With Pace

Coryn Rivera is a road cyclist who rides for the UCI WorldTeam Team Sunweb. Over her 16 years of racing, she’s achieved 72 national titles and won the Tour of Flanders in her first year on the World Tour. In this conversation, she talks about growing up racing and training with Justin in California as a junior, the nail-biting team relay at Collegiate Nationals when she went head-to-head with Payson’s team and forced him to dig deeper than he’s ever gone, and the cultural challenges of moving to Europe and being the only American on her team. They also talk about her surprise win at the 2017 Tour of Flanders and how she navigated the pressure of achieving early success. Her ability to find mental fuel in spite of prestigious competition has been key to her ongoing success in the WorldTour, and she highlights the importance of finding a “why” after transitioning from junior and collegiate racing to the pro ranks. They also talk about elevating the profiles of entire teams rather just the team leaders in road cycling, and the life-threatening crash that made her turn down her professional racing opportunities and go to college instead. Lastly, they raise the difficulty of the Push Up Challenge yet again, and Coryn brings the heat. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc

Chase Garrett is a former Red Bull athlete marketing manager, and founder and CEO of Icon Source, an online marketing platform connecting brands with like-minded athletes from all realms of professional sport. Throughout his career, Chase has managed athletes and agents in tennis, NFL, MLB, NBA, cycling, snow, and motocross. In this conversation, he talks with Payson and Justin about why he chose to leave his dream job at Red Bull after six years to start his own company, what it was like working for one of the biggest companies in the world and befriending world famous athletes, and how he's keeping his small business afloat in the time of the pandemic. They also talk about how he identifies marketable athletes from outside mainstream sports, and the time he ended up in the trunk of a car in Monaco with NFL star DeMarcus Ware.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc

Four-time cyclocross national champion and world champion silver medalist Ellen Noble returns to The Adventure Stache to chat about how life has changed since her first appearance on the show way back in Episode 34. They talk about the pressures of being a role model in women’s cycling, the lose/lose reality of being a female athlete on social media, and why Ellen has finally started her own program this year. They also discuss misconceptions about money, share some cringeworthy dad jokes, and attempt to uncover Ellen's skills as a dancer. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc

Todd Ballard is the former Chief Marketing Officer at GoPro. During his nine years there, he was instrumental in elevating the brand to global recognition and choosing which athletes the company sponsored. In this conversation, he tells Payson and Justin what drew him to GoPro long before it was a household name, why passion is more important that fame when it comes to sponsored athletes, and why he chose to leave GoPro after so many successful years there. They also talk about impostor syndrome, business pressures, and the parallels between professional sports and high level companies. They also swap jokes, argue over favorite snacks, and hear the one story that’s impacted Todd the most in his career. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc

Ayesha McGowan is a professional road cyclist. As the first African American woman to reach pro status in cycling, she balances her racing career with advocacy for greater representation in the sport. In this conversation, she talks with Payson and Justin about using her platform to elevate athletes from underrepresented backgrounds, and her previous career in classical music and teaching. They also talk about unconscious racism, the snowboarding accident that ended her music career, and whether or not she has plans to start her own team. Things get contentious when Ayesha reveals her shoe of choice, stakes a position on which musical instrument is most like triathletes, and an investigation is launched into the origins of Justin’s inconsistent hairline. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc

In the third episode of Quarantine Companion, Payson and Justin are joined from Andorra by pro cyclist Robert Gesink, whose many accomplishments include 4th place at the Tour de France in 2010 and 1st place in the Tour of California in 2012. He currently rides for the ProTeam Jumbo-Visma. In this conversation, Robert talks about how his training has changed since Andorra went into one of the world’s strictest lockdowns nearly two months ago, why homeschooling his kids is harder than racing, and how to get the most out of at-home training. He also talks about the pressures of being a team leader early in his career, what European racers could learn from Americans when it comes to media interaction, and how he thinks the Tour de France should evolve with the times. He also showcases his favorite quarantine shoes, and tells the story of the 16-screw injury that forces Payson and Justin to make an alteration to the usual Quarantine Companion push-up challenge.Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc

In celebration of The Adventure Stache turning one year old, Payson visited Reggie Miller, the show's first ever guest, at his home outside Los Angeles. Along with filming the first episode of "StacheTV", the new sibling YouTube series to the podcast, they sit down to discuss what legacy means to Reggie, his ever-growing ambitions in cycling, and an epic never-before-told story about Kobe Bryant. Head to Payson's YouTube channel to watch the YouTube video from this visit, where Reggie shows no mercy in a game of PIG, and Payson helps Reggie conquer some challenging switchbacks on his local trail. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc

In this episode of Quarantine Companion, Payson and Justin are joined by cyclist Rahsaan Bahati, whose twenty-year career in criterium and track racing included ten national championship titles and multiple appearances on the USA Cycling Worlds team. They talk about his career and transition into activism through his creation of the Bahati Foundation, which works to promote the health and education of inner-city youth through cycling, and his current role as Social Impact Manager for Zwift. Other topics include his childhood in Compton, his unlikely introduction to cycling, and how he became one of Justin’s closest mentors when Justin was an aspiring teenager. They also swap favorite jokes, discuss Rahsaan’s time as a member of the controversial Rock Racing team in the 2000's, and share some opinions about his unconventional quarantine essentials which include airplane simulators and Zombie Dust. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc

In this first installment of Quarantine Companion, Payson is joined by co-host Justin Williams to lay the groundwork for this new limited series. They talk about how they’re getting by in the age of social distancing and lockdowns, including what books they’re reading, what snacks they’re consuming, how they’re maintaining motivation to train, and what their daily schedules and workflows look like. They also give some hints about what’s in store for future episodes of Quarantine Companion, including big name guests, shoe choices, and maybe even some listener-included push-up challenges. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc

Brook MacDonald is one of the best downhill mountain bikers in the world and has snagged multiple podium spots on the UCI World Cup circuit since he began racing professionally in 2011. Known as “The Bulldog” for his fearless, full-throttle racing style, Brook is no stranger to injury, and 2019 saw the most brutal setback of his career so far. At Mountain Bike World Championships in Quebec in September, he fractured his spine in two places and lost feeling in his legs, leaving his future on and off the bike uncertain. In this interview, Payson sits down with Brook to talk about the injury and how the crash itself was just the beginning of a grueling saga that left him on the mountain and without sufficient medical help for nearly five hours. They talk about his recovery process and celebrating the little victories, which other athletes he’s taken inspiration from during this process, and why he isn’t afraid to start racing again. They also talk about his love of road racing and its importance in his training, and why you might be seeing him at the Olympics in the future in a completely different cycling discipline. A New Zealand native, Brook also shares some of his favorite (explicit) Kiwi slang, and why driving in the U.S. has a steep learning curve. Instagram: @withpacepodcastYouTube: Payson McElveenEmail: howdy@withpace.cc