Latest / Zone2Speak Podcast / Above the Ashes: Kevin Conley Jr. on Riding Across America

Transcript

Above the Ashes: Kevin Conley Jr. on Riding Across America · Zone2Speak Podcast

• 0:00
  Music.
• 0:10
  Hey, everyone. At Zone2Speak, I know how important it is to stay healthy,
• 0:14
  strong, and ready for every ride, workout, and adventure.
• 0:18
  That's why I'm sharing some amazing discounts on products I personally love,
• 0:23
  designed to support your health, performance, and overall well-being,
• 0:27
  whether you are an athlete or just looking to feel your best.
• 0:31
  Psych Plus, their smart pump is a game changer. Compact, efficient.
• 0:32
  Music.
• 0:36
  And perfect for keeping your tires road and gravel ready.
• 0:40
  It's ideal for travel too. You can take it on trips and skip the CO2 canisters.
• 0:45
  You can even change your tire pressure on the go when switching between surfaces like road and gravel.
• 0:51
  Get 10% off the smart pump and 5% off everything else.
• 0:58
  15% off New Zest. Fill your body with clean, plant-based nutrition.
• 1:04
  Their Clean Lean Protein provides a high-quality, easily digestible protein
• 1:08
  source with no additional additives, perfect for recovery and sustained energy.
• 1:14
  Plus, their Good Green Vitality is packed with essential vitamins,
• 1:19
  minerals, and antioxidants to support your immune system and overall wellness.
• 1:25
  15% off Olios. Olios offers powerful wellness shots made with adaptogens,
• 1:33
  nootropics, and functional nutrients to support performance, focus, and recovery.
• 1:38
  I'll be using Olios daily in the lead up to my next race and I have already
• 1:44
  got my pre and post ride shots ready for my long weekend rides.
• 1:49
  If you are looking for a clean, effective boost, Olios is it.
• 1:54
  Use code ZONETOSPEAK15 to save 15%.
• 2:00
  20% off First Endurance, top-tier endurance nutrition designed to support hydration,
• 2:06
  recovery, and sustained energy for long days on the bike and any endurance activity.
• 2:12
  15% off Frey Skincare, made for active lifestyles.
• 2:17
  Designed for skin that sweats, they're all-natural vegan and cruelty-free products
• 2:22
  keep your skin protected and fresh. I have been using Frave for about 10 years
• 2:27
  and my skin stays young and has never had a breakout since.
• 2:32
  10% off, cold aid. High quality supplements to support your health from multivitamins
• 2:39
  to probiotics, collagen and more.
• 2:42
  I personally take the women's fermented multivitamin and creatine and I genuinely
• 2:48
  feel great with them. No nausea, just steady energy, and support for recovery and daily health.
• 2:57
  10% off, clearly not coffee. A delicious coffee alternative from functional
• 3:02
  ingredients like mushrooms, cocoa, maca, cinnamon, and rhodiola.
• 3:08
  Designed to give you calmer energy, sharper focus, and immune support.
• 3:14
  Honestly, I can't live without it anymore.
• 3:16
  It's been such a boost for my energy levels and has helped me navigate perimenopause
• 3:22
  with more balance and ease.
• 3:25
  15% off OMRE supplements, premium supplements to support your training,
• 3:30
  recovery, and everyday health.
• 3:32
  And there's nothing special from me, your host. As a certified integrative health
• 3:37
  and nutrition expert and holistic life coach, I'm offering 25% off personalized
• 3:43
  nutrition and life coaching with Gainer.
• 3:45
  Music.
• 4:10
  Welcome to Zone to Speak. In this episode, I am joined by Kevin Conley Jr.,
• 4:18
  a wildland firefighter,
• 4:20
  author, and long-distance cyclist whose life story is as inspiring as the miles he has peddled.
• 4:27
  Known online as Backcountry Ninjas, Kevin has transformed personal challenges
• 4:34
  into powerful narratives of resilience and purpose.
• 4:38
  From battling wildfires to battling personal demons, Kevin's journey led him
• 4:43
  to the open road, where he found healing and a mission.
• 4:48
  Riding thousands of miles across the U.S., often accompanied by his loyal dog, Rocky.
• 4:54
  Kevin uses his adventures to raise awareness for mental health and support causes
• 5:00
  close to his heart, such as the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.
• 5:05
  His memoir, Above the Ashes, delves deep into his experience,
• 5:11
  offering readers a raw and honest look at the struggles and triumphs that have shaped him.
• 5:17
  Through his storytelling, both written and visual, Kevin encourages others to
• 5:22
  dream big, be kind, and find the strength in vulnerability.
• 5:26
  Join me as I explore Kevin's incredible journey, the lessons he has learned
• 5:31
  from the Settle, and how he's using his platform to make a difference.
• 5:35
  So let's dive in. That was quite the intro. That's all.
• 5:39
  Quite the intro, Juliana. Thank you so much for having me on your podcast.
• 5:43
  I appreciate it. And those were some very kind, kind words you said there. It's all you.
• 5:50
  I came across your story and immediately I was like, I need to talk to him. I need to talk to him.
• 5:57
  I love the positivity you put out there. Of course, I fell in love with Rocky
• 6:02
  because I'm an animal lover.
• 6:04
  Everyone does. Everyone remembers Rocky in my whole neighborhood.
• 6:07
  They're like, there's Rocky.
• 6:12
  Yeah, I have a dog. I don't think anybody knows my name, but they know my dog.
• 6:17
  Yeah, it's funny how that works. So how did you find me? Because this is my
• 6:20
  first international podcast, which is super cool.
• 6:24
  Really? Cool, cool. I'm excited. On Instagram, yeah, I saw it. When was it?
• 6:31
  I don't remember. I think you were walking on the beach and you were talking about the book.
• 6:37
  And then I went into your account and I was finding more and more about you.
• 6:41
  And I was like, wow, this guy is really cool. And I just really like how raw
• 6:45
  you are, how you share your experience and all the positivity.
• 6:51
  So I was truly inspired and touched.
• 6:55
  Very nice of you. Yeah, I've been known through my personal friends as the king of positivity.
• 7:02
  And I try to be a humble person, but I learned through life a long time ago
• 7:07
  that's so important, is your attitude is really what defines you.
• 7:14
  It doesn't matter if you're rich or you're poor.
• 7:16
  It doesn't matter any of your gender or your race.
• 7:19
  None of that matters. It's your energy. and when you have a positive attitude
• 7:23
  and you take that everywhere you go, that reflects back on you.
• 7:28
  So people see that, then they want to be positive, but that positive attitude
• 7:33
  and that positive spirit changes all your movements in life because it's so interesting.
• 7:39
  You can compare it to a flat tire where someone gets a flat tire driving down
• 7:44
  the highway and they're like, oh darn, this is the worst, this sucks, blah, blah, blah.
• 7:49
  Instead, with a positive attitude, you're like, This is funny.
• 7:53
  I got a flat tire. I just got to fix it, you know?
• 7:57
  Absolutely. I completely agree. Or just know that, you know,
• 8:00
  this is meant to be. I was supposed to stop for some reason unknown.
• 8:05
  And this shall pass. Everything has a solution.
• 8:09
  So yeah no i agree with you your attitude says a lot about you and it is contagious,
• 8:17
  we were just talking a little bit earlier you and i about the race,
• 8:21
  that in portugal that i'm doing and i'm doing with with a friend and we have
• 8:25
  done as a pair a few times and i said this before we we do so well together
• 8:32
  because we both thrive with challenge arise nobody's like.
• 8:40
  This sucks what the hell or it's just like you know what just like the flat tire and,
• 8:46
  Now we've got to fix this. And we have good laughs. Like, oh,
• 8:50
  my gosh, it wouldn't be a real bike ride if we didn't have a flat tire.
• 8:54
  And carry on. And the lightness of that makes everything better.
• 9:00
  100% agree. And that's why it's so important because, you know,
• 9:04
  everyone's heard this. You're a product of your environment.
• 9:06
  And I always tell people who you surround yourself with is going to be who you are.
• 9:12
  So you you show me and i
• 9:15
  was saying this the other day to someone i was like you
• 9:18
  show me your five best friends and i'll
• 9:21
  show you your future because who you
• 9:24
  surround yourself with is who you are a part of and when one of you goes down
• 9:29
  if you're with four other good people they're going to lift you up and then
• 9:33
  when they go down the four other people lift them up so i always tell people
• 9:38
  the five people you surround yourself you show me them and i'll show you your future.
• 9:43
  You surround yourself with people that want to be positive, people that want
• 9:46
  to be successful, people that care about their family, people that have good values, good morals.
• 9:51
  Surround yourself with those people, and that's going to help you rise above.
• 9:55
  And you can't fly with the eagles if you play with the turkeys.
• 10:01
  How about that one? You ever heard that?
• 10:04
  No, I like it. Like it. Really good.
• 10:08
  So you worked as a wild land firefighter.
• 10:12
  How did that experience shape your perspective in life?
• 10:16
  And how did it lead to your path on two wheels?
• 10:20
  Yeah, it was wild. I started long distance hiking. That's how I got into my true love for nature.
• 10:28
  I hacked the Appalachian Trail in 2012, then the Pacific Crest Trail.
• 10:33
  2013. Those are two American long-distance hiking trails out of the three big ones.
• 10:39
  Yeah, the Appalachian is from... Georgia to Maine.
• 10:43
  Yeah. So it's almost the entire coast, west, east coast.
• 10:48
  Correct. Yeah. So that goes through 14 states, 2,150 miles.
• 10:52
  And then the Pacific Crest Trail goes from the Mexican border to the Canadian
• 10:56
  border through California, Oregon, Washington.
• 10:59
  And that trail is 2,650 miles.
• 11:02
  And they're both just those were
• 11:05
  like the times of my life and that's when I fell in love with the
• 11:09
  woods and after that I did wilderness
• 11:12
  therapy for struggling teens and then for
• 11:15
  people 18 to 30 a couple times and I'd spend 14 days out in the wilderness with
• 11:21
  them teaching them how to make fires with a bow drill and life lessons and then
• 11:27
  how I got into bike touring do you want to Do you want me to start that story? Because it's wild.
• 11:34
  Yeah, let's dive in. It's a long one.
• 11:39
  But what was wild was I have this specialized AWOL Elite. I don't think they make it anymore.
• 11:48
  And I just I fell in love cycling when I lived in Seattle.
• 11:54
  And I had this this bike, but I never went bike touring. And I had veneers and
• 12:01
  stuff, but I knew nothing about it.
• 12:03
  And I'm visiting. So long distance hikers, we have trail names.
• 12:07
  So my trail name's 30 pack.
• 12:09
  And I carried a 30 pack of beer up a mountain on the Appalachian trail.
• 12:15
  Wow. And so what's wild is...
• 12:19
  Is that like I'm visiting one of my best friends down in Southern California.
• 12:27
  He lives at a spot called Hermosa beach.
• 12:29
  And I got my bike hanging off my beat up 2001 Subaru.
• 12:34
  And he's got this map of the American cycling association of all their routes in America.
• 12:41
  And I had nothing to do. And I said, there's a bicycle route that goes from
• 12:47
  San Francisco all the way back to San Diego past your house. He goes, yeah.
• 12:53
  And he had just finished riding his bicycle from Manhattan, New York City,
• 12:58
  like in New York City to Manhattan Beach, where is right next to Hermosa.
• 13:03
  Wow. Yeah. And he rode across the country. And he's telling me about it. And I see this map.
• 13:09
  We go out for a few beers. We get back to his house and I'm like,
• 13:13
  could I leave my car at your house? And he's like, sure.
• 13:16
  And I just hopped on a train up to San Francisco.
• 13:21
  My buddy picked me up. We took the ferry like 50 miles north of San Francisco
• 13:26
  and we sat around a campfire and I was like, I'm going to go ride my bike to San Diego.
