Podcasts about Twin Lakes

In this conversation, Camden Bucey welcomes Matt Adams, Derrick Brite, and Stephen Spinnenweber. They reflect on their experiences at the Twin Lakes Fellowship and discuss the often-neglected Larger Catechism, its practical applications, and the value of humor in theological discussions.  Registration for the Reformed Forum Conference is now open. We mention the event, highlighting its expansion to accommodate more attendees.  The panelists discuss the Larger for Life podcast, focusing on its mission to make the Larger Catechism accessible and engaging for listeners. The conversation concludes with insights on future directions for both the podcast and the conference. In this engaging conversation, the participants explore various themes including the future of their band, the importance of catechism, personal projects like book writing and PhD studies, the significance of prison ministry, upcoming conferences, and the role of appearance in ministry. They share insights on how to dress appropriately for ministry and the impact of personal presentation on one's effectiveness in preaching and teaching. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 03:03 Reflections on Twin Lakes Fellowship 05:58 Experiences and Insights from Twin Lakes 08:52 The Importance of Fellowship and Connection 12:05 Reformed Forum Conference Announcement 15:06 Exploring the Larger For Life Podcast 17:57 The Larger Catechism: A Deep Dive 21:07 Practical Applications of the Larger Catechism 23:56 Commentaries and Resources for the Larger Catechism 27:01 Humor and Theology in Conversations 29:59 Future Directions for the Podcast 37:16 The Future of the Band 39:24 The Importance of Catechism 40:49 Book Writing and Personal Projects 41:32 PhD Studies and Theological Contributions 43:49 Prison Ministry and Education 49:41 Upcoming Conferences and Events 51:14 Dressing for Ministry 01:01:23 The Role of Appearance in Ministry

What does it take to stay in pastoral ministry for over three decades? For Rene Schlaepfer of Twin Lakes Church in Santa Cruz, California, the answer might surprise you - a series of two-year commitments rather than a lifetime vow.Rene's story begins with profound childhood trauma. At just four years old, his father died from cancer, leaving his Swiss immigrant mother barely speaking English and living below the poverty line with two small children. Through powerful stories of God's provision - like praying for milk one night and finding powdered milk on their doorstep the next morning - Renee shares how his mother's simple faith became the foundation for his own spiritual journey.Today, Twin Lakes is experiencing something extraordinary - a wave of conversions among formerly unchurched people and committed atheists who report supernatural promptings to attend church. These testimonies serve as encouragement to pastors in difficult seasons: sometimes the harvest comes after decades of faithful sowing.Send us a textWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. Ministry Partner: Christian Community Credit Union

Josh Brockman, Atlanta division manager with Fischer Homes, joins host Carol Morgan on this week's Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio episode. In this podcast episode, Brockman discusses Fischer Homes' flexible layouts and the coveted Paxton floorplan. Flexible home plans are important because they can meet a variety of needs, save money, and increase resale value. Homebuyers today increasingly seek flexible floor plans that can evolve with their needs. Flexibility in a home's layout offers both practical benefits and emotional appeal. It means a house isn't just a static set of rooms, but a living space that can be reconfigured as life changes. Recent trends show that buyers want homes which accommodate everything from remote work to multi-generational living. Choose Your Layout Fischer Homes specializes in what Brockman calls “to-be-built homes,” which means that it delivers homes with various options in comparison to market homes. Whether it's transforming a study into a guest suite or adding on a pantry, there are plenty of opportunities for home shoppers. Brockman said, “It also allows our customers to control their price, as opposed to us building a speculative home and always just attaching that price to it, so our buyers can decide what's most important to them in the home that aligns with whatever their financial situation is.” Along with flexible layouts, Fischer Homes also offers designer home collections, each featuring eight to 10 floor plans. Brockman highlights that most plans are spacious, typically featuring three to six bedrooms and ranging in size from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet. The builder offers potential buyers luxurious cabinets, countertops and flooring while introducing add-on options such as generational suites and basements to extend the living space. The Paxton Plan Seeking an expansive plan at an affordable price? The Paxton is a popular choice among homebuyers, known for its five-level split style with four to six bedrooms and up to five bathrooms, spanning 4,069 to 4,204 square feet. As you step into the Paxton, a cozy dining room awaits. Down the hall, explore an open-concept layout that creates seamless transitions between the kitchen and family room. A two-story fireplace accentuates the plan's unique, multi-level design. Take the stairs down to unwind and relax in the recreation room, or venture upward to discover three bedrooms, a full bath and a spacious loft area. The owner's suite features its own staircase located on the upper level. Accommodating Move-Up and Active Adult Buyers Utilizing open-concept floor plans and large gathering spaces, Fischer Homes is highly successful in designing homes that meet the needs of move-up buyers. Brockman says that the openness of its floorplans allows parents to keep an eye on their children while also encouraging togetherness. Brockman said, “We're also seeing a demand for lofts and rec rooms, which a lot of those come included in our floor plans today, to accomplish the kids having a place to go to watch movies or be with their friends while also having a separate area for the parents or the folks wanting to enjoy free time for themselves too.” Active adult homebuyers can find comfortable living at Fischer Homes' new 55+-only communities in Dallas – Laurel Farms and Easton Park. The communities offer low-maintenance living, coupled with larger floor plans that make staying active easy for residents. Available at Cresswind Georgia at Twin Lakes, the Pearson plan offers a sizeable generational suite with a separate entrance, private bathroom and small kitchen. Brockman said, “If it's a grandparent that has moved into the home or is just staying there for an extended time to help out with the kids, they can kind of come and go as they please in the home.” Listen to the full episode to find out more about Fischer Homes, or visit https://www.fischerhomes.com/. About Fischer Homes Founded in 1980,

This new and different episodes is with Kerry-An and Patrick Masozera, who purchased Twin Lakes Recreation Island in Rwanda. They share their motivations for making a significant impact in the community, the challenges they faced upon arrival, and the innovative programs they have implemented to support local residents. The discussion also touches on their lifestyle design choices, the importance of purpose in their work, and their vision for the future, including expanding their impact beyond Rwanda.TakeawaysThe journey to owning an island was driven by a desire to make a positive impact.Community engagement is essential for successful humanitarian efforts.Real challenges on the ground often differ from theoretical plans.Building relationships with locals fosters trust and collaboration.Innovative programs can significantly improve local livelihoods.Lifestyle design choices can enhance family life and personal fulfillment.Purpose-driven work leads to greater satisfaction and impact.Creating jobs is more sustainable than traditional charity models.The vision for the future includes expanding beyond Rwanda.Legacy building is a key motivation for their work. Thanks for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to like it, leave a comment and subscribe to our podcast for more amazing content. Want to stay connected? Follow me on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes insights:➙ Visit ⁠⁠www.maidthisfranchise.com⁠⁠➙ Instagram: ⁠⁠@neelbparekh⁠⁠➙ X (Twitter): ⁠⁠@neelbparekh

This new and different episodes is with Kerry-An and Patrick Masozera, who purchased Twin Lakes Recreation Island in Rwanda. They share their motivations for making a significant impact in the community, the challenges they faced upon arrival, and the innovative programs they have implemented to support local residents. The discussion also touches on their lifestyle design choices, the importance of purpose in their work, and their vision for the future, including expanding their impact beyond Rwanda.TakeawaysThe journey to owning an island was driven by a desire to make a positive impact.Community engagement is essential for successful humanitarian efforts.Real challenges on the ground often differ from theoretical plans.Building relationships with locals fosters trust and collaboration.Innovative programs can significantly improve local livelihoods.Lifestyle design choices can enhance family life and personal fulfillment.Purpose-driven work leads to greater satisfaction and impact.Creating jobs is more sustainable than traditional charity models.The vision for the future includes expanding beyond Rwanda.Legacy building is a key motivation for their work. Thanks for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to like it, leave a comment and subscribe to our podcast for more amazing content. Want to stay connected? Follow me on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes insights:➙ Visit ⁠⁠www.maidthisfranchise.com⁠⁠➙ Instagram: ⁠⁠@neelbparekh⁠⁠➙ X (Twitter): ⁠⁠@neelbparekh

Jeune et talentueuse, Erine Peters s'apprête à commencer sa deuxième année d'internat en chirurgie lorsque sa vie bascule après un drame personnel. Elle quitte alors son Texas natal pour un nouveau départ à l'hôpital de Twin Lakes, en Alaska. Mais à l'heure de retourner au bloc, le doute l'envahit : est-elle encore capable d'opérer ? Soren Walter, une étoile montante de la chirurgie cardiaque, est réputé pour son arrogance et son assurance à toute épreuve. Pourtant, sa confiance vacille quand une nouvelle interne aux compétences exceptionnelles est affectée dans son service. Non seulement elle pourrait lui faire de l'ombre, mais aussi faire resurgir une affaire troublante de son passé compromettant ainsi sa brillante carrière… Entre rivalités, coup de foudre et coups bas, Erine et Soren vont devoir naviguer en eaux troubles où chaque révélation pourrait les conduire à leur propre destruction. Lu par: Amandine Barbier; Bruno Munda Publié par: Editions Thélème from W. F. Howes Date de parution : 28/11/2024

Your next chance to WIN is tomorrow at 7:20am!

Your next chance to WIN is tomorrow at 7:20am!

Having spent 30 years homesteading at Twin Lakes, Alaska, building an incredible cabin (and entire lifestyle) with nothing but hand tools –Dick Proenneke fast became a legend of the Alaskan Wilderness. Author Monroe Robinson and his wife K spent 19 summers caring for Dick Proenneke's cabin after he left in 1999. A master craftsman in his own right, Monroe spent that time restoring and replicating the amazing tools and objects Dick created.Through Dick's extensive journals, the nuanced way he created and repaired objects, and Monroe's own memories of their friendship –We are able to paint a picture of the truly wild way this man lived.A big thank you again to Monroe for sharing his time, knowledge and entertaining stories with us today. You can hear Monroe's story in EP43.You can find Monroe's fantastic book - 'The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke' at Lost Art Press.If you'd like to get hold of a signed copy, you can shoot an email to monroe@mcn.org with the title: The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke-----------------Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

In this episode of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast, Dan is joined by Dr. Sabrina Strickland and Dr. Andreas Gomoll to discuss the patellofemoral joint in detail, with considerations to instability, cartilage defects, and more. Dr. Sabrina Strickland is board certified in sports medicine and orthopedic surgery at HSS, where she specializes in patellofemoral surgery for instability, cartilage disease, ACL and meniscal surgery and shoulder surgery. She completed her residency and fellowship in sports medicine at HSS after completing medical school at Rush in Chicago. Prior to that, Dr. Strickland received her BA from Cornell University. Currently, Dr. Strickland is an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. She retired from her part-time position as the Chief of Orthopedics at the VA in 2012 after seven years of service. Dr. Strickland is also the co-founder of the HSS Patellofemoral Center. Dr. Strickland is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and the Arthroscopy Association of North America. Her research focuses on the knee joint, specifically cartilage transplants, patellofemoral arthritis and instability, and ACL and meniscal repair. Prior to pursuing her medical career, Dr. Strickland was a ski instructor during college at Stratton and spent a year skiing in Crested Butte, Colorado where she still has a home. In her spare time, Dr. Strickland enjoys skiing, hiking near her home in Salisbury, CT, and paddle boarding on Twin Lakes. For more on Dr. Strickland, you can find her at https://www.hss.edu/physicians_strickland-sabrina.asp or by visiting her website https://sabrinastrickland.com/ Dr. Andreas Gomoll is double board certified in Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine. His practice is devoted to preserving or restoring quality of life for patients with injuries to the knee and shoulder. He is widely recognized as one of the leading surgeons specializing in joint preservation with extensive experience in ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair, both performing primary procedures, as well as revision surgery for failed prior procedures. He also specializes in rotator cuff and biceps injuries. Dr. Gomoll is a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and the International Cartilage Repair Society. He holds leadership positions in these and other US and international professional societies, as well as being on the editorial boards of several orthopedic journals. He has been awarded several Best Doctors designations, is a Castle Connolly Top Doctor, recipient of the Who is Who Humanitarian award, and was recognized as one of 16 stand-out sports knee surgeons in North America. He leads and participates in multiple surgical and non-surgical research trials of innovative new treatments for ligament, meniscus and cartilage damage, and has published over 100 articles and several books in this field. For more on Dr. Gomoll, you can find him at https://www.hss.edu/physicians_gomoll-andreas.asp or by visiting his website http://www.andreasgomollmd.com/  *SEASON 5 of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast is brought to you by Isophit. For more on Isophit, check out isophit.com and @isophit -BE SURE to use coupon code BraunPR25% to save 25% on your order! **Season 5 of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast is also brought to you by Oro Muscles. For more on Oro, check out www.oromuscles.com Episode Affiliates: MoboBoard: BRAWNBODY10 saves 10% at checkout! MedBridge: https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/brawn-body-training or Coupon Code "BRAWN" for 40% off your annual subscription! CTM Band: https://ctm.band/collections/ctm-band coupon code "BRAWN10" = 10% off! Check out everything Dan is up to by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/braun_pr Liked this episode? Leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/daniel-braun/support

L'émission 28 minutes du 14/12/2024 Ce samedi, Renaud Dély décrypte l'actualité avec le regard international de nos clubistes : Jeremy Stubbs, directeur adjoint de la rédaction de la revue Causeur ; Isabelle Durant, experte droit au développement au Conseil des Droits de l'Homme ; Aysegul Sert, journaliste turco-américaine et professeure à l'école de journalisme de Sciences Po et la dessinatrice de presse Dorthe Landschulz.  L'Europe a-t-elle raison de dire “stop” aux réfugiés syriens ? Depuis 2015, 6 millions de Syriens ont fui leur pays et le régime de Bachar al-Assad : 3 millions vers la Turquie voisine et 1,3 million vers l'Europe. Alors que le régime est tombé, la question du retour de ces réfugiés en Syrie se pose. Depuis lundi 9 décembre, plusieurs pays ont gelé les procédures d'examen des demandes d'asile des Syriens comme l'Allemagne, le Royaume-Uni ou la Norvège. L'Autriche a même annoncé préparer un “programme de rapatriement et d'expulsion” des Syriens ayant déjà obtenu l'asile. Cet empressement est “indécent” pour plusieurs partis de gauche, des ONG et des médias. La Syrie sans Bachar al-Assad sera-t-elle plus sûre pour ces millions de réfugiés ?  Les émissions de CO2 dues au tourisme explosent : faudra-t-il limiter les voyages ? Les émissions mondiales de CO2 liées au tourisme s'envolent, selon une étude publiée dans la revue “Nature Communications”. Elles représentent aujourd'hui 9 % du total des émissions de CO2 dans le monde. Surtout, elles augmentent de 3 à 4 % par an depuis 10 ans. La tendance n'est pas près de s'infléchir avec l'augmentation de la population mondiale. Trois pays, la Chine, les États-Unis et l'Inde, représentent 40 % des émissions du secteur du tourisme. Dans le même temps, le secteur aérien anticipe un record mondial de 5,2 milliards de passagers en 2025. Pour faire baisser les émissions de CO2 générées par le tourisme de masse, les auteurs de l'étude estiment nécessaires des choix politiques forts pour “limiter la demande”. Doivent-ils forcément être coercitifs ?  Nous recevons l'explorateur et écrivain Eliott Schonfeld qui publie “Alaska, sur la piste de Telaquana” aux éditions Payot. Depuis plusieurs années, il explore des territoires sauvages en solitaire avec la volonté de revenir à l'instinct primaire de survie, en communion avec la nature. En août 2023, il décide de partir sur les traces de Richard Proenneke, un homme de 51 ans qui décide en 1968 de revenir à la vie sauvage dans l'une des régions les plus inhospitalières d'Alaska, la vallée des Twin Lakes.  Valérie Brochard nous donne des nouvelles de nos chers voisins allemands. Le droit à l'IVG n'est pas inscrit dans la loi mais elle est tolérée. Si elle est pratiquée dans les douze premières semaines de la grossesse après une consultation médicale, elle n'est pas passible de poursuites judiciaires. Mais, puisque l'intervention est illégale, elle n'est pas remboursée. Le projet de loi propose de légaliser l'avortement jusqu'à la douzième semaine. Il sera possible de le faire au-delà de ce délai, en cas de problème médical particulier. Sur avis médical, il serait ainsi remboursé.  Jean-Mathieu Pernin zappe sur la télévision américaine qui revient sur l'assassinat de Brian Thompson, patron d'un géant de l'assurance santé aux États-Unis, par Luigi Mangione. L'engouement autour de ce dernier est-il révélateur du malaise des Américains avec leur système d'assurance santé privée ? Ce week-end, Olivier Boucreux décerne le titre d'employé de la semaine à Abou Mohammed al-Joulani, le nouvel homme fort de la Syrie. Ancien membre d'al-Qaida, il se présente aujourd'hui comme le leader “réformateur” des rebelles syriens.  Paola Puerari s'intéresse au robot Optimus : conçu par Tesla et doté de l'intelligence artificielle, il peut effectuer de nombreuses tâches. Deviendra-t-il le majordome du 21e siècle ?  Enfin, ne manquez pas la question très intéressante de David Castello-Lopes qui se demande comment surfer sur la plus grande vague du monde. 28 minutes est le magazine d'actualité d'ARTE, présenté par Élisabeth Quin du lundi au jeudi à 20h05. Renaud Dély est aux commandes de l'émission le vendredi et le samedi. Ce podcast est coproduit par KM et ARTE Radio. Enregistrement : 14 décembre 2024 - Présentation : Renaud Dély - Production : KM, ARTE Radio

Episode 247: Today on “The Building Code,” Charley and Courtney are sitting down with Lyle Crownover, owner and CEO of Crownover Company, Inc. Lyle is a fifth-generation builder whose great-great-grandfather started building homes in the Twin Lakes area since 1942. Building is in his blood, and he's learned over the years that technology and trends come and go, but quality craftsmanship and solid relationships never go out of style. Listen to the full episode to hear about how the team at Crownover Company are fostering better connections with their clients and subcontractors with the help of technology.   Learn more about Crownover Company on their website: https://crownovercompany.com/   Learn how to get involved with hurricane relief: https://buildertrend.com/blog/hurricane-relief-2024/     Read the shownotes for this episode here: https://buildertrend.com/podcast/the-building-code/247-lyle-crownover/   Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/   FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/  TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Buildertrend/ YOUTUBE:  / @buildertrend LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend #Buildertrend #BuiltWithBuildertrend #ConstructionSoftware

Get More LVWITHLOVE content Thank you to our Partners! WDIY Wind Creek Event Center Michael Bernadyn of RE/MAX Real Estate  Molly’s Irish Grille & Sports Pub Banko Beverage Company 4K VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/Dec6CJHe-74 As part of the Shop Local Harder series, we sat down with Christine and Tyler from The Club at Twin Lakes to chat about their recent renovations, including upgrades to their historic golf course, event spaces, and their on-site restaurant, the Wild Turkey Grill. Whether you’re hitting the links or looking for a venue for your next big event, Twin Lakes offers a one-of-a-kind experience. In this episode, we also explore their holiday offerings, like Thanksgiving to-go meals, breakfast with Santa, and festive tournaments like the Turkey Trot and Santa Scramble. GUESTS Christine and Tyler: The Club at Twin Lakes LINKS The Club at Twin Lakes: https://www.theclubattwinlakes.com/

SPOILER-FILLED DISCUSSION: Join me and my cohosts this week as we fight supernatural crime and bring peace to the brightside in "The Darkside Detective". Playing as Detective McQueen and accompanied by our dopey cop partner, Dooley, we will help investigate the "outright bizarre, downright dangerous, and confusing cases of Twin Lakes." Dave McCabe - https://x.com/davetheallthing Treasa McCabe - https://x.com/FarrellyTreasa Paul Conway - https://x.com/DoomCube Ben Prunty - https://x.com/benprunty Dooley's Conspiracy Website - http://doolluminati.com/

SPOILER-FREE RATING: Join me and my cohosts this week as we fight supernatural crime and bring peace to the brightside in "The Darkside Detective". Playing as Detective McQueen and accompanied by our dopey cop partner, Dooley, we will help investigate the "outright bizarre, downright dangerous, and confusing cases of Twin Lakes." Dave McCabe - https://x.com/davetheallthing Treasa McCabe - https://x.com/FarrellyTreasa Paul Conway - https://x.com/DoomCube Ben Prunty - https://x.com/benprunty Accessibility Report - https://www.patreon.com/posts/darkside-report-116131235

Welcome green thumbs! This week the team travels to Twin Lakes Food Bank Organic Garden to meet with Garden Coordinator Michelle Kwek. Learn how this gorgeous garden provides fresh produce to the community and benefits the local wildlife with sustainable practices.Check out their website to learn more, get involved and even get tickets to the upcoming Fundraiser Gala.Certify your habitat to help wildlife with the National Wildlife FederationGreen Acres Garden PodcastGreen Acres Nursery & SupplyGreen Acres Garden Podcast GroupIn the greater Sacramento area? Learn how to make your yard Summer Strong and discover water-saving rebates at BeWaterSmart.info.

Monroe Robinson is a truly fascinating individual. An avid student of the wild and meticulous craftsman and maker – his combined passion for the outdoors and attention to detail has gotten him into all kinds of interesting adventures. From salvaging ancient abandoned redwoods in California to care taking Proenneke's historic cabin at Twin Lakes, Alaska for almost 20 years.Monroe also wrote a book about care-taking and restoring the cabin at Twin Lakes: 'The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke' is available through Lost Art Press.If you'd like to get hold of a signed copy then you can shoot an email to monroe@mcn.org with the title: The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke-----------------Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share it with a friend who loves the outdoors.Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

The Red Devils head north to face an improved Twin Lakes squad.

The Undefeated Knights get set to face Twin Lakes.

It's a shame that two of the nicest people you can meet at the Leadville Trail 100 also happen to be the ones you want the least to meet. You see, Sandy and Mike Monahan are the race's cutoff queen and king. If you are pushing the time cutoffs at each aid station, they will do their best to move you through and on to the next one. But if you are too late getting there, they will kindly and gently deliver the news that your raceday has ended. You couldn't ask for better people to handle this difficult job, and that is what makes them an integral part of the Leadville Family. I've been there several times on both sides of the cutoff ledger, which may be why in the years I have volunteered, Sandy has sometimes recruited me to assist her. I got to know them particularly well in 2015, when I was the so-called Last Ass Up the Pass, the DFL, or dead f*@king last finisher. Due to coming back from surgery for a ruptured quad that prior fall and some other unique circumstances, from the time I arrived at Twin Lakes inbound, I was within four minutes of the cutoff at every aid station the rest of the way. A very stressful position to be in, but the Monahans kept me moving along so that I did make it to the finish with only two minutes to spare, in 29:58! Once again this year, at Outward Bound and Half Pipe, there were Mike and Sandy pushing me along as I teetered ahead of those cutoffs. But the couple has meant a lot more to the race, going all the way back to the early days when Mike was a racer, and Sandy helped race co-founder Merilee computerize the records from the old handwritten ones prior to then. Cole Chlouber devoted an entire chapter to them in his new book, Grit, Guts, and Determination. Mike and Sandy share some great stories that I am sure you will enjoy in this episode, recorded on the eve of this year's race, which they generously agreed to do, get this, on their 50th wedding anniversary!Bill Stahlsilly_billy@msn.comFacebook Bill StahlInstagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahlYouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared last night at a Democratic fundraiser in Minneapolis — after news reports identified him as one Kamala Harris' two finalists for her vice presidential running mate. Harris is expected to make her selection known — between Walz and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — on Tuesday.And weather spotters reported multiple tornadoes in south-central Minnesota last night.  Tornadoes were tracked from near St. James toward Winnebago, Amboy, Wells, Conger, Twin Lakes and Emmons. This is an MPR News morning update, hosted by Phil Picardi. Music by Gary Meister.Gov. Walz remains on Kamala Harris' VP shortlist as new ticket set to debut on TuesdayFind these headlines and more at Mprnews.org.Read the latest edition of the AM Update newsletter.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS.

History and trout fishing in the Bowman Lake/Spaulding Lake corridor; East Walker R. Trout; Twin Lakes trout; Virginia Lakes trout; West Walker trout; Rancho Seco bass; Silver Fork American trout; Upcoming Stampede kokanee derby; Kokanee fishing at Stampede; Pardee Reservoir kokanee

Jennifer Landers, community director of the Kolter Homes Cresswind Georgia at Twin Lakes community, joins host Carol Morgan for this week's Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio episode. In this podcast segment, Landers discusses the 55+ active adult home industry and all things Cresswind Georgia at Twin Lakes. Landers began her career working in real estate for a single-family home builder and then transitioned to a national developer of master-planned communities. After almost 20 years with that developer, she joined the Kolter Homes team, leading its new 55+ active adult community. Landers said, “Now I'm working in the best of both worlds, working in a master-planned community and selling the homes here for Kolter at Cresswind Twin Lakes in Hoschton.” Cresswind Georgia at Twin Lakes is a master-planned community located in historic Hoschton. When complete, this community will welcome 1,300 families home with high -class amenities and breathtaking natural landscapes. The Cresswind community offers residents access to 29,000+ square foot clubhouse, indoor and outdoor pools, 40 acres of lakes, trails and golf cart paths and an event lawn for gathering with neighbors. Residents also enjoy Georgia's largest, private pickleball center located within their community. Location plays a huge role in the planning of 55+ active adult living, taking into consideration the population, healthcare and external amenities in the area. Families often want to move together, so building near growing local communities is crucial to keep everyone together. Landers said, “One of the biggest challenges, just in the Atlanta market, is that there are not enough large pieces of land left close enough to local amenities. That is probably our biggest challenge as we look for new Cresswinds.” Why does the active adult home shopper prefer community life? Social engagement is a driving factor. Homebuyers want opportunities to get to know their neighbors and connect through activities. Cresswind communities provide amenities and events that encourage residents to get out, have fun and engage in their community. The Cresswind-exclusive concert series has been a huge hit, highlighting local talent on the event lawn. Landers said, “There is something going on every single day, and you can be as active as you want or not.” Cresswind Georgia at Twin Lakes is outfitted with a model home village featuring 15 decorated residences, giving prospective homebuyers a glimpse of life in the community. Buyers also have access to hundreds of personalization options and convenient access to professional guidance in the Welcome Center's onsite design studio. Home shoppers still have plenty of time to secure a home in Cresswind Georgia at Twin Lakes. Of the 1,300 homes planned, only 500 homes have closed. Kolter Homes is now building in Phase Five of Eight. Phase Six is under development and set to open next year. The second phase of the community garden recently opened and introduced a new greenhouse and herb garden. The full community is expected to finish in 2030, giving prospective buyers time to unlock a new life with Cresswind. Tune in to the full interview above to learn more about Cresswind Georgia, or visit www.CresswindGA.com. A special thank you to Denim Marketing for sponsoring Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Known as a trendsetter, Denim Marketing has been blogging since 2006, podcasting since 2011 and is currently working on strategies for the Google Helpful Content update and ways to incorporate AI into sales and marketing. Contact them when you need quality, original content for social media, public relations, blogging, email marketing and promotions. A comfortable fit for companies of all shapes and sizes, Denim Marketing understands marketing strategies are not one-size-fits-all. The agency works with your company to create a perfectly tailored marketing strategy that will adhere to your specific needs and niche.

Join Kosta and his guest: Jonathan West, CEO of Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperative.In this episode: For those of us who don't really understand how the internet works or how it's changed over the last - let's say 20 years - what's fiber internet? What's broadband? How do you know what kind of internet is right for you? How can access to broadband change the workforce of the Upper Cumberland? If anyone's listening and thinking, well, I already have internet and it works well enough - I don't want to go through the trouble of changing. What does Twin Lakes do differently? Find Out More About Twin Lakes:https://www.twinlakes.netBetter Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is a product of Morgan Franklin Media and recorded in Cookeville, TN.This episode of Better Together with Kosta Yepifantsev is made possible by our partners at Aspire Barber and Beauty Academy.Find out more about Aspire Barber and Beauty Academy:https://aspirebarberandbeauty.com/

The Sharvette Mitchell Radio Show | www.Sharvette.com | EveryTuesday Tune in as we chat with Dr. Yemaja Jubilee about the upcoming JULY JUBILEE JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION featuring Dr. Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth!   JULY JUBILEE JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION July 5 -7, 2024 Twin Lakes State Park  bit.ly/twinlakesjuneteenth The rich history of the Connect, Communicate, & Collaborate Team (CCC Team) was formed in September 2023 by Dr. Yemaja Jubilee. Her father, 98-year-old Rev. John Henry Brown, (Charlotte County, VA) a member of the 1390 Black Battalion, Civilian Conservation Corps, helped build the dams for the 1930s segregated Prince Edward Lake (Black recreation park) and Goodwin Lakes (White recreation park). The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 legally ended segregation; however, in 1986, the Park was integrated and renamed Twin Lakes. A ceremony honoring Rev. Brown was held at Twin Lakes in June 2023. Following Dr. Jubilee's production of this celebration, she had a vision to invite Dr. Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth, Fort Worth, Texas, to be the guest speaker at the 2024 Juneteenth Celebration. In collaboration with Kevin Faubion, Park Director at Twin Lake State Park, and The Friends of Twin Lakes State Park a 501(c)(3) organization, Dr. Jubilee began the uphill task of working together to bring her vision to fruition.    --- Dr. Jubilee is an Inspirational Speaker, SOUL-FULL POET/ SPOKEN WORD ARTIST, Life Coach, author, Creative Consultant, and song writer. She is an Inclusivity & Diversity Consultant through NCBI. As a renown inspirational speaker/workshop facilitator, Dr. Jubilee spreads her message of love and inclusivity.     

Slater and AJ are back after a crazy week. Slater details the Michigan Amateur Qualifier at Twin Lakes and a close call! They talk about some sad news in the golfing world and some bright spots as well. The US Women's Open is going on and Lexi is retiring! Instagram/Twitter/Threads: @100_keepitunder Email: 100keepitunder@gmail.com Listen, rate, review, subscribe, follow, like, save, share, comment, DM, email and Keep It Under 100!

A formal apology, Twin Lakes, Breeder cup west, big river classic, 2024 masters, and HOF inductions! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/houndstales/support

Land Acquisition Manager Nick Whitson with Eastwood Homes joins the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast to discuss new construction opportunities across metro Atlanta and more! Whitson sits down with the Denim Marketing President and Show Host Carol Morgan. Before joining Eastwood Homes in October 2023 as land acquisition manager, Whitson was an agent completing various land deals in the Atlanta market. From 2016 until his current role, he worked in downtown Atlanta and around the perimeter, mainly on infill development projects. Eastwood Homes is a private builder based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, with a presence in the Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia markets. A company connected to its roots, the original owner still participates in land drives to this day! With many projects underway, Eastwood Homes has a pulse on the Atlanta market. Prospective buyer searching for the perfect home across the state have many new construction opportunities to choose from, thanks to the builder's presence in Canton, Cumming, Flowery Branch, Ball Ground and Hoschton. Whitson said, “We're trying to get aggressive and expand our market share. Being a smaller company, [we] can kind of push the envelope and get a little more creative.” Traditionally a competitive market, Atlanta buyers are searching for homebuilders that fit the bill but also provide thoughtful features! With this in mind, Whitson shared that Eastwood Homes consistently looks for opportunities to find partners, focus on the smaller details and more to set the company apart from its competition. Twin Lakes in Hoschton is a master-planned community with an extensive builder lineup! Focused on providing top-tier products in this community, Eastwood Homes offers two-story ranch-style homes spotlighting three to five bedrooms, two to three bathrooms and 1,829 to 3,047 square feet of living space priced from the high $400,000s. The community also features sought-after onsite amenities such as a pool, cabana, nature trails, dog park, playground and more by the lake! In Ball Ground, Marble Tree offers homebuyers an opportunity to find their dream home in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Priced from the mid-$400,000s, the community provides a smaller, single-family product featuring up to five bedrooms and three or more bathrooms within walking distance of picturesque downtown Ball Ground. Whitson said, “That's something we're keeping in mind moving forward. How do we get the walkability? That's going to add a lot of value for the homeowners.” At Sunrise Cove at Great Sky in Canton, Whitson shared that the community has a few lots remaining as well as move-in-ready opportunities. Tucked away from the hustle and bustle, community members have no problem returning to town thanks to the close proximity! Homes in this community feature three to five bedrooms and two to three bathrooms priced from the $500,000s. Tune into the full interview above to learn more about Eastwood Homes, or visit www.EastwoodHomes.com. A special thank you to Denim Marketing for sponsoring Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Known as a trendsetter, Denim Marketing has been blogging since 2006, podcasting since 2011 and is currently working on strategies for the Google Helpful Content update and ways to incorporate AI into sales and marketing. Contact them when you need quality, original content for social media, public relations, blogging, email marketing and promotions. A comfortable fit for companies of all shapes and sizes, Denim Marketing understands marketing strategies are not one-size-fits-all. The agency works with your company to create a perfectly tailored marketing strategy that will adhere to your specific needs and niche. Try Denim Marketing on for size by calling 770-383-3360 or by visiting www.DenimMarketing.com. The Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio “All About Real Estate" segment, presented by Denim Marketing,

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are chatting all things Colorado Trail. Rachel, who filled in for Zach, and Chaunce are joined by David Fanning, who has seven complete hikes of the Colorado Trail, which is tied for the record we think. Topics covered today include the pros and cons of hiking the CT both east and westbound, the best weather windows, transportation to the trail, recommended gear, information about the campsites, water availability, the best towns, resupply strategy, preparation strategies, how to navigate the trail, wildlife, comparing the Collegiate East and West, and more. We wrap the show with the official details of our upcoming LIVE podcast in Denver, how to cook corn, and the triple crown of bread. Gossamer Gear: Use code “DINGLEBERRY” for 20% off packs at gossamergear.com.  Danner: Use code “TREK15” for 15% off Mountain 600 boots at danner.com. LMNT: Get a free sample pack with any order at drinklmnt.com/trek. Shady Rays: Use code “TREK20” for $20 off polarized sunglasses at shadyrays.com. [divider] Panel with David Fanning David's Website Time stamps & Questions 00:06:14 - Reminders: Come attend BPR live in Denver on April 23! Apply to be a Trek blogger or Ambassador and suggest a potential Trail Days guest for BPR! 00:07:37 - Introducing the Colorado Trail panel 00:08:54 - Introducing David Fanning 00:12:04 - How did you go from the PCT to CT? 00:14:20 - When was the first year you hiked the Colorado Trail? 00:15:52 - Do you think having that conversation with the doctor turned out to be a blessing? 00:20:25 - Colorado Trail basics 00:22:40 - Hiking season and weather 00:30:10 - What crazy weather have you seen across 7 hikes? 00:31:45 - Discussion about keeping gear dry and rain gear 00:36:42 - What experience have you had with snow on the trail? 00:39:14 - Have you had any sketchy experiences with lightning? (NOLS lightning resources) 00:41:56 - Discussion about dead tree fall 00:43:15 - Hiking NOBO or SOBO 00:49:08 - Trail termini 00:51:00 - Discussion about taking the train from Grand Junction to Denver 00:52:12 - Resupplies and towns 00:53:18 - Discussion about hitching 00:59:50 - Trail towns: Bailey, Conifer, Jefferson, and Fairplay (See The Colorado Trail Guide: Resupply and Towns on the Colorado Trail) 01:04:04 - Trail towns: Breckenridge, Frisco, and Copper 01:05:45 - Sending resupply boxes 01:06:53 - Trail towns: Leadville 01:09:54 - Trail towns: Twin Lakes 01:10:35 - Collegiate East vs West 01:17:05 - Trail towns: Buena Vista and Salida 01:19:05 - The Cochetopa section 01:24:10 - Trail towns: Gunnison, Lake City 01:31:56 - Discussion about sheepdogs 01:34:06 - Trail towns: Silverton and the scenic train 01:38:40 - Discussion about the section between Lake City and Silverton 01:40:20 - Discussion about wildlife encounters 01:48:00 - Food storage on the CT 01:50:04 - Shelter considerations on the CT 01:54:15 - Discussion about campsites and Chaunce's scary story 01:58:45 - Navigation on the CT 02:00:48 - Dogs and bikes on the CT (Backpacker Radio #214 | Tisha McCombs, Executive Director at the Colorado Trail Foundation) 02:03:30 - What has changed the most over your many hikes? 02:07:00 - Section hiking versus thru-hiking 02:14:02 - What's your elevator pitch for the Colorado Trail? 02:17:04 - Physical preparation on the CT 02:21:25 - Discussion about food and appetite 02:21:55 - Tell us about Voices of the Colorado Trail Segments Trek Propaganda Tisha McCombs is Leaving the Colorado Trail Foundation Best Trekking Poles for Backpacking in 2024 by Katie Kommer QOTD: How do you cook corn? Triple Crown of bread Plug Me: Old Man Murph's Coffee Roasters Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy @my_boy_pauly/. Leave us a voicemail! Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Advertise on Backpacker Radio Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow Backpacker Radio, The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. Follow Backpacker Radio on Tik Tok.  Our theme song is Walking Slow by Animal Years. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex & Misty with Navigators Crafting, Andrew, Austen McDaniel, Austin Ford, Brad & Blair (Thirteen Adventures), Brent Stenberg, Bryan Alsop, Christopher Marshburn, Coach from Marion Outdoors, Dayne, Derek Koch, Eric Casper, Erik Hofmann, Greg Knight, Greg McDaniel may he bring honor to his name, Hailey Buckingham, Jason “Snail” Snailer barely know her, Liz Seger, Patrick Cianciolo, SPAM, Timothy Hahn, and Tracy “Trigger” Fawns. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: 12 Trees Farms, David, Dcnerdlet, Emily Galusha, Jeanie, Jeanne Latshaw, Jeff LaFranier, Joann Menzer, Katharine Rudzitis, Keith Dobie Jr, merle Watkins, Peter, and Ruth S.

Episode 121 with Shane Kribernegg of Friday Forge in Twin Lakes, BC, Canada Welcome back to the Great White North ladies and gents. This week I (Lando) sat down with Shane to hear about how his journey into blacksmithing began at a very early age, but it took some push to get him interested in what his dad had already been doing for years. Shane's father comes from a life of farrier work and at one point in life Shane finally faced the hard truth that the passion for metal work ran in his blood too. This episode was originally recorded over a month ago. Technical issues caused a large portion of the files to be lost and thus we had to sit down again which was just a couple weeks ago now. In this episode you will hear about Shane's big new purchase for his big new shop! There were some difficulties in getting the new shop going but it's up now and looking mint. Shane is no stranger to blacksmithing outside of farrier work as well. You will hear about how he has spent some time learning from some really great smiths such as Shawn Cunningham and Jeri Sparshu as well as John Williams! Sit back, relax and enjoy. Or maybe grind and smash and enjoy. What ever you're doing I hope you enjoy this one and all others. Cheers and good day eh. ABANA 50TH ANNIVERSARY!! Mark the calendar!!! June 6-9th 2024!! The Artist Blacksmith Association of North America is celebrating their 50th!!! You can head over to www.abana.org/50thanniversary to get all the details on this amazing event. Also, if you wanna be super duper fantastically awesome... Check out our sponsors @detwillerlinseed https://detwillerlinseed.com These guys are hooking you up with 10% off orders over $50!! Use the code forgechat10 and save!! Try the flax wax. You will love it! KNIFE MAKING SUPPLIES!! www.maritimeknifesupply.com Maritime Knife supply is the place to go for all your knife making needs. Literally everything for knife making supplies! www.maritimeknifesupply.ca Save on kilns !!!! with the code FSCKILN Save 10% when you order 10 packs of belts from Norton , VSM , Klingspor , Combat Abrasives , and 3M! Maritime Knife Supply also carries a full line-up of 2x72 @brodbeck_ironworks grinders and accessories --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/forgesidechat/message

 Get your ticket info at 991themix.com

It's a sectionals Friday night on Indiana Sports Talk! Coach Kent Adams of Twin Lakes joins the show to provide a recap of his team's 36-34 win over North Montgomery. Dan Lawson of WCBK joins the show to recap Martinsville's upset win over Bloomington South. They won 65-61. Warsaw coach Matt Moore joins the show to talk about Warsaw's 48-35 win over Concord. Scott Mitchell of SWINSports joins the show to talk about Evansville memorials 50-36 win over Evansville Mater Dei.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Creepypasta Scary Story

