Latest / Zone2Speak Podcast / Ride into Wellness: Sustainable Health with Belinda Norton
Transcript
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- 0:41And now for the episode.
- 0:44Welcome to this episode of Zone to Speak.
- 0:47Today, I'm joined by the incredible Belinda Norton, a sustainable health and
- 0:52fitness educator, author, Australian well-being magazine presenter,
- 0:57and advocate for living a balanced and active lifestyle.
- 1:01With a Bachelor of Physical Education and years of experience helping others
- 1:06achieve lasting wellness, Belinda
- 1:08has dedicated her career to teaching the principles of sustainable health.
- 1:12From writing and speaking to leading by example, she inspires people around
- 1:17the world to embrace fitness, nutrition, and movement as part of a balanced life.
- 1:23In this episode, we dive into Belinda's expertise in fitness,
- 1:27exploring how cycling supports sustainable health and well-being.
- 1:31She shares practical advice on
- 1:34creating long-term health habits and her philosophy on balanced nutrition.
- 1:39Whether you're a seasonal cyclist or just beginning your health journey,
- 1:44Belinda's insights will motivate and empower you to make a sustainable change.
- 1:50So, clip in, get comfortable, and let's ride into this conversation with the
- 1:54incredible Belinda Norton. Welcome to the podcast.
- 1:59Hi. Thank you. Thank you. What an introduction. Thank you.
- 2:03Thanks so much for having me. I'm really excited. Oh, thank you.
- 2:08I know it's like 5 a.m. your time. It's 7 p.m. here in Spain.
- 2:13How's the Gold Coast? your account is always so
- 2:16beautiful with those beautiful sunrises and
- 2:19the ocean well it's actually raining and windy today so it's lucky that we're
- 2:24not outside doing a live right now yeah that yeah that so um i don't know i
- 2:30don't think anybody will be out on their bikes this morning everyone everyone
- 2:33will be on wind trainers or yeah on zwift probably.
- 2:40So, tell us what is sustainable health, what its principles, and how...
- 2:48They apply to everyday life. So sustainable health is being well and healthy
- 2:55body, mind and soul that you are able to do around your personal lifestyle.
- 3:01So around your personal routine.
- 3:03When I write on sustainable health, I actually find out what the person's job
- 3:08is, including children,
- 3:10what activities do they need to go through each day that they can sustainably
- 3:16maintain their health and wellness around that.
- 3:19Yeah, that makes total sense. I also think that if you try to do things that
- 3:24are so out of reach, the word itself is just not sustainable.
- 3:28So it's great to have people like you that really look into your lifestyle,
- 3:34what's within your reach and community and likes and dislikes to make those
- 3:41changes possible, achievable.
- 3:43And what What inspired you to dedicate your career to sustainable health?
- 3:48It seems exactly looking at your environment also.
- 3:50For example, my weather here on the Gold Coast is mostly mild and quite beautiful,
- 3:56whereas obviously my best friend,
- 3:58she lives in Andorra, so her weather is incredibly tricky to work around.
- 4:03So I think those type of aspects, they all need to be taken into account when
- 4:08we're looking at a sustainable health routine.
- 4:10Absolutely, 100%. and what inspired you to follow this journey and dedicate
- 4:17your career to sustainable health and fitness education?
- 4:21I used to be a triathlete so riding my bike, running, swimming and everything
- 4:27that is involved in triathlon was my life.
- 4:30I always sought to think that there was a more quality way to train so when
- 4:37I did my degree I also delved into multiple levels of other different types of sport,
- 4:43how that worked for your body, and obviously the biomechanics of it and nutrition
- 4:47of sport in different sports.
- 4:49So with that being said, that's where I wanted to find a way that was quality
- 4:55over quantity, especially when I finished racing.
- 4:58Yeah, that makes sense. I actually started nutrition as well when I was in my mid-late 30s.