• 13:32
  You know, I'm a backpacker, so I know what to bring. but it was just a random,
• 13:38
  it just happened overnight.
• 13:40
  And I just hopped on my bike and rode to San Diego.
• 13:44
  And I met this beautiful couple from Belgium and we rode for maybe four or five
• 13:50
  days together. It was my slowest ride. We were doing like 40, 50 mile days.
• 13:55
  It was in February. So the sun goes down early.
• 13:58
  And when I met them, they told me a lot about bike touring and she works for
• 14:03
  a bike touring. Her name was Vanessa.
• 14:05
  She worked for a bike touring company. His name was Colin. And he's like this
• 14:09
  crazy alpine skier and bike tour too.
• 14:12
  And I fell in love with like the three of us riding together had this like cohesion
• 14:17
  and this community. And I was like, this is so cool.
• 14:21
  Like we're, I don't know, there was this family that felt like my trail family
• 14:25
  that I met long distance hiking.
• 14:28
  And I got back to San Diego took the train back to LA to get my car.
• 14:34
  And I look at my buddy cartwheel and I look at the map and I said,
• 14:38
  there's a route that goes down the whole Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico.
• 14:43
  I said, can I leave my car here for, I don't know, a month?
• 14:48
  He goes, sure. So I hopped back on the train from LA up to Seattle.
• 14:53
  And then I took a bus all the way to the border.
• 14:57
  And then Then I rode the entire Pacific Coast all by myself.
• 15:02
  It rained. It rained like all of Washington. Then it was sunny for Oregon, California.
• 15:08
  I think I did it in about 27 days.
• 15:12
  I went from 40 to 50-mile days to 70 to 100-mile days.
• 15:18
  So you barely took a break from San Francisco to San Diego, back to L.A.,
• 15:24
  and then you're like, okay, now I'm going to do the entire coast.
• 15:26
  Yeah, I don't think, and biked my first, let's see, my first like 4,000 miles, 5,000 miles.
• 15:35
  Yeah, I think it was my first 5,000 miles. I didn't get one flat tire,
• 15:39
  and I don't think I took, I don't even know if I took one day off in those first 5,000.
• 15:43
  And then every year. I think sometimes maybe if you don't overthink,
• 15:48
  like you did, you just did it.
• 15:50
  You're like, well, I'm a long-distance hiker. I could do long-distance biking, and you just went for it.
• 15:55
  I fell in love with it. And then I just started doing San Francisco to San Diego.
• 16:01
  I always go to the border of Mexico just because it's, I don't know,
• 16:05
  it's something in my head because the Pacific Crest Trail starts there.
• 16:09
  And it's about 650 miles, and I think I've done that six times or seven times.
• 16:14
  I honestly couldn't tell. I don't remember.
• 16:17
  But I've done it a bunch. I just love being on my bike.
• 16:21
  I don't blame you. Yeah.
• 16:24
  How amazing. I'm like mind blown that you just saw a map and was so inspired
• 16:30
  and was just like, I'm going to leave my car here and go on my bike.
• 16:35
  Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, my bike tours, I've started them all alone.
• 16:41
  And, you know, you meet, you have these amazing people. you meet along the way, people that help you.
• 16:47
  And what did you use for navigation? Did you have a bike computer or you're
• 16:50
  just like old school maps?
• 16:52
  They have this great app that, so are you familiar with the American Cycling Association?
• 16:59
  Okay, so it's a huge nonprofit in America that has mapped these routes and helped
• 17:05
  put signs up and bike ways and stuff like that.
• 17:09
  And they've done incredible work over a long period of time.
• 17:13
  They have a magazine called Adventure Cyclist, which I'm pretty sure has like 80,000 subscribers.
• 17:21
  It was the first time I wrote an article for a magazine. And I was like,
• 17:25
  no way, you guys want me to write an article for like a magazine that I really like?
• 17:30
  And so they've put together all these routes.
• 17:34
  And now I forget your question.
• 17:37
  What were you using for navigation? So they have an app.
• 17:41
  It's called Bicycle Route Navigator. And you download sections.
• 17:44
  It's like $5.99 a section.
• 17:46
  And then you look at your phone. And the Pacific Coast Highway out of one of
• 17:52
  the routes that I've done is fairly easy to follow because after you leave Washington
• 17:58
  State, it's a little tricky going through Washington,
• 18:00
  you hug the Oregon Coast.
• 18:02
  You're on the 101, almost the whole coast.
• 18:05
  And then you hop over in California through the redwoods.
• 18:10
  You go through the redwoods for 100 and something miles. It's incredible.
• 18:14
  Some of the oldest, tallest trees in the world.
• 18:18
  And after you go through there, you're pretty much on Highway 1 all the way to the border.
• 18:25
  Oh, my gosh, that must be beautiful.
• 18:27
  That's on the bucket list for me and so many other people. You've got to do
• 18:31
  it. And if you do it, a lot of foreigners don't do this.
• 18:35
  But the wind, so the wind, you call it from what direction it's coming from.
• 18:40
  So it's like a northwestern wind. So it means it's blowing to the south.
• 18:45
  So you almost have a tailwind every
• 18:49
  single day and if you go that
• 18:52
  way there's no interference from cars because you're
• 18:55
  on the shoulder so you have the ocean view tailwinds
• 19:00
  and you can camp for five dollars Oregon it's
• 19:03
  camping for five dollars if you're on a bike free showers and so they have all
• 19:09
  these hiker biker sites the Pacific Coast Highway is just like it blows your
• 19:14
  mind how beautiful it is nice nice I went to school in Seattle so I had a little bit of a taste of,
• 19:21
  the mountains there did a lot of hiking as well but I wasn't cycling it was
• 19:27
  in the 90s when I was there and I wasn't you know I had a bike but it was just
• 19:32
  commute and stuff but yeah that would be a dream come true so we have to go
• 19:36
  from north to south that's when you get that tailwind all the way.
• 19:40
  And then like the, I just got back from a mini bike tour.
• 19:44
  So I was just up on the San Juan Islands, which are right off the coast of Seattle.
• 19:51
  And that's like if you're an intro to America or you're an intro to bike touring,
• 19:57
  that's one of the best places to start is the San Juan Islands because everyone
• 20:01
  gives you plenty of room and you're just riding around these islands.
• 20:05
  And I did it with this beautiful, amazing woman I just met.
• 20:09
  And it was like our second date which
• 20:12
  ended up being eight eight days long and every
• 20:16
  day we got like the best sunset beautiful campfires
• 20:20
  we're camping on the beach and we're seeing
• 20:23
  orcas eagles sea lions so if you want a bike tour just fly out to the san juans
• 20:29
  and then do the pacific the coast magical wow okay now the dream touring bike
• 20:39
  trip it's getting bigger.
• 20:43
  You should never stop dreaming never stop growing you know like i always tell
• 20:48
  people like always keep building always keep growing always listen try to be
• 20:56
  calm in life and just listen to the sounds around you, but you got to grow.
• 21:01
  You got to build. You got to keep learning and you always got to keep dreaming
• 21:05
  and you chase those dreams.
• 21:06
  You chase those goals. When you achieve one goal, make another goal and keep
• 21:11
  chasing those goals and never give up.
• 21:14
  People set these goals and they meet them and then they just stop.
• 21:18
  It's like, no, make a new goal.
• 21:20
  You always got to move forward. You always got to keep making progress in life
• 21:24
  and always keep learning because there's infinite wisdom. You never know who
• 21:29
  you're going to bump into.
• 21:30
  They will tell you the simplest thing.
• 21:33
  These easy sayings, you've got follow your heart, love always wins, chase your dreams.
• 21:39
  There's wisdom all around you. You've just got to follow it.
• 21:42
  Some people just hear it. They don't really feel it.
• 21:46
  Very, very wise words. I wish I had known that when I was younger because I think...
• 21:54
  A little bit later in life that I started to write down goals.
• 21:59
  And you know, some people might think that's silly, but that's how we accomplish things in life.