George Zimmerman - Police Interrogation - Day after the Death of 17 Year Old Trayvon Martin On February 26, 2012, Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old African-American high school student Trayvon Martin in The Retreat at Twin Lakes community in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch coordinator in his gated community; Martin was temporarily staying there and was shot there. The Twin Lakes Neighborhood Watch program was not registered with the National Neighborhood Watch Program, but was administered by the local police department. Following an earlier call from Zimmerman, police arrived within two minutes of a gunshot during an altercation in which Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, who did not possess any weapons. Zimmerman was subsequently taken into custody, treated for head injuries, then questioned for five hours. The police chief said that Zimmerman was released because there was no evidence to refute Zimmerman's claim of having acted in self-defense, and that under Florida's Stand Your Ground statute, the police were prohibited by law from making an arrest. The police chief said that Zimmerman had a right to defend himself with lethal force. As news of the case spread, thousands of protesters across the United States called for Zimmerman's arrest and a full investigation. Six weeks after the shooting, amid widespread, intense, and in some cases misleading media coverage, Zimmerman was charged with murder by a special prosecutor appointed by Governor Rick Scott. Zimmerman's trial began on June 10, 2013, in Sanford. On July 13, a jury acquitted Zimmerman of the charges of second degree murder and manslaughter. For three years, the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigated Zimmerman on civil rights charges. In February 2015, the DOJ concluded there was not sufficient evidence that Zimmerman intentionally violated the civil rights of Martin, saying the Zimmerman case did not meet the "high standard" for a federal hate crime prosecution. After DOJ said it would not charge him with a hate crime, Zimmerman said he felt free to speak his opinion "without fear of retaliation". Zimmerman criticized the government and President Obama. He believed Obama inflamed racial tensions. "He by far overstretched, overreached, even broke the law in certain aspects to where you have an innocent American being prosecuted by the federal government," Zimmerman said. According to Zimmerman's brother Robert Jr. in 2014, in the year following the trial, Zimmerman was both homeless and jobless. Robert Jr. said that, while he believed his brother's "state of mind" was better, Zimmerman was "a very traumatized person because he has had his liberty taken away from him". Between the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the trial, Zimmerman gained 100 to 125 pounds (45–57 kg) in about a 16-month period. He weighed over 300 pounds (136 kg) at the trial.[33] His weight was discussed by FOX News and similar media with speculation as to how it might affect the jury's perceptions. On December 4, 2019, Zimmerman filed a lawsuit against Martin's "parents, prosecutors and state authorities" claiming the parties knew "about or should have known about the witness fraud, obstructed justice, or lied repeatedly under oath in order to cover up their knowledge of the witness fraud

Different brush strokes for different folks, Lexi is a great art teacher, Meredith has a cow painting from one of her classes, shoutout to Nordic Brew and their fabulous staff, Lexi hangs out now at Creative Edge in Twin Lakes, Kid's and traveling art classes, Lexi's early memories as an artist, trial and error, never be afraid of making a bad painting, building confidence on a personal level, what's the dream, Cassandra made an ashtray for her momFind Lexi here: https://www.facebook.com/LittleMountainArtistAll the links: https://linktr.ee/theclopeneffectSupport us here to keep us recording: https://the-clopen-effect.captivate.fm/supportBuy merch here because it's cool: https://www.zazzle.com/store/the_clopen_effectNameTag Productions, LLC DBA The Clopen Effect - A funny retail podcast thanks you for all your support

Let's Connect through Counseling! This week Dr. Laura Wallace, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist & Owner at Twin Lakes Counseling, will chat with us about why she believes therapy should be accessible to everyone & how therapy has helped her during her new stage of motherhood! →Join our Working Moms of San Antonio: Business Owners Community Membership: https://www.workingmomsofsanantonio.com/membership ♥️Get in touch with Laura at Laura@twinlakescounseling.com or visit twinlakescounseling.com for her practice in Washington State →Join the Working Moms of San Antonio Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WorkingMomsofSA →Subscribe to the Video Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@WorkingMomsofSanAntonioPodcast →Send questions or episode topics to: office@radisagent.com →Support a local working mom by visiting our Working Moms of San Antonio Business Directory: https://www.workingmomsofsanantonio.com/referral-directory →Working Moms of San Antonio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workingmomsofsanantonio/

Andrew Hitch, community manager with Kolter Homes, joins the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast to chat about the home builder's fast-growing Newnan communities. Hitch sits down with host Carol Morgan to discuss the types of home styles and amenities offered at each active adult community and exciting new projects on the horizon. With 15 years of experience in residential building and construction management, Hitch has been a part of the Kolter Homes team since 2014 and was promoted in 2019 to his current role as community manager. Bringing more than three decades of collective expertise, knowledge and experience to the real estate industry, Kolter Homes constructs master-planned communities throughout Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, and is well-known in the Atlanta area for its Cresswind-branded active adult neighborhoods. Kolter Homes is currently selling in its Cresswind Georgia at Twin Lakes community in Hoschton and is excited to build off the success of this active adult community with its two Newnan communities, Oak Hill Reserve and Cresswind at Spring Haven. Recently welcoming its first homeowners, Oak Hill Reserve is an intimate 55+ community featuring 43 home sites. The charming community offers active adult homebuyers a fresh collection of eight floorplans that are brand new to the market and redesigned from previous floorplans to allow additional personalization options. Nestled in Newnan, Oak Hill Reserve is conveniently located near local shopping and dining options and is in proximity to I-85 and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Other on-site amenities include an outdoor pavilion, a community garden and walking paths. Hitch said, “What I love about working at Kolter Homes is everything is geared around the buyers.” Also situated in Newnan, Cresswind at Spring Haven is an active adult, resort-style community offering stunning homes minutes away from the downtown district. The gorgeous neighborhood will offer impressive amenities such as a clubhouse, outdoor activities and more! Cresswind at Spring Haven will showcase a 4,000-square-foot design center for homebuyers to curate the home of their dreams that perfectly reflects their lifestyle, aesthetic and needs. To track construction progress and stay updated on exclusive community details, join the VIP list for Cresswind at Spring Haven here. Hitch said, “Here at Kolter Homes, we realized that our buyers want to touch, feel and see the layouts of the homes. That's why we like to showcase each of our layouts as a model home.” Tune into the full interview above to learn more about Kolter Homes, or visit www.KolterHomes.com. A special thank you to Denim Marketing for sponsoring Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Known as a trendsetter, Denim Marketing has been blogging since 2006, podcasting since 2011 and is currently working on strategies for the Google Helpful Content update and ways to incorporate AI into sales and marketing. Contact them when you need quality, original content for social media, public relations, blogging, email marketing and promotions. A comfortable fit for companies of all shapes and sizes, Denim Marketing understands marketing strategies are not one-size-fits-all. The agency works with your company to create a perfectly tailored marketing strategy that will adhere to your specific needs and niche. Try Denim Marketing on for size by calling 770-383-3360 or by visiting www.DenimMarketing.com. The Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio “All About Real Estate" segment, presented by Denim Marketing, highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact Denim Marketing at 770-383-3360 or fill out the Atlanta Real Estate Forum contact form. Subscribe to the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast on iTune...