- 5:03And I also have a triathlon background, but it was because I couldn't understand
- 5:10what was right and there were so many mixed information out there,
- 5:14Yeah, it's so overcomplicated. Nutrition is overcomplicated and so is training
- 5:21now, especially with social media. We are bombarded with so much information about it.
- 5:28And just to simplify it, especially being a teacher, I just wanted to simplify
- 5:33it for kids because they really bombarded.
- 5:36So I started to streamline it in that way to make it simple for adults too.
- 5:41Yeah, I saw that I have a program for teens to get active as well. Teen, tribe.
- 5:47Tribe? Yeah.
- 5:50How do you do it? Because, I mean, I'm a mom and it's so hard to get,
- 5:56you know, some teens are super active, but some teens, it's not easy to convince them to do something.
- 6:00My daughter was always active, but then she got to an age, she didn't want to do anything.
- 6:05And I told her, if you don't pick a sport, I'll pick for you.
- 6:08So, yeah, your choice. So she ended up picking a sport, but there was all these
- 6:13consequences that would have to be like, if you miss practice,
- 6:16I'm going to deduct from my allowance or something like that to keep her going. So what's your secret?
- 6:23Being involved with them. So I use activity or sport or cooking or nutrition
- 6:30with them as a connecting activity.
- 6:33So where we're connecting, whether it be talking or feeling good with one another
- 6:38or encouraging one another.
- 6:40So still to this day, when my children were first born, we would run in the
- 6:44pram together. Then it went to scooters and bikes together.
- 6:47And then now my daughter doesn't know any different, but running with me first thing in the morning.
- 6:53And she now knows and feels it with her and inside her that it's like,
- 6:58I feel so much better when I do this with you, mum.
- 7:01And then we'll come home and we'll connect by having breakfast and coffee together.
- 7:06And I think that's how it works. My son, though, is entirely different.
- 7:10So don't, you know, it is different, vice versa. So I do have both sides of it.
- 7:16He's probably more active with swimming. I won't swim in the morning.
- 7:21I'll run in the morning. So it's hard. It's working out each person's routine
- 7:26and joining in with one another, especially with our kids. Yeah.
- 7:30Yeah. No, you're lucky you get to do those things with your kids. Yeah.
- 7:34My daughter, she's not into any of the sports I do, but we do cook together.
- 7:38We do a lot of things together.
- 7:40So that's some bonding there. And I hope I can rubbing, you know,
- 7:45some of my health lifestyles into her.
- 7:49Cause I also, I have so much of me that came from my mom too,
- 7:53because my mom wasn't active, but she was always like on a microbiotic diet.
- 7:57You know, my house was always like whole grain, everything.
- 8:01And I remember going to sleepovers and I just loved going to sleepovers because
- 8:06they had like white bread and white rice.
- 8:10People didn't understand. But yeah, because my house didn't have sugar or anything like that.
- 8:16Yeah. And I think that's also part of the sustainability. Like what didn't work
- 8:22for us when we were children where the balance was and how are we going to change
- 8:27those cycles and how are we going to best help?
- 8:30Like what would have helped us at that stage?
- 8:32So now what's going to help our children moving forward, I think.
- 8:37And that's one bonus of our age category and our generation.
- 8:41We are actually the cycle breakers to this. We're this sandwich generation really
- 8:46making big changes for our kids' mental and body health.
- 8:51Absolutely. That's so true. That's so true.
- 8:54And you also wrote a book called Fit Mama. I think it's your latest.
- 8:58Yeah. Fit Mama was one of my first books, the latest one. Oh, okay.
- 9:04Yeah. No, they're all called Fit Something, so don't worry at all.
- 9:12So Fit and Flexible is the latest one, but it's called an e-zine.
- 9:17So it's a magazine that we sell through Wellbeing Magazine, and it's a fresh
- 9:22new program, probably a little bit more like it's more updated.
- 9:25Fit Mama is definitely like the base Bible of information. If you're first coming
- 9:31out of having a child, what is the best situation for you trying to cope,
- 9:37trying to gather? You've got small children.
- 9:40What's the best way to do things is definitely Fit Mama.
- 9:43Fit and Flexible is more coming into now that new body, that new mindset,
- 9:49I suppose somatic exercises to understanding the numbness in ourself.
- 9:53So that's an exciting publication also. Yeah, that's very exciting because there's
- 9:59so much talk about flexibility related to longevity as well. Is that right?
- 10:05Yeah, correcting and anti-aging essentially.
- 10:11Obviously, there was that time, you know, where that bulk muscle used to be,
- 10:14it used to be all about endurance, but now we're really looking at that whole
- 10:18body, maintaining flexibility,
- 10:21maintaining, and somatic exercises are definitely going to be the new thing for 2025.
- 10:26I know that I've already written that first article for that.
- 10:30And somatic is obviously for, you know, those people that don't know,
- 10:33is just listening to your body and taking that time to have proper breath within your body.
- 10:40What we've found across the world is a numbness.
- 10:43We've forgotten to feel how we digest food. We've been in such a rush to eat,
- 10:49to nourish, to just do things.
- 10:52We've forgotten to feel how our muscles move, how we stand up with our posture.
- 10:57So yeah, moving back to that, I'm very, very excited about.
- 11:01That's exciting. You need to share with me the links for the article.
- 11:04I would love to have it on the description of the podcast and to read it myself. Terrific stuff.
- 11:11And talking about that, what would be your goal to tips for building endurance
- 11:17and strength for a cyclist and incorporating flexibility, somatic exercises
- 11:24into the cyclist routine?
- 11:27Yeah. So obviously cycling, there's a lot of time on the bike.
- 11:31So obviously continuing with the program
- 11:34that you've got to do for your cycling program but it's
- 11:37also you must maintain that stretch and flexibility
- 11:41so I would be suggesting at least three to four stretch sessions a week and
- 11:47then gathering those resistance sessions whether it be with weights in a gym
- 11:52I know with running and cycling weight training absolutely changed the way that my body moved.
- 11:59It changed my balance in my hips. It changed my strength in my legs.
- 12:04It's so important to add weight training to any cycling routine and flexibility
- 12:09being a yoga or a Pilates definitely helped.
- 12:13Yeah, I used to be much more flexible.
- 12:16I mean, obviously, I'm also getting older, but I feel like with the cycling,
- 12:20you know, you get so stiff, especially on the hip flexors.
- 12:23Are there any specific exercises or routines you would recommend for cyclists
- 12:27to improve performance and prevent injuries?
- 12:31Definitely jumping on the ground as often as possible and stretching out those hips.
- 12:37I would use some bands also. There's a variety of activity,
- 12:41there's a variety of exercises that should be done,
- 12:45especially for the lower body and the hips but
- 12:49obviously the main yoga stretches across the hips and hip flexors and lower
- 12:54back I think are the number one thing that has to happen every single day as
- 12:58soon as you get off the bike while you're warm or even have a shower and then
- 13:03definitely begin a stretch routine off the bike for your hips and lower back.
- 13:09And what do you think just 10, 15 minutes is enough of a stretch after like
- 13:15a two-hour, three-hour bike ride?
- 13:17Oh, look, yeah. If you can do 10, 15 minimum, but definitely up to a half an
- 13:25hour one while you're still nibbling and still rehydrating, I think is key to
- 13:31maintaining that mobility.
- 13:32Obviously, the better that our, well, the more malleable our hip flexors are,
- 13:39then the better our performance and then the better that we can load upon that with training.
- 13:44So it is actually the key. Being flexible through the lower back and hips is
- 13:48going to improve your performance level massively.
- 13:51Yeah. When I was more consistent doing mobility, strength, flexibility exercises, I had zero pain.
- 14:01And now I'm starting to suffer again and I really need to get back to it.
- 14:07It's just getting to the rhythm and that's why also I'm asking about the time
- 14:10because time is also a challenge to fit, you know, talking about sustainability.
- 14:16So how do I fit in my training and all these like extras that you have to do to maintain that?
- 14:23Being stronger, but also maintaining your health, like, you know, the flexibility.
- 14:27So that's why I was asking, is 15 minutes enough? Because it's so hard to fit everything in.
- 14:33Yeah, that's right. I'm thinking elite athlete, you would spend at least 20 minutes.
- 14:37But if, you know, depending on what you can actually fit in,
- 14:40I think just doing your five to 10 minutes, for example, on a weekday for myself,
- 14:46I will go running early in the morning, then I'll come back.
- 14:49And then I only have 10 minutes to stretch.
- 14:53I don't have any longer than that. That's my longest. So within that time,
- 14:57I'll make sure that I get, make sure that I'm breathing through the stretch.
- 15:01I think it's really important to make sure that all those senses are on when you're doing it.
- 15:05So again, it's quality over quantity where you really do stay in that moment.
- 15:11You know, you're not stretching, scrolling on your phone at the same time paying a bill.
- 15:15You're stretching your body, you know, And I think that's what we do as mums.
- 15:20We add so much in and then we're not actually doing the activity that we're
- 15:25trying to do essentially first very well.
- 15:28We're sort of doing it around. Yeah, totally.
- 15:32Well, good. Something's better than nothing, but being present, it's very important.
- 15:38Taking those deep breaths and really working the stretches. Correct, correct.
- 15:44You touched a little bit when you talked about getting off the bike and start
- 15:49to hydrate and nourish and getting those stretches.
- 15:55I know you're also a nutritionist. What's your philosophy on nutrition for cyclists?
- 16:01Look, I think it's philosophy for nutrition for every single body,
- 16:05which is eat as many vegetables as you possibly can.
- 16:10Make sure that you're getting in great, clean proteins.
- 16:13Nutrition is key to everything for every single body.
- 16:18Obviously, limiting sugars and dairies is definitely what I try to do for my body.
- 16:24I don't cope very well with dairies. So I think that definitely is the most important thing.
- 16:31Nutrient-wise for an athlete, it obviously depends on what your schedule is
- 16:37again, like working specifically with each person's body, but maintaining that hydration,
- 16:44even saltwater hydration, electrolytes are definitely key.
- 16:49And then, so if we're just looking at a base scope of things,
- 16:53it's just making sure that you're eating good food, good nutrients and minerals consistently.
- 16:59Yeah, it's when we try and go for grab fast things because we're just famished.
- 17:04We've got off the bike, for example, and we're like, I'm starving.
- 17:08I want – and we do. We hunt for sugars and we hunt for salt and we hunt for
- 17:13anything that we can possibly –.
- 17:15So pre-preparing is so important. So what I'll do before I actually go out on
- 17:21a ride is I'll make sure that I've got something there when I get back that
- 17:24I can grab straight away too.
- 17:26So it's sitting in the fridge. I've already made it.
- 17:30So it might be, for example, a whole grain wrap with lots of veggies,
- 17:34some, you know, leftover roast chicken in there and it's ready to go and I'll eat that.
- 17:40I think that's really important for anyone and that's able to then sustain that
- 17:45health as opposed to making those really key little mistakes that we tend to
- 17:49make because we're in that rush again.
- 17:52Yeah, that's very good advice. And you beat me to it because I was going to
- 17:55ask if you have any pulse ride meal that works for you.
- 17:58So that's a great idea, you know, to like prep.
- 18:01So when you get home, you know, you're going to be starving.
- 18:04So you don't just grab the first thing you're, you know, you're craving,
- 18:07like you said, salt or sugar.
- 18:09Any pre-ride go-to that you have as a favorite?
- 18:14Oh, definitely banana and coffee. Yeah.
- 18:20Oh, you know, I think that's what we all tend to do. I think that's a worldwide thing, isn't it?
- 18:26Where we'll grab some fruit and we all have, you know, a piccolo or espresso
- 18:31or whatever it is of some kind, obviously hydrating at the same time.
