Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast

Wes Holland is the owner of Bullmoose Softgoods where he designs and produces one-of-a-kind bags for cycling and adventuring. Bullmoose is based in Summerville, Massachusetts and currently offers handlebar and frame bags plus hip packs and accessories. What came first for you: bikes or bags?  What kind of riding do you like to do? What is the riding scene like in Boston? There are a lot of hip packs and handlebar bags out there, so why make your own? What types of materials are you working with? What's your shop setup like? Your hip packs aren't cheap, with prices starting at $130. What makes bags like this so expensive? What's the trickiest part about making a bag for biking? How long does it take to make a frame bag, for example? Have you had any failures when testing new designs? With accessory mounts becoming more common across all types of bikes, does this make fitting or attaching bags easier for you as a bag maker? What's in your hip pack? Do you have new products or projects on the horizon? Check out Wes's work at bullmoosesoftgoods.com. An auto-edited summary of our conversation is available at Singletracks.com.

Greg Mazu is the self-described "Chief Dreamer" behind Backslope Tools, a company that designs and sells tools for trail building and forest maintenance. He's also the founder of Singletrack Trails, a trail building company that recently finished its last project after 20 years in the business. When did you build your first trail?  How did you get into professional trail building? What motivated you to start Tools for Trails, and later Backslope tools? Where are Backslope tools manufactured? If you could only have one tool to use for building a trail, what would it be? Some riders say they prefer natural trails to machine-built ones. Do you have a preference for riding machine- or hand-built trails? Can a machine-built trail be built to feel like a natural or hand-built trail, or vice versa? Singletrack trails was involved in some iconic projects over the years in places like 18 Road and Lunch Loops in Fruita, Black Mountain in North Carolina, Palisade Plunge in Colorado, and Handcut Hollow in Bentonville. Which trail building projects are you most proud of?  What are some favorite trails you weren't involved in building? What are some of the challenges the trail building industry is facing in meeting increased demand for trails? Have we reached a peak in terms of trail quality, or is there room for further growth and improvement? What are some of the latest, or upcoming innovations riders can look forward to? See the tools we talked about at backslopetools.com and follow @gregmazu on Instagram. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Hannah Otto recently became the fastest known woman to ride the 137-mile-long Kokopelli's trail from Moab, Utah to Loma, Colorado, besting the previous fastest known time by over an hour. In addition to racing gravel and mountain bikes, she's also a certified athletic trainer.  How do you feel now that you can finally talk about your accomplishment? Were you worried someone else would make an FKT attempt between then and now? In October you made your first attempt, but it didn't work out. What happened. What did you do differently the second time around? What was your bike setup? What did you eat? How do you pace yourself for a ride like this? Do you think this FKT rules that should be updated or clarified to allow film crews as long as they don't offer any assistance? How much of a role does luck play in mountain bike racing, versus skill and fitness? Do individual time trials also make you a faster racer in more traditional events, or is this a specialized skill set? What's next? Do you have any more FKT attempts on the horizon? View the Kokopelli Strong film on Youtube and follow @hannah_finchamp on Instagram. Photo credit: @mahkus.g. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Chuck Teixeira is a Senior Advanced Concept Engineer at Specialized where he's been involved in countless projects from mountain to road, and from bikes to components. Prior to joining Specialized in 2011, Chuck spent 28 years at Easton-Bell where he was the director of R&D. How did you end up in the bike industry? How does the Smartweld tech used on the new Specialized Chisel mountain bike frame work, and what makes it different from traditional aluminum frame welding? Why haven't we seen this on more Specialized mountain bikes?  Are mountain bikers still overlooking aluminum in favor of carbon frames? How did you and the Roval team come upon the anti pinch flat bead-wall design? When it comes to mountain bike rims, is there a clear winner when it comes to material choice, carbon vs. aluminum? What are some of your favorite mountain bike products or designs that you've been involved with over the years? How have you recovered from the Santa Cruz wildfire that claimed your house in 2020?  As someone who has lived and breathed bicycles since the 1980s, is there anything that surprises you today? What are you working on right now that has you stoked? --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Colin Ryan is a Senior Development Engineer at Norco and was involved in the design of the latest Norco Optic trail bike which features a high-pivot design. Prior to joining Norco he worked at General Kinetics testing and developing shock absorbers for military and construction equipment.  At a basic level, what problem does a high pivot design solve? Is there a certain type of riding that benefits from having a high pivot? What are the drawbacks to the design? Does a high pivot design improve longevity for certain components? With less chain wrap on the crank, are dropped chains an issue with a high pivot setup? How does the placement of the idler pulley affect performance? What about the number of teeth on the idler cog? Did moving from a traditional setup to high-pivot change the ride feel of the Norco Optic significantly? The decision to use a high pivot on a short, 125mm travel bike is a controversial one. Why do you think that is? The latest Optic is said to be lighter than the previous version. How much weight does the idler hardware add, and how did you manage to make the bike lighter overall? How is the intended use of the Optic different from the Fluid which has a very similar amount of travel (140/130mm)?  What's next for high pivot mountain bike designs? Cover photo: Matt Miller. See the Norco Optic and other high pivot bikes from the brand at norco.com. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Sara Hunter is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in the state of North Carolina and a PMBIA Level 1 Mountain Bike Instructor. Her practice includes individual and couples counseling services plus mountain bike therapy and counseling for athletes and outdoor instructors. She's also a Specialized USA Ambassador. What led you to get into counseling? Does everyone benefit from spending time outdoors, or do you think some of us are just wired that way?  What is Adventure Therapy? What is the idea behind it? Is there such a thing as spending too much time outdoors? As someone who works to address conflicts between individuals, do you have any ideas about how people can share the trail? Sometimes I get frustrated on group rides when the rider in front of me gets in my way. Is there a way to re-frame this? Unsolicited advice — about how to ride, or fix a bike — generally comes from a good place of wanting to help, but is there a better approach?   What are some ways I can be more supportive of someone who is having a tough or bad ride?  How can counseling help riders recover after an injury? Do you have any tips for calming nerves on race day, or even before a challenging ride? Do you have tips for reducing the risk of loneliness for athletes or travelers living the van life?  What's the biggest benefit you get from mountain biking personally? Connect with Sara and her practice at sarahuntercounseling.com and find about upcoming workshops at her Instagram account, @mindfulmountainbike.