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are joined by Brady Geilenfeldt. Brady, known on trail as Undies, thru-hiked the Colorado Trail this year. What makes Undies story especially interesting is that he is deaf. We learn all about Brady's inspiring story, the incredible technology that is cochlear implants, what challenges a deaf hiker has to overcome, Brady's highlights from the CT, some of the non-obvious benefits of being a deaf hiker, Brady's future trail ambitions, and much more. Brady is an inspiring young man and we think you'll really enjoy this chat. We wrap the show with things we're convinced people pretend to enjoy, a triple crown of things that are the new black, some new poop news, and we finally have the details for our Denver holiday hiker meetup, and you are invited. Vargo Outdoors: Use code “BACKPACKERRADIO” for 20% off at vargooutdoors.com. RTIC Outdoors: Shop at rticoutdoors.com. Darn Tough: Use code “DTLOVE-BACKPACKERRADIO” for 10% off plus free shipping at darntough.com. Katabatic Gear: Use code “BPR15” for 15% off at katabaticgear.com. [divider] Interview with Brady Geilenfeldt Brady's Instagram Time stamps & Questions 00:04:52 - Reminders: Join us at Improper City for the Hiker Meetup on December 1st! Apply to be a blogger or the Trek's editorial intern. Check out our merch and support us on Patreon! 00:08:32 - Introducing Brady 00:12:40 - Tell us about your experience with deafness 00:15:10 - How did your mom get CMV? 00:16:50 - Were your parents on high alert knowing your mom had CMV? 00:17:55 - Would you trade being deaf for anything? 00:18:57 - How well does a cochlear implant approximate human hearing? 00:21:04 - How do the implants work? 00:24:10 - Did you ever learn American Sign Language? 00:26:00 - Are your other senses enhanced to make up for the loss of hearing? 00:27:10 - Does it help you sleep at night while backpacking? 00:28:14 - Are the implants comfortable to wear? 00:29:40 - Can you customize the volume based on different environments? 00:31:20 - Is it a satisfying feeling to take them off? 00:32:28 - Do the implants make hiking more interesting? 00:35:32 - What's your hiking background and what made you decide to hike the CT? 00:37:18 - What was your longest backpacking trip prior to the Colorado Trail? 00:37:40 - What do you have to consider when planning for the CT? 00:40:28 - Is it disorienting to have only one implant in? 00:44:14 - Did you have any role models that inspired you beforehand? 00:46:20 - Do you have tips for making hiking more stimulating or being comfortable with yourself? 00:49:10 - Do you have to be concerned about the implants getting wet? 00:52:00 - Discussion about technological features or upgrades 00:53:40 - Do people ever use cochlear implants that aren't deaf? 00:55:05 - Does the implant need to be replaced? 00:57:17 - Did deafness or CMV cause you to be immunocompromised? 00:58:30 - Discussion about losing balance and other impacts of deafness 01:01:18 - How did you handle the weather on the Colorado Trail? 01:04:38 - Did you have to be more careful when navigating while hiking? 01:07:00 - Do you want to do future hikes with a trail family? 01:08:03 - Do you have any standout stories from the CT? 01:10:09 - What's the origin of your trail name? 01:14:54 - Would you do other things differently to prepare for a future hike? 01:17:50 - What ratio of rechargeable to disposable batteries did you use? 01:18:57 - How bad is it if you were to lose or break them? 01:21:22 - How did you handle health insurance? 01:23:55 - Have you had other people reach out since your hike? 01:25:00 - How does playing music interface with your deafness? 01:27:50 - Is there something to be done to make the outdoors more accessible for someone with implants? 01:30:41 - Are some insurance plans better than others? 01:32:33 - Is there an actionable step the listeners can take to improve the situation? 01:38:00 - Harvest General Store 01:40:15 - Brady's parting words Segments Trek Propaganda: Broken on the AT: Gear That Breaks At 2,000 miles (And The Gear That Doesn't) by Abby Evans QOTD: What are you convinced people are pretending to enjoy? Stupid Thing of the Week Triple Crown of things that are the new black Poop News Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy @paulyboyshallcross. Leave us a voicemail! Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Advertise on Backpacker Radio Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow Backpacker Radio, The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. Follow Backpacker Radio on Tik Tok.  Our theme song is Walking Slow by Animal Years. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex & Misty with Navigators Crafting, Andrew, Austen McDaniel, Austin Ford, Brad & Blair (Thirteen Adventures), Brent Stenberg, Bryan Alsop, Christopher Marshburn, Coach from Marion Outdoors, Dayne, Derek Koch, Eric Casper, Greg McDaniel may he bring honor to his name, Ironhike endurance productions, Liz Seger, Matt Soukup, Mike Poisel, Patrick Cianciolo, Sawyer Products, SPAM, Timothy Hahn, and Tracy “Trigger” Fawns. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: 12 Trees Farms, Dcnerdlet, Emily Galusha, Jeanne Latshaw, Jeff LaFranier, Joann Menzer, Keith Dobie Jr, Peter, and Ruth S. [divider] Transcript: In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek, we are joined by Brady Geilenfeld. Brady, known on trail as Undies, through-hiked the Colorado Trail this year. What makes Undies' story especially interesting is that he's deaf. We learn all about Brady's inspiring story, the incredible technology that his cochlear implants, what challenges a deaf hiker has to overcome, Brady's highlights from the CT, some of the non-obvious benefits of being a deaf hiker, including a great night of sleep, future trail ambitions, and much more. Brady is an inspiring young man, and we think you'll really enjoy this chat. We wrap the show with things we're convinced people pretend to enjoy, a triple crown of things that are the new black, some new hoop news, and we finally have the details for our Denver Holiday Hiker Meetup, and you are invited. But first, I am thrilled to introduce our next sponsor, which is a brand that has been a part of my pack and through hikes, dating back to 2017. Vargo creates lightweight titanium backpacking gear that is simple, innovative, and functional. The Vargo Bot 700 was with me every step of the way during my through hike of the PCT and every backpacking trip since. The Vargo Bot is extremely lightweight, weighing less than 5 ounces, and transfers heat quickly and evenly, making it the perfect pot for your cookware setup. But this just scratches the surface for why the Bot kicks so much eff… butt. Because the Bot features a screw top lid, it's the ideal option for the cold soakers of this world. Dump your dehydrated meal and the appropriate amount of water into the Bot, screw the lid closed, insert time, and voila, dinner is ready. Also, I can't count all the times I've benefited from having an additional 700ml of emergency water storage when encountering an unexpected dry spell. In other words, this piece is incredibly versatile and may very well be the last pot you ever buy. The Bot comes in a variety of sizes, including the brand new Bot XL, which is designed to perfectly fit a full-size canister inside with extra room for a stove. I'm also a user and fan of Vargo's utensils, titanium long-handle spoon for the win, and their titanium stakes. You simply can't beat titanium's combination of strength and being lightweight, and no one does it better than Vargo. Discount time, backpacker radio listeners, head to vargooutdoors.com and use coupon code backpackerradio at checkout to score a 20% discount. Again, the code is backpackerradio, all one word, at vargooutdoors.com. This is a limited time deal, so do not wait. Whether it's a car camping trip, a bout of trail magic, or the summer road trip, a quality cooler and drinkware is essential. That's why we're thrilled to introduce our next sponsor, Artic Outdoors. Artic Outdoors makes products engineered for two things, performance and durability. And unlike other coolers on the market, Artic's high-quality coolers and tumblers won't cost you an arm and a leg. Artic's 52-quart ultralight hard cooler made the trip from backpacker radio's headquarters in Golden, Colorado, to Trail A's in Damascus, Virginia, keeping our spin drifts, root beers, and blue ribbons perfectly chilled. As the name would imply, the ultralight cooler is 30% lighter compared to other premium hard-sided coolers, which means you can be the group's beverage hero without developing a hernia in the process. And compromising on weight doesn't mean you're compromising on insulation. With up to three inches of post-self-roam insulation, your ice will remain as ice for days. For more portable adventures, Artic Outdoors soft pack coolers are the ticket. These are lightweight, durable, and ready to travel with you, keeping your drinks cold for up to 24 hours while avoiding the mess thanks to two inches of closed-cell foam and puncture and tear-resistant lining. Lastly, Artic's drinkware keeps your blue ribbons cold or your morning coffee hot for the long haul, utilizing double-wall vacuum insulation. The BPR team rocked Artic tumblers throughout the muggy afternoons of southern Appalachia, enjoying refreshingly cold beverages along the way. Head to ArticOutdoors.com to get your premium coolers and insulated drinkware at a fraction of the price of the competition today. Welcome to Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek. Today is November 13th, World Kindness Day. Aww, that's nice. I am your co-host Zach Badger-Davis, sitting to my right is... Hi, I'm Juliana Chauncey, aka Chauncey... Reminders, yes. We have the deets, finally, for our Hiker Holiday Meetup Extravaganza Palooza Supreme. A-thon. Yes. This will take place, whatever I said previously, disregard that because I think a lot of the details have changed. You guys don't care about the reasons why. But this is going down on December 1st at Improper City in Denver, in Denver, not Golden, from 530 to 8 p.m. This will be co-hosted by Backpacker Radio slash The Trek and the CDTC, which means it'll be a fundraiser for them. We're going to have some sweet raffles, or as they say, door prizes. I had to look that up. Apparently, that's the vernacular for raffle prizes nowadays. Good hangs, solid vibes, memes. What else? Carnival barking. Carnival barking, yes. Sounds like there will be some of that happening. Give at least four drinks a chance and she will stand on a chair and yell at you. I haven't stood on a chair and yelled at Improper City yet, which is something that I'm excited to do. Yeah, let's see if they welcome us back after December 1st at 530 p.m. A couple other things quickly. One is if you're through hiking in 2024 and you want your journey featured on The Trek, we are currently accepting blogger applications. I did a link in the show notes. Lastly, this is the time of the year where we will likely be adding a new editorial intern to the team. This is a highly coveted position. We get lots of people reaching out for this, so if you're listening to this and you've got some serious editorial chops and you like long distance backpacking, head to the link in the show notes. Oh, also we are still selling our awesome vintage backpacker radio tees. We've gotten some nice compliments on them. Yes, we have. They look like Saved by the Bell goes outdoors. Yeah, or if you're slightly older, Miami Vice, if you're my age, both are sufficient. Yeah, I also think if you saw the Barbie movie, this would be like that in the form of a shirt and blue. There is pink hints. There's flavors of pink in there, but it's it's I could see it being worn as like a Ken costume. Yeah, I saw a couple people recommend or ask for us to turn these into sun hoodies, which I got to figure out. Where do we find a manufacturer? That's a good question, but maybe someday. OK, well, if you manufacture sun hoodies and you're listening to this slide in our DMS. Yes. Last thing is if you want to support the show and you want some additional backpacker radio content, head on over to our Patreon page, patreon.com slash backpacker radio, where we release a new episode the first Wednesday of every month. This current month's episode was a gift guide. We went through big ticket and small ticket items that you can either gift or be gifted in the holiday season, things that we've loved having as hikers and regular humans and as well as things that we wouldn't want or like, you know, some things to avoid if you want to give that thoughtful gift to a hiker, but also don't want to give them something that they're going to smile and say thank you for and then actually never use. Yes. To the non-backpacking gift recommendations, I tried my hardest to not make it too dad-centric and I think I failed. This will be a great one for anyone who wants to gift something to a hiker or who really likes being in the kitchen. Yes. Leave it at that. Or is training to be the all-time dad. Yeah. OK, we'll leave it at that. No more beating around the bush. Let's get right to today's interview with Brady Gielenfeldt. We'll figure out how badly I butchered that pretty soon. We are joined by today's guest, Brady Gielenfeldt, which I nailed the first time, I'm pretty sure. I'm sure the tape will say otherwise, who hiked the Colorado Trail this year in part to inspire people who are deaf or hard of hearing, that they are not limited by their abilities. Brady, thank you so much for joining us here on Backpacker Radio. Hey, it's great to be here. Yeah. Can we swing the mic a little bit closer your way? There we go. About that far from your mouth. How does that sound? Good. That sounds awesome. The closer the better. You can't be too close. Yeah. I would move yourself closer rather than close. Yeah. Typically, we do all this stuff before we hit record, but we're winging it here today. He brought us food. We got distracted and we brought him food. Yeah. It was a food exchange. Let's start there. Let's give a plug to this is your folks place, the Harvest General Store in Iowa, right? Yes, in Iowa. Yeah, they just do trade shows and stuff right now and they have a Facebook page. But I mean, really, yeah, they just go around doing those trade shows. They love it. Yeah. So we're about to bust open. There was a wide variety of goodies in this box. Chonce went with her top option, currently stabbing it open with the edge of her glasses. What do we have here, Chonce? This seemed the most on-brand for us, and this is freeze-dried gummy worms. I personally have been getting a lot of algorithm on socials showing me people freeze-drying skittles, gummies, things like that. And so this is right up my current algorithm. Yeah. They look like Cheetos. It looks unique. And I was unaware of freeze-drying candy up until about 10 minutes ago. So very excited to learn about this wild world. I will say the best part about this is seeing people's reaction, eating this for the first time. ASMR. Flavors. It tastes like, texture aside, it tastes just like a gummy worm. Tastes like jello. This is very interesting. Push it against the top of your mouth. Like, I don't like chewing these things. I like pushing them against the top of my mouth and letting them melt. If you just push it with your tongue against the top of your mouth, it does taste a little bit like jello. This is requiring a lot of unlearning because I'm expecting candy, but. All right. Take the red and push it against the roof of your mouth. I still got this. It's red jello. This is fantastic. Let me try the blue side now. I think I'm liking it more with each bite. The first one was a little bit of an exploration for me. I will say out of all the options, the gummy worms are not my favorite. What's your go-to? My go-to is definitely the skittles. They do the wild berry skittles and those ones are really good. The smoothie ones are awesome. Maybe we'll bust those out halfway through. Yeah, we could do that. I don't hate this. I feel like this. Setting myself up here. I'll just follow through. It kind of reminds me of corn dogs. Corn dogs? This is important. When I take a bite of a corn dog, I don't know if I want to continue that journey, but then after it sits there for a moment, I'm like, I need another bite. After you've sat there and you're like, where's that taste? I want that taste back. I feel like I can get a lot of miles out of these. It's the perfect intersection between candy and chips. It has a hearty chip texture to it. Very crunchy, as you could hear through the mics, but still tastes exactly like the flavor is exactly what you'd expect from a gummy worm. It's very interesting. I've never even had anything approximate to what I just put in my mouth. That's what she said. I feel like these would be good in shots. Oh, sure. You want to get the party started? Me saying shots are out for the last segment. Cool. These are fun. Okay. Let's talk about some backpacking stuff. The intro is short because that is essentially what we know about your journey. I'm assuming the bulk of the conversation for today. Give us the background because we've been chatting here for the last 10, 15 minutes or so. The conversation has been very easy. I wouldn't expect that you were hard of hearing. Give us your level or introduce your level of deafness and maybe any tech that's involved. I guess just give us the full background. Yeah, I can give you the full rundown. I was born with CMV. That's a congenital men-something virus. It's a very long word. I always butcher it. I was born with that. That basically meant that I could have been deaf, could have been blind, could have been anything. It could have been missing a leg. It turns out that I was just deaf. My mom, they knew what to look for since they had tested for CMV when my mom was pregnant with me. She was a nurse and she got pregnant. Well, she didn't get pregnant by one of her patients. She got CMV from one of her patients. She just kept on doing what she was doing. They knew what to look for. I was born and I passed a newborn hearing screen. At the time, the newborn hearing screen was just you look at the baby and you scream at it and see if it reacts. Any baby's going to pass a newborn hearing screen. Is that because the volume is loud enough that even if they are hard of hearing, it's still reaching a decibel that they can perceive? Yeah, that they register it basically. That's what they were basing it off of at the time. I was born in 2000. It was not that long ago. I slept through my first fireworks and my parents were like, well, no newborn baby is going to sleep through fireworks. They brought me home and sat me down in the living room and banged a bunch of pots and pans in front of my face. I didn't do anything. Didn't react. They were like, yeah, we have a deaf baby. They brought me back. Were they that calm about it? No. Guaranteed not. I know my mom. They probably sprinted to the hospital. Sure. They did that and then I did a couple of hearing screens and I would pass them again, but then they finally did a sedated one where I was hooked up to a machine and then that showed that I was fully deaf. I got my first cochlear implant when I was 13 months old and my second one when I was five years old. Before you go too far, because I'm going to have questions, cover my questions. I just know it. How did your mom get CMV? How does it get transmitted? Just through contact. She was working on a patient. She's an ER nurse and yeah, I think it was just through contact of, I think it was bodily fluids. So basically, if you're pregnant and you get CMV, then it just goes directly to the child. So she was pregnant when she got it? Yeah. It's not like she could get it and then she goes deaf? Yeah. That can happen? No, no, no. Oh, it can? Okay. Thank God. Yeah, no, that would not be the case. So it just, it went directly to me basically and she didn't see any of the repercussions of CMV. And so I still have it and I still live with it, but I can't transmit it to anybody. And so it's dormant, I guess. How did she know at the time that she contracted CMV? She didn't know right away because the doctor came in and was like, hey, this patient has CMV. And my mom was like, well, I guarantee I already have it now since I've already been working with the patient. So. How could the patient give it to your mom, but you can't give it to someone else? That's a good question. I think it's because it really develops predominantly when you're in the womb versus like, you know, you get it in the womb and it's in that development stages. I'm not a doctor, so, but that's my interpretation of it, I guess. And so, yeah, it just, that means I'm, you know, immunocompromised. I, everything else that comes along with being deaf, I can get into that in a second. But yeah, that's about it with CMV. Were your parents on the lookout for, were they on high alert knowing that she had contracted CMV when she was pregnant, thinking that there was a high likelihood that something could have gone awry? Yeah. I mean, they, the doctors literally had like percentages of the different types of disabilities that I could have. And so they had no idea. And so when I was born and I was just, you know, looked normal, you know, they were like, wow, that's amazing. That's a miracle. And so that was a really cool experience for them to go through. And then also, you know, in a way, it was kind of one of the best of the worst situations. Let me know if this sounds insensitive, because for me, it's purely curious, but I could see how this might not come out how I want it to knowing the array of different things that could have happened. Are you, would you trade being deaf for a different option? Or do you think that like, it's a really manageable, like, I don't know, like, would you trade it? I don't think so. I actually don't think I would trade it for anything. Because for one, I take them out when I sleep, you know, like nothing wakes me up noise wise, you know, I mean, I guess I'm sensitive to vibrations. That's actually how I wake up every day is my bed shakes and it connects to my alarm. And yeah, when I have a headache, I can just take them out, don't have to deal with anything, don't have to listen to anything. So I mean, there are some perks of it. I wouldn't change it now. Have you ever taken them out in a relationship when someone's mad at you? That didn't go over very well. That's amazing. That's the ultimate talk to the hand. Notting along. Yeah. So you mentioned that you wake up to an alarm that vibrates. Is this like an alarm specifically for people, for deaf people? Yeah. Yeah. Actually there's, I've had friends buy it just because they're heavy sleepers. I am ahead. You caught my interest when you said the bed vibrates. Yeah. It's just like a little toggle thing. I don't know. It's probably like three and a half, four inches in diameter. And like, you just put it underneath your mattress and it's just like, it's a sonic vibrator. Yeah. It's like a good April Fool's joke for Garrett. I don't know how to phrase this question. So you got the, your first cochlear implant when you said when you were 13 months old. Yes. And then the second one when you were five. Yes. Do you know how well the implant approximates normal human hearing? Like are you functioning at a hundred percent of what the average person functions at? Is it 75%? Can you, like, what is that, what is it supposed to approximate? Yeah. I mean, they basically say that I hear 15,000 tones and you guys hear 30,000 tones. So I guess that's more on a tonal level, but I don't even know. What does that mean? Like just in terms of different arrays of frequencies. Yeah. If you're listening to music, are you hearing half as much of the range as somebody else? Kind of, it's more like along the lines of, you know, I can't hear like white noise or like the, I guess it's the range of frequencies that I can hear. Okay. So like if it's super deep or like a whale call, that's probably not in my range to be able to hear. Got it. Or if it's like a dog whistle, I know most people can't hear that, but something along those high frequencies, I can't hear. Got it. So there's like that specific range. We used to make that our cell phone ring tone in I would say ninth grade because there was a dog whistle. It was a high pitched frequency because the age that your teachers are, like you start to not be able to hear those high sounds, but when you're super young, you can. I thought you were going to say you knew that the phone was ringing because the dogs were barking. No, no, no. People would set their phones to it because the teachers couldn't hear it. That's funny. Yeah. Okay. So, okay. So you hear at half the frequencies of the average human hearing, but for like this conversation, are you hearing everything perfectly normal? I mean, as normal as I can tell. I was going to say, because like I said, I haven't missed a beat. The conversation hasn't missed a beat since you walked in here. And I didn't know what to expect. And to see that your hearing functions at such a high level is just such a pat on the back to what we're able to achieve with Western medicine and all the technology and everything. If you take out the implants, can you like not hear at all? Zip, nothing. How do they make that work? I know you're not a doctor. We've established this, but how do they make that work? Like how do they just create something where there's nothing? I know that people listening can't actually see this, but so, I mean, what I have here is it's a cochlear implant. So I took my left side off. And so right now I can't hear anything on my left side. And so this part that kind of twists off, that's the battery. And so there's a processor that basically takes sound and it's basically like a camera microphone. And so you know how, when you take a video and you like hear the wind, like it's like, and it's annoying, right? I hear that. And so it's basically kind of like just a camera mic, but then this processor basically transfers those sound waves into electrodes, which are just little electrical pulses. And that goes through a magnet that's actually inside my head. And that magnet has a coil that runs through the cochlea. And so since my deafness comes from like not being able to hear, right? So basically what I'm getting at is I don't have the actual like hairs in the cochlea that stimulate the auditory nerve like you guys do. And so that coil that runs through the cochlea like stimulates it with those electrodes, like it would for you guys with those hairs. Two part question. One, based on what you just said, if I were to put that on, it wouldn't, like I wouldn't hear anything crazy because I don't have the part inside, right? Yeah, nothing would happen. Do you watch Harry Potter? Oh, I love it. The second time I've done this, Zach's out of this conversation. Is this like Fred's like extendable ears? Like could you take the implant and put it under like a door somewhere and go away and it would still go to the part in your head and you could hear really good? Like, can you eavesdrop on people with it? Yeah, actually, if I click on my phone, it connects to my phone and I can turn on live listen and then it just like connects right to my CIs and whatever's going through the microphone on the phone goes directly to my CI. So I could set my phone on this table, go to the other room and I'd hear everything you guys are saying. I feel like this is a superpower. Like this is like CIA shit. Yeah, I do think that's a feature you could do with your phone as well. And that's not as cool. I'm not hearing it in my head. True. You have to use the air pod. So yeah, I guess being able to disguise it, but I am blown away by the tech of that. Just hearing your explanation of it and the fact that you're able to function totally normally with it is amazing. Like, do you feel very blessed that this technology? Because how long has this been around? I mean, there were people who were getting implanted, you know, in the 80s and 90s, but you know, the technology just wasn't there. You know, I was one of the youngest in Iowa to be implanted. And so this was it was basically right when the FDA approved it. Like my mom was on the gun. She went for it. Yeah. Well, she sounds like she's on top of her stuff based on the testing and everything alone. Yeah. And the dehydrated candy. And the dehydrated candy. Wow. So did you ever have to learn ASL or was it just, I'm good with these? Yeah, I did ASL for a little bit. I did it until, I don't know, probably I was roughly kindergarten age and I stopped because I did auditory verbal therapy. And they actually went to the level to where like my audiologist, my auditory verbal therapist, I guess, would make me sit on my hands so that like I wouldn't use my hands to talk. And I just wanted to talk anyway. Like I just stopped using sign language. And my parents were like, well, why are we going to invest the time in learning sign language when he just wants to talk? Yeah. You know, so. So the videos that everyone has seen via social media, always a tearjerker when deaf people get an operation where they can hear like their spouse or their parent or whatever it might be for the first time, is that the operation that they're getting the cochlear implant? Yeah, most of the time. Yeah. So cochlear implant is that like cochlear is a brand. There can be other brands that they do. So there's like Advanced Bionic and that's another popular one. A few other ones that aren't as popular, but cochlear is definitely like the main brand. If someone can't hear and they mainly communicate using ASL, are they someone who hasn't tried a cochlear implant yet or do they not work on certain types of deafness? Yeah, it depends on how you become deaf. That's kind of why I stuttered there for a second when I said, you know, my deafness comes from CMB because if you have damage of the auditory nerve, then the cochlear implant is not going to work at all because that auditory nerve has to be able to sense that there's stuff in the cochlea. And so there's, there are people who have damaged auditory nerves and they're just kind of out of luck. So I don't know, I assume this is true, but this is something that I'm citing as an internet fact that when somebody loses a sense or doesn't have a sense to start with, that the other senses are enhanced. Is that one, an accurate description and two, do you feel like that's true for you? Like, do you have a superior sense of smell or because that you've had the cochlear implant at such a young age, do you feel like you haven't missed out in that capacity? Yeah, that's a great question. I get that one a lot, actually. You know, I do have glasses. I never wear them, but, and I don't think my sense of smell is supersonic or anything. You know, yeah, I don't think my senses are really all that great, to be honest. But yeah, I think it has something to do with the fact that I had my cochlear implants at such a young age. And so I did mention earlier that I was like really sensitive to vibrations when I'm sleeping. So that might be part of the sense that I'm gaining from losing my deafness. Yeah. So, but other than that, yeah, I mean, I don't think I really do. Okay. Does it pivot into backpacking quick? We're going to probably go on a lot of side tracks here, but does it help you sleep at night when you're on trail to be able to take them out? Because then you can't hear like the eerie sounds of nature, or does it make it worse because then you can't hear the eerie sounds of nature? A little bit of both. What I mean by that is because, you know, sometimes, okay, I'll be camping by myself. I do a lot of that and I just take them out and, you know, it just makes me not even think about it because, you know, if there's a bear outside my tent, he just jumps on by. I'm not going to care unless he comes into my tent. That's the other thing that kind of scares me is, you know, I'm in my tent and then a bear comes on in. I'm not going to know until it's on top of me. So, yeah. I think at that point, you're just like, well, God wanted me to go. Yeah, I'd rather not know at that point, I think. Yeah. So I think I lean more on the side of like it helps because then I'm just not thinking about it. Yeah. I don't even like using earplugs because I'm so sensitive to having the feeling of something in my ears, especially when I'm laying down on something. Do you actually feel like, are the implants uncomfortable for you or have you been using them for so long that it just feels second nature? Yeah, it kind of feels second nature. You know, like when I don't wear them, I almost feel naked, to be honest. It's like it's kind of the same concept of glasses. Because I'd imagine it would be so nice to have the option to just turn off all, especially on a windy night. It's not even necessarily the animal sounds, just like the constant inconsistent, almost white noise. That's kept me up so many nights to have the option to opt out of that. It sounds actually pretty sweet. Well, when I camp, like a lot of the times at night, if I can't fall asleep, I'll put in my earplugs and I'll just put them on noise canceling. Like I'm not even listening to music. I just use the noise canceling to try to help with like the twig crack sounds. Yeah. You know, I had people tell me multiple times that they loved camping next to me because then they could just roll around all they wanted in their tent and didn't have to worry about waking anyone else up. That's a good point. Yeah. I will say I can't, on the AT, I hiked for about 600 miles with someone who was deaf and it was hilarious. Like we had a great time. A lot of times it was kind of that where it was like, I know I'm not bothering you, but some of it was just like funny. Like he had a really great sense of humor and I think it just added like an extra element for us. Do you ever like go to a concert and turn the volume up? Because I'm getting to the age now where concerts are too loud for me to be able to control that. You're taking the baby headphones off the twins. To be able to control the volume at a concert, to be like, yeah, turn this racket down a little bit. Is that something that you ever do? I imagine you're controlling the volume on a regular basis. Actually, there's a different settings I can use for different like actual environments. So like when I'm on at a concert, there's a music setting that I can set it to. Wow. And then like if I'm, is that just turning the volume down or what other changes? Yeah. It's just kind of like changing the EQ a little bit to like optimize for music, I guess. Yeah. My audiologist loves it, but I will say the most tragic thing to happen for me at a concert is they die. Oh no. Has that happened? Yeah. Multiple times. Yeah. What concerts? There was a Def Leppard concert I went to in high school. That's a bad one to have. And so you haven't gotten to like the best songs yet because they're not closing and you can see it happen. Oh no. Yeah. At that point you're just people watching, huh? Yeah. Just people watching and then like you're just standing there like, well, this is fun. Do you keep like a set of spare batteries? Like can you, is that a thing? Yeah. I typically bring a spare set, but those of course are the times that I forgot. Yeah. Oh my God. How does one charge get you? Typically it'll get me like 15 hours. Okay. So it's just like, you know, if it's just been a long day, it'll be towards the end of the day that they'll die. Yeah. Is it like, like, let's say you go home. Is it like taking your bra? I know you don't probably take your bra off when you get home, but is it like taking your bra off to take them off? And like, I would imagine probably speak ASL to the people like in your home life to be able to not have to use them for a while. Or is it not like that kind of like, feeling that I'm attributing to taking a bra off? I will say that is something that I would do a lot towards like the first two weeks of school. So like, because if you think about it throughout the summer, you're not really intently listening. You're kind of just doing your own thing. You're having fun, right? And so when you write, when you go back to school, you have to like spend eight hours a day, like really trying to listen. And like for me to actually listen to things and hear things, it takes a lot more effort because I have to like differentiate between different sounds because a lot of the stuff comes in at the same volume. So my brain is kind of adjusted to just kind of focusing in on what I wanted to focus in on. By that, you mean like every background noise. Like if somebody shuffles their chair or you can hear the wind or whatever, a fan blowing, like all that's coming in at the same volume. So it's, you have to be able to discern what you're actually paying attention to. Yeah, kind of. Yeah. I mean, more what I'm getting at is like, you know, fluorescent lights. If it's like above me and it's like buzzing, this one's fine. But, and like someone's trying to talk to me right here and they're both coming in at the same volume. It doesn't, my brain doesn't differentiate it. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. So does this make hiking like the Colorado trail or any trail, does this make just like what might be a mundane making miles part of the hike, like just super wild for you? Cause I imagine being able to hear the leaf cracks, the like tree breeze, like every little thing at the same volume. I just watched all the twilights this past weekend and when Bella got turned to a vampire, she was going through the woods and she was seeing everything super hyper-focused and that was wild. Would it be like that where you're just like hiking and you're just like, whoa, to everything? Cause it's all coming in louder. Or is that just in my head? You know, I think that is, when I was younger, that was a thing. Because then I was like experiencing things for the first time, you know, and being able to like hear different sounds of nature when I was a lot younger was, you know, it was an experience, you know, I wish I could do that again, you know, but yeah, I don't really think so anymore. Just because, you know, I've had these for so long and I've been accustomed to it. It's just, it's just my normal life now. Is there an auditory setting for something like being in the wilderness? Like you mentioned how there's like a music setting. Is there something for being outdoors? I could make a setting. Yeah, probably good. Just basically turn the, you know, higher frequencies down a little bit on my phone and yeah, basically I could. I never have, I usually typically just stay with my everyday setting just because I'm used to it and that's basically the only reason. If you know the first thing about hiking socks, then you are already aware of our next sponsor. Darn Tough is the most trusted sock in hiking and the number one hike sock in the USA. Family owned and made in Vermont, Darn Tough offers the most durable socks guaranteed. In fact, their warranty is famous with hikers because they're unconditionally guaranteed for life. Meaning if your socks aren't the longest lasting socks you've ever owned, you can return them to Darn Tough for another pair for free. According to the Trek's most recent AT hiker survey, more than 75% of hikers reported using Darn Tough socks during their hikes. A successful hike starts with happy feet and nothing makes a hiker's feet smile quite like a snug pair of Darn Tough socks. Like most long distance backpackers, I've been a Darn Tough user and fan for longer than I can remember. Whether I'm hiking in the heat of the desert or through the tail end of shoulder season on the long trail, I've been rocking Darn Tough socks with happy blister free feet. Darn Tough's Merino socks manage moisture, regulate temperature, are lightweight, and best of all don't smell like a boiling dumpster even after many consecutive days of use. Backpacker radio listeners can score a 10% discount plus free shipping by using code dtlove-backpackerradio at checkoutatdarntough.com. Again that code is dtlove-backpackerradioatdarntough.com to get 10% off plus free shipping. This deal is only good for a very limited time so do not wait. Okay let's talk hiking. Oh yeah. So when did the Colorado trail get put on your map? How long have you been hiking? Give us the full like outdoors background. Yeah I've just grown up being outdoors and my mom has taken me out on little day hikes when I was younger and growing up camping. My dad always took me camping a lot when I was growing up and yeah I've always enjoyed it and then I went to college and my buddies and I would go to the boundary waters every summer for a canoe fishing trip and that was always really fun. Did you go to school in Iowa, Minnesota? Yeah I went to school at Iowa State University. Go clones. They've had some good running backs and you weren't there during the Brice Hall years were you? Yes I was. Yeah he's killing it in the Jets. Yeah he's great. I'm watching the 49ers with Brock Purdy right now. Iowa State as well? Yeah. Oh I didn't know that. Yeah that's why. Yeah 49ers have a bad night yesterday or the day before. They've lost a couple games but they're still really good. Just making myself feel better. It was not a good game yesterday. Anyway sorry. Okay so boundary waters in college and then when did the CT get put on your map? Oh yeah so I had a buddy I was just work so I'll back up a second here so I was working in Iowa and I was just I was right after I had graduated college and I had a couple buddies who just went off and you know took like a gap year or I even what really inspired me was I had a buddy who did the PCT and I was like man yeah I really want to do something like that and that really is what inspired me and so I was just like I just googled places in Colorado to go hiking and that's literally all it was and then the Colorado trail came up. Colorado trails. Yeah so what was your longest backpacking trip prior to this? Actual backpacking trip prior to that one would have been like a week in the boundary waters but that was canoeing so I wouldn't even consider that backpacking. Sure. I'd say it was probably just a weekend trip. Okay. Like one or two weekend trips. So what considerations did you have to make for the Colorado trail that maybe someone who didn't have deafness wouldn't have to consider? Like what was it like for you to plan for this trip that set it apart from canoeing or anything different? Yeah I think it was really the battery situation. Trying to figure out how I'm going to keep these things charged because yeah because when I was in the boundary waters I had them dug out because it was so cold and like I forgot to sleep with them. That was a rookie mistake. Always sleep with your batteries. That's very important. Yeah. So is it like your phone where if you are in like my phone it'll do it when I'm at too high of an elevation and it's like exposed and there's cold the phone will just die even if it's fully charged. Yeah. Is it like that with your batteries because they're not really protected much from the elements in your ears. Yeah no that's totally that same thing. Yeah that same concept like I was talking more on like my disposable batteries. The ones I have on right now are my rechargeable batteries. Oh. And so I had a little fob that I could like connect to the portable battery charger and that's what I predominantly used but it broke on me and so I had to use the actual batteries and they dutted out in the boundary waters because it was so cold and that was one big thing that I was really worried about for planning and then yeah it actually happened to me again on the Colorado Trail and I just ended up having another resupply box that had extra batteries in it and so it worked out but I almost went a week without being able to hear on trail. So it gets so cold that the battery just breaks like it's not you can't warm it back up and recharge it. Yeah the so they're like zinc air batteries is what they're called and like when they're exposed to a certain temperature then it just like duds out. Hmm. Yeah it's super weird. When you're talking about disposable batteries are you talking about just like our standard AAAs or are there like how you just unclicked that battery from it? Is it that but you just toss it after each use? Yeah it's kind of like that so there's like a little sheath that comes out and then it holds you know those little like little little batteries. Yeah like the watch ones? Yeah kind of like those that's basically what they're used. So the disposable parts that little circle battery. Yeah. Got it. Yep. So what was it like you said it was a were you a week without proper battery for the? I almost was a week without it but then. It happened to happen at the your resupply. Yeah then I happened to find them at the bottom of my resupply box. Got it. Like thank you. Yeah so did you go imagine something like a half day from the time that it broke to get to town to actually get your resupply? Yeah actually one of them died and all the other so I had my right one which is my favorite one because I had it first and so I favor that side more and so I had that one working and then no more batteries left and then my left one was dead so I'm like well crap I know I have half a day before I can't hear at all. Is it really disorienting for it to only work in one ear because uh you know Apple AirPods sometimes the like the old ones like one of them just won't charge even if it's sitting in the dock so I've been at the gym before where I'm listening to music through one AirPod and for me it's really distracting like I feel like my workout sucks just because I'm so thrown off by having the inconsistent audio is that I imagine for you it's significantly worse. Is it pretty distracting for it only to be registering audio on one side? You know for like the first second it is and then it kind of just goes back to just all right well I know that that's the only side that sounds coming from so I got to tilt my head a little more that way and just kind of unconsciously adjust but yeah I mean other than that yeah I mean it's it just really does suck when that happens in inconvenient times like a concert. How do you handle that when it's on trail because there's a quote I was trying to look it up quick enough but there's a quote from a book I've mentioned on here countless times Spark the Revolutionary New Science Between Exercise and the Brain I highly recommend it still great book but they talk about people that are I think it was in this book they talked about it people that are left alone like to their own thoughts and how a percentage that's higher than I would have expected of these people would rather be like subjected to mild electric shocks than left alone with their own thoughts and like no other noise for you know a day longer you know it was 15 minutes I think is what the study was it was super small and it basically was just going to like back this evidence that like people aren't comfortable spending time with themselves like in their own thoughts that sort of thing to to lose hearing on a trail and to have to go like a day two days even when you were talking about the canoeing trip however long that was before getting it back how is your mental like overall wellness adjusting to I mean I assume in these settings where they're doing these studies they have the choice like I can quit the study I can leave the room I can go hear things and I've seen people on trail where they haven't talked to anyone in like five days and they look different how how do you see that happen and take something like that that happens to you on trail and a what does it do to you mentally and b how do you combat not being able to flip that back on yeah it's a really interesting thing because you know there's weekends that I'll go camping and I'll just not have messy eyes on and for me it's a place that I can really just think things through and be by myself and so I actually do enjoy that time and I you know I'm an introvert I'm an extrovert you know I guess I'm a little more of an introvert now just since COVID and everything else you know I do like being on my own now and just kind of taking them off and being in my own little world because that's really what it is I'm in my own little world and so I guess like on a trail sense you know it does get a little scary at first because then you're like when the first time that it happened where like they died on trail and I was just like almost a day without being able to hear outside I was just constantly like panning my surroundings just constantly because you know I don't know if there's another hiker coming along I don't know if there's you know I'm gonna run come up on something that might not be very friendly so yeah there's definitely times that it is a little scary but I've become accustomed to it. To that question did you have anyone that you could reach out to as a resource prior to the CT who was deaf that you could ask these questions to? I had nobody I just kind of figured it out figured out as I went nobody I knew who was deaf had ever done anything like this I guess and so I just I'm a big fan of just going for it. It's a good attitude. Is there any sort of community Facebook group whatever platform it might be where you have access to other people where you could ask this question and you're like hey has anyone done long-distance backpacking and everyone's just crickets? Yeah I mean there's actually a couple different Facebook groups where there's you know families who have cochlear implants they can like the parents can talk on there and I actually grew up attending a cochlear implant family camp and so I met a lot of people from all over the United States who also had cochlear implants because you know growing up in Iowa small town Iowa you're not going to have anybody in a 100 mile radius who's also deaf. You mentioned before we hit record that your graduating class was 23 people? 28. 28. No short you those five people yeah so you get a small town. What was the population of your town? Oh probably like a thousand people okay yeah it's small yeah it's pretty small I mean it was literally yeah like 30 minutes away from Des Moines. Are there any trail specific groups like Facebook groups that are long-distance focused for people that have like hearing disabilities? No not that I know of that's a good idea though I might do that tonight. Well I mean I hiked with Mr Perfect and he was deaf and then he had a friend that we spoke to several times that wasn't hiking but she came to trail day so I had met her too and I know there's a few others that have like come across the radar but I think that would be a great resource for like you guys to have with each other. Just before we move too far off the your your implants die while hiking how do you handle that topic? A lot of things that you'll hear when people aren't thriving at a long-distance hike like a lot of it comes down to all the alone time right like there's so much time with your own mind there's so much time where you're not stimulated by other things and I think when we're just constantly fed just like social feeds to scroll through content here and there a tv on in the background that's where like you start to see people like I mentioned the one who hadn't talked to someone for five days where they just seem unwell right like they're not doing good and I know that can bring a lot of people off trail as someone who will go weekends where you just take them out and actually enjoy it do you have tips for people for hiking without sounds to keep them stimulated while hiking or to make it seem less jarring for them like are there things they can do that make it better if they're not one that usually thrives in that setting? Yeah I mean I would say first off you gotta like your inner monologue you know you gotta be best friends with your inner monologue because otherwise it's gonna be a battle you know because if you aren't best friends with your inner monologue then you're gonna be just you know fighting each other and really what it comes down to is are you comfortable by yourself and if you're kind of uncomfortable in those settings and you know you just kind of gotta go back to you know why does it make you uncomfortable because there's probably a reason and there's probably something deeper that stems from that. How did you get comfortable with yourself? I assume based on my this is based on me but I assume not everyone's born comfortable with themselves I assume it takes effort assuming you're not just naturally comfortable with yourself how do you get there? Oh man that's a tough one. That's a deep question. That's very deep. Now you have to give us therapy. Making it easy for Zach's follow-up. I don't know it just seems like you're doing really well with it. Yeah well I appreciate it I appreciate it yeah I mean I um what I kind of did was I just you know took it step by step you know because I first day that happened to me and I just kind of you know I couldn't do anything about it you know I didn't have my garment yet and so you know that would happen a lot growing up you know I'd be at school and they would die and I wouldn't have batteries I have to go the rest of the day without being able to hear and so I guess just that those little moments of exposure of you know have being forced to be by yourself in your own little world that kind of culminated to an extended period of time that can happen. So like doing a shakedown hike but like a quiet yeah shakedown like a yeah like do do little shakedown hikes basically where you like maybe first day you go by yourself and then the second day you have a friend that comes out and meets you um that's that'd be a good way to do it or vice versa where you go out with two people and then you just you stay an extra day by yourself. I was thinking even smaller like just sitting on the couch without using my you know like before you even go outside just sit there and don't touch the phone for an hour you know yeah yeah yeah definitely don't touch the phone. Do you have to worry about them getting wet like is it a concern if it's raining outside? Oh yeah yeah yeah it's like they're more water resistant now but yeah back in the day like you had to take them off like it was super sensitive to water and one thing I'll say about that camp that I grew up going to is they had a pool party every year and if you imagine this scenario where you put a bunch of deaf people into a pool and they don't have waterproof stuff yet the lifeguards are gonna love you because they're blowing their whistles they're doing all that they can and you no one in the pool is even listening to you they can't hear you and so I mean like it's just crazy to see how technology has advanced because you know when you go to that camp now everyone has their waterproof stuff on and so like yeah now it's a little more waterproof or resistant than it was. What areas would you like to see improvement with the tech like you mentioned that it's advanced from like a waterproofness standpoint what areas do you see it could potentially still have room for improvement? Oh yeah I mean it's improving every year there's another upgrade that I could get and so basically what they're doing with their new upgrade now is you can go to an airport and it'll automatically connect to the bluetooth there and they'll tell you like when you're boarding and all that and you can connect to any bluetooth device basically. Can someone hack your mind then? I hope not. Can I just like how the airport would bluetooth to your sounds can I bluetooth to it and be like I'm in your head you know like is that a possibility? I'm not saying it's crazy I'm saying it's scary. I feel like that's very possible. Yeah yeah that's definitely possible I don't know I hope not but uh that'd be scary. Are you excited about those advancements or is that kind of like freaky because that kind of freaks me out a bit? Yeah I mean I'm excited because I mean they're doing it in the right mind I hope so. Yeah it seems out of kindness. Yeah I mean out of kindness I hope but yeah I mean other than that I mean I don't know because like it seems like each model that they make it gets smaller and smaller and they actually have one now where it's without the actual processor that goes on your head but the magnet and it's just the little magnet it's like that big. That's interesting because I'm thinking of this from the standpoint of like just getting you to the point where you can hear like the normal person the person with normal hearing but what you're describing are enhancements that are even beyond what somebody with that level of hearing has. I guess it opens up a whole train of ideas for ways that it could you could be enhanced beyond you mentioned being able to know when you're boarding but there's probably infinite possibilities in that standpoint. Yeah tons I mean like it would be really cool to just have like a little like basically you don't even have to wear your processor every day but it's like all internal then you like wear your processor to charge it kind of like air charge or like you know you have your little pod that you set your phone on and it automatically charges without having to plug in like that'd be kind of cool. Yeah because I remember for a while sorry to cut you off Jones but you're probably more relevant than mine. For a while the buzzword was augmented reality and we're seeing this now with like Google Glass and now Apple's got this too about like the way that you visually interface with the world and it giving you more context than you would otherwise have. From an auditory standpoint thinking of hiking like if you heard like a bird call and that's what I was saying about nature being wild. Yeah being able to have the implant be like oh that is the blue-footed booby. Oh that'd be so cool. That's that goes back to your Tony Stark stuff where you wanted the Iron Man suit. Totally. That's a feature the Iron Man suit. Well I was gonna ask on the same realm of wild like if there's any upgrades that have been made yet where it can hear different languages and it still transmits English to you. No there hasn't been one of those but there has been one I actually really don't like this setting. I currently have it but I don't have it turned on and what it does is it's called like zoom and so if there's like a crowd of people around me and I face this one person that I want to listen to it'll like zoom in on that person that I want to listen to and it'll kind of cut everyone else out but yeah it doesn't really work when you're like in a basement and like your mom or whoever screams from the first floor then because then it's like well it's listening to the air conditioner but then it doesn't quite know if that other sound coming from somewhere else. It doesn't know what to focus in on. Yeah then it just kind of screws it up. Right. This is going to be probably my dumbest question of the night. Yeah. I don't know it's hard to ever tell. The night is young. We got time. Do people ever use these that don't need them like if you're not hard of hearing is because I feel like some of the stuff you're saying sounds really like I'm kind of not like not jealous obviously I'm very grateful for the hearing I have but it sounds really cool to be able to zoom in on certain things and make things louder like I struggle when there's a lot of noises going on at once. Yeah. Are there people that use these things that don't need them because it's just like like really cool or strategic? I don't know. I just feel like that's it sounds like a superpower to me. It is you know I mean to an extent yeah it is a superpower. I mean with technology the way it is now if you told someone in the 1800s what I could do they'd be like what planet are you from? Yeah. So it's insane to think about but um no I haven't really known anyone just because the fact that insurance is such a battle um especially back in the day like when I first got them my mom was she's the rock star like she wrote letters on letters on letters just to get insurance approval. How much do they cost? I mean we were paying oh shoot I mean they're probably I probably have like I don't know half a million dollars in my head. Shut up. No. Just the part that's inside? Oh all of it like external internal surgery everything yeah. Wow. Does the implant itself I'm thinking like fake joints they have a lifespan of 20 years is this something that has to be refreshed on a on a bait on a consistent basis? Yeah the they gave the internal stuff like 18 years okay and I'm well past that I'm 23 um and so it's kind of like any day now I asked my audiologist like what she thought would be kind of when I'd need to be re-implanted um and she's just like you know it could be 10 years from now could be you know five years from now it could be next year. Is the only consideration that the sound part stops is it not like the the stuff that makes it like deteriorates the grades gets absorbed by brain goo? Yeah. I don't know how I don't know how a lot of things work. Oh it's all good it's all good yeah I mean it's just really like the lifespan of the technology if it is able to last that long um internally um because those internal devices don't get touched you know because you have surgery to get them put it in and then that's it. When you switch to a new one is it going to be like getting the same thing like you leave the same person as you entered or is it like upgrading like your you know 97 Toyota Camry to the newest Range Rover? It'll be like upgrading kind of like to a Range Rover because it'll be different technology there'll be because nowadays it's just an outpatient there like procedure when I got them like I had to stay in the hospital for a couple days and I had this big old bandage around me and like it was it did not look pretty I had like these big scars and now you know it's just a little slit behind the ear and then they slide the little magnet in and they're able to do everything with the cochlea all within an outpatient procedure. Can you feel it? Yeah I mean can I touch it? Yeah. So is that where the cochlea is like that far above the actual ear or is it I thought the cochlea was inside the ear? I don't feel it because it's right there yeah so it's it's it's like a slight little bump there but um yeah so that's how it's held on to my head is a magnet. Wow. Yeah you mentioned at the top of the interview that there were other um ramifications I'm not sure of being deaf or you say CMV was the yeah can you look that up yeah yeah it's bothering me so much. Cytomegalovirus? Yes that's it yes. Okay okay you mentioned that like um that your immune system is compromised because of is that because of the deafness or because of the virus itself? I'd say that one was because of the virus itself okay um and so like growing up like I would brush my teeth twice a day like every other kid right but I would get cavities on cavities yes I had to convince people growing up that I brushed my teeth twice a day and floss every day because I would just keep getting cavities and you know it just yeah so they think that has something to do with CMV like a weak um enamel basically um and then like the part that comes with the deafness is I don't have balance so I don't have the liquid in the semicircular canals that give people balance and so like how does that play out I'm very clumsy well there's some like steep I mean there's not like I don't like steep things there's not scary stuff on the Colorado trail but there's some there are some ridges yeah does that like screw you up well definitely um there was actually when we got to the high point of the Colorado trail we did an alpine start um and that was actually my first 30 mile day that was that was awesome my trail family is awesome for pushing me to do that but anyway so we woke up at like 2 30 in the morning and started hiking and it was complete darkness you know but the stars were out and that was kind of helpful but I had to have my headlamp on like the brightest it could go and even with that I was using my trekking poles side to side basically holding myself up walking on basically four legs just to stay up with the rest of the trail family yeah are there other so you mentioned the battery's dying you mentioned uh balance being a challenge are there other things that are not obvious that would be make something like this more challenging um yeah I think it would just be really the clumsiness um that's a really big thing and another one that a lot of people don't think about is swimming s

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Oct. 23. It dropped for free subscribers on Oct. 30. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoMatt Vohs, General Manager of Cascade Mountain, WisconsinRecorded onOctober 10, 2023About Cascade MountainClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: The Walz familyLocated in: Portage, WisconsinYear founded: 1962Pass affiliations: NoneReciprocal partners: NoneClosest neighboring ski areas: Devil's Head (:20), Christmas Mountain Village (:30), Tyrol Basin (1:00)Base elevation: 820 feetSummit elevation: 1,280 feetVertical drop: 460 feetSkiable Acres: 176Average annual snowfall: 50-60 inchesTrail count: 48 (23% advanced, 40% intermediate, 37% beginner)Lift count: 10 (2 high-speed quads, 3 fixed-grip quads, 1 triple, 2 doubles, 1 ropetow, 1 carpet – view Lift Blog's inventory of Cascade's lift fleet)Why I interviewed himContrary to what you may imagine, Midwesterners do not pass their winters staring wistfully at the western horizon, daydreaming only of the Back Bowls and Wasatch tram rides. They're not, God help us, New Yorkers. Because unlike the high-dollar Manhattanite with weeks booked at Deer Valley and Aspen, Midwesterners ski even when they're not on vacation. Sure, they'll tag that week in Summit County or Big Sky (driving there, most likely, from Grand Rapids or Cincinnati or Des Moines), but they'll fill in the calendar in between. They'll ski on weekends. They'll ski after work. They'll ski with their kids and with their buddies and with their cousins. They'll ski in hunter orange and in Vikings jerseys and in knit caps of mysterious vintage. They'll ski with a backpack full of High Life and a crockpot tucked beneath each arm and a pack of jerky in their coat pocket. “Want some,” they'll offer as you meet them for the first time on the chairlift, a 55-year-old Hall double with no safety bar. “My buddy got an elk permit this year.”They ski because it's fun and they ski because it's cold and they ski because winter is 16 months long. But mostly they ski because there are ski areas everywhere, and because they're pretty affordable. Even Vail doesn't break double digits at its Midwest bumps, with peak-day lift tickets reaching between $69 and $99 at the company's 10 ski areas spread between Missouri and Ohio.Because of this affordable density, the Midwest is still a stronghold for the blue-collar ski culture that's been extinguished in large parts of the big-mountain West. You may find that notion offensive - that skiing, in this rustic form, could be more approachable. If so, you're probably not from the Midwest. These people are hard to offend. Michigan-born Rabbit, AKA Eminem, channels this stubborn regional pride in 8 Mile's closing rap battle, when he obliterates nemesis Papa Doc by flagrantly itemizing his flaws.“I know everything he's got to say against me” may as well be the mantra of the Midwest skier. In the U.S. ski universe, Colorad-Bro is Papa Doc, standing dumbfounded after Wisco Bro just turned his sword around on himself:This guy ain't no m***********g MCI know everything he's got to say against meMy hill is short, It snows 30 inches per yearI do ski with a coffee Thermos filled with beerMy boys do ski in camouflageI do ride Olin 210s I found in my Uncle Jack's garageI did hit an icy jumpAnd biff like a chumpAnd my last chairlift ride was 45 seconds longI'm still standing here screaming “Damn let's do it again!”You can't point out the idiosyncratic shortcomings of Midwest skiing better than a Midwest skier. They know. And they love the whole goddamn ball of bologna.But that enthusiasm wouldn't track if Wisconsin's 33 ski areas were 33 hundred-foot ropetow bumps. As in any big ski state to its east or west, Wisco has a hierarchy, a half-dozen surface lift-only operations; a smattering of 200-footers orbiting Milwaukee; a few private clubs; and, at the top of the food chain, a handful of sprawling operations that can keep a family entertained for a weekend: Granite Peak, Whitecap, Devil's Head, and Cascade. And, just as I'm working my way through the Wasatch and Vermont and Colorado by inviting the heads of those region's ski areas onto the podcast, so I'm going to (do my best to) deliver conversations with the leaders of the big boys in the Upper Midwest. This is my sixth Wisconsin podcast, and my 15th focused on the Midwest overall (five in Michigan, one each in Indiana, Ohio, and South Dakota, plus my conversation with Midwest Family Ski Resorts head Charles Skinner – view them all here). I've also got a pair of Minnesota episodes (Lutsen and Buck Hill), and another Michigan (Snowriver) one booked over the coming months.I don't record these episodes just to annoy Colorado-Bro (though that is pretty funny), or because I'm hanging onto the Midwest ski areas that stoked my rabid obsession with skiing (though I am), or because the rest of the ski media has spent 75 years ignoring them (though they have). I do it because the Midwest has some damn good ski areas, run by some damn smart people, and they have a whole different perspective on what makes a good and interesting ski area. And finding those stories is kind of the whole point here.What we talked aboutCascade's season-opening plan; summer improvements; how much better snowmaking is getting, and how fast; improving the load area around Cindy Pop; Cascade's unique immoveable neighbor; the funky fun Daisy mid-mountain parking lot; upgrading the Mogul Monster lift; why Cascade changed the name to “JL2”; Cascade's “Midwest ski-town culture”; Devil's Head; when I-94 is your driveway; why JL2 is a fixed-grip lift, even though it runs between two high-speed quads; other lift configurations Cascade considered for JL2; the dreaded icing issue that can murder high-speed lifts; reminiscing on old-school Cascade – “if the hill was open, we were here”; Christmas Mountain; a brief history of the Walz family's ownership; a commitment to independence; whether slopeside lodging could ever be an option; which lifts could be next in line for upgrades; whether Cascade considered a midstation for Cindy Pop; the glory of high-speed ropetows and where Cascade may install another one; the summer of two lift installations; the neverending saga of Cascade's expansion and what might happen next; the story behind the “Cindy Pop” and “B-Dub” lift names and various trail names; why Cindy Pop is a detachable lift and B-Dub is a fixed-grip, even though they went in the same summer; additional expansion opportunities; why Cascade hasn't (and probably won't), joined a multi-mountain ski pass; and Cascade's best idea from Covid-era operations.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewThe National Ski Areas Association asked me to lead a panel of general managers at their annual convention in Savannah last spring. I offered them a half-dozen topics, and we settled on “megapass holdouts”: large (for their area), regionally important ski areas that could join the Indy Pass – and, in many cases, the Epic and Ikon passes – but have chosen not to. It's a story I'd been meaning to write in the newsletter for a while, but had never gotten to.We wanted nationwide representation. In the west, we locked in Mt. Baker CEO Gwyn Howat and Mt. Rose GM Greg Gavrilets. For the eastern rep, I tapped Laszlo Vajtay, owner of Plattekill, an 1,100-footer tucked less than three hours north of New York City (but nearly unknown to its mainstream skier populations). In the Midwest, Cascade was my first choice.Why? Because it's a bit of an outlier. While the Ikon Pass ignores the Midwest outside of Boyne's two Michigan properties, opportunities for megapass membership are ample. Indy Pass has signed 32 partners in the region, and Vail has added 10 more to its Epic Pass. Five of the remainder are owned by an outfit called Wisconsin Resorts, which has combined them on its own multi-mountain pass. The model works here, is my point, and most of the region's large ski areas have either opted into the Indy Pass, or been forced onto a different megapass by their owner. But not Cascade. Here is a mountain with a solid, modern lift fleet; a sprawling and varied trail network; and what amounts to its own interstate exit. This joint would not only sell Indy Passes – it would be a capable addition to Ikon or Epic, selling passes to voyaging locals in the same way that Camelback and Windham do in the East and Big Bear does in the West. And they know it.But Cascade stands alone. No pass partnerships. No reciprocal deals. Just a mountain on its own, selling lift tickets. What a concept.A core operating assumption of The Storm is that multi-mountain passes are, mostly, good for skiers and ski areas alike. But I have not made much of an effort to analyze counter-arguments that could challenge this belief. The Savannah panel was an exercise in doing exactly that. All four mountain leaders made compelling cases for pass independence. Since that conversation wasn't recorded, however, I wanted to bring a more focused version of it to you. Here you go.What I got wrongI said that “I grew up skiing in Michigan” – that isn't exactly correct. While I did grow up in Michigan, and that's where I started skiing, I never skied until I was a teenager.Why you should ski CascadeLet's say you decided to ski the top five ski areas in every ski state in America. That would automatically drop Cascade onto your list. Even in a state with 33 ski areas, Cascade easily climbs into the top five. It's big. The terrain is varied. It's well managed. The infrastructure is first-rate. And every single year, it gets better.Yes, Cascade is consistent and deliberate in its lift and snowmaking upgrades, but no single change has improved the experience more than limiting lift ticket sales. This was a Covid-era change that the ski area stuck with, Vohs says, after realizing that giving a better experience to fewer skiers made more long-term business sense than jamming the parking lot to overfill every Saturday.Every ski area in America is a work in progress. Watching The Godfather today is the same experience as when the film debuted in 1972. But if you haven't skied Vail Mountain or Sun Valley or Stowe since that year, you'd arrive to an experience you scarcely recognized in 2023. Some ski areas, however, are more deliberate in crafting this evolving story. To some, time sort of happens, and they're surprised to realize, one day, that their 1985 experience doesn't appeal to a 21st century world. But others grab a handsaw and a screwdriver and carefully think through the long-term, neverending renovation of their dream home. Cascade is one of these, constantly, constantly sanding and shifting and shaping this thing that will never quite be finished.Podcast NotesOn Wisconsin's largest ski areasI mentioned that Cascade was one of Wisconsin's largest ski areas. Here's a full state inventory for context:On more efficient modern snowmaking I mentioned a conversation I'd had with Joe VanderKelen, president of SMI Snow Makers, and how he'd discussed the efficiency of modern snowmaking. You can listen to that podcast here:On naming the JL2 liftWhen Cascade replaced the Mogul Monster lift last year, resort officials named the new fixed-grip quad on the same line “JL2.” That, Vohs tells us, is an honorarium to two Cascade locals killed in a Colorado avalanche in 2014: Justin Lentz and Jarrard Law. Per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Feb. 16, 2014:Two men from Portage were killed in a Colorado avalanche while skiing over the weekend.Justin Lentz, 32, and Jarrad Law died when they and five other skiers were swept away by an avalanche late Saturday afternoon, friends and family told Madison television station WISC-TV (Channel 3.)The avalanche occurred at an elevation of about 11,000 feet near Independence Pass, roughly 120 miles southwest of Denver.The two skiers were found at the top of the avalanche, said Susan Matthews, spokeswoman for the Lake County Office of Emergency Management."The skiers were equipped with avalanche beacons, which assisted search and rescue crews in locating them," she said.She said authorities believe the seven skiers triggered the slide. Officials found the bodies of Lentz and Law Sunday afternoon but did not release their names.One of Lentz's family members told WISC-TV that the family was notified Saturday night. Lentz was a Portage High School graduate who was in Colorado on a skiing trip. A friend said Law had worked at Cascade Mountain and was an avid skier.WKOW captured the scene at the JL2 lift's opening this past January:It was a bittersweet moment for those at Cascade Mountain as visitors took a ride on a new ski lift named in honor of two late skiers.When it came time to name the new ski lift at Cascade Mountain in Portage, crews at the resort said there was only option that seemed fitting."We tossed around the idea of naming it after a couple of just really awesome guys who grew up skiing and snowboarding here," said Evan Walz, who is the Inside Operations Manager for Cascade Mountain.The name they landed on was JL2. It's in honor of Jarrard Law and Justin Lentz."[I] wanted to cry," Justin Lentz's mother, Connie Heitke, said. "Because I knew that people were still thinking of them and love them as much as when it first happened."Law and Lentz lost their lives to an avalanche while on a backcountry trip in Colorado in February 2014. Heitke said it has been hard but said it's the support from friends and family that helps her get through."[I] still miss him awfully a lot. He was my first. It's coming around and now that I can feel that it was okay because he used to enjoy life," she said.Seeing people gather for the ribbon cutting of the ski lift's grand opening, Heitke said is a fabulous feeling."He [Justin] would have been grabbing my head and shaking my head and shaking me screaming and yelling and hollering just like he did," she said. "Jarrard would have just been sitting over there really calm with a smile on his face enjoying watching Justin."From Lentz's obituary:Justin T. Lentz, age 32, of Sun Prairie, died on Saturday, February 15, 2014 as the result of a skiing accident in Twin Lakes, Colorado.Justin was born on August 7, 1981 in Portage, the son of Robert and Connie (Heitke) Lentz.  He graduated from Portage High School in 2000.  He had worked at Staff Electric in Madison since 2005.  Justin loved skiing, snowboarding, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and making his weekends better than everyone else's year.    From Law's obituary:Jarrard Leigh Law, 34, of Portage, formerly of Carroll County, died tragically while skiing in Colorado Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014.He was born Dec. 6, 1979, in Freeport, to Joan (Getz) and Robert Law.Jarrard was baptized at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Savanna and confirmed at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Portage.He was a 1998 graduate of Portage High School and earned a degree in computer information systems from Madison Area Technical College.For the past 12 years, he was employed by CESA 5 working as a computer technician for the Necedah Area School District.Jarrard was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church serving as an usher and communion assistant.He enjoyed skiing, biking, hiking and many other outdoor activities.On Devil's HeadI've long had a low-grade obsession with ski areas that sit near one another. Despite drawing from identical or very similar weather systems, terrain features, and population bases, they ski, look, and feel like completely different entities. Think A-Basin/Keystone or Sugarbush/Mad River Glen – neighbors that exist, it can seem, in different universes.Many versions of this dot the Midwest, with perhaps the most well-known being Nub's Nob/The Highlands, an independent/Boyne Resorts duo that face one another across a Michigan backroad. How different are they? Both ski areas built new lifts this summer. The Highlands removed three Riblet triples and replaced them with one Doppelmayr D-Line bubble six-pack, a chairlift that probably cost more than the Detroit Lions. Nub's Nob, meanwhile, replaced a Riblet fixed-grip quad with… a Skytrac fixed-grip quad. “High-speed chairlifts at Nub's Nob just don't make sense,” GM Ben Doornbos underscored in a video announcing the replacement:Wisconsin's version of this is Cascade and Devil's Head, which sit 14 road miles apart. While both count similar vertical drops and skiable acreage totals, Devil's Head, like Nub's, relies solely on fixed-grip lifts. It's a bit more backwoods, a bit less visible than Cascade, which is parked like a sentinel over the interstate. Vohs and I talk a bit about the relationship between the two ski areas. Here's a visual of Devil's Head for reference:On Christmas MountainVohs spent some time managing Christmas Mountain, 22 miles down the interstate. He refers to it as, “a very small operation.” The place is more of an amenity for the attached resort than a standalone ski area meant to compete with Cascade or Devil's Head. It's around 200 vertical feet served by a quad and a handletow:On the capacity differences between fixed-grip and high-speed liftsCascade runs four top-to-bottom quads: two detachables and two fixed-grips. Vohs and I discuss what went into deciding which lift to install for each of these lines. Detachable quads, it turns out, are about twice as expensive to install and far more expensive to maintain, and – this is hard to really appreciate – don't move any more skiers per hour than a fixed-grip quad. Don't believe it? Check this excellent summary from Midwest Skiers:You can also read the summary here.On high-speed ropetowsI'm going to go ahead and keep proselytizing on the utility and efficiency of high-speed ropetows until every ski area in America realizes that they need like eight of them. Look at these things go (this one is at Mount Ski Gull in Minnesota):On Cascade's expansion and Google MapsMany years ago, Cascade cut a half dozen or so top-to-bottom trails skier's right of the traditional resort footprint. Were this anywhere other than Cascade, skiers may have barely noticed, but since the terrain rises directly off the interstate, well, they did. Cascade finally strung the B-Dub lift up to serve roughly half the terrain in 2016, but, as you can see on Google Maps, a clutch of trails still awaits lift service:So what's the plan? Vohs tells us in the podcast.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 90/100 in 2023, and number 476 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane, or, more likely, I just get busy). You can also email skiing@substack.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Folsom bass; Berryessa rainbows; Bear hunting...Bridgeport reservoir trout...Twin Lakes trout...East Walker crowds; Delta sturgeon; More New Melones trout; American and Feather Rivers steelhead; Collins Lake fish planting; Gun control ignorance.