- 18:36Yeah, I'll generally have some oats, some yogurt and some fruit before I ride.
- 18:41I like to have quite a neutral first beginning meal.
- 18:45If it's a later ride in the day, then I would have had definitely protein,
- 18:50beans, some eggs, some greens, mushrooms, et cetera, and then on some gluten-free bread.
- 18:56I'll load a lot then and then maybe have an hour in between and then hit a long
- 19:00ride. You're making me hungry.
- 19:06And do you have a simple framework or tips to maintaining a balanced diet without
- 19:12falling into restriction or extremes?
- 19:16Yeah, definitely. And this is one thing.
- 19:20I have maintained, I think, the same pretty much food lifestyle diet for my entire career.
- 19:29So I'll start with as soon as I wake up in the morning, even before I run or
- 19:34before I would used to ride or swim, I would hydrate banana coffee.
- 19:39Go. When I'd come back, I'd call it second breakfast, which would be those eggs, a protein, et cetera.
- 19:45Or then I would have an oats yogurt.
- 19:48Morning tea, I always have the same type of thing, which is a pre-prepared little jar.
- 19:53I have them on my website and on everything that I do all the time.
- 19:57I love those because they're prepped, they're in the fridge, they're at work.
- 20:02My kids take them where they're going. They're in that jar, they're that perfect portion,
- 20:06they're layered up and they're delicious and it's
- 20:09not even expensive it's frozen berries and then
- 20:12it's obviously some yogurt whether it be greek or coconut yogurt and whatever
- 20:17homemade granola or homemade oats or whatever can be you know can be eaten for
- 20:22gluten-free it's a bit different so trying a gluten-free type of one lunch is
- 20:27always a salad whether it be tuna high protein and or it will be a wrap.
- 20:31Lots of quinoa at lunch I will always tend to add to.
- 20:36And then in the afternoon, it will be either some fruit again or some hummus
- 20:42or some vegetables there.
- 20:44Sometimes I'll have a protein shake at that time or a smoothie at that time,
- 20:48depending on where I'm at within the sugars during the day.
- 20:53And then nighttime, it's definitely that same type of run through of the different
- 20:58menus and dinner options.
- 21:00Obviously, loads of veggies and high protein for dinners.
- 21:03Yeah, I eat very similar, so I'm glad I'm doing, I think I'm doing it.
- 21:06Yeah, you would definitely do it.
- 21:09I do struggle sometimes to get enough protein, so I'm trying to top it up like
- 21:13you with protein shake, depending where I am on the day with my nutrition.
- 21:19Yeah, yeah. And it is hard when we're a busy working mum, trying to fit in those.
- 21:24And again, And we just do the best that we can.
- 21:27Like I like to think that it is very much that 80-20, 80% of the time I will
- 21:33do exactly the right thing.
- 21:34You know, this time of year is particularly hard being close to Christmas,
- 21:39working, there's options in front of you.
- 21:42Oh, you've got to go to this and, you know, they've got something that you wouldn't
- 21:45normally eat, but, you know, you join in because it's part of it, et cetera.
- 21:50So it's obviously 80-20 rule. Yeah, that's a good road to live by because I
- 21:55think that's why some people make mistakes.
- 21:59And I was going to ask you, you know, what are the common mistakes you see people
- 22:02making when they're pursuing a health lifestyle? How can they avoid them?
- 22:06Because I feel like a lot of people just restrict everything and then you crack.
- 22:12At a certain point. Yeah, restriction really doesn't work.
- 22:15I did, you know, for a long time when I was racing, it was very much analyzed
- 22:21and calorie counted and, you know, macronutrients here and how everything is
- 22:27working within the body.
- 22:29And, you know, if you're an athlete, I agree that, you know,
- 22:33you do need to be so specific as to what's going into your system.
- 22:38But when you are not, I think it's too much mindset taken over with analyzing
- 22:46and it actually starts to be a detriment to your total lifestyle because it
- 22:51needs to be that balanced sustainability around food.