Alex Larson is a registered dietitian and multi-sport athlete who helps endurance athletes optimize nutrition and performance. She's written multiple nutrition guides and offers customized nutrition coaching services to athletes around the world. Do athleticism and nutrition go hand in hand? Are athletes generally healthy eaters by nature? What is a "flexible eating style"? Are restrictive diets sometimes harmful? How does pre-race fueling work?  Is nutrition drastically different for training vs. racing? Is it more challenging for athletes to maintain a healthy gut than non-athletes? What types of things can cause gut issues for athletes during a workout?  Are there signs that nutrition is holding us back from fitness gains? What have you learned about nutrition from your own training? With summer approaching, should athletes adjust their diet based on the season?  Does an individual's nutrition plan look different for different sports? Do you recommend an app for tracking daily nutrition or a food journal? If I eat the wrong thing after a race, is that going to have a big effect on my future performance? What's one simple step mountain bikers can take to improve their nutrition? For additional nutrition resources and to connect with Alex, visit alexlarsonnutrition.com. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Amanda Carey is the President of NICA, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, a non-profit that develops mountain biking programs for student athletes across the United States. Prior to joining NICA, Amanda served as the executive director of Mountain Bike the Tetons and as a mountain bike coach. What drew you to mountain biking initially? What's kept you so engaged over the years?  What do you think has kept mountain biking from growing more than it has over the past couple of decades? How is NICA impacting mountain bike participation?  How can NICA teams attract new student athletes who don't have a family cycling background? Why choose mountain biking over another sport? How would you characterize the level of competition at NICA races? What is NICA doing to encourage trail building and maintenance? Is there a demand for a more gravity-oriented youth riding program?  What advice do you have for parents of NICA athletes? What are the biggest opportunities for NICA over the next five years? How can Singletracks listeners help support your mission? Learn more and find out how you can get involved at nationalmtb.org. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Sara Bresnick is a former professional mountain biker, cycling coach and founder of Pedal Power Training Solutions which offers customized training plans plus advice on nutrition, race strategy, and technique.   What are some fitness goals your clients have beyond racing? For example, does it make sense for a rider to work with a coach before a big weeklong mountain bike trip?  Do older athletes need more time to recover between intense workouts? What happens if you miss a day, or two, in a training schedule? How quickly do fitness gains disappear? How does an "off season" work for bike athletes? Should you still be biking some, or is it possible to do other activities instead?   Let's say I wanted to ride the Tour Divide in 2025, and my goal was to finish the ride in 45 days. Given a good level of base fitness, what's a realistic timeframe for training? In general, what would a training plan involve? What's the biggest challenge most people face when it comes to improving their fitness? As a trainer, what can you learn from a client's workout data?  How much of your job as a trainer is emotional support versus purely technical? What's one easy step everyone can take to start improving their fitness today? Learn more and connect with Sara at pedalpowercoaching.com. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Claudio Caluori is a seven-time Swiss National Champion and founder of Velosolutions, "a global network of professionals with profound knowledge in cycling, action sports, tourism and urban development." He's also a popular YouTube personality, delivering entertaining course previews and ride-alongs with top athletes. In addition to building pump tracks around the world, Velosolutions recently helped with construction of the XC race course for the 2024 Paris Olympics and is working on an ultra accurate timing app for pump track competition. How did you get into downhill mountain bike racing? How are you able to talk while riding fast in your Red Bull course preview and Bla Bla Run videos? Does talking mess you up sometimes? How is designing and building a race trail different from building a trail for the public? What's so great about pump tracks? Why do adult riders tend to avoid them? Tell us about Pump Tracks for Peace. Some riders seem to be against asphalt tracks. What's your take? Is trail building and funding easier in some parts of the world than in others? Which Velosolutions projects are you most proud of? Tell us about Velosolutions Farm. What's the vision? What are some projects Velosolutions is working on right now? Get more information about Velosolutions at velosolutions.com. Photo credit: Sternemann --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks