we're going on the other way around. So like it or not, nobody's willing to give the modern day conveniences at this point. They don't, they're not going to do that part. So the question is that yes, Maybe my mom did not need gluten until the age of 50 or 60 [00:40:00] maybe. That's dropped down to 30, 35 or 40 at this point. And I'm scared for my kids because they may need glutathione at the age of 25 That's that's not a good thing to do, but it's just just telling us that our memory is getting more and more polluted and we need to figure out every single thing that we can do to enhance our body to stay clean from inside. **Michelle Oravitz:** And is there a benefit to taking N acetylcysteine as well as the, the skin,  um, supplementation?  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** okay, so NAC or cysteine so there are about eight essential amino acids that you have to take every single day Cysteine is not one of them Cysteine, Glycerine, and Glycine. Those are the three amino acids that's used to produce glutathione. Those three are not even in the part of the eight essential amino acids. So if you take cysteine and the glutathione topical version that we have, the cysteine is not going to be used up to produce glutathione at all. It may be used up for some other components, but not for [00:41:00] glutathione. I would suggest that if you're doing that part, then save your money and just improve your diet, right? If you have the money, I would rather you invest in those eight essential amino acids. Those are much better to do that, like Lucid and Proline. And so those are much more better to for you to use it on a daily basis. I'd rather you spend the money on that than to spend the money on the SysTeam. **Michelle Oravitz:** Got it. And then what are some of the foods and, that you would recommend for the glutathione diet? **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Michelle, I've been told not to advise people on diet **Michelle Oravitz:** Okay. Thank you **Dr. Nayan Patel:** is worse than the religion and politics. So I'm going to tell you one thing. All right. So everybody has a, has an AI robot. Everybody has access to AI robot. Go type it up.  Sistine rich foods. **Michelle Oravitz:** Sistine Richards **Dr. Nayan Patel:** You're going to get your vegan choices, vegetarian choices, carnivore, [00:42:00] paleo, Atkins. I don't know what a longevity diet. I don't know. Don't die diet. I, I don't know. There's so many diets out there right there right now. All these diets are going to be satisfied if you just type in the word system food and see what food are you willing to eat and make and have a variety of foods from that list that you consume on a daily basis. Like what's in that list? I, you know, on an everyday basis, every single day.  **Michelle Oravitz:** Yeah **Dr. Nayan Patel:** in there, asparagus in there, there's oysters and chicken and turkey. And I mean, you can name it, right? There's so much stuff is in there that you can consume. It's not a small list, right? But you have to make it a part of the routine. But that's just one thing. That's just one thing. The second part, which is utmost important, is limit. Limit your exposure to toxicities, **Michelle Oravitz:** yes true [00:43:00] Oh, **Dr. Nayan Patel:** pure. Right is important and because of that guess what my technology I even dove into the skincare as well because because most of my customers were females. Well now they are like 50 50 today But at that time all my customers female and they look at the technology and say hey Can you give me all the antioxidants for my face as well? I said sure. It's that's easy, right? So I just went got all the antioxidants and I said, okay Put it squeeze the size right so I can shove a whole bunch of stuff into this couple of products And so I have like seven or eight different antioxidants in full concentration and some are even more in like two creams right And then two of the serums I give like 10x of what you what you get from any of the products in the marketplace today so I give you a vitamin c and glutathione in a very high concentration to your skin Gets your skin completely disperses really really fast and gets gets to the all the skin in your whole body And so anyways, so I did that [00:44:00]  **Michelle Oravitz:** if you do that, To your face, is that the same thing, the same technology that will get glutathione in your cells? So it's kind of like two in one? **Dr. Nayan Patel:** So it is, it is it's the same technology, but what we have to done is we have to identify the speed and how deep I want to go inside. So the skincare is more  for,  **Michelle Oravitz:** different. It's more  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** yeah, but I would always say that if you're using both that do not double up, do not double up, right? If you're using both that your skincare routine, as is the way it's been introduced to you, and then just add on the, the top of glue that just once a day. **Michelle Oravitz:** I  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** And you, and you still get the, I mean, you get full benefit. That's the ultimate Longevity hack is what I call them, right? Cause the beauty is inside out. The ultimate longevity hack is you do the full skincare routine and just do once a day of the glutathione. If you don't do the skincare routine, just the glutathione twice a day is, is, is, is what you need. That's an ultimate bio is, [00:45:00]  **Michelle Oravitz:** Oh, that's great.  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** I have. **Michelle Oravitz:** Well, listen, I mean, I'm curious. I'm sure people listening are very curious, how can we find out more? How can we buy this stuff and get ahold of it? **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Absolutely. So, my website is oral wellness. com. A U R O wellness. com. Go to the website. There is a two part on the top is skincare and wellness. Otherwise you can go to oral skincare. com as well. The same thing. My urge is that if you are any of this patients that is Not able to give up monitor conveniences or you may suspect that you may have low glutathione levels I would probably strongly suggest you try it for 30 days It is,  we do offer a hundred percent, a hundred percent money back guarantee. We don't charge shipping and handling. We'll refund you everything, right? We will, we will do full refund of everything. Cause I just want people to try it out. And once you try it for 30 days and if you see slight benefit of [00:46:00] it then it's the best thing that can happen to you for the rest of your life. It's one thing that I have, I have customers for now for 17 years, since the first we discovered this product. That will, that's like a, it's a go to product in the arsenal. It's like, it's always there. And I'll tell you, I'll give you another analogy right now, because I wanted people to really understand what this is, because as you age, your body is deteriorating, is diseased, and it is, is, is breaking down, right? It's like. You go to your, when you go to your home you leave your door open. And as soon as I leave the door open, the dust, the wind blows the leaves inside. And so what you do is you bring your vacuum out or your, or your broom out and start sweeping and guess what? There's more dust and more leaves coming out. Right? So what do you do? I'll say, Oh my God, I forgot to close the door. Once you close the door, you can literally clean the whole house from inside and make [00:47:00] it brand new again. Right? Oxidative stress, oxidative stress, production of free radicals is the opening of the door analogy in your body. Oxidative stress is not doing anything, but it's allowing every single thing to come inside your body. And destroy the body from inside and unless you block that and close it up You cannot buy your body does not heal from inside, right? So the glutathione is actually closing the door is actually closing the door and then allowing your body to what to start getting? Cleaned up from inside and start repairing itself inside So at the bare minimum at the bare minimum if you do for four months You're going to have every single day Products in your body, every single cells, organs, every single thing you're going to have allowed them the chance to [00:48:00] regenerate self. **Michelle Oravitz:** Yeah.  **Dr. Nayan Patel:** after four months, yeah, it's after four months, it's like game over. So I have people that even today's they, they said, I know what I have to do. It's just that I just keep on forgetting. I said, that's okay. You know, close the door first. You know, it's, it's no fun sweeping and wrecking your house every single day. **Michelle Oravitz:** No, no, it's not. I agree. Wow. This is amazing. Really, really fascinating information. I just love the fact that you have a background from, from ecology. I mean, that you understand it really from the inside out and that you were able to apply technology and really understand it from your perspective and that you had these ideas to create a product like that, that's really cool. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** and I, I wish I had this product when we were going through our early on in my life because my wife had a hard time conceiving and it took us nine years to have a first son. Yeah, and it's not that we were trying for nine years. It's just that [00:49:00] after marriage, it took us nine years to have the first son and we only tried for maybe about a couple of years before. And then. We did, I think we did one, one, I think two IVF cycles. And I said, this will be the last one. We'll never do it again because I know the damage it causes to the human body. And I wasn't the one suffering, but I know it was going to destroy her body for the rest of her life. So I was not willing to put up with make her go through the process, even though it was like something that is so blissful to you, right? When you have a kid. So, yeah, we did all the traditional because I was pharmacist. I knew I'll do all the hormone therapies. I did all the hormones correctly. Everything was just fine, but she just was not producing any follicles. The follicles were there, but they're not producing any eggs. I knew that it was oxygen stress, but at that time I had nolu thi product in me. And So uh, it is just so unfortunate, right? But today you have that if you are a young person that is trying to conceive you have this thing, [00:50:00] at the very least, just use it for a few months. It gives it by the chance. And and, and hopefully you have a healthy baby. That's, that's always my **Michelle Oravitz:** Yeah, that's the hope. Yes. And sending all of that good, good energy and good thoughts to everybody listening. So thank you so much, Dr. Patel for coming on. This is a great conversation. I will have all the links to the website and everything in the episode notes for people to view if they want to stop, stop the car and then go look, but thank you so much for coming on today. This is a great conversation. **Dr. Nayan Patel:** Appreciate your time today. It's my pleasure to be here today. Thank you. [00:51:00] [00:52:00]     

»Pot, ki presega meje in povezuje ljudi« je podnaslov Goriškega camina. Gre za novo, 82 kilometrov dolgo romarsko pot od Ogleja do Svete Gore, ki je označena s simbolom Salomonovega vozla in GPX-sledmi. Goriški camino je razdeljen na štiri etape, lahko pa se ga prehodi tudi v treh, petih ali več dneh. Italijanski del poti je zasnoval Andrea Bellavite, teolog, pisatelj in popotnik, slovenski del pa novinar in popotnik Nace Novak. Slednji je že pred dobrima dvema desetletjema prehodil skoraj 800 km dolg Španski camino, leta 2002 je izdal tudi knjigo z naslovom Camino. Pred tremi leti je izšla njegova druga knjiga Po nebeški poti - Peš od Ogleja do Svetih Višarij. Del druge etape Goriškega camina je z Nacetom Novakom prehodila Mateja Grebenjak.

Cassandra Overby, author of "Home Base Hiking Europe," shares her journey from a business student to a writer inspired by her extensive travels. Rediscovering travel through hiking and connecting with locals, she found it more fulfilling than traditional sightseeing. Her European travels were extended thanks to remote work opportunities, showcasing technology's flexibility. This experience inspired her book on hiking-based European travel, emphasizing safety and navigation using GPX tracks. She also discusses practical aspects like comfortable footwear and the challenges of hiking with young children, leading to home-based hiking adaptations in Europe. Cassandra recounts an accidental European tour with her 14-month-old daughter, which sparked the idea for day hikes between Austrian towns and writing a guide for foot exploration enthusiasts. Her family spent three months in Europe hiking and finalizing routes for the book, which was completed over five months due to parenting responsibilities. The text highlights Austria's Vakau Valley as a family-friendly destination and promotes walking-based travel as budget-friendly. It also mentions affordable travel options from Seattle to Europe. It offers tips on exploring destinations from a hiker's perspective, including coffee experiences and enjoying German cuisine, particularly in Bavaria. Cassandra collaborated with Rick Steves on hiking in Europe, who became her mentor and wrote the foreword for her book. Her book is available in stores and online, with plans for more European hiking guides. They run a website for planning hiking itineraries and offer travel consultations. Cassandra enjoys hiking in Snohomish, Washington, with her family and group, engaging in local activities like mini-golf, and recommending dining spots. She prefers pie over cake and cherishes exploring natural beauty while appreciating familiar places anew. Connect With Cassandra

Para contactar: contacto@alacoladelpeloton.es INFORMACIÓN TÉNCNICA DE LA SALIDA EN BICI ➡️ Esta es la ruta completa en Strava: https://www.strava.com/routes/3228464490407851438 y este el GPX: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LScZxEYCculbIqEy246SYa6-lDikgv97/view?usp=drive_link Perfiles: ➡️ https://www.cyclingcols.com/col/Urquiaga URKIAGA - el primero que se hace ➡️ https://christianpau.blogspot.com/2023/07/que-lindo-es-lindux.html (6ª foto) LINDUX - el más duro del día ➡️ https://laindurain.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/puerto-erro.jpg ERRO ➡️ https://www.altimetrias.net/aspbk/verPerfilusu.asp?id=228 SOROGAIN – este puerto se puede omitir porque solo es subir y bajar al mismo sitio (salen unos 10 km menos y 200 metros de desnivel menos). Será después de la parada que hagamos. ➡️ HORARIO MUY IMPORTANTEEEE!! Puntualidad por favor, estaremos desde las 8:30 en el Polideportivo de Zubiri: La salida será a las 9:00: https://g.co/kgs/CCh1XdY ➡️ Habrá asistencia de coche/furgoneta para cualquier imprevisto, dejar la ropa de abrigo o hacer un buen DNF (sé de lo que hablo). ➡️ Vamos a preparar un avituallamiento básico que estará en la furgo que nos sigue con agua, cocacola, plátanos, gominolas… ➡️ Hay posibilidad de ducharse en el polideportivo de Zubiri. IMPORTANTE: Cuesta 2,5€ (llevad suelto por si acaso) y cierra a las 14:00, por lo que es IMPORTANTE que seamos puntuales en la salida. ➡️ Como he dicho habrá una parada a almorzar algo en el Albergue de Sorogain (el que no quiera subir puede esperar aquí mientras el resto suben, ya que la parada será al bajar) https://maps.app.goo.gl/VjSedA7ECnjeMxsw6 Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Ingo landet bei seiner Bikepacking-Tour in unwegsamen Gelände! Ist das normal, wenn man ohne Computer planen muss? Wie gut sind die Streckenvorschläge von Strava und Komoot? Dazu Testberichte von André zu den Favero Assioma Pro MX-2 SPD-Wattmesspedalen und von André zum ENVE Fray mit der neuen SRAM RED XPLR 13-fach Schaltung und den Zipp 303 XPLR SW Laufrädern. ## LINKS ZUR SENDUNG ## Ingo bei Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quendler/ Andre bei Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tofukind/?hl=de Favero Assioma bei uns im Shop: https://www.enjoyyourbike.com/favero-assioma-pro-mx-2-powermeter-pedale-mit-beidseitiger-messung-94234365 Die neuen Shoks OPEN RUN Pro 2: https://www.enjoyyourbike.com/shokz-openrun-pro-2-orange-94235271?c=2092177 Enve Fray: https://www.enjoyyourbike.com/enve-fray-rahmenset-venom-94234790?number=94234790 SRAM RED XPLR: https://www.enjoyyourbike.com/sram-red-xplr-e1-1x13-schaltgruppe-172-5mm/powermeter/42/10i46/paceline-x-160mm-cl-94235138 Ingos Gänge im Ritzelrechner im Vergleich 1x13 XPLR: https://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=DERS&KB=46&RZ=10,11,12,13,15,17,19,21,24,28,32,38,46&UF=2220&TF=90&SL=2.6&UN=KMH&DV=teeth&GR2=DERS&KB2=33,46&RZ2=10,11,12,13,14,15,17,19,21,24,28,33&UF2=2220 Die neuen Garmin Fenix Uhren bei uns im Shop: https://www.enjoyyourbike.com/garmin-fenix-8-amoled-titan-dlc-schwarz/carbongrau-51-mm-94235277?c=2092177 https://www.enjoyyourbike.com/garmin-fenix-8-amoled-titan-dlc-schwarz/carbongrau-47-mm-94235276?number=94235276 https://www.enjoyyourbike.com/garmin-fenix-8-amoled-titan-dlc-schwarz/carbongrau-43-mm-94235275?number=94235275 ## USER PICKS ## Combine FIT, GPX, CSV or TCX files for Garmin or Strava. Merge Heart Rate Power and GPS https://gotoes.org/strava/Combine_GPX_TCX_FIT_Files.php Wahoo User Maps https://www.rennrad-news.de/forum/threads/aktuelles-kartenmaterial-f%C3%BCr-wahoo-elemnt-bolt-roam-elemnt-selbst-generieren.175315/ ReLive für Strava https://home.relive.cc/ CatEar Airstreams https://www.cxcsupply.nl/cat-ears ## PICKS André / Ingo ## Pick André: European Coffee Trip
https://europeancoffeetrip.com/ https://www.roasters.app/ Pick Ingo: Die Fellerei im Harz/Buntenbock https://www.diefellerei.de/die-fellerei.html ## INHALT ## 00:00:00 Themen heute: Tour de France, Routing-Probleme, Bikepacking Light Harz 00:01:10 Epische Tour de France Femmes! 00:19:08 Ingo war Lightpacking im Harz! Streckentipps, Alltags-Reset 00:35:47 Routing vor Ort: Streckenvorschläge Strava enden als Wanderung! 00:51:44 Routenplanung unterwegs am Handy: Immer noch schwierig heutzutage? 00:59:14 Garmin-Fail: Keine neue Strecke während der Fahrt aufspielbar? WTF! 01:09:31 Strecke umkehren: Karoo fährt woanders lang? Warum? 01:14:24 Harz: Keine Bäume mehr, kein Schatten mehr 01:18:12 Andrés Test der Assioma MX2 Pro Wattmesspedale 02:05:27 Ingo ist die SRAM RED XPLR 13-fach gefahren 02:28:08 Zipp 303 XPLR SW Test von Ingo: schnell, aber kompliziert 02:37:01 Ingos Eindruck zum ENVE Fray & sein Wunsch für ein neues OPEN UPPER 02:56:42 USER PICKS: Fit-Files kombinieren, ReLive.cc, Wahoo Karten ändern, CatEars 03:06:30 PICK André: European Coffee Trip App 03:14:48 PICK Ingo: Die Fellerei 03:22:06 Post-Show 03:26:00 Pre-Show: Podcast zum Einschlafen

Show Notes:  https://wetflyswing.com/647   Presented By: Jackson Hole Fly Company, Togens Fly Shop, TroutRoutes, Skwala Sponsors: https://wetflyswing.com/sponsors  In this episode, Bruce Richards, Scientific Anglers' guru and a master of fly casting, shares his six-step method to perfect your fly cast. Whether you struggle with tailing loops, presentation in windy conditions, or fishing with dry flies, his expertise offers simple and effective solutions. We also dive into the fascinating history of Scientific Anglers, one of the premier fly line companies. Bruce explains how fly lines have evolved over time, becoming heavier and more specialized. You'll learn which rod is best for beginners and the key actions to look for in a fly rod. But that's not all—he reveals the number one cause of poor fly casts and provides tips on analyzing your cast for continuous improvement. Tune in for an episode packed with practical advice and expert wisdom from Bruce Richards, a true icon in the fly fishing community. Episode Chapters with Bruce Richards on the Six-Step Method to Perfect Your Cast 2:24 - Bruce reminisces about his upbringing in Midland, Michigan, where he was indirectly introduced to fly fishing through his father's best friend, a sales manager at Scientific Anglers. Although Bruce was eager to join fishing trips as a young boy, he was only allowed to participate when he was older. His early exposure to fly fishing laid the foundation for his future career. 3:24 - His professional journey began in a rather unplanned manner. Despite attempts to secure summer jobs at Scientific Anglers, the seasonal nature of the business meant there were no vacancies. After earning a degree in fisheries, Bruce received an unexpected call from a friend at Scientific Anglers, inviting him to apply for a job. He succeeded in securing a position in 1976, marking the start of a long and varied career within the company. 5:30 - He reflects on the significant changes in the fly fishing industry over the years, particularly focusing on the technological advancements since he started in 1976. 9:33 - We discuss the evolution of fly lines and rods over the years. Bruce confirms that lines have become heavier and explains the history behind this trend. He also explains that as these heavier lines became popular, rod designers began developing stiffer rods to match them. This created a cycle where heavier lines required stiffer rods, which in turn required even heavier lines. 13:29 - We dig into the combination of fly rods and lines, emphasizing the flexibility in pairing them. Bruce points out that the action of a rod can be modified by changing the weight of the line used. He suggests that the most logical approach is to select the line first based on the type of fly, the fishing distance, and the environmental conditions, and then choose a rod that can effectively cast that line. 16:45 - He shares a bit of the history of Scientific Anglers. 19:52 - Bruce recounts an experience with a Canadian casting student, which led him to develop his six-step method for improving fly casting. Initially, Bruce faced challenges instructing the student remotely but found that examining the top leg of the loop in the cast revealed critical insights. The method involves assessing the loop's top leg for straightness, understanding the rod tip's path, analyzing the caster's actions, and making necessary adjustments. 29:48 - Bruce advises those who have never cast before. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the mechanics, like how loops work, which allows for self-analysis. He mentions that after a lesson, beginners usually show significant improvement. However, he notes that this improvement can be fleeting, similar to learning in other activities like golf. The key to sustained improvement lies in practice and remembering specific feedback, such as not bending the wrist too much. 31:31 - I ask Bruce whether a rigid wrist is necessary for casting, and he explains that the wrist plays a crucial role in controlling the rod's casting arc. The combination of shoulder, elbow, and wrist movements is essential for an efficient cast, as using only the elbow can be tiring. He also elaborates on how the flexibility of the rod affects wrist movement. A softer rod requires more wrist action, while a stiffer rod requires less. He also mentions that the weight of the line can change the dynamics; for example, using a heavier line on a stiff rod alters wrist usage. 33:13 - Bruce advises against using heavier rods than necessary unless the casting conditions demand it, such as in saltwater fishing where heavier lines are needed to cast heavy flies despite the fish not requiring such heavy equipment. The wind is another significant factor that complicates casting, making the right choice of rod and line even more critical. 35:16 - We go into step four of his six-step method which is about changing the body movements. Bruce describes a scenario where a wide, sloppy loop with an upward curve indicates a wide casting arc, often due to improper wrist movement. He emphasizes that while beginners might struggle to identify these issues on their own, instructors or more advanced casters can use the six-step method to troubleshoot and correct the cast. By narrowing the casting arc, the rod tip path becomes straighter, leading to a more efficient loop. 37:30 - Bruce recommends checking out the Fly Fishers International (FFI) website for valuable sources on loops. Specifically, he highlights a journal and newsletter called "The Loop Journal" which is available on the same website. 41:40 - We discuss the origins and development of the FFI certification program, which was initiated in 1990 and completed by 1992. Bruce collaborated with other prominent figures in the field, including Lefty Kreh, Joan Wulff, Gary Borger, and Chico Fernandez, among others to develop the program. The program has since become the leading and most respected certification for fly-casting instructors internationally. 43:03 - We dig into the FFI's certification process. Many aspiring instructors initially overestimate their casting skills until they undergo the program and realize the areas they need to improve. Bruce mentions that the time it takes to get certified varies; some individuals may take years, while others can achieve certification in about a year with focused effort and mentorship. 47:57 - We talk about what typically causes someone to create a tailing loop during casting. Bruce explains that the issue often arises when an angler tries to cast longer distances, around 60 to 65 feet. At this point, they might apply too much force at the end of their casting stroke. This extra punch causes the rod to bend excessively, leading the rod tip to curve down and create a tailing loop. He elaborates that instead of adding force at the end of the stroke, the caster should begin accelerating the rod earlier in the casting stroke. This smooth, early acceleration distributes the force more evenly and prevents the tailing loop from forming. 50:54 - We discuss the evolution of sinking lines. Bruce shares his experience, noting that the original sinking lines were made by adding powdered lead to the coating, which was effective but problematic due to lead's toxicity. Despite advancements, he also notes that the fundamental chemistry and process of making sinking lines have not drastically changed since the 1980s. Modern lines still use powdered tungsten, varying its amount to control the sinking rate. While design aspects may evolve, the core materials and methods remain similar, reflecting the robustness of the original innovations. 53:49 - We discuss tips and techniques for preparing for a dry fly fishing trip, particularly focusing on casting and presentation. Bruce highlights that the approach varies depending on the fishing environment. For instance, in slick water fishing locations like the Big Horn or Henry's Fork, it's crucial to know how to throw slack in the leader. Conversely, in windy conditions, it's essential to cast straight. He also emphasizes the importance of making a great cast by placing the fly accurately while managing slack in the leader. He points out that many people throw nice loops but at too high a trajectory, which can be problematic in windy conditions. To address this, he advises adjusting the trajectory of both the front and back cast. By throwing the back cast high, it naturally makes the front cast low, ensuring a better delivery of the fly. 57:42 - I ask him how to maintain fly lines. He explains that contemporary lines, such as those from Scientific Anglers, can last significantly longer than older lines due to improved chemistry. While older lines would typically last 3-5 years before becoming stiff and cracking, he mentions having lines that are still functional after 15 years. The key factors that can damage fly lines include exposure to excessive heat, sunlight, and solvents. Improper storage, such as leaving gear in a car trunk exposed to the sun, can lead to quicker degradation. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of cleaning fly lines to maintain their performance. He gives some tips on how to clean them. 1:02:03 - We go into the evolution and impact of fly lines in the industry. Bruce highlights the significance of the GPX taper, describing it as a game-changer due to its half-size heavy design and innovative coating technology. Despite advances in sinking lines, Bruce notes that their market remains relatively small compared to floating lines. 1:06:25 - Bruce shares a memorable story about his first day working at Scientific Anglers in January 1976. He recounts receiving a welcoming phone call from Lefty Kreh which made a significant impact on him. This call not only welcomed Bruce to the industry but also marked the beginning of many friendships with the greats of fly fishing, whom he had long admired. Show Notes:  https://wetflyswing.com/647 

How is AI used to improve all parts of the organ-transplant process? AI is powerful in detecting potential impacts of early interventions to delay or prevent organ failure and the need for organ replacement therapies. Press play to hear more about research efforts to use AI to detect organ failure earlier. Featured experts are Dr. Rohan Goswami, Transplant Cardiologist and Director of Heart Transplant Research and Innovation at Mayo Clinic; and Javier Echenique, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at GPx, a healthcare technology company. 

Ketl Mountain Apparel⁠ In this conversation, Kevin Goldberg and Peter Noyes discuss the 2024 Cocodona 250 race and provide tips and insights for each section of the course. They cover topics such as the start location, water carrying, terrain, navigation, aid stations, and the overall difficulty of the race. The conversation is methodical and provides a comprehensive overview of the race. The conversation covers the sections of the Cocodona 250 race from Mingus Mountain to Mount Elden, including Jerome, Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Sedona, Schnebly Hill, Walnut Canyon, and Mount Elden. The speakers provide insights and tips for each section, highlighting the terrain, aid stations, challenges, and notable features. They discuss the beauty of the trails, the importance of mental preparation, the need for proper gear and hydration, and the opportunity to rest and refuel at aid stations. They also share personal experiences and memories from the race. Key Takeaways: The race starts at a new location, avoiding the need to cross the Agua Fria River early on. Water carrying is important, and it is recommended to have the ability to carry four liters of water. Sections of the course vary in terrain, from runnable trails to steep climbs and rocky surfaces. Navigation is crucial in some sections, and following the GPX tracks is recommended. Aid stations provide essential support, and it is important to manage time effectively. The Mingus Mountain section is challenging, with concentrated uphill climbs and long downhill stretches. The Mingus Mountain to Jerome section is considered one of the hardest parts of the race. The race requires mental and physical preparation, as well as self-care and pacing strategies. Be mentally prepared for the challenging sections of the race and ensure you have enough water and fuel. Enjoy the beautiful trails and scenic views along the course. Take advantage of the aid stations to rest, refuel, and receive support from the race organizers and volunteers. Pay attention to the weather conditions and be prepared for temperature changes. Use trekking poles for steep descents and be cautious of potential hazards on the trail. Plan your strategy for the race, including pacing, rest stops, and crew support. Take care of yourself by dressing properly, fueling and hydrating adequately, and listening to your body's needs. Appreciate the transition from desert terrain to pine forests and the unique features of each section. Enjoy the camaraderie and support of fellow runners and the race community. Celebrate your accomplishments and savor the final stretch to the finish line.

Quella di analizzare i percorsi che faccio, specialmente per le gare, è un'attività che svolgo da sempre da quando ho iniziato a correre.Ovviamente sul trail running la cosa ha assunto nel tempo sempre maggior importanza, dato che bene o male su strada ci sono meno variabili e più elementi standard, tipo distanze o ristori.Ultimamente sto pensando pure di farlo con i miei atleti, specialmente in ottica delle gare principali della loro stagione.Finché lo facevo per me, andavo un po' a braccio. Ma visto che appunto sto iniziando a farlo pure con altri atleti, ho pensato che avesse senso schematizzare un po' tutto quanto. E a questo punto tanto vale pure condividere con voi questo mio approccio, sperando che possiate trarne anche degli spunti utili.Trace de Trail: https://tracedetrail.frEpisodio “Trail running: come fare assistenza ad una gara”: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/trail-running-come-fare-assistenza-ad-una-gara--54050598----------------------Supporta questo progetto tramite un contributo mensile su Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/da0a42In alternativa, puoi fare una donazione "una-tantum".PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/lorenzomaggianiBuymeacoffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/da0a42Acquista il materiale ufficiale del podcast: https://da0a42.home.blog/shop/Iscriviti a "30 giorni da runner": https://da0a42.home.blog/30-giorni-da-runner/Seguimi!Canale Telegram: https://t.me/da0a42Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/da0a42/Profilo Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/37970087Club Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/da0a42Sito: https://da0a42.home.blogOppure contattami!https://da0a42.home.blog/contatti/Il mio microfono, HyperX Quadcast: https://amzn.to/3bs06wC----------------------Un grazie a tutti i miei sostenitori:Matteo Bombelli, Antonio Palma, George Caldarescu, Dorothea Cuccini, Alessandro Rizzo, Calogero Augusta, Mauro Del Quondam, Claudio Pittarello, Fabio Perrone, Roberto Callegari, Jim Bilotto, Luca Felicetti, Andrea Borsetto, Massimo Ferretti, Bruno Gianeri, Andrea Pompini, Cristiano Paganoni, Joseph Djeke, Luca Demartino, Laura Bernacca, Matteo Bucciol, Vincenzo Iannotta, Patty Bellia, Pasquale Castrilli, Gaetano Fresa, Laura Ravani, Xavier Fallico, Alessio Puglia, Nicola Monachello, Gabriele Orazi, Matilde Bisighini.----------------------Music credits: Feeling of Sunlight by Danosongs - https://danosongs.comDiventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/da-0-a-42-il-mio-podcast-sul-running--4063195/support.

Doing a good detox protocol takes some preparation and some of the best preparation you can do is finding out if your genes are making detoxification harder for you somewhere. Some gene SNPs have the potential to make detox harder by interfering with phase two conjugation reactions. These include MTHFR, MTR, MTRR, GST, GPX, COMT, HNMT, UGT1A1, SULT genes, NAT1, and NAT2. With each category of gene SNP, I will also give suggestions for improving that aspect of your phase two detoxification reactions. 00:00 - Intro 00:49 - Why SNPs matter and how to test 02:08 - Genes that affect methylation and how to help 02:46 - Genes that affect glutathione and how to help 03:38 - Genes that affect sulfation and how to help 04:20 - Genes that affect glucuronidation and how to help 05:52 - Genetic Rockstars walkthrough 07:42 - Genes that affect acetylation and how to help 08:11 - Amino acid conjugation GENETIC ROCKSTARS (an MTHFR community): community.tohealthwiththat.com FREE COURSE: MTHFR Basics: https://to-health-with-that.teachable.com/p/mthfr-basics WORK WITH DR. AMY ONE-ON-ONE: Set up a free meet and greet appointment to see if we're a good fit to work together, or if group coaching, community, or something else might be a better option: https://calendly.com/amy-tohealthwiththat/15min GROUP COACHING: https://www.tohealthwiththat.com/group-coaching/ WEBSITE: https://tohealthwiththat.com/ AFFILIATE LINKS: I appreciate you using these links to purchase products you would buy anyway, because they allow me to keep putting information out there. Thank you! SEEKING HEALTH (methylation and histamine support supplements - these ship internationally): https://bit.ly/3afXYH4 STRATEGENE REPORT (detailed genetics using 23andme or ancestry raw data): https://bit.ly/3retbm5 FULLSCRIPT (professional grade supplements): https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/thwt QUEEN OF THE THRONE (castor oil and castor oil packs):  https://shop.queenofthethrones.com/amy-tohealthwiththat use code AMY_TOHEALTHWITHTHAT10 for 10% off of any order of $59 or more --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tohealthwiththat/message

A vos baskets ! Le trail du Wurzel est de retour les 20 et 21 avril prochain. Un événement au cœur de la nature, lors duquel les participants pourront découvrir de beaux recoins de la vallée de Villé à travers différents itinéraires de 52, 26 ou encore 13 kilomètres. Une course en relais et des parcours pour enfants sont également proposés. Et une nouveauté cette année, il sera encore possible de participer au Tour du Wurzel. Il s'agit d'une catégorie sans balisage avec trace GPX. Pour parler de cette manifestation sportive, conviviale et encore solidaire, Loïc Duparcq, président de l'association Wasa, était dans nos studios.Le lien vers l'article complet : https://www.azur-fm.com/news/ville-des-courses-conviviales-et-solidaires-avec-le-trail-du-wurzel-2102Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Idag får vi äntligen höra om tvillingarna Sanna och Lina El Kott Helanders äventyr i somras på PTL under UTMB-veckan.  PTL är en förkortning för La Petite Trotte à Léon och betyder i princip Leons lilla promenad. Men PTL är långt ifrån en söndagspromenad och räknas inte som ett lopp utan mer ett äventyr. Man deltar i lag om 2 eller 3 personer tar sig an ca 300 km och 25 000 höjdmeter runt Mont Blanc. Banan är omarkerad och man följer en GPX-rutt och bär i princip med sig allt man behöver i ryggsäcken själv.  Sanna och Lina El Kott Helander genomförde PTL sommaren 2023 och gick i mål på 126,5 timme. Och även om dom precis har varit i Costa Rica och gjort ytterligare ett flerdagarsäventyr så är PTL äventyret som fortfarande dröjer sig kvar i tankarna och som vi får höra om här. LÄNKAR Följ tvillingarna på det gemensamma kontot @elkotts och såklart också på deras personliga instagram @sannaelkotthelander och @linaelkott. Vårt tidigare poddavsnitt med tvillingarna är 255 - Bergslöpning på känsla med Lina och Sanna El Kott Helander Läs mer om PTL

Episode 4: Mike and Tyler talk about their experience at the most recent Graphics Pro Expo (GPX) in Irving, TX, eating on the road and what happened to Tyler's meal, having to make the pantry bigger, and more.They also issue apologies and clarifications for statements made in previous episodes. The Slightly Serious Sign Podcast is now the #1 Most Fact Checked Podcast in the United States.Voted #1 by Signman (standing on a van on top of 18 pallets changing a lightbulb over a movie theater sign)https://www.wensco.com/company/slightly-serious-sign-podcast616.785.3333The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker's own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Wensco Sign Supply. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "Wensco Sign Supply" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service. Things to note on the statement. Wensco owns all rights to video or audio for Slightly Serious Sign broadcast and cannot be used without the written authorization from Wensco Administration.The Slightly Serious Sign Podcast is hosted by Mike Hull, Tyler Hull, and Domingo Tobar and produced, recorded, shot, and edited by Rick Villanueva with sponsorship from Wensco Sign Supply.