- 22:54And you need to just love and accept yourself for living.
- 22:58We don't want to take away that
- 23:00joy of actually living and saying yes to beautiful things in our life.
- 23:06Having a glass of wine because you've ridding your bike to a winery.
- 23:11You know, having that piece of beautiful homemade cheesecake that's been made.
- 23:16I just, you know, I really think that it needs to still have joy.
- 23:20You know, life needs to be joyously lived. Absolutely, absolutely.
- 23:24And besides the 80 to any rule, are there any ways that you would suggest for
- 23:31staying consistent with fitness and health routines?
- 23:36Well, definitely having a routine set that you can do.
- 23:40So, this is making sure that you write down, so you write down all the things
- 23:44that must be completed for the day.
- 23:46So, around your job, around, you know, children, okay, where can I fit in that one hour or two hours?
- 23:53For me, essentially, it's a two hour every day where I will train and then obviously
- 23:58food around that. So, for that, most people should be at least one hour per day.
- 24:05So, it's consistently understanding that you are doing this for the betterment
- 24:10of you, for the betterment of your mindset, of your body. A lot of people think this.
- 24:15And it depends on, you know, where you've grown up as to be,
- 24:18you know, almost guilt that you have to do this in this way.
- 24:24And for many women, you know, around the world also, it's that guilt of,
- 24:28oh, but you're leaving the children to go and do this for you.
- 24:31No, you know, you must do this for you. You are just as important.
- 24:37You must love the way that your body moves in every way, shape and form.
- 24:40I think also accepting the body changes that we go through, especially as a
- 24:46female, as a female athlete, as a female cyclist.
- 24:50You know, one week we'll be performing at a certain level and the next week
- 24:54we won't, whether it be around our hormones or whether it be,
- 24:58you know, around our sleep patterning.
- 25:00I think accepting where we are at that day and accepting and having gratitude
- 25:06for the way that even our body changes, you know, through our life.
- 25:11I think it's really important. Yeah, you touched on something that it's true.
- 25:15And I see because a lot of people ask me as well, you know, there's the mom guilt,
- 25:20but there's also the guilt of not honoring your body or where you are,
- 25:25especially for women, because we have a cycle and there are days that you might
- 25:28feel a little bit more tired and you don't want to go out and get your exercise done.
- 25:33And it's okay. You're not going to lose fitness because of one
- 25:36or two days but there's that guilt you
- 25:39know so there's the guilt both ways on not doing
- 25:43something for yourself or the guilt of go and do it and having the guilt of
- 25:49not being with your family yeah it's incredibly tricky for females because we
- 25:55are you know we are coming from that cycle of our mothers of what the what we
- 25:59had to do and we very much Like I was saying,
- 26:01the cycle breakers of everything happening forward for our daughters,
- 26:06for the women of the world.
- 26:07And I think we need to make sure that we honour our bodies in that way we accept how we are.
- 26:13Like, for example, you know, our bodies change in our – as, you know,
- 26:18we sometimes feel heavy and loaded and, you know, even cellulity.
- 26:24For many women, we change through that and we judge it so harshly.
- 26:30So I think we need to, you know, women need to lift women up too.
- 26:35That's so important right now because, and that's also a part of being a cycle
- 26:41breaker there because we see and hear so often still women tearing down others
- 26:47and not saying, wow, look at you go, you know.
- 26:51We'll see influencers doing something or, and I just find it so saddening to
- 26:57see when people do that to one another.
- 27:00I said, well, you know, why do you do that? And we know that that is that projection
- 27:03from inside that that's what we've been told we should do, what we've seen happen.
- 27:07So we need to stop ourselves before that happens. Yeah.
- 27:10And I hope, you know, the new generation is able to break the cycle because
- 27:14it is something that I don't understand as women, why we're not as united.
- 27:20Men, I feel that they are much more united that way where women aren't.
