With Pace
Professional mountain biker Payson McElveen sits down with some of the biggest names in sports and adventure to get an inside look at what sets them apart. With no script, the casual conversations are as diverse as the guests, with topics ranging from harrowing tales of survival, to debates on current events, to everyday tips and tricks and everything in between. As Payson travels the world for his two-wheeled day job, listen in as he rubs shoulders with and learns from some of the most inspiring athletes, entrepreneurs, academics, and others as they chase and inspire greatness.
With Pace
Matt Fairbrother on bikepacking 4,000 kilometers to compete in the Enduro World Series
New Zealand cyclist Matt Fairbrother made a splash in the 2022 Enduro World Series when, at age 17, he bikepacked 4,000 kilometers to get to the races. The journey started when he couldn’t find transportation from the Scotland event to the next race in Slovenia. With only a few thousand dollars to cover his entire season, he decided to bikepack instead. Even as his enormous commute picked up media and sponsor attention, he decided not to accept offers for easier forms of transportation and continue bikepacking instead. His journey often required riding for 24 hours at a time with only a couple hours of sleep each night, all on a bike weighing over 70 pounds.
In this conversation, Matt talks about why he decided not to bail on the season after finding himself stranded in Scotland, and what it was like to ride that first 1,500-kilometer push to Slovenia (his first ever bikepacking trip). He talks about the night when he was stuck in sub-freezing temperatures in the Alps without enough warm clothes to get him through to the morning, and the time he was held up at a ferry for being under 18. He also discusses his decision to continue bikepacking to his events in 2023, and the new sponsors that are along for the ride.
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