Based on survey feedback from podcast listeners, a lot of you missed when the podcast hosts had challenges and races against or with each other.
Ivy and I are officially IN and committed for Singletrack 6 in July. For those that don’t know, it’s known as one of the more technical MTB stage races in North America.
We did it back in 2017 and it did not end well . Nate DNFd day one and swears he broke his frame with his leg (still a matter of hot debate…), Chad decided 6 days was not okay and instead chose every other day until he decided he’d choose no days, and I crashed out with a concussion on day 5/6.
Ivy and I are quite intimidated, tbh, and speaking for myself, I’m SUPER eager to get back and conquer this thing. Also eager to see how Ivy does with her all-round experience.
BUT! I want to know what sort of content you’d like for us to produce around this.
What podcast content do you want from Ivy and Jonathan from Singletrack 6?
Just a pre and post podcast covering preparation and learnings
The build-up content is more important than the daily updates for me. I like hearing how the preparation is going - what the plan was, how its going, etc.
I would like to see some YouTube videos from some of yours and Ivy’s racing or training etc.
Like when you did Northstar Enduro, and Nate did the Crit and road racing, and Keegan with the XCC/fat tyre crits.
But agree about wanting “all of the above”. I love the prep, talk of training and tactics, gear choices etc etc. I also like the banter on the day by day break downs, but honestly, I’m happy to have that after if it means you’ll enjoy the process more.
Great that you’re racing and I hope it goes well, but it’s not really my thing, would rather hear about the whole team doing non-MTB, non-gravel races together.
The bit I miss is seeing how the TR crew prepare for event, even (or especially) when things don’t go as planned. It’s not so much that I like to see you guys suffer and flail (though it’s not not that) but it helps me figure out how to deal with the obstacles in my own training.
edit to add: I find these discussions way more entertaining, and usually more useful than a lot of the questions sent in by listeners. There’s only so much I can apply in my own training by listening to somebody’s equipment choice or pacing strategy for a type of event I’ll never do. But there’s always something in people’s stories that I can relate to whatever I’m doing.
I’d definitely love to hear several episodes of build-up content on how you want to prepare, how you actually are able to prepare, gear choices (bike, tires, etc.), race tactics, course discussion. I personally also enjoy the daily updates and second @mailman on wanting YouTube riding videos. Racing footage is always cool, but any ride footage is valuable for looking at line choice decisions, etc. A wrap-up episode to recap is obviously also valuable, especially if you both have interesting takeaways.
Glad you’re both racing it and best of luck to you both! Looking forward to whatever content you all put out on this.
@Jonathan , I’ll be looking forward to this however you end up doing it. The info on your Oceanside 70.3 race was super interesting to me and I always enjoy hearing about everyone’s training and racing whether it is one of the TR crew or a visiting pro.
I really enjoyed the Successful Atheletes Podcast. I know that not everyone enjoyed it as much as I did and that you are probably always crunched for time, but is there any chance that you would consider including some shorter segments of you talking to TR users as part of the regular podcast from time to time?
Thanks for consistently putting out entertaining and useful content!
I think what we’ll miss this time around is the uncertainty of it. Pretty confident that you and Ivy are perfectly capable of doing well in this event.
Maybe the podcasts needs a rookie or two again. It’s a lot of work but would it be possible to find an amateur duo who can talk to camera well, who are doing this for the first time? Then focus on their training. This is what we’re all here to learn about isn’t it? We want to see what it takes for the average Joe to succeed at such a daunting task. That’s what fuels our dreams.
I have really liked all of the content you’ve put out surrounding events you’re doing;
Prep & information to give everyone takeaways before and after!
Reports during the race, although I understand they’re tough!
And then stories from inside the race too! The banter and the recounting are so much fun to listen to! And I like the human angle too, I feel really engaged knowing you guys are human who do well, make mistakes, and deal with adversity too! So my vote is in the above is for all 3! I hope you both have fun racing and podcasting too - this is when I enjoy it the most. Thanks guys!
Might not be a long podcast (but a few focused short ones could be a cool change) but the tech nerd in me loves talking about changes to bikes, what bags/clothes you’re using, any wierd hardware you’re trying, things like that.
Completely agree with other posters here - it’s super fun when the hosts take us listeners on the full journey. I also really like the idea of a less “well disciplined” rider who’s grappling with some of the common challenges of events for the first(ish) time. Ultimately, it’s about the banter and chemistry of those taking part and weaving the training challenges into that. Brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.
Exactly. Take me along for the ride. I want to hear weekly how training is going, what you’re doing, and then a decently long segment on the podcast pre and post race.
Glad you enjoyed it! Other than a select few forum users on here, that podcast was and continues to be quite popular.
I think there is room for the SAP to return in some form or another on a less frequent schedule. Right now we don’t have the bandwidth, but it’s on the radar!
I agree that uncertainty makes it more interesting
I’m honestly feeling quite uncertain about it, despite my enthusiasm for the event, hehe. Remember that last time I got worked over by this race and as a result, I had my worst crash in cycling. I’m conquering some significant demons with this one.
In terms of @IvyAudrain this is way far from her comfort zone and outside of her wheelhouse, so there is a lot of unknown there too.
I think Ivy and I are just easily stoked and optimistic, and perhaps that masks our concern through the podcast. We’ll have to work on how to communicate the fears we are pressing deep inside, lol.
Regarding documenting other folks doing the event, this is definitely a possibility. Would require a lot more leg work and complexity, but we’ll see what we can do.
Agreed, it’s one thing to answer questions about hypothetical listener questions and another thing to follow someone’s actual approach. The plan, how it goes, what goes wrong, what had to be changed/adapted, then how each day played out and what could have gone better (equipment, fueling, training, etc).
Ahhh I’m very jealous! ST6 was top of my list this year, I’ve wanted to ride that area for while. Unfortunately couldn’t make timing/logistics work out. (Doing BCBR instead which isn’t so bad either). Good luck and have an awesome time! Looking forward to the updates!
. Nate DNFd day one and swears he broke his frame with his leg (still a matter of hot debate…), Chad decided 6 days was not okay and instead chose every other day until he decided he’d choose no days, and I crashed out with a concussion on day 5/6.
All of the above