10th March 2024 The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast EPISODE 348: Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett of Komoot SPONSOR: Tern Bicycles HOST: Carlton Reid GUEST: Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett LINKS:  https://www.the-spokesmen.com/ https://www.ternbicycles.com https://twitter.com/CarltonReid https://www.komoot.com/user/655260825794 https://jkbsbikeride.com TRANSCRIPT Carlton Reid  0:13   Welcome to Episode 348 of the Spokesmen cycling podcast. This show was engineered on Sunday 10th of MARCH 2024. David Bernstein  0:28   The Spokesmen cycling roundtable podcast is brought to you by Tern bicycles. The good people at Tern are committed to building bikes that are useful enough to ride every day and dependable enough to carry the people you love. In other words, they make the kind of bikes that they want to ride. Tern has e-bikes for every type of rider. Whether you're commuting, taking your kids to school or even carrying another adult, visit www.ternbicycles.com. That's t e r n bicycles.com to learn more. Carlton Reid  1:03   I'm Carlton Reid. And this is the fourth in a five part series digging into bike navigation apps. There have been shows with folks from Ride With GPS, Bikemap, Cycle.travel, and today it's the turn of Komoot. although as you'll soon hear, in this nearly 90 minute chat with Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett, we also talk a great deal about travelling the world by bike. And that's before, of course, there were smartphone apps to guide you. Jonathan, welcome to the show. And presumably you're you're in London, Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  1:51   thank you very much for having me. It's a real pleasure. And yeah, I'm in London, South London to be precise on a very beautiful sunny February morning.  Carlton Reid  2:01   It's kind of nice in Newcastle as well. So we're blessed. Now the reason I said that was because a your name. So we can get looking we can discuss that in a second and you can show me how you're you can tell me how to pronounce your, the Danish part of your name correctly. But also because cuz because we're talking here about Komoot and Komoot is a German company. But first of all, how do i pronounce your name correctly?  Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  2:29   My name is pronounced Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett. And it's actually not a Danish surname. It's a Faroese surname from the Faroe Islands. So I am I a half British, my father's English my mother is Danish, but my mother is half Faroese, her grandma, my grandmother's from the Faroe Islands, and the Faroe Islands for anyone listening who isn't sure exactly where they are, is a bunch of islands about halfway between Scotland and Iceland. And on the southern most of those islands, called Suðuroyu. There's a kind of like a mountain ridge, behind the village where like my gran and her family are from called CamScanner. And that's where that name is from. So yeah, it's it's ferries surname via Denmark. Wow. Okay, good explanation. Carlton Reid  3:26   And because I didn't know any of that, I then didn't go back and check on your, your global world. Crossing cyclist. So I noticed that you went from Iceland? Did you go via the Faroe Islands at all? Yeah. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  3:45   So many, many years ago. Now, I spent three years cycling around the world, which was a whole kind of story in episode in itself. And at the very end of that, I wanted to go and seek because my great grandmother was still alive at the time, and she was alive and kicking the pharaohs. So towards the end of this, this, this free journey, I really wanted to go to Iceland cycle there wasn't particularly advisable in the depths of winter, but had a wonderful time nonetheless. And from there, you can take a ferry to the pharaohs. So I did go. I did after sort of not really seeing any family for about three years. I did go and see my great grandmother, which was amazing. It's an incredibly beautiful place. By that point, I had seen an awful lot of devote the world and the pharaohs. You know, just like truly spectacular. And it was really wonderful that I got to go and see my great grandma because she passed away a few months later. So it was all kind of perfect. A really nice kind of like final stop before I returned to the UK. So Carlton Reid  4:52   I will admit I haven't read every single one of your blog posts from back then but I'll go backwards and I'll go back and read that one because I'm sure that Under brilliant because I hadn't spotted the Faroese part. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  5:04   Yeah, it was a really lovely thing that I got to and then at the very beginning of my, the very beginning of this huge cycle, I left home said goodbye to my dad, my mum lives in Copenhagen. So I started that cycle around the world. I mean, at the time I had, I had no idea. It would be that big a cycle. I was just trying to see how far east I could get. But I wanted to go and visit my mum in Copenhagen. So that was kind of the beginning of the journey. So it was quite nice that I had like pitstop early on, you know, visiting family and it was quite nice that again, towards the very end, I also had a pit stop visiting fan for going home. Carlton Reid  5:42   That's your mum also came out and visited you like you as your beach bumming whether that was in somewhere in Indonesia or was in Thailand. Yeah, that's Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  5:50   right. She came and visited me in. I guess I was in in Thailand, often having seen her for probably a year and a half at that point. So we had a little, very nice, relaxing beach holiday, catching up, and most importantly, not doing any cycling at the time. Carlton Reid  6:07   And I'm sure she's treating you as well. It was, yeah, yeah. Know that for a fact, because we treated our son when he was doing stuff like that. Right. So let's get back to what we're meant to be talking about here, Jonathan, that is Komoot. So before we do that, I mean, give us the history of Komoot, because, you know, would you have used it on your? So yeah, this is 2015 to 2017. Yeah, yep. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  6:37   So I think I was unfortunately, I was a little bit too early. Cuz it's been around the apps been around for about a decade now. Set up by six, six friends from Germany and Austria. They have, I guess they will kind of united by a love of both tech. And also nature, they will come from the fringes of like, beautiful parts of Europe. But a very clever bunch. Yeah, excited about like the future of tech and where it intersects with, like, you know, all aspects of reality in our day to day lives. So Komoot is a German company. But going back to your your opening comment is a German company, but we consider ourselves very much a global or at least a European company, people, the people who work for Komoot are spread out across all of Europe. So we have quite an international outlook on the world, I would say. Carlton Reid  7:39   Was that right from beginning? Or was it very localised to begin with, and then only gradually did become international? Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  7:45   Definitely, it was a gradual thing. I think Komoot I can't quite was before my time, the point because Komoot's fully remote. So one point switched and thought, Well, why not sort of recruit from across the entire continent instead of one country. And for a good number of years Komoot has been conscience consciously, international. So like had the app, the product translated to English a long time ago, we now have it available in half a dozen languages. So like, that obviously takes time and resources, but it's quite important for us to allow as many people as possible around the world to like, understand and interact with and interact with the app. So in terms of my own journey in cycling, I was kind of a bit too early on in the process is quite, it's quite funny actually, when I, when I first left, I really was not a cyclist. In 2015, when I left home, it all came together very quickly. And this was sort of the blogging, end of those blogging, glory years, I think around 2010 to the mid teens. So anyway, I found some resources online, and people were saying, Oh, you can buy a cycling computer and use that. I didn't really have much cash at the time. So I picked the cheapest cycling computer that looked like it might do the job. And it was this. This Garmin device, I can't quite recall what it was called. But you couldn't load base maps onto it, you could create a route somewhere and export a GPX file and then you could have this line to follow it. And I I was just following the North Sea coast coastline, on the way up to Scandinavia. And I spent a lot of time getting very lost. And after about three weeks on the road, I met someone who was was like, you know, you can just use your phone for this. And I didn't have mobile data across Europe. It was like before, it was quite so easy to connect to everywhere. But it hadn't even occurred to me that I could use my phone as a GPS device that it had this functionality, which feels a bit silly in hindsight, but why would I have I lived a sort of normal city life where I was always online at the time. And I hadn't realised that I could download load these map files from Open Street Map. And so I could kind of work out where I was at all times. So when I had that revelation, it was kind of blew my mind and things became a lot easier. And as we might discuss later, fast forward almost 10 years, it's now even easier than ever to have this these good quality maps offline and also to sync them with devices. But it's funny to look at where computers now, compared to my very rudimentary experiences, yeah, almost a decade ago. Carlton Reid  10:30   So the first time I came across, Komoot in certainly, you know, seared into my consciousness when my son was cycling back from China. Yeah. And I had all sorts of other ways of doing routes. But he was insistent that he was using Komoot. So all the way back from from China in some pretty hairy paid places, but parts of the world some of which I can see that you've cycled through as well. He was using Komoot and I need to ask him why he was he was using it but he did found it find it very valuable and certainly very valuable in those hairy parts of the world because it was drawing down some pretty ok maps. And it was giving him obviously really good information. So here's the pitch. Jonathan, why why use komoot? Why Why would world tourists use Komoot and why would that non well tourists want to use Komoot just you know, bumbling around the the Yorkshire lanes or the Norfolk coast towards why those two users might might wait. They want to use Komoot. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  11:41   It's really that's really cool to hear that just used Komoot for that. I've watched his like video of that long journey. It's so amazing. And they're very nice to Komoot was able to help that little bit. And I know that you've travelled a lot by bike as well, I think is funny. You know, especially with bikes, and especially with bike touring, it's been around, you know, it's been a thing for a very long time. It wasn't really that long ago that people were relying on paper maps. But that's in the same way that people used to, you know, drive around with British people with A to Z you know, in the car. And that already feels like such a such an outdated thing. I think a lot of very young people will this is probably a fact that a lot of young people don't know how to read maps in the same way that older generations do. So I would say for bike touring, it's, it's kind of like I sometimes why would you not embrace the technology that we have now, when I was cycling around the world, I did not really do any complex route planning on my phone. But now, we have commute and some similar apps and products. It's incredibly easy. The commute app is really intuitive, the algorithms are very sophisticated, it's very easy to find multiple options, but to find very suitable options, from A to B, even in parts of the world, where some of the map data is, is less comprehensive. And you can do all of this from your phone really easily. You don't have to drag paper maps around, you can very easily forecast how long it will take to get from A to B, you can very easily find out where might be a nice detour to take. There's just a lot less guesswork involved. So for the bike tour, it's a really powerful tool. But I would also say for the recreational user popping around the local lanes in the British countryside, for example, or a beginner, we have, we have a lot of tools that make it really easy to find a suitable route based on your ability. So while we have the route planner, which is great for finding ATV rides, whether that's like 100 miles, or whether that's 2000 miles across a continent, for the casual users who are doing like, you know, regular recreational loops. On our discover interface, we have, within just a few clicks, you can find routes that are based on your preferred sport type, whether you're gravel riding or road cycling, if you like hilly, hilly routes or flatter routes, or whether you're a hiker as well, because we accommodate for, you know, hiking as well. So you have these options that are tailor made for your needs within just a couple of clicks. And you can go and someone who's cycling across a continent probably understands how maps work probably enjoys looking at them, probably enjoys the process of, of stitching a route together. But for a lot of other users. That's not a priority for them. They just want to spend the time outside, having a good time without anything to worry about. Carlton Reid  14:55   There are a number of navigation apps some some of which seem to you know, be very popular in North America. Akka and some that are more popular in, in Europe. So that ecosystem seems to be very, very healthy. There are a number of apps going for the same kind of thing you know, from, you know, including one man bands like Cycle.travel. So, all of these different apps that are out there, how are people choosing? Do you think people are going through a list? And they're gonna go, Oh, I've tried that one, try that we're all like this one? Or do you think they just find one? And then they just keep on using that one come? What may? How do you think this ecosystem works? Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  15:39   Gosh, that's a very good question. And a very big question. I think for a lot of people, it's probably a question of what they used first. And that's, that goes beyond just these, like app based kind of routing platforms, if someone is very used to using was successful, use paper maps for decades, or if someone in the UK is, you know, swears by Ordnance Survey. And they've always had, you know, good experience doing that, there'll be unlikely to change unless you give them a very compelling argument or a good example. So I think a lot of people, what they first start using, becomes the thing that they become familiar, familiarity is so important, same of a lot of like tech or products that we use day to day, we're quite hesitant to change our routines. I also think within that ecosystem, people's preferences probably change quite a lot based on if they have a bad experience as well. Same with all types of different, you know, products that we consume, you know, there's probably many things that you've used day to day for years, and suddenly when it breaks or something goes wrong, you decide I want to try something different. And then I would also say the local element probably plays a significant part in it. You mentioned in like other regions, or for example, North America, the market is in a different, like perhaps different status for us or you know, different other products that are available for people, I think a lot of it depends on the local side of it has to do with your peers. So like who you explore with you trusting your your recommendation of those you go out with, or the people who give you a great experience outdoors. But also whether or not the product is is localised and translated into your language that also makes a big difference people find rightly so it's reassuring when the product is as easy to understand gives a different level of trust. So I think those are a few of the factors, that that kind of changed the state of play. But overall, I would say that it's really, it's a good thing. There are a lot of incredible, incredibly bright minds and have great innovative companies in a kind of overlapping space, often with a slightly different objective. And, you know, that's, that's just great for the consumer, because it means that we're all kept on our toes, constantly looking for ways to improve those Carlton Reid  18:08   variety of companies out there, some are chosen by for instance, you know, cycle travel companies. So when you go on a on a cycle holiday, they will, they will choose to partner with a navigation app company, and then they will send you all the routes on that. So you're basically you're almost tied in on that particular holiday to that particular navigation app. Good thing, bad thing. So is that something that it's incredibly important to discover who are actually giving these links out and and calm them? Because you know, you go on a North American owned psychology company in say, Italy. And even though you're in Europe, you're using in effect and American app, because it's an American company that's leading those tours. So is that something that you are you as in Komoot? Or your your, your your colleagues and commute are actively trying to partner with these key companies? Yeah, Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  19:15   there are. I mean, there are a lot of ways that we might sort of acquire new users. And by that, I mean, like reaching people and giving them their first experience on commute, those kinds of partnerships. I guess they probably represent like a smaller percentage of the ways to reach people. But that doesn't mean that they're not important. Particularly because if that partner whether it's a tour operator, or you know, a hotel or someone who's running a hotel, or even an event organiser, if they trust in Khumbu, and you know, I would say in Europe is you're far more likely to find that stuff that information presented to you via commitment than anyone else. That's great. because it's just reassures the, you know, the user that people look for that kind of reassurance from those those kind of places of authority. So those partnerships are really important to us. And we do work with a lot of tourism organisations, maybe even like hotels, tour operators, we do have quite a lot of active partnerships. And it's great for us because we reach that audience. But it's really good for us, we put a lot of effort into the people that do choose to work with us on educational tools, so that they understand it coming inside out, and can then give their users good experience. And that remains like super important for any of those types of partnerships Carlton Reid  20:39   can notice. If you get a bradt guidebook, a cycling guidebook, and it's you know, to the lanes of East Anglia, or whatever have you Yeah. Well, you're flicking through this, this book. And there's a little QR code. You open that up, I know, there's your route in Komoot via the Bradt guidebook. So what else have you got? Who else are you apart from Bradt, what else you out there in like a published terms? Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  21:10   Well, it's just a good question off the top of my head. And when I struggle to think of them, but quite a lot of I mean, of course, is difficult because we are so you know, across the whole of the continent. There are some amazing publications and magazines that we've partnered with across Germany, France, Italy, Spain. And I think one thing that's really nice at the stage that commutes that is, particularly within certain segments, in Europe, we are, it would almost be strange for the user to have the route presented to them in a different way. Because they're so familiar with commute. That's what they use for their group rides. That's what they use for the events they sign up to. That's what they do for their day to day riding. And so a lot of those partners like they will present stuff on Komoot, regardless, like we'd always like to help them present the stuff in the best kind of best way possible. But they're still going to be reaching out and using Komoot, simply because it's a really nice, easy way to share and present routes with your kind of users or participants. Carlton Reid  22:16   And what do you do for Komoot? So what is the community part of your job title? What is what is? What does that involve? Yes, so Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  22:25   I'm the global community manager komoot. The global part is, well, global, but it's in particular, it's about the gaps between. So we have a team of community managers spread out. In some of the markets where we have more kind of community oriented stuff going on, we have more people. So there's, there's a couple of two or three people in Germany, we have a couple of community managers in the UK, I'm kind of filling in the gaps between a lot of the markets that are growing for us, but aren't quite at the same same kind of stage just yet. And then the community, part of it is kind of two things. One thing is our external partnerships. So that could be with events and event organisers that could be with the kind of inspiring individuals that we work with, because they have, you know, a great platform, or they have a very inspiring story to tell, or they're great at motivating people that that follow them. And then on the other side of that, I have a lot of focus, particularly these days on our core community. So Komoot is, while we're really lucky that we have such a huge audience, audience, we've got about 37 million users. So there's a lot of people. And not all of those people are, you know, active every day or using commute to connect with other people and share their stories within the community. But we have millions of people who are and I spend a lot of time, as do my colleagues on how do we give these people? Like how do we reward them for their contributions? How do we motivate them to share more? How do we make sure that people are getting fed the right inspirational content based on their preferences? So elevating our kind of, and looking after our core community is also a significant part of my role. Carlton Reid  24:22   So can you is it gonna kind of go slightly backwards into your background as well, if you if you are going to set out on a kind of track that you started in 2015? Are you going to do that now? For instance, could you open up Komoot and say, you know, do me a route from London all around the world back again? Or do you have to do it in stages? How would you use if you're going to be doing it again? How would you use commute? Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  24:55   I think I think doing a route around the world probably possible but That's an awful lot of information for for one file. So I will probably break it down into smaller segments, which is to be fair, exactly what I did when I cycled around the world, and what most people probably would. And so when I when I left home, and sometimes thinking about cycling around the world is quite kind of overwhelmingly big kind of concept to navigate. But I would break it down into really small parts. So I knew that I wanted to cycle from London to Copenhagen. I knew that I wanted to visit a friend in Amsterdam, for example. So to begin with, I would focus on how do I get from London to Amsterdam, that's a kind of more sensible, you know, if you break it down to blocks, the whole thing becomes a lot more manageable, both in terms of logistics, but also mentally. So I will do the same on Komoot. One thing that sets you apart from some similar, some similar platforms is that we have a variety of different sport types you can choose from. So if you go on the route planner, you'll see that even for cycling, there's a few variations. There's like road cycling, gravel riding, bike touring, mountain biking. And that's really important because well, even even within bike tours, people have different preferences. If someone wants to get to Amsterdam, in you know, two or three days, on a road bike, credit card, touring, staying in hotels, they might want to be thinking, you know, they want to have the mindset of a road cyclists, they want to choose quick, efficient routes, they're on 25 mil tires, they don't really want to be going down toe puffs, no matter how they're graded. So these different algorithms think slightly differently, which I think is is really important. I would personally I would, for the way I was touring leisurely, I would be on the bike touring mode. But no, that's it's just important to point out there's different types based on your kind of bike and you're writing preferences. We have a tool called the multi day tour planner, so I could pick from London to Amsterdam. And then I could divide it up into let's say, I want to do it in four days, or I know that I want to do about six hours of cycling a day, I can divide it up and it takes into account the elevation on the way. So it has like a kind of consistent breakdown, which is really helpful when you're trying to forecast when you might get to a certain location. The other tool that I would definitely would be using on the route planner. One of our features is the sport specific overlays. And then you can overlay the long distance or National Cycle routes, which is super helpful. I do this and I'm always toggling between these wherever I'm out hiking or cycling, it just means at a cursory glance, I can see the long distance routes. So for example, I was at the time following loosely one of the EuroVelo. The common which number is the one that goes up along that coast. Well, I can see that overlaid on the map. And so I can compare that against the route that I'm plotting, I can make sure that I'm like loosely following it that that makes a real big difference. Both when I'm long distance touring, or if I'm even just kind of out exploring in the south of England. So those are a few of the main tools that I would use. The final thing I would add, I wouldn't have such a rudimentary cycling computer, I would still have, I'd still have one. The Garmin that I have now is far more modern and has base maps. And we actually have an app designed for Garmin specifically. And with that, I can create the date the routes on my phone. And I can just press one button send to device and I can load up the IQ app on my Garmin device. And the route will just go bing. And here it is. And if I want to change my route, halfway through the day, I can now just update it on commute on the app on my phone and press updates. And I'll get a little notification and my route will be updated. So if I wanted to cut my day short, we'll go to a different hotel or campsite an evening. And that feature is so cool. And I think if I'd had that all those years ago, there would have been a lot less faffing involved, which would have been wonderful. Carlton Reid  29:14   Yeah, I use that the other day, in fact. So I had a Garmin unit and I had I was navigating with Komoot hadn't actually changed the route because I just got on my bike after 70 miles because the wind was about 50 miles an hour ahead of me. But still, I was using it and it was neat that so I agree. So the map, I've got the app open here now and in other apps, you have a choice of quite a few maps. But here I don't I see the the Komoot map. I see a satellite map but then there's no like Ordnance Survey for the UK. So because your is that because you were an international brand and that's just what on market, yeah, there's no point just offering an OS just for one market. I mean, Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  30:03   you could obviously you could argue for it. And in the UK, a lot of people aren't really familiar with and put a lot of trust into Ordnance Survey, commutes sort of core foundation revolves around OpenStreetMap, we are such committed believers of the Open Street Map Project. And it's really at the core of everything we do. And we are constantly looking for ways that, you know, we can help to enrich the data that's there or help to facilitate improvements to it. And you're right, I think, because we are active in so many different countries, we could protect, we could try and add all of these different national maps. But the the user experience would become quite convoluted. You know, if I travel a lot using commute, I quite like knowing that I can get my head around the commute render of OpenStreetMap, which is our like, primary map, and then we have satellite map. I like being familiar with it, I like knowing that the sort of routing algorithms will give me consistent results in different places. And that's quite important to ask that we still give people like a quite a not simple, but like, you know, familiar user experience that doesn't become overwhelming or confusing for them. But we really, we really, I should stress that we like, especially in the markets where we are most active in the quality of the OpenStreetMap data is is really amazing. And it's always improving. And it always is, yeah, enough for us to give people a really good experience. Carlton Reid  31:40   Maybe it's it's an age thing then because I mean, I grew up with OS maps, maybe people who are younger than me and not so hide bound, you know, as you could you have seen before, you know, people are no longer using paper maps, if I've grown up as a user of paper maps, and I no longer use paper maps, but I use the Ordnance Survey maps on my, my phone, it generally tends to be if I'm like trying to visualise an area, then me will as somebody who has grown up with that kind of Ordnance Survey mind map, I would I would default to Ordnance Survey as that's how I explain, you know, my, my where I am. So to me that's like, wow, I need I need, you know, I need iOS to know exactly where I am. It's great to have the Open Street Map. It's lovely. And the commute version of it. But still like, Yeah, but where am I? And I need that something's very familiar. But that might just be you know, people have an older generation. And that that is obvious to my son to Josh, that had zero relevance. And he probably wouldn't know his way around and OS map, but you don't know his way around, you know, the Komoot map really well. So do you think that's just telling me Jonathan, is this just me? Is it just me because I'm very, very old? Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  33:00   If I frame my answer, as well, to be careful, I think your Ordnance Survey specifically as a very particular place in the British sort of, well, the psyche of how we spend how we map the country, is equivalent in other countries. I'll give you an example because I sometimes almost feel like as a outdoorsy person who likes Grim Adventures and is British and spends a lot of time exploring the British outside. I, you know, I should be more familiar with Ordnance Survey I confess, I have grown up in London. I didn't kind of do much outdoorsy stuff at school. Honestly, I've never really used Ordnance Survey I am, when when I started to explore, there was sort of these phone based solutions available for me right away sort of 10 years ago, revolving around OpenStreetMap. I do spend a lot of time hiking and walking for leisure. And I've just never found that I that I needed it. I'm super familiar with OpenStreetMap. I'm now an expert in how Komoot works. And so it's just funny, I think it's like different types of people, for sure, especially in the UK, but I would say also globally, is just very different, like different generations who have grown up, especially have the sort of, you know, even for example of Google Maps is sort of omnipresent in our exploring of the world and navigating I'm talking about everything now from public transport to driving. And even like the sort of sat nav, the satnavifacation, I'm sure that's not a word, but how we drive a car around the world has now had a massive influence on on people hiking and cycling. A lot of people would prefer to hike with turn by turn instructions on their phone and find that far more easy to get their head around than navigating from a paper map and pen The people could argue that that's, that's not as good. But I think if you embrace, you know, the quality of the map data and you embrace it, this actually helps a lot more people explore because there are less boundaries or sorry, less. Yeah, sort of less friction points. So less obstacles for them to to get over to outside. I'm not sure that's necessarily such a bad thing. Carlton Reid  35:23   And let's go slightly backwards in that. The name Komoot is a pun on commute. So when it was originally developed, was it as an internal city thing? Or was it always, you know, this is meant to explore the world with or was that explore the world with just something that came afterwards and is the name a bit of a misnomer, Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  35:56   is actually a bit of a misnomer, partly because it's actually like a Komoot is derived from, I think it's called the Valsa dialect, which is the region that the founders are from and it's just like as far as I understand it, a casual greeting means something like simple and practical. And so it's a it's actually slightly misleading, because that's the origin of Komoot, obviously, was Carlton Reid  36:22   Nothing at all to do with commute. Well, Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  36:25   I don't, I mean, it's not sure if it's a good or a bad thing that they're so similar, but that's the origin of the name Komoot. It doesn't, and the sort of the product and the philosophy doesn't come from commuting at all, it's about spending time outside. Of course, you could probably interpret that in many ways. Perhaps this is an alternative way of you know, commuting in nature. As it happens, many people use commute as part of their commute within town because they want to find a more scenic way of getting from A to B. But that's not the that was never the objective of the company and and still that isn't the case. Carlton Reid  37:05   Right? Interesting. So I got that wrong that Well, Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  37:10   I also had one for a very long day if that makes you feel better. Carlton Reid  37:15   It does Thank you very much. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  37:17   I'm afraid now that you'll really struggle to pronounce Komoot without saying Komoot because it's only a matter of time before for that becomes a riddle itself. Carlton Reid  37:26   Well, of course Google isn't I think it's a mathematical term isn't it? So would have been familiar to some people but most people it's not it's not familiar terms. It's just these unusual term. So anything that's slightly unusual is better for a website you know name so the fact that you kind of spelling this and you people think it means there's but doesn't but they remember anyway so that's that's the trick just remembering it. So if it's if it helps some people doing all that must be Komoot Oh, yes, he spelt with a K. And other people's know it as a, you know, a greeting in a certain language. That's also okay. So it's however you get your name remembered? Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  38:03   Yeah, very much so. Carlton Reid  38:06   So at this point, I'd like to actually cut away and let my colleague take over and we'll be back in a few minutes. So take it away, David. David Bernstein  38:16   This podcast is brought to you by Tern bicycles. The good people at Tern understand that while a large cargo bike can carry oodles of stuff, many of us prefer something a little more manageable. That's why they've come up with the HSD e-cargobike for folks with big aspirations to go car free, delivered in a compact size, with its rear shock, 280 kilos, and a combined hauling capacity of 180 kilos. The robust new HSD is stable and easy to manoeuvre, even when under load. And with its Bosch eBIKE SYSTEM tested and certified to meet the highest UL standards for electric and fire safety you'll be able to share many worryfree adventures with a loved one whether it's your kiddo or Nan. Visit www.ternbicycles. That's te r n turn bicycles.com to learn more. Carlton Reid  39:17   Thanks, David and we are back with with with Jonathan of Komoot we've discovered that it doesn't mean commute and that's it you want it to mean commute. It can mean whatever you want. But Jonathan is he's the community Global Community Manager for Komoot and he's if anybody's going around the world on their bicycle or wandering around the world on the bicycle and they wanted to use commute then then clearly Jonathan would be a good guy to to learn from Andy certainly in a pretty good job for for the kind of company commute is because Jonathan, you went round the world well, we have touched on this but now let's let's explore this in in greater detail. So we've got the Komoot out of the way. Let's let's, let's talk about what where you've come from and why are you working for for Komoot? So we laughed before. Could you mention the fact that when you started, you were much of a cyclist? And I was kind of thinking, Yeah, that's right, because of what the amount of kit you took to begin with is the kind of the classic. And I made this exact same mistake when I started my cycle touring adventures many, many, many years ago, you take too much kit. So you had an enormous amount of kit. And you had a kind of an old school bike, you were you on steel, you're on a bicycle that I would have been familiar with in the 1980s, you know, a Dawes Super Galaxy,  classic touring bike of a while ago. And then you you you've, you've clearly learned a lot. In that time that you're away, but you started reading your blog, you basically picked this bike, you didn't seem to know much about cycling, and then like, a week later, you're, you're off touring the world. So describe it. Have I got that? completely correct, you were pretty much a novice, and then you went cycled around the world. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  41:18   That is, that is pretty much it. It's almost embarrassing to admit how little preparation or knowledge I had prior to leaving, but I think I was just blessed with youthful naivety time, and I didn't have high expectations at all, I just wanted an adventure. And there are very few simpler ways of finding one than grabbing a bike and kind of just heading off without a plan. Carlton Reid  41:44   Or when it's classic, absolutely classic, the way the way that kind of developed. But let's let's find out what were you doing at the time? How long were you expecting to do? You didn't have any plans at all. We literally tried to go around the world, we didn't know how long was going to take? Or were you just going to cycle and see where you got to and then just what you might give up at some point. What What were you doing? How old were you and what were you doing at the time. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  42:08   So if I rewind a little bit further, we touched upon it at the beginning of the call. I grew up I grew up in London, but my my Yeah, my father's British, my mother's Danish. We never cycled or I never cycled for fitness. I never cycled for leisure or for exploring. However, I did grow up riding bikes, it was just very much like a functional tool to get around. London is not bike friendly city. But it's a very practical city to get around and manoeuvre by bicycle. So I grew up cycling. I studied music at university. And when I returned to London, I wasn't entirely sure what to do next, like I'm sure plenty of young people. Now, early 20s have the same sort of existential crisis. I was quite fortunate that I'd been working the whole time I was studying and, and while I had an awful lot of debt, I had somehow ended up with, you know, a few grand in the bank accounts saved up so I kind of had this incredible, I was in this incredibly privileged position where I could kind of yeah, go and explore a little bit without having to take the next the next most serious steps in life. I had always travelled a lot that had been a high priority for me, I had done a bit of long distance walking, I was kind of prepared for another long hike. And then kind of had this this moment, this epiphany I suppose, where I thought well, what about cycling that could be I was really interested in human power, not human powered, rather, I was interested in overland travel. So I became kind of fixated by this idea of, of cycling and then bike touring. And, and these were, I think, a wonderful period on internet where you could find all these incredible blogs that were so relatable and so inspiring and so informative as well. And so the sort of recommendations I found online, people said, those galaxies a good bike, found one on on eBay bought it was a good pannier to take Balsam or leave panniers from Argos and got all of this around Christmas. And I left two weeks later and the plan at the time, I'd been sort of telling my peers and family I was gonna cycle to Australia, but it was it was a it was a pipe dream. But it was kind of a joke as well. It was a good way of like picking something so outlandish that people wouldn't take it seriously at all, which was fair enough given that I had never cycled further than about 10 miles. And so I I set off as I said to go and visit my mother, and I said if if this goes well, I will continue heading east and I had a fantastic first month and I continued writing to Turkey. I became very good at living, I would say extremely cheap on the road. I realised that I could probably get quite a long way. And, and yeah, I ended up going all the way to Australia, by which point I was completely broke. But I got a job and worked for a few months there. And then at that point, I, it became very clear to me that I wanted to continue and make it around the world cycle. And so I did that. And Nick got home, just under three years after having left probably having clocked around 50,000 kilometres, which is kind of a mind boggling number when I say out loud, Carlton Reid  45:32   huh? There's some people kind of do that in three weeks. I'm exaggerating a little bit, but they do it fast. And, you know, some Komoot users, Markus Stitz, for instance, did on a single speed, etc, etc. But you took three years. Now, it's not that you weren't doing some big mileages, you know, there was there was, you know, I read on your blog, you know, some days you're doing 145 kilometres. And then other days, clearly, you're, you're just doing nothing, because you're just enjoying the location. So you never had any plan to do it in a certain amount of time, you would just basically ebb and flow. It was just whatever the live through it you you kind of did that. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  46:17   Yep. And thank goodness, I personally like that. Because otherwise, I think it would be overwhelming to think about and those people who cycle around the world planning on it or trying to break records, I think it must just require so much. That's no fault and pressure, I really was just kind of going for a ride, there was never any pressure, no expectation. If I went home, whenever I was bored, that would have been fine. No one would have judged me. So I was really making up as I went along. And when I left, I had absolutely no plan to spend anywhere near that long on the road knows that I have any plans to cycle all the way around the world. I am a Tura. At heart cycling at that pace is and I've done a lot of more, sort of a dyno extreme bikepacking. I've done a lot of ultralight cycling, I've even tried a few ultra endurance races. But touring at that kind of pace, for me is just the most kind of beautiful ratio in life. Hmm. Carlton Reid  47:20   So notice, you've done the Transcontinental. So you have done these, these, these races, but your forte is basically just pootling along. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  47:30   Definitely. And if I if I continued to my cycling trajectory in between cycling around the world, and ending up doing what I'm doing currently at Komoot, when I returned home, having spent all of this time on the road, I actually worked as a bicycle courier in London for a short period, which was there's no better way to re calibrate and reintegrate into city living having spent so much time on the road and to get paid to cycle around delivering stuff and exploring, you know, a city even if it's your home city by bike. And I then started working at a company called Apidura. And I know that you're familiar of a producer, because I believe you interviewed the founder of Apidura in this past few years. And I was there for a few years. And that was really, I mean, obviously made sense. I had a lot of touring experience. But that was in 2018, which was really when this hugely significant kind of shift in interest from bike touring to bikepacking. Which you can interpret in many ways. But, but this this shift was really kind of about to explode, and then get even more exaggerated through the pandemic. So I, I had learned so much about travelling by bike and then I learned so much about the benefit of ultralight cycling and these new packing systems that were so different to taking for panniers on a loaded bike. And so I spent four years at the Jura did the roller coaster that was COVID 19. And and that was sort of the segue that led me to Komoot because Komoothas been so involved with bike packing bikepacking as an established but also an emerging sport in the last few years. Because Carlton Reid  49:19   you looking at your your bike setup. Back then with the with the Dawes Galaxy, and the bags you had on that was very much old school. And then I can completely identify with that because I'm clearly old school. And that's where I started. So you know, for panniers at least loads of stuff and caring too much, etc, etc. And you look at that now and you think no, you would have the upward Eurostyle you know you'd have the bike packing bags, you probably wouldn't be carrying quite as much Kip, although some of the place you went to. You know I'm thinking of you like your Australia video. and stuff where you're obviously having to pack. I mean, when you go across the desert, you having to pack you know, an enormous amount of water, you've got to have all of the bug kit, you know, you've got to have all of the stuff that's protecting you from the nasties. So you had some times you have gotten better how many it's not an old school versus new school thing. It's just you have to have a lot of kit in some places and and there's no two ways about that. You know? Even if you're doing a transcontinental style, you know, fast route across somewhere, you would still need a fair bit of of kit. But when you were when you started out, okay, actually good point. Did you finish on the same bike? Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  50:43   I did, I finished on the same bike and I still ride that same Dawes Galaxy as my day to day pub, one around bike. Carlton Reid  50:51   Excellent. So it's but it's like Trigger's Broom, you've got you know, you've replaced tonnes of things, or it's still largely the same bike Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  50:58   is the same frame, the same fork. And that is nice. All That Remains of the original bike. Carlton Reid  51:05   So that's pretty good going well done Dawes Super Galaxy.  Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  51:09   Yeah, there's a lot to be said. Having modern bike so us so reliable in general. But yeah, I'm very much of the steel fan club. That bike has a lot of battle scars, from various sort of unfortunate collisions with other vehicles or just the road or ice. But it's still yet it's still going strong. And, and you're right, I've had the been very lucky to experience travelling by bike in very different forms from the kind of old school bike touring sense where you carry basically your entire house, to super ultra light, you know, bike travel, where you just have a bivy bag, and you sacrifice all levels of comfort. I've also done a lot of off road sort of mountain bike touring, I think the thing that I find so wonderful about bicycle travel in general, is that there's always a new way to do it. And there's absolutely no right or wrong way of doing it, I think it's very easy to get caught up in the the idea of I must be a lightweight bike packer, or I must do it in this particular way. But really, there's no right or wrong way of doing it. We're all very different, we all travel for very different reasons. And there's different ways of, of packing for it. And, and even if I refer back to commute and the way that we're set up, we give people the tools to, to pick, you know, they can pick the fast road route, if they want, or they can pick the meandering route, they can pick the most direct one, or they can pick the most leisurely one up over the mountains. I think this whole kind of space is really set up for the user to be able to customise you know, what they're doing, and how they're carrying it based on what their objectives is. And I think that's what's really kind of charming about the whole two wheeled travel thing. Carlton Reid  53:02   See, I'm a historian of many things, but including cycling, and Thomas Stevens, if you hadn't if you've come across that name in in the past, but he was basically a big wheel rider. So what would people would call Penny farthings. And this is 1880s. And the kit he had, the amount of kit he had and how it was packed is very much like bikepacking You know, it's the big pannier bags, that's pretty much the 70s and 80s thing, you know, really, really old and I was calling that old school, but genuinely old school. So 1880 stuff is you know, Apidura-style, incredibly lightweight, hard to carrying anything at all kind of touring. So that's that's kind of where cycle touring started. And we've kind of come full circle in many ways. And so people are going out there with incredibly minimal bits of of kit and somehow surviving. So when you did your your your your cirumnavigation, and you had all this enormous kit, where you jettison bits as you're going along. And just in case you didn't you don't really need this you pick it up basically you became an expert. Just cook you're having to carry this stuff. And because you haven't to carry it, you quickly learn I don't need that Chuck it Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  54:30   Yeah, and I did get rid of an awful lot of stuff. I had some some very questionable belongings with me. Like I had my my, I mean, I was on quite a budget when I left and and while I was going so it's sort of just what am I sacrificing a bit of weight for a cheaper option, but I had like my, my mother's old coat which was this like not anything resembling a down jacket, this monstrous thing that took up half a pannier. I had a pair of jeans with me to wear like when I was off the bike. So much unpractical. kind of clothing thing, I even had like a sort of smart casual shirt, I thought I would like to dress up like a non bike person when I was in town for a weekend, or things that I would never do now. And I did get rid of a lot of this stuff slowly. And as time went on out kind of improved things a bit as they broke. But then there was a lot of things that I wouldn't change, like I travelled with, I mean, I had like a cutting board with me so that I could chop vegetables up when I was camping, and had little film canisters, filmed of spices and a proper source bird. And so I could like, eat well, and, and I wouldn't, again, a lot of bikepackers could turn a nose up at that and think God's this person's just sort of like a moving kitchen. But I you know, for such a long period of the bike, I wouldn't, I wouldn't change that at all. And on and I know that the sort of, especially at the moment with the sort of influences bikepacking has had on on taking existing cyclists and making them realise what they can achieve on the bike. I still am a big believer in taking a bit more stuff if your legs can handle it. And if you're not in a hurry, you know, riding up a mountain with the extra weight on your bag, it's not going to do your fitness any any disservice. If you can get up it. I think a bit of both comfort is quite okay. And while in general, I'm a minimalist these days, I think there's plenty of space for carrying a few extra luxury items whenever you're travelling. Carlton Reid  56:30   But did you come back? Not you but did the bike and the kit come back a lot lighter. So by the time you'd finish, because I know you you'd have to badmouth the bags that you had. But you certainly changed your your your bags halfway around because of various reasons. And other notes on your blog, you do kind of, say a few choice words about the brand you had. But did you come back with? Did you come out with a lot more lightweight than you went? On much more lightweight? Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  57:00   I would say I might have shaved off like a kilo. Like in general, I pretty much had the same amount of stuff with me. And yeah, it couldn't have bothered me that much. Because otherwise I would have gotten rid of an awful lot of stuff. So no, I actually, I actually think I returned with a fairly similar amount of weight on my bike. That's Carlton Reid  57:22   interesting, because that's totally opposite to the way I did it. So when I started out, I had so much kit, I had like a wooden hammer for hammering in the tent pegs I had, like, we just get a rock, you know, I had so many things that I just I was chucking stuff you know, from the very, very start and you've kind of quickly got used to you know, what was necessary and what wasn't. And you don't know that until you're actually on the road. So I was ended up with with a lot less kit. So I taught myself minimalism, just because, cuz, whereas you're saying you don't, it doesn't matter, you can just pedal up a hill, I was the opposite as like, No, I'm not the crane brothers. Famously, when they went up Kilimanjaro and their stuff, they they would, you know, drill holes in toothbrushes, I was never that extreme. But I would definitely want to be lightweight, as much as possible. And so I am kind of interested in taking a chopping board. So I wouldn't have done that. This is interesting about how different people approach these things. And like, I have come down to the minimalist and caring such a little like I wouldn't, personally I wouldn't, not even going on like a camping trip. Now. I won't take cooking equipment, for instance, I will generally buy what I need, and eat that and then have to then scrambled to get, you know, fresh supplies. And I know it's much more efficient to take rice and what have you and then be able to boil this up. But to me just carrying any amount of cooking equipment to me in my head, just that's too much weight, I can do this much lighter. And clearly you're you're not you're a different each to their own, isn't it? It's just different people want to do different things. And that's fine. Definitely. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  59:22   And we need to make sure that we always sort of accommodate that. Because people are so different. And and I think it's difficult, you know, in life, for example, in the cycling industry, it's a consumer driven industry, we need to convince people we brands need to convince people that they need to do things in a different way or a better way or an improved way. But really all of it comes down to like giving people options so they can do things in the way that they want to do it. And you know, there is absolutely no reason why one type of bike travelling is superior than another. They are yeah complete The different ways of doing things for different people. So ever people navigate in one particular way, if they choose one kind of route, it's not about that it's about giving people the options. And the same, like if someone wants to go on a road bike really fast with nothing on their bike, that's totally fine. And if someone wants to chuck for massive panniers on their bike, they'll probably be a bit slower. But that's, but that's totally okay. Carlton Reid  1:00:26   And so what are you doing now? During what what? How would you describe your riding, and your adventuring now, Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  1:00:33   my, I still try. And when I travel, I always want to be on a bike. If I'm not on a bike, I've fully compromised a little bit. But I also like spending time walking around being a normal person, especially if I'm on holiday with my with my girlfriend. But I do try and have one or two bike trips, big bike trips a year. Over the last few years, I've developed a sort of real love for exploring, I guess, capturing the essence of a big adventure closer to home. But in general, I'm sort of a casual cyclist I like to get out for provides every once a week if I can. I think working at QMU is quite is wonderful, but a bit dangerous for someone like me who enjoys spending time looking at maps, because the list of places to visit is evergrowing. But commute has this amazing interface. We have this route planner, which is wonderful gives people all these advanced tools to make informed decisions about where they're going and how they get there. But we also have this discovery interface where you can have these these created routes for you based on your sort of parameters, the smart, this kind of smart solutions, and does have a really big impact on me, since we launched it last year, I'm much more inclined to take a train out from London to a random station and say, load it up on commute and say, Hey, I'm in a new area. I've got three hours, give me something. So while I'm going on less epic adventures, and finding new kind of creative ways of exploring familiar places. I'm doing that a lot at the moment. And I'm extremely excited about doing more of that as the weather improves. Carlton Reid  1:02:19   And is that a curated thing? Or is that an algorithm thing. So Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  1:02:24   it's a kind of a combination of stuff. commute, we have so much user data, because we have millions and billions and billions of of users, the number of recorded tours is kind of such a big number. It's it's kind of hard to get your head around. So we're able to give people these. These like personalised suggestions so I can take the train out if I'm with a no fun with friends go out for a walk at the weekend, I can look at which train line takes me to a village that looks somewhere Scenic. I don't own a car. So I can just say I'm at this station, it will see where the people who use Komoot are heading when they record their tours. So it's very easy to get a feel for where people actually walk. Where do people go for their recreational weekend straws. And it will give me a clever or suitable solution to get kind of onto that, navigate the route and then return to the train station. And it's incredibly clever how it works. If I go on where I live now and say I want to go for a four hour cycle, starting for I live. I've lived in London for a long time and I've cycled in London for a long time. I know what all of the common roadie routes are that people take wherever they're going off to Windsor or Kent or sorry, Essex and, and if I let Komoot do this for me automatically. It's kind of amazing how it basically gives me the routes that people most commonly do. But it won't just give me three or four options, it will give me hundreds of options, which means I can go out for a new ride. And I can always find something that's slightly different to what I've done in the past. And I find that really inspiring for my, like motivation to explore. Carlton Reid  1:04:12   And then if you were in Iran, would it do the same? Or was it does it need that you know, lots and lots of people have done this before or kind of just glower three people who've done this, okay, that'll be the route we curate for this. This person has just ended up in Iran, for instance, such as yourself a few years ago. Yeah, you Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  1:04:28   need to have the use of data because it's based on what people actually do. So if we didn't have that it wouldn't we only want to do it when we're confident we give people a good experience. Otherwise, no one benefits from it. You can obviously still use the route panoramic, your own tool in Iran. The what I would say in certain regions where there is less user data, we have an editorial team that make it they're the the we create the content so we'll find what are the classic like walking routes based on like variety of sources, we have an extensive editorial team that will add this content. And they will add suitable highlights, which is what we call the contributions that the community creates to add on to the map. So that this is an amazing viewpoint, this is a great cafe to stop out if you're a cyclist, this is a really beautiful, rich line stroll. So we will help to populate the map so that the people who are used to kind of a circular thing, the better the map data is, the better that the attributions are on commute, the more local people will find, have a good user experience. And then the more they use it, the more they'll contributes. And that's how we kind of launch in in new places where there's less of an active community, if that makes sense. Carlton Reid  1:05:48   Yes, your heat mapping then, in effect, so you're you're working out where people are going, and you see you perhaps, you know, and your your fellow app. This this ecosystem we talked about before, you know, where people are cycling, you know, like the Strava, type heatmap. Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  1:06:06   Exactly. So we can I mean, it's all obviously, like, it's only when people choose to share stuff publicly. It's all like completely anonymized. But you know, we have so much data, we're just trying to harness it. And yes, we do know where people cycle we have that information that's great is quite hard to sort of digest. But if you can take that and turn it into something actionable, the end result for the user is that they can say, I'm a beginner, I've got two hours, I've got a new phone mount to go on my handlebars, I can select this tool, I can just press go. And I can head off and have an amazing bike ride for two hours. And we can be really confident that it's going to be suitable because that's what other people are doing when they, for example, select bike touring as a sport type. And the same for hiking, we won't have people won't be walking down the road, because we'll only be looking at data that's come from hikers. It's a very Yeah, it's an incredible solution is very clever. And I think it's just a great way of mobilising people, whether they're like really experienced cyclists who are just looking for something new and and bored of doing the same kind of loop over and over again, or newbies who need their handheld a little bit. And once I have a solution that they can just go off and do with five minutes of planning instead of an hour of planning for a two hour excursion. Carlton Reid  1:07:33   Now right now the bike and I don't know how much you know, this, but the bike industry, certainly in the UK, and in many other places in the world is is suffering just incredibly bad. It's just it is it is dire out there at retail. It's dire out there for suppliers, you know, post COVID, we basically just got a huge, huge, low a complete slump. You know, I did a story on Forbes of the day talking about how to 40 year low in the UK. You know, the last time we were as low as this in bike sales was in 1985. So 39 years. And that's that's that's pretty poor. Do. Do you recognise that? Is that something you can look at and say, oh, people aren't writing as much? Or is that just purely at retail and people still riding that is not buying? Jonathan Kambskarð-Bennett  1:08:24   Is a good? It's a good question. I actually saw that Forbes article and is it's definitely bleak reading. But I've worked in the bike industry for a number of years. It's like, I know many people who share the same kind of anecdotal experiences that things are changing. It is a problem with retail and definitely like have these hangover kind of effects from the pandemic that still making it really hard for people to forecast well. And, and it's just been so unpredictable for a few years now. Komoot is lucky because we don't deal with a physical product. But we are subject to the same the same kind of you know, these kind of cultural shifts, whether people are collectively interested in exploring or cycling, we're not immune to that we might not have the same issues that a bike manufacturer has, but we still get impacted by the same changes. And it's hard for us to predict these major shifts in usage in the same way that it's hard for an

Cette année, nous nous sommes dits que ce serait sympa de vous impliquer dans l'une de nos aventures autour d'un Dafy Trip ! Toute l'équipe s'est donc mobilisée pour réfléchir, imaginer et construire un road trip que nous pourrions partager tous ensemble. Bon, forcément, nous ne pouvions pas tous vous emmener, ça aurait été avec plaisir, mais il aurait fallu un encadrement stratosphérique. Sachant que nous avons déjà du mal à synchroniser nos traces GPX entre l'ouvreur et le fermeur… dix personnes, c'est bien ! C'est donc six d'entre vous qui nous ont rejoints à Pont-en-Royans, en Ardèche, pour deux jours de roulage, de bonne humeur et de météo capricieuse.

This episode is the third and final installment of a 3-part series on ADHD and genetics. In previous episodes, explore the role of genetics in ADHD and the significance of MTHFR in the ADHD and Autism conversation. Tune in to this episode to learn more about detoxification and oxidative stress and how these things affect ADHD symptoms.  Sign up for my free ADHD masterclass and discover how to reduce ADHD symptoms naturally, sometimes in as little as 60-90 days here  - https://info.adhdthriveinstitute.com/live Learn more about one of our favorite DNA tests here - https://shop.adhdthriveinstitute.com/the-dna-company-360-report.html    Key Takeaways: [2:30] What is detoxification, and why is it important for managing ADHD? [4:26] What is oxidative stress? [6:08] Genes that affect detoxification [6:29] The gene GSTT1 [8:35] The gene GSTM1 [9:42] The gene GSTP1 [11:23] Genes that relate to antioxidation — SOD2 and GPX [17:01] Strategies you can do to optimize detoxification in the body [19:21] A word of caution about detoxification [19:53] The importance of regular bowel movements in detoxification [21:00] The benefits of detox baths, infrared saunas, milk thistle, essential oils, and skin brushing   Memorable Moments: ”Toxins are pretty much everywhere, and while our bodies are built to handle some level of detoxification, the sheer volume of exposure can be overwhelming, especially for individuals with ADHD who may already have sensitive systems.” ”Detoxification and antioxidation are a really important part of naturally reducing ADHD symptoms.” ”It's not just about one gene's results. It's how they come together for that overall picture in that child's body.” ”Oxidative stress can exacerbate symptoms by affecting neurotransmitter regulation and neural development.” ”An efficient detox system can help manage ADHD symptoms more effectively.” ”The more you know about your genetic makeup, the better equipped you'll be to navigate the complexities of ADHD.” ”Water is essential for every cellular process in your body, including detoxification.” ”One of the most straightforward ways to help your child detox is to ensure they're having regular bowel movements.” ”[Infrared] Saunas are the finest single additional modality for toxic metal elimination and detoxification.” ”Milk thistle is another natural detoxifier that supports liver, kidney, and gallbladder function.” ”Essential oils can also be a powerful tool for detoxification.” ”The skin is our largest organ and plays a vital role in detoxification.”   Dana Kay Resources: Website: https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADHDThriveInstitute/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adhdthriveinstitute/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ADHDThriveInstitute  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adhd-thrive-institute/mycompany/  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ph/adhdthriveinstitute/  Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adhd_thriveinstitute  International Best Selling Book, Thriving with ADHD – https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/book/  Free Reduce ADHD Symptoms Naturally Masterclass - https://bit.ly/3GAbFQl  ADHD Parenting Course – https://info.adhdthriveinstitute.com/parentingadhd ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids Program – https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/packages/

 Pour ce chapitre 94, j'appelle Axel Carion, le créateur des Bikingman qui prépare déjà la saison 2024. Il est en ce moment à Taiwan et nous avons 7 heures de décalage : il est 10h pour moi et 17h pour lui. Il a fini sa reco du jour et je l'appelle par whatsapp avant la douche … La saison 2023 des Bikingman Origine étant finie, je voulais échanger avec lui sur le thème de la compétition dans le domaine de l'ultra distance. En effet, je vois la compétition arriver dans deux domaines, jusqu'alors marginaux : le gravel et l'ultra qui sont aujourd'hui très populaires. Est-ce la fin des faux-semblants des randonnées soi disant sans classement, mais qui consacrent des vainqueurs. Est-ce une formule revisitée des cyclosportives chronométrées ?  Après avoir suivi le Paris-Brest-Paris 2023 et entendu différents commentaires sur la soi disant  « non-assistance », on peut s'étonner du flou qui existe aujourd'hui au sein des fédérations et des organisations. De nos jours, avec les moyens de communication dont on dispose il est tellement simple de devenir organisateur et créer sa propre épreuve : un lieu de départ, une trace GPX et un lieu d'arrivée et hop c'est parti. Va t-on, comme le dit Axel, vers une « ubérisation » des épreuves de longues distances ? … Écoutons Axel sur ces sujets, son expérience est précieuse car il organise ce type d'épreuves depuis 2016 et pas seulement en France.   

I think we all can recall our first time. You're scrambling around a digital facsimile of a library on the early Internet, and wham, you stumbled onto WildSnow. Lou Dawson, author of Wild Snow: 54 Classic Ski and Snowboard Descents of North America and curator of the website by the same name, is an integral part of the ski community's fabric. He's the first to ski all of Colorado's 14ers. And he's one of a few individuals to fastidiously research and document the ongoings of the backcountry touring scene. In particular, Lou allowed many of us to seek adventure deep in the mountains long before ubiquitous GPX tracks and the globe's backcountry were digitized and accessible with a finger swipe. Let's be direct: when it comes to the things we care about, it's often said that "it's hard to put into words" how we feel. But it's not tough regarding Lou's contribution to backcountry skiers, ski mountaineers, or (here's a nod to Gavin) the ski tourists out there. We are grateful for Lou's decades-long good work.In this episode of The High Route podcast, what goes down is part back-of-the-bar conversation and part scholarly. (But really, they are not mutually exclusive.) Adam Fabrikant and Billy Haas, in their behind-the-scenes way, are keen on documenting local, regional, and global skiing from the perspective of going to the edge of where the dragons are, and descending remote lines in a particular style. Lou, throughout his career, has done the same, particularly as it relates to North America. So yes, they deep dive into the why and how of documenting the past and current status of making turns (usually in steep terrain) in the non-industrialized mountains.Lou's Timeline of North American Skiing    Since it's Lou, and we couldn't help ourselves, we also talked about gear and technology and their place in driving deep adventure. You can find Lou's most recent work on his website. As many of you know, keep an eye out for his memoir Avalanche Dreams, which, fingers crossed, will be available sometime this winter. Again, thanks to Lou and his family for being part of the backcountry touring community and sharing their lives with the rest of us.   Ok, so how did this all come to be? In episode 1 of The High Route Gear Shed Podcast (yes, we have a gear-specific podcast, and episode 1 focused on ski mountaineering ropes) Adam said this about the golden age of ski mountaineering.Adam: "So I mean, today, ladies and gentlemen, this afternoon, we delve deep into the different options for ski ropes, some of the pros and cons, some of the nuances and a lot of our subjective personal preferences. But we've formed these opinions over, you know, hours, days and years in the mountains. And I encourage everyone to test this gear thoroughly before bringing it out into the big hills. But it's pretty cool. We live in the golden age of ski mountaineering, lot of options for ropes and belay devices to get us up and down the hills."Here's Billy's response: "How lucky are we to be living in the golden age of ski mountaineering? That's, that's special ha. I don't know, maybe we could get Lou on the line and see if he agrees with that or something."Fast forward a month or two, and we get Lou's response on the podcast. Deep thanks to Adam, Billy, and Lou for the conversation.You can find us at the-high-route.com. Yeah, there are two hyphens for redundancy, which is a good policy in the mountains. For weight weenies, hyphens weigh next to nothing. We are a reader supported website with free podcasts. Our podcasts are not free to produce or store on a server. If you are enjoying the podcasts, please consider supporting The High Route, you can find subscription information here. The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to start with.

HI FRIENDS!

Episodio super mega nerd!Ho fatto una listona di estensioni e plug-in vari che si possono aggiungere e collegare a Strava. Beccateveli!Sauce for Strava: https://www.sauce.llc/Elevate for Strava: https://thomaschampagne.github.io/elevate/#/landingVeloViewer: https://veloviewer.com/Strava Enhancement Suite: https://strajk.github.io/strava-enhancement-suite/Strava, export gpx track: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/strava-export-gpx-track/kdemfmhkoncmbcphejembfngiihppkeiStrava GPX downloader: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/strava-gpx-downloader/pnglhfabfkchkadgnkfacoakincdpeeg/related?hl=itStrava Map Switcher: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/strava-map-switcher/djcheclpmmkcdkjcenfamalobdenmiciStrafforts: https://www.strafforts.com/PB Viewer: https://pbviewer.com/Intervals.icu: https://intervals.icu/Summit Bag: https://summitbag.com/Citystrides: https://citystrides.com/Wandrer Earth: https://wandrer.earth/Episodio “Tutte le app e i siti che uso per le mie tracce GPX”: https://www.spreaker.com/user/lorenzomaggiani/tutte-le-app-e-siti-che-uso-per-mie-tracce-gpxHeatmap Strava per desktop: https://www.strava.com/heatmap#7.00/9.82408/44.10245/undefined/undefinedProfilo Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/37970087Club Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/da0a42----------------------Supporta questo progetto tramite un contributo mensile su Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/da0a42In alternativa, puoi fare una donazione "una-tantum".PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/lorenzomaggianiBuymeacoffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/da0a42Acquista il materiale ufficiale del podcast: https://da0a42.home.blog/shop/Iscriviti a "30 giorni da runner": https://da0a42.home.blog/30-giorni-da-runner/Seguimi!Canale Telegram: https://t.me/da0a42Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/da0a42/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/da0a42/Profilo Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/37970087Club Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/da0a42Sito: https://da0a42.home.blogOppure contattami!https://da0a42.home.blog/contatti/Il mio microfono, HyperX Quadcast: https://amzn.to/3bs06wC----------------------Un grazie a tutti i miei sostenitori:Matteo Bombelli, Antonio Palma, George Caldarescu, Dorothea Cuccini, Alessandro Rizzo, Calogero Augusta, Mauro Del Quondam, Claudio Pittarello, Massimo Cabrini, Fabio Perrone, Roberto Callegari, Jim Bilotto, Luca Felicetti, Andrea Borsetto, Massimo Ferretti, Bruno Gianeri, Andrea Pompini, Cristiano Paganoni, Joseph Djeke.----------------------Music credits: Feeling of Sunlight by Danosongs - https://danosongs.com

Dans l'actu des nouvelles technologies et de l'accessibilité cette semaine : Rappel : nous avons ouvert une chaine Youtube Vous y retrouverez tous nos podcasts, ceux publié depuis la rentrée 2024. Notre chaine Youtube c'est ici. Les nouveautés Google pour Android. Les Pixel 8 et 8 Pro sont officiels : Google mise gros sur l'IA et la photo. Android 14 : la version finale est disponible en téléchargement. La Pixel Watch 2 est officielle : 4 choses à savoir sur la montre Google. Du côté des applications et du web Descriptions détaillées des images avec Microsoft Bing. Windows 11 : la mise à jour facultative Moment 4 est à éviter pour le moment. Gmail : le mode HTML simplifié disparaîtra en janvier 2024. AME : un éditeur Markdown accessible pour macOS et pour Windows. MIT - Améliorer l'accessibilité des graphiques en ligne pour les utilisateurs aveugles. Le reste de l'actu Carte bancaire : pourquoi les chiffres en relief ont (presque) disparu. Enquête de satisfaction 2023 NV Access. NVDA-FR change d'adresse. Sur le site cette semaine Jacques nous a proposé une entrevue avec David qui nous présente le format de fichiers GPX et son utilisation quand on est aveugle. Philippe a proposé un tuto pour compenser l'accessibilité dégradée avec VoiceOver sur iOS : les alerte de batterie basse perdue à cause de la Dynamic Island, soyez alertés malgré tout. Remerciements Cette semaine, nous remercions Arnaud, Christelle et Marc pour leurs infos ou leur dons. Si vous souhaitez vous aussi nous envoyer de l'info ou nous soutenir : Pour nous contactez ou nous envoyez des infos, passez par le formulaire de contact sur le site. Pour faire un don sur PayPal c'est par l'adresse courte paypal.me/oxytude. Faites vos achats sur Amazon en passant par le lien oxytude.org/amazon, ça nous aide sans augmenter le prix de vos achats. Pour animer cet épisode Cédric, Philippe et Yannick.