• 22:03
  When you write a goal, a dream, and you pursue that, and then,
• 22:09
  like you said, just write another one, then you start to really picking,
• 22:12
  picking, picking, picking, picking, picking.
• 22:14
  Yeah, and it's... Absolutely. Those are the steps. And it's hard.
• 22:19
  Like for me, because I have, and I'm sure like you, I'm a dreamer.
• 22:24
  So I have like all these dreams.
• 22:28
  There's just countless, countless dreams.
• 22:33
  And it's hard because you got to try to balance this work-life balance.
• 22:38
  I hate that term, but I have these huge dreams. I want to ride the Great Divide.
• 22:43
  And I also want to hike the Continental Divide Trail. And I also want to bike
• 22:47
  the Pacific Coast again. You know, I have endless dreams.
• 22:52
  And sometimes we get caught up in
• 22:55
  life where we're like we have to make money we have to find
• 22:57
  stability well yes you do need stability you know
• 23:01
  we need that but you're only going to get one life to live so I lived my life
• 23:06
  in reverse I started hiking I backpacked the Appalachian Trail when I was 23
• 23:11
  I turned 24 on the trail and like when you look at it I don't want to be 65
• 23:17
  and that's when And I'm like,
• 23:18
  oh, I'm going to go ride my bike a thousand miles, two thousand miles.
• 23:22
  Do these things when you're young and you can't because money is going to come and go.
• 23:27
  I can guarantee you that. Yeah. Like your car is going to break down.
• 23:32
  But these, you know, like go ride your bike, go for a long hike. Do it. Just do it.
• 23:38
  People put these on the back burner and then you go to a nursing home.
• 23:42
  You ask anyone in a nursing home what they change.
• 23:46
  I wish I did it when I was younger.
• 23:48
  That's when my grandmother, before she passed away and I visited the nursing
• 23:53
  home, she was like, I'm so proud of you doing this while you're young,
• 23:56
  because people are sitting around this nursing home wishing they hiked the Appalachian
• 24:02
  Trail when they were your age.
• 24:03
  And then they get old and they can't do it.
• 24:06
  You can't do it or you don't do it the same as, you know, with the same health.
• 24:12
  I completely agree. I mean, yeah, people need to pay bills.
• 24:17
  There is that word, that term, work-life balance, but you do need to work on this balance, you know?
• 24:25
  Money, like I said, money comes and goes, but time goes by fast.
• 24:32
  So if you don't start putting the time to do the things you love...
• 24:36
  You just touched on my favorite thing, time.
• 24:40
  Because time, you can't replace it, you can't change it, you can't put it in your pocket, it.
• 24:47
  You can't go back. So what you do with your time is so precious because it's immeasurable.
• 24:55
  So spend time doing what you love.
• 24:58
  Spend time giving back to the world. Spend time wisely because this time there's no rewind.
• 25:06
  It's going to continue moving. And sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you.
• 25:10
  It's just like when you think about time, it's so important.
• 25:14
  Live your dreams because you're never going to get a second chance.
• 25:18
  You're never going to grow. You're going to keep growing just like a tree.
• 25:22
  Branch out because you're going to keep growing up. And one day you're going
• 25:26
  to be too tall and you're going to have roots and you're not going to be able to branch out no more.
• 25:32
  Absolutely, absolutely. Now,
• 25:35
  what I was going to say is that I'm going to try to make it very short.
• 25:37
  So it's this story that says, try to give this message that there is this retired
• 25:45
  guy that goes on a trip fishing to this small town.
• 25:50
  And he gets there, the fisherman takes him around, and the retiree says,
• 25:56
  wow, you have something really nice here.
• 25:59
  You should employ someone to work for you and then get more boats,
• 26:02
  and then you can make a lot of money.
• 26:04
  And then the fisherman turns him and says, yeah, yeah, and then I'll do this
• 26:10
  until your age and now you're retiring and coming here to do what I do every day,
• 26:16
  so you get it right like why would of course some people want to build empire
• 26:21
  but why would he want to build empire to then retire and do what he's doing now.
