Ned Overend is a mountain bike Hall of Famer and highly accomplished racer, winning the first ever UCI mountain bike World championship in 1990, the XTERRA world champion in 1998 and 1999, and the UCI Masters World Cyclocross Champion in 2012. Today he’s the Specialized XC mountain bike Team Captain and lives in Durango, Colorado.

In this episode we ask:

• How did you end up settling in tiny, out-of-the-way Durango?
• When did you first hear the term “mountain biking”? What was your initial impression of the sport?
• How do you train for bicycle hill climb races? What are the keys to building endurance in general? Do genetics help?
• Does fat bike racing require a specialized skill set, or is it pretty similar to XC racing?
• Tell us a bit about the local cycling community in Durango. How has it grown and changed over the years? 
  • What was it like last year seeing hometown rider Christopher Blevins become the first American to win a WC mountain bike race since 1994? What are some of your fondest mountain bike racing memories?
• Tell us about the Test Track in Durango, an area that’s now known as Overend Mountain Park. Did you help build the original trails there?
  • What were some of the innovations tested on the trails?
• You appeared in one of the first mountain bike videos ever, in 1988. Do you think it’s even possible for a video to fully express what it’s like to ride?
• What’s been the biggest innovation in mountain bike equipment over the years?
• Do you have a favorite trail in Durango?

Find out more about Durango's Spoketober festival at durango.org/spoketober.

✏️ A written transcript of this conversation is available at singletracks.com.

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