We are back with this in-person episode from Twin Lakes with some sage words from Brad Couture. I've been following Brad for quite a while and was stoked to finally meet him in person as we both were sending it around Colorado to catch the fall foliage. He has some of the most underrated photography work out there and also some mindsets that can be applicable to anyone, regardless of their occupation or hobby. Brad was coming to an end on his van life journey, at least for the time being, after spending 10 months on the road and had a lot to share about the experience that is worth the listen. 

Jean Lee is the Instructor and Coordinator of String Music Education at the Michigan State University College of Music. She teaches string pedagogy and string methods courses while growing the string music education program through student recruitment and retention outreach programs. Lee is well-known throughout the Midwest as an accomplished clinician, conductor, Suzuki violin teacher, and adjudicator. She brings nearly two decades of experience to her role within the University along with a unique skill set as an entrepreneur and brand strategist. Whether in the classroom, leading an orchestra, or working one-on-one with students, Lee loves connecting with young musicians to help them develop their talents and see their potential through music education. Lee is a proud graduate of Michigan State University where as an undergraduate, she studied violin with I-Fu Wang and piano with Deborah Moriarty. She graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Music Education before also pursuing her graduate studies in Music Education at the University of Michigan. Before joining the university's faculty, Lee taught music for fourteen years in the Okemos Public Schools, a district renowned for having one of the state's strongest orchestra programs. Throughout her career, Lee has led orchestras of varying age groups—from elementary strings to university-level musicians. She also directed orchestras at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lakes, Michigan; the Michigan Chapter of the American Strings Teachers Association String Camp in Howell, Michigan; and the New England Music Camp in Sidney, Maine. She is an active member of the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, the American String Teachers Association, and the Suzuki Association of the Americas.In addition to applying her expertise as a strings educator and orchestra director, Lee is actively developing new strategies and outreach programs to attract string musicians to careers in music education. Contact Ms. Lee at leejean@msu.edu or visit her website at https://www.music.msu.edu/faculty/profile/jean or on Instagram Your support is appreciated! If you are enjoying The Orchestra Teacher Podcast, please consider becoming a supporter for as little as 99 cents per month. I am working hard to bring on some amazing educators who will share ideas, tell their story, and offer some support for all of you. I have invested a lot of time in putting it all together and money purchase equipment that will help provide the best possible listening experience. Here is the link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orchestrateacher/support Thank you for your continued support! If you have suggestions for podcast guests, please let me know by providing a name and contact information. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/orchestrateacher/support

Join us in this Runners of the Corn podcast episode as we journey to Leadville for an unforgettable experience. We dive into the excitement of pacing, crewing, and running alongside the incredible Yeti trail and ultra runners. We recount our firsthand encounters during the race event, from shuttle rides to soaking in the Twin Lakes ambiance. Listen in as we capture the emotional start line, explore charming coffee shops, visit the Mayqueen aid station, and navigate through unexpected challenges like water shortages. Feel the euphoria of crossing the finish line during the golden hour and enjoy a sneak peek at the stunning photos that captured these memorable moments.Be sure to follow us at facebook.com/RunnersOfTheCorn or instagram.com/runnersofthecorn

When dollars budgeted for marketing were not going to be used during the early months of the pandemic, Twin Lakes decided to repurpose that money for grants in the communities they serve. Four years later, Twin Lakes has awarded a quarter of a million dollars to local organizations that make positive impacts in the community. Lea Ann Gore, marketing and sales manager, joined the show to discuss how the program works and the benefits seen through the program.

Journey with us into the world of wrestling, where physical strength meets mental endurance, narrated by our distinguished guest CJ Vroman, the mastermind behind First Fitness Training Facility. CJ, an accomplished athlete, coach, and Air Force member, opens up about his enthralling odyssey, from his humble beginnings in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, to the apex of his wrestling and coaching career. His riveting narrative will keep you hooked as he shares tales of neighborhood adventures, mid-school wrestling bouts, and the profound influence of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding on his life.Wrestling, however, is just the opening act of CJ's athletic journey. Hear about his seamless transition into powerlifting, the intense training regimen he adopted, and his decision to join the Air Force, a choice that pushed him to new physical and mental extremes. His unique experiences coaching youth wrestling, particularly his time with the Stateline Wrestling Club and his creation of the Panther Wrestling Club, offer invaluable insights into the trials and triumphs of guiding young athletes.But this episode is more than just a walk down memory lane; it's an exploration of the athletic world's inner workings. From understanding the psychological aspects of sports to unraveling the intricacies of coaching, we dig deep into the complexities of fostering athletic growth. Learn about the significance of good coaches, the potential pitfalls of youth wrestling clubs, and the importance of cultivating cooperation among athletic training facilities. By the end of this episode, you'll become well-versed in the realm of sports and fitness, seen through the lens of CJ's inspiring story. So sit back, relax, and step into the shoes of a true wrestling aficionado and fitness enthusiast.Give the Gift of Podcasting This SeasonHelp someone you care about start a podcast this season with a gift card from RSS.com. Support the showAppleton Tattoo Linkshttps://www.facebook.com/appletontattoohttps://www.instagram.com/mark_appletontattoo/920 Hat Co. Linkshttps://920hatco.com/https://www.instagram.com/920hatco/https://www.facebook.com/920HatCo

New Melones kokanee; Pardee trout; Camanche Lake trout; Twin Lakes trout; Kids camp overview; Berryessa trout and king salmon

The Cabin is presented by the Wisconsin Counties Association and this week we're featuring ShawanoCounty; https://bit.ly/3yn6z5r The Cabin is also presented by Jolly Good Soda, available in all your classic favorite flavors that weremember from childhood. The diet line offers 0 calories, 0 carbs, 0 sugars, and no caffeine – perfect formixers or just enjoying on a warm summer day (or any day, for that matter); always Wisconsin-based,you can follow @jollygoodsoda on social for the latest on new flavors, fun promotions, and more. Learnmore here; https://bit.ly/3TSFYY4 Campfire Conversation:Eric, Ana, and Logan dive into Wisconsin's bevy of summer music festival choices. Summerfest is adominant one, along the lakefront in Milwaukee, with over 600 performances across 11+ stages over 9days. It embraces a variety of genres from the largest titans in the music industry to local and emergingperformers with niche audiences. We have a discussion with Sarah Pancheri, President of Summerfest,to discuss what's new and happening for 2023 as Summerfest runs June 22-24, June 29-July 1, and July6-8 this year. But a plethora of other music festivals around Wisconsin invite you, including some majorcountry festivals: Country Fest in Cadott, Country Thunder in Twin Lakes, Country Jam in Eau Claire,Country Boom in West Salem, the Hodag Country Festival in Rhinelander and more. We also discuss Mileof Music, a unique festival in downtown Appleton with over 200 artists performing across 40 venues –which cover about a mile. Rock, folk, Americana, and even bluegrass get covered with events like RockFest in Cadott, the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival in Milwaukee (both the weekend of July 13-15); the Blue Ox Music Festival and Eaux Claires, both in the Eau Claire area; events at Driftless MusicGardens near Hillsboro and the Driftless Music Festival in Viroqua; the Sugar Maple Music Festival inMadison; the unique Northwoodstock at Bent's Camp west of Land O'Lakes, which we covered in a bonus episode with Bent's Camp; plus bluegrass festivals in Shawano, near Green Bay in Brown County,and the Brittany Saylor Bluegrass Festival. There's even Lifest, a Christian music festival near Oshkosh.We have details on each in this episode to help you plan to attend your favorites! Inside SponsorsGroup Health Trust: https://bit.ly/3JMizCXWashington County: https://bit.ly/3qayJALMarshfield Clinic; All of Us Research Program; https://bit.ly/3Wj6pYj

