King of the Ride

Episode 48: Payson McElveen — Professional Mountain Bike and Gravel Racer

This was a long time coming! Payson and Ted are not long lost brothers, but they share a boatload of traits in common. Originally a Texas boy, Payson and Ted met up at the behind the scenes Big Sugar in their shakeout event before the inaugural ride in 2020. Now residing in mountain bike mecca, Durango, Colorado, Payson is a professional cross country mountain biker with a particular knack for marathon races, as he's a 2x national champion in that discipline. So "riding bikes off road for long periods of time" is definitely his area of expertise, making gravel racing a particularly good format for him. Yup, he's a ripper! Unsure if Ted would interview Payson or Payson interview Ted, this podcasts takes an interesting turn when they interview each other. Covering the topics of modern media, naturally they delve into the conversation of podcasts, van life, and the politics of contemporary gravel racing, this hardly scratches the surface of what the two of these guys can dig up. Don't forget to hit up www.SugarCane200.com for some early season fun in Florida!

Episode 47: Edward Hult — CEO Education First North America

Edward Hult is a cycling enthusiast. He’s also a big reason that EF Education First came on board to the UCI World Tour and beyond. As the CEO of EF North America, Edward and his brother made the decision to not just sponsor the team, but purchase the team outright. This conversation talks about the politics and geopolitics of sports, how and why cycling hit their radar, the highs and lows of owning a professional cycling team. Ted (an Edward himself) and Edward Hult caught up on the eve of The Rift gravel race in Iceland to talk about cycling, gravel cycling, and all things on two-wheels. As mentioned in the intro: -- Check out all the cool work by Farid at www.mtbafghanistan.org -- A Pinkbike article: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/mountain-biking-picks-up-steam-in-afghanistan.html -- And a video wrapping up what they did at the Hindukish Challenge: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=563716514141393 A huge thanks to The Feed for supporting this episode! Head over to www.thefeed.com/king to save 15% on a box curated by yours truly or use the code KING10 to save 10% on everything else storewide.

Episode 46: Kate Courtney 2.0 — World Champion, World Cup Champion

Kate Courtney backs up her first podcast on King of the Ride with yet another stunner! On the underslept and overserved day after Grinduro, Kate found some time to catch up with Ted to talk shop. And while the first show was riveting, this one goes much deeper into her motivation, her drive, her team, her goals, her entire psyche and what makes her tick. Kate is as eloquent as she is screaming fast on the bike. Let's remember Kate won her UCI World Champion title and went on the pod in 2018. She clinched the UCI World Cup title just before being on the podcast in 2019. Coincidence? We don't think so. Shout out to some awesome events on the horizon: *Registration opening for Rooted Vermont on November 1: www.RootedVermont.com *inGamba's January trip: https://ingamba.pro/trips/the-coast-ride-2020 *January's 200 mile gravel spectacular: www.SugarCane200.com

Episode 45: Katerina Nash — Legendary Professional Cyclist

On the recent heels of winning her seventh World Cup cyclocross victory (we think) in Madison, WI, Katerina Nash zipped out to Grinduro for a fun weekend playing around on the gravel whip. Kat is also one of very few people to win both World Cup cyclocross and World Cup mountain bike races, she dabbles in enduro mountain bike races, she consistently wins the brutally difficult BC Bike Race stage race, and just like this weekend of chatting, she puts a handful of gravel races into her schedule too. Perpetually smiling, always upbeat, and ready to take on any challenge on two wheels, this conversation opens up a lot about Katerina that we think you haven't heard before. Born and raised in the Czech Republic, Katerina Nash took to nordic skiing as a young girl and turned that into a career spanning two sports and taking her to five Olympic games! If you haven't seen Kat's heroics in Madison, which we reference in this podcast, I highly recommend watching the highlights of this foolishly muddy race here: http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/41942 Image credit: @cxhairs -- www.instagram.com/cxhairs

Episode 44: Mike Woods — Professional Cyclist

Mike Woods' is a bike racer, but Mike Woods is a storyteller! You probably know the traditional stuff -- he ran, he ran fast, he got tired of running, and became a Tour de France cyclists -- but there's so much more to learn about Mike. On the eve of his hometown World Tour races, Grand Prix Quebec City and Montreal, Ted and Mike sit down for a chat about bikes, world travel, and life beyond the peloton. After a podium finish at the 2018 World Championships Mike is building some great form going into the 2019 championship race in England. Please enjoy this conversation with Mike Woods.