Gear up for the ultimate weekend festival of Trail Running at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon!In this episode we chat to trail legend and defending title holder of the Trail Marathon, Kane Reilly, to provide you with all you need to know to tackle the 46km, 22km, or 11km routes. Kane has conquered some of the most challenging trails around the world. In this episode we take an inside look at some of those adventures from Mt. Blanc to World Trail Champs plus Otter Trail which keeps him coming back for the elusive "W".If you're just here to get some inside tips about SCTM, then skip ahead to 24:00 minutes where we chat:Route profile Race Strategies The weather (it is Cape Town after all)Fuelling and more...To gain access to GPX files for the Trail Marathon and the Shorter Distances, make sure to sign up to the MAR newsletter on our website www.makingarunner.comWant to watch the full episode? We are now releasing the full video interview to our Petreon Subscribers https://patreon.com/MakingARunner?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Hello Dawn here, I hope you're all doing well. Summer 2023 is over and well, mine was EPIC with not one, but two adventures involving bikes. Today's episode is all about bikepacking in South Korea, more specifically, the 4 Rivers BIke Path in South Korea: approx 600 km of mostly car-free, dedicated bike paths extending from the Capital city, Seoul, to the southern sea-side city of Busan. I did this in four and a half days in early July. In today's episode, Afshan and I chatted through what Bikepacking in Korea was like. The good, bad and the questionable hotels. As you'll hear or may discover if you are now looking for information on the 4 Rivers Bike Path, it may be a little disjointed or hard to find so I'm sharing some resources below that may be helpful. The Four Rivers Trail - Full Ride with GPS Map This is the file that I used. Just a note that this file goes a little beyond the official end of the path as I learned. Keep an eye out for the KWater center at the end. My Day by Day Strava Segments My strava segments are below and will take you each night to a hotel if you want to recreate the full experience. :) Day 1 - https://www.strava.com/activities/9392400708Day 2 - https://www.strava.com/activities/9398669925 Day 3 - https://www.strava.com/activities/9403583994 Day 4 - https://www.strava.com/activities/9410403128 Day 5 - https://www.strava.com/activities/9415692577 NAVER As noted in the episode, Google maps does not work in Korea, nor really does booking.com so Naver is your go-to for navigation when you need to go off piste from the GPX route to find hotels and/or food. Naver also outlines bike paths so will get you back on the Four Rivers Path easily. I would recommend buying a cell phone holder for your handlebars so you can easily navigate with Naver as and when you need it. Additional Ultra Cycling EpisodesIf a timed bikepacking adventure is your jam: Episode 1 - How I went from Zero to Ultra in (a little over) 3 months Episode 16 - So you want to be an ultra-cyclist? Coach Niel Copeland chats about just exactly what it takes Episode 16a - Ultra-Eating - Coach Niel Copeland chats race nutrition Episode 24 - The Women of Race Around Rwanda - PT 1 Episode 25 - The Women of Race...

In this episode, Andy shares a live recorded Demo of the IRRISketch design software and the potential that it may have to disrupt the industry. Learn more here: IRRISketch === Andy: When I see something new, I like to check it out. I like to learn about it. And I, I'm a strong believer that every irrigation system proposal should have a drawing. I just, that's what I believe. And using a lot of the design software, it's not that particularly great. Now there's some software like LandFX that is really actually fantastic, but it offers sort of a level that is a lot more, I would say, than the average irrigation or the average landscape contractor needs. It's really, in my opinion, designed more for that architect engineer because it can provide you with some really, really It's just above and beyond what the average design build contractor needs. So I had a web meeting, sort of training overview, actually not training demonstration, let's call it a demo of the Erisketch software and I'm playing, I'm going to play that for you today. We, we probably spoke for about an hour and a half and this episode's only. Maybe 35 minutes. So I did my best to cut it down, not to bore you since you can't see the screen. So you can't really see the demo, but I wanted you to hear the conversation and some of the things that we were talking about and what's really fascinating or what, what. What makes me inspired and excited about this company is where we started when we started the conversation was about iris sketch irrigation design, but when we ended this conversation, it was actually more about building a stack of software that could help you. If you're the contractor, from beginning to end, and what I mean by that is, it can help you from the design of the system, to the materialist, to the pricing, to the proposal, to the ordering of supplies. And this is something that I have been, I have been waiting for. I feel like we play in separate buckets right now, we play in the buckets of irrigation design software, we play in the [00:02:00] buckets of um, Business management software like ServiceTitan, then we play in the buckets of, of distribution. And there really isn't anything as of today that can tie things end to end. And Errorsketch does not do that today, but I, I just have this hunch that what they're building and what you'll hear in this episode is the first attempt to try to tie a lot of this together. And it really does start with you. You're the one out there meeting with the client, residential or commercial. You're the one out there designing the system, determining what the materials are going to be. And then you're the one that has to place the order, install the material, and then deliver that customer with the final project. And so what, what you'll hear today is Iris sketch sort of combining all of these things together in a potentially very disruptive way, which is why I played that clip in the beginning, because I think our industry needs more disruption. If you look at the consumer goods industry, like Instacart. Instacart is filing for their IPO right now at the time of this recording, and it's disrupting the, the grocery business. There is a good chance that era, uh, not era sketch. Instacart is driving down the price of the goods and they're going to roll an advertising platform on top and offer upsells, offer brand manufacturers, a direct channel to the consumer through their software layered. Uh, layered on top of the grocery store. And I think that that could happen right here in our industry. So a couple of pointers, a couple of quick, um, want to see this a little bit so that you do listen. And if it, if it by any means starts to bore you, just hit that 30 second skip ahead because there is a lot of good, interesting meat in here. And this was not recorded as a podcast. So I should preface that this was recorded. I just recorded my demo. And then I asked for their permission to use some of it on today's episode. So I [00:04:00] want to have these guys back to have a real sort of more legitimate actual podcast discussion because this was just sort of a behind the scenes look at the demonstration. So a couple, a couple things you're going to learn today. You're going to learn how Erisketch, their main goal is quick and easy. They want to provide design software that is quick, easy. Of course it has to be accurate. But what I noticed the most, it was actually a beautiful presentation and a lot of irrigation design software that's out there. The goal of the software isn't to be beautiful. And the goal of the software is not, not necessarily to be quick or easy. It's mostly to be accurate. But I'm a strong believer that you got to sell the project. You can kind of figure out some of the details later. So I really liked the idea of having to be quick, easy, and a beautiful presentation so that you can use it to sell. Then they have an integration with Mosher. So I went ahead just this morning, ordered myself a Mosher. On the stick, because I want to start playing with this. I want to use Mosier to do a full site, take off, load it into the era sketch software and learn how to design with it. And then you're going to learn how you can. Potentially use it to build your bill of materials. So you can load in your own pricing libraries, your own parts lists, and you can make changes on the fly. So let's say you design it one way, the customer wants some changes. When you change it live in Erisketch, it is going to automatically update that bill of material and potentially that proposal. In real time, you don't have to do all those, those three steps separately. You can add five heads. You can move material right on the drawing with the customer if you would like to, and it will update the rest of it for you. So I just think that there's, man, there's just so much good [00:06:00] opportunity with this, with this software. I can't wait to try it out. I haven't used it myself. So please don't necessarily consider this to be any kind of an endorsement. I'm just excited about. The possibility. I'm excited about what these guys, how these guys think, how they are thinking longterm and what it could bring to what it could bring to the industry as far as efficiency value innovation. And when those three things come in, there's going to be some people that their cheese gets moved. And if that's you, that's okay. You got it. Everybody's cheese is often always moving and you got to be looking in new places for new opportunities. So I guess, I guess that's all I have for this intro. Let's, uh, let's just jump right in and roll the episode with my conversation with the founders of Eerie Sketch and Eerie Cellar. Theo: Uh, as you mentioned that I introduce, invite also my colleague, my partner, Philip, he's the, uh, inventor of Erie sketch, the design software. And I think, uh, the right conversation should only. With both  Andy: of us sure together. Yeah. Thank  Philiph: you. Yeah. Okay, how to proceed? I want  Theo: I want Philip maybe to explain what's the idea? For Iris sketch for our program. So he's the inventor. I only came up with him two years after the first launch of every sketch and Yes,  Philiph: Philip. Let's go. Yeah, so let's start with the proper pronunciation. It's Erie sketch. I am I think that it's not properly, uh, trans, uh, transposed to English. Yes,  Andy: it's. Oh, no, it's good. Yeah. You're a sketch. I get it. Absolutely.  Philiph: Okay. So it's about irrigation and sketch. It means that, uh, you make a sketch of irrigation design without any effort and, uh, you can start, [00:08:00] uh, as fast as you can with, uh, Making a proposal to the customer that started when I started doing irrigation. Actually, I'm from the ground. Uh, I was mounting the systems and I understood that there is a big problem with the projects and making them is takes a lot of time from my life and from my personal life. And, uh, I Couldn't find any, uh, good, uh, software for this. So I, uh, searched the rain card, tested it, but it was too complicated for me. And, uh, I thought that, uh, with my knowledge of basics of web development and, um, so on, I can, uh, make for me, for myself, the proper. tool that will be fast and easy and, you know, in the cloud. So that was my, uh, um, I wanted it very much, so it will be available through all devices and, uh, everything will be stored there. So, uh, that's why I started with this. It was three or four years ago already. Uh, and the idea is to make it fast so, uh, I can show you, I can show my screen and what it can do. So, yeah. That would be  Andy: great. Yeah. Everything. Wow. So what were you doing? You said you were doing irrigation before you started this. Um, I  Philiph: was working from 2012 at irrigation and, uh, it's like six or five or six years. I, I was in the field, um, and in the winter we had no occupation, so I tested out my skills and the development. So, yeah, no, I  Andy: think it's really important because I shouldn't say, I don't know the number, but I would say most contractors don't deliver the homeowner a, or the client, commercial or residential, a drawing. You know, some places they have to because it's mandatory. Other places they may add another fee or maybe it was done by a designer, but just for like the average home. You know, they might sketch [00:10:00] something on a piece of paper perhaps and leave it with the client, but there's nothing that's a true kind of record drawing. And, um, you know, a brand new system doesn't really matter. But then as time goes on and somebody wants to make some modifications or something's not working, that's when having a drawing. Really helps  Philiph: the maintenance and support for the project. Yeah, it's crucial to have something where our pipes laid at least. So, uh, that was also my idea because I'm, uh, was making, yeah, 50% on my knee with the paper and, uh, I said, I tried to deliver the customer, uh, belief that I can do it, uh, in a good way. So, and, uh, I thought that. So this will be really professional if I can do it fast and with some present, uh, presentation that is good looking, uh, like an output from the ear sketch now. So, uh, then you start, uh, the basic drawing when you create new projects. So you can, uh, measure the field or you can use the new tool, the Mosher, uh, that is used, um, Oh,  Andy: in U. S. I know. Yeah. Yeah. I've seen that. You can actually tell me, tell me how that works.  Philiph: Uh, that works very simple. You have your Mosher measurements, and when you start drawing a new polygon, you can import, I don't know where I have, uh, some Mosher. Yeah.  Andy: Okay. So you use your Mosher, and you get your exported file, and then you can import it into here? Yeah, definitely. Ah,  Philiph: exactly. So, uh, for example, this is a measurement from the Mosher. Uh, ported to the Iriscage, uh, drawing with a one to one scale. So, uh, when you measure, uh, measure this, you can export as CSV file and there is all data and you just need to start drawing a polygon and  Andy: say, yeah. So now you just gave me a reason to go buy the Mosier. I'm going to buy the Mosier. I'm going to test this out and make it work because I think that combining those together. That is, what a great  Philiph: [00:12:00] idea. Yes, that's really, uh, making, improving the speed, uh, of the delivery. Oh, maybe it's  Theo: always, uh, possibility, possible to, to add some underlayers. So we can add  Philiph: photos of  Andy: drawings. Okay, cool. I was going to ask you that. Could I screen capture something out of Google Earth, maybe? And then just put it in here and then take the Mosier and put it on there.  Philiph: Yeah, actually, I don't know some, uh, I don't have some, uh, images here on the computer, but, uh, you can, uh, input anything that is in raster or in PDF file. So it will be, uh, in the Erie sketch. Also you can, uh, for example, export from, uh, AutoCAD or more, uh, sustainable software, more,  Andy: more big. And I love the trees because typically an irrigation drawing is very flat. It is, you know, an engineered file. There's no pizzazz, there's no like sexiness to it. It doesn't sell, but this is giving you the ability to, you know, add some sales appeal to the drawing. Yes.  Philiph: Yes. That was made especially for Iris Cage by the, uh, the artist. So he will, he's drawing, uh, actually the nature and I asked him to make some stuff like this so you can then make some, for example, the flowers. I'm not so big  Andy: designer. Hey, it's all good. Even just dropping a couple specimen trees around the property could make it, could enhance the drawing, you know? Yeah,  Philiph: definitely. Yeah. So it can be curved as you want. So you can, um. Use it as a simple sketch tool for a landscape also to deliver the concept of the garden, for example, uh, it's why not when you switch to irrigation tab, everything is more, uh, a pack. Yeah. And, uh, uh, so you can now, uh, focus on your irrigation. You set up your, uh, water source, you set up your. Uh, manifolds or [00:14:00] you don't start with the manifolds, of course, you now, uh, need to understand which nozzle you need to draw. Yeah. There is a wide range of the nozzles. If  Andy: you could, maybe we just, um, remove those layers, you know, start with that polygon and then let's just, you know, let me just give you, could I just give you some parameters? Like here's how many gallons a minute we have, uh, here's what our pressure is. And then we can kind of go from there. Uh,  Philiph: no, actually, there is the, uh, the other, uh, way of thinking for us. So you'd first you need to cover this area at any, uh, you know, with your, uh, with your, uh, sprinklers. So you need to cover to deliver the precipitation. And, uh, by knowing the precipitation, uh, by knowing the amount of flow, uh, then you make zoning, uh, uh, based on your, um, pump, you know, your pump, or for example, the wood designer, uh, knows every time what is the water source, uh, so he can calculate it in, uh, in mind how much of the water flow he. He will have for one, uh, zone, yes, for one, uh, great zone. So when he starts to make in the, uh, drawing the nozzles, we, uh, we focus mostly on the covering area with the nozzles. It's very handy tool here that automatically fits, uh, your, uh,  Andy: Now, the nozzle though is subject to the pressure. So how are you getting a coverage if you don't necessarily know your pressure? Philiph: Uh, the, uh, currently when you start drawing the standard pressure is applied. So it's, uh, for example, for MP rotator, it's 45 PCI. Yeah. So, uh, and then of course, uh, when you realize that, um, we have. Flow, for example, uh, 87, uh, gallons per hour, and it's not enough for [00:16:00] us. Uh, our pump won't, uh,  Andy: Can we switch that? Cause in the U S we don't think in gallons per hour, it's gallons per minute, gallons  Philiph: per minute. Okay. Just a second. Because we also don't think even in gallons, that's just my attempt  Andy: here. Like an emitter is gallons per hour on micro, but otherwise it's yeah. Gallons per  Philiph: minute. So, yeah, we have the, for example, 1. 5 gallons per minute. Let's  Andy: go ahead and put the other ones in there. You know, let's fill that in.  Philiph: Let's do it. So you select the type of nozzle, not actually the, you can select the proper nozzle that you know, but I have also auto drawing system that you can choose. Uh, in, uh, in a whole range of that class of nozzles. So for example, MP Rotator provides you with MP3 5000, uh, so it's very easy to draw the nozzles with this tool. You can, you  Andy: need to try it on your own. And it's, um, how is it determining the distance? And the spacing, or you?  Philiph: First, you start with placing the nozzle, then you set the needed radius that you can see on the drawing. And when you click, Then, uh, by the, uh, based on the angle you said, and based on availability of nozzles, you can see that, uh, the proper nozzle is chosen. Okay. So that's how it works. Okay. Okay. Now you can see the whole, uh, consumption and it's five gallon per minute. So it's a tool that is meant for designers. For advanced designers, not for like customers who want to design their garden irrigation or something. So they should know how it will behave on which pressure it will work with this, with this consumption. And, uh, When you start to make zoning for, uh, for example, [00:18:00] if our pump can do, uh, needed pressure only for two gallons per minute, we need, we know that we need at least three zones here. Uh, yeah, two zones. Yeah,  Andy: let's just say we want to do two zones for this instance. For example,  Philiph: yeah, we, we're making two zones and we see how to properly cut, uh, uh, the, into two pieces of this. So for example, we have. Almost five, uh, gallon per minute. Uh, no, I didn't select 5. 15. And when you start to take off one side, you can see it's decreasing up to three. And if we remove also this, it will have a 2. 5. So this will be definitely one zone, this line and the center. So, and then you just, uh, can draw the pipe. And then if we know the, uh, the source of water will be here, the next pipe would of course go. Something from here. Maybe in this direction and to offload that one side, maybe it will go like this. So, uh, when you have your, uh, piping, you set up the manifold, the better place, I think near the source or somewhere near, so now you're attached to the manifold. You can do it in many ways, but I think the schematic way is better because you don't care. You understand where you will dig also.  Andy: Yeah. And it sounds like the idea for this is a quick sketch. That's a great presentation. That also shows the crew, which sprinklers are going together on the same zone, where approximately the pipes are going, but it's not meant to give you. Like all the exact materials and the exact pipe and the friction loss from this point to that point and all of that. It's a, it's a quick sketch, which is actually really helpful because most of the like engineered software out there, although it can be easy to use, there's a lot [00:20:00] more involved, so it doesn't become quick and easy. You may get potentially better engineering results. But it's not quick and easy for this purpose.  Philiph: Definitely. Yes. It, uh, will automate something, but not everything that, uh, that we want, but we are moving into this direction. Maybe the one day we have more, uh, You know, past and more precise, uh, system, but, uh, currently it works like this  Andy: and you should But this is actually okay. I mean, really you could take this and generate a pretty accurate, um, not full materialist, but bid based on some other input. So somebody wanted to take this and then generate a price quote. You know, this would be enough, I think, to get that started.  Theo: Yes, we are able, we are able to create a complete, uh, material list out of these, and we are now in a, uh, an area for private people, for private lawn, for private yards. Philiph: Residential, yeah,  Theo: residential area. And the friction losses during the pipe, it's not so necessary in the smaller cases of gardens. If you are going on golf courses, friction losses are definitely important, but on small private yards, it's not so not so important.  Andy: And it just depends because it can be if somebody uses the wrong size pipe, right? If they use three quarter inch pipe everywhere and they don't realize what the friction loss is. And because a lot of homes in the U S don't all. could have low pressure to start. So somebody has low pressure to start and they don't want to purchase a pump, then they need to carefully consider pipe size because they're trying to, you know, conserve pressure, I guess. Philiph: I will show you this a little bit later, but what I want to show you now is the, how we calculate the pipe diameter. So, uh, here is now Get some information about the diameter the direction of the flow and velocity of the of your flow so for [00:22:00] example It calculated that we need These diameters of pipe and this will be the speed inside and this will be the flow. Andy: Okay. So it says four inch, then we need to go to two inch, three inch, two inch, an inch and a half. Yeah. If you want. Yes. Or, or you could just stay at two inch cause a bigger pipe is fine. You don't have to go down, but sometimes, sometimes contractors don't downsize cause then they need a whole bunch of other fittings. So they'll just use whatever the largest pipe is all the way to the end, even though it costs more money, it's just easier.  Philiph: Now we have, uh, the basic system set up here. So let's continue with, uh, the basic, uh, controller with the wiring. You of course, making the wiring, uh, here in the Erisk Edge. So it, Yeah,  Andy: wiring is not something that's typically included on an irrigation drawing. Yeah.  Philiph: Um, on a drawing, you can, uh, save everything you need because this is like design, uh, step. And when, uh, then you finish with this. For example, we've made a basic design, then we switch to layouts. Layouts will hold as many, uh,  Andy: Oh, layout is like your, your, uh, planned, uh, page.  Philiph: Yes, like, uh, viewports of your, uh, draw. So you can... Uh, choose what you want to show on viewport, uh, Will that put a scale  Andy: in there? Um, yes.  Philiph: Okay. Yeah. The scale, of course, we can set, uh, for example, uh, one inch or it's one foot or, uh, Yeah, like one inch in 10, five. Let it be five for our scale. It will be good. Okay. And then you choose your, uh, sizes of everything of texts. And, uh, you say,  Andy: Gosh, I'm really thinking that, um, if you could, first of all, this is fantastic for the purpose of quick and easy presentation, you know, a drawing, it's good enough for the guys to know what they're going to [00:24:00] do and for the client to know what they're going to get. Uh, if there was a way to layer this on top of Google Earth or bring it in where you could just type in the address of the client. Do this remotely. You don't even need to visit the site. You could have a couple conditions and you could probably sell the system without visiting the site. At, at the end  Theo: you could, yes. Um, depends on the quality of the mapping service, of course, uh, Google, Google maps. It's in Germany. It's not so nice. So we have, it depends on  Andy: the tree cover and stuff. And again, this is like, you could say, Hey, here's what it could. Here's what it looks like it's going to be. Here's a couple unknowns, you know, Hey, we don't know if you have an extra flower bed. So you could ask a few questions to help clarify at least get it in the ballpark. And you could probably double the amount of quotes that a contractor could put out there if they don't have to travel to each site to wow the customer, get them to buy in. And then you have a. kickoff meeting with the client, go over it, see how close it is, then find out if there's anything that might be missing and how that might change the scope, if at all.  Theo: Definitely. You can work in this way. Yeah. For a first quote, you can do it in exactly this way. At the end, we also implement a service that the homeowner can prepare the planning for yourself. So you have the, we have the ErieSketch design studio. That's a smaller version of the ErieSketch professional tool that homeowners can upload their own satellite photo or their own sketch or their own drawing. And Uh, send it to you to, uh, asking for, for, for, or for, for  Philiph: irrigation. Yeah. You create the design, uh, link that anyone can access even without having some, uh, Eurosketch account. And, uh, this link. We'll open the Erisk edge, uh, with another tabs. It [00:26:00] will only be the drawer where you place your loan, your irrigated zone, not irrigated zone, whereas your controller will be located sensor, location of water source. And then you. Uh, make a quick survey with a project name, with your bucket test, for example, or with your climate conditions, or you cannot. And you can  Andy: even say like, upload a picture of your water source. I want to see the pipe where it comes in, in your basement. You need to upload that picture, right? I want so that it's like you're being there and people with their phone can just snap a picture.  Philiph: That's fair. Yeah. Well, but it's in development  Andy: now. Yeah. Well, I'm just saying I can make my own form, you know, that I could get the project information from clients. That's great.  Philiph: Yes. That's, uh, you, you inspiring us to speed up the development of this feature. Yeah.  Andy: So yeah. Now, uh, would this be, so it's interesting too, is because it's web based, it means there's a lot you can do with it or cloud with, is this something that, um, like, could I embed this? I guess I could just do like, um, A window, like a frame, iframe. Could I embed this in my website? So customers coming to sprinkler supply store could design their own system and not even necessarily, well, maybe they would know it's Errorsketch, but just beyond all on my domain.  Philiph: No, we, we are not restricting from this. So you can embed these in, uh, iframe of course on your website. So that's not a problem. You just provide this link and it's, uh, embeddable. You don't need to do anything but just type a code that's iframe and it will open.  Andy: So anyone could come to Sprinkler Supply Store and design their own system. Why  Philiph: not? That's great. And, uh, you create as many links as you want and, uh, for example, track there, uh, from the other, uh, places of your website or from other platforms, uh, that you need. So, for example, you place it on Instagram, this link, or in your, on your website within, within an iframe and, uh, you [00:28:00] can, uh, Uh, you, then you get the requests that's on up to you, up to the contractor who's using this design. Yeah.  Andy: So you've got rotors and sprays and different nozzles. How does this software handle drip irrigation?  Philiph: Uh, drip irrigation is all, uh, also handed, handled, and, uh, you can choose between the 16 and 17 millimeter drip. Uh, you have, uh, every, uh, drip line we had on the market, but not maybe everything, but from main, uh, uh. Andy: And sometimes it really, you know, it doesn't even need the brand because if somebody knows they're going to use a 0. 6 by 18 inch spacing. You know, it doesn't matter what the brand is because it's 0. 6 by 18. The math is the same regardless of the brand.  Philiph: So, uh, we, we also have the feature with, uh, to cover some drip area dripped. Uh, for example, you check the, your preferred, uh, drip line here, and then you draw up something, some area, some perimeter. And before you finish, you can, uh, set the step of the, of your, uh, future, future. Lines. And the angle? And then when you finish, uh, your drip line will be, uh, created and you can see the water flow. So it's 3. 5 GPM, the length, total length of the pipes. Uh, and then you connect it to the water source with the same type, but with a special drip start, uh, drip start, uh, node. It's it can contain anything you want, like the tap, the,  Andy: yeah, I just think, uh, for And for contractors that are. Involved in the sales process, this is a fantastic tool. I mean, talk about a differentiator. No, no one's using it yet. Clients, they may not expect this, but they want a higher level of [00:30:00] technology to be used in the sales process. They don't want a back of the napkin sketch on a carbon copy quote form. You know, this is, this is amazing. And you could produce this in, you know, less than one hour. Philiph: Yes, we are. We produce in this online. So, uh, also you can. Create some sprinkler, uh, coloring and To show the zones where the zones are belonging, the drip line, everything, some information about this, so length and flow, precipitation, what is on the zone, so, uh, the covered area and so on. So you, you have your, even you can calculate the timing of the controller. Uh, because you have all the information needed,  Andy: uh, Oh, I see like a runtime to produce one inch of  Philiph: water. Yeah. Based on the water demand, based on the infiltration rate of the soil, you can set it up in the special windows.  Andy: So you also have a scheduling engine then it sounds like,  Philiph: yes, that's a calculated. Yeah. By, uh, so it gives out your time per run and daily consumption for the, for all your cycles  Andy: and runs. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. This is really what, um, This is really what our industry needs because we're still doing it more or less the way it's been done for the last 20 or 30 years, basically.  Philiph: Same, same in Europe and  Theo: the same in Europe. So most of the, uh, contractors don't plan by itself. They leave planning for big companies, which also provide parts and  Andy: they go to their distributor. And then they say, I need this. And then, and then not only does the contractor have to make multiple visits to the site, right? One visit to make the measurements, the second visit to produce, you know, to sell the proposal, if you will, then they have to go to their distributor and the distributor draws it with no guaranteeing that the contractor is even going to get the sale. So all this work is being done for no. no purpose. Um, and I've always been under the belief that a contractor should do their [00:32:00] own work, not use a supplier for anything other than purchasing parts because it's their drawing. They should be responsible for it. And this really does put the power into the hands of the contractor  Theo: and quality of drawing. It's much better if contractor is on the same location. Because when you, uh, discussing with your disproducer is also over email, over phone. So he's sitting maybe a hundred kilometers or a hundred miles away from you and he never sees the garden at itself. And it's always a better design if somebody was really there. Philiph: I don't  Andy: know. This is so great. My mind is, my mind has so many other things here because I'm looking at you take this list down. So let's say we're done. Boom. Now my question would be, how could I feed my pricing in here to generate a quote? Because I could give you a feed, you know, with all the exact pricing or, or different libraries. And then the user could say, no, no, no, show me, is there another option that would automatically change these parts to, to be 10% less?  Philiph: That's what we deliver. Of course, the, we were thinking on this and we are, uh, created the, another piece of software that is named Iris Seller. And, uh. IrisCache is drawing, and IrisSeller is for selling. So, uh, when you have your setup in IrisCache, you can, uh, easily, uh, create it into your outlay with only your, uh, real life, uh, goods and, uh, stock. So that's, uh, I will show you how it work. I, I see that you are interested in this, so that's why I will, uh, take time. Yeah,  Andy: no, and I'm, uh, and it's interesting because I think people are afraid This so they're not, no one's doing it, but this is what needs to be done. And it basically becomes a marketplace, right? Where a, if a contractor uses your tool, number one, they can get a price for a Rainbird or Hunter or whatever dynamically they want right at [00:34:00] that moment. And then they could say. So, show me the price from site one, show me the price from Ewing, show me the price from Horizon, show me the price from sprinklersupplystore. com. Let me get a real live marketplace, you know, pricing on this material. Yeah.  Philiph: To compare and choose the best options.  Andy: Yeah. And again, if it's just showing up in your doorstep and it's delivered, the supplier becomes less relevant because you're doing the work. You're doing the value, you know, and they're just buying it and it ships in a box. Philiph: Of course. You are free to  Theo: choose what you want, where you  Andy: get it from. Yeah, and then the, and then the client, you know, if they say, Hey, is there any way, you know, we could, or how could we take like 10% off this price? You know, I had a budget of 4, 500, but this came in at 5, 000. Then the contractor can say, you know what, let me go through and see if there's any parts we could swap out that wouldn't affect the integrity of the system. And then rerun the quote, like in real time, not have to go back to the supplier, make five phone calls, right?  Philiph: Welcome to E Risk Etch. Yeah, that's cool that we are trying to do the same that you're saying. And, uh, yeah, I'm really proud now of it.  Andy: Because yeah, because somebody's got to poke the bear. There's too many big bears in this industry controlling the entire supply chain. From a couple of big distributors and a couple of big manufacturers. And it's time that somebody, you know, shook up the snow globe  Philiph: should come into the deal. Yeah. So, uh, for a manifold, uh, you can set up the valves there.  Andy: Yeah, and I mean really, sorry to interrupt you, really if you had, um, one way of, um, providing labor is to do a like per sprinkler, let's say it's 15 minutes per sprinkler and it, you know, how long is it per foot of one inch pipe, inch and a half, two inch pipe. If you could get your labor factors, which is, which are known. You can get your labor factors per [00:36:00] piece. Then you just put it on that quote and you can calculate out the installed price that like, and I have some of this data, you know, and then you got the installed price.  Theo: We have,  Philiph: we have. Well, why do, uh, why he knows how Eriskitch works? Yeah. Did you  Andy: tell him? Interesting. No, I've just been, it's what, what happens when you. I mean, basically 20 years ago, my buddy and I had an Excel sheet that did all this and every part had a price. And at the end you get your costs and then you can figure out what kind of margin you want to cover your overhead, but it's just. Database info. Super.  Philiph: That's what we really created. And this irrigation equipment configuration is just the beginning. Uh, here you set the, uh, most, uh, crucial parts of your system. It's like nozzles, uh, the drip pipe connections and valve manifolds, automation. Uh, you also have here the main pipe, a lateral pipe with, uh, they are fittings, uh, elbows, tees, crosses, whatever you need, uh, that, uh, end caps, if they are, they are here. Also the wiring, wiring calculation is, uh, another thing that, uh, you need to understand how you calculate, uh, your wiring because someone used cables, uh, multi cord cables. Someone used wires. And,  Andy: uh, the reason we used to do, but it was like half the number of zones times the length of the main line or something like that. It was  Philiph: just like, uh, yeah, multiplicative outlay, but here you, whether you can calculate it, uh, on your own or you can, uh, give every sketch opportunity to do this. So, uh, if you get used to it, you will be, uh, more, uh, more free to make any kind of assumptions. So. Yeah. Thank you. Uh, this step is finished. So here you have two options, whether you want to give a list to someone to calculate you the stock, uh, and [00:38:00] to give the, um, proposal for the materials list and, uh, to pay for, or you can go a way that we call iris seller. And when you have your stock or when you have, um, Your distributor that you are bound to and he has his stock in the Erie sketch system You can easily turn this everything out in the in your outlay. That is very configured with your own elements and Okay, let's switch to it and I will  Andy: show you how yeah. Yeah. I mean again, I think if even just If it didn't, you don't even have to put the price of the labor, just having labor hours in here would be helpful so that a contractor that's using it could look and say, okay, I see here that's 30 labor hours, you know, so if I bring a four man crew, I can do that in one day. Right? Or, or they can just break it down by, by labor hours and then if they know what they pay their laborers and they know what kind of margin they need on the labor, they can calculate their own, you know, labor price, but the labor time would be really valuable.  Philiph: I think, um, that labor, uh, times can be calculated based on amount of work, yes. Amount of sprinklers. Yeah.  Andy: And then you could have to say, okay, are we pulling this pipe? Are we trenching? Is this sand? Is this clay? There are things that affect. that, but, but it's nothing that you can't, you know, uh, build around. So,  Philiph: uh, here we, uh, uh, went this way. We provide this, um, feature is adding the price list and you can create your personal price list, or you can share your prices, price list, and, uh, become a like kind of distributor in terms of Erisk Edge, for example, we have on the. Hold on,  Andy: let me stop you. So I could take a price list, put it on Eurosketch and make it public? Yes. Oh,  Philiph: badass. That's what I'm talking about. Okay. So you can create your own price and share it. Yes. And ideally,  Andy: I could tie [00:40:00] you in on API and it could generate the order on my website. Why not? And then you can make a commission, you know, like Instacart 10% commission. Philiph: Things are increasing. Yeah. This speed. And yeah, we will think on this, everything step by step. I would just want you to show that, um, what we've developed by the moment and, um, how it, how it give you the ability to, um, output your data and how it's connected with the  Andy: project. That's why I'm just happy that you're thinking bigger. You know, you, you've, obviously as an entrepreneur, sometimes you just keep thinking, right? You're like, Oh, and if we did this, then we could do that. And if we did that, then we could do this other thing. And it just keeps going. And that's important because the schedule by itself that has some value, but if you can tie it all the way through the supply chain and the market and the end user and get them all together, now you've really. Got something.  Philiph: So, yes, I agree with you totally. So that's, that's our idea. And so, uh, it's, uh, I showed you how fast and how easy the changes are made to the outlay. So you just change something in the project and when you set up everything, you have a freedom to make fast recalculation of this stuff. And when you have everything, everything prepared for this, like pricelist from your beloved distributor, who are you working with and your calculations of labors, you are very fast with this outlay. So it takes how money, how much time till it takes for you to make this kind of cycle. The standard small one  Theo: 30 minutes. Yeah.  Andy: Once it's all, once you do the work and you enter it all in it, it's all gonna be done at the time you do the drawing ? Yes. Yeah,  Philiph: that's fair. But you will take time to attach proper prices, uh, select them from your list, and that's all. I think it's like five minutes for the outlay. Yeah. [00:42:00] So, yeah. That's what we showed in short story.  Andy: Very cool. Well, uh, this is great. I think I want to, I want to experiment with it, run, you know, do some, do some real live drawing with it and then, uh, see how to embed it on, on the website. So if we have any customers at sprinkler supply store that want to design their own system, then we can direct them there. Maybe I could like, um, make a little video that shows them how to use it and, um, see how we can use it to support our customers. Yeah. I  Philiph: think the first thing is what we need to make all internals work, internal work, preparing the price list from your stock, uh, creating them in Erisk Edge. Uh, and then when you have a request, we have to be very fast by, uh, processing it with your price list and your labor's work, but, uh, we, of course we don't show to the customer, everything that is internal and we can show just, uh, Amount of, uh, the price for the, uh, equipment and one price for the labors, for example, how much it will be cost. But you know that this price is very precise because you took time to calculate, to prepare all these prices and you can rely on it. That's the case when you risk it. Yeah.  Andy: Yeah. Fantastic. Cool. All right. Well, I will, uh, you know, right now we just got some other things happening, but I want, I'm very excited by this. And like I said, I, I mostly excited because you guys thought you thought further than just the design and, and I don't know why, uh, other existing companies aren't, aren't Doing this because it's something that, um, I, I, in a weird way predicted like many years ago that why doesn't the irrigation design software, they know all the parts and pieces, they're just missing the pricing and then they're just missing the labor and they could take more of a bite out of the service that they're the value that they're adding and [00:44:00] therefore charge additional fees. Okay. Do you want to include pricing that has another plan? Do you want to include labor that has another plan? ?  Philiph: Yes. That's what we are working, uh, with because, uh, we are in one person, the developer, and uh, the user. Uh, that's,  Andy: uh, the main thing. That's amazing. You guys have built all this. It's a lot. I, I know how much work this is and it you, this is a lot of work. Philiph: Yes. And we are making this, uh, very live and. We are continuing with this work, improving the Erie sketch almost every day. We are adding some equipment and we have also the future plans for the second version and so many, uh, so many things. And I'm  Andy: going to buy the Mosier. Um, and I also have, uh, I can't remember the name of it. It's the, it's the wheel that you can put your iPhone on and you can, so it's got a GPS file. Oh, that was my question. What file are you looking for to import? What type of a file?  Philiph: Uh, for Mosher, it's CSV file. It's a standard export of the Mosher, uh, layered export. It's, uh, previously it named CSV plus plus. So it's  Andy: not a GPX or a GPS file.  Philiph: No, uh, actually it's just a set of coordinates, it's like X, Y, Z coordinates, columns, and the points of that, uh, as a rows, you just, uh, input, uh, uh, you can see that, uh, you can generate. From any type of software, uh,  Andy: yeah, I'm going to, um, get a Mosier and to do a real life demo, like, uh, measure out a house, put it in here and, and use the software. I think that'd be fantastic. Um, it also would be some good content. If I can figure out how to turn that into a YouTube video, you know, how to design, you know, an irrigation system in less than 30 minutes.  Philiph: Yes, that's the point. We also have this, uh, like promo or maybe you saw this on the website. [00:46:00] It's, uh, do you see this? Do you hear the sound or not? No, it's okay though. Oh, then I will share you in the chat and you can see it when you have time. So it's like a small explanation of what we have here. I don't know. I don't see the chat actually.  Andy: That's okay. I can look, I can look at it on your website.  Philiph: Yeah. Okay. Okay. It's on the main page. So, uh, that's what, what I was talking about is, uh, I don't remember what I was talking about. I don't know,  Theo: but I have some other question, maybe directly to Andy for us. It's interesting. I think so. As you know, as you recognize the set, uh, Philip come from Russia. At the moment, he's located in Germany. He's, uh, come, uh, one year ago to Germany. Now we are both at the same place in Germany and, uh, we develop Irisketch and, uh, wanted to start, of course, uh, to spread Irisketch over the whole world. So we are now at the moment strong in Russia, of course, and we are strong in Germany. With distribution of our software. And of course, US market is the main goal of us to reach, um, all, uh, contractors from your market. But what we are missing is a partner at the US market at the moment. And especially somebody which really knows how the market works in the US.  Philiph: So, um,  Theo: we think we know, but it's better if you can explain what to say. U. S. irrigation market on who is contractor, what did contractor actually do? You just told us that mostly nobody tried to design their own. Uh, when we look on websites of contractors, we only see something like renovation and retrofit systems, but  Philiph: nobody offers  Andy: new systems. Oh, [00:48:00] no, no, no, no. New is, um. Yeah. So let's see. Uh, I'd be happy to tell you everything I know about the U S market. Um, we would need, we need a little bit more time, but, um, there are generally two types of contractors install and service some do. And then each of those do a little crossover. So some contractors do only new install. and a little bit of service, and that's commercial. And some contractors do a lot of residential service and some install. And it's different on the West, the Western United States versus, let me take you off spotlight here, versus the Eastern United States. So the Western United States, most irrigation systems are drawn by a professional engineer. Or a  Theo: garden architect.  Andy: Uh huh. Uh, commercial, anyway. Commercial. Okay, yeah. And, uh, on the eastern United States, it's mostly contractor design build. And so contractors go to the distributor, the distributor draws it, uh, and maybe 20% of the time it's an engineer. So there's a difference between the East Coast and the West Coast. And then you have your distributors where there's like four or five really, really big distributors. And then there's a handful of smaller, you know, family owned businesses and the family owned businesses are now selling to larger businesses and the market is consolidating. Um, because it's maturing and, uh, from the contractor's perspective, there really aren't any national franchises. There's one growing called Conserva and they're probably, they're really like the only franchise. And this could be a good tool for a franchise, you know, because it would differentiate the franchise. So that is the thought that I have is, hey, that's a great opportunity because you sell it to a [00:50:00] franchise and then the franchise owner requires all of the franchisees to use the software and then they have access to it. Then they see all the like it's all It's all tied in. Um, and after that you  Philiph: have a small franchise. Yeah. Yeah.  Andy: You have small contractors all over the United States. Um, and that's part of the, the problem and the opportunity with irrigation. You don't need any education. You don't need any formal licenses other than whatever is required in your town or your state. Yet at the same time, that just means any old guy can throw some stuff in his truck and now he's an irrigation contractor and he comes in at a lower price. And a lot of the times, these contractors don't know how to compete against somebody who has a low price because they're not any, any, any value themselves. And so I try to really educate contractors to don't worry about price. Make sure you're the most professional. You show up on time. You, Like do everything right. And then you should be able to have a higher price system, right? It's obvious if it's one guy in a truck, his price should be less. So you don't have to compete against that. Um, and then you've got some landscapers that do irrigation. Right. So you have some landscape companies that also do irrigation and some landscape companies have landscape architects that could use this software and include it in their drawing. And in the U. S. we only have one company called Land FX. Land FX. Yes. They own the market now outside of people just using AutoCAD and  Philiph: some templates and what about Pro Contractor, uh, isn't used it in the terms of irrigation, uh, Pro Contractor Or you mean Land FX is a, uh, uh, uh,  Andy: complete. That's the largest irrigation software provider of, of, uh, irrigation drawing Land FX. Philiph: Land FX and Kamatsu Studio Pro Contractor is, uh,  Andy: [00:52:00] And their software is used by the largest engineers in the world. Great company. Very nice guys. I know Jeremiah, the owner pretty well. Um, but it's not something that you can just, uh, design in 30 minutes. It's not quick and easy.  Philiph: It's complicated and very precise. Andy: And it, yeah, it's very precise. And it sounds expensive. And it is expensive. Yep. Yes. But if you are working with engineers and architects and drawing big CAD drawings, that is the software to use. Yeah, so it's just land fx. com. Yeah,  Philiph: I've been there. I also Investigated about all the software  Andy: and they don't do anything that you're doing. There's no seller They really just stick in their wheelhouse because I think business is pretty good for them And they don't have the need necessarily to upset the applecart like to chase something new but in my opinion what you're building is really the direction that they They should be going. Um, you know, and then you have, you have some contenders like, uh, that are coming in from the business software, the business management software side of things like service Titan and aspire where contractors are using their software to run their business schedule, service calls, um, prepare quotes, you know, do invoicing and this stuff doesn't. Like land effects doesn't integrate but it could like yours is built for that because it's all it's all tied together So there's no reason that once the customer signs that Agreement that that design should flow right in to the business management software. They have all the parts and pieces and material Um,  Philiph: yeah. Really that's what we are thinking about is integration of the, uh, of the whole process of, uh, irrigation contractor, uh, starting from the [00:54:00] design and, uh, up to the main tenants. And, uh, also we are thinking on the how, uh, we can, uh, the, for the whole lifetime of the project, Uh, be helpful, be handy for the contractor because sometime you need to go to the site and check what's happening and you should know where it's all located. So it's like the working documentation on the project and the risk edge.  Andy: Yeah, yeah. And then my business, um, sprinkler supply store is, um, also I have a, uh, partnership with site one landscape supply. So they're an investor in Sprinkler Supply Store and I, let me see how to describe this. I think of Sprinkler Supply Store as a digital layer on top of wholesale distribution, really on top of site one. So they're sending me, um. Data every 15 minutes from 10 of their stores all over the United States. So when somebody places an order, if they're in Texas, I will have that fulfilled from the location in Texas. If they're in Florida, I'll have that filled from Florida. And then what we can do is also split orders in group order. So if not one single location has all the parts, we'll split it up to get it to the customer fast. But I could, I could drop ship out of like 50 of their locations. And so there's this real opportunity for like, for me to vend you the product data. And if somebody wants it, we can get it to them quickly because we built the stack, you know, the integration stack where site one directly. They're not set up for this yet. And  Philiph: interested, uh, how do you, uh, proceed the prices because you are providing the prices for a special, your customers and, uh, who should know these prices? Because if you put some price in the E Risk Edge, it becomes, uh, public. The  Andy: whole world. I'm, I'm kind of a believer in pricing transparency, right? We're kind of moving past the [00:56:00] days of this guy's price and this guy's price and this guy's price. I mean, maybe you could say like, Hey, here's a 10% discount or something, but I think that it really just needs to be. And right now the prices are somebody out there on the Internet is already selling that part for less. Of course. Somebody wants to take the time and search. They'll find it for less.  Philiph: Don't fancy it. But the question is how he delivers it, which services he provide and so on.  Andy: Yeah, and the bigger distributors, they still believe in pricing tiers. They don't want. That pricing transparency, because what it really means is everything has to drop a bit. Um, but that also means their overhead might have to drop a bit, but that's where the efficiency of what you're providing comes into play. Because if that contractor no longer knocks on their door for a design every week, then they don't need to provide that. So they should lower their price because they're not doing as much work. Philiph: Yeah,  Andy: so that's kind of why I think some of this could be done, not grassroots, but going to the biggest players, they're not going to be interested because it's too, it's a bit too disruptive for them yet. They don't even know how to like sell their own parts on the internet. Yeah. That's why we But because I ship through SiteOne, SiteOne just wants business, right? They, they know that orders land in their system automatically. There's no effort on them. So I get, I have really, really good pricing. So we have a doorway basically into, you know, I would love to figure out how I could sell 50 million of parts and, you know, just flows through the system, right? It's like, that's why you could take a transaction fee. Added on there service value added transaction fee or commission from me and I could do the same It's like we can be really competitive if if the system works and the user comes in and then it just flows through with little Input [00:58:00] then everything can be, you know streamlined  Philiph: Mm hmm without any intentions  Andy: Super  Philiph: anyway. Yeah, I just will Impressed how progressive your vision and uh, yeah, I think we met the wrong, the right guy we need.  Andy: Well, there's, you know, I'm only doing this cause no one else is cause there's not very many other people like you, there's really only, uh, you know, a handful of people I come across once in a while that, um, have any type of a vision other than like what's Just right in front of them. That's cool.  Philiph: Yeah. But we are at the start, we  Theo: all was with the same problem that we need a proper way to make design for irrigation. So, uh, we also do many time, many years irrigation. And, uh, from the start, I thought that we have to do design by ourself, not by this polluters. And, uh, in this case, I met Philip three years ago and start with. together with him to develop a resketch. And here we are. So our main goal is to bring irrigation design to contractors, not to the big players. Uh, we also had some discussions with the big players in Europe, also with big manufacturers like Hunter and Rainbird. And all what they're asking for was, okay, make a ErieSketch version of our products. So they want an ErieSketch version only with Hunter products. They want  Andy: exclusive, only put Rainbird on your stuff. I know. Exactly. That's part of the problem is that those guys want to control everything end to end. And they're not wrong, they used to be able to do that, but that's not what the future looks like. The future might not even look like making any money on their parts. It's like, it's a, the value is, is always, you know, moving and if guys want to use Rainbird, they should pick [01:00:00] Rainbird because not because they have to, not because it's the only one in this software. But  Philiph: because it's working the best way and the proper way. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. The best way.  Theo: And we don't agree with them and we kick them out. Uh, we had many offers or we had offers of these big players and we, no, we don't want this. We want to bring irrigation design. To people to constructors,  Andy: especially if you're building a marketplace, which I think at the end of the day, you're kind of building, you know, that marketplace and the marketplace needs lots of suppliers, you know, and you need, of course, it's  Philiph: not every time that's that's centralized sources. Yeah, yeah,  Andy: yeah, um, on the supply. Yeah. And we're working on some, uh, since you guys are in Europe, there's, there's, you guys might know about the Laura technology,  Philiph: Laura. We have a solar solution from France. It uses Laura, uh, communication from in the field.  Andy: Yeah. So we're building, I've got a couple other partners on a startup that, um, basically building a Laura, uh, analytics, uh, platform so that contractors can add wireless sensors out into the landscape or the building and then control the irrigation system, you know, with, with that. And we've got some wireless valve equipment, but I think  Philiph: that. Valves. Do you have output relays for, to connect this  Andy: valves? Yeah. So wireless adapters, it can go right in the valve and you can go a mile or more. So I, we kind of see the future is actually, the future of irrigation is here. It's just not built and distributed yet, but there's no need for wires and there's no need for a controller. Yeah.  Philiph: Future will be no,  Theo: no need for water. Philiph: Yeah. The water. Yeah.  Andy: Can you tell me about your pricing fees? How do you guys charge for the system? Uh,  Philiph: for the [01:02:00] EuroSketch, it's a subscription type. Uh, we charge for the period of subscription. Uh, in Europe, it's 450, uh, in net, uh, Euros. So, and  Andy: that Euro is kind of one to one now for the U. S., almost, right? Almost.  Philiph: Yeah, it's almost the same, yeah. Four, 450 for the year? For 50s for the year and a bit more if you purchase by the monthly subscription.  Andy: Okay, and is that per company per user? How does  Philiph: that work? Uh, it now working for a user, so if this is a company and it has Uh, two or more, three seats, they can use it, uh, in, uh, but they will have the same workshop where, uh, the place where the projects are stored. So if they, uh, open one project simultaneously make changes, there will be an, uh, conflict in the saving. So, uh, I'm not, uh, restricting by the number of seats. Currently, but, uh, in future versions, I plan to do the licensing per seat, but now it's not needed because we need to grow now and to catch the market, uh, with our,  Andy: Yeah. You need people coming in. Right. And it's like, you know, I could even see there being like, um, yeah, it's 4. 50 a year, but maybe your first five sketches are free. So it's like you have a trial, but it never ends. You just can make five. Like if it takes you a month, or a year, or whatever the number is, two, one, ten, you know. Philiph: Our system is, works like this. We have a trial period of two weeks. It's almost full featured trial period. So you can every time renew your account or, uh, remove and create new one. So the guys are, uh, someone using this feature because they are creating and for 12, uh, two weeks, they have almost full functionality. But, uh, then they see that it was very handy tool and they are just buying it most of the time. So, uh, we have a very good conversion out of our old [01:04:00] registration. It's like, uh, 10 to 15% of. Purchases. So, uh, it's, it's normal conversion rate. So we have in Russia, we have now it's like 6, 000 accounts of contractors. So it's very big amount in Europe. It's, we are starting now to grow. It's almost thousand. We caught, I think I need to see the statistics. Yeah. I'm just  Andy: thinking too. It's like if, um, It's one thing if a contractor uses it and likes it. It's another thing if it helps them sell a project. So it's like, all right, how can we. And I'm thinking of what would it be like if I was trying to sell this? You're like, here it is. Go use this. And once you sell your first system, you'll be like, Oh shit, I got to pay for that. And add 10% to your price when you use this software and see what happens. So  Philiph: our, our,  Theo: um, way to market ErieSketch is that we are searching for represent each country in the world, or maybe each language area in the world. So at the moment in Europe, we have the, the German speaking. Uh, area, what I cover, we have some guys from Croatia, we have some guys for the Netherland, we have some guys from Lithuania and these guys helping us to develop EruSketch in case of languages, especially. So do translation, do, uh, tutorial videos and do the support after. Um, and for this work, they get a discount on the annual subscription for customers. So they sell it one time to the customer, so to the contractor, and they get discount on the, uh, subscription price and they get it each year, year by year by year.  Philiph: Yeah. So that's how we market. You're risking our, uh,  Andy: country. Yeah. How difficult is it to control the features that people have? Buy like, you know what they've paid for like is there is there [01:06:00] some super light version you could give to somebody that's great And it's just always free to just keep people coming in um  Philiph: We have the free version fully free version and it's perpetual. So you have you will have every time you're um, features like drawing, like drawing landscape, like drawing irrigation on top of it and even layouts. You will have one list of layout, but you don't have access to the outlay to the iris seller. That's the case of the easy version of free version, but every time you can. It's for a short period of time, switch on the paid version for a month, make everything needed with your project that you created on a free version. And then, uh, stop with the subscription. For example, when the season comes to the, some countries, they have a season for like three or four months. Yeah. That's what  Andy: it's like here too. And that's why I like the annual plan because the first question someone's going to say is, do I still have to pay in the winter? But when it's yearly, it's like, this is what it is.  Philiph: It's yearly. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. It's cheaper than if you purchase it by month or by, uh, so contractor will think, okay, well, maybe I will have some projects in the winter to work on and to create some designs or requests or,  Andy: uh, you know, do some marketing, you know, and kick out some designs and some proposals all winter  Philiph: long. Maybe you can provide to your customer and customer and say in the winter, your project will be cheaper and less.  Andy: And there's nothing wrong with it. I'm good. I'm thinking out loud with, um, The contractor doesn't have to give this away for free, right? To me, the drawing's worth a minimum 100. So either they charge, either using it to maintain the highest price in the market or, you know, they're being competitive, but then right away they say, would you like a drawing like this upon completion? And they're, Oh, I absolutely want that. Okay, cool. It's just a hundred bucks for that drawing that they make their money, you know, easily. [01:08:00]  Philiph: Yes. And it depends on what kind of information they share with in this project, because they can, uh, for example, uh, hide every pipe and just show the sprinklers or hide, uh, I don't know, uh, the, how the wiring manifolds and say, this is the free. project, just see, uh, and decide if you want more, uh, detailed project, pay for it. And that's how it works in Russia because, uh, we have a bunch of contractors that provide free, uh, designs and that's, uh, the very big sheet in this case, because they are first, they dumped the price to the almost the lowest price for the project. And now they are providing them for free. And, um, that's the big case when the big players now. Also have to lower the prices for the design. So it's like a chain reaction. I don't know how it's, how it's named. So now we are thinking in Russia about association and they are created some, uh, two associations of irrigators that are now. We'll take it into control or something. I don't know. I heard that in the U. S. there's an irrigation association that is licensing everyone.  Andy: Well, they don't have any licensing, right? I mean, they have certifications, but it doesn't mean anything to anyone. Uh  Philiph: huh. So it's not really a licensing, so you  Andy: can work without it. doesn't, they might care, they might not. It's just a way, it's important, don't get me wrong, and it's the education and the training, but It's not required by any state. Uh, I shouldn't say that there might be a couple jurisdictions where they use that, but, but not, not really. And that's part of the problem is it's more like just saying, well, I'm smarter than you because I'm certified in this and you're not. And that guy's like, well, my business is twice as big as yours and I don't have that certification. So  Philiph: yeah, I thought it's more strict there [01:10:00] than, than we  Andy: have, but no, it's more strict on a backflow. Some places where the plumbing union is, uh, strong, you know, the irrigation contractors can't put in backflows. Or the contractor has to have a certified plumber at their compan

Phil McCarthy is the man behind Pilgrim Ways - a digital resource that provides walking routes to key pilgrimage sites in each of our dioceses. An author, and former CEO of the Caritas Social Action Network, he has created a 'pilgrim way' for each diocese - from the cathedral of that diocese to one or more of its shrines. "These are routes are not just for Catholics to deepen their faith," says Phil. "They're for everyone to experience pilgrimage within a Catholic setting." The Pilgrim Ways website offers a number of resources to assist in preparing for a walking pilgrimage. It has an interactive map, provides GPX files for the routes that can be downloaded to mobile phones, and there are 'Pilgrim Passports' that you can get stamped along the way, not to mention certificates at the end to show that you've completed the walk. Interestingly, the title for the project is Hearts in Search of God, and is inspired by a quotation from Pope Francis where he reminds us that in every pilgrim beats a heart in search of God - whether old or young, sick or in good health, or just a casual tourist. Website Visit pilgrimways.org.uk to access the routes and resources. Our interview with Phil McCarthy was first broadcast in our Summer 2023 'At the Foot of the Cross' podcast. Subscribe You can subscribe to our Catholic News podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Amazon/Audible or Spotify.

もうすぐJuly 4th・アメリカ独立記念日です。今週末はかなり暑くなりそうで本格的な夏到来！BBQと花火でカリフォルニアの夏を満喫したいとニヤついている金曜の板倉です、こんにちは。 番外編 13、先週までのVol.257 〜 Vol.260 の4回にわたって配信させていただいたGeneral Prognostics (GPx)のCo-Founder：ショーンさんとの収録後のおしゃべりを公開しちゃいます！オフレコでも内容が濃くて面白いお話が止まらない。w それでは、お楽しみください！ 投稿 番外編 13：松岡俊祐さん(GPx), 収録後のおしゃべり

Escuchar en iTunes Escuchar en iVoox Escuchar en Spotify 1) Subir archivos no permitidos a WordPress, de Jose Manuel Respondida en el minuto 3:21 Buenas, Gonzalo: Estoy intentando subir a mi wordpress archivos de tracks de GPS (básicamente XML o GPX) y Wordpress no me los deja subir por motivos de seguridad. Me puedes ayudar […] La entrada 349 | Q&A: 5 hacks en WordPress para hacer más de lo permitido es una artículo de Gonzalo Navarro.

This week I recount my recent trip to Girona, Spain with Trek Travel. Our knowledgeable guides took us on a 5 day adventure throughout the region exposing us to Girona's plentiful and diverse gravel. As a bonus, we were able to connect with a number of local cycling brands contributing to Girona's reputation as the hub of European cycling. Trek Travel  Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: Girona Gravel Live [00:00:00] Craig Dalton: Hello, and welcome to the gravel ride podcast, where we go deep on the sport of gravel cycling through in-depth interviews with product designers, event organizers and athletes. Who are pioneering the sport I'm your host, Craig Dalton, a lifelong cyclist who discovered gravel cycling back in 2016 and made all the mistakes you don't need to make. I approach each episode as a beginner down, unlock all the knowledge you need to become a great gravel cyclist. This week on the show, I'm releasing some recordings I did during the tractor on a gravel tour. I participated in, in November. It was a great trip. I encourage you to check it out on Trek's website and I appreciate Trek's support in getting the over there to have this wonderful experience. With my friend. Was able to sit down with our guides as well as some other members of the Jarana cycling community. To give you a flavor for this wonderful cycling city. I hope you enjoy and let's dive right in Day 1 [00:00:56] Craig Dalton: Right here we are, day one, Trek Gerona Gravel tour here in Gerona, Spain here in the hotel. Nord got set up on my Trek demo bike. Not the one you'd expect for these gravel trips, but it turns out the gravel roads here in Gerona are pretty smooth and you don't need the big wide tires that I typically ride at home. So we're riding a 35 C Pirelli tire on these Damani bikes. The great thing was, Sent them over. My fit measurements had everything dialed, so it was just some quick adjustments Right before the ride. Today we did about 25 miles today as a shakeout ride. Riding along, essentially along the river, out and back on either side of the river, which a lot of fun. We got into some single track. Super smooth. Not a lot of elevation today. That's gonna come tomorrow where I'm excited that we're riding off to the Mediterranean. So great first day. Great intro. The guides. Rafa and Mickey are awesome. Mickey's a local here in Jerron and Rafa's from London. Bringing a little bit of international flavor to the trip. We've got a group of about six of us, so it's pretty easy to keep people together. I've got two friends from San Francisco along for the ride, so that is a joy and a pleasure. More later in the week, and I'll get some commentary, a little bit more specifics about the writing from Mickey Rafa along the way to to give you an idea about what to expect. It's a five day experience here in the Jonah Gravel tour. They've got some other options I think, coming online next year, but super excited for the days to come as the mileage is gonna creep up, and I'm told the technicality is gonna creep up as well. So super excited for that. We'll see how these 35 C tires on the demos go, but I'm confident we've got the right equipment for the job. Day 2 [00:02:50] Craig Dalton: Okay, so on day two of the Trek Gerona gravel tour today, we did about 60 miles of gravel, about 1800 feet of climbing on our way to the Mediterranean beach, the Mediterranean Ocean. We started in Gerona and followed the prominent river all the way to the east. Surprisingly, the whole ride, we were on gravel roads, beautiful gravel. Started out getting outta town on some small paths right next to the river. Some real fun single track to wake you up and then onto some amazing roads through forests. There's a lot of forests here. We were told that the trees that were being planted there were for the paper industry. They were super beautiful tall trees and lined in rows, and we just weaved throughout them until 29 kilometers later. We met the van, the Trek travel van, and our second guide Mickey, who had water refills and food and everything we needed for the second half of our ride out there to the coast where we went through orchards, basically this incredibly smooth gravel road. Very, very little car traffic. I think maybe we saw a few, maybe three vehicles out there the whole day, but super pleasant ride. Relatively flat for 60 miles, only 1800 feet of climbing. We got to the ocean to meet Mickey in the van again. Had an amazing lunch and a few of us decided we were gonna jump into the. It wasn't exactly warm, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was so fun to kind of get off the gravel bike in the middle of your ride and go for a swim and play around. And one of the riders, James, my friend from San Francisco, took a nap on the beach while we were in the water and we had to rouse him to get him back on the bike for our 45 kilometer return home. Adding up to, as I said, 60 miles and no idea why I'm converting miles to kilometers and vice versa. Including them in the same sentences. But anyway, I'm a bit groggy from the ride. The legs are taken a little bit to get used to it, but it's been amazing. The town's been amazing. We, we spent sunset at, on the wall here in Jerome, next to the big church, and you can see the purities and the sun was setting right over the pys. Pretty incredible Second day. Getting ready for the third day, which I guess is a little bit more technical. I'll get some of the guides on to describe some of the terrain, excuse me, that we're going through and we'll see how the legs hold up. Day 3 [00:05:29] Craig Dalton: Day three of our Jer gravel cycling tour with track travel. Today was a little bit more technical, especially with the 35 Sea Tires. We got out into some rolling farm roads and definitely off into some single track and double track. That was pretty amazing, the first 30 K or so, rolling farm roads. Just a little bit punchier than we've been experiencing. A little bit looser gravel in most cases. But nothing too technical on the. 30 K of the ride. We had this amazing stop at Ro Roca corba cycling, a new 17th century Chateau kind of building that's being converted into a cycling. Kind of lodge and Airbnb pretty amazing. They took the kind of areas that used to house the cattle underneath the building and made them into kind of the bike room and a little cafe. It's a super like rustic arc, arc ceilings beautiful stonework on the grounds. This beautiful old building, it's being renovated by a couple professional cyclists, ones who's already retired, and one who's in the Women's Pro tour today. So that was really special. Kind of get to tour that facility and definitely something. It's about 30 kilometers outside of. Jer. So kind of an interesting place to stay. You know, the ideal might be stay in Gerona for, you know, four or five days and then go out there for three or four days, or two or three days to just get a little bit of different starting point. It's a little closer to closer to some of the climbs particularly for the roadies. So, you know, if you're interested in getting out and hitting some of those climbs and having a little less distance in your legs from Gerona, that's a good option. Once we left there, the riding got a little bit more technical through some farms. Took a lot of single track. Some punchier climbs actually reminds me of what I recently experienced at, at big sugar in Arkansas. Kind of loose gravel, the sense definitely some loose gravel pushed the technical capabilities. Clearly. Track is the, has done a really good job of making roots that are gonna explore different areas of your gravel cycling ability again today. Was definitely on the more technical side, particularly if you were a newer rider of which we had at least one in today's ride. And you know, you could. Some of them were, some of the dissents were definitely making them think, but everybody went through fabulously. We even got to stop at the property, which my one of the guides fathers owned, and I'll get him on to talk about that a little bit. But it was great being able to reminisce with him and he learned to swim up there. His father owned a restaurants, a typical Catalan food restaurant in this really beautiful building, which was kind of cool to see. Then we rolled back into, I'm always looking at the GPS and amazed that, you know, we could be within seven kilometers of Jerome and still in these amazing forests and woods, riding gravel, basically all the way back into town. So another great day out there. It's interesting how they've explored. The first day was kind of getting to know your bike a little bit. Second day was that long. Ride out to the beach. Not very technical. Beautiful, beautiful gravel roads today being more technical, and we'll see what the next two days have to bring us. Day 4 [00:08:46] Craig Dalton: All right. Day four, Gerona gravel. Definitely woke up feeling a little tired, not gonna lie. Fourth day riding in a row with some big climbs. Yesterday. Got a massage yesterday afternoon, which was awesome and quite affordable here in Gerona, which was a bonus. Got up this morning, got the bikes ready. We got the route loaded up. We were riding through the fields. Kesier de Las Selva known for the cork. It's cork production. So they actually, it was kind of interesting. They, the trees kind of about five feet kind of from the ground up. Five feet they chop and that's the cork that they used to make cork bottles, flooring, everything. So that was super cool to see. We continued rolling through some dirt roads through there, through the mountain range of Lis gravis. Then we tackled a famous road climb called Santa Aea, known as the George hie Climb for Local. This was awesome. I mean, I know we're here to talk about gravel and the gravel was great that first half of the morning, but that road climb was spectacular as well. I kind of felt like it was a bonus, obviously, like we signed up for a gravel trip, but to be able to do kind of a famous climb, road climb was amazing. It was great gradient, fantastic descent. Right at the bottom of it, we turned up another dirt road and had a a 12 K climb to lunch. Great climb kind of loose. Actually more similar to riding I do at home than the first couple of days. So that was interesting. Got up to a church where Salvador Dolly was married, had some lunch, then we dropped down the kind of backside of that climb. But before we got to the bottom in Jer, we took another hard right and got into a trail system right above. Rode some steep descents through and down back into town. Those steep descents were very much like mount ta. You know, maybe 12, 15% grade going down and loose. A lot of fun. I discovered by the time I got back to town that I managed to cut the sidewall of my. But fortunately the sealant held and it was all good for me to roll back into town. We dropped a few people off and ended up going on an extended loop, a pretty vicious climb on the extended loop they call extended loops for the avid riders. My legs were screaming at me, but it was a, it was a lot of fun. We were kind of just, again, in that same area going up into the ELs Angels climb area. Steep dirt climbs pretty loose. We grinded that climb for a while, but the descent was a hell of a lot of fun. Pretty gentle loose rock, but pretty easy to handle at speed. Fun. Coming back into the town the way that route did was a lot of fun. It really felt like you were kind of entering a village, not downtown gerona like we've done in some other, the the entrances back into town. Anyway, another great day out there for day four. Super fun, super varied. The team has done a really good job of kind of making each day feel different and like many areas around the world, kind of directionally where you head outta town, the, the dirt and the gravel. Has just a different feel to it. So it's been fun to explore. We've got one more day on the official tour, and then I've got an extra day here. So we're gonna do a sixth day of riding where I think we'll head back out to the Mediterranean Ocean. Cuz how, how cool is that? Day 5 [00:12:17] Craig Dalton: All right. Day five of the Jarana. The gravel tour with truck travel, bit of a shorter day, as most of the clients were leaving today, it's the end of the official tour. So our guides took us on a really fun kind of single tracky tour through a different part of the surrounding area that we hadn't visited before. Lots of fun. Just kind of a great community day where we got to interact with the other riders a bit, and the writing wasn't too challenging nor too long as the ideal schedule had you back by noon and getting checked out of the hotel. Fortunately, we don't have to leave today. So we decided at least a few of us who were staying on a couple extra days to go out and climb the LA angels. Road climb again. We had such a good time. The day before on that climb, we thought it'd be fun to go back up. And we had some energy in our legs and a little bit of time in the afternoon to go tackle that. So we said goodbye to the other members of our tour group and our guides and headed off on a road loop. It was great. We talked about the climb a bit the other day. Just a fun group. Growed climb we saw a bunch of pros climbing up at which was always fun got to the top crews back down and put another day behind us in the books Day 6 and 7 [00:13:31] Craig Dalton: All right. Well, the official tour from track is over at day five. We had a couple extra days on our hands over in Gerona and you better believe we wanted to go out there and ride Mickey. One of our guides that you'll hear from later in this broadcast was nice enough to share. Another route. Out to the coast for us. So we really enjoyed that ride out to the coast, just super satisfying to kind of hit the Mediterranean. I shouldn't come back. Over to Gerona, but he had us go over some great trails on the way out and then a really, really fun road climb. Just gradual great fun descent down into the Mediterranean. You got to the top and you could see the ocean just super satisfying. We sat around in a cafe for gosh. Probably an hour and a half, just drinking some teas and coffees and having some snacks. We were having a great time, but we realized we needed to head back to Gerona. And Mickey's rude had us go through some similar type of terrain that we were on in our coastal roots, a few days back, those nice long flat undulating gravel trails that seemed to be pervasive in this area. So we're super appreciative of Mickey. Sharing one of his favorite routes that he loves to do with his friends, with us. So we could get another big day. You know, on the bike. I'll move on to day seven. As I'm recording this after the fact day seven, we didn't have a bunch of time left. So we decided we were going to basically revisit the route from day one, some of that nice single track and double track along by the river, it was actually fun without the group with just two of us remaining on the bikes, the kind of rip the single track a little bit harder. We were comfortable with the bikes. We'd been on them for seven days at that point. So really fun to just kind of rip the single track and nail it a little bit harder. Knowing that we could go as hard as we wanted because we had an overnight in Barcelona and then we were going to be on a plane saying a sad goodbye to Gerona. Overall. It was a fantastic trip. Jarana is a very special community. There's a reason why so many cyclists flock there it's clear whether you're a gravel cyclist road cyclist, or even mountain biker that there's ample terrain every direction outside of Jarana. And then the town itself is just really special, special. Between the old world, the old town roads and the city. City walls, the church walls. It was just a really great experience. Our guides from track were phenomenal and I wanted to introduce you to them. So I've recorded some tracks. That'll play immediately after this commentary. So you can get to know Mickey and Rafa, who were our guides throughout the week for track travel. I also was able to capture a little bit of audio from a few different sources. We talked a little bit about Roca Corp, but cycling. Both the 17th century Villa that's being converted into a cycling Airbnb, as well as there's Roca, Corbus cycling clothing, which was founded by a gentleman by the name of a test who's happening to be opening his store this month in Jarana. So it was able to get him on the mic. I had Andrew from the Airbnb. Cycling house. And then also Oscar from Castelli Castelli just opened up a flagship community store in Gerona that week we were there as well. We witnessed a number of group rides going out from the facility. So it was great to hear what Castelli's perspective was for opening that facility. And I was surprised to learn it had. Had little to do with selling. Jerseys and clothing and bib shorts, as you would imagine, and everything to do with promoting the cycling community and creating yet another hub. In Jarana for cyclists. Which brings us back to why you should all go to Jarana. As i just mentioned it's a great place to go and i highly recommend it and i hope you enjoyed this overview of my experience there. With that said let's jump right into those conversations Rapha - Trek Travel Guide [00:17:33] Craig Dalton: Okay, can I get your name and what you do with Trek? [00:17:36] Rapha: My name is Rafael and I'm a second [00:17:38] Craig Dalton: guide for Trek Travel. And [00:17:40] Rapha: where are you from? Well that's a good question cuz originally from the Philippines grew up for most of my life, 20 years in London and now anywhere in Europe. So I'm a resident of France, but I gotta find a place to live , so. [00:17:54] Craig Dalton: And how long have you been guiding for truck [00:17:56] Rapha: travel? This will be my fifth year now, guiding for truck. [00:17:59] Craig Dalton: And what does that look like? Are you always based here in Jer or are you all over the place? We, we [00:18:03] Rapha: sort of congregate here in the beginning of the year and then come back at the end of the year, but in between, we're all over [00:18:09] Craig Dalton: Europe. And are you leading, I know Trek Travel has got many, many road tours. Probably a lesser degree of gravel tours. Are you leading trips on the road and gravel [00:18:21] Rapha: for now? Yeah, and we're, we're starting off gravel next year and so it's a mainly road for the beginning. Next year we're gonna bring in unpaved which is gonna be a whole gravel series. So we have a whole unit of bikes just traveling throughout Europe, and it's gonna be exciting for next year. Yeah, [00:18:37] Craig Dalton: it's exciting. I heard, I heard from the, the extended team that you're gonna really build out the gravel experiences for next year, which is great. I think if my experience in Jerome with the gravel tour is any indication there's gonna be a lot of magical trips across Europe, helping riders discover gravel all over the. [00:18:56] Rapha: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I do a lot of the road tours and I'll see just a patch of undiscovered area and I'm thinking, Hey, where does that go? Or I'll be traveling along the hills and in between you're gonna see these gravel patches of fires and you just want to go and explore. And essentially that's what the guides that went into design these trips or, or want to do, they want to do that. They want to find out those roads. Where does it lead to? Can I connect these dots and see the town and where am I gonna. [00:19:25] Craig Dalton: Yeah, I think it's one of the things I've talked about on the podcast a lot, just the power of local knowledge as we're following the GPX files or following you guys' guides through Jer here. You know, there's a lot of nuance, a lot of little trails that you can pop onto that would be easy to miss if you just sort of saw a heat map of the area. You might just choose the carriage way instead of the the nice trails. So it's really cool and important. I. To have guides that are local to kind of pick apart the best of the best for us to ride on. [00:19:57] Rapha: Yeah, I mean this is what we do. We, this is what we do for fun. So on our time off whilst we do a lot of road riding for work on our time off, we want to go out there and ride gravel. And so this is why we get to know the places. We live around here and in the places that we research gravel all we're doing is just riding and riding and riding and then through. Time, just knowledge. You build up tracks in your head and you wanna put that onto design and then maybe create a trip around it. Find a hotel, find a restaurant, the best restaurants, best hotels to stay and yeah, it's awesome. [00:20:30] Craig Dalton: Yeah, I feel that way. Whenever anybody comes to Marin County, I just wanna show them the best of the best and not the most obvious trails, but the, the ones only the locals know. Yeah. [00:20:41] Rapha: You, you wanna share it? I mean, it's, its more fun riding a gravel. It's more fun with people, friends and random people that you meet up on [00:20:48] Craig Dalton: trails as well. Yeah. When we were, when we first arrived during the week and you were giving an overview, you were talking about kind of the progression of roots that we'd be doing during the week. I thought it was very interesting, like the thoughtfulness in, in how you guys conceived of the roots and the, the relative challenges, whether they be distance or technic. Can you talk about, you know, if someone's come coming into one of the spring trips for the Trek Travel Corona gravel tour, what would how would you describe it? [00:21:16] Rapha: Well, so, well, there was no brief in the beginning, so actually when we rode this, For the research we rode 500 kilometers in five days and it looked like a picture of a lung with all the trees of just dead ends. But once we put it all together, we decided to, okay. Day one is a bit of an introduction. Let's get you used to the surfaces, the mixed surfaces, but we're gonna keep it flat. And on the second day we're gonna add on a little bit of distance just to make sure you have endurance for grab, because it's a lot of work. You know, you're doing a lot of cadence. Mind work as well, trying to figure out what's coming up. And then day three we add technicality. Now we're having multi services, soft sand, big rocks, technical climbs, and technical descents, which, you know, your wheels dig in, you gotta react to it. And then we put all of that together for the fourth day where you. Pick up all the skills you've had and we put it all in a fourth day for you to enjoy. Yeah. Right [00:22:11] Craig Dalton: on. And can you talk about the bikes that people are offered for this [00:22:15] Rapha: trip? Okay. For this trip, we are currently running Damani 2019 s SL seven. So it has gravel wheels on it for 35 millimeter. And it's just fun. That's what it is. So it's, it's not an all out gravel. It tests your limits on this ride and you get electronic shifting. So when you really need that gear on those technical climbs, you're gonna get it. Of course you're gonna prepare for it, but you're gonna get, get the gears. Yeah. When [00:22:39] Craig Dalton: I first saw that, that was the bike spec, I mean, it almost immediately had me thinking of more the trails that we took out to the coast when the carriageway, the, the, you know, the reclaimed rail line. Right. But at the end of the day, like now, four days into this, You're pushing the limits of these bikes and it's been a hell of a lot of fun. I mean, it, I really do think it's one of, it is kind of a perfect bike for this situation because it did everything you needed to do if you were ever on the road, it felt snappy and lively and it could withstand some of the abuse we were putting it through today. [00:23:11] Rapha: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, these, these can do rock gardens and slick rock on, on good terrain. Good. These bikes are perfect around your owner. Of course, you know, you can always go wider. You can get flat bars and you go, world is your oyster. When it comes to gravel. I mean, you ask anybody what is gravel to you and they'll give you a million answers depending on who you're talking to. So every, everyone's got their preferences, and next year, you know, who knows? We have Wider checkpoints next year and it's it's gonna cater up to 50 mil tires and it's gonna be amazing. So we have sneak preview, we have a few in the warehouse at the moment in, and we can't wait for next [00:23:48] Craig Dalton: year at a checkpoint. Yeah, I think it, I mean, the checkpoint's obviously like gonna be a little bit more versatile and you can imagine the opportunity if you have a rider on day one that's seeming a little nervous. Maybe you spec it with a 40 to begin with and maybe you swap out the wheels and maybe you put him or her on 50 millimeters just to give them additional comfort. And who knows, maybe it's even for day four, we put you on 50 millimeters cuz we know it's gonna be kind of more challenging, technically speaking. [00:24:17] Rapha: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. We're gonna, as guides, you know, we're gonna test write these. We have a few in now and we're gonna have fun and check it out. So to checkpoint with all this capabil. It's gonna be more forgiving and hopefully you'll get more people coming in and not be so scared about gravel and check it out and try, try something different from [00:24:37] Craig Dalton: road riding. Yeah, for sure. As someone who didn't grow up in gerona, what have been some of your favorite things that you've discovered in town? [00:24:43] Rapha: Oh, you know what? Last night was probably one of the best nights ever because it was random. Mickey invited me down to the cast Telluride, and we did a Night Gravel, which is absolutely epic. Like, it's add just a different layer of difficulty, not seeing too far around and the group dynamic and you know, getting to know people and. Absolute blast. [00:25:04] Craig Dalton: Yeah, we were more than a little jealous that we didn't have lights with us and our legs were probably cooked enough that we shouldn't go for another eye, but we probably would've been excited to do so. Craig, maybe next time we're gonna invite you around. Exactly. Outside of Jer, since you've done Trek travel trips in a bunch of different places, what would be like one other trip that you'd recommend? Gravel or road? Either way. Oh, that's, [00:25:26] Rapha: it's like choosing between your children really. Like I adore all the trips and, but for me, this. The classic climb of the Alps. It's so stunning. It's beautiful and it's challenging. That's one of my favorite trips. And what, [00:25:39] Craig Dalton: what classic climbs, if you can recall, some of 'em are on that [00:25:43] Rapha: trip. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, we start in a place LA Luce and the first ride you're doing quarter cord Qure. Okay. And, sorry, my mistake. Yeah. Qure. And it's a, it's a first. Already you're getting like 1500 meters of elevation in a 55 kilometer ride. So it's just day one and you're already getting straight up, okay, we're here to climb and we're gonna go all out the whole week. Nice. Of course, we, we do the epic outdoors at the end trip, sort of the icing of the cake and so that's the last climb of the, [00:26:20] Craig Dalton: of the trip. Yeah. It's certainly nice for anybody who's been watching the tour to come over and knock off any one of those climbs that are bucket list. [00:26:27] Rapha: Yeah, it is, it is a backless trip. I was fortunate, fortunate enough to climb outdoors on the TDF day in 2022, and the atmosphere there is unbelievable. Just the, the crowd cheering you on it, it just gives you an extra beat and you are just hammering up the hill just because of the people cheering you on. It's absolutely epic. And then of course you get more quieter climbs. So Wears is a great climb, but like Holyland. It's not celebrated enough for just Serenity, and it's, it's still challenging. It's 21 kilometers and but it's a good, it's a good time. Yeah. It's underrated my opinion. Amazing. My favorite call. [00:27:05] Craig Dalton: Awesome. I love your passion for it, . Thank you. Cool. And I, again, I wanted to thank you for all your help this week. It's been great getting to know you and riding with you. If it's, if it's unclear in anything we've said before, Each day we've had one of these guys riding with us and so one person's in the van and we've got one person on a bike with us. So we've had good camaraderie and lots of miles to get to know one another. So thanks again for everything [00:27:28] Rapha: this week. Thank you to, to you guys. Cause without you we wouldn't be here. And it's an absolute pleasure to be guiding you around here and it's so fun just doing own gravel. Cheers. Thank you. Miqui [00:27:38] Craig Dalton: All right, sir, can I get your name and what you do for truck travel? [00:27:42] Miqui: Yeah, so my name is Mickey Mic Reta, and I'm one of the guides of the truck travel ju gravel. [00:27:50] Craig Dalton: And not only are you one of the guides, you're a local here [00:27:52] Miqui: in Gerran. Yeah, I'm local. I'm born and raised in Gerran and I'm very happy to have you guys here in Gerona. Let's, let's [00:28:01] Craig Dalton: actually start with that. You've been in Gerona your whole life as you just. What's it been like growing up here? How has the town changed and as cycling has become more of a hub, how has it been infused into Gerona culture? [00:28:14] Miqui: So I would say cycling has always been a part of Ger. I remember as a kid going to a bunch of mountain bike races with my brother, probably. I did my mountain bike race, my first one when I was like six years old. And then, After that, it's just, it's been growing like crazy and I remember probably about eight years ago as one, it just went insane. Like all the pros started moving here and somehow it created a community that is just like a magnet for all the cyclists anywhere in the world up until the point that now I would say Juran is the cycling capital of the. [00:28:55] Craig Dalton: What is it about the roads and trails around here that you think attracted them people to gerona? Obviously, you've given us a great sample these five days of what the gravel has been like, and it's been spectacular. We've touched on some of these roads. I'd just like to hear in your words, why do you think everybody's coming here? [00:29:14] Miqui: So I would say Jona has everything you are looking for in. Or anything related to cycling? The weather is good all year round. It's true we have a rainy season, which lasts for a couple weeks or a month. We have a very few weeks in summer, which is very hot in very few weeks in winter, which is very cold. But the rest of the year is incredible. It has an. Endless options of road riding. If you wanna ride to the peer, you can, it's a long ride, but you can actually do it if you wanna ride from ju to the coast and do a nice short loop, short-ish you can do it if, yeah, I would say in ju you could be riding for almost a month and you would never repeat a single ride. [00:29:58] Craig Dalton: Yeah, I believe it. I mean, just from sampling it for this week. Yeah, for sure. And I mean, I think it's great that you've. Flat options. You've got hilly options. I think today we were up on kind of the local climb you would probably do after [00:30:12] Miqui: work. Yeah. You guys were up on Los Angeleses, which. I feel like it's just incredible to have a climb like that starting at three kilometers from the center of Una and yeah, it's, it's a long climb. It's about 10 kilometers and on top you get views of the purines. You get views of the ocean, well, the sea. Yeah. I feel like we are very lucky [00:30:33] Craig Dalton: in here. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like it's like probably one of those climbs that every local athlete knows their exact time to the top. Yeah. [00:30:41] Miqui: I would say that. People's fitness, you always ask, what's their time of Los Angeles ? [00:30:47] Craig Dalton: Yeah. That'll tell you if you're a compatible rider with them. So let's talk about the, the Trek Jer Gravel tour. I think you had a hand in a lot of the mapping, being a local and figuring out all the roots. How did you go about kind of, I always say whether it's an event organizer or a tour, it's almost like a love letter to your community and your trails, right? You're. You've got guests coming in from out of the country or out of the area and you wanna show them the best of the best. How did you go about thinking about the, the trails and roads we were [00:31:17] Miqui: on? The thing about this trip is that I had, I had to think that I couldn't make it super intense cuz sometimes we are taking guests at not super experienced on, on gravel riding or they just come from the. So I couldn't make a trip very technical, but as you guys saw, we have a few avid options after the look we do every day, which are a little more technical. But yeah, I feel like I, I was really happy when they actually said, Hey Mickey, do you want to give us a hand with this trip? Because, It's Una, I'm, I'm, that's where I started riding and I love grow riding, so actually my favorite ride of the trip is the one where we go to the coast. So we start in Una. It's super flat. We actually did on an incredible day. It was super sunny and we stop at the at the sea and yeah, we have lunch by the sea. Then after you guys went for a little swim and then we brought back to Una, we tried to stop at the brewer, which was unfortunately close that day. But yeah, I just think it's, I was very happy when Trek Travel said, Hey, do you wanna give us a [00:32:23] Craig Dalton: hand on this? Yeah. It's interesting. I think it's, it's sort of, you know, I imagine Trek travel draws a lot of road athletes Yeah. Onto their trips. So I think it is very approachable, but definitely had moments where you needed some skill. Not, you know, I think for more experienced gravel riders, riders, there was, there was no fear. It was just fun and exhilaration. But for a couple of the newer rider, When they were going down the looser descents, they were probably a little bit scared but exhilarated when they got to the bottom. Yeah. [00:32:54] Miqui: I don't think it's, it's nothing crazy. We haven't put anything on this trip, which would be like dangerous or scary for like total beginners. We've had intellectual, we, we classify rider in four levels, four being the, the most expert. And we've had people on this trip, they're like level twos and they've. They've loved the descents, they love the writing. Yeah. I think it's, it's got a great balance of hardcore and not hardcore, so. Yeah. [00:33:23] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it's super interesting. I mean, we, we sort of weave through the farmlands and into little villages, and it's been a real pleasure to kind of pop out of some woods and go through some, you know, 17th century sanctuary buildings and then back out onto some trails. It's, it's super fun. So, [00:33:39] Miqui: and that's the thing about Juran, right? So everyone, Toronto is for road cycling, but as a local, I'm a hundred percent sure that there is actually a lot more gravel riding than there is road riding in Toronto. Yeah, I [00:33:56] Craig Dalton: believe you. I mean, I think within four kilometers of town every day we've been on the dirt. Yeah. [00:34:01] Miqui: The extension of like farm roads and Yeah, just unpaved roads. I mean, I'm not talking about single track, I'm just talking. Real, what I like to call the real gravel, which is smooth and fast. [00:34:15] Craig Dalton: Yeah. You were telling me about that railroad line that used to go from the Yeah. The sea to the purities, and now it's all a gravel road. Yeah, [00:34:23] Miqui: so I would say it's about 50 years ago when they removed the, the train line, the, well, the railway, which there was a train that went from sun follow g. Which is one of the towns on the coast. And then it run all the way up to Ola and now yeah, they just remove the whole railway and they lay gravel on it and it's just an incredible, it's, it's actually a bike path, so on the weekend it's gonna be full of kids on bikes and yeah, the extension to the Villa Verde, which that it's included on the Villa Verde, is just incredible. How [00:35:02] Craig Dalton: many kilometers do you think that that trail. It's over a hundred kilometers. That's amazing. I mean, to be able to cruise, I mean, and relatively flat presumably, until it gets to the purity side. Yeah. It's [00:35:14] Miqui: totally flat. But since a train used to Yeah. Be on it, so they made sure it was super flat [00:35:20] Craig Dalton: for it. Yeah. Miles and miles and miles. Going back to the community in Ger, what are some of your favorite kind of, if a cyclist is coming to town, what are some of the go-to businesses they should [00:35:30] Miqui: visit? So if a cyclist comes in, ger, I would say most people, they would come here for about at least a week. So you're gonna have time to visit all of them, which they are all a hundred percent worth visiting. But there is a couple of places. You should a hundred percent go see if you're here for a short period of time. One of them being a coffee shop called La Fabrica, which it's only open in the mornings and lunch, so it's, it's the perfect place to brunch. Yeah. [00:36:05] Craig Dalton: Quick aside, I literally ran into someone I know, know from the United States today, and they told us to go have brunch at [00:36:13] Miqui: Left Africa Till Africa is owned by Christian Mayer and Amber Mayer. He was, well, he's a, he's a former, Yeah, they were the pioneers in Una, so they were the first ones to open a coffee shop, only focused for cyclist, of course, for everyone. And now it has become like a super great, like it's, it's a tourist attraction right now, but that's what kind of triggered the whole cycling movement in Joran. Okay. [00:36:41] Craig Dalton: So La Africa, and what's the [00:36:42] Miqui: second one? La Africa. They also have another coffee shop, which is only for. Which LA Fabric is more like brunch and food. The other coffee shop is called Espresso Mafia, which is one meal walking from La Fabrica, and that's basically where Christian roast the coffee and then you can drink it at Espresso Mafia. And then another place you should go visit in general, well, mid January. Trek and track travel. It's opening the first track store in the world, which is gonna have truck travel inside of it. And with a rental fleet, we are going to be the biggest, as in space, we're gonna have the biggest bike shop in ju, which it's pretty exciting. [00:37:29] Craig Dalton: Yeah, that's really exciting. And then finally, what's one sort of cultural place within Jerron that a tourist should visit? [00:37:36] Miqui: The whole old town itself. If you go to Juna, I highly recommend getting a walking tour of the Old Town because you're really gonna see what our culture is here and how it was in the past. And everything around the old town is just, it's just incredible. [00:37:55] Craig Dalton: Yeah. That's fun. You recommended we go up onto the wall for sunset. Yeah. And we've, we missed it the first night. The second night we, we made it up. We may have had to like randomly climb over a fence to make it there in time because we couldn't find the way up. But we got there and it was spectacular with view. Is that the purities that you're looking at out there? Yeah. You [00:38:14] Miqui: get to see Purees, you get to see a bunch of things and yeah, there is a restaurant called Aro. Which is in one of the steps. Well, there's like, Juna has 200 million cathedrals, but in one of them. On the stairs there is a restaurant called , which they actually film Game of Thrones there. And the terrace of the restaurant, it's actually on a little like flat section it has on those stairs. And I think it's a really cool location. [00:38:45] Craig Dalton: That's super. Cool. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you so much for all the hospitality this week. It's been great to getting to know you and the local terrain [00:38:55] Miqui: here. Yeah. Thank you guys for coming. Girona Cycling Friends [00:38:57] Andrew - RocaCorba: All right. Can I let me get your name and let me know where we're at. What's this beautiful place? So my name is Edward Green. I'm the guest, the general manager slash I don't know what, at Rocka Culpa cycling. So we are a cycling tourism business just outside of Jer Corona in a town called Bans. We are based on a 17th century Catalan estate, or Maia as it is in Catalan. And we are basically trying to be a boutique hotel with some villas attached, which is exclusively for cyclists, road, gravel, mountain. Whatever you enjoy on two wheels is, is what we wanna do. And how far away from Ger are we? So we are currently 18 kilometers from Gerona, or 10 or 11 miles depending. Country. And about a 30 to 45 minute ride depending on, on how you get to us. Can you describe where we are in, in the villa right now? So we're downstairs basically in what used to be the old like area for the animals. So we've got some troughs around us, but we've done huge renovations to basically create our cycling dungeon down here. So we've got beautiful old vaulted Catalan ceiling. Rustic concrete floors, beautiful stone work, and then cycling history all around us with some beautiful frames. Cycling jerseys. Good coffee from the rocket espresso machine. Everything you can need for a good cycling stay. And what time of year is best to come here? Pretty much all, all year. To be honest. I don't think there's necessarily a bad month anymore, like December and Januarys tends to be quite quiet, but we see strong gravel riding in October, November, and the rest of the year is a lot of road riding. Summer is quite warm, so unless you like waking up early, probably avoid summer a little bit. But like June and September, October, probably buffer the. I'll note when you said strong gravel riding, you looked right at exactly a hundred percent. You are the epitome of what we see in November. . Tell us a little bit about the rest of the. So we are on 37 hectares and it's basically an old, what was an old family estate of the Campier family. The estate dates back to the 17th century, so 1673, and it was with the same family until 2018 when we took it over to create. What we want to create is basically cycling paradise all you need in one place. Out in the countryside, but close to Gerrin. And how many rooms do you have available here? So currently we're at eight rooms, but we'll be at 13 by April next year. So we're currently in the process literally starting today, which is very exciting of putting in five beautiful unsweet rooms in this main can poly manor house, partially they'll have views over down towards the lake onto some vineyards, but also into the courtyard and just generally over the rolling hills of, of Jerome. And tell us a little bit about the village. So just on our doorstep, we have the town of Olas which has a beautiful lake in it. It's where they had the rowing for the 92 Barcelona Olympic. It's a great place for like active people, for families, et cetera. But there's a lot of rowing. A lot of of the British university teams come out and train here. A lot of the national teams come and train as well, but generally just a fantastic place to be. Good quality of life and just down to earth and authentic. Amazing. And how do people find out about staying here? So if you have a look on Rocka coba cycling.cc, you'll find us and you can kind of do anything from there. Or if you are enjoy climbing, just Google Rocka Coba, you'll find the climb, and then you'll find us and the clothing. Amazing. Thank you. Perfect. That was great. [00:42:14] Oscar - Castilli: Okay. Can I get your name? Hi, my name is Oscar. And Oscar. Where are we standing today? Well, today we are in the, the first flag shipper store in the, in the war from Costelli here in Una. And what's the plan for the store? What are you trying to do with the community here? Well, una, you know, is the Jamaica for for European cyclists, I think all over the world. So, right now Castelli store, it's coming to. The big cycling club in Giona and well, why not in Spain? Nice. And we, we rolled by here last night and there was a big group ride going out on the gravel. Yeah. We have almost 40 people doing the full moon ride. It was amazing. So always we keep a surprise for all the riders. We stop in a food truck in the middle of the forest with fire. Some dinner and and beer. So it was super fun. That's amazing. And if someone's coming to Jerone to, to visit, do you have a calendar of events that they can look at? Yeah, they can, they can follow us on our Instagram and yeah, you can check. So, but every week we have a ride, so, and 2023, especially now it's coming a low season for the weather, but from February. So it's coming. A lot of events. Yeah. Amazing. Thanks Oscar, and congratulations on opening the new Castelli store. Yeah, big pleasure. Thanks for coming. [00:43:30] Mattias - Rococorba Clothing: All right. Right. Can you tell me your name and your shop? Mattias from Roco, COBA Clothing, Giron Mattias. Tell us a little bit about the brand. Yeah, it's a brand. It started in 2017 in the top of the mountain of Roco Coba. It's a very famous climb here in Giron, and I decided to, to put a food truck up there and to start at the same time closing brand called Roca corba. And yes, five years. Later. I just opened a new shop in GI selling all my stuff, selling online, gold wide, and really happy too. Have, what are some of the products that you sell? I sell Jersey t-shirts, shorts accessories, bags, Macs, beat ons. A lot of things sucks. Yeah. Amazing. These jerseys I see on the wall are beautiful, very colorful, very expressive. What inspires you and the, the designs? Yeah. Yeah. Right now I have like more or less 50, 60 different designs and I inspir it from everywhere. My slogan is cycling apparel inspired by the rob because we have so many different landscapes or different places and always I, I have inspired inspiration in the. In our region. Yeah. And when is the shop opening up? I hope next Thursday it will be open. Now it's ready and I have to do some things, little things, but next Thursday, big opening here in J in the center. Amazing. I'm excited. We got a preview. We are able to pick up some of your lovely clothing. You said you, you're available worldwide. Where can people find you on the. Yeah, we can find in ro.com. We have online shop with all the products and we we ship worldwide. Amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Pleasure, . [00:45:22] Craig Dalton: So that's going to do it for this first international version of the gravel ride podcast. I've been talking and dreaming about international gravel travel for some time. So I was super excited to have this opportunity with track travel. To explore Durona with their Gravel cycling tour. It was amazing trip. As I said before, I highly encourage you to check it out. As Raffa mentioned. They're unveiling a whole new series of gravel adventures for 2023. So they're really leaning into this gravel travel concept. What I loved about it was that unlike a gravel event where you might be focused on. Simply one ride when you visit somewhere amazing. Here. We were able to focus on riding every single day and there was no one ride that we needed to save ourselves for to get across the finish line. It was really about. Exploring as much as our legs could handle. I wasn't as fit as I had normally been when I've gone over to Europe in the, in the past, but it was still an amazing trip, still an amazing experience that I highly, highly recommend. If you're interested in connecting and learning more about the trip, please visit truck travel.com. If you're interested in pinging me, please visit the ridership's that's www.theridership.com. If you're able to support the show, please visit buy me a coffee.com/the gravel ride or ratings and reviews are hugely appreciated. Until next time here's to finding some dirt under your wheels

Today we sit down and chat with Constantine and Magpie all things Vancouver Island Trail! We begin the show by discussing how to deal with travel stress and pre trail jitters and how to properly displace all those feelings into anxiously fretting over travel pillow purchases. Then we get to the part of the show you all demand, the energy drink review! We begin the show by revealing the true talent that is the ad agency behind Full Throttle Energy! The poem on the can we could never do justice to, and never could hope to read with enough enthusiasm, passion, and love that shows the emotions that surge through with every sip. What we can say though is strap in for a rollercoaster of feelings! We then chat the taste, comparing it to a vat of acid that the Joker jumped into, and how chemically cleansing the organs is what true health is. Finally we get into the show, what is the Vancouver Island Trail? We chat, well we mostly chat stories. This trail is still so much in its “infancy” and growth stage, that any information we can impart is probably outdated by now, so instead we tell jokes, stories, and anecdotes of what went wrong. You know how the saying goes… you win some, you lose more. We chat what “70% completion” means, and tackle the trail by segments. We chat logging industries and land usage. We chat the definition of spine and how it leads to a grumpy Magpie. We chat bushwhacking, climbing waterfalls without ropes, and impassible cliffs. We chat map mileage vs actual mileage. We chat running out of food and GPX tracks. DISCLAIMER: You finally get the answer to where the GPX tracks are! We chat how having too much information can sometimes become a problem. We chat time warps, story times, and not following logic. We chat the types of rain, going through the ocean, and walls of water. We reference John Mulaney… badly. We chat concentration of bears and cougars. We chat short shorts and the pain of being unbuttoned to the world. We chat trail angels and the love shown for this trail, and wrap up our thoughts with one word for this trail… potential! Thank you Vancouver Island Trail Association for a wonderful adventure! Favorite Quotes: “Best part of the show is its un-listenability” “Just accepted we were always wrong” “More a controlled fall than a hike” “We live… FULL THROTTLE!” To learn more about who we are click below: Website: www.ElevenSkys.com

Were back at it with a full slate of fight cards as 3 major promotions field offerings including a re-match LHW title fight & GPX finale, plus the possible coronation of another Dagastan King. The Black Beast returns looking to stop his losing streak. Christina Lee defends his title in One and Munguia fights to face Janibek. We'll discuss the AfterMMAth of UFC 281 in KO's and Low Blows and of course f course we have Tha Voyze's Marquee Matchup for the week.