This week we sit down with professional gravel cyclist, Alexey Vermeulen.  Alexey is currently ranked 2nd in the Life Time Grand Prix going into the series finale at Big Sugar.  2022 has been a breakout season for this rising star with a big win at BWR San Diego.  In addition to his racing exploits, Alexey is one of the founders of the From The Ground Up Project and the excluse ride partner for the 'fastest known dog', Willie the weiner.   Alexey's website  Episode Sponsor: AG1 by Athletic Greens Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: Alexey Vermeulen [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 welcome Alexi Vermilion. Alexi is a professional off-road cyclists competing in the lifetime grand Prix series this year. With only one event left big sugar in Bentonville, Arkansas coming up this month. He is sitting in second in that competition it was a great time to check in with Alexi. Alexia is not only a great athlete, but also a great ambassador for the sport. He always seems to be around, to share a smile or a laugh after some of these big events. If you don't know him for his professional cycling career. You may have also seen him with a dog on his back, riding a bike. Yeah. We'll get into his relationship with Willie. And what type of terrain Willie likes to ride? I'll give you a hint. It's the off-road kind. Before we jump in, I need to thank this week. Sponsor athletic greens and I've been using athletic greens for many years now. And I like to refer to it as my nutritional insurance. I don't always have the best diet and it just gives me a baseline of some of the nutrients and minerals that I need throughout the day. One tasty scoop of athletic greens contains 75 vitamins minerals and whole food sourced ingredients. Including a multivitamin multimineral probiotic, green superfood blend. And more, all that work together to fill those nutritional gaps in your diet. Increase energy and focus. Uh, aid with digestion and support a healthy immune system. All without the need to take multiple products or pills. This is what I think I really love. It's simply every morning I have a routine. I get a scoop of the powder, put it over ice and water. Shake it up. Get some hydration and get all those nutrients and vitamins in me in one fell swoop again on days where I go deep on the bike, sometimes I'll do a second class. I know for me, I start to feel sort of just run down and drained and I don't have the luxury of sitting back with my feet up after a ride. I often have to jump right into enjoying my son and caring for him. So I love just being able to top off and make sure I've got my recovery. Athletic greens is offering a free one year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs to all my listeners with their first Simply visit athletic greens.com/the gravel ride. And join health experts, athletes, and health conscious go getters around the world who are making a daily commitment to their health. Again, simply visit athletic greens.com/the gravel ride. And get your free year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs today. Would that business behind us let's jump into my conversation with Alexi. Alex, welcome to the show. [00:03:06] Alexey Vermeulen: Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me. [00:03:07] Craig Dalton: I feel like this is a long time coming, like Cody [00:03:10] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah. Since what, two years almost now? [00:03:12] Craig Dalton: Yeah, exactly. I remember when we met at Rodeo, I had asked Neil Shirley about, you know, just who was gonna be there and who I might talk to, and he's like, Here's Alex. He's the fastest guy in gravel you don't know about yet. [00:03:26] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah. I think Neil believed in me maybe before I believed in myself. But I think that was my rodeo. Strava kms were the beginning of my success. [00:03:33] Craig Dalton: Put you on the radar, but you'd been on the radar for a long time. So I, I always start off the podcast with just getting a little bit about your background. So why don't you tell me, tell us where you're from and how you got into cycling, and then ultimately let's talk about that journey into gravel and MTV territory. [00:03:49] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah. I'll try to keep this somewhat short. If we start at the beginning, I probably, I started in like kids triathlons. My mom was doing em. As with any cycles, I feel like hated this swimming portion. You just like get to the, get to the run and bike and they're like, Okay, let's go. This is fun. Ran with my helmet on my first triathlon. That was cool. But yeah, it just kind of transitioned to my love of just going fast and pushing boundaries. Right. I think I was 1211 at that portion and my grandfather immigrated from Holland, actually grew up racing. And when he immigrated to Canada, didn't really continue. He did a lot of riding. That kind of caught on at some point when I was doing triathlons. I remember this very vivid ride. I was on like a 24 inch wheel trek and we did a, like, supposed to be a 30 mile ride, became 60, you know, and like completely bumped 10 miles to go and like the entire last 10 miles, I would like fall back into his hand. He'd give me a push and I'd spin as hard as I could, you know, for minute and a half. But I think like as I grew up and started doing other sports, I did a lot of things, played hockey, played soccer, cross country. It eventually in high school fell to cross country and cycling. And I was, I think, somewhat naturally gifted. Just I enjoyed endurance and pushing myself, but it just became a, a choice between the journey, right? Like cycling took me to new places. I got to go to Vermont to scream out stage race. I got to travel. We did family weekends. Cross [00:05:03] Craig Dalton: you live in a community? Did you live in a community that sort of embraced endurance athletics? Where were you? [00:05:08] Alexey Vermeulen: So I grew up in Michigan. Yes, it's good. Good job. You're good at this? Yeah. No, I grew up, grew up in Michigan. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, but grew up in Michigan since I was two years old. And that's kinda like, I think just where I was. Ann Arbor about an hour south of Detroit. It's just, it's a big. Community for the Midwest at least. This big, an AVE Club was there and definitely like, you know, had the Tuesday crib practices. Like there wasn't a, a pathway, wouldn't say there was many kids my age. But there was definitely, like, I remember I hear stories now about, Guys come up and talk to me and they're like, Oh yeah, your dad used to drop you off the local school and just say, don't let him get dropped. I'll see you guys at the other end. But I didn't know that, you know, I was like, Oh, I'm on this alone. I'm 12 years old. Ah, look at all these guys. You know? So there definitely was, maybe not, maybe unbeknownst to me at the beginning, but I do. I. There's a lot of hard Midwest guys that come out because you don't, I realize that even when I go back, you can't stop peddling Colorado. I'm like, Oh, I've got three hour ride. I'll climb for two hours and descend and coast down Michigan. You got a three hour ride, you're peddling for three hours. [00:06:04] Craig Dalton: So I was talking to someone about this the other day. It's so different, like even in California on the coastal range here, I get a lot of breaks where I'm not pedaling. So when I go somewhere where I actually have to continue to turn the pedals for four hours in a row, I'm absolutely crushed. [00:06:17] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, it's, it's a big deal. I, yeah, every time I go back I feel like I bon every third ride. Probably my issue with not eating, but another story. But yeah, so it just kind of continued. Probably, so sophomore year of high school was like that deflection point. I won nationals, which I always say somewhat lucky. Obviously you can put in the work, but there's also 10 other guys doing it at a minimum. And that kind of gave, opened up the financial side of it for my parents, where the national team covered some of the, And I got to go to and I was 16 racing at 17 at the time, and European racing, you just fit me man. I like, I loved it. The CME style all out. Just like if you're not in the front, you're in the back. I just like, it was everything I had dreamed. I remember I went over there with like 700 euro spending away with my parents and like came back with like 1400, like doubled it and I was like, Oh, this is great. And just like it was the first moment I remember like not thinking this is my career, but. Like, Oh, I wanna push harder cuz this is really fricking fun. And it's also, you get to be in Europe, right? Your kids are, your friends are back at high school and you're like, you know, you skip three, three weeks, you go home. But that trip, that was supposed to be three weeks at ces, turned into going to the World Championships in Copenhagen cause I did well. And so that kind of opened up this whole pathway to actually having a chance at something. Juniors. So that was the World Championships in Copenhagen in thousand 11. You know, cut a race with guys that I grew up watching. Canara, KA Dish. All these guys race up the same course I day to day earlier, which is just like, there's no words for it, right? Like when you grow up dreaming of something or like watching random videos. [00:07:40] Craig Dalton: Yeah, and unless you've observed or watched one of these things, you just cannot understand like the spectacle of having everybody racing with their country flags on their bodies. No trade teams. Like, it's just such an amazing experience. I, I love, and I've had good fortune of going to two world championships to watch, and it was just electric, both of [00:07:58] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, it's, it's unbelievable. And I think it's like, it's, yeah. Something I'll never forget. That kind put me on a pathway in to fast forward this, you know, in cycling there's a couple jumps, right? There's under 23. So when you, when you're 18 years old, jumping into the next category, which is a four year category, but that also coincides with in the, pretty much everywhere, college, university. And so I made. Little packed with my parents like, Hey, if I have offers from one of one or both of the two big teams in the US at the time, which were lived strong in bmc, it was just coming on that I could def still apply, but defer college for at least two years through that contract and see what I could do. I was fortunate enough to have an offer from both and ended up choosing bmc. Cause I just loved the racing in Europe and they were, had to schedule it primarily there. And I just, it just kept growing. Like, I feel like this, that first year on bmc, you know, you're not making much, you're making 15 grand or something, but you're, you're 18 years old, you're living in Europe with your best friends. And it was the first time I was like, Wow, you can make this your job. Like, that's like, where can this go? What, what can I do? And three years on, I was lucky enough to get an email from, from Lato Yobo. And you know what? Transitioned and became the job. And it was that moment where I like, had completed this USA cycling pipeline and I was like, Okay, so what's next? You know, I signed this big contract and I was, I was stoked. You're 21 years old and it's what you've dreamed of your whole life in a sense. But also felt like I, like, okay, so am I doing this for 15 years or am I doing this for 10 years? Like, it was such a, I questioned a lot of it. Right. [00:09:23] Craig Dalton: You a, I mean, presumably in those BMC years, you were forced to live that professional lifestyle and make start to begin to make significant sacrifices to continue progressing. [00:09:36] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, I think BMC was lucky because you got to see it also, right? So we were at the development team right underneath the Pro World tour team. You know, you got to watch guys like Brent Book, Walter, who's American and Larry War Bass. Go through their version of it, right? Like, help you kind of pick, Hey, if I actually move, if I actually make this jump, where do I wanna live? Do I wanna live in east? Do I wanna live in drone? And kind of see before you had to deal with it, see the struggles and see the positives of racing at that level. But yeah, like it, it just came down, you know, once I signed that contract, I just, I wanted more and more and more. And it was this weird feeling of like, unless you were winning, You couldn't make, you couldn't do more, You couldn't make an impact on sponsors or people or community. [00:10:15] Craig Dalton: And this is at at the then the jumbo team at [00:10:17] Alexey Vermeulen: yeah, yeah. Sorry. So two years on and I loved it, right? You get to race these, like, we all dream of like Lia Best and Lombardia Doe. Right? [00:10:25] Craig Dalton: Yeah. It's probably somewhat lost. It's probably somewhat lost on a listener. I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's somewhat lost that that is. That's the big time. You're, you're on. I mean, everybody knows it now, but it's the one of the biggest and best teams in the world. You sort of made it there, obviously, like it continues to be a journey when you're a neo pro and you've got your first year in these big pro tour teams. But I think you were just getting into sort of this idea of, okay, now what's my identity? What's my role in this big organization in the biggest league in the world? [00:10:55] Alexey Vermeulen: yeah. And even in life, to be honest, right? You're 21 years old. I honestly, I think if I. In hindsight, probably would've given myself my last year in under 20 threes. But like when you take a chance, like you don't turn down, like at the time that I went, it had been almost three years since the American had gone to the world tour. So it was one of those things that like when is the opportunity if going to come again? Like, you're just young, right? You learn everything. Like, I remember my first moment, I, I chose to move to J and I just, I got a, a key mailed to me and I'm like, Google translating the back of a taxi in Spanish. Like, I think is this addressed? I'm like getting out, trying. It's like nine o'clock at night's dark. I'm like trying to find the lock, like eventually find where I'm going. And there's like life experiences at the same time. That, you know, back to not going to school. I like, kind of feel like I was educated by the bike. Like I learned a lot of like life. Balance. I don't know, just maybe not directly academic, but I learned a lot about myself in, in that time. And it kind of just transitioned into when I was racing at the top level, what, what is next? What can I do? What do I want to do? And I remember, you know, you kind of mentioned it quickly if I wanted to go to mountain bike or not, but like, I remember thinking like, okay, I can continue doing this. Maybe get better, right? Because that's 21, 23. But like I didn't, I wanted to be a GC rider. That's what I'd grown up doing. And I kind of felt like I wasn't good enough in a sense. Like you never know you're young, but like I was like, there's a lot of work to be done here to be able to climb like Andy sch Slack or anything that I watch growing up. Right? So just, you know, in 2018 was like, I kind of wanna just go send it and see what happens. And I was good enough at the business side of her like connection side that I had relationships with Bianchi and kind of took a lot of the sponsors I had on Lato to back into the US and said, Hey, I wanna try this mountain bike thing. And very quickly realized that the World Cup mountain bike is the exact same as what I was doing. Just different bikes and wider titers. But gravel was growing and so I, you know, I was trying to figure out where I belonged and my identity had kind of changed, but that was the beginning of what I'm doing now, which there's things I miss, but I don't have any regrets. It's, it's really cool to see what's growing in the us [00:13:04] Craig Dalton: Yeah, no doubt. So you to just unpack it a little bit, you move over, you get a, you get what maybe described as a private tier program with Bianchi. You start trying the mountain bike thing. Discover it's, it's sort of emotionally and maybe sim physically similar to what you've just been going through in the world tour and leaving the world tour. You were looking to do something different and have a different relationship with your vocation as a professional cyclist. [00:13:32] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, a little bit. I mean, I think the biggest thing was that I, I wanted to actually positively impact either the companies I worked with or. Individuals community around me, right? Like athletics of any kind are very selfish. You have to be selfish on some level to, to grow as a person, as an athlete. But on the world tour team, you know, you have 28 riders and you have these companies paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to be a part of this team. And rightfully so, the team wants one answer, not 28 different answers. And I felt like, well, there's eight of us here who could actually make an impact on this company that's giving a lot of money to this team yet. You're blocking it. So I felt like there was kind of a, a backup or like a flaw in the system. And not that I was the only one that ever saw that, but I was like, I actually like the portion off the bike as well. I like enjoying and talking. Like, it's not exhausting to me. I enjoy, you know, being a human and talking through things, Hey, this worked, this didn't, or like, let's figure out how to do this better. I'm up for do that content, you know? So I saw that gap kind of existing in the US as things grew. But I don't think I ever thought it would grow into what it is now. [00:14:36] Craig Dalton: Yeah. And was that sort of just timeline wise, was that the beginning of the pandemic that you had done your mountain bike thing and you were gonna transition into gravel that 2020 season? [00:14:46] Alexey Vermeulen: 29. I had one full year, 2019. I did a good schedule. Mostly mountain bike, almost all mountain bike. But I did, I like Belgium, Fri, San Diego and Flatted out of, and like I was definitely that year and even with my coach, we were all just like, let's just go test events this year and see what happens, you know? Had to convince my parents I wasn't being an idiot. But other than that it was easy. And it was just like, it was fun to. Start to build those relationships that we talk about now, right? Like, I pride myself on not ever burning a bridge and like being able to go back to anybody. And like I feel like I talk to companies I've worked with in the past, even just as a consultant nowadays which like is kind of just cool to me. Like I enjoy, like this is doing well. This is not like, you know, it is just such an interesting space to be in. [00:15:30] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it really is. And the, I think the athletes that can articulate feedback about the product and the experience, or even the vibe that companies are trying to create, that's gold, right? That's where you wanna be spending your money. [00:15:42] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah. Yeah. And it's a, it's a battle as you know, like trying to figure out advertising is such an interesting thing especially in sport, because sport is hard to quantify. And like the way I, I mean like, not to give away my secrets, but the way I kind of pitch this thing as an athlete is, It has to be at least three parts, right? You have to validate equipment on some level, and so that doesn't mean you need to win every race, but you need to be up there validating a new bike, a new set of wheels, a new handlebar. Like does it work at the highest level? Why does it work? But I think that's, you know, 30% of it. Maybe the other part is just being a face for a brand, which to talk about vibe. Like it means like, you know, not having some sterile company with a tent at an event, like talking through things, real life shit, having a dog, right? Like Willie's been such a. It would make jokes about it. Just such a conversation opener when you're just standing. Like, who? We all want carbon wheels. We're all buying them every day. No. So how do you just be a person? And the last is the internal feedback, right? That it just takes time and you have to work with a company for a long time for that to actually be beneficial. Right. I think people are like, Oh, Alex had that bike a year before it launched, so he put all the feedback. Dude and I had feedback that'll affect the next generation of that bike, but it's so far in advance that to truly, positively impact a company, you have to be involved really early on. [00:17:01] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. [00:17:02] Alexey Vermeulen: So I, I think if you put all those together, that's the full athlete, you know, doing well in the US and privateer. [00:17:07] Craig Dalton: And it seems like one of the things you recognized was this idea that, you know, you will be required to create content as an athlete in this new space, and you took a very proactive vision on what that content was gonna be and how you were gonna show up [00:17:25] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, I tried to, I mean, I think it's, especially now, like you look at a race, like on band, I feel like there is almost more videographers than racers sometimes. Right? It's kind of, And content for content sake. Is the bane of my existence. Like I, I, I hate to be, and like even the way you and I just chatted before we started this podcast, like I struggle with podcasts that just jump in and say the same thing the entire time. Because if you have an i, if you have an agenda and you asked me exact same questions I talked about last week on a different podcast, it doesn't benefit anybody, right? It's just content for content's sake. Cause not that I'm not gonna be listened to, but you could go to some other channel list and the exact same. Unless, you know, you give me the option to talk through things and figure things out and open up what I wanna get to as well. So I think that's the same thing with what I took into content. I was like, what do I enjoy this sport and why did I change what I'm doing? It's not that I was the best world tour writer, I was very far from it, but I have a, an experience at a different level and I enjoyed the relationship. So I was like, that's what is interesting to me. So, I've just focused a lot on any content I can. I want to be about relationships and how this works. You know, like my relationship with Neil and Envy, like that's what's interesting to me. And then the humanity of the sport is what actually draws people in or inspires and motivates more than the next, Hey, the widest wheel set, cuz that's, You can find that on the web. [00:18:46] Craig Dalton: quick, quick follow up on your dog since not everyone is familiar with Willie, although they should be. Just describe Willie and why he's got a little bit of notoriety in the cycling world these days. [00:18:58] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, Willie's probably the fastest, fastest known dog in the cycling world. No, but he's a long haired miniature din, looks like a mini golden retriever if you trying to picture it. And early on in the pandemic, I started riding with him when my girlfriend did runs and he just loved it. And it's kind of just grown, I mean, He's done rides as long as seven hours. He gets out, goes to the bathroom, goes back in the backpack, and we just ride. But he is like, you know, you got his shoulder over his head, over one of your shoulders and it's kind of like, it's great as a training partner also. Like, I'll go ride three hours and come pick him up for an hour at the end. And I don't have to talk to anybody, but I kind have someone they are with me, like a little training partner and no one yells at you on the bike path. So it's a win, win, win. [00:19:38] Craig Dalton: does Willie have a preference between road riding and gravel riding? [00:19:41] Alexey Vermeulen: He probably likes gravel more in Colorado cause he loves prairie dogs. He loves like, you know, hunting from, from up high. He's actually most into mountain biking, which I try to like ride trails before I take him there. But like, he knows when the goggle, he hates the goggles, but he knows when the goggles go on, it's like it's, there's gonna be branches in this face. It's gonna be time to focus. And he just like, he gets all four legs up on my shoulder, like a par. Just kinda like if there's someone in front of me, he is just like, his head is probably three or four inches in front of my face and just like, he's trying to just like, we have to get back to them. He just, I think he just loves the interactive nature of it. So I don't take him mountain biking that off and it's probably his favorite. [00:20:19] Craig Dalton: So podcasting is not the medium to really enjoy Willian, but I encourage the listener to follow you on Instagram cuz I I love it. Everybody loves it. Willie's a hero. [00:20:28] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah. He makes everyone smile, which is a goal in life, so it's. [00:20:32] Craig Dalton: you also seem to have linked up with someone who is your, is your frequent video videographer partner, and that seems like be like a really interesting relationship to give us insight into your, your comings and goings and your career and your successes and your failure. [00:20:47] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, so that's, that's funny. So like, this is, that was something I started last year. So Avery stu, like he does all my, almost all my photo and video that's not through another company and even if it is but we just started, he DMed me when I was back racing Iceman one year, which is a big mountain bike racing in northern Michigan where I grew up. And we've just kind of weirdly just been on the same path. He moved out to, to Boulder about three months after I did. And I think we both have an understanding of what the other's job is to get done, right? I think there's a lot of cyclists who just expect, Hey, this car and video, this photographer will follow me and just take pictures. But like, that's not, it's not that easy, right? It's back and forth and, hey, this is the great, this is the gap. And it's annoying at times. And then the same as he understands I have to get work done right. So he'll just come, Hey, I'm gonna go out in the car with you for four hours. I'm gonna ask you to turn around six or seven times. But like, so we're able to create really cool content because we both are just in it cuz of our friendship less than money. If I were to like, like I've had people ask me this year, like, Oh, what do you pay? YouPay him hourly. I was like, Are you kidding me? That guy works more hourly with me than I think I could ever pay him in my entire life. But it's more, Cause it's friendship, right? It's something that just, it, the relationship is the reason that we work together, not anything else. And so this year going in, I was, that was kind of the goal. I was like, I went to companies and I was like, Hey, I, I want to try to bring Avery to all of the races because to me, First off, you'll get pictures after the race, which every company wants if you go do well, but more importantly, I want to show the relationship side of this. Right? And a really good example of that is if anyone's who made a video at Belgium Welfare Ride that I won this year in San Diego, but there's a moment in there about two thirds the way through where the person I had feeding me just it's kind of shit the bad that day. It's kind of struggling sometimes you just aren't on the same wavelength. They keep missing you. They don't see your jersey, whatever it is. And Avery literally just stopped filming and handed up two bottles, which was like, ch I would've dropped outta the race, very honestly. And that kind of like moment, that's a relationship thing, right? If I'm paying someone to take pictures and videos, they're gonna do that till the end of the day. But the relationship side of him knew, Hey, my friend is struggling. Feeding is more important than filming right now. And I will always cherish that because that's what matters more and that's what moves the the world go, not what makes the world go. [00:22:56] Craig Dalton: yeah. When you, when you were structuring your sponsorship agreements for this year, were you, did you specifically carve out like a dollar amount for him and. This is going to him to make sure he can get everywhere with me. [00:23:08] Alexey Vermeulen: it was hard. Concepts proven are easier to sell, right? So this year I would say I spent, I spent a good amount of my own money getting in places cuz I, I believe in it, right? And so if anyone's interested, like we have a YouTube channel just like Alexian Avery Which I think we've had, I think it'll be at the end, like 18 videos this year. But so I had, you know, a couple companies that I think believed in what I was doing, sign on, you know, like Envy for example. Neil was like, that's great that we need this, this is perfect. We want to add humanity to what we do already. And there's other companies that were less excited about it because the thought process and cycling has always been, we wanna pay for this direct photo shoot, not for this like big ambiguous season. But I think also everyone this year has come back and now, next year I've kind of stipulated it for everybody. Like, Hey, if we're working together, I really need to ask you to put a percentage of, like, I've pretty much said a percentage of my paycheck you need to add in on top of to pay for bravery to come to races cuz you've all benefited from it this year. And if you haven't then you need to show me where you didn't. Cuz it's just such a organic way of doing things, right? When it's more about the relationship of it and everyone's include. It's just fun. Like I took, I took Avery and our friend tra, we had two videographers at Sea Oder, and it was a blast, right? It was the three, two of us and Willie hanging out the biggest event all year, right? Like just, I don't know, like the bike race is the smallest portion of it, and that is, it's the biggest portion of my life, but it's, it matters least it's just the vehicles. All of us to go hang out at events and the community of it is what has growing, what I'm a part of. Right. [00:24:43] Craig Dalton: Yeah, that's a good point. I think for the outsider, just to understand gravel, it's not about who every section of the race and who's winning. It's about the overall experience. It's the pre rise, the shake down rides. The post ride hang out. That's what makes it so magic. [00:24:57] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah. And like it's intoxicating, right? Like I think that is the coolest thing. I had a. I had a quote the other day about, you know, at some point in every race, the winner of the pro race is gonna struggle as much as the person finishing lasts. And I think that's beautiful, right? Like we're all riding on the same course and taking on these things and it's just, it's just about the different journey, right? The struggle is going to be different whether it's mental or physical or mechanical, but in the end, we're all gonna send up, end up sitting the same place, and that is something that never existed where I was at the road. [00:25:27] Craig Dalton: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wanna get a little bit into the Grand Prix, but along those lines, the Grand Prix, I mean, I think people, listener's gonna know it's Park Mountain, bike Park gravel racing. As we think about it, when you, just to follow up on the sponsorship thread as you designed your season. Being aware of the Grand Prix and the requirements of having both a, a gravel bike and a proper mountain bike to race these races, how did you kind of figure that all out? Because I think you had alignment maybe with a gravel bike set up, and maybe the mountain bike was like, Oh shit, where am I gonna get one of those? [00:25:58] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, no, I think it's also, again, to start relationships, right? It's easy to, to leave the sponsorship thing and say, Oh, look at this. This company has all, all the bikes I need and this company doesn't. But to me, longevity of the company matters more than getting what you need. If I have to go buy a bike, I'm willing to but I was lucky enough to structure it, so, I ride road and gravel bikes from Envy, which is cool cause it's just a past relationship I've had since I left the road. And I signed on with Factor for Mountain Bikes, which it's funny cuz both of those companies launched their bikes for the first time this year. So it's been a chaotic year. But it's cool. I mean that's the, also the beauty of this is I feel like both companies in a weird way gain from knowledge that I learned of launching bike. Simple sides, right? And even if they're not the exact same discipline and it's a weird defined space there cause it doesn't really exist sometimes. , I think. I love that people can understand that and as long as it's like written down and talked about, nobody feels like they're losing out because it's just a, it's about growing the sport more than selling bikes all the time. [00:26:52] Craig Dalton: And how does the jukebox team fit into all this [00:26:57] Alexey Vermeulen: yeah. So I got a complicated setup this year. Yeah, so Jukebox is printing company in Vancouver. You know, stickers, business cards, you name it, posters we'll have many willy stickers to. If you're wondering but no, they, Loredo whos the company kind of wanted, he has an image entertainment in Canada and he wanted to grow this, like the community side of it. He supports Israel Cycling Academy on the world tour stage, but. He had this idea of, Hey, how can you tie athletes together with a title sponsor? Right? So we all have, if you look at someone like Phil Guyman is quote unquote on this team. Pretty much the only sponsor, Phil and I have the same is Jukebox and Phil's not racing, and I'm very ous racing focused right now. But the goal is that you kind of have this traveling community that fits into all disciplines that you couldn't find the corners of without. Alienating anybody. So I think there's five or six people now. All from different backgrounds. [00:27:48] Craig Dalton: And is there any sort of I mean, are you guys connected in any meaningful way? Like do you, do you train with Dylan Johnson here and there? [00:27:56] Alexey Vermeulen: Not really train cause we all live in different places, but like, even like big sugar, we're all gonna be in the same house. Just doing photo stuff and hanging out and I think it's been hard to, with co like as Covid was still tailing off, like, get everyone together. Cause I think that's the goal. Like there's a lot of talk of getting everyone together in, in Canada and, you know, doing a training camp and things like that. Which I hope happens next year, but this year it was very much focused on. These guys are racing. You know, I've seen Dylan and Ashton and Adam at every race because we're all doing the Grand Prix and that's how it goes. And then I've seen, I haven't seen Phil once this year, but hopefully that changes, you know? And then there's also people like you know, there's downhill cycle cross racers that I will probably never see cuz I don't do those things. [00:28:34] Craig Dalton: May, maybe Sea Otter, you [00:28:36] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. See Otter hopefully. But yeah, it's been weird, but I've actually enjoyed it cuz you, the non-endemic side of the sport is like, when I talk about enjoying the business side and figuring out relationships, it's where it becomes more fun because it takes work and homework to actually figure out how to actually benefit that company. [00:28:53] Craig Dalton: Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. So onto the Grand Prix, I mean, presumably you found out about this short towards the tail end of last year and. Getting an invite to participate in the series was a big commitment. Obviously, there's six races on the calendar, half mountain bike, half gravel bike. It was really gonna have to take the sort of cornerstone position in your calendar, I presume, for the year if you were gonna intend on being successful. [00:29:19] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah. In a lifetime, Grand prs been kind of, I probably went into it a little more relaxed than I should have. I. Was excited about racing it, but also cognizant of how it can kind of, it's a long season and mentally it can really drain, drain you. So, you know, going into c was probably a little undercooked and like kind of focused on just building throughout the season and being as consistent as I could. Back then in April I was like, Oh, I think you can finish top 10 in every race and finish in the podium. I don't think that's true. I think it'd be more consistent than that. And I also don't think I, anyone ever thought Kegan was gonna be as dominant as he has been. If in hindsight I probably would've tried to peak a little more for different races, but I've had this thought process of just being very consistent throughout the year. Not really peaking for anything, just trying to be fit and be mentally have a lot of mental freedom to, to not feel like I'm ever pressured. And so from, I didn't start racing until April cause that was kind of the goal. I did one race in Michigan, very rbe before Sea Otter, but otherwise was pretty much. Very fresh. And then throughout the year, I've probably taken almost a month off the bike throughout the year, just finding that balance between things, right? Maybe it's not always off the bike, but not worrying about training. You know? 10 days before Leadville went to watch my girlfriend compete in the Commonwealth Games, which was incredible and. Maybe lost me half a percent, but like mentally, I had this space to go from Leadville straight into like this very different block to get ready for the final races. I think that's the biggest thing about this is I've, throughout the last six months or seven months said, Okay, here's my calendar, here's the races, and if it's a mountain bike race, I'm gonna spend per most of my time on that bike before the event and do. Workouts that affect that, but hopefully hold this fitness and just kind of changed little bits to be ready for different things. Got a big climbing race in Utah. Okay. Do some longer threshold efforts. And then the minute Leadville, like in Leadville is obviously a big training camp just to be ready for altitude. And the minute Leadville finish it was like, okay, full on three to five minute efforts, Endurance Doesn't matter anymore. And that's, that is somewhat the beautiful thing is once you get through unbound, If you have like cycling such a build sport year after year that you can kind of hold endurance most of the year. I don't have to really focus on that during the week and I can turn a lot of my rides into like, Hey, how hard can I go? Because that's what these races become. Like if we wanna talk numbers like Schwam again, the two hour mountain bike sprint we just did was like 330 normalized for two hours, just like it was, it just on the whole day. And it's like something I dreamed of, but we haven't done it all year. [00:31:45] Craig Dalton: It was such a gear shift just as a fan of the sport. To see everybody now have to do like a two hour event, like what the hell? [00:31:51] Alexey Vermeulen: I loved it. Yeah, and then just like, not to jump away from the grand pretty quickly, but I think that was something that's interesting about my background is there's a lot of really strong guys in the Grand Prix. Guys that I thought were gonna stick out and are probably, are, are coming around like Locklin. Alex have had some, both of 'em have had some bad luck, but Rob and even Dark Horse, in my opinion, Pete Stat, you have a lot of guys that come from a road background and have the. To do well at all these events. But I think moving two years earlier than a lot of those guys has made a difference for me. Cuz dude, I struggle a lot with the technical side of the sport on the dirt because it's just different on the road. You just expect you, you find lines and that's it. And, There's a flow to it. Mountain biking and gravel riding's a lot more. Like, you kind of like, Hey, you're gonna slide sideways and you're gonna find your edge and then you're gonna keep moving. And it's so foreign. And I felt like I really struggled for the two years before this and kind of found my feet at the right time with the Grand Prix. People always act like, like for example, Leadville as a road race, mountain bike, race. Dude, I disagree. Like if when you're going 35 down power line on a hard tail with the, with guys that are pure mountain bike, You have to be able to handle your bike. [00:32:58] Craig Dalton: sure. Yeah. It, I mean, I, and it depends on the, the weather that particular year, the year I did it, it was pouring with rain, which took another different skill set. I mean, people were just absolutely falling apart during that event. Yeah. Speaking of, I mean, I guess since this is gonna publish in early October, we've got one race remaining. You're in second place in the Grand Prix. Keegan's obviously been crushing it all year, but I think there are, A couple people within range that if he had a horrible day, like something drastic could happen in the results. [00:33:33] Alexey Vermeulen: Kegan's theoretically safe now because he can drop a race and he's done so well. So Ke Kegan has won the, won the Grand Prix now but second through, Well, it's just because, it's just because he can drop a race. So theoretically he could not, he has to show up, but he. He can have his worst result and his worst result right now is fourth, which is insane. His worst result is fourth at Schwam again after he crashed. So if he drops big sugar and finishes 45th, it still doesn't matter cause he has more points than I do right now. But yeah, it'll be interesting. I mean, big sugar being in Batonville is like, it's known for sharp rocks, right? It's a, it's gonna be kind of a race of attrition, Put it all out there, but also be intelligent about it. For me, I'm definitely gonna err on the side of insurance, you know, like we talked about, inserts a little bit, little extra sealant. But I've never, I've tried to never go into any of these races thinking about the Grand Prix because if, like, if you race to win, you'll be up there. I can't think about where Cole is or Pete or Russell like doesn't help. I enjoy racing my bike too, so I think, yeah, I mean theoretically all of them I think up to seventh could theoretically pass me. I guess I haven't really done math cause it's kind of hard, like Cole didn't race unbound, so he doesn't have a drop race. So like if he does worse than my tent at Crusher. He can't beat me. But, you know, it's, it's so, it's really up in the air until you finish. And that's been cool about the point system in a way for me. Yeah, it's hard to say. I'm like, for the first time this year, nervous. Cause I've really tried to not think about the Grand Prix until this point because it's just, it's so up in the air and you have one bad day. Like, I pulled my front trailer cable out at Crusher. Like, so weird things can happen to anybody. Right. [00:35:09] Craig Dalton: Yeah. [00:35:10] Alexey Vermeulen: But yeah, I, I will say that I'm happy. That I was somewhat a mountain biker's, turf in the mud for two hours in Wisconsin. And I, I fared. And so I think we're a little bit more to my benefit in Bentonville. [00:35:24] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it's, it's, it's got so many punchy climbs in addition to kind of the, the big potential rock hazards there. It will be interesting from a racing perspective, like who's gonna go all in early? Does it stay together? Like, how are you gonna turn the screws to each other? I'm excited. [00:35:41] Alexey Vermeulen: I'm stoked. I mean, I think it's, you're mainly gonna see guys like Pete that is in fourth and Russell is in fifth, try to make moves because like, at least until we get to the end, like racing wise to win the race, I have no reason to do much before then. But it's also easy to say till you get it in that moment and it's pissing rain or something, weird's happening and just becomes full on chaos for five hours. So, yeah, I don't know. It's, it's kind of, it's weird and everyone's taking different paths to get there too. You know, some guys are still on mountain bikes. I kind of came back and immediately started doing, you know, hard, harder efforts to kind of get ready for a sprint finish. And but yeah, I mean, I, like in the end, yes, I wanna finish on the, putting the gram pretty, but I, I kind of wanna win big sugar, like love kicking to death. I would like him to not win another fricking race. So that, that would be the, the real goal on top. Cherry on top, like finishing on the podium. Grand PR is great, but de that kid's been dominant this year, so that's probably the biggest goal for me. [00:36:33] Craig Dalton: and, and best of luck to him this coming weekend in the world. So that's just insane that he's on that team right now. [00:36:39] Alexey Vermeulen: I just, yeah, I just, I love that there is a transfer between gravel and road because you, you do have a lot of guys come over here that I think think they, because they're really strong on the road, they could just jump in. Like you look at Nick Tetra at Leadville, obviously he is, that altitude's not used to it, but it's not the same. You gotta be able to put the whole package together to do a lot of these races and to get through a whole season of it. I think the Grand Prix has been the hardest in that sense, right? That it's pretty much one race a month and that. to peak for six races every month. You kind of have to pick and choose or just be consistent. Yeah, and I think the only person do it perfectly this year is been Kegan and I guess perfection was lost at Swan again, but still, I, I would still say he was perfect. [00:37:16] Craig Dalton: We'll see. We'll see after big sugar. [00:37:18] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah. [00:37:19] Craig Dalton: That's exciting. Well, I'm super excited to ra watch that race, as I said, and hopefully I'm gonna be there myself to watch the action first hand, or at least from way, way behind you guys. [00:37:29] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah. It, it, it'll be fun. And Bentonville puts on a p puts on a party every time too, which I love. Right. They so much. It's all about cycling in that community right now. And I every, it's intoxicating every time you go there. [00:37:42] Craig Dalton: A hundred percent. I wanted to take a step back and talk about your other sort of big, I don't know if you call it your personal project, but it's, I think it's just been a big part of your journey the last couple years to Leadville and the from, from the ground up project. Can you talk a little bit about that? [00:37:55] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, I think I'm really bad about just giving you a quick synopsis. So I'll start. There is, so from the ground up is we take three riders who haven't been on a bike or haven't raced before to Leadville the hardest mountain of race in the nation, in my opinion. And the goal is just to make the sport less intimidating, more accessible through showing. The questions and vulnerabilities of people who are going to struggle at the event, let alone the pros. Cuz pros are stupid and don't show it even though we all struggle. So it started in 2021 was the first season we did, the second season this year. And I say season cuz it's a TV series on the back end. But it's really, it's this pathway just learning how. How hard cycling can be, whether it's lingo or training or getting into this sport financially. And it's, it's been something I've been super passionate about and takes a lot of my time from January to August. But it validates everything. And the reason I left the road, it's something that like, it's easy to talk about making positive impacts on people, but also very, very difficult to do it while racing as a professional. And I, for the first two years, for 20 18, 20 19, I struggled with that. Like I would say it to companies and then you get to racist and you're like, Dude, I'm getting flogged as it is, like let alone trying to stand out here on my feet all day in the sun talking to people. And so it's been really cool to see like Covid brought this whole new way of people into the sport and it allowed this access to. People that, you know, literally didn't get on their bike because of Lance or Greg. They got on their bike because they're gym closed. The need of mental sanity. And that is a very different pathway than anything we'd ever seen before. You know, all of a sudden cycling was like a marathon, you know, It was, it was just to do it. It was just to accomplish something. And I think there was a little bit of a disconnect because of how elitist cycling can. that we struggled to inform people that, hey, maybe Unbound isn't the best first race, you know, Or, Hey, maybe you should figure out how to change a tube before you take on this gravel race. But in all reality, it still became this big question of how do we keep these people in the sport and make it exciting? And that's what from the ground up has kind of been, you know, it's trying to show that normal everyday people can take on the hardest thing in the world or the hardest thing in the cycling world, in my opinion. Then go on and you know, even if they don't finish, they can go on and take on normal races and it's never gonna feel very hard. Right. Cuz yeah, you do the 100 at Unbound, it's hard, but it's not at 10,000 feet, it doesn't have 11,000 feet of climbing. It's not with the sense there's so much that that grows and I would equate finishing the Leadville 100 to, to doing an Ironman and we have multiple on film being like, Oh, I finished two Ironmans and this was way harder. Cuz it's just, it's so mentally taxing, you know. A lot of it is mental, more than physical, and that's really hard. [00:40:28] Craig Dalton: A hundred percent. Like my personal experience there was I was, I was about ready to quit and honestly, like, I think had my wife been at the feed station before Columbine, I might have quit, but I was like, Well, I don't have a ride home so I might as well continue going. Unfortunately, and miraculously, by the time I came back down, I was feeling good and I was like, I can make it. [00:40:50] Alexey Vermeulen: But that's how life is too, right? Like that's the coolest part of this is at the same time I go and race my race, I don't know how they're doing. And at the some point on Leadville, if you don't know it's out and back course. So I end up hopefully crossing them if their days are going all right. And that's just so cool to me, right? That you could have these people taking on something the first time very much in the understanding of how impossible it is and still towing the. That's motivating and inspiring. Right? And like cycling is made for everybody of all sizes, of all shapes, of all anything you want to name it, right? But we don't show that. We don't say it. It's very hard to talk about because it is primarily white is primarily male and you have to have money to be into it. And I think as that changes, we all. Gain value, like the sport is more important and it doesn't have to be about racing. You can be any type of rider, right? We have, in our first season, Shauna, you know, she finished, she stopped Leadville, I think at the Twin Lakes aid station was like, that's it. But no, went and took on like fat bike nationals in northern Wisconsin and like a different side of the sport. She's never wanna race laville again, but bikes can be anything. You can go become fricking bike commuter if you want. That's still, that vehicle of the bicycle is the cool part of the project. [00:42:01] Craig Dalton: Where can people watch the project? [00:42:04] Alexey Vermeulen: First season was on YouTube the second season I was on outside. But it's not behind a pay wall, so, [00:42:09] Craig Dalton: Yep, [00:42:09] Alexey Vermeulen: And there will be a third season. I just, first you heard it first here. But no, the hard part is not to cut you off. Like the hard part is figuring out how do you make it less overwhelming? Cause every year you're like, Wow, this is really sadistic. Why are we doing this to people? [00:42:23] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it's hard to imagine like someone not just off the couch, but just off the couch wanting to do Leadville. I mean, there's, when they're submitting their application to you, they're submitting it to do Leadville, so at some level they've decided they're willing to do it. [00:42:38] Alexey Vermeulen: but they don't understand. That's the beautiful part of it, right? They don't have any idea. And there's this process of like growing up and six weeks out we go to like a Leadville training camp, and they get to feel the altitude for their first time and ride the course over three days. [00:42:50] Craig Dalton: Yeah. [00:42:51] Alexey Vermeulen: And it is, I cannot tell you how like just wide-eyed, like what the did I sign up for? And, but none of them quit cuz they're, they've invested so much of their life for the last five months into it. They're like, Shit, I'm here. May as well. [00:43:06] Craig Dalton: The cards fall. [00:43:07] Alexey Vermeulen: yeah, I mean that's definitely the balance side of it that I've enjoyed is being able to do something like that. Cause you could never do that when you're racing on the road. [00:43:13] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it's a great, it's a great, I don't know, series I think was the right word that you used. It's a great series. I watched it on outside tv. Super powerful to, I mean, I'm, I'm always impressed when anybody takes on a journey that's bigger than themselves, whether it's a marathon or a gravel race or whatever it is. There's something absolutely admirable about someone who's willing to tackle something like that, knowing that, like, we may finish, we may not, but I'm gonna do something huge. [00:43:41] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, and I think that's the takeaway, right? Is that hopefully like there is a connection between cycling and life and. We have those rolling hills, You come down Columbine and all of a sudden you feel okay again. And that's the reality of all of this. Like most of the days you train, you feel like shit. That is the majority of cycling. Like even a professional athlete, 99.9% of the time is just bullshit. Get out the door, maybe convince yourself to get a coffee and stop for a couple minutes, but like get the work done and move on cuz you don't feel great every day. And I [00:44:07] Craig Dalton: I think someone said, said like, if you're not, if you're, if you're feeling good, better than 30% of the time, you're probably not training well. [00:44:15] Alexey Vermeulen: Yeah, it's true and that, but I think that's not, because that's not what we, that's not what anyone shows on social media or anything else. Right. It's always the good time. So yeah, my advice Could yourself, a wiener dog and ride your bike? [00:44:26] Craig Dalton: I love it, which is the perfect note to end on. Wiener dog promotion, which by the way, I will have another one if I didn't already have two dogs, and that's a long story. We would have a wiener dog cuz that's my wife's jam right [00:44:38] Alexey Vermeulen: yeah. They're perfect. The right at the right size. That's the, that's the true goal. [00:44:43] Craig Dalton: Yeah, my actual golden retriever does not fit well on my back and in a backpack, [00:44:48] Alexey Vermeulen: See, but that is like my goal after my, after my career is I've told my girlfriend I wanna get a golden retriever, not another wiener. So I could just be like, Oh, this one didn't grow. [00:44:55] Craig Dalton: I love it. I love it. Thanks so much for the time, man. It's great to catch up. Good luck at Big Sugar. Hopefully I see you there and good luck at Belgium Waffle Ride Michigan. I know that will be a, a great one for you being a Michigan. [00:45:07] Alexey Vermeulen: No, thank you so much. It's, it's exciting. And Yeah, just hope the sport keeps growing and thanks for talking through it. [00:45:12] Craig Dalton: Of course we'll see you, my man. [00:45:14] Alexey Vermeulen: See ya. [00:45:16] Craig Dalton: That's going to do it for this week's edition of the gravel ride podcast. Huge. Thanks to Alexi for joining us and big, thanks to athletic greens and ag one for sponsoring this week's episode. If you're interested in connecting with me, I encourage you to join the ridership. Simply visit www.theridership.com. That's a free global cycling community where you can connect with gravel athletes from around the world. It's also your straight line to having a conversation with me, making episodes, suggestions, et cetera. 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. It really helps in me connecting with additional gravel cyclist. Until next time here's to finding some dirt under your wheels