Episode 43: Brent Bookwalter — Professional Cyclist

Brent Bookwalter stands strong as America's longest running World Tour professional cyclist. Not just along for the ride, Brent has won UCI races, was second to Bradley Wiggins in the opening stage of the Giro, and even helped Cadel Evans win the 2011 Tour de France. Longtime friends, Brent and Ted have had careers run in tandem to each other. Teammates on the US national team, teammates on domestic pro teams, they migrated to Europe together, and even lived together in their early time racing abroad. On the eve of the Gran Prix Cycliste Quebec City, the two had the chance to catch up and chat all things under the sun, largely reflecting on a stalwart career at the highest echelon of the sport. The episode is presented by UnTapped. Pay them a visit at www.untapped.cc and use code king at checkout for some sweet savings.

Episode 42: Colin Strickland — Dirty Kanza 200 winner

On the eve of The Rift gravel race in Iceland, Colin Strickland and Ted sit down to a frosty beer and lively conversation. Covering the obvious topics like how Colin got into cycling, the convo veers to topics like his environmental studies major, on-air taste testing Icelandic fish jerky, and what it's like managing the first professional gravel cycling team. Colin is a scholar and this conversation is a great one. Colin comes from the fixed gear racing world and has segued those lightning fast criterium laps to a win at the 2019 Dirty Kanza 200. This podcast is presented by The Feed. For a personally curated box by Ted, featuring the nutrition he reaches for every day with a 15% savings visit www.thefeed.com/king or simply use the code king10 for 10% off everything else storewide. Upcoming events as Ted talks about early in the pod: September 21: www.PeachamFallFondo.com October 13: www.unPAvedPennsylvania.com October 19: www.KingChallenge.org If you'd like to support my King Challenge ride, you can do so here: https://www.pledgereg.com/229373

Episode 41: Tiffany Cromwell — Professional Cyclist

A stalwart member of the professional women's peloton, Tiffany Cromwell brings fun loving wit to the pro ranks as well as to this episode of King of the Ride. Tiffany and Ted catch up on the eve of this summer's SBTGRVL which is also on the early side of the Colorado Classic UCI women's stage race. This conversation ranges from her entry to the sport to how Tiffany sees easy and obvious changes being enacted to improve all aspects of cycling as well as to the female side. Tiffany sheds light on what it's like living in Monaco, her culinary travel tips, how her interest in fashion came about, her aspirations to this year's world championships and making the 2020 Olympic team. Check out www.thefeed.com/king to see a personally curated box with 15% savings -- complete with the finest suite of products from UnTapped as well as some special other ones. Also just visit www.thefeed.com and use code king10 for a quick 10% savings on your next order!

Episode 40: Rebecca Rusch — Ultra Endurance Pro Athlete

There isn't much to be said about Rebecca Rusch that hasn't been mentioned before. 4x Leadville champion, 4x Dirty Kanza 200 winner, 3x 24 hour mountain bike world champion, recent winner of the Alaskan Iditarod Trail Invitational, and an inductee into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, Rebecca Rusch is a champion. Rebecca is also an advocate for youth cycling, empowerment through cycling, and spearheaded the biggest chapter in her life by riding the Ho Chi Mihn Trail via bike in search of her father's resting site, as documented in the Emmy Award winning film, Blood Road. For more on this film see www.bloodroadfilm.com. On the eve of Rebecca's 10 year anniversary of winning her first Leadville 100 mile mountain bike race, she and Ted caught up high up in the Rocky Mountains, 10,152' above sea level.

Episode 39: Leah Thorvilson — Professional Cyclist

Leah Thorvilson's jump to the World Tour was "like learning to walk at the age of 38". Leah segued a world class running career to professional cycling in one of the more unconventional ways -- she beat out 1200 other women on Zwift Academy to earn her spot on the mighty Canyon-SRAM team. Leah's energy is real. Her drive, her ever smiling demeanor, her friendliness and ferocity all helped her land that spot and earn a second year contract extension. Now dabbling in the gravel scene, Leah and Ted caught up after Rooted Vermont, Ted and Laura King's inaugural gravel event! Stay tuned to www.rootedvermont.com for news about the 2020 event. Please keep those comments and reviews, 5-stars of course preferred, coming! Send your questions or comments to @iamtedking. Now please enjoy this awesome conversation with Leah!