“I realized at that point, that why that purpose that driving force is so deeply important to an individual running these races.” Ben Light & Mike McKnight are ultra-trail runners that are out to set an FKT on the 800 mile Arizona Trail. In this episode they discuss brand sponsorship, how they got into ultra-running, what they look for in races, Arizona Trail 800 mile FKT project, Tahoe 200, GPX files, finding your why, and Ben's eyebrows. Support Road Dog Podcast by: 1. Joining the Patreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/roaddogpodcast 2. Subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you listen on. XOSKIN show code: Road Dog Listeners get a special 15% off at https://www.xoskin.us Greatwesternadventures.com Allwedoisrun.com Ben Light Contact Info: IG: https://www.instagram.com/adventure.your.potential/ Mike McKnight Contact Info: www.lowcarb-runner.com thelowcarbrunner@gmail.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/thelowcarbrunner/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/mike.mcknight.509 Luis Escobar (Host) Contact: luis@roaddogpodcast.com Luis Instagram Kevin Lyons (Producer) Contact: kevin@roaddogpodcast.com yesandvideo.com Music: Slow Burn by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Original RDP Photo: Photography by Kaori Peters kaoriphoto.com Road Dog Podcast Adventure With Luis Escobar www.roaddogpodcast.com

This week we sit down with author and adventurer, Markus Stitz to discuss his new book, Great British Gravel Rides. Markus explores gravel cycling in Great Britain through the eyes of local gravel cyclists to discover amazing routes throughout the region. Markus Stitz Website  Episode Sponsor: Trek Travel - Come join us on the Girona Gravel Tour November 6th, 2022.  Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: Great British Gravel Rides [00:00:00] Craig Dalton: This week on the podcast. We welcome Marcus. Stets the author of great British gravel rides, a book of 25 routes throughout England, Wales and Scotland. . That brings us through the varied terrain in great Britain, through the eyes of community members throughout the aisle each route was designed by a gravel cyclists from that region. In an attempt to get the best. Gravel routes across England, Scotland and Wales. I enjoyed the conversation a lot and i enjoyed the approach to the book and i hope you will too Before we get started. I need to thank this week. Sponsor truck travel and the Girona gravel bike tour. Trek has been offering the Girona gravel bike tour for a number of years. And you may remember an episode I recorded with them about Yorona and what a gem it is for cycling in general, but more specifically gravel. I've been hoping and wanting to go over there myself for a number of years. And I'm excited to say that I'm going to be joining the November 6th trip. And I'd like you to join me. Yeah, I'm not kidding. Take a step back. You can do this. Come join me and ride gravel bikes in Girona trucks. Got everything organized for us from an, a wonderful hotel, right in the center of Girona as well as access to track bicycles to explore the countryside, we've got local guides that have designed amazing routes for us. So we're going to sample everything the region has to offer in this trip. I can't wait to get over there in November and I'm hoping you'll be able to join me too. It'll be so good to paddle with some of you listeners and members of the ridership community. I know we've got a handful of people signed up already and I would love to fill the hotel with people we know and love. As a special bonus, truck's going to give anybody who registers via the podcast or the ridership or free handlebar bag with their trip. So make sure when you go visit Trek, travel.com search Jarana gravel bike tour and mentioned the podcast during your registration process. There's a number of dates this year remaining, but I will be on the November 6th trip. So I'm hoping we can shape the demand and drive you to that trip. We'll have a great time. And I look forward to seeing you there. Remember that's www.trektravel.com. Search Girona gravel bike tour. With that said let's jump right into my conversation with marcus about the great british gravel rides Marcus welcome to the show. [00:02:28] Markus: Hello. [00:02:30] Craig Dalton: It's good to connect with you. I was super excited when I caught wind of this great, great Britain, gravel rides book that you penned and excited to learn a little bit more about your background as a cyclist, and what led to your passion to take on this project and do a great job kind of going throughout Britain and laying out some amazing roots for people. [00:02:51] Markus: Yeah. It's like, it's been an amazing project to work on and especially like, cuz I guess people who live in Britain have, you know, have a better idea of the country. But if you, if you're outside the country, it's such a diverse place. Like it's, it's, you know, from north to south, I think I've been to many countries in the world and it's like, it's, it's difficult to find a country, which is, which is gotten so many different places too, right. In terms of the conditions, but also the people. So my idea was really to kind of look at the community. With all the different shapes and forms it comes and, and, and do a book about it and, and recommend roots to people. Pretty much as an inspiration. [00:03:35] Craig Dalton: Yeah, I think that was a super interesting approach and look forward to getting into it with. Before we get started. Why don't we give the listener just a little bit about an idea about your background as a cyclist. [00:03:46] Markus: Yeah. So I, I think I generally came to cycling. I, I started cycling as a child. I grew up in Germany and you kind of know I'm cycling as default, I think. And I I'd never been in any cycling clubs and I wouldn't call myself like a keen cyclist when I was a child. And then pretty much picked up a mountain bike in, in my years at the university, cuz I lived in a place which had like pretty extensive for is a bit like what you possibly. Which comes really close to north American travel or the idea what we have, like big metal roads and, you know, loads of pine fors and all pretty straightforward. So it was a quite great location to, to be based and then do that. And then I finished university and went to New Zealand and. Think that spare really picked up the cycle, touring adventure, cycling mountain biking buck spent two years in Wellington, brilliant location. New Zealand in general is, is just a, a fascinating place to ride and is also one of those places like. There's. Yeah, there's, there's, there's so much outdoor possibilities and you, you know, you wouldn't, you wouldn't come to New Zealand. I would presume if you want like big city life or you want all the belts and visits of massive cities like New York or LA or whatever. I think I really like the, the mixture between having an outdoorsy life, but also still having a bit of a city lifestyle. Wellington is a capital store. Yeah. We enjoyed it. There did loads of cycling over there. And then. In my time in Wellington, I also decided in some shape or form I want to do around the world trip cycling around the world. And the initial idea was, was just a circus. So I finished my time in in Wellington and moved back to Europe. I moved to Edinburg. And while I was in Edinburgh, I had this idea, or maybe I could cycle from Edinburgh to Dunedin. Dunedin is one of the Southern cities in New Zealand. Then it's the old name for Edinburg. So there's interesting connection there. A lot of settled in that part of New Zealand. So like I could a trip from Edburg to dun and then. At some stage, I think that developed further to say, look, if I'm doing half the world anyway, I might as well do the other as well. [00:05:57] Craig Dalton: And when you, when you were approaching that Marcus, like, were you thinking at that point, like pedaling around the world is something I specifically want to do or were you more, I just wanna travel and experience different cultures and different parts of the world. [00:06:13] Markus: yeah, I think it's a travel aspect, which is which, which was the most important one. Like, and that's like, I think this is coming. I think if you look at all my work so far, like I'm I'm, I would certainly say like, for me, cycling is an amazing tool to connect with people. Like if you look at. Any cycling community. It doesn't matter which one you're looking at. I think they're all slightly different, but I think what they all have in common people who ride bike, speak to each. This is, this is I thing it's, it's like, and they either speak about bikes or you, you know, you just happen to have the same mode of transport. You talk about something else. And, and, and, and for me, that was the important one. I, you know, I was thinking about whether I'm gonna go this. I don't think there's, well, there is no single speed record for going around the world and I could have set that record. Like it would've been an easy task to do because there isn't such a thing. But that wasn't important for me that never played in my mind. I was just like, you know, it will be, you know, it'd be an interesting thing to do, but it would take away from the trip. So for me around the world trip was to meet interesting people. I met so many. Amazing people in New Zealand simply by being friends with a couple of guys that worked in a bike shop and they kind of introduced me to the cycling community in New Zealand. And when I back went back to, to Scotland, it was kind of the same. It was interesting. I came back to Scotland at night. Initially, didn't bring my bikes over to Edinburg and it was the first thing I missed. I was just like, I want my bikes here. There's such a convenient way to get around, but also to make friends if you place, that was the main, that was the main consideration. So yeah, it was, it was like, and is possibly, I guess a lot of people ask why singles speak? Why, why do you take a singles speak bike? And. I guess the most important reason for that one is you don't have to, you don't really need to care about your bike. Like, you know, it's got a chain which needs replacing every now and then there's no F around the bike. It was a pretty straightforward built. You know, everything was rock solid. Most of them were parts were steel. So, you know, like even, even transporting the bike by plane was super easy. Cuz it just Chuck it in a box. There's no area that bends or any, any other expensive part. So yeah, I think that was the, that is the kind of, and yeah, that comes across very clearly in the book right now as well. Like I'm, I'm always, there's always people first, you know, it's about. Is about the community and, and how I connect with them. And, you know, cycling is great. I really enjoy cycling. But I would, I don't think I'd be enjoying just the cycling bit as much as, as I do with the people, [00:08:58] Craig Dalton: Yeah. I mean, I think that's a big element that everybody talks about with our enjoyment of gravel. It's twofold. It's one just sort of getting off the beaten path and two, the community and the friendliness of it all. I think it's just at least today it exceeds any other form. Any other side of the sport of cycling? I don't think you just, you don't get the camaraderie that you do on the gravel side of. [00:09:20] Markus: Yeah. Yeah. And this, I mean, just on my, it's interesting to look back on around the world trip, cuz I was on the mountain bike. So I was on a SERE, which is, you know, it's a hard tail. You can, yeah, it's a typical, hard to mountain bike built. Basically. You could put some, I didn't have suspension forks, but it, you know, you could write a bit of suspension fork as well. But if I look back now and interestingly enough, I went Toor in Kansas. And I wasn't, I wasn't aware of, well, now I'm going, but back then dirty. And I wasn't really aware of that and impor and called Hedman and he introduced me to the whole Yeah, the Kansas travel community. It was awesome. It was amazing. I think there's still a, we picture in one of the pups of me and sitting, there was really sore on that. Kansas is flat a pancake and it isn't it's, it's just, that's a trade lie because the east of Kansas is very, very. The for the west, you get the, you know, the, the, the fluter it gets, but yeah, cycling along the east of is no piece of cake at all, but it's just the kinda thing. And so I kind got introduced to the idea of, I heard, you know, I had heard about bikes, but you could, you know, you might as well argue that I've a bike around the world is just, just to different bars. They have Jones's bars and instead of bars, like, and yeah, it's the, I think it's the least. There's no real conventions yet. There's no, there isn't really anything that you kind of, you don't have to have a certain thing to, to identify as Scrabble, cyclists, but you know, and that, that's the nice thing about it. It's a bit like. It's like, for me, it feels like I would've been, I, I, I would've loved to be there when mountain biking developed in Mo county. And, you know, kind of was literally about people kind of riding around on bikes, having a good time [00:11:27] Craig Dalton: Yeah. [00:11:27] Markus: doing some, doing some crazy things and not really caring about conventions whatsoever. And I think we are mid travel cycling. It's nice to be in the middle. You know, I think if I think things keep coming back, it's like the early days of the tour farms as well, which I, I basically think later foundations of what you now call ultra cycling. You know, again, there's people, you know, people just having a good time being, you know, also being ambitious about thing. And you can, you can, you can say the thing about mountain biking as well. You know, those things develop. And I think we're there with travel cycling at the moment, which is great to be right in the thick of it. No doubt. I think it will at some stage diversify as well. You know, we've got suspension forks. Now we basically have mountain bike tires now onto level bikes, but that's okay. You know, I think it's, you know, this is, this is the evolution where things go, but just being there right there right now is quite. [00:12:27] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it's certainly one of the impetus behind this podcast, beginnings was it was just such an exciting time. I thought in the sport of cycling and someone, as you know, I'd been around cycling my whole life yet. I still made mistakes when I bought my first gravel bike and realized like, oh, I didn't set it up the way I should, or I didn't make the choices I should. And I was like, if I've been around bikes and worked in bike shops and worked in the bike industry and I still managed to screw up this Purchas. There's a lot of people and a lot of questions and fast forward three years, I, I still find myself having interesting conversations with product designers and seeing interesting innovations and new options that just allow people to personalize this equipment to wherever they call home or whatever they're intending to do. [00:13:11] Markus: Yeah. And, and I think it is, I think it, it has made pretty big leaps as well. If I, I think one thing for me, which sticks out is tires. Like if I, if I look back in. So I , I think if you wanna put an official day to it, when I started travel, riding was in 2017 when I had a LER and mapped the first bike packing route in Scotland. And I know back then, I mean, your choice of tires was the 30 yard, the bike. And I could have gone for a Schal G one old round and there were a few other. Tires kicking around on the market. But if you look at right now, just 12 alone has seven different travel tires. Whoa. You know, and, and not speaking about any of the mountain bike tires, you can now, you know, if you look at a fast rolling waste tire for a mountain bike, you can stick that on a co bike these days cuz the, you know, the clearance is wide enough to, to ride those. And so I think this is where you see like how much. You know how quickly the market or the, the, the industry has progressed in, in, in those kind of aspects. So a choice is, is, is huge right now. And yeah, it's, it's, it's great. But I also think, you know, I think it's interesting because I think one thing the book of working on the book has kind of like forced me to do, and I had a keen interest as well. It's just kind of, and, and this is, I think this is where Britain is really interesting is to kinda look back to. You know, what, what you can now call pu writing, where, where did it start? And if you look at Britain, like it started in the 1920s here, cause there's been the rough. So there's been an organization called the rough stuff fellowship. And that that's, if you wanna sum it up, is people starting to ride bikes? Off the beaten track in, in rails, in England and Scotland and various things. And you know, back then, there weren't really any Tomic roads. I don't think, you know, I don't think they had the intention. Like there, there weren't deliberately riding off road, but there they did ride them off road because there was literally no other network. To use there weren't any Timex cycling paths. You know, there were a few roads back then, but not nearly as much as you have these days and they just simply rode their bikes wherever they're placed to go. And I, I think like, I have that in the introduction of my book for me, that's kind of like where it all originates. And then you look at Australia, you look at the Overlands who, again, like this is like possibly the very early stages of bike, you know, who went from a to B I think it's tricky, cuz I think what we have now is modern crab bikes. They are definitely much more advanced I'm riding at the moment. I'm riding a 1970s club Butler bike. So it's one of those bikes, you know, that, that people potentially took when there were rough stuffing and. It's awesome. Fun to ride. I'm really enjoying it for a challenge, but you also see, you know, if you've got a modern gravel bike gear, I mean, this is much more forgiving. Like I was talking to a friend about that, this breaks, for example, whoa. Like they made such a difference, especially if you ride in Scotland, you know, if you've got wind breaks and you're going down the long downhill, you have to. Three times on the downhill, because otherwise you just, your, your ribs are afterwards. So, you know, things like this, which I found is super like you, I think the concept, I think there's also two, there's interesting. Two things to clever writing. I think there's clever riding as a concept of off. And then there's bikes, you know, which. Possibly are what we, what we have now as clever bikes, truck bars, you know, a geometry, which is possibly closer to a road bike than it is to a mountain bike. Tie with, I don't think you can define that any longer, because it's been going up and up and, you know, I don't think we're far off having, I don't know if we're ever gonna get the tweet inch tiles on the bike we might do. Who knows, but I think it's kind of in my book really much picking up on the idea of travel writing as a concept. It's why, when I, when people were asking me, well, like, oh, do I need to have a travel bike? Then it was like, Take whatever bike you think is suitable off road. Bear in mind that the people who will be reading this will potentially be riding this on a 45 millimeter tire to bar bike. So, you know, there shouldn't be any, any severe to above or whatever in there. But if you ride that on a clever bike, or if you take your full as mountain bike or whatever bike, your, your thing is suit. Please do that. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna restrict anything to that concept. [00:17:56] Craig Dalton: Yeah. I thought that I saw that note at the beginning of your book and I think that's spot on. It's like ride. What you have, gravel is more about the sensation, the community. Exploration, all these different ideas above and beyond the type of bike you actually are throwing a leg over. [00:18:13] Markus: Yeah. Yeah. And this is, and yeah, and, and that, especially in Britain, this , there's many terrains. You can ride your bike over, [00:18:22] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So just finishing your, your sort of backstory, you finished the round of the world trip, and then obviously like you continue to be inspired by the sport. Of mountain biking and did some other big adventures. [00:18:36] Markus: Yeah, I think that, so, I mean, if you look at my career, if you want to call it such, I've always been a person who's been, I've been, always been inspired by many things. Like I, you know, I can't, I didn't have a straightforward career path. I did a multitude of things in my life. And when I came back from the round the world trip, but basically I had a, I had a decision to make what I'm gonna do right now. Am I gonna go back to a nine to five? I never had a nine to five job as such, but, you know, am I gonna go back to to employment and let someone else paying my wages and I'll do my fair bit, or am I gonna use all the experience I have from the, around the world trip? Cause I think what the around the world trip has really taught me is to. You can take so much stuff out of a year on the bike, into, into the life afterwards, you know, it's about leadership. It's about decision making. It's about adapting to new environ. And so I had all of, you know, all of that came with the trip. It wasn't, it wasn't just about riding a bicycle. And I felt like, you know, you can, it's gonna be a tough one to start something new. No doubt about that. But. I'm in a good position to be there. So I started working freelance and, and I have designed a route around Edinburg before I left the world. And the feedback for that was great. And I felt like, well, I'm just gonna up there and this, you know, try to establish myself as. Yeah, offering something else in a tourism industry, tourism back then in Scotland was basically bikes didn't happen, you know, bike route. Didn't really happen either. And I thought like, you know, if I can, if I can make a living out of, of, of really pushing Scotland ahead in terms of cycling route and whatever, then that'd be a great thing. And my, my background before I was marketing so if you combine around the world, trip an interest in developing new roots and having the marketing background, because in the end of the day, You know, a roots only interesting if people know about it and, and actually write it, there's nothing, nothing worse in designing a great route and no one knows about it and no people are not using it. So I kind checked that all in one goal and then also found myself cause I wanted to have a little bit of financial acuity. So I accepted a two day a week marketing role at the book festival. Back then we we're going back then. And with the idea of writing it, because I always thought like, cool. If I ever gonna write a book, it will be, would be quite good to have some, some connections in the book trade and in the book world and kinda do that. So that job paid to rent and the, the other work was kind of like, whatever focus I make that direction is gonna be great. And those were the early days of bike in Scotland and, and yeah, that's pretty much progressed since 2017 and yeah. I don't know, my, my life's taken some interesting turns. I think right now I'm sitting here possibly quite a few people know my films, which is, which is great when I started that. I would've never thought that I've written the book now I've worked with several councils and destination marketing organizations in Scotland to really help them to understand cycling and understand cycle tubing and then, and developing products for them that they can actually put to people and say, look, if you wanna come to this part of Scotland, this is what you can do. And we help you doing this. And, and that's kind of in a nutshell, this with bike packing Scotland, and this it's not just. It's not just mood planning. It's not just filmmaking. It's not just bike, you know, it's like, there's a mixture of, of all the different things and yeah, it's been a, it's been a great journey. [00:22:13] Craig Dalton: Amazing. So let's, let's talk a little bit about the book. So you, you, you've sort of endeavored to kind of cover Scotland, England, and Wales, and give gravel riders a view of the entire country, the landscape through not only your eyes, but the eyes of, of very diverse set of athletes, which, as I mentioned earlier, I thought was a really refreshing approach. Because one of the things in, in my mind, these roots that we find online, they lack personality, right? You're getting a GPX file and you're, you're seeing where something goes, but it's very hard to understand what that's going to feel like. It's very hard to get data on, you know, what kind of bike tires do I need? What kind of equipment do I need for these. Or even more importantly, like what are the communities gonna be like when I go through them? And, you know, part that's part of the reason I started a community called the ridership, because I just, I wanted an online forum to be able to connect with riders around the world and just get that real world beta, you know, so if I'm going to Scotland, I wanna talk to someone who's ridden these roads and trails and just give you a few of the inside tips about what's going on. So I'd love for you to just kind of talk about. Why you decided to approach it that way and what it meant to you and how you connected with the, the numerous athletes that helped you design roots throughout the country. [00:23:34] Markus: Yeah, so I think there's this, this, there there's two basic thoughts I had on the back of my head when I started researching a book, I think the nice thing about clever writing that it seems to be attracting much more women into this sport than, than other. Than other sports in general do. I, I do think that road cycling, although this is changing and it's a good thing to see it changing, but I still feel that road cycling is such a male dominated domain of cycling, you know, and, and, and mountain biking is more diverse. I think by its very nature, but you know, still I was looking at many cycling magazines and thought like, why is there, why is there always a male, a man in his forties with white shoulders looking angry on the form of the cover? You know, it's just, it didn't really like, it, it didn't appeal to me. And I felt like, you know, I think I, I think it's particularly hard and, and, and I guess it's the same in the us. We've seen. We've seen cycling, attracting quite a lot of new people, thankfully. And there was mainly two to, to, to the COVID restrictions and people, all of a sudden recognized I can't do anything, but I can still jump on a bicycle and have a good time. So it was possibly one of the, it was one of the good things coming out of a pandemic, but. I always feel like we didn't really cater for the people who are new to the sport. And, and, and we also didn't really cater for, for, for people of a different ethnic background. It's, you know, is just like, I, I think it was always a bit too narrow and one thing I've found on around the world trip. That's the cool thing. If you go to different countries, you see how a diverse cycling actually is, you know, how like how, how, how it switches. And that's one thing I wanted to have in there. And then the other thing I was really keen on as well is. It's public transport. Like you gets a really bad reputation in Britain most of the times, and it's nowhere near ideal. I was, I was born in Germany. And my girlfriend dips in Norway. So there's this, this, this, this country is in the world, which do much, much better at that, but it, I also think that. We're still doing okay. In this country. so I felt like, right. Okay. I want people to get to those places, ideally by train or by bus. So they don't have to own a car. If they own a car. That's fine. There's nothing, there's nothing wrong with that, but it shouldn't be, it shouldn't be a pre-condition of riding your bike, having to get to those places by car. I want to have a nice mixture of mood. So I want some easy ones in there. I want also some really gnarly ones in there because you know, whoever's gonna buy the book. They'll be at different stages in their cycling thing cycling career or whatever you wanna call it. And I also want to have landscapes in there, which are where you representative of Britain as such a diverse country. And you can kind of imagine there's a lot of logistic. Kind of like, so I came up with this metrics of kind of like, ideally. This is kind of what I feel the book should be looked like. And then, and then, and then I feel like, well, I know a few people already Jenny and mark Beaumont and a couple of other people featured in the book. So this is gonna be a great starting point, but then I really want to reach out to people, which I don't know, you know, but to wide travel byte is the only. Or not even ride travel bikes, you know, they, you happen to be riding off road. I would ly keep it as, as, as, as far as that. And yeah. And then with the help of, of My connections with the sponsors of the book, I was just building this list of people and then the other, I think the additional challenge was also that I kind of needed to slot them in. So I did the book research within other projects as well. So yeah, and, and, and it, it turned out to work pretty well. Like I was, I was fascinated by the thing and I guess the, the big takeaway for me was. It kind of felt a little bit being transferred back to the process of the round, the world trip, you know, I think around the world trip. Very much. So the, I, I did ride my bike during the day. And then in the evening I was really looking forward to speak to people, have a conversation. And, and the nice thing about this book research was so there were some people I knew and you know, we rode our bikes together and, you know, it felt like, you know, being out on a great ride with a, with a friend, you unseen for ages. And then there were the new people in the book, which I didn't know much about it. And it, that was quite as well because, you know, Takes five to 10 minutes. And then you kind of know roughly what you wanna talk about. You know, you wanna talk about the roots and, and the nice thing about this poetry. It really felt like they are taking me on their favorite roots. And they're really showing me their neck of the roots, not from a tourist perspective, but from a local's perspective, this is where a white. This is a cool cafe. You should be going to cuz they've got amazing priorities. This is the proper we should be stopping at. And, and I think that made the whole experience so much richer. And, and ultimately also I think for the reader, you know, they, I think one thing I always miss like not so much cycling guidebooks, but if you look at places guide books like lonely planet or, you know, one of the big ones. I think with lonely planet, you used to get a really authentic experience. You know, it is debatable what the world authentic actually means, but you don't get these days. I don't think so. You know, you'd be shuttled into a range of accommodation and some places, and it's a bit hit or miss some places are good. Some of them. Not so much. , you know, and I think with this approach, I was kind of my, my, my pitch to people was just like, show me around your negative woods. Take me to the cool places. You know, like take me around as you would have a great ride that it is for you. And that also came up with very different approaches. You know, I had guy who speaked guy Kek. He's super fast so we kinda went fulling to the, to the tee shop, had an iced tea, and then we went fulling again. It was great. You know, it was like, there was a thing, whereas there were other approaches where everything was a bit slower and, and a bit more relaxed and, and yeah. And yeah, I really lost the process. It was just really personable. [00:30:09] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it's super interesting. I remember in the early days of the pandemic, when a lot of the big gravel events in the United States were getting canceled, one in particular, put a call out to kind of friends and people in the community to do a virtual event on the day of their race. And what I thought was the output of that exercise is that all around the country, you have these routes created by people who absolutely love the sport and absolutely love where they live. So it was just basically, I described it as sort of a, a love letter to the gravel cycling community [00:30:43] Markus: yeah. [00:30:44] Craig Dalton: this route. And it sounds like you got a lot of that out of this experience and this process that you entered for this. [00:30:51] Markus: Yeah. Yeah. And it was like, I mean, the pandemic pandemic played. I mean, it played a key role in the book because it was, I mean, the whole idea was, was based out of, I don't know, I've stopped counting how many lockdowns we went through in the process. And cause I initially thought like I didn't. I wouldn't say I had an idea of a book in my head and when the whole thing kicked off, I was just like, maybe this is exactly the right time to do a book. Because for me writing a book was always, there was always taking, there was always something else that was taking priority. Cuz it's a big daunting project, you know? It's like I spend about it. Yeah. Like a good part of a year doing this book. If. Count in all the things and it's, you know, it, it does take, especially the writing. It really takes you. You really need to sit down and kind of write. I'm just gonna concentrate on that. And it's, you know, it's just like, it's, it's easier to do smaller projects, no doubt. But yeah, when it all kicked off, I was like, okay, if there's something good about this, You possibly find time to do this now because you'll be less distracted by other stuff you can't, there's no such thing. And, and also when you, when I, I think the interesting thing about bikes is that when we were sitting in our living rooms or in, you know, in the best case scenario or with our garden and having a bit of nature around us . All the bikes, all the other bikes are quite difficult to ride from your front door. You can ride a road bike if you happen to live in a place that has some nice roads and is not too busy. You can ride a mountain bike if you happen to live next to mountain bike trails. But. I would say for the majority of people, like there was always something, you know, for roads, either the roads are too busy or the mountain bike twelves they're okay. But you, you know, they're not great. And with travel bikes in a way, the travel bike is a, is a perfect pandemic bike because you can take it off on roads. So you can ride all of those mountain bike trails, which are okay to ride on a gravel bike. But you possibly get a little bit bored on your full assess. and you can ride those cycle paths and you can ride those quiet roads, but, you know, it's just, it's such a, it's such a lovely mixture. Like you can get so much out of, of gravel bikes without. You know, having to push for one thing or the other. And, and that became very clear. And then there's one, one interesting story in the book. And the from Trumper cycles who basically had this idea of building a wooden travel bike, and the idea kind of got shelved initially. And then when lockdown kicked off, that was basically what he focused on and came up with this beautiful piece of work. And, and is all of those little stories I tried to, you know, I think we are all getting a little bit tired of what happened in the last two to three years and you know, it come of a dire consequences for some people as well. But I also. If, if you're looking the positives to take out of like being forced to reconnect with nature, being really seeing the value that if it all fails, you can still go out there and have a bit of an adventure. And even if it's, I dunno, 10 kilometers away from home, that's, what's coming to quite clearly in the book. And, and that was an interesting thing as well. [00:34:19] Craig Dalton: As you thought about the book. And obviously there was a, there was this notion of guide book as a concept, even though you strayed away from that and made it much more personal, but as you thought about great Britain, And across Scotland, England and Wales, presumably you had some notions of like, these are, must have areas that I need to cover. My question is how much of that drove? What ended up in the book versus people you got connected with and the roots that they were saying, you've gotta, you've gotta put this route in the book. [00:34:51] Markus: It was, yeah. So I knew Scotland. Well, you know, and I there's, obviously there's some, there's, there's some bits of Scotland I really want to have featured in there. So I think Scotland, if you look at it it was. It was a bit like looking around my personal environment and you know, this is a cool place to write who do I know in that place? And, you know, do they fit in there? For the other parts of Britain, it was pretty much applying canvas, you know, I and and I think this is, this is, this is quite interesting. I guess there was one another. Bit of a guiding principle behind it is like I'm. If you look at all my work in the UK especially in Scotland, I'm a, think I'm a firm believer in that. The best places to cycle are actually the places that don't get a lot of tourism that are not overwhelmed by people. Because I, I think. Like the popularity of some glaciers, especially in the last five years with channels like Instagram and TikTok and whatever. Like, I, I, I could name a few people in Scotland places in Scotland. I wouldn't want to travel to these days because they are just like, It's for me, it's not an authentic version of what Scotland is. Like. It's a very fabricated and, you know, kind of like influencer kind of based version of what the country is like. And, and, and my, especially in Scotland, my vision, my, my picture of Scotland has always been a very different one, you know, a country which has super friendly people who are actually really, really grateful about you being in a. And, you know, visiting them, whatever. And the other thing I also felt like we, I, I, I do think, you know, I was looking at, so where are people actually living in the UK and, and you will often not find London or Milton Keens or Newcastle upon. In a guidebook because they're big cities and I think your vision of a country to travel to. So would someone who travels to put and necessarily travel to Newcast possibly not. You know, would they, would they choose London for riding a bike? Maybe not. you know, so I thought like, I want to have some, some, I want to have some odd places in there. You know, I think Oakwood around London is amazing. Cause you know, this is, this is where like people sit on top of each other. This is exactly the place where people need to go out, have an adventure. [00:37:24] Craig Dalton: Yeah. I think that approach, it, it sort of serves two masters, right? It, it, one inspires people in London of this idea that they can be a gravel cyclist living in London. And the second thing is, you know, many travelers may find themselves in London. And see that as an opportunity to ride in a place that they never thought they could ride. I, I think about in the United States, I always loathe going to Las Vegas. And then I learned about this mountain bike terrain rights out outside of Vegas that's world class. And all of a sudden it's like, okay, maybe I, I will accept a trip to Vegas because I can go sneak off and do that and get my feel of the outdoors and then experience the Zs of, of, of Las Vegas. [00:38:05] Markus: Yeah. And I guess I think the approach that kind of like, I always found, like you can basically move to any place in the world, as long as you have cool people there, you can do stuff with, you know, you, you, you, you might be in the best place in the world to ride bikes. If there, if you know, if you don't know anyone there and, and, and you, you can't connect to the people. I just, I just think the people are first and, you know, they'll show you. I don't know. And, and then I think you, you get, you get quite, and that's the thing I love about clever riding, you know, you can. There isn't really any, like, there is no such thing as a gravel trail in, especially in Britain, like we don't have those big metal roads. We have some of them, but is the majority of riding over here? it's I would say varied. You know's. Expect some odd things, you know, expect a bit of single trail expect the odd bit of road or whatever. You know, we, we don't have hundreds and hundreds of miles of long, you know, really, really extensive travel roads as such. But I think this is also that, that thing that makes it such a unique place, you know, and it's also, it's also, I. What you find when you come to here, it's the oddity of the place, you know, that any place, the thing. And, and that really came through when I traveled to the places and rode there, especially the places I hadn't really been beforehand. Everyone's proud of the place they live in, which is quite like there hasn't been a single place where people say, oh, you know, it's a. You know, mixed? No, no, they were super, you know, they were, they were, they were, they were. Super passionate about the places they live and, you know, they accept it in some cases, you know, if you wanna go riding a new car, so yeah. You need to go to some areas which are, you know, they're not tourist destinations, but it's, I always find it fascinating. Those are actually the places where you meet some really cool people, some, you know, and you get a really interesting experience. And, and, and that's the thing I. And one thing for me on the political things, we had some, some pretty interesting years in this country of, of division people voted for and against Brexit and Scottish independence were. So there was loads of stuff that, you know, where people. Pitched against each other. And I, I, I, so one thing for me that came, came across in the whole research is there's actually so much more in the country that kind of unites people than it is that it's. Dividing them, you know, and, and, and, and, and the culture over here, like wherever you wanna go, just find a pop , you'll find some interesting people from all walks of life will happily share, you know, beer with you or whatsoever. And, and, and, and, and kind of like, that's the thing I loved. And there was only, it was, it was, for me, it was kind of back to the initial reasons why I moved to, to Britain, to Scotland. Cause people were welcoming. The love it. Good chat. The love to help you. And yeah, it's, it's all really welcoming. And that, that hopefully comes across in the book. [00:41:24] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it definitely does. And again, super interesting approach. I'll put a link to everything in the show notes that people can find this book and some of your other work. And I think it's, it's a fascinating way to explore what gravel looks like in great Britain and get to know a bunch of interesting people along the way. [00:41:42] Markus: Yeah. Yeah. And and it's also, I think one thing I've forgot, which is probably a bit of improvement. Like it's, it is also, I've always found that like the people featured in the book, they're also really happy to share their knowledge, you know? So, you know, just, yeah. Like yeah. If you happen to see them and meet them, speak to them [00:42:02] Craig Dalton: absolutely. Cool. Thanks Marcus. Thanks for the time. [00:42:06] Markus: Yeah. Awesome. Thank you. [00:42:08] Craig Dalton: That's going to do it for this week's edition of the gravel ride podcast. Big, thanks to Marcus for coming on the show. . I loved learning more about gravel riding in great Britain. And I hope you enjoyed it too. Special, thanks to our friends at Trek travel. And that's your own a gravel bike tour. I hope you'll be able to join me. On the November 6th. Trip. Remember, just go to Trek, travel.com and search Girona gravel bike tour during the registration process. Make sure to mention the podcast as they're throwing in a free handlebar bag. If you're interested in connecting with me, please join the ridership@wwwdottheridership.com. It's a free global cycling community. Where you can interact with riders from around the world that are as passionate about gravel cycling. As you are. If you're able to support the show, please visit buy me a coffee.com/the gravel ride. Or ratings and reviews are hugely appreciated. Until next time here's to finding some dirt under your wheels

Charles Reeves of Reeves Sales Company joins us on the podcast today. Charles gives us a rundown of his history in textiles, industry changes, and what he is up to these days. He also has some great thread he is selling from Ozen USA. Make sure to check out the links below to get in touch with Charles. We will also be sewing his thread at the GPX show in Charlotte, so make sure you stop by the booth. Reeves Sales Company - www.reevessalesco.com    textilersc@gmail.comCustome Advertising - www.customad.net           charles@customad.netA & A Enterprises -  charles@aaenterprisesnc.comwebsite:  www.barudanamerica.comInstagram: @barudanamericaFacebook:  Barudan America Incemail: barudanstitchphiles@gmail.comwebsite: www.barudanamerica.comInstagram: @barudanamericaFacebook: Barudan America Incemail: barudanstitchphiles@gmail.comShopBarudan: www.shopbarudan.com

This week we sit down with Nick Marzano to explore his experience during the 2022 Tour Divide.  The 2022 Tour Divide began with over 200 riders following the 2,745-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from north to south starting in Banff, Alberta, Canada and finishing at the US/Mexico border in Antelope Wells, New Mexico. Episode Sponsor: Trek Travel - come join The Gravel Ride Podcast crew on the November 6th trip. Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: Nick Marzano [00:00:00] Craig Dalton: Hello, and welcome to the gravel ride podcast, where we go deep on the sport of gravel cycling through in-depth interviews with product designers, event organizers and athletes. Who are pioneering the sport I'm your host, Craig Dalton, a lifelong cyclist who discovered gravel cycling back in 2016 and made all the mistakes you don't need to make. I approach each episode as a beginner down, unlock all the knowledge you need to become a great gravel cyclist. This week on the show, we've got Nick Marzano from Philadelphia. Here to talk to us about the tour divide. Nick recently finished the tour divide routes during the grand depart from Banff, Canada, and made it all the way to the edge of the border of Mexico. If you don't know about the tour divide, it's roughly follows a route called the great divide mountain bike route, and it's recognized as one of the most important off pavement cycling routes in the United States of America. If not the world, the root criss crosses the continental divide from north to south, starting in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and finishing at the U S Mexico border in antelope Wells, New Mexico. I've been following the tour divide for many years. In fact, in some small part, I credit it with getting me excited. About making the transition from mountain bike, riding to gravel riding. It's an amazing accomplishment. To have achieved this event. It's 2,745 miles, and God knows how much climbing along the way. When Nick picked his head up in the ridership forum and mentioned to the community that he was doing it, I was super stoked to not only follow along. is.as he completed the route, but hear his stories along the way. It's amazing to get a firsthand account of what the tour divide experience looks like. . It varies every year, as you can imagine, with 2,745 miles. Across the United States. You've got all kinds of things to contend with. This year, there were some late season snow up in Canada. Which wreaked havoc. On the race and ended a lot of people's tour divides efforts before they even began. As you'll hear Nick persevered and had an amazing experience out there. It was a real pleasure talking to them. Before we jump into that conversation i need to thank this week sponsor trek travel You may recall last year when we had Trek on talking about the Jarana gravel bike tour, I was super excited. What you don't know is I've been talking about going on this trip since that moment in time. I'm super excited to go to Jarana this year in November, and I'm inviting you to join me. I'm going on the November 6th trip. From Trek travel just you're on a bike tour. You know, Jarana is a cycling gym. There's a reason why all the pros call it home with butter, smooth, tarmac, and perfect weather. But the road riding is just the beginning. And after that conversation with you, and I've looked at a number of routes out of Jarana and I'm super excited to get over there and experience the amazing gravel, the quiet mountain passes and the little villages of Spain. I feel like I've had this trip in my mind for. The entirety of the pandemic, and we're finally pulling it off. Trek wanted me to invite you to join me on this trip. Any of our listeners are going to get a free handlebar bag and a free pair of socks when they joined the trip. You simply head on over to Trek, travel.com and search for the Jerone gravel bike tour. It's a five day four night trip. The team over a, truck's going to handle all the logistics from the hotel to the routes. They're going to have guides on hand. It's actually one of the Trek travel service course locations. So they're gonna have a lot of beautiful track. Demani SL disc brake bikes available for us. As well as the option to bring your own, I'm super excited to get over there myself. We've got a small crew that's already signed up for this trip, but I want to invite you the listener. How amazing would it be for us to finally get together? And in Jarana of all places. I'm certainly looking forward to finally getting some dirt under my wheels in Europe, on a gravel bike. Simply visit truck travel.com. Find that you're on a gravel bike tour and make sure during booking that you mentioned, you're a gravel ride podcast listener, or a member of the ridership to get that free handlebar bag. With that said let's dive right into my conversation with nick Nick welcome to the show. [00:04:42] Nick Marzano: Hey, thanks for having me, Craig. [00:04:44] Craig Dalton: You look surprisingly refreshed considering it's not too long ago, you just completed a 2,700 mile off-road bike ride. [00:04:52] Nick Marzano: Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna rack that up to the, the food monster has been strong. The sleep monster has been strong. I've been, you know, you can indulge in both of those for, for about a solid week. I've been trying to get back to. The sleep has, has rectified itself, the, the nutrition and the food monster. I'm working on getting back to a, a normal diet. But I, yeah, I'm feeling back to a hundred percent for [00:05:15] Craig Dalton: Yeah, I gotta imagine. After an event like the tour divide, you're you just want to eat, eat, eat all day long. [00:05:22] Nick Marzano: You look sort of longingly, like whenever you pass a gas station, like, should I stop and get. 10 Snickers. Should I stop and get some little debes? But, and I typically eat pretty healthy. So it, it is kind of like no holds barred when you're, , when you're only resupplies gas stations for a few days. But yeah, trying to get back to, to some greens in my diet, some fruit [00:05:45] Craig Dalton: Nice. I've given a little bit of preamble in the intro about what the tour divide is, but it's such, it's something I've been following for, gosh, I feel like a decade and it's such an event that if the listener hasn't heard of it, you're going from Canada to Mexico. On gravel effectively, except it's pretty extreme gravel along the way. [00:06:06] Nick Marzano: Yeah, that's, that's pretty much, it, it is mostly dirt. There's some paved sections and this year. I think more than prior years, there were more paved sections because of the initially we were all looking at the, at the black fire in, in New Mexico and, and a couple of other fires that cropped up that forced some some reroutes on pavement. But we made up, we more than made up for that in difficulty with late season snow on the mountain paths in Canada, and then early season monsoons when we hit New Mexico. So it, the route looked a little different this year than it has in years past. Once you hit around New Mexico. But it was still very challenging and a lot of fun. It was very beautiful. [00:06:43] Craig Dalton: With a 2,700 mile plus route, we've got a lot of ground to cover, but as you know, I always like to start off by just learning a little bit more about your background. As a cyclist. And when you discovered gravel cycling and then let's get into, like, when did the tour divide creep into your mind as something you wanted to do? [00:07:01] Nick Marzano: Yeah, it was kind of a rapid progression. So I was a, I'm a, I'm a COVID gravel bike baby around July, 2020. I had, I had wanted to get some kind of, you know, I didn't know the terminology for it until I started researching. I wanted to get something that would, that would allow me to get offroad. I had a hybrid single speed that I had used to try to keep up with people who were doing road rides every now and then if I was on vacation, I used it for commuting almost daily. It was just like a red line, 20 Niner hybrid kicking around Philadelphia. It was great. Did you know, I would, I did like one alley cat race with it. At some point in Philly just used it for ridiculous purposes, but mostly, mostly commuting. And then around 2020, I wanted to transition into something with maybe a little, a little bit of gearing and got my first gravel bike really started listening to, you know, in the research came, wanted to, to find community and, and find some advice and came across the gravel ride podcast. Pretty soon after that. And immediately started signing up for, you know, signed up for like a 60 mile race nearby here to see if, if racing was, was something that was into, I don't remember when the concept of bike packing got a hold of me, but it was pretty quick because by the fall of that of 2020. I was, I, I, I definitely roped a couple of buddies into a 60 mile bike pack trip out to just like an overnight or out to French Creek, state park, which I know you're, I think you're familiar with, from your time out [00:08:31] Craig Dalton: absolutely. [00:08:33] Nick Marzano: Yeah. So it ramped up from there. The following year. I, we had a vacation my partner and I had a vacation planned for the finger lakes. And I said, well, why don't I try to take the long route? I've been reading a lot about bike packing. Let me meet you up at the finger lakes. And I'm gonna take a four day trip and try to link together forest roads and some rail trails that will kind of take me from near Philly up to the New York finger lakes and had fun building that route. Learned a lot, you know, about gear learned a lot about you know, how to plan resupply, how to plan, how long could I make it? I had, I had not done a, I don't believe a, a century ride at that point or had only done one century ride. So figuring out that I could link together, you know, a hundred mile days was kind of a revelation I had planned for six days. I did it in three and change. [00:09:28] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it's kind of hard, like, you know, two things there, one, like it's unusual that you have all day to ride, right? So who knows how long they can ride when they have all day to ride. And two, when you're loaded down on the bike, it's a totally different factor, right? You don't know how long can I ride with a fully loaded bike? [00:09:48] Nick Marzano: totally. Yeah. So , you know, and I, and I had sort of under I conservatively booked each of those days I had put out a sort of an itinerary for myself for six days and was really conservative and realized the other, the other concept with solo bike packing is you get to camp at the end of A long day. And if you're not worn out, you really, you don't wanna get to camp at, at six o'clock seven o'clock, there's nothing to do. You know, I'm fine with solo time. But I think I got into one campsite around like four o'clock and was just sort of twiddling my thumbs for the rest of the night. So I knew, you know, I was capable of, of pushing a little bigger and I can go, I can go further, but I kind of went down, you know, from there. Every couple of months, I would pick an event or design something where I would like add one new challenge to that. And so quickly from 2020, I kind of ramped up in that way. Let me, let me pick a new challenge to sort of add complexity to what I've been doing. Add racing into the mix, add cold weather, camping into the mix. Add, you know, you add rain and, and riding in the elements pretty quickly when you're linking big days. Yeah. And that, you know, Where are we at two years later? I feel like I've got a, a pretty good amount of experience under my belt and at least, you know, 2,600 more miles from the, the tour of divide, [00:11:05] Craig Dalton: And had you, had you had an a background with endurance athletics prior to coming to cycling? [00:11:10] Nick Marzano: Your, you know, your normal running events around Philly, do the broad street run and the Philadelphia marathon a couple of times. But it, it kills my knees. And so I knew. While I still run for just bone health and, and a little cross training that was part of the reason, you know, I wanted to get a bike in 2020 cuz I was I'm. I was pushing 40 at that point. I'm I'm now over 40 and, and wanted something that I could do much longer than I think I'll be able to do running event. [00:11:37] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Do you recall when the tour divide first came into your, your head? [00:11:43] Nick Marzano: Yeah. Yeah, so things ramped up after that finger lakes trip pretty quickly. I reached out to, I reached out to Nelson trees who, who runs the silk road, mountain race and the Atlas mountain race and asked him if I could get a last minute sign up for the Atlas mountain race that. Which is ridiculous and was probably not the right next challenge. If I'm, you know, I've talked about adding sort of stepwise challenges that would've been probably a little out of my wheelhouse, but he accepted my application and I was set to go and it got, it got canceled at the last minute, which worked out perfectly. Because I ended up going to Virginia for something called the trans Virginia five 50. Where I met this great community of bike Packers. It was a much more it's about the same length. It's a little shorter than Atlas mountain. The, the elevation really, and the, the difficulty is, you know, we'll see, I'm going to Atlas next February. We'll see if, if this checks out, but it it's a pretty difficult race. And the elevation is. Not exactly comparable, but it's, it's pretty hefty. So it was a great challenge, nonetheless, and I, you know, more importantly, I met this great community, which gets to, you know, the answer to your question is around December the organizer of the trans Virginia, five 50 Dave Landis reached out to a bunch of us and said, Hey, I'm setting aside the time I'm doing tour divide. Does anybody want to get a little training group together? Anybody who might wanna put this on their, on their calendar? And I think it was like a week after that I talked to my boss at work and said, I've been here 10 years. Can I link together PTO and, and take a month off. This is really important to me. And, and he's great. You know, my company's great. They, they said we support you completely take the time. And, and then I was, I was in, [00:13:31] Craig Dalton: That's amazing. Yeah, I think it's one of the things that as the listener does some research about tour divide and realizes like you really need to have a month long block of time available unless you're one of the elite elite athletes that might be able to do it in half a month. But that that in and of itself is a huge challenge. Let alone just the logistics of planning, your equipment, your nutrition, your pacing, everything else that goes into it. So you, you sign up for the event you graciously get the time off from your employer. You're ready to go in your mind. What type of preparation did you need to do? Obviously you've been doing some of these bike packing races at that point. You'd kind of presumably ironed out a lot of the equipment questions you might have had of what works for you. What type of bags, et cetera, but with a 2,700 mile race over the tour divide based out of Philly, what did you feel like you needed to do to prepare for that start? [00:14:29] Nick Marzano: The one of the very first things I did was get Kurt re Schneider had a, had a sale on his, just like PDF six month training guide. And a lot of people use that for the tour of divide. If you're looking for a place to start, I totally recommend it. I didn't work directly with Kurt, although I got a chance to meet him briefly at, at a. A training ride in, in April and thank him for, for putting that guide together. It was just great to have a framework. So that training framework started in January. It very quickly and. You know, I got a full swift set up because Philly winters are, are really rough and I couldn't get out early enough to not have ice on the road or, or tons of salt on the road. So I, and I was also recovering. I was nursing an injury that I, we can gloss over for now, but a, an injury from a fall on a, on a November bike packing trip that I took with the, the Virginia crew. So, yeah, it was, it was trainer straight through February. I, I started researching gear the Virginia crew and actually another guy out of, out of Philly who, who had also done that trans Virginia race. So I consider him part of that Virginia crew, but we were able to ride together once you know, once we got into late February, March. And that was it. I mean, I, I planned the schedule. I, I did. You know, picking up new equipment. I picked up a, a salsa cutthroat. My first gravel bike was a GT grade and it didn't really have the tire clearance for the sort of mud I knew we would get into or, or for the comfort that I knew I would need. So, it wasn't cheap and there are a lot of barriers to entry that, you know, I, I feel very privileged to have been able to get a second bike that quickly and and get the time off work. But at that point, nothing was really gonna stop me. It was it, you know, that once we all got very dialed on that goal and, [00:16:12] Craig Dalton: do feel like that cutthroat it's if, if you don't want to think about it, there's just so many people who have used that bike that it's kind of a no brainer to go down that road route. If you have the option of getting a new bike for it. [00:16:24] Nick Marzano: totally, [00:16:26] Craig Dalton: I don't wanna get too much into the specific training plan, but I'm just curious, like, were you encouraged to do a bunch of overnights, a bunch of big back to back days? How were you fitting this into your normal work life? [00:16:41] Nick Marzano: Yeah, a lot of it was waking up, you know, 5:00 AM jump on the trainer and it was typically one to two hour rides. Throughout the week, there would be a couple of two hour like high intensity efforts. But it was really just getting that time on the bike and, and doing the base level plan that, that Kurt provides. Then yeah, he does build in, he starts to build in, you know, back to backs. I looked for events like the one in, in April that I mentioned where I met, you know, I got to meet Kurt himself there which was another Virginia part of the Virginia endurance series, like a 250 mile overnighter called rockstar gravel. Which is great, but they, yeah. Other than that, you know, worked with my buddy, Tim, who was the, the gentleman in, in Philly, who I was training with and lined up some more overnights to French Creek and just did our best to find as much elevation and as much gravel as we could around here. That was, that was about it. I mean, the, the timing lined up in life where I, I was able to put a lot of time in the saddle Re it was the, the, the dur during the week rides were really it was really just about jumping on the bike as soon as, as soon as I got up. And, and as long as I did that, it was pretty easy to fit to, to my schedule. [00:17:55] Craig Dalton: When you were riding outdoors, were you always riding fully loaded? [00:18:00] Nick Marzano: No there, that really came closer to the like a month before, maybe a month and a half before there were a bunch of fully loaded ride. [00:18:08] Craig Dalton: Yeah, so to give the listener some perspective and it doesn't have to be precise, but when your bike is not loaded, how much did it weigh? And when you had your full tour divide kit on it, how much did it weigh? [00:18:21] Nick Marzano: So I know it's it's about 21 pounds with nothing else on it. No water, just dry weight with everything on it. I'm estimating also dry weight. No, not counting water. Based on I use air table to kind of just roll up the extra gear that I'm I'm putting on there. I think it was somewhere in the 45 pound range. Dry. Yeah. [00:18:41] Craig Dalton: got it. And as you're thinking about the tour divide, and you're starting on the start line in Canada, what type of mentality did you have with respect to sleep? Obviously, like there's all different ways of going about this and, and it may have very well evolved and changed along the way, but I'm curious as you mapped out, like what your experience was gonna look like I imagine you had a number of days goal in mind. How did that play out? And what was your thought process around. How much you were gonna sleep. [00:19:12] Nick Marzano: Yeah, I knew early on. So I had, I, I wanted to experience one of the, the, the big things I hadn't done, I'd ridden through the night, I'd ridden into like midnight 1:00 AM on the trans Virginia, five 50, but I'd never gotten through the night to see if I was capable of that. What does that feel like? And I used that training ride that rockstar gravel two 50, you know, one of my goals was I may not be competitive in this sort of way, but I'm gonna ride through the night. And I, I did it in, you know, a full push. In like a day and a half, which felt, you know, rough. But I it also didn't feel that bad. I knew, I knew that weapon was there if I wanted to use it. But the tort divide, you know, is a very different race than a 250 mile race. So I knew I wouldn't pull that out unless I was feeling awesome in the third week. And my goal was somewhere between. December before I started training, it was 23 days is what I put in the, the initial sign up. And by the end of that training, I, I was getting a little cocky and had, had posted 19 days as my goal on track leaders. I never, the like the sleep, the sleep thing was always going to be somewhere in the four to six hour mark for the majority of the race. [00:20:21] Craig Dalton: Okay. [00:20:22] Nick Marzano: And I can talk, I'm glad to talk about sleep system. I think that's kind of a lesson learned on that if you want, but yeah, that was the expectation was I wasn't going to crush myself on sleep deprivation and then you know, blow up early on and, and not be, I mean, finishing the race was so much more important than finishing the race in 19. [00:20:40] Craig Dalton: Yep. And so with that mindset around six hours of sleep a day or an evening were you riding that whole time other than resupply and things like that? Or is that sort of saying like, I'm gonna ride, I'm gonna stop and have a lunch. I'm gonna maybe take a nap. I'm gonna ride some more. How did, how did you kind of think about it? [00:20:58] Nick Marzano: it. So the way that I thought about it, oh, well, see, like there were days where this, this thinking didn't play out, but the way I thought of it was I'm gonna ride when I'm not resupplying and when I'm not sleeping. And it was when I looked back at my my data, it, it was more in the like four to five hours a night sort of range. Where that sort of, where that changed is I had a, we, I took a knee for a day as a lot of rider did just before getting into seal lake, there was a big peak Richmond peak that already had one to two feet of snow pack on it. And a, as some of your listeners may have read if they were keeping up with the tour divide, the first few days in Canada, they got hit with another major snowstorm. A lot of riders were airlifted. I came into, into the other side of Richmond peak, a little town called con Montana, soaking wet, and most of my kit was wet. So I took a day because I didn't feel comfortable going up in a snowstorm. So that was a complete day off the bike. Fill out rest. And then there was another day, right around Pinedale, which is about halfway through the race famously where you dump your bear spray, where you're out of grizzly country. Just before Pinedale, I had kind of, I hit a low point and I talked about that a little bit with that was right around the time I talked to Patrick at bikes or death and considered taking an entire other day off the bike and basically taking myself out of race mode entirely. I didn't, but I took some shorter days. and then the closer I got to, you know, once I hit Colorado got into New Mexico, I really found my stride again and was hitting some like 1 50, 200 mile days, which was kind of my expectation going in that I was gonna try to pound like one 50 to 200 a day resupply real quick and then, and then head to bed. So I deviated from that for sure. And it was, it, it was rejuvenating. And I, you know, if I, if I needed to take that time, I needed to take. but that, that was certainly not the plan going into it. [00:22:52] Craig Dalton: Yeah. So impressive. Stepping back for a second. I mean, we think about registering for an event, you know, like an SBT, gravel, or an Unbound, and there's a lottery and you pay an entrance fee. Why don't you talk about what it's like to, to enter toward divide and what it actually means? [00:23:10] Nick Marzano: Yeah. It's so, it's if you've never done a grand apart before The concept is, and, and this is how the trans Virginia five 50 is as well. The concept is that there is a course director and they're going to define the rules and they'll give you more or less information. David with the trans Virginia does an incredible job of outlining what a six day, nine day, 12 day touring pace looks like and what resupply looks like. He's just, he, he, you know, reviews the course each year. He's extremely involved in that the tort divide Is similar in that it's a grand depart where they provide the course, they provide the track leaders link. Matt and Scott I think founded track leaders. And, and so they, they provide the, the tracking, but really, I think I read in the New York times article that Matt Lee calls himself, the chief disorganize or something like that as opposed to the course director they. They're not there to monitor folks along the route. They're not there's, you know, there's obviously no resupply, it's self supported. And you don't really get any information until we got the course maybe a week before. So you sign up on a Google form you, which is your letter of intent basically. And then it's radio silence until, until that GPX file drops. In this case a week before, because they had a lot of detouring to, to figure out with those fires. [00:24:31] Craig Dalton: And is that, is that why you're given the GPS file? Obviously like the root in general is known from. What was it? The the, the mountain bike divide route is the general scope of the route. But that GPX file is, Hey, here's the current up to date thing on what passes are passable, where there's fires, where there's detours. [00:24:51] Nick Marzano: Yeah. So there is the, and there's a lot of confusion on this, by the way, too. There were some riders who didn't have the, the GPX file that you need to from. It's it's posted on, on a very old forum on bike packing.net. It gets reposted into Facebook and linked. There's not, there's not necessarily an email that goes out to all of the folks who signed up on that Google forum. So you really have to be engaged in the community on Facebook and the conversation to even find the file. But it's based on the great divide mountain bike. Which was established by the adventure cycling association, you know, decades ago as a touring route and adapted for racing, you know, in the, in the early odds, late nineties. So even without the Rero for the fires there are a couple of changes that Matt Lee who's the primary course director that he's made over the years to add more challenge. There's. Infamous section early on called Coco claims, which you hit on day one, which is like a six mile section where you are just pushing your bike up boulders at what feels like a 45 degree angle for six miles five miles that is not anywhere on the ACA map. And there are a couple of changes like that here and there. So it is it's distinct, but certainly inspired by and matches up with a large portion of the GD. [00:26:15] Craig Dalton: Yeah, and I know there's a lot of information out there on the internet and people have published guides and whatnot. How researched were you in advance about how you were gonna structure your days and is it confusing on where you're gonna resupply? Are there a lot of challenges there? How much of it do you think you had a handle on versus not when you showed. [00:26:36] Nick Marzano: Man. So there. There are so many more. I can't imagine racing this back when Matt, Matt Lee and, and others were, you know, if you, if you watch the old ride the divide documentary, which I think is on Amazon prime, I, I just, I bought the DVD cuz I, I want to have a hard copy. I can't imagine what that was like these days there are. Some really good resources online. There's a good community of people who have of veterans who are sharing resupply. So you can start to piece things together. What was still overwhelming. I was knowing what it looks like when, when boots hit the ground. Every time I've tried to put together an itinerary, it falls apart on day one because I either feel stronger or I run into. You know, I didn't know how long it would take to make it through some of these snowy sections. You can look at the snow pack layer and try to estimate that and set a target for where you want to get to. But when you put boots on the ground all of that can change. So my approach, which I, I would adapt a little bit if I did this again and, and maybe do a little bit more planning and research was to plan in the morning, set a target in the morning, using the tools that I had and, and. Try to piece together where resupply was going to be day to day, rather than it just felt too overwhelming to try to map the map out. A plan early on that I had had a good feeling I would diverge from immediately. [00:27:58] Craig Dalton: What were some of those tools at your disposal? Obviously you're looking at a map. What kind of apps were you using and were, were other writers sharing information back saying, oh, it took me eight hours to get up this pass. [00:28:10] Nick Marzano: Yeah, that, I mean, that's where it gets tricky because you're, you really shouldn't be. But I think it, it happens for sure. And you can watch track one of the, the tools that is sort of available to everyone. So within the rules is you can look at track leaders and see. Oh, this person was moving at 15 miles an hour, and then they were moving at two miles an hour for about three hours over this pass. So that probably means hike a bike. [00:28:33] Craig Dalton: So are you looking at that in real time? So say you're approaching a pass. Obviously you're aware that it's a 3000 foot climb or whatever. Are you then taking a moment and saying, gosh, well, I should do a little research to see are people crawling up this thing or are people riding? [00:28:46] Nick Marzano: yeah, in some cases for sure. Yeah. And that's kind of the, the benefit, one of the benefits of being. Mid pack or, you know, a little bit behind the, the leaders is if, if so Sahi is, is struggling at three miles an hour going across something, you know, it's pretty gnarly and, and probably hike a bike. And so you can zoom in on track leaders to their history and see those dots get closer together. And that was one tool, the other tools. So the ACA does have a great map. An app that has the map with a lot of resupply information on it. And that was super useful. You just need to be really aware of where that actually lines up with the official race route and not some folks navigated with that app and were relegated because they, they missed some of the, the unique turnoffs that Matthew Lee is built in. The other tools there's, there's a number of guides from a website called one of. Where they, they list resupply. He actually provided some updates to us like a week before, or a couple of days before, once he got the the updated course from from Matthew Lee. So those resources were great. And then there, there were some things that writers share on the Facebook community ahead of time, where people have built out elevation profiles that are really useful. You can kind of get a sense Chris Ellison showed up. I think that was his name showed up at the, at, at the Y w C a in BAMF with these laminated elevation profile maps that also had the terrain type, which you, I couldn't find anywhere else. So you could see when Jeep track was coming up, because that's always going to take you longer than you think it's always gonna be mud or snow. That was really helpful in kind of planning. How fast miles would go? Nothing, nothing really in one place. If this sounds like a hodgepodge, it really was like, let me take a look at the, [00:30:30] Craig Dalton: Yeah. [00:30:30] Nick Marzano: The surface type. Let me take a look at the elevation. Let me take a look at the, you know, whatever the Gaia snow layer looks like. and let me take a look at track leaders and then piecing all of that together. You get a sense for where you could potentially make it that day. [00:30:43] Craig Dalton: It's unquestionable that you just need to continue to be adaptable along the way. And, and, and read the tea leaves, honestly, as to what's going on, you experience so many dramatic bits of weather in the north part of the country, along the way that you couldn't have expected going in, [00:30:58] Nick Marzano: Yeah, it was intense. [00:31:00] Craig Dalton: were you using then sort of a, an iPhone or a mobile phone plus a GPS computer on your bike? [00:31:06] Nick Marzano: yeah, I was following the purple line on my ere, so just, I used like really simple ere 22 X. For most of the navigation and then I had it loaded on ride with GPS as well. If I just needed more detail or, or wanted to make sure I didn't miss turns that were coming up, I [00:31:21] Craig Dalton: I've always read that the tour divide riders tend to favor that eTrex battery powered, old style GPS device versus the bike computer kind of style. [00:31:31] Nick Marzano: Yeah. Some people seemed to get along with the bike computer. No problem. I didn't have. A dynamo hub that it lit my my headlamp really well, but I didn't really trust it to charge anything. It was a little older and had a lot of miles on it and just seemed to I didn't rely on it for, for too much battery management. So I was glad to have the, even though it's it's wasteful, but I was glad to have a, you know, a bunch of spare double A's that I could just throw in the etre. [00:31:57] Craig Dalton: Yeah. For those of you who don't know, dynamo hub actually generates. And stores electricity. Right. And can power something like your headlamp? [00:32:06] Nick Marzano: Yeah, it generates it. I don't think too many of them store it, but it will you know, you can throw power to a headlamp and then, or a a transformer is probably the wrong word converter and use it to charge up a, a cash battery as well. A, a battery bank, power bank. As you go, so during the day you could be charging the bank and then you could flip a switch and have your light on as long as you're going fast enough for that light to be, to be powered. [00:32:28] Craig Dalton: Yeah, I've heard sometimes going uphill. It doesn't actually generate enough to really shine the way. [00:32:34] Nick Marzano: Yeah. I have a sine wave beacon, which I love because it has the, the converter right in it. So. On on another bike where I also have a, a dynamo in my gravel bike, it does charge my cash battery really well during the day. And then I can plug the cash battery into the, to the beacon and power it from that. And it, it SAPs so little energy that I can charge my phone on it as well. So, but yeah, if you're going less than like five miles an hour or so, you're gonna have kind of a strobe light effect until you, until you build up a little. [00:33:06] Craig Dalton: So let's jump over to that grand depart moment. Where is that? And what was the feeling like at that point? Sounds like you had a couple buddies that were there at the start line with you. [00:33:17] Nick Marzano: Yeah, that was really beautiful. It was, it was really cool to be there with, I mean, first of all, bam is, you know, you bike packing is a, is a niche sport. And to be in a place where so many people who, you know, are ready to talk gear who have been investing as much time and energy into this Are are all lining up together and you're running into them at dinner was really exciting. But then to have a group of five, five of us from the east coast who had trained together, been on rides together was really cool. We lined up at the w or Y WCA in BMF, which is the traditional starting point and it was really subdued. There was not. Presentation like Matt Lee doesn't show up. There's not a course director sendoff. We had instructions to go off in waves of about 15, I think which is different than past years where it's just, it's a grand apart. Everybody heads out at the same time. And the reason for that was that Canada parks was a little, they, they were getting a little They were advising Matt Lee that something needed to happen because of the number of people who were showing up 170 people were, were signed up and, and they were a little nervous about 170 people departing. So I think we're doing waves for the foreseeable future with tour divide. And it seemed to work really well. Nobody was there flagging us off. It was just sort of, you know, we would check and say, is it, is it time? Is it seven 20? All right. We're going everybody. And everybody. Left and, and that was it. It was the start and finish are. So anti-climatic that it's, it's you know, it kind of underscores what bike packing is all about. We're all out there to ride our own race and have, you know, an experience that's inevitably gonna be really personal. And I love that about the sort of subdued start and finish of Tor divide, especially, but a lot of, a lot of races you'll finish in the middle of the night and nobody will, nobody will be around to to welcome you in. And there's something special about that. As fun as, you know, finish lines of at parties at big gravel races can be a lot of fun too. [00:35:14] Craig Dalton: Did you have an expectation of riding with some of the members of your crew? Or was it clear that you guys were gonna be on different paces? [00:35:20] Nick Marzano: Yeah, this is where I don't, I don't know if not that I was in any sort of contention. I don't know if I'll relegate myself for this, cuz this rule is kind of unclear you can't draft for sure. And there was no drafting. But you know, we come from the east coast. We don't have Grizzlies out here and none of us were scared out of our, out of our you know, mountain bike shoes. But we. We're gonna ride. I was gonna ride together with one or two of them through grizzly country and ended up riding with, with David Landis for a large portion of it. And riding together, didn't always look like riding side by side. We would end up at the same place. Often start from the same place. He, he, for a couple of days was on a middle of the day nap schedule and I I'm not a napper, so he would. Roll off to the side of the road and then catch up with me a little bit later. But yeah, grizzly country, it was nice to have just that conversation prevents you from having to yell hay, bear all the time as you're going through those areas. [00:36:16] Craig Dalton: Yeah, that makes sense. I gotta imagine it's. Yeah, it's next to impossible to imagine that over that distance, you're gonna feel the same. Throughout the day and nights and wanna ride at the same pace. Even there, like you said, you may end up in the same places. [00:36:31] Nick Marzano: Yeah. Having like I had explicit conversations with Tim who we started. We, we did sort of our pre ride together and we were we're supposedly, we were like on the same pace we had 19 day, 20 day goals and he, he changed up his pace pretty soon wanted to ride sort of a different race, but we had had an explicit conversation early on. We're each gonna ride our own race and if it works to ride together, great, if not, we'll yell hay, bear a lot, and we'll, we'll figure it out. David, who is just an incredibly strong rider. And I, I didn't think I was gonna be able to keep up with, I was able to keep up with him. And so that was really cool for me. It was, it was, it worked out, but we also had an explicit conversation. At breakfast one morning, we were like, Hey, you know, if you need to take off or, or if you're worried about what it looks like for us to be riding next to each other it's probably more of a concern. If you're at the front, it might look like you're drafting on track leaders. But more importantly for each of our own races, like, you know, I get it. If you need to take off, if you're feeling really good and you need to take off, or you're gonna, you're gonna do an overnight push an overnight. And I can't do that. You ride your race and it just worked out. [00:37:37] Craig Dalton: Let's paint the picture of what, what happens at night when it's time to lay your head down? [00:37:43] Nick Marzano: Yeah, well, so it, it involved more motels this year than I than I had planned for, for sure. [00:37:50] Craig Dalton: I, I mean, I, I can't blame you and a couple long bike trips that I've done, like having a night in a hotel in the middle just meant all the difference in the world. It just felt so refreshed. [00:38:00] Nick Marzano: Yeah, I knew it would be somewhere on like maybe 40% it's in bear country. If you don't find a pit toilet and there's, you know, some of the motels are pretty affordable. It's refreshing after a 200 mile day to just get four hours in a bed. And I think it did help with saddle sores were not, were not a huge issue. They, you know, But yeah, I mean the, the night basically looked like rolling in at 11, 12, sometimes two or 3:00 AM to a motel or rolling out my B and. Quick. I mean, it's, it's resupply. It is prep your stuff, and I got better at this. As we went along, hit a resupply cram as many calories as you can try to cram some protein in there as well. Try to drink as much as you can, so you don't go to bed dehydrated or wake up even more dehydrated. Figure out what your sleep situation is. If it's Bing down or if it's grabbing a motel, do that very quickly and then make a plan for tomorrow. And fall asleep as quickly as you can, so you can maximize that time. So that is really the tiring part of, I like the riding certainly physically exhausts you and, and makes that part harder. But the time management of making sure, as soon as you're off the bike, you do those sort of things. Is that wears on you after three weeks? For sure. I can't imagine. I mean, it gives me such a greater appreciation for Sophie on and Actually a member of our Virginia sort of crew Abe Kaufman finished fourth overall first American, like these are folks who are doing that at a much higher level than I was even doing that for sure. And, and it's still exhausting. Like just, you need to be on as soon as you get off the bike and make sure that you're maximizing that time. And then you wake up and throw your stuff on. Try not to Dole too much and, and get right back out. [00:39:47] Craig Dalton: How concerned were you about your busy situation and in terms of warmth when you're in the Northern part of the country? [00:39:54] Nick Marzano: Warmth, not at all. It was more about the wet. I would take a tent if I went again and oddly, you know, David had sort of the opposite reflection. He brought a tent and, and would've preferred prefer to bivy. But I think I would've been a little bit bolder camping out in some of the wetter areas. If I had had something a little more substantial but my B would let water in if it was more than a little sprinkle and then my down sleeping bag would be wet and then I would be cold and, and wet. And that's not a good recipe. [00:40:23] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Did you have days where you were concerned about where you were gonna lay your head that night? [00:40:31] Nick Marzano: Not not completely. I mean, the nice, the nice thing about the root is that there are a lot of, there are a couple of, of, of tricky sections, but really if you, if you have a B, I didn't get into a bad spot where I was, I was really worried. And I had an emergency plan. I mean, I had a ground cloth wi with me that if, if I was really caught out in a storm, I could cover myself with that, get into some dry clothes, try to get under a tree. Or at the very least find, find some sort of awning or overhang. So I never got into a, a tricky situation with that. I think I just think a tent would've been more comfortable. [00:41:09] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Gotcha. Yeah, it sounds like, I mean, there's so many unknowns yet, so much information out there that you just try to, I imagine you just try to fill your head with as much information as possible. So as we were talking about before each morning, you can say, okay, I'm in this location, kind of think I can get to here. I kind of know there's a resupply there. I kind of know there's a place where I can get some shelter and then just keep plowing forward. [00:41:35] Nick Marzano: Right. Yeah. And, and you'll make mistakes on that. I, I certainly did. We picked We both got into Del Norte, Colorado around the same time and David was like, I'm gonna get a motel. And I'm like, all right, well, I heard that there's free camping in the park. And I feel like I'm doing too many motels, so I'm gonna go camp in the park. He's like, all right, let's go camp in the park. So he was, we were, we were gonna set up a camp there together. He's got a tent so he could have broken the tent out. But I was, I was like, look at, I'm gonna go sleep under this band shell up here. It was threatening to rain. So it was like that, that looks like, you know, we could have slept, I could have rolled out my B in the toilet nearby and probably been fine. But the band shell looked like plush digs. So we went for it and around one 30 apparently this is like, well known to veterans and we are not the first to get literally hosed by, by this thought process. We the park sprinklers go off at, at one 30 in the morning. And completely. So we were protected from rain from above, but we were not protected from these fire hose, industrial sprinklers that went off at one 30 in the morning, soaking us with what felt like just heavy water I mean, it was, I don't know if there was fertilizer in it or what it was, but it was not pleasant and we spent a lot of time drying out after that. So yeah, things didn't always, didn't always work out as planned, but they. Most of the time, if you have the right info going in and you've, you've prepared enough and you know, what your, what your limits are, which I think I do. And also how, you know, how far I can push them. You can get yourself to a, you know, to a good spot to sleep almost every night. [00:43:10] Craig Dalton: That's an amazing story. How concerning is water supply along the. [00:43:15] Nick Marzano: There are a couple of sections where it's you should bring more than two liters. Most, most of the root I would be fine with two liters on my fork. Two, one liters on my fork. And then a filter along the way. And a lot of the mountain passes. You would just, it, it would be flush with water. Couple of sections towards. Especially in New Mexico where resupply and running water are a little rough. The basin is famously the, the Wyoming, the great basin in Wyoming is a nice I forget how long the stretch is, but it's over a hundred miles where you're not gonna find resupply and there's no running water in a, a big geographic basin. And. So I just had a, I had a bladder, a three liter bladder that I would fill maybe halfway and have a couple of extra liters for those sections. [00:44:02] Craig Dalton: Is that a bladder that you're going into your frame bag, that, that massive bladder. [00:44:06] Nick Marzano: Yep. I just threw, just threw it in my frame bag and then would take it out and use it to refill the, the liters on the fork. [00:44:12] Craig Dalton: Were you generally avoiding carrying anything on your back? [00:44:17] Nick Marzano: Yeah. Yeah. Some people do the hydration thing. I've just. I wasn't sure how my back would react over three weeks with a couple of extra pounds on it. So, I've avoided it, but I also haven't tried it before, so it's, you know, certainly a solution. I saw a lot of writers using [00:44:33] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Yeah. I think it would be concerning just putting any extra weight on your back, given how much torture I'll put it, your back may take along the way. [00:44:41] Nick Marzano: Yeah, for sure. [00:44:43] Craig Dalton: What are some of the highlights along the way? I don't know what the best way to organize. This is such a long event, but maybe state by state, some of the things you enjoyed and loved about the. [00:44:53] Nick Marzano: Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. Thinking about some of the highlights was a lot of fun earlier today where you, you told me you might might throw that one at me. And it was nice going, going back through those memories. I think the snow snowy passes were really challenging. But it was also beautiful. And there were two in particular red Meadows pass. I hit midday where a couple of the passes early on. I had hit, I mean, I went over the pass just before the American border at, at 1:30 AM. And so that was kind of, that was kind of scary. I was sort of falling asleep on my bars as I was hiking through it. Didn't wanna fall asleep in, in the middle of a, a snowy mountain. Red Meadows. My breaks had been cashed early that morning. I didn't have replacement breaks. I had to make it, you know, a hundred miles to white fish to get a, get to a bike shop. And so walking over a mountain pass was like, I, I no breaks, no problem. Right. I, nobody needs breaks when you're hiking your bike over. Six miles of, of snow. And it was midday. It was warm. I was by myself at this point, David was, was behind or ahead I think, and I threw, I threw some like eighties music on and, and just some, some like dance music. And had a party just sort of dancing myself down, down the mountain to music probably expending like way too much energy, but sort of just shuffling my bike down and, and having a blast. Then Kirsten ended up. So are you, are you familiar with Kirsten at, at brush mountain lodge? And so she is She is famous within the Tor of divide and, and her brush mountain lodge is like the place that you hit after the basin, where you can get, you know, she has a pizza oven, it sort of, pay as you wish. You can stay there if, if you want. But it becomes sort of this VOR. She calls it the vortex where people it's just so nice to. To hang out and it, it it's sort of like the Bermuda triangle, like racers struggle to get out of it. And she had said a few months before the race started, Hey, you know, we're taking some time. I'm not gonna be there this year. Really sorry. But my family needs to, we're gonna do some strategic planning and reset where we're at. So I'll have, you know, maybe vending machines there I'll have, I'll have water for you, but you're not gonna get the full treatment this year. And that was kind of a. You know, a bummer for everyone understanding that she's gotta take time for herself, but is such a you know, she's such a piece of, of, of the tour divide lore, and, and she's a legend. So I showed up there and a bunch of racers were hanging out. It looked like they were eating pizza. I was like, what is happening here? This looks, if I step back in time and Kirsten was there because. For whatever. There, there was a a rainbow family gathering nearby that sort of forced her hand, somebody needed to staff this, this lodge just outside of Steamboat. So it was great. I got to chat with her. It was a bit of a vortex. I hung out for three hours there with a couple of other riders who I hadn't had a chance to catch up with. And then so that was, that was beautiful. The other, do you have time for, for two more highlights? How's [00:47:49] Craig Dalton: more highlights. Let's do it. [00:47:51] Nick Marzano: So the, before we hit the, we got, we got doused with those sprinklers in Del Norte. I had had this is a lowlight highlight. I had had a great day trying to, to breeze into Del Norte after I think 153 miles was the full. And right around right around the one 40 mark it always seemed like the last 10 to 14 miles of the day would be the hardest and they would sneak up on you. I hit Jeep track. That was Sandy. It was dark. And I didn't think I was gonna make the gas station resupply and was like outta food. I was outta water. I was done. There was nothing else open in Del Norte apart from this gas station. Pushed through all of that you know, slogged through that hit gravel was just burning at 17, 18 miles an hour down this, this gravel path to get into Del Norte in the last couple of miles, look at at Google maps and it's closed early. It, you know, according to the resupply, it should be open an hour later. Google says it's closed. So I kind of, you know, the wind goes outta my sales. That was gonna make it with like half an hour spare. But I keep pushing and come to find it's the lights are still on. It was, the Google was wrong. It was still open. So that was, that was beautiful. The, the last one I had my first major mechanical right out of, outside of lake abike, which is about 30 miles outside of Santa Fe and the route doesn't go through Santa Fe. Hub froze up and I just couldn't get my hub to grab. It was, it was grabbing every, you know, three or four pedal strokes, but I was just spinning out other than that. And so I could either try to like limp 150 miles to the next to silver city, which was probably more than 150 at that point. Or I could go off route and take time that I I would just lose trying to get down to Santa Fe. And I, I picked getting down to Santa Fe hitch hiked, which is allowed once you're off route, you can, for a mechanical, you can, you can take motorized support. Got picked up almost immediately by two incredibly kind, like one after the other hitch hitchhiker or drivers had great conversations with them. Got dropped off at the bike shop bike shop, fixed me up in two hours. I'm usually not this bold, but I went up, I had had, I'd been having good conversation with all of the guys down at mellow Velo bikes in Santa Fe and, and went up to the owner was like, Hey, I have to ask. I, you know, I wouldn't be this forward usually, but any, any chance you could gimme a ride back an hour north of here to where I left off so I can get some more miles in today. And he looked at me and he was. I was already thinking about it. Let me, you know, he gave one of his employees his, his keys and got me back up there. And the whole episode start to finish lost me five and a half hours, which is just mind blowing and these, these races. And I'll, I know I can, I can go on for a while, but the, these races can be Self supported. I don't think means self isolating and there can be kind of this mentality that we're all sort of Jeremiah Johnson's out there, but meeting people and having experiences like that along the route which I hope to pay forward in my life after that is just, that is one of the most meaningful parts of it. And that was probably, you know, went from a mechanical. That was a huge bummer and, and kind of put me into problem solving mode. When I wanted to just be in ride mode. But it turned into one of the best days of the whole trip. Because you know, the, there were, there were five people out there between the, the, the hitchhiker folks and, and mellow Velo who were absolutely like, didn't hesitate to help someone out. And that was, that was, that was really cool. [00:51:34] Craig Dalton: Yeah, such a special memory. And it's funny, I I've heard a couple other people mention that just. Leaving the tour divide with that notion that paying it forward in life is important because as you've just described, you had this moment, which could have been really shitty. Like it's not life ending or life threatening, but you could have spent 24 hours trying to get your stuff sorted out. And the fact that strangers helped you got you to a bike shop. The bike shop realized what you were doing realized, Hey, two hours out of their day out and back to get you back on. It's gonna mean the world to you and, and not much to them. And I'm sure they have the similar alternative side of that memory. Like I just did someone a solid and it probably felt good to them as well. [00:52:19] Nick Marzano: For sure. [00:52:20] Craig Dalton: Yeah. So, I mean, we could go on and on it's it's the tour divide has always been fascinating to me for all the reasons you've described along the way. It just sounds like this epic life adventure. That is gonna unfold as it unfolds. It's gonna be different every year. I know you guys experienced a lot of rough weather up in the early parts of the race in the north, getting outta Canada and to persevere through that and know that, Hey, you're gonna be on your bike for 21 days or whatever it amounted to, and you're gonna have good days and bad days. But the important thing is to just keep forward. [00:52:55] Nick Marzano: Yeah, that is, you know, JP to very repeats that a lot. If you, if you follow him on, on Instagram or Facebook, that's his, his motto. And I don't know if he coined this or it's or got it elsewhere, but yeah, riding forward, just whatever, however, you're feeling, jump on your bike. I think I, it wasn't so much life changing as, as affirming in a lot of ways. And one of them is, is that, that there is, there is so much mutability in. The weather in your attitude in, and if you can make as a principle that you just jump on your bike and don't wait for the good times to happen, but know that they will be there, deal with, if the train is tough right now, it's tough right now. It will be good. Later if it's good right now, don't set up an expectation that it will be good at mile at the, you know, the last 14 miles of the day, because oddly, those are always the hardest. It will be tough later. And if you can still jump on your bike and just ride forward regardless. And I didn't, you know, I wasn't perfect at that. I, like I said, in Pinedale, I took a day where I had to really think whether I wanted to keep riding forward. , but I hope that what you get out of this, what I get out of it hopefully is that I can reflect on that. And in moments where I'm struggling to ride forward in life in, in certain ways that I can, you know, return back from this super selfish, selfish endeavor, right. Where I'm spending a lot of money and time on myself and come back ready to like ride forward for others, pay it forward for others. And, and. You hope that all that time reflecting over three weeks on, on how you responded to those challenges can translate into something for for your return to society, to normal society. [00:54:41] Craig Dalton: Nick, I can't think of a better sentiment to end on. Amazing. I appreciate so much you sharing the story with me. As I said, opening up in this conversation offline. I hope this serves as a little archive of your experience and I, I know you got a little bit of joy outta reflecting on what some of those high points were. So thanks again. It means a lot that you shared their story with me. [00:55:02] Nick Marzano: Yeah, thank you for the opportunity, Craig. It's been great, great meeting you and getting to talk to you. [00:55:06] Craig Dalton: Cheers. Yeah. So that's going to do it for this week's edition of the gravel ride podcast, chapeau to Nick for that amazing accomplishment on the tour divide. I have to say every time I talked to someone about that route, I get more and more excited about dreaming to do it someday and myself. Huge. Thanks to our friends attract travel. I really hope you can join me in Gerona in November on the November six. Departure of the Jarana gravel bike tour. Simply visit Trek, travel.com. And search for a drone, a gravel bike tour. And remember to mention the podcast as you'll get a free handlebar bag. With your registration. If you're looking to connect with me or have any questions. Feel free to join the ridership. That's www.theridership.com. Nick is actually an active member of the ridership. So I'm sure if you have any follow-up questions for him on the tour divide, he'd be happy to respond. And if you have any questions about this gravel bike tour that we're doing in November with track, feel free to hit me up directly. I'm really looking forward to meeting some of you guys and girls out there this year has been far too long since we've gotten together. Until next time here's to finding some dirt under your wheels  

Antihypertensive and antioxidant activity in black beans National Polytechnic Institute (Mexico)   16 July 2022    Beans are one of the most important crops for the Mexican population due to its nutritional qualities. In fact, the country is one of the top 10 producers of this legume in the world, and several studies have reflected the correlation between consumption and decreased chronic degenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes.   Therefore, the National School of Biological Sciences of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN-ENCB), conducted an investigation to evaluate the antioxidant and antihypertensive activity in black beans, and found that in addition to these qualities, proteins in the bean can remove heavy metals from the body.    The polytechnic research identified bioactive peptides in the legume that have a beneficial effect as antihypertensive and antioxidant, which could favor the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, with a specific effect on blood pressure and oxidative stress.    It was determined that fasolina and lectin hydrolysates (main proteins in the Jamapa black bean) had chelating activity (removal of heavy metals in the body) and, when hydrolyzed with pepsin-pancratin, they release peptides (amino acids) with antihypertensive and antioxidant effects.    Could Eating Fruit More Often Keep Depression At Bay? Aston University (UK), July 15, 2022 People who frequently eat fruit are more likely to report greater positive mental well-being and are less likely to report symptoms of depression than those who do not, according to new research from the College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University The study found frequent fruit eaters had greater positive mental wellbeing The study surveyed 428 adults and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweet and savoury food snacks and their psychological health The more often people ate fruit, the lower they scored for depression and the higher for mental well-being. Published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the study surveyed 428 adults from across the UK and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweet and savoury food snacks, and their psychological health. People who frequently snacked on nutrient-poor savoury foods (such as crisps) were more likely to experience 'everyday mental lapses' (known as subjective cognitive failures) and report lower mental wellbeing. A greater number of lapses, was associated with higher reported symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression, and lower mental wellbeing scores.       Effect of Short-term Quercetin, Caloric Restriction in Late Life Effective to Counter Age-Related Oxidative Macromolecular Damage. Pondicherry University (India), July 13, 2022   According to news from Pondicherry, India, research stated, "Aging is characterized by gradual accumulation of macromolecular damage leading to progressive loss of physiological function and increased susceptibility to diverse diseases. Effective anti-aging strategies involving caloric restriction or antioxidant supplementation are receiving growing attention to attenuate macromolecular damage in age associated pathology." Research from Pondicherry University, "In the present study, we for the first time investigated the effect of quercetin, caloric restriction and combined treatment (caloric restriction with quercetin) on oxidative stress parameters, acetylcholinesterase and ATPases enzyme activities in the cerebral cortex of aged male Wistar rats.  Our results demonstrate that combined treatment of caloric restriction and quercetin significantly improved the age associated decline in the activities of endogenous antioxidant enzymes [such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)] and glutathione (GSH), and nitric oxide (NO).  According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Finally, we conclude that combined treatment of caloric restriction and quercetin in late life is an effective anti-aging therapy to counteract the age related accumulation of oxidative macromolecular damage."       How Drinking Soda on a Hot Day Can Damage Kidneys, Leading to Diabetes, Heart Disease University of Buffalo, July 18, 2022 Research demonstrates the acute deleterious effects soda can have on your kidney function when used to quench your thirst during exertion on a hot day. Drinking soda causes dehydration and raises markers for kidney disease when consumed after performing manual labor or exercise in 95-degree Fahrenheit weather. When you exert yourself in a hot environment, your body regulates blood pressure and conserves water by reducing blood flow to your kidneys. A sudden and steep drop in blood flow through your kidneys can cause acute kidney injury due to the fact that it reduces the amount of oxygen being delivered to your kidneys. Your diet has an overriding influence over the health of your kidneys, with sugar and excess protein topping the list of food components known to cause problems when consumed regularly. The study, published in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, found soda caused dehydration and raised markers for kidney disease when consumed after performing manual labor in 95-degree F. weather. “The volunteers completed … a 30-minute treadmill workout followed by three different five-minute lifting, dexterity and sledgehammer swinging activities. After 45 minutes of exercise, the volunteers rested for 15 minutes … while drinking 16 ounces of either a high-fructose, caffeinated soft drink or water. After the break, they repeated the cycle three more times for a total of four hours. Before leaving the laboratory, the volunteers were given more of their assigned beverages to drink before consuming any further fluids. The volume was either 1 liter or a volume equal to 115% of their body weight lost through sweating if that amount was greater.” When volunteers drank soda, 75% of them had elevated levels of creatinine in their blood, a marker for kidney injury. Only 8% of participants in the water trial had elevated creatinine. When drinking soda, volunteers also had: A lower glomerular filtration rate, another marker for kidney injury Higher uric acid levels Mild dehydration Higher levels of vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone that raises blood pressure       Black Seed Oil Extract Causes Oral Cancer Cells To Self-Destruct Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (Taiwan), July 20, 2022      A range of chemotherapeutic options for treating cancer are available, however many of the treatments are themselves associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Today many cancer sufferers search for alternatives to conventional chemotherapy. Increasingly natural alternative options are becoming available, often with little or no side-effects and concrete science is proving the effects of many natural substances against cancer.   One substance which is increasingly making the headlines is thymoquinone, an active component of Nigella sativa or black seed oil. Scientists from the Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Taiwan, have found that this remarkable compound elicits cytotoxic effects on various squamous cancer cell lines through various mechanisms.  The study examined a highly malignant strain of squamous cell carcinoma, which was taken from various patients with oral cancer; this particular cancer type also causes many other cancers of the head and neck.   The cell lines were grown in a lab and treated with different concentrations of thymoquinone. The results showed that after just 24 hours of treatment there was a significant concentration-dependent cytotoxic effect on these cells. The study further examined why this was happening. Their findings are quite remarkable as they were able to demonstrate that thymoquinone was a potent inhibitor of oral cancer cell viability via two distinct anti-neoplastic mechanisms.     No bones about it: Cannabis may be used to treat fractures Tel Aviv University researcher finds non-psychotropic compound in marijuana can help heal bone fissures Tel Aviv University (Israel), July 19, 2022 A study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research by Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University researchers explores another promising new medical application for marijuana. According to the research, the administration of the non-psychotropic component cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) significantly helps heal bone fractures. The study, conducted on rats with mid-femoral fractures, found that CBD -- even when isolated from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive component of cannabis -- markedly enhanced the healing process of the femora after just eight weeks. Undeniable clinical potential The same team, in earlier research, discovered that cannabinoid receptors within our bodies stimulated bone formation and inhibited bone loss. This paves the way for the future use of cannabinoid drugs to combat osteoporosis and other bone-related diseases. "We found that CBD alone makes bones stronger during healing, enhancing the maturation of the collagenous matrix, which provides the basis for new mineralization of bone tissue," said Dr. Gabet. "After being treated with CBD, the healed bone will be harder to break in the future." The researchers injected one group of rats with CBD alone and another with a combination of CBD and THC. After evaluating the administration of THC and CBD together in the rats, they found CBD alone provided the necessary therapeutic stimulus.   OCCUPY PEACE & FREEDOM RALLY INFO Saturday, July 23 -- 2:00 pm Kingston, NY (at the historical 4 corners -- Crown and John Streets) Speakers: Gerald Celente Judge Andrew Napolitano Gary Null Scott Ritter Phil Giraldi (former CIA official) Live music, food and drink