• 26:27
  So it's all about your values go back to what you said in the beginning,
• 26:32
  What are your values? Yeah, because I'm at a pivotal point in my life.
• 26:35
  I'm about to be 38, and I want to get married and have kids,
• 26:41
  and I understand I need stability to do that.
• 26:45
  So I'm trying to grow these different, not empires, but I'm trying to do different
• 26:52
  things where I can fight fire for six months.
• 26:55
  I just got hired to work for a nonprofit, so I'm going to try to end up writing
• 27:00
  books. I have a children's book series.
• 27:02
  I'm working on a second book. I'm working on a poetry book.
• 27:05
  I want to become a best-selling author, but my goal with Above the Ashes was never about the money.
• 27:10
  It was to help others so others knew they weren't alone and they can get through
• 27:16
  the most painful moments in life.
• 27:18
  But I'd like to expand my writing career and balance these adventures.
• 27:26
  But right now, I'm actually, I'm trying to get more stability,
• 27:30
  but still have like, oh, I got two months off, grab my girlfriend,
• 27:36
  if she'll be my girlfriend, and we can just go ride bikes and hike through the mountains.
• 27:42
  And, you know, so it's a tough balance, but anything's possible if you believe
• 27:47
  in it and you strive to make it happen.
• 27:51
  Exactly. Just work on that dream and make it possible. And I think you more
• 27:57
  than anyone know that's possible.
• 27:59
  Now that you brought up Above the Ashes, your book is raw. It's personal. Look at your life.
• 28:06
  What was the writing process like? And did anything surprise you as you put your story to the paper?
• 28:13
  The writing process blew my mind.
• 28:17
  I wanted to write a book for so long. And I did so much research on writing when I started writing.
• 28:25
  So what inspired the book was when I rode my bike across the entire country,
• 28:30
  so many people reached out to me when I talked about suicide and depression and I was vulnerable.
• 28:36
  And there were so many people that were like you
• 28:40
  helped me so much and and people said i changed their
• 28:42
  life and i was i was like if i can do this through
• 28:45
  just like instagram stories and and news interviews and podcasts what if i wrote
• 28:51
  a book something tangible that that i could sometimes i give them out to people
• 28:56
  that are struggling which i shouldn't do because i still need to make money
• 28:59
  but i try to live you know it's selfless and and and give back but yeah
• 29:05
  The writing process is not easy. I wrote, I want to say the first nine chapters.
• 29:11
  I originally wrote the book as a diary.
• 29:14
  So it was almost like day one, day two, day three.
• 29:18
  I wrote for three months and I deleted it all.
• 29:21
  I was like, this book is trash. It was boring. It wasn't entertaining.
• 29:27
  But that trained me to start being a better writer.
• 29:31
  And at the time I lived in Salt Lake City.
• 29:35
  And I wrote like, I wrote over all the walls. They were covered like graffiti.
• 29:42
  And I did a chapter breakdown and I wrote down like writing stuff.
• 29:47
  Like one of the keys to writing is to describe things, not to say them.
• 29:52
  So I'm not going to say it was a red fire truck.
• 29:56
  I'm going to say something like, this truck painted like old rusty bricks came
• 30:05
  running down the road with sirens as loud as train horns.
• 30:10
  That's not the best analogy, but you're trying to describe things to the reader
• 30:15
  versus just saying, oh, there's a red fire truck.
• 30:19
  And that was a difficult learning
• 30:22
  curve but how I did it
• 30:25
  was I would just free write I
• 30:28
  wouldn't edit anything I would just write what came to my head and I would just
• 30:32
  write I went down to the Salt Lake City library and I would just write write
• 30:37
  write write write write write write and then I would go back later and I would
• 30:42
  edit it and then I would proofread it and edit it and then I'd make corrections.
• 30:48
  And then it's like a 10 step process, really. And then I would read it out loud.
• 30:53
  And it never made really sense, but you have to read it out loud.
• 30:57
  Then I would edit it again.
• 30:59
  And then read it out loud again.