- 27:26And it's hard to feel sometimes welcoming to a new group or even at work.
- 27:30Sometimes you go to work and your male colleagues are much more,
- 27:33you know, generally speaking but are more welcoming or
- 27:36you know not so much with a guard up and
- 27:39you know you have to prove yourself or i
- 27:43don't know to fit in yeah so it'd
- 27:46be great if we can eventually be a more united
- 27:49group yeah and one
- 27:52thing that i definitely do all the time i will ask women
- 27:55you know what you know i will point blanket say to them and make feel make women
- 28:00feel comfortable in saying what is it that makes you feel threatened or that
- 28:05makes you want to compete or what is it about that feeling right now?
- 28:11Let's sit with that for a second.
- 28:13For some women, they can acknowledge it and they can go forward on it.
- 28:16For many, they're not quite there yet. But I think we need to start having this
- 28:20really big discussion about why we can't lift each other up.
- 28:24Is it because we're competing for men?
- 28:28Is it because what is the actual reason around the competition?
- 28:33And we know men tear us down all the time, which they do, you know,
- 28:37they will be the first to pick on it and generally women jump on board.
- 28:41But what is it about that, that projection
- 28:44that we jump on that we don't automatically defend another woman?
- 28:48Why do we feel like we have to compete then to get that male's attention?
- 28:52I think that's a really big part that we need to work forward through.
- 28:57Yeah, that's a good question. It's good to ask yourself and ask others and hopefully
- 29:03break the cycle because we're not doing each other any favors by putting each
- 29:08other down or judging each other.
- 29:10That's right. That's right. And it's, yeah, it's astounding. Yeah.
- 29:14Yeah. So we've all got to help one another and just say, why did that happen?
- 29:18Let's not do that anymore.
- 29:20And I think we can really change the world by doing it.
- 29:24Absolutely. We'll be much stronger. Yeah. You can do so much more,
- 29:28you know, it's, it's cliche, but you know, like you can go so far along,
- 29:32but you can go so much further, you know, as a group and it's,
- 29:34it's so true. Yeah, that's exactly right.
- 29:39You said you you have a triathlon background in sports
- 29:42do you still ride your bike oh yeah
- 29:45definitely I'm just on a mountain bike at the moment because
- 29:48I find that it's just for where I am as opposed
- 29:51to a road bike I'm meant to
- 29:54be coming to do a ride in Italy but I'll just
- 29:57I'll just borrow a bike when I get over there
- 30:00because obviously you know you have so it's so easy
- 30:03to gather bikes so uh
- 30:06so yeah right now yeah that's
- 30:09yeah so I'll ride uh I'll ride either stationary bike
- 30:12during the week because I just don't have time around work or
- 30:16I'll do a bike session that way but um on the weekends I'm
- 30:19out on my bike but riding trails or
- 30:22gravel oh nice how nice yeah I used to try
- 30:25it a lot like I said but now I'm mainly gravel I do have
- 30:28a road bike it's nice sometimes just to go on tarmac and not be watching out
- 30:33for you know rocks but I just love gravel so much just you know it just feels
- 30:38a little bit more connected to nature than road and usually there are less cars
- 30:43or no cars and it's so nice.
- 30:47Yeah exactly I think so many triathletes now we've all switched over to gravel
- 30:52just because of the amount that we had to deal with with cars and abuse on the
- 30:58road, I don't know how you,
- 30:59you know, I'm not sure what you have to deal with but I definitely know within
- 31:03Australia we have, you know, a lot of people throw abuse and hurl abuse at us,
- 31:09not particularly here on the Gold Coast and by the coastal side because there's a lot of cyclists,
- 31:14But definitely city-wise, yeah, so it's dangerous.
- 31:20Yeah, very dangerous, yeah. No, in Spain, I mean, where I am,
- 31:23Costa Brava, the cars, most of the time they are very good sharing the road with the cyclists.
- 31:31It's still dangerous, of course, because you're sharing the road with a car.