In this month's podcast – Grid reference finder, how to convert a reference from anywhere around the world Garmin's Topo Active maps – an recent update to solve a past problem for updating these maps Wireless transfer and following a course – a new addition to our two-day GPS training course Andy's top tips So, without a further a do let's get on with this month's GPS Training Podcast   Grid reference finder Website - https://gridreferencefinder.com/ What is it? UK type in Postcode, address, or Grid ref , X Y Eastings Northings, Lat Long – it then displays all of the above eg just type in the postcode you then have Grid Ref info for GPS device How can we use it? Example Converting foreign ref's for customers stops in Spain into easy-to-understand format for Garmin basecamp to create Waypoints – will run through the process of what I did On our course, we look at finding Grid references etc. to get to the starting point for a Route To find out more about Grid Ref Finder -  https://gridreferencefinder.com/   Garmin Topo Active maps Preloaded on etrex22/32 GPSMap65s, GPSMap66i, GPSMap66Sr, Montana 700i & 750i Fenix 7 sapphire range all have Topo Active Europe as well (+Ski Maps)Great Map to use when you are abroad, especially in conjunction with GPX files to follow overlayed on top of the map Cover all of Europe- Free Updates, Latest updates earlier in the year have added more detail for some countries including Contour Lines – this is great but does take up more memory Full Topo Active – Nearly 8gb Now 3 x Regions West – 2.50gb East – 2.50gb Central – 2.72gb City navigator – Nearly 6gb For etrex22/32 Montana 700i & 750i you need to really use a 16gb Micro Card In our Tips, we will go into this in more detail   Wirelessly transfer and following a course We discussed in last month's Podcast the new feature – following a course Andy, if people did not listen to last month's podcast – What is a course? Thanks to my participants on last weekend's Garmin Course, Rothbury, for being my Guinea Pigs. We have now brought it into our day one syllabus on our 2-day Garmin GPS course Garmin GPS Training Courses (two day, nationwide) - South Downs New Forest Northamptonshire Gloucestershire Peak District Lake District Northumberland Scottish Borders   To find out more about our GPS courses please go to our website – GPSTraining.co.uk > GPS Training Courses (top Menu bar) > Garmin Classroom-based courses   The next thing on this month's GPS Training Podcast is Andy's top tips New Feature in Garmin Express for windows / mac currently with Montana 700i / 750i after last software updates – Manage Maps When you check for updates you as not enough memory now for all maps new Feature manage Maps City navigator – Change Region – as well as full Europe split into 10 x Options Topo Active Full Europe or either East, Central, West West UK, Port, Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, madeira, Canaries, Azores East – Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey etc Central the rest More flexible saves potential use of micro card Other units etrex22/32 or if you want all on 700i, 750i separate 16gb card (max 32gb) 65s, 66u, 66sr standard Montana 700 for time being okay When viewing Topo Active Maps for more details goto Setup – Map – Advanced detail level Normal change to More or Msot   To find more top tips please do sign up for the GPS Training online resource, this is packed full of video top tips. Go to our website – gpstraining.co.uk and click on the – Online resource – on the top menu bar

Allereerst een waarschuwing, lieve luisteraar. Want in dezelfde kamer als waar wij dinsdagmiddag een podcast opnamen, lag de dochter van Martijn te slapen. En dat ging gepaard met enig gesnurk. Daarom deze disclaimer: No children are harmed during the recording of this episode. Terug naar de fietswereld. Want we hebben eindelijk onze Longest Day voltooid. Een loodzware, hete en lange marteltocht door Nederland, Belgie, Duitsland, Luxemburg én Frankrijk. En dat allemaal met de start/finish in Maastricht. Het werd een dag om nooit te vergeten. We praten je helemaal bij. Nog meer moois beleefden we begin juni op militair oefenterrein De Vlasakkers. We waren door kapitein Luuk uitgenodigd om legaal op dit terrein te komen fietsen, nadat we dit vroeger een keer illegaal hadden gedaan (en door de Marechaussee terecht van het terrein werden gebonjourd). We kregen fietsles, genoten van de prachtige omgeving en zijn de mannen en vrouwen van de militaire selectie meer dan dankbaar. Handige linkjes:- GPX van The Longest Day- Zo verstop je een AirTag op je fiets- Check hier de uitgebreide fotoreportage van The Longest Day! We zijn er volgende week woensdag weer, dan vanuit de Tour de France! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/tweewielers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we sit down with the author of Gravel Rides Scotland, Ed Shoote to learn about the history of gravel cycling in Scotland and why it should be on top of your list of gravel travel destinations. Gravel Ride Scotland Book Episode sponsor: Athletic Greens Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: Gravel Rides Scotland [00:00:00] Craig Dalton: Hello, and welcome to the gravel ride podcast, where we go deep on the sport of gravel cycling through in-depth interviews with product designers, event organizers and athletes. Who are pioneering the sport I'm your host, Craig Dalton, a lifelong cyclist who discovered gravel cycling back in 2016 and made all the mistakes you don't need to make. I approach each episode as a beginner down, unlock all the knowledge you need to become a great gravel cyclist. This week on the podcast. We welcome ed chute. He's the author of gravel ride Scotland. Many of you frequent listeners of the podcast will know I'm a big fan of the idea of gravel travel. So when this book came across my desk, I was super excited to dig in. I hadn't thought much about riding in Scotland and after seeing some of the pictures and reading some of the descriptions of these rides, it's definitely on my list of places to go. We dig in a little bit about the history of gravel roads in Scotland, how ed came to the sport of gravel cycling and what inspired him to write this great resource guide for all of us, I'll put a link to the book in the show notes. Everybody knows how to find it. And I hope you enjoy the conversation with ed. Before we jump in i need to thank this week sponsor our friends at athletic greens. Athletic greens is literally a product that I take every day. I discovered athletic greens many years ago, as I was recovering from my treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. I was looking for something that had the vitamins, minerals and probiotics that I needed to kind of just give me baseline support. After I was through that difficult period of my life. I realized that this was sort of a baseline thing I needed for all my athletic endeavors as well. With one scoop of athletic greens, you're absorbing 75 high quality vitamins minerals, whole food source, superfoods. Probiotics and APTA gins. To help you start your day, right? It's a special blend of ingredients to support your gut health. Your nervous system, your immune system, your energy, your recovery, your focus and aging. All the things. I went out on a wet ride with my friend, Jason. On Sunday of this week, we got caught out there on our gravel bikes and relate to a little bit of a punishing day. From a weather perspective. I was pretty drained and I actually, when that happens to me, I come back and I take a second. Cup full of athletic greens, just figuring I'm going to just top it off. When my energy is depleted, it's something that I mixed with ice and shakeups. So it's pretty simple. It's something I travel with in little packets. It's pretty easy to get into a routine. And for me, I've just always felt comfortable that again, I'm covering my nutritional basis . I encourage you to check it out, to see if it's something that might fit for you to make it easy. Athletic greens is going to give you a free one year supply of immune supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is that the athletic greens.com/the gravel ride. Again, that's athletic greens.com/the gravel ride. To take ownership of your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance. Would that business from our friends out of the way, let's jump right into my interview with ed. Hey ed, welcome to the show. [00:03:28] Ed Shoote: Alright, thanks for having me on, [00:03:30] Craig Dalton: Cheers. Where are you located today? [00:03:31] Ed Shoote: So I'm just south of Edinburgh in Scotland. So a little town called peoples it's a. [00:03:37] Craig Dalton: for the listener. This is all gonna come together. Why it's important that he's in Scotland and what we're going to be talking about today. As I mentioned in the intro. We always like to start off ed, just by getting a. little bit about your background and maybe how you discovered cycling and when off-road cycling became a passion of yours. [00:03:55] Ed Shoote: Yeah. So, for those you who know accents I've not got a Scottish accent. So actually I grew up in the Southeast of England in this. Which is pretty flat. So I didn't really get into kind of mountain biking. Off-road riding hugely until I was probably about 17 or 18. I just grew up riding road bikes and time trials and then realized that was quite good base, I guess, to do a mountain bike. And so I started doing cross country racing in the late nineties, early two thousands, I guess. And then just got the puck for off-road riding. So, so as all good cyclists. University of college based on where the best biking was. And that's kind of what, w what took off for me, I guess my mountain biking kind of passion. [00:04:32] Craig Dalton: where you staying in the UK for university. [00:04:35] Ed Shoote: Yeah. So I just went to the north of England. It tackled York which is great. Yes. Great spot to stop actually visiting. Cause it's got loads of history, but it's also surrounded by Hills. Really nice mountain biking terrain as well. Yeah, the course was, is a small consideration, but yet it was just the perfect spot for the analyst to select in ready. [00:04:52] Craig Dalton: And the UK obviously has got such a rich history of cycling across all disciplines, including mountain biking. [00:04:59] Ed Shoote: yeah. Yeah. You kind of get pockets, I guess, of real passion for road riding and mountain bike and where I am now in Scotland is it's huge amounts of biking. We have a lot of injury world series. Now bike is based here and. Right. Is coming up through the youth ranks as well. So it's a real buzz here and I guess yeah, like Edinburgh just north has got a really good road scene. So yeah, it's always a pocket of psych dinner, some chronic scenes wherever you are in the country, which is, yeah, it's great. It's great to see [00:05:25] Craig Dalton: And at university, were you studying? Writing as a discipline. [00:05:30] Ed Shoote: No, I studied mountain biking indirectly, actually. So. It's all fenced together. No, I was doing kind of a pied economics, which was focusing on environmental issues and mountain biking kind of fit it into that food forestry management. So it's again boring probably, but yeah, so I actually ended up doing a dissertation on mountain biking and the impact of mountain biking, which is, yeah, this is great. It was great. [00:05:52] Craig Dalton: Yeah, Amazing. And then from, I understand you spent some time abroad at some point after that. [00:05:58] Ed Shoote: Yeah, so that, that was kind of the last time I lived in England thought. Yeah, pretty much. That's how I sit in England actually thinking about it. Yeah, so I left from university, went traveling and then I got to work in DC to Canada. So I went to Southeast Asia then worked in British Columbia and Canada in mountain biking in the summer. One of the ski resorts south of bike park in the summer, which is really cool. So I've got a lot of writing out there. You actually loved it and stayed out there for a bit and then just got kind of a ski bug as well. So we ended up doing ski seasons in New Zealand and then in Europe as well. So I got that. And then, yeah, the passion for cycling, I guess, came back again when I moved back to Scotland from France. And yeah, that's kind of where I really got stuck into cycling. Yeah. [00:06:38] Craig Dalton: And at what point did gravel cycling, intersect with your passion for cycling? [00:06:43] Ed Shoote: I'd always been into mountain biking. And I think what kind of took me that next kind of level of backwards towards kind of gravel riding for mountain biking was contouring and long distance riding. So I got into doing these massive trips. So I had this amazing job, which was eight months of the year, so four months off. So I spent those four months basically doing big tours. So I cycled to estimate. [00:07:02] Craig Dalton: No. [00:07:03] Ed Shoote: It's a three consecutive years. I think it was in a row across Europe. And then in the second year I carried on writing and I was just trying to do that more and more on gravel probable right, routes and gravel tracks. So I could get away from the roads really and get into some more remote places. And it just seemed a great way to explore it. And that was kind of at the same point that manufacturers were getting into this idea of gravel bikes as a thing, and an adventure bikes. And I worked with a UK bike manufacturer. Support them developing one of these kind of gravel adventure bikes as they were at the time. And it just went hand in hand and as I got that bike, it then got me more and more doing these tours pretty much all on gravel roads, gravel tracks in central Asia. A lot of the time as well. I did have about four trips to central Asia. I'm getting kind of stuck into gravel, riding Kurdistan and and places like that. So that's yeah, that's where I got the gravel. But from. [00:07:50] Craig Dalton: Wow. What would that type of touring terrain were you, what type of setup where you creating on your bike? You said you worked with a manufacturer. What was your dream setup for the type of riding that you were doing at that point? [00:08:01] Ed Shoote: well, just before I did that, I was in Canada and I saw the tour divide races and they would just don't use bike back bags and they send a saddle packs and BARR bags which now we see everywhere, but at the time were really caught my eye and I was like, wow that's a solution to kind of the tour. And I'm doing. Ditching the pantyhose, which always break the racks come loose. They wobble, they bounce us. You know, I was looking for something else and I approached 'em to come up with after dura in the UK. I would just kind of design in these bags. One of the first ones was only over here to be doing it. And yeah just seeing the solution to what I was doing. And it means you have to reduce your kid. Cause you've got a saddlebag framed bag and a ball bag. I'm trying to get into some pretty remote places. And as we know now, it can be done about at the time. Head-scratching how you could get your kit. This is almost 10 years ago now Peggy that your get into the small bags and I was kind of looking at different tents and all the sounds that we now take for granted a bit to get it in there. And yeah, it just works so well. And I think that's why it's taken off so much in the kind of 10 years since really. [00:08:58] Craig Dalton: Yeah, a hundred percent. We've had the team at Afra on the podcast before. And. the evolution of bags from when we were kids in terms of pen, years down to what is now on the bikes today is just incredible. The bikes can be so rideable and so much fun with that, with those bags on versus once you put a pannier on back in the day, the bike felt like a different type of beast, and maybe it was good for riding in a straight line, but if you wanted to go off road with it, it became a little bit less. [00:09:28] Ed Shoote: Yeah. I remember the first tour, big tour we did was north to south of New Zealand, which is always good place to start touring as well as a really good country to do. And then I, that cell from Oakland and the bike was so back heavy with the panniers. I couldn't get the front wheel down. It was just wheeling almost down the street. And I was just scratching my head, how I'm going to get this bike around New Zealand. So just that kind of everyone does, I guess when they do the first tour, they have way too much stuff and it was all packed house. Yeah. And that was quite a long time ago. So yeah, each trip you kind of evolved, I guess, in your learning and equipment and set up as well. [00:09:59] Craig Dalton: Yeah, absolutely. And obviously like the equipment with the dyspraxia and the wider tires has really just made the overall experience so much better. [00:10:09] Ed Shoote: yeah, for me, I'm pretty tall. So I'm six or four. So I, I know when there's a headwind as well. It's fair to say. So given the drop bars on the gravel bike, Huge difference for me to get that kind of tuck in. And then you kind of tucking in behind the bar bag and the Saddleback everything's in line and yeah, it's one of those central Asian trips. We've had ridiculous headwinds and it feels like with pioneers of the first trips we did, it kind of felt like it was literally pushing it backwards. You weren't making progress. So having these drop bars, these bags and me kind of like getting in an arrow, tuck in, cut in the middle of nowhere, it was such a better way. [00:10:42] Craig Dalton: right. Right. And when did you ultimately end up settling in Scotland? [00:10:48] Ed Shoote: Yeah, so I did a quite few of these trips. Like I said, I was working, it was actually out France in the end. When the UK was part of the EU and we could work in France easily get into that. And then I moved back to Scotland to get a job in another job, actually. No, I think that to Scotland. Get a bit homesick, I guess I've been in the UK. So we came back and set up where I am now in the tables in the south of Scotland, because it's like, it's really good here. Yeah just stuff that we needed to kind of change and to come back. And my wife was looking for a different job as well, to be honest. So, so we got here in the, yeah. And then we've just kind of loved Scotland and the writing we can do here. [00:11:23] Craig Dalton: And were you starting to see the rise of, in terms of the number of gravel, cyclists in Scotland? [00:11:30] Ed Shoote: Yeah, I think so. I'm trying to think of when we moved back in about 20, 20, 15. And I could go out and I wouldn't see a soul on these riots and I ended up, I was quite sick coming back, so I trained for kind of 24 hour racing and stuff like that. So I was doing a lot of miles and I would rarely see anyone. And it was a novelty to see type. And definitely over the next kind of five years, I've gone from feeling like I'm the only one doing this, to see entire tracks to meet you too, you know, meeting people now. And everyone's on gravel bikes pretty much on these as well. And yeah, it's just been great to see. And the the opportunities I guess, has gotten as well. Like I had a year where I did a different link from my door pretty much every day, same trails, possibly, but in different variations with different variations of them. And I just kind of. Change, I guess in like variation, I don't like riding the same route. And I think having that here is what's attracted me. And obviously that's attracting loads of writers as well to come and come at school. This is tracks that weren't really being used. I guess. [00:12:27] Craig Dalton: Yeah. From looking at your book, grab a ride, Scotland. The terrain just looks amazing. There's a lot of great photography in there. What inspired you to write this book? And why is it important to you? [00:12:43] Ed Shoote: I like to have some great story about it. I just don't say no to stuff generally when someone asks me to do it and I said yeah, why not? I'll write a book on gravel riding. I know a lot of good routes. So, so I went for an yeah, that's kind of where I am now, but it didn't take much because I've been doing so much writing. It kind of came naturally as to where I thought it should be. And the plan behind it form quite quickly. I really wanted destinations within Scotland for gravel line. So there's one here where I am, because there's so much gravel writing and there's about six or seven in the book based around these kinds of hubs of where I think there's a really good cost as a gravel rights. And that came together quite quickly. And I was really kind of passionate about this idea of centers of gravel writing centers of excellence. You could call it kind of a gravel riding and getting these routes around those. And yeah, I was really keen to covet that kind of mix between a guide traditional guide, but you put in your pocket and a coffee table kind of inspiration. Based cause I already want to get someone with photography, which is something I've kind of done over the trips for the last 10 years or so kind of worked up top skills through all those kind of adventures. Yeah. It just, it really nicely together and yeah, it's just got more and more excited about it. I guess as a side thing. [00:13:44] Craig Dalton: So as you started to sort of divide up the country or those geographic areas that, that the chapters are in effectively, are those oriented around like where the terrain is or those areas of Scotland that everybody talks about? [00:13:57] Ed Shoote: Yeah it's an interesting one because gravel riding doesn't necessarily fit with where the hot spots soar as a Mar in Scotland. So the west coast and the islands are really beautiful and stunning. Yeah. Partly the weather and the climate and the Rocky landscape there, you often find that the gravel tracks are really quite rough and hard work. The tracks often go one way. So they go to a beach or they go to a farm or a hilltops econ linked together. So actually some of the natural destinations has gotten don't work for gravel to the south where I am now works really well because we've got an abundance of forests, more land or drove roads where the cattle used to be. Driven into markets 200 years ago. It's just some really good historical roots as well. And that's kind of, yeah, I guess, reflected across Scotland. So, they're not your traditional kind of places to go. It's gone, but there's still amazing places. They've got castles. They've got locks, they've got mountains, but they're not the kind of hotspots that you might come over if you're doing like a must do tour of Scotland. So I think there's, yeah, it's nice for people coming over to get, to see a little bit more and as cheesy going real Scotland, you know, a little bit away from. Get out your car and take a photo of this announcing that everyone does in Scotland. So, yeah, [00:15:05] Craig Dalton: I mean, I think that was gravel, cyclists. That's something we all appreciate. Just even in our own backyard, just being able to see things that the majority of people aren't ever visiting, just because of the range in which we get with these bikes, if you've got a good sense of address. One of the things I, one of the things I liked about the book was there was a couple of pages on sort of the history of gravel in Scotland, not the sport of gravel cycling, but just gravel in general. And as a, as an American, I just thought it was really interesting to read about how these roads. Arrived in Scotland and what they were for originally. Do you want to spend a couple of minutes just talking about briefly that the history, because I think it's a novel from a us perspective anyway. [00:15:49] Ed Shoote: Yeah, I really enjoyed putting that in and I think yeah, I, yeah, it's inspired people because each Scrabble track has a story behind the hair and I guess they all do, but here in particular, they can be kind of categorized into these time periods. And we go back to the Roman theories when the Romans invaded the U S. They built these classic Roman roads, which are all in straight lines and some of those kind of cross into Scotland. And that's where the history of gravel starts in this book. So we're talking about the surface, as you say, rich. So, so these were kind of gravel, early gravel, Roman gravel roads and the legacy of those still exist today. So some of the routes will follow. Dear street is one of the famous Roman roads as straight up north. So that's kind of where we kind of start with the history of it. The next key kind of development, I guess, is what I touched on before is these drove roads, which is it's mind boggling really it's where they took the cattle from the Highlands or from the fells to the market. But we're not talking say a 10, 10 mile trip. We're talking the length of the country, which I know in the U S is probably not massive, but they drove them down to London from Scotland, which is, I dunno, 5, 6, 700 miles. They were walking with cattle to sell them at the market and they'd walk. And they did that on these routes across the Highlands, essentially all the way. And these became established trading routes. They got better surfaced and a lot of them still exists. A lot of them are tarmacked into two main routes road routes, but a lot of them existed these gravel roads. So, Grover tracks. So yeah, I think there's quite a few points out in the book. The next kind of stage is Scotland's history. It's where. The English. I'm trying to choose my words carefully here as an English, but when the English basically came up and impose their rule, let's say to joint by the union to Scotland became part of the United Kingdom. And to do that, there was the kind of uprisings against it from the Scots and the English bill, quite a lot of military roads to kind of question this in the 17 hundreds. And a lot of those were built a very good standard and starting bridges across rivers and. Widespread on the maps and they are generally the backbone, a lot of the big gravel routes that, that we now ride in Scotland. Again, a lot of them up on Altamont roads, but a lot of them still exist in pretty similar form to what they were like two, 300 years ago. And you can kind of imagine these kinds of lesions of soldiers muscling through the myths and the folk from ruined Fort to ruin castle it's quite evocative. It's yeah, it's an interesting time in Scottish history, really. And gravel was at the heart of it. The next thing really is the big estates we have here. So we call them a states that kind of landed Gentry in the upper class. What huge swaves of Scotland to go basically hunting and shooting as a, as recreation, and to do that. They defiling clearances. They basically pushed out all the Scots and the love of the locals who lived there. And a lot of them then immigrated up to north America and lost their homes and livelihood. Chapter and Scottish history. And from that, a lot of tracks were lost because the houses in the villages went, but actually the new estates put in a lot of tracks. And we're seeing that again, more recently coming up to two kind of modern day, they're putting a lot of land rovers tracks with Jeep tracks to, to access the states for shooting still. And that's controversial in some courses, but for gravel riding, it just opens up miles and miles of these. We have the right to access and Scotland, which is another key factor. So we have an open access code, which allows us to respond to the access pretty much any track we see so long as it's not conflicting, kind of with the land use or kind of industry that's operating on its own. So that basically means we can go anywhere. So all these tracks exist and we can put them and ride them, which is really good. So yeah. [00:19:13] Craig Dalton: I saw that. I saw that legal note in the book and found that fascinating again as a north American. And I remember also experiencing this in New Zealand. It's just, it makes so much sense if there's land and you're using it responsibly, you're welcome to enjoy it. And there's no impediments across the board. [00:19:29] Ed Shoote: Yeah, it's one of the reasons I moved to Scotland because in England, you don't have that in England. We have it in Scotland. And yeah it's responsible access. So it's thinking about kind of your actions and. Taking note of what countryside is being useful, but yeah it's amazing. Yeah, I, couldn't not live somewhere where we can do that. I think you just take it for granted. [00:19:48] Craig Dalton: Yeah. When you think about inviting people to Scotland to ride, what type of equipment do you think is best? Does it, you know, in the U S I think it varies so dramatically. Like you can, you know, you can be in Florida, riding dirt roads and be on a glorified road bike versus, you know, here in Marin county, I want big tires and frankly, I'm a fan of suspension on gravel bikes. [00:20:09] Ed Shoote: I think generally expect a little bit rougher than what I think you're used to over there. Cause I think our kind of dream gravel is probably more your standard gravel where it's smooth and Nazi bumpy. It's generally a bit more Rocky, a bit coarser. And in the book I grade it from one to five, one being kind of your smooth gravel grinding kind of race tracks that you've got to think of as there's loads of long races. Whereas we could generally sit in the middle where we have a ton of Clayton, slightly coarser, gravel, which is rougher on the upper body. So putting in some kind of suspension, isn't a bad idea. It's not essential, but they're getting those tires up to at least. If I didn't have to in the book 42 millimeters as a minimum on a six 50 or 700 seat setup, but I generally run nearer 47 to 50 millimeter tire, to be honest. Just to give that a bit more. And comfort. I don't have suspension on my bike, but unimodal people are kind of putting the stems and the forks on as well. Just to give them a little bit more give on some of the rougher stuff, but yeah, that's probably the key that [00:21:06] Craig Dalton: Yeah. And on, on the roots, are you what type of climbing do you experience in Scotland? [00:21:11] Ed Shoote: It's all relative. It's quite steep Hills can be quite, I'm quite sure. And they can go on as well. So it gets the highest kind of point is around 700 and the meters, I think of off the top of my head in the book. So that's probably about, it could be up to five or 600 meter climb. In Longo, it's pretty unusual to do that sized climate generally around 300 meters at time. But actually it can be pretty relentless because you're going up and down throughout the rights of the, yeah, the usually over a thousand. Climbing her route for a kind of the average would say and some of them are too like couple of thousand as well. So yeah, quite a lot of climbing. And I think the gear ratios are recommended as well as is had something below a one-to-one ratio. Just to give you a bit of help of the Hills as well, because they are quite steep in places. [00:21:55] Craig Dalton: as you were designing routes, did you spend a year traveling through Scotland and riding every road you. [00:22:02] Ed Shoote: yeah. When it was a COVID kind of project. So, as well, so we went into lockdown. I could kind of get out on my own often easier. So I was doing a lot of on my own and writing big routes, Lincoln, as many as I could together. And then you have a weekend where nothing works and you've tried all these new routes and they're just not quite up to scratch. Or you have a weekend where you get three out of it and think, well, these three are brilliant individual routes. And I kind of combined a few of them into which I think is a beauty of the book as well, actually is you can combine them into bypass and routes quite easily. So the clusters of routes across. It's pretty obvious. And it does give tips on how he's blinking together. And I actually researched quite a lot by linking them into my backpack and bike bags on, and that's spent I spent a long weekend riding them all together to kind of get a feel for them. And again, we Scott any can wild camp, you know, you're free to wild. Come on that route wherever you find a nice spot as well, which [00:22:48] Craig Dalton: We discovering sort of tidbits of GPX files and different things online to give you a hint that this area of Scotland might be right for your exploration. [00:22:58] Ed Shoote: I've really tried not to. And I, it's funny because I get accused sometimes on online. I noticed when I read some of the kind of review comments and things oh, he's stolen my route and I'm really, I really didn't stay here. It's just a coincidence because I tried really hard to kind of look at the base maps from scratch and not look at routes. So I did something different. Yeah. As a result of that. Yeah. It's obviously overlap with stuff that's already out there, but it's quite a lot of different twists and things as well, because I tried to do it from scratch, but I had a lot of time during lockdown as well. So I did a lot of Mac. [00:23:31] Craig Dalton: Right. And you touched on this before. It wasn't that you wanted to methodically go through the entire country of Scotland and throw your bike on every mile or kilometer. You were really just focusing on what are the best areas to ride and what are going to be the best experiences for riders coming to Scotland. [00:23:50] Ed Shoote: Yeah, I think I wouldn't call it the very best 28 routes in older Scotland because these people would be one in the far north, but that isn't. I just don't think that you'd get a guidebook when adopted all over the country. You never going to ride more, actually view, stay for a weekend, a long weekend, or even a week in some places you write all of those routes. So you'll get somewhere else and you write all of those routes and you'll actually write all the routes in the book probably quite easily. And if you're dotting them all over, you won't. So, so yeah, it was a deliberate kind of focus not to explore every hidden corner of Scotland, but focus on where I thought the best stuff was going to be for people coming to. [00:24:22] Craig Dalton: Yeah. And in your mind, you know, what is a great Scottish root? What are some come to the few of the check marks you would love to see if you were bringing someone on their only ride they're going to do in Scott? [00:24:32] Ed Shoote: Good question. I the one that seems to be going down pretty well so far is something called that the calendar monster loop, which is a 128 kilometers, and it's got a bit of everything. It's got steep climbs. It's got really remote tracks that go past coffees. It's a kind of. Overnight shelters, roll cottages. So taking some of that kind of heritage comes down to some of the big locks in the middle of the country. And then you get some great views on the bigger mountains and Mon as we call them, which are generally above a thousand meters in height. So yeah, it takes in a bit of everything and 128 kilometers is it's I think it's the longest day route in the book. So yeah, it's a challenge. It's rough. It's long. It's. So, yeah, that's gone down, it has a bit of everything. So it's gone down really well. I think yeah I just really enjoyed some of the hidden gems where I didn't expect there to be such good writing and such history and things along the way. So there's other routes where you've got castles. I never knew existed done. There may. There's a, there's an amazing atmospheric castle that I never knew was there and it's just in the malls and the track is perfect to it. So, so yeah, there's also hidden gems in there, but I think, yeah, having a little bit of everything in there is great. [00:25:35] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Yeah. As a north American, I think coming over there, anytime you kind of come across a dilapidated castle or an overnight rock structure, or even those stone bridges, you mentioned in the history of the development of gravel, I think it was just, for me, it would be super novel to just be riding those pop past those types of bits of history. [00:25:56] Ed Shoote: Yeah. Yeah. And now we take that for granted, I guess. Oh, there's a cost of just never there yet. 15 hundreds, monastery just opposite my house, where the monks used to live in like 500 years ago. And it's just like, oh yeah, it's just where the kids play. It's quite, it's got Cooley [00:26:11] Craig Dalton: offline. We were talking about how Scotland is home to some dramatic weather. What's the best time of year. If you're recommending someone from the outside to come over to Scotland, what's the best time of year to do some Scottish. [00:26:21] Ed Shoote: Wait. Kind of in it, to be honest, I think may into June is usually good weather. It's long days, long, long daylight hours you know, can be riding in the north till midnight, almost. Which is great. The midges haven't come out, which is a key consideration. So they're not mosquitoes. This is a smaller, it's just a nuisance really, rather than anything, but they do come out in force in the summer. So this time of year is quieter for that. Yeah, the daylight, the warmth, the sunshine, I guess it's usually pretty reliable. The mid July time is I was gonna say monsoon season, but it's not quite it's just where to generally in July and August in Scotland. So, yeah. And you've got the majors. You can get a little bit oppressive, like a little bit of plumbing. We don't get heat, I should say as well compared to what you guys get, but you know, it can be kind of close and niches and things. So it's not quite as nice as it's fresh in the spring time. This spring. [00:27:07] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Yeah. And I realize this next question may be akin to choosing your favorite. But if you had to point to three or four routes in the book that you really believe are our must do's. If you're visiting Scotland, what would they be? And give us a little bit of the geography of where in the country, relatively though they would sit. [00:27:28] Ed Shoote: so the Northeast, the Eric or the Ken national park is definitely a must visit for gravel writers because it's. Absolutely stunning. It's got a lot of native Caledonian pine forest. And in between it there's this court sand like white yellowy kind of tracks that glimmer in the sunshine as you go across. And it's actually beautiful. And it goes past the Royal families, Highlander state at Balmoral, which is pristine and like the tracks on that state of pristine as well. And you can ride right on those tracks and you might bump into kind of the Royal land Rover as you go past sometimes. It's just beautiful. And the work they've done to preserve the find forest service. There's lots of wildlife as well. So the kangaroo has got about three routes up there and I think they're all up to practice to be honest. It's definitely up there. I'm trying to think where else there's too many options. It's [00:28:12] Craig Dalton: Because you've got 28 routes. Was it in the book? [00:28:15] Ed Shoote: yeah, I'm trying to think. I'm trying to pick another, I'm biased to where I am in the south. It's off the kind of normal track was people had north, but here we've got this kind of really quiet, empty, relatively isolated kind of feeling in the Hills down here, which is just south of Edinburgh. And there's a couple of routes here, which take you through some kind of really nice that it's simply less steep and kind of more rolling, but equally beautiful and like quite a lot of, like I say, castles and heritage along the way as well. So just a few routes here. I would definitely cause it's quite easy to get to as well. If you're flying into Edinburgh it's quite quick. It's 20 miles, 20 miles away. So it's not far at all. So [00:28:52] Craig Dalton: Yeah, that sounds good to say, if you're coming to Scotland, chances are, you're going to want to visit Edinburgh if you hadn't already, because it's such an amazing city. So to be able to pop out and do a little riding there, and what would you take a train to get up to the sort of the north, if you had your bike? [00:29:06] Ed Shoote: Yeah. W coming here to the south, our buses, that kind of scheduled buses, which. Run pretty ready to take bikes. So they have spike spaces within the bus. You're not going to on the back, you just roll them in the bus and then take your bikes down, which is really cool. But yeah, north to the Highlands. Yeah. Trains are your best bet. You have a word of warning, usually at the Brooklyn, minivans just warn, but we're getting better and better. We're getting more dedicated bike characters come in and Scotland, which is really cool to see. So after 20 spaces, the character going to dedicate to just by. So that's, yeah, it's getting easier and easier, but yeah, the trains are in a good way. [00:29:38] Craig Dalton: Yeah, exciting. What's next for you? Do you have any more writing projects ahead of you or any frankly, any adventures on the bike that you're able to go off on and [00:29:47] Ed Shoote: Well, I'm enjoying talking about bikes cause I've actually had quite a nasty injury in my shoulder. So I've been off the bike for two months now kind of a year, a fractured collarbone and AC joint dislocation. So yeah, it's it's got a, quite a lot of metalwork in there which is trying to heal. I'm planning a lot of things and the book has gone down really well. I'm really pleased with how it's gone down. So the publishers are saying, what do you want to do next? So I'm thinking of different things to do around a different version probably of gravel rights as well. And yeah, probably later in the year of like packing trips somewhere, probably in Europe, probably to, towards this Lele somewhere six is kind of on the horizon. So, [00:30:22] Craig Dalton: Do you think your next gravel book would be about? I continue to be about the, you know, the UK or would you, I know you've been all over the world. [00:30:30] Ed Shoote: well, the publisher's telling me that my central Asian travels are too niche, but I might self publish a book come out anyway. Cause I think it's quite cool that I just love that area of the world. So, so I think there's one there. In terms of what did Scotland, I think there's probably a longer section, longer routes would be cool to do so bypassing routes that aren't currently. Official ones. I think that's what I've kind of got in mind to start working on them, starting to plot a few ideas around that as well. So I think from a book point of view, that's going to be next, but I'm keen to get on an adventure and I've missed, as I said, the best time of year in Scotland as well, seeing it's in talking about bikes and write about bikes, which is I'm keen to gallery. [00:31:07] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for putting the effort into putting this book out there. As I mentioned offline, I'm a big fan of the idea of gravel travel and without guide books like this, that help just give you a starting point for what regions you should look at and give you a little bit of information. It's just hard to get off the dime. So hopefully this is going to bring a lot more riders to Scotland to enjoy the beautiful country there. [00:31:32] Ed Shoote: Yeah. Thanks. Thanks telling me you want it. It's great to talk to you about that Scotland and grow a lot in general. So, yeah. Thanks. [00:31:37] Craig Dalton: Yeah. So that's going to do it for this week's edition of the gravel rod podcast. Big, thanks to ed chute for talking to us about gravel riding in Scotland. I'm super intrigued. But what he had to say. Big, thanks to our friends at athletic greens for supporting the show. Remember, visit athletic greens.com/the gravel ride. To get a free one year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs. If you're interested in connecting with me, I encourage you to join the ridership. It's our free global cycling community. That's www.theridership.com. And if you're able to support the show financially, please visit buy me a coffee. Dot com slash the gravel ride. Until next time here's to finding some dirt under your wheels

Daar zijn we weer. En weer is het qua lengte een beetje uit de hand gelopen. Maar we hadden elkaar dan ook zo veel te vertellen. Herman heeft vier schitterende tochten (alle vier 100+) door Nederland (en een beetje België) gefietst. Van Enschede naar Hilversum, van Roosendaal naar Domburg, door Zeeuws Vlaanderen en van Leeuwarden via Schiermonnikoog naar Groningen. Martijn reed slechts één lange tocht, een rondje Markermeer, maar genoot wel van een PR op de Ruiterberg, samen met de Amerongse Berg toch een beetje dé trainingscol van de provincie Utrecht. In deze aflevering ook veel lof voor alle treinconducteurs die Herman gewoon zijn fiets mee lieten nemen, terwijl dat eigenlijk niet mocht. Ook uitgebreide analyse van hoe Martijn op de parkeerplaats van de MacDonalds in Veenendaal een racefiets redde van een totale vernietiging. We nemen ruim de tijd om nieuwe luisteraarsvragen te beantwoorden (we ontvingen er meer dan 100!). En we dromen weg bij de gedachte dat we binnenkort op de Vlasakkers mogen komen trainen met de Nederlandse militaire selectie. Geef acht! Als laatste, de shownotes! Filmpje hoe profrenner Lachlan Morton overnacht als hij weer een krankzinnige fietstocht onderneemt Dikke link naar hongerklop.cc waar je kan genieten het wereldwijde fietsavontuur van collega Nathalie En hoera voor The Green Divide, een gravel-GPX van 300 km van routeheld Erwin Sikkens Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/tweewielers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Josh Kice had a super cool idea three years ago and decided to go for it. He's the owner/operator of Ink and Drink Denver - a place for people to gather, print T-shirts with their friends all the while enjoying their favorite alcoholic beverages! Travis found the business while looking at the speaking schedule for the GPX show in Denver and just HAD to reach out to learn more about the business. Listen in as Josh shares some of his struggles as a small business owner - some unique to his specific business, but others we can all relate to. Enjoy the show! http://printondemandcast.com http://printondemandcast.com/shop http://printondemandcast.com/facebook http://printondemandcast.com/youtube http://printondemandcast.com/instagram -------- Josh's Links https://www.instagram.com/inkanddrinkdenver http://inkanddrinkdenver.com https://www.tiktok.com/@inkanddrinkdenver

We've talked about glutathione before, but now let's talk about two gene SNPs that really mess with your glutathione functioning. We'll discuss: Signs and symptoms of a GST polymorphism Signs and symptoms of a GPX polymoprhism Which SNP is linked to diabetes and early grey hair Which SNP makes walking through the perfume department a nightmare What you can do to help your body get stronger and healthier with either of these gene SNPs The complete show notes with links to other shows and episodes about glutathione are here. If you want to join Genetic Rockstars, you can do that here. To sign up for the mailing list so you get fresh info every week, click here. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tohealthwiththat/message

Herman heeft een nieuw huis! We hebben zijn woonkamer meteen goed ingewijd door er een hartstikke nieuwe aflevering op te nemen die je nu waarschijnlijk al aan het luisteren bent. Je hoort in deze ietwat lange aflevering álles over het vierdaagse trainingskamp van Martijn in Calpe. In de Spaanse kou (geen grap) reed hij dik 400 kilometer en meer dan 5.500 hoogtemeters. Herman maakte misschien nog meer indruk met zijn 100+er op Zwift! Wie begint daar nou in hemelsnaam aan? Ja, Herman dus. Daarnaast ontdekte hij de relatief nieuwe fietsbrug bij Nigtevegt, een prachtig bouwwerk over het Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal. Grootste nieuws uit deze aflevering? Nou, er komt een heuse film van The Longest Day. Want ondanks vele afzeggingen wordt de editie van 2022 een multimediaal spektakel met motards, ploegleiders, drones, cameramannen en regisseurs. En jij kan erbij zijn, als deze film ergens in september in een heuse bioscoop in premiere gaat. Als laatste nog even de beloofde linkjes:GPX van de tocht met praktisch alle klimmetjes over de HeuvelrugDe 16 Dorpentocht op 26 mei, schrijf je in en geeft gigantisch veel geld uitEn oh ja, wil je ons je tochtje laten zien met heel weinig hoogtemeters? Mail die dan naar info@tweewielers.cc of stuur ons een bericht via Instagram.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/tweewielers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we sit down with Gravel Locos founder Fabian Serralta to unpack the road to developing a stand out event.  New for this year, Gravel Locos will be adding an event in Peublo, CO in addition to the original event in Hico, TX. Episode Sponsor: Hammerhead.  Use coupon code 'TheGravelRide' for a free custom color kit and premium water bottle. Gravel Locos Website Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: Gravel Locos [00:00:00] Craig Dalton: Hello, and welcome to the gravel ride podcast, where we go deep on the sport of gravel cycling through in-depth interviews with product designers, event organizers and athletes. Who are pioneering the sport I'm your host, Craig Dalton, a lifelong cyclist who discovered gravel cycling back in 2016 and made all the mistakes you don't need to make. I approach each episode as a beginner down, unlock all the knowledge you need to become a great gravel cyclist.   [00:00:26] Craig Dalton: Have you ever thought about organizing a gravel event? I certainly have this week's guest Fabion. Serralta took that passion and idea to create an event. And created gravel Locos. The original event in Heico Texas is joined this year by a new event in Pueblo, Colorado. I sat down with Fabi and to learn about his inspiration for gravel Locos, the charitable component of what he does and the general theme of all gravel Locos events. Before we jump into the conversation. I need to thank this week. Sponsor hammerhead. The hammerhead kuru to you as raised the bar for cycling computers. You can get advanced GPS, navigation, and intuitive software right on your handlebars. In a way you never thought possible. I spent this past weekend down in Tucson, Arizona. After speaking with John from the mountain lemon, gravel grinder, a few years back, I've been itching to get out on the course. So I simply downloaded the GPS file from their website, uploaded it to my kuru to and felt super confident going out there in the back country. I've got a ton of stories about some of the snafoos. I had mechanically speaking while I was out there, but from a navigational perspective, it was spot on what I really appreciate about the crew too. And I've talked about the responsive touchscreen display before. Is that in the navigation? Once you've loaded a route in there, you get a little icon, no matter what screen you're on. saying when the next turn is coming up. It's those little touches and details that I think really setting the hammerhead crew to a part beyond that, I really got to dive into the climber feature, which is something unique and special about hammerhead. The climber feature allows you to visualize and prepare for upcoming gradient changes in real time. So, what does that mean? Basically it translates to a nice graph. On the climber screen on your crew to computer that shows you in color-coded fashion. The length to the top of the climb, both in miles, as well as elevation, and then gradient by gradient profile looks that map exactly to what you're experiencing when you're out on an adventure loop that you've never been on before. It was super useful to see, okay, this is going to be a punchy. Mile mile and a half climb. Versus at the end i discovered as it turned a corner that i was in front of a six mile climb but fortunately the gradient was pretty chill. This all translates to knowledge is power. And with the hammerhead crew too, you can get all the information available out of your GPX files. You can customize it to the nth degree. I still have a ways to go and customizing mine, but you can see the power of organizing your data right there on your computer screen. For a limited time, our listeners can get a free custom color kit and exclusive premium water bottle with the purchase of a hammerhead crew to visit hammerhead.io right now and use the promo code, the gravel ride. At checkout to get yours today, that's a free custom color kit. And a premium water bottle with the purchase of a career to. Go to hammerhead.io at all three items to your cart and use the promo code. The gravel ride. With that said let's jump right into my interview with Fabienne from gravel Locos. [00:03:40] CraigDalton.: Fabian , welcome to the show. [00:03:41] FabianSerralta: Hey, Craig. Thank you. [00:03:43] CraigDalton.: It's good to talk to you again. [00:03:44] FabianSerralta: Same here. Thank you. [00:03:46] CraigDalton.: I'm excited to learn all the things about gravel locus and, but would love to learn a little bit about your background first, just kinda what drew you into the sport originally, and then what led you to take on the huge challenge of creating an event? [00:04:01] FabianSerralta: Well, I, I would definitely say I was probably what led me to the sport was purely accidental. I I purchased a, a ranch in Oklahoma in 2012, and I remember the first time driving out there to see this ranch with the R I was following a realtor and wearing this perfectly smooth country road. And I was just thinking, this is great. I'm gonna have my road bike out here. And and as soon as we get to the one road leads to the ranch, it was this. Awful road with rocks and gravel and dirt. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is terrible. I'm not gonna be able to ride my road, bike out here. And then we're on this road. And this lady is just like flying on this road and just dusting, dirt everywhere. And then we're just flying on their road and, and it was like a 15 mile drive from on this. Awful gravel dirt road to the driveway of this ranch that I had just purchased and or I was about to purchase. And then the driveway from this road to the ranch was another mile and a half. And when we get to the ranch property in the house, I said to her. This is terrible. I'm not gonna be able to ride my bike when I'm out here. She's like, well, what do you mean? I said, I'll get a flat tire by the time I get to, to the to the main road. And she's like, well, you can just drive your bike in your car and, and go out there and just park out there. I'm like, where am I gonna park? That's like somebody else's property out there. So this is 2012. And I, so I buy this property and probably from 20 12, 20 13 until about 2015. I didn't get to ride my road bike every time that I went out there. [00:05:41] CraigDalton.: yeah. I was gonna say there wasn't a lot of options [00:05:43] FabianSerralta: Yeah. [00:05:44] CraigDalton.: of gravel bikes at that point in time. [00:05:45] FabianSerralta: Yeah. But then in 2015, I'm visiting my son in Denver. He was gonna school at the university of Denver and I just happened to go to a, a bike store. It was a, I believe it was a specialized bike store and I walk in there and there's. White and red bike Witham, and it looked like a road bike and it had these Nobby tires on it and zip wheels. And I'm like, what in the world is this thing? And the sales guy comes up to me and I'm like, what is this thing? You know? And he's looking at me like, he's like, where are you from? I'm like, well, I'm from Cuba. And he's probably thinking this guy just fell off of open a Palm or something. Cause likes a, and I'm like, what's a, you, I had idea what a. He's like, you don't know what a cross bike is. I was like, I don't know, but I want that bike. He's like, well, you gonna Doy lacrosse. I'm like, no, I bought this ranch and it has these horrible roads that are rocks. And he's like, oh, so you want a gravel bike? I'm like a gravel bike. I said, no, I want that bike. And I need you to ship it to Texas. And the guy is just like, looking me, like I'm nuts. But it was like, It looked like a road bike and it had, you know, what looked like to be mountain bike tires. And I'm like, this is it. So I purchased a bike and it happened to be on my size, a 54 centimeter. They ship it to to Texas to my local bike shop and gets over there. They had 700 by 33 C tires. I start writing it in Oklahoma and I thought was the greatest thing ever. And I was running 90 PSI on the tires, which I thought at the time was perfect. As you know, on my tubular road tires, I was running 120 PSI. And so I thought this thing was just as smooth as can be on these gravel roads. And I signed up for my first gravel event, October 1st, 2016. And I thought, Hey, you know, it was 15 miles, no big deal. I showed up at the time, I think I had 95 P assigned a rear and 90 in the front. And I thought it was gonna be very much like a road rally where you have, you know, rest stops every so many miles. And so I think I had two water bottles and, or maybe a one snack or whatever, and man, it was a nightmare. [00:07:55] CraigDalton.: Was was that in Oklahoma, the event that you signed [00:07:58] FabianSerralta: it was Texas. It was a really hilly area monster, Texas. And you know, I paid my registration fee, which I think it was, I don't know, 85, $90. And I was expecting it to be just like many of the road rallies I had done. And. You know, grass stops with bananas and oranges and cookies and pickle, juices, and Gatorade. And there was nothing. all they had was a water table. with warm water, no food. And by the end of the 50 miles, I thought I was gonna die. And with that tire pressure on those 33 sea tires. I was so beat up. I swear, I'll never do this again. I remember getting to the finish and calling some buddies. I'm like, I am never doing this again. This is horrible. Why would anybody ever do this? You know, [00:08:43] CraigDalton.: Yeah. It's, it's funny. What a difference the evolution of the equipment has made in the enjoyment of the sport. I'm with you. I, I got my first gravel bike a little bit later than the, I think back in 2016, but it was a. 2014 model year bike, 32 C tires. Fortunately it, it did have tubeless on it, but it still, like, I just felt like it wasn't that much better than Ayro bike. I had five or six years earlier, which I had pretty much quit riding because I would either flat or get the crap beat outta me every time I rode it. [00:09:15] FabianSerralta: Yeah, this, this, I mean, it was, it was ay, it was a cycle cross bike. It was specialized crux. I mean, it had great, I mean, it had zip three or threes. I was running tubes. Which was, you know, a big difference from running tubers on my other bikes road bikes. And they had ceramic red, I couldn't complain it was a great bike, but I was just running to run tire pressure, the wrong tire size. And I really didn't have any, any knowledge of, of gravel, but, you know, I did see other people running big, your tires and all that. And it, it was just this learning curve. But that first experience was horrible. And I really, I swear I never did this again. And it took a while and then I, I started learning from others like, Hey, yeah, you can't be out there running tire pressure like that. And you can't, you, you gotta run bigger tires than that. And you gotta run, you know, tube, you know, tubeless. And and you know, I, it probably took me a few, a couple of months before I even wrote again. But as I, I started getting more and more advice from others that were doing it. But it was so early on. But it was that experience that really led me to wanna have eventually at one day have a gravel event. That was a lot like a road rally, but that it was also, you know, it, it had the, it was at the time it was, you know, the dirty cancer event, the DK 200. So I wanted to have a, a DK 200 event with the pro component, but yet. Beginner friendly. So have all the support that you would need for beginners like myself or, or people just really interested in gravel. So having all the bunch of rest stops and having portable bathrooms at rest stops for the women and having sag vehicles all over the place, but yet having a ton of pros. So having, you know, an event that was a DK 200 packed with pros, but yet packed with. All the support and all the things that you are accustomed to experiencing and having at a, you know, family road, rally type event. [00:11:15] CraigDalton.: Interesting. So it sounds like, I mean, if we fast forward a few years from that original event, it sounds like you competed in a handful of events every year to try to, you know, obviously continue your enjoyment of the sport. The, the equipment had continued to evolve and, and you'd had a number of experiences at other events where you're like, I like part of what this event has done, but part of what that event has done. And you thought, well, like what if I did this on my own? [00:11:41] FabianSerralta: Yeah, look so it, the events continue. I con I would go to every gravel event that I could go to, but it just, it was, you know, you pay your 75, 85, a hundred something dollars, but. You're lucky you got a water table and it was, everything was always self support, self support, self supported, and you're paying all this money, but you're not really getting a whole lot in return. And to me, it really excluded a lot of beginners. It excluded people that didn't have a lot of bike skills or, or bike mechanic knowledge because, you know, I always say what, what makes riding gravel so great is that you're out in the middle of nowhere. , but what that's also, what makes it kind of dangerous and also kind of keeps a lot of people out of it because you know, you're out in the middle of nowhere. You don't have cell reception, you don't have convenience stores. Oftentimes you don't have many houses or you don't see a vehicle or cars don't even go come by half the time. So yeah, you're out there in the middle of nowhere, but then you don't help of neighbors and you don't have convenience stores and you don't have others to reach out to in case of an emergency or a mechanical. And I feel that that deters a lot of people from venturing and, and experiencing gravel. And as a result, you know, a lot of people miss out on experiencing gravel. So how do you bring in all those people? And for me, Is the way to do that is by bringing in all the support, the sag vehicles, aid stations, every so many miles. So for example, in gravel Locos, you have, you know, six aid stations you have 20 something sag vehicles for the women. We have portable bathrooms at all the aid stations where there is in HaCo or in Pueblo, Colorado . And that's how we take out that, that fear of, you know, Being out there in the middle of nowhere. So, but yet we still have, you know, 20 something, 30 pros out there participating just like you, we did, you know, at events like dirty cans, 200 or, you know, what was land run, you know? And I referred to them by those names because that's what I was modeling. Then. [00:13:42] CraigDalton.: I'm glad we unearthed that because I think it's important to kind of think about people's orientations as event organizers in terms of how they're gonna set up the overall experience. You know, it's one thing when you've got a, a top level pro who's decided they want to get into the event business. And oftentimes they do design events that are driven from the front. They're really a professional experience that does trickle down to the rest of us. But it's you know, it's pretty refreshing to hear you talk about. Wanting the last person in the event to have the best time possible as well as, as the first. So stepping back for a second, you, you live in Arlington, Texas, you've got property in Oklahoma. You'd experience the gravel community for a number of years. You decided, Hey, there's something missing. I'd love to highlight my perspective of a gravel event. How did you decide on, on, on Texas for the original event and what was that process like? [00:14:36] FabianSerralta: Well, I, you said it in, cause that's where I predominantly ride, you know, so I've a lot gravel. I've done gravel in California. I've done gravel in Vermont, in, in Montana. I've done gravel in Scotland. I, you know, I've, I've done gravel in other parts and, but Texas, where, where I mostly write gravel and I've done gravel all over Texas and HaCo. I remember writing and close to close to HaCo. And one of the folks that I was riding with says, man, if you like this area, You've gotta check out. Heico so I said Heico where's that? So I found it went out there and, [00:15:13] CraigDalton.: And where, where is it relative to, to the Dallas area [00:15:17] FabianSerralta: for me, it's about an hour and 20 minute drive [00:15:20] CraigDalton.: and is that to, to the east or which direction [00:15:23] FabianSerralta: I'm the guy that gets lost with Garmen. So so I'm gonna take a chance here. Say I think it's so out. [00:15:30] CraigDalton.: Okay. [00:15:31] FabianSerralta: So, yeah, I'm horrible. I'm like directionally challenged. So I get asked this all the time. Like the other day I was in Pueblo for meetings and I was meeting with the the the PBR, the folks for the professional bull riding association, which one of our sponsors in there were asking me. So which direction I, I have no idea. Here's the route, you figure it out. And really, I do get lost even with Garman. I'm that guy that I'm following route. And I always end up with more mileage. So I, up going out to HaCo. And I follow this route and it had so much more climbing, even though I am not built like a climber. I love as these challenging routes. I really love taking on routes to have as much climbing as possible. And it, even though it takes me all stinking day and HaCo has that, you know, for Texas as one of these guess that you get so much climbing and I absolutely fell in love with it. And Heico has it's heart packed. And it has a lot of beautiful canopy areas, you know, tree canopy, tree areas. It has lots of water crossings. It has. I mean, it's just a really diverse terrain. And even if it were to rain, it's so hard packed. It's it's got a lot of smooth areas. There's really nothing rough or nasty about it. It, and. Even, even if it rains it's, it's not an area that, that you get much mu much more than a couple inches of mud. So it's not like, like Mid-South where you have, you know, six inches, 12 inches of mud in your foot, you know, is, you know, foot into the mud. For example, last year in may it did run, it did rain. And so yeah, people got my, but you're talking, you know, an inch of mud, two inches of mud. Maybe two and a half. So it's not a situation that you're just bogged down and you, you have to walk, you, you can ride through it. So it it's really a, an area that you can ride it all year long rain or shine. And it was just perfect. And. I said, this is it. We're gonna do it here. So, you know, we had last year, we had three routes this year. We have four routes. Last year we had a 30 mile or a 60 and 150 something. And after our survey of the event, it was a very positive survey folks, which is absolutely thrilled with the event. But what kept coming up was have a 100 mile. I said, all right. So for 2022, we have a hundred mile as well. And it just filled up immediately. So folks really wanted a hundred. Not everybody wants to do 150 something miles, but they want it more than a 60 mile. So the hundred mile, you know, I never even thought of it, you know? So you learn, I've learned a lot, you know, I thought, [00:18:03] CraigDalton.: feel, I feel like I'm in that category where 150 mile, maybe I can muster that up once a year, if I'm lucky, but a hundred keeps me honest. I need to train for that pretty well. But I, I believe in my heart, like I can always uncork a hundred miles if I'm like relatively fit. [00:18:20] FabianSerralta: Yeah. And you know, and the hundred mile it is, it's a legit route. I mean, it's, it's over 5,000 feet of climbing and it's really a beautiful route and it, and it really incorporates all the hard climbs that are in the 150 something mile. And [00:18:33] CraigDalton.: what I, one of the things I always wanna unpack with event organizers, because I think it is a challenge depending on where you are, is okay. So you you've decided on HaCo as a, as a great riding location. But there are also logistics and permits and all kinds of things. You need to go through granted in a rural community. Maybe those are less than a more populous community, but you still need to do that. So what was that process? What was that process like for you? [00:18:59] FabianSerralta: Really easy, you know, what, what I have learned with I, you know, this is for me as a hobby and HaCo has, you know, it's really been incredibly easy. They they've really take care of all that for me. And I went in there with, you know, the understanding that, look, I'm doing this to help the volunteer fire departments. If you're willing to help me, I'm willing to do it. [00:19:17] CraigDalton.: And was that perspective, something that was already in your head. Hey, I wanna have a charitable component to the event I put on. [00:19:24] FabianSerralta: Yes. Yes. And, and if you're willing to work with me and, and take care of these things, I'm willing to do it. If you're not willing to work with me, I'm outta here. I just, you know, it's, it's one of those things that I, I don't have the time to mess with all that stuff. So if the town is willing, then I'm willing, I, if they want to put me through all these hoops and things and, and, and, and barricades and all these. All this red tape, I'm just, I'm outta here because I just don't have time for it. You know, I've got four kids and two other businesses to run. And so I was really upfront and they were really honest about it. And they just, they facilitated everything that I needed. They, they provide all the things that I needed. They provide law enforcement, they provide crowd control and barricades and they provide everything. The same thing with Pueblo, you know, they're. [00:20:09] CraigDalton.: you know, hike in the original gravel locus event. Sorry to interrupt you there for it. It took off through the gravel cycling community as a event option incredibly quickly. And there was a couple things that. Kind of at least caught my eye right off the bat, which were one was correct me if I'm wrong here. But it seemed like the registration was entirely a donation based model, which was unheard of. And two for a first year event, you had all these top pros saying I'm gonna be there. [00:20:40] FabianSerralta: Yes. [00:20:40] CraigDalton.: How did both of those things happen? [00:20:43] FabianSerralta: well, you know, it was, it was out of really, so the event was initially gonna take place in 2020 in November and I canceled it cuz of COVID, you know, so I had the Greenlight from, from HaCo, but I canceled it because of COVID. My basically, you know, I have absolutely zero connections in the bike industry. And what I tried to do was try and get the bike industry board. And the only way that I could do that was reaching out to them via Instagram and Facebook. And that really didn't really work. I couldn't get anybody to, you know, return any messages or anything, despite the amount of money that I spent on bikes. You know, I have the the record of my local bike shop for spending the most money on bicycles every year. just absurd. despite all that I couldn't get a response from anybody. So I said, you know what? I'm not gonna let that discourage me. I'm gonna have this event with, or without the bike industry. And so I said, I'll, I'll fund it. I'll do it myself, cuz I I'm gonna have this event. And this event is gonna have the component of the pros and the component of the beginners. And there is not there. Isn't gonna be a cutoff. So if folks are gonna train for the geo one fifty, a hundred fifty something miles with over 8,000 feet of elevation gain. I'm not gonna yank 'em off the course. They're gonna be out there as long as they want to be. And if they want to give up, they're gonna give up, but it's not gonna be, I'm not gonna take it away from anybody. I'm not gonna be that person. That's gonna say, Hey, you know what? You didn't make the cut off by 10 minutes or an hour or two hours. And you're off the course. Because I'm always that person, who's the last one. And you know, when I was at Ted's event in Vermont last year, I didn't make the cutoff. And when they came up to me and they, Hey, look, you, you didn't make the cutoff. I said, , we're gonna have a fricking fight. . And they said call Ted. And they did. They called Ted and it's like, leave him alone. He's fine. I I'll take care of, I'll wait for him. And Ted did. And he understands, he, he waited out there for me and I didn't make the cutoff by over an hour. And he was out there in the rain, in the cold waiting for me, everybody was gone. The whole thing was shut down. And he followed me for like the last 15 miles, cuz it was pouring rain. It was cold, but you know, he, he let me finish the, the event and to me, that's what being inclusive and, and finishing and, and you know what it's about. So to, Hey said, I'm gonna have this event regardless. So in 20 for 2021, how I was able to. Do what I did is with, like you mentioned earlier, this, this donation thing I said, you know what? Let's just, I've gotta get the attention of, of folks. Cause I don't have the support of the bike industry and I don't have name recognition and I certainly don't have, you know, experience. I've never done this before. So how do we capture attention? We're gonna do this for free. It's gonna be a free event. And, and first thing I said, all right, this event is gonna have 1200 free registrations. And what you're gonna do is it's up to you to make a donation, a direct donation to the volunteer fire department. Most folks are used to paying a hundred, something to hundred dollars or more for an event like of this caliber. Remember you have all these age stations you have. So you're getting 20 something pros. Top level pros from around the world. You're getting over five age stations, fully S stocked, 20 something, sag vehicles, portable bathrooms at all. Age stations. You're getting a draw string swag bag. Really nice. You're getting with zipper. You're getting T really nice. T-shirts you're getting purest water bottles from specialized. You're get all this swag, all this stuff for free. So, whether you give the fire station a dollar or $0, you're gonna get everything for free. So it was an honor system. And really, I think that showed people that it, Hey, this is an event that has Lawrence 10, Dan Ted king, Peter TNA, Allison Terick Jess, Sarah. You know, Colin, Strickland, you know, all these names that I, that are all of 'em are gonna be at at Unbound, all of 'em are, are all these huge events and there's no cutoff. There's all of this support that you don't get at these big events, you know, as far as aid stations and it is entirely up to me to decide how much I'm willing to pay with what I think it's worth well out of those 1200 free registrations. Less than 400 people donated anything. So that was a bit of a shock, but we still had the event [00:25:11] CraigDalton.: Yeah. And, and just to unpack that a little bit, you know, quite disappointing, obviously, that just like sort of the percentage of people that actually donated and to, to put a finer point on it, like, as you describe all the things that one would get for participating, you're talking about a hundred dollars worth of. Effort per rider to give them nutrition, to provide them porta potties, to give them swag, all those things. So it's a, it's a big proposition that I think often gets lost and and you put it in the proper context in that without someone supporting you without a, you know, a nutrition sponsor coming in and dumping. Tens of thousands of dollars worth of product on your tables. Like that's coming outta your pocket as the race organizer. And there's no way around that. So pretty incredible effort to get it off the ground. And sorry to hear that the donations were not as great as you wanted them to be, but with those donations, something great. Did material realize for the fire department. [00:26:12] FabianSerralta: Yeah. And. That that side didn't happen the way that it had. I had hope, but it, we don't really even think about it because we, at the end of the day, there were so many articles written about the event that I never expected in a million years. I honestly, I never thought that GCN would write about it. That basically magazine would write about it. That cycling news, the Velo news, all these publications wrote about it. You know, it was listed as a, as a basically magazine listed as a. Top 20 bucket list event. You, it was mentioned like 17 times in VLO news. GCN mentioned it cycling news had articles about it. These are all things that I never even consider would happen. [00:26:55] CraigDalton.: Yeah. it was absolutely incredible to reach the brand and the event got in that first year. [00:27:00] FabianSerralta: We smoking great deal on the, the fire. We were still able to buy it with the money that we raised. We, you know, we still had great registration numbers we had. And then for 2022, you know, we have over 1500 people registered and we raised enough to build a bigger fire station. So [00:27:20] CraigDalton.: That's [00:27:20] FabianSerralta: while maybe, you know, less than 400 people register out of 1200, it doesn't matter to me because cuz we still accomplished everything that we set out to do. We still got more numbers than I ever thought were gonna happen. And as a result, we, we have interest from other cities that are contacting me that wanna have events. So, you know, I, I was several cities reached out to me. Hey, can, can you do the same at our city? And it is, you know, I've had to turn down cities cuz it's just too much. You know, I've had two, two other Texas cities that I asked me to host events at their cities. And I unfortunately I've had to say no because I just don't have the time [00:27:59] CraigDalton.: Yeah. Yeah. [00:28:00] FabianSerralta: Pueblo. Against my better judgment. I was like, sure. It's you know, the, the Pueblo story. I really, really I, I couldn't say no, it's just, they they've, they've been wanting to do an event there and they even they were bidding to try and get an event and they, they lost the bidding most cities that want to do something like this. They're paying promoters to do the events there. That's one of my rules. I will not charge a city to host any event, cuz it goes completely against what I'm trying to do. So what I'm trying to do is bring money to the city and build and bring equipment and funding to the volunteer fire departments. So why would I be charging them money to host events [00:28:39] CraigDalton.: Yeah, it's super, it's super interesting. When you look at the economics of events, just events in general, how much they cost, but the economic impact to these rural communities, which in your case is very specific to raising money for these volunteer fire departments. But even beyond that, the, you know, the amount of meals purchased the amount of hotel nights, cetera. Like it's it, it has a significant impact. and, I'm super interested to get into your second event in Pueblo and learn how that happened. But one more question, just outta my own curiosity, how did you end up getting those 20 to 30 pros to come to a first year event? [00:29:15] FabianSerralta: I will see the credit to that goes to Ted king because I reached out to several pros. First was him. Via Instagram. Again, I don't have any connections or I don't really know anybody. And he was the only person that responded. And I wrote him this long thing through Instagram, direct messaging through Instagram. And I explained to him, look, this is what I'm trying to do. I'm I'm gonna have this event and it's gonna be free to everybody and gonna be up to them to donate. And this is all that they're gonna get, and this is all I'm gonna give them. And this is what I'm trying to buy a fire truck for the fire department. And I'm trying to get this many pros and he, he rides back. He's like, are you nuts? and he finally calls me. He's like, are you nuts? He's like, I'm so intrigued by this. And. [00:30:04] CraigDalton.: The idea, the idea was so crazy. He had to call and talk to the guy behind [00:30:08] FabianSerralta: That's exactly what he said. He's like, this is absolutely insane in this, but I'm so like intrigued by this and he's like, are you really gonna do this? And I said, oh yeah, I'm really gonna do this. And he's like, you know, this is how stuff gets done. You know, when, when people just take a chain and, and, and do something completely outside of the box. And, and he said, can I have two weeks to think about this? And I said, absolutely just take your time. And and he's, and he did two weeks later, he calls me back and I'm like huge fan of Ted. And, and I remember watching him in the tour de France and all that, and sure enough, two weeks later he calls me back. He's like, all right, I'm in. And. Do you have a website? No. He's like, you need a website and then he's like, what are you gonna do for registration? I don't know. I mean, he just went down this list. He's like, you gotta have registration, you gotta have this. And, and then and then he says to me and your social media post suck [00:31:11] CraigDalton.: suck [00:31:12] FabianSerralta: and he is, starts helping me, you know, he starts Giving me so much guidance and stuff like that. And he is like, and how are you gonna get ahold of all these other riders? Cause I give 'em a list. Like I want to get ahold of, of all these other riders. And he is like, I don't know. He says that, you know, let me help you. So he started really vouching for me and, and contacting them. And. And then he gave me a lot of advice. He says, you know, don't, don't do a don't, don't give money, don't do a purse, don't do this and don't do that. And, and you're gonna find that the folks that believe in what you're trying to do are gonna jump on board. And, and that's how it happened. He just, the folks that came forward are, are folks that care about what I was trying to do. And really wanted to be a part of something totally different. That was more about giving back. To communities and, and, and not so much about, you know, a big corporate event, it was more of a Grasso type thing. They, they were just interested and a lot of 'em have their own events that are grassroots focused, you know, Ted and Jess, Sarah, Sam Boardman, Laura King, and Ted, you know, all of them Lawrence Tanem has his own events in the Netherlands. Peter has his own event. So all of there's a connection amongst all of us. That have to do with our own little small events that are, they're not corporate they're just small community type events. [00:32:32] CraigDalton.: Yeah. Yeah. Amazing, amazing [00:32:34] FabianSerralta: then what would I do in return? You know, I help with the hotels and things like that and meals and stuff like, you know, that's how, what we do, you know, they, they ride for a living that's, that's, that's how they make a living. So you certainly, you have to help out in some way, you know, and you know, when with HCO helps me out with the hotel cost, so I provide them with a room and, and stuff like that. [00:32:54] CraigDalton.: Gotcha. Interesting. So now let's shift gears to Pueblo. I know you had mentioned you had a number of rural communities. See what you had done and reach out to you, but what was it about going to Pueblo in a state that you don't and you don't have property at this point? What was it about the Pueblo opportunity that said, Hey, this is the right next step for the gravel locus event team. [00:33:16] FabianSerralta: Well, I, I found out that they helped, they they've been wanting to have a gravel rent and I found out that. They had been bidding on, on, on having an event hosted there and, and they lost somebody else got the bid and that kind of bugged me. It bugged me, it bugs me that these small towns that are hurting and economically, and they're trying to bring business and they're trying to bring funds to their towns that they're, that there. Trying to get events by paying promoters and paying corporations money or offering to pay money. So that events are being hosted there. And to me, that it just doesn't make sense because if you're doing it for, for, as a business, you're making money. If, if you're hosting an event somewhere, you're gonna make money from registration, you're gonna make money from cells of, of, of, you know, shirts and, and you're making money from. Vendors and, and the bike industry's paying you per and, and, and all this stuff that I, I have, I don't have access to cause I don't have any, you know, I don't have the bike industry behind me and you know, or any of that, but you know, the, the lifetime events and the big corporate events have all of that, you know, you know, all those, you know, shaman and spa and all those companies that are, there are not there for free, you know, let's just be honest, you know, I was born at night, but not last night. So, And then to have these small towns that are struggling financially and have high unemployment paying significant amount of money for, for them to host the event there, to me that that just seemed wrong. And as a result, they, they were outted by another town and they didn't get the event. And I learned about this and I said, all right, we'll do the event there. So I met with the city I met with the mayor. And one of the questions were, well, how much are you gonna charge us to do the event here? I said zero. And I said, if I ever ask you for money to do an event here, kick me in your ass, please. I said, that's not. That goes completely against what I'm trying to do. I said, the reason I'm I'm doing these events is to bring funds to cities that are struggling financially, but also to bring funds to the volunteer fire department, because. Guess who we call when we fall and wipe out and bust our asses out, riding gravel, volunteer, fire departments, guess who's out there. That's, who's out there. You know, when we're out there riding gravel that, and all of us know this it's volunteer fire departments. We're out in the middle of nowhere and it's a volunteer fire department. It out there charge and really taking care of hundreds of, of miles. That they're covering and that's who we rely on. So if we're gonna support a, a department as a gravel community, I mean, I would think that I, you know, logically we're gonna support the volunteer fire departments in those areas that we ride. So it's not that I'm Mr. Nice or anything like that. It's just logical that we're gonna support the very same people that come to help us. And it's the volunteer fire departments in those areas that we ride. So. And I think they, they appreciate that, you know, so to charge them, it doesn't make sense. I don't think it's fair, but they do help. You know, they provide, like we said earlier, they help me with the permitting and they help me with law enforcement and they help me with barricades and things like that. So they, they do help. It's not like they're doing nothing. So it's, it becomes a, a community, a true community involved event. And we, we get that. We throw that word around all the time, community, this community, that, but when you really dig into it, poor community is paying a few hundred thousand dollars. And it's really no longer a community. Now we're talking about a service and a fees and stuff like that. But in, in our case, you know, HaCo provides all this help and volume and stuff like that. The same with Pueblo. That's. [00:37:03] CraigDalton.: think that's, you know, it's, it's in, I think it's refreshing to take that expansive view of community cuz oftentimes the gravel community, those words are thrown around a lot. Generally implying your fellow athletes, the fellow people out there riding with you. But it, it really is in these rural communities. It's the people of the community that are coming out, coming out, whether they're, you know, Manning the registration booth or Manning an aid station, or, you know, opening their doors and giving you a glass of water. If you're stuck out there somewhere like that, that really is the breadth of the community that gravel does touch in these town. [00:37:38] FabianSerralta: Oh, I mean, you better believe it. If they don't help me, I'm not doing it. mean, there's no way I, I would do it. It it's just, you know, I wouldn't do it. And they understand that and, and, and I'm really open about that. It's like, I'm not charging anything, but you gotta help me. You know, when I met with the fire department, it's like, you all gotta help me. There's, you know, I don't have, this is, you know, and I, and I say this, you know, like, My social media, it's one Cuban and an iPhone. You know, I don't have a, a, a, a crew or anything like that. It's, you know what you see on social media? It's Fabian, you know, one Cuban and an iPhone. I don't have employees. I don't have anything. It's just myself. So I, I will take all the help that I can get. And you don't need an entire staff to, to do anything like this, but you do need, you know, help and, and volunteers and, and Pueblo understands that. And HaCo understands that, you know, I'm looking at another state right now and we're looking at a third event and they understand the same thing that, Hey, we need, we want to have event grab a locus type event. We don't have, you know, a few hundred thousand dollars to. Give a promoter to bring the event here, but we do have willing bodies and people that are willing to, you know, help and, and volunteer. And, and that's the model. And, but we also like having 20 something pros and we like having the, that racing component. But yet we also want to have an environment that the Fabians that are gonna come in last know that they can train for this. And it's not gonna be taken away. They're not gonna be turned around and yanked off the course because to me, that's, I can't imagine training for something for a year. And, you know, not being a Ted king or, or, or a Allison Terick or Jess, Sarah, I'm not those folks. You know, I can't imagine training and having my family behind me and all of that support and, and the struggles of having to work other jobs and then being yanked off the course until, Hey, you know, you can't finish you because you didn't make it by 30 minutes or an hour or two hours. I cannot imagine what that feels like. And to me that just, that that's not inclusive, that that's just telling somebody you're not good enough and turn around. I, I, to me, there's no explanation that you can give me that tells me that's rational, reasonable, not even safety. What do you mean safety? There's, there's nothing. If it's a issue then guess what? You know, the amount of money that these events make, then you plant a fricking sag vehicle behind those folks to follow them till the end. What does that cost? I mean, lemme know I'll pay for it. What's the big deal. You know, and that's what we do at gravel locus. Last year, we had a vehicle sag vehicle to follow five folks, cuz it was dark. They didn't have lights. I said, well you freaking follow them. Follow 'em all the way to the end. You're gonna be their light because. Again, why would we yank somebody off the course? Now, if they want to quit, it's on them. If they want to throw in the towel, it's on them. But, and, and then the other thing that we have with our pros and, and, and they're more, and you, we don't even have to ask em and it's like, Hey, you know, make yourself available to the, to the folks, to the regular folks. And I do, there are so many selfies out there with Ted and, and kids and, and Pete. Lawrence. It's just super cool and funny as hell. Allie Terick and Jess, you know, all these young girls and, and folks that got to meet them personally. And they were out there available to all these folks, which, you know, it's, those are memories and things that you just, you know, all their fans get to meet them. [00:41:16] CraigDalton.: A hundred percent. So I guess we, you know, I feel like we've unpacked pretty completely what the gravel Locos, eco ethos is and what the experience is gonna be like on the Pueblo side. What is that terrain like? I've driven through Pueblo, but I've never, I've never put rubber on the its and trails there. What, what do you expect the courses to be like in Pueblo? [00:41:36] FabianSerralta: Oh, my gosh, it's silky smooth, but you know, it's, it's, it's so beautiful. I got to ride 23, 24 miles the other day. So we, we, we rode from the fire station. We did a loop and it was about 24 miles and about 1400 feet of elevation gain. The the main route we call it the, the GL one 50, that's just our, our, our, the, the big route is always gonna be called the gravel locals one 50, but it's really 169 miles. So you get, you get a little extra, but it's, you know, right with GPS says it's over 13,000 miles, but as we know, it's always under, it's always more than. [00:42:14] CraigDalton.: feet of climbing. [00:42:15] FabianSerralta: So I would expect just about 14,000 feet of elevation gain and, you know, it's it's for me coming from Texas, it was a little, a little harder cuz there there's that whole, you know, the altitude, but it is just so smooth and so nice. It's you know, it's hard packed also. It's it's smoother. The gravel there is it. It's just hard to explain. It's just, it's beautiful. [00:42:40] CraigDalton.: So do you imagine this being the type of event that larger groups can stay together and benefit from drafting off one another and things like that? Just given the type of terrain you're on. [00:42:48] FabianSerralta: Yeah. Yeah. It's just, I mean, it, it's hard to explain. I mean, there it's, I was, I was telling them over there, it's like, it's hard and it's definitely challenging, but you're looking at mountains and you're looking at, at all this beautiful terrain, it's really, you know, I was, I was exhausted. Again, I'm not, I'm not anybody who's in the kind of shape and certainly I've, I've gained. I, I was telling them the other day, I was like, you know, there was the COVID 19 pounds. I, I managed to, you know, I went from riding a ton of mileage every year. And when I started gravel Locos, I've gained 50 pounds in, in two years of not riding and running two businesses and gravel Loco. So. I've gotta find a way to get these 50 pounds off. So yeah, going downhill was great over there, but going up was tough, but just a scenery is just so, so interesting. [00:43:37] CraigDalton.: and are the courses punctuated by like a significant climbs? Like in terms of like, oh, you're gonna be climbing for an hour at a time. Like [00:43:44] FabianSerralta: know, gradual they're gradual climbs. There was nothing that like in HCO, you get these punchy climbs over. There's more gradual. So. You know, you can get away with with less big gears in HighCo. I tend to run bigger gears over there. You know, I didn't get in any of my big gears, you know, I, I run a 10 52 in a rear Ram and I, I wasn't using it over there because they're, they're more of the gradual climb. You kind of get into a rhythm and they're kind of, I prefer that to be honest, that you just kind of get into this groove and you get into this rhythm. Whereas high code has these. You know, we have some, some climbs that are 22% 23, and they're pretty punchy. And we have these three climbs that are back to back that we call the three bees. You can decide whatever you want to call those bees, but bitches they're rough. And then and man, those kick up into the 22, you 23, 20 4%. and it's, you know, they're kind of loose rocks and you just kind of gotta lean forward and you gotta get that big granny gear and just work your way up. Whereas in Pueblo, you don't have, I didn't experience anything like that. And, and most of what's out there is these long gradual climbs that you kind of get into a rhythm. So I prefer the, the type of climbing that they have out there in Pueblo, but they're both very, very different, very different type of riding. [00:45:05] CraigDalton.: And would you change your, your tire width from HaCo to Pueblo? Would you do [00:45:10] FabianSerralta: I think that you can. I think that at, at both, you can get away with smaller diameter tires. So I've done HaCo with 35 centimeter tires. I've done HaCo with 47. I think that in Pueblo again, we rode Pueblo last week where it had been snowing. and it was muddy, but even then, you know, I wrote it with 45 centimeters and there was folks out there running it, riding it with 30 eights and they still did just fine, but the, the Pueblo gravel is much smoother than the HaCo. And I, I can see some folks getting away with when it's dry, especially over getting away with, you know, 30 fives, [00:45:50] CraigDalton.: Yeah. [00:45:50] FabianSerralta: somes. I. [00:45:52] CraigDalton.: It's funny. It's so it's so counterintuitive to me to, and S B T gravels the same way I remember getting like my arm twisted to run 30 eights, and I was like, there's, there's no way, like I'm going to Colorado. And at home, I'm all about the 40 sevens here in Marin county, cuz it's so Rocky and but sure enough, like I definit could have ridden that as they call it champagne, gravel in Colorado on 38 with absolutely no issue. So it, it, it's quite fascinating to me and. One of the things I. [00:46:20] FabianSerralta: racers recently that are 40 threes. I haven't put 'em on yet, but they're kind of, you know, they're not slicks, but they're not Nobbies and I can't wait to try something like that. They're 40 threes. And normally in HighCo I run 40 fives or 40 sevens, but I'm looking forward to running those 43 as a whole new tire I've never used for, but I can certainly see a. And in Pueblo getting away with 38, even, even a slick or a semi slick. [00:46:45] CraigDalton.: Yeah. so, so interesting. It's obviously, it's like, it's a never ending debate and discussion about which tires to use. And I remember reading, you know, where the, when we're recording, it's the weekend of Mid-South and you know, there's a lot of people. Twisting their arms and, and twist getting all twisted inside about what tires are gonna run tomorrow or today. Excuse me. On race day at Mid-South. So always fun and appreciate the insight there. So for people looking to find out more information about the events, where can they find information about gravel locus? Why don't you tell us the, the website and the dates of the events this year? [00:47:19] FabianSerralta: So HaCo is May 14th. And Pueblo is October the first you can sign up on our website, which is www dot gravel, locos.bike. Just make sure you click the link for one or the other, or if you wanna do both I've left. He still opened. But we've got a or 1500. I haven't decided where I want to shut it down because HaCo is open to having more Pueblo is still open as well. but just all the information is on there. There's four routes for each. So there's the gravel locals, 30, the 60, the hundred. And the one 50 information about the routes is on both of them. The cause for each of the events is always gonna be a volunteer fire department. Pretty much everything you need to know about it is on the website. You'll find all the different pros that are gonna be there. We've got more pros to add to the website every day you get, you know, we get new pros that wanna come on board. As far as our sponsors there, aren't not many of them, but the, the ones that are on there, you'll find out that these are folks that are very, have been very loyal since the beginning. And if somebody wants to be a sponsor, they're more welcome. Welcome to send us a message or email us, but. We're pretty much self supported and really it's just a community thing. And, and it's really, this whole entire thing has been made possible by, by the towns and, and little businesses within the towns. Very small involvement from the bike industry. It's been a, a community thing to be on. Oh, just kind of how it worked out. [00:48:42] CraigDalton.: Amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for putting so much of your heart out. there and, and making a making events that you wanted to see happen in the world. And I think it's such a sort of beneficial place for the gravel cycling community to have event organizers with that orientation and From this conversation in our earlier conversations. I know how much of yourself, both personally and financially you put on the line to create this event series. So again, for, from, for me, thank you for doing that and exciting to hear that Pueblo is going off this year and exciting to hear that yet another community has come to you and talking about like, how do we have grow Ava three. [00:49:19] FabianSerralta: Yes, we we'll release that soon. I'll let you know. . [00:49:23] CraigDalton.: Awesome. Thanks for your time, Fabian. [00:49:25] FabianSerralta: you. Thank you. So. [00:49:27] Craig Dalton: That's going to do it for this week's edition of the gravel ride podcast. Huge. Thanks to Fabion, not only for joining us on the show, but for everything he's doing around the gravel Locos series, I think he's got his heart in the right place and I've no doubt. These are some of the best gravel events out there to attend. Big. Thanks. Also to our friends at hammerhead for sponsoring the show member, you can get a free custom color kit and premium water bottle with the purchase of the new hammerhead kuru two computer, simply go to hammerhead.io and use the promo code. The gravel ride. If you are interested in supporting the show, ratings and reviews are hugely helpful as is sharing the show with other gravel cyclists. If you're able to support the show financially, simply visit buy me a coffee.com/the gravel ride. Until next time. Here's to finding some dirt onto your wheels  

Walking in the dark, an update on the stock situation and the big updates for the Garmin GPSMAP 66 and Montana 700 series of GPS Units. In this month's podcast As it's now turning dark shortly after 4.00, we talk to Andy with regard to walking in the dark, what are some things that may help you.Stock – With many units out of stock until late January/ early Feb we go through your options and the reason whyWe look at the big software updates that have just come out for Garmin GPSMAP 66 and 86 series + Montana 700 seriesAndy's top tips So, without a further a do let's get on with this month's GPS Training Podcast 1. The first thing on this month's Podcast is a look at walking in the dark, what things do you need to take into consideration when navigating with an Outdoor GPS UnitAndy, with your training ahead of the Spine Challenge Race next year you have been getting out a fair bit in the dark.Andy, how's your training going? You can sponsor Andy via his Just Giving Page. You may not be planning to walk into the dark, but at this time of year it is very easy to end up in the dark and therefore you do need to think and plan ahead. Backlit buttons10% screen brightness – button GPS unitTie into chat on GPSMAP 66 seriesHeadtorches - what are you using and why Brightness of headtorch Nebo and SilvaWalking with Poles? Planning/ downloading your route beforehand, especially when walking in the dark 5. Anything else we have not covered? If you want to find out more about headtorches just visit our website – gpstraining.co.uk > GPS Store >Headtorches and torches 2. Stock – With many units out of stock until late January/ early Feb we go through your options and the reason why Lack of chipsSupply chain is not as it should beOut of stock – Garmin eTrex 22x, 32x, 35t and Oregon 700 and Garmin GPSMSAP 65, 65s and Garmin GPSMAP 66srPromised GPSMAP 66i back in stock 10th December, fingers crossedSo, if you are wanting a unit as a present, please do buy why we still have a number of units in stock.I honestly don't know what January will bring, but fingers crossed.SatMapTo find out more about GPS Units please go to our website – gpstraining.co.uk > GPS Store > Handheld GPS Units 3. The next thing on this month's GPS training podcast is the recent software updates for the Garmin GPSMAP 66 and 86 series and Montana 700 series - Andy, what are the main ‘fixes' or new features that have been rolled out with this software update? Fit & GPX files match Fixed selecting current activity sometimes shutting downOn Course off course on tracks and new courses feature Can now use Garmin connect to send courses to watch - How do we update our Garmin GPS units? Basecamp Windows Devices menu, Mac Basecamp but search for and download Garmin Webupdater or Garmin Express To watch video tutorials on how to update your unit please do sign up for the GPS Training online resource, this is packed full of video top tips. Go to our website – gpstraining.co.uk and click on the – Online resource – on the top menu bar 4. The next thing on this month's GPS Training Podcast is Andy's top tips – and we have lots of them – Garmin – If unit with built-in battery locked up frozen screen what to do – Hold power button in 20 – 30 seconds or until re-boot SatMap -Stopping for long break inside say a pub for lunch rather than turn unit off – power button once – hibernate 1hr  or 2 hr – One tap power button back on(Main Menu – Settings – Hibernate Settings Option to change from defaults) To find more top tips please do sign up for the GPS Training online resource, this is packed full of video top tips. Go to our website – gpstarining.co.uk and click on the – Online resource – on the top menu bar And Finally Jon leads Many thanks for listening to this month's Podcast.If there are any subjects you would like to cover in future Podcast's, please do get in touch – ASK US SOMETHING!

On this week's episode, Scott Marshall and John Coon, from Southern Exposure Technical Services, join us at GPX Charlotte. Scott tells us his start in the business and the founding of S.E.T.S. We also recap the first day of the GPX show. It's a good one! Please give us a follow on all the social medial platforms, subscribe, rate and review the podcast.Southern Exposure Technical ServicesWebsite:  www.setsembrepair.comOffice:    770-917-8825website:  www.barudanamerica.cominstagram: @barudanamericafacebook:  Barudan America Incemail: barudanstitchphiles@gmail.comwebsite: www.barudanamerica.comInstagram: @barudanamericaFacebook: Barudan America Incemail: barudanstitchphiles@gmail.comShopBarudan: www.shopbarudan.com

The October GPS Training Podcast - A big thank you – more about that later, Old OS map cards in new Garmin GPS Units – what you need to know, The Garmin GPSMAP 65s with a 1:25k map card, GPS course locations for 2022, and Andy's top tips. The first thing on this month's Podcast is a very big thank you to Ian As you may hear we have no Ian on this month's Podcast, this is, very sadly he has decided to leave GPS Training. Ian has been a member of the GPS Training team for 14 years. He has also been my fellow co-host on the Podcast since episode 19, so he hosted 40 Podcasts with me, and despite everything that has happened over the last 18 months we had lots of fun doing so. He also delivered x 3 courses in the South – South Downs, New Forest, and Northamptonshire. So it was with a very heavy heart I accepted Ian's resignation in the last month and he will be a massive loss for GPS Training. Thanks for everything Ian over the past 14 years and best of luck with everything going forward from all the team at GPS Training and the listeners of the GPS Training Podcast. A big thank you Ian The next thing on this month's GPS training podcast is the different map cards you have got over the years as some of the older OS map cards are not working in the new generation GPS Units. What are the different types of OS map cards? DiscovererTOPO PRO v1TOPO PRO v2You get each of these map options in both 1:50k OS scale and also 1:25k, which also has the 1:50k map card on the same card.TOPO PRO – Routable data within National Parks What is the problem some customers are encountering? New GPS Units – list these – will only work with the TOPO PRO map cards Buy your new map card when you buy a new unit – 1:50k map card half price when you do it this way To find out more about the different Garmin GPS Units go to – gpstraining.co.uk and click on GPS Store (top menu bar) > Handheld GPS Units The next thing on this month's GPS training podcast is - The Garmin GPSMAP 65s with a 1:25k map card What is the problem?Back Story – our GPS UnitAnd a solution – short term?Expected fix date? Thanks to the cartography team at Garmin who I know have been liaising with Andy – End OctoberIn the short term you will see we have not been selling the Garmin GPSMAP 65s with the 1:25k map card.Garmin GPSMAP has become one of our best-selling GPS Units alongside the Garmin GPSMAP 66srGarmin GPSMAP 65s – Multi band, Topo Active mapping, works alongside the explore app and this stunning 15 hours of battery life with 2 x AA batteries To find out more about the Garmin GPSMAP 65s please go to our website – gpstraining.co.uk > GPS Store > Handheld GPS Units > Garmin GPSMAP 65s and when on the product page The next thing on this month's podcast is – Our GPS Training course locations for 2022 We currently have 2 x courses 1 x day SatMap course2 x day Garmin Course Current course locations South DownsNew ForestNorthamptonshirePeak DistrictLake DistrictNorthumberlandPeebles - Scottish Borders New for 2022 – Gloucestershire - Ashleworth Memorial Hall, Nup End, Ashleworth, GL19 4HU Also, for 2022 – More midweek courses – Many thanks to everybody who filled in the course questionnaire that we have linked to a couple of times from the newsletter over the past month To find out more about our GPS training courses please just go to our website – gpstraining.co.uk and click on – GPS Training Courses on the top menu bar The next thing on this month's GPS Training Podcast is Andy's top tips – and we have lots of them – list on my job sheet (11 in total) Garmin – In out routes on Basecamp dont overlap on top as compass will be confused, use duplicate reverse or create 2 x Routes1:25k/ European maps - ages to loadElevation – resetting – videos in the online resource for all the units SatMap - SatMap Active 20 GPX file copied straight into unit - if tracks shown as footprint icon in internal folder n...

Today's episode is with Mike Brockhurst a.k.a The Walking Englishman. He's a right good Yorkshireman and he created and developed a site called The Walking Englishman and on there he has mapped 100s of walks for you and I to do across the UK for free and not only that, he has also put all the GPX files on there, which if you love exploring new routes are little nuggets of digital wizardry. We'll talk about those and why and how he created them, along with his story about himself and his motivation to create those routes. So strap yourself into some appropriate footwear, plug your headphones in and off we go! https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkingEnglishman - The independent free resource website for walking and hiking  Twitter @WalkingEnglish1 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stepping-out/message

An interview with Jeremy Waters, the creator of FastSeas. Links (Amazon links are affiliate links, meaning that The Boat Galley Podcast earns from qualifying purchases; some other links may be affiliate links): FastSeas: www.fastseas.com Garmin InReach: https://amzn.to/2TrzaCg (Amazon) Chris Parker: https://www.mwxc.com Windy.com: www.windy.com GPX file format explained: https://www.topografix.com/gpx_for_users.asp Email Nica: nica@fit2sail.com Email Carolyn: carolyn@theboatgalley.com The Boat Galley podcast is sponsored by FastSeas.com. Plan your next passage using FastSeas.com. Whether you are after speed or comfort, FastSeas will find the optimum route to your destination. FastSeas – making weather routing simple. Use coupon code GALLEY2019 for an exclusive 10% discount. Music: “Slow Down” by Yvette Craig