- 31:35But most of the time the bicycles are respected.
- 31:39But I lived in New York and Miami and forget it.
- 31:43You have to be so, so, so careful. And I lived in Dubai as well,
- 31:46but there you are not supposed to really cycle on the road.
- 31:49They have a lot of nice tracks that you can go to and it's just for bikes.
- 31:54Oh, wow. Yeah. I heard Dubai did that. I need to actually, that needs to be
- 31:59one of the things on the list. Yeah.
- 32:02Places to guide. Yeah. Yeah, actually, you know, I mean, Dubai is famous for,
- 32:08you know, the luxury dining and nightlife, etc.
- 32:12But the cycling there, it's pretty nice. I love it.
- 32:15You know, they have cycling track in the middle of the desert and you're just
- 32:19riding through the dunes. There are no cars.
- 32:22It's really, really special. I love it.
- 32:25Oh, I need to do that. Yeah. And they also planted, I don't know, what's the number?
- 32:32I don't know if it's 10,000 or 30,000 trees and created this beautiful park.
- 32:37It's called Musharif Park.
- 32:39And they did a mountain bike trail as well.
- 32:42And you have like the green, the blue, and the red.
- 32:46People say, oh, it's not that difficult, but still, it's a trail in the middle
- 32:50of the desert with trees. You don't even feel like you're in a city.
- 32:53It's really nice. And they are starting to try to combine now all the trails
- 32:58so you can go from one place to the other is quite nice and
- 33:02Wow. Okay. I'm adding that now to the list.
- 33:06Yeah. You know, if you go to Italy, you can have a quick stop there.
- 33:10Yeah, that's exactly right on the way over. Yeah.
- 33:13Yeah. Where are you writing in Italy?
- 33:16I'm going with Emma. So I'm not quite sure there's a tour that we're going to
- 33:20do. She's testing it out.
- 33:22So we, yeah, she got married in Tuscany.
- 33:26So we're going to head, I think, through that direction and where she was over there.
- 33:30So maybe probably Luca and Siena and Florence probably heading up through there.
- 33:36Nice. It's going to be beautiful. I was there a couple of years ago in Tuscany
- 33:40and was riding through Siena area as well.
- 33:43And you can't go wrong. It's really, really beautiful.
- 33:46Lots of ups and downs, the hills. So there's a lot of climbing,
- 33:50but it's gorgeous. And the food is amazing.
- 33:53My husband wants to go 2025 to the Dolomites.
- 33:57We haven't been there so we'll see if we make that happen oh
- 34:01I hope so for you I definitely hope yeah any
- 34:05so I was going to ask you if you have any adventures that you're working towards
- 34:09but I think it's Italy or is there anything else no definitely Italy would be
- 34:14number one I'm meant to be heading over to Andorra so I'll definitely have a
- 34:19look there and then also well now well I might add on Dubai to that.
- 34:24So, and any dream cycling trip anywhere in the world, where would be?
- 34:36Oh, well, I have to, I have to come to Spain anyway. So I would love to,
- 34:41I would love to check that out.
- 34:43I've never been to Spain. So I would, you know, I've got a couple of friends
- 34:48who were here and then obviously Emma who lived there for a little while.
- 34:51So, yeah, I'd love to get there also.
- 34:54Yeah, you'll love it here. Let me know if you ever come. I will.
- 34:57I don't worry, I will. Yeah. Yeah.
- 35:00Well, it's been lovely to chat with you. Thank you.
- 35:04Thank you. Lovely to chat with you. Thank you so much for having me.
- 35:08Yeah, thank you. I know you made time for me super early morning.
- 35:11Really appreciate your time and your amazing sights.
- 35:16I'm sure it's going to be a great episode. Thank you so much. thank you,
- 35:23and that's all for today's episode I want to thank the listeners for tuning
- 35:28in your support means everything if you enjoyed this episode please consider
- 35:33following leaving a review and sharing it with your friends.
- 35:37Music.