• 31:03
  It was like I had this all written down. It was just about 10 steps of free
• 31:08
  writing, editing, proofreading, editing, reading out loud, editing,
• 31:14
  reading out. It's a long process.
• 31:17
  And then, you know, finally, when I finished the book, I sent it to a professional editor.
• 31:24
  And like I realized I'm, I can tell a story, but I'm not an editor.
• 31:30
  That's why you have editors.
• 31:33
  I can't tell you, she probably had 50 red lines on every page because I do run
• 31:38
  on sentences and I'm not too good at what they call like syntax.
• 31:42
  I think they call it where this should be at the beginning of the paragraph versus the end.
• 31:48
  So you definitely need an editor, but yeah, it took me, I want to say it was
• 31:52
  about 11 months and the last four months I sold all my stock that I had,
• 31:59
  and I paid my rent for the last four months
• 32:02
  my car payments everything and I just focused fully on the book because I didn't
• 32:07
  want any distractions and yeah no writing's a lot it's not just like I'm gonna
• 32:13
  write a book it's a long process but it's worth it if you believe in it And
• 32:19
  you have an incredible story,
• 32:21
  so glad you put it out there.
• 32:24
  What role does the storytelling through writing or social media play in your
• 32:29
  healing and advocacy work?
• 32:32
  But not just writing, because you also have the social media channels,
• 32:36
  and I consider that storytelling as well.
• 32:39
  Yeah, writing for me is so therapeutic.
• 32:44
  And I didn't know that when I started writing the book, how therapeutic it was to just write.
• 32:52
  And when you write these things down, you start to understand yourself better.
• 32:58
  So telling, writing my book was actually helped heal me even more after my bike ride.
• 33:06
  Like the bike ride really healed me because I was diagnosed with a severe panic
• 33:10
  disorder and I had depression. I almost took my life twice in one week and that
• 33:14
  bike ride changed my life.
• 33:16
  And then I healed double time when I wrote the book because I went back and
• 33:22
  some of it was really hard to write.
• 33:24
  But I it helped me heal because I
• 33:27
  had to push some of this trauma not push it
• 33:30
  I had to feel it and go through it again yeah
• 33:33
  I just learned all these lessons when I
• 33:36
  was writing like it takes true courage to be
• 33:39
  vulnerable like that's what a true man
• 33:42
  or woman is is like if you want it to be tough is to be fragile and it takes
• 33:48
  courage to speak out and I learned like when I started talking about depression
• 33:53
  and suicide and my panic disorder, when I started talking about that,
• 33:59
  it was like everyone I met and I got so many messages, but just people at the
• 34:04
  dog park, when I was telling them I was writing a book and talking about depression,
• 34:08
  it was like, I have depression.
• 34:12
  I went through depression. My uncle took his life.
• 34:16
  Everyone can relate to it, but not until you open up. So many people are afraid to open up.
• 34:23
  And that's something that I really wanted people to know in my book.
• 34:28
  My book is kind of this adventure story, but it goes deep into mental health.
• 34:34
  And that was something I wanted people to know is they're not alone and it takes courage to speak out.
• 34:40
  You're brave speaking about what you're going through. And people walk around
• 34:45
  life and they're like, hey, how are you? Oh, I'm doing good. How are you? Good.
• 34:50
  No, like ask your friends, how are you really doing?
• 34:53
  Because I care about you. Like if you're going through some shit,
• 34:56
  like we can talk about it or I'm the best thing you can do if someone's going
• 35:01
  through something is to listen to them.
• 35:04
  Yeah, I agree with everything you said, you know, that strength is being fragile
• 35:10
  and also being there, just like I'm here.
• 35:13
  A distraction, a shoulder, anything to your, you know, people that you consider
• 35:19
  a friend or not even like even someone at the dog park, you know,
• 35:23
  anyone, it's important.
• 35:25
  So you touched on what you went through with the bike and the riding healing you.
• 35:32
  So, at what point did the cycling become more than a physical outlet and turn
• 35:38
  into this deeper and even healing experience for you?
• 35:44
  Do we want to go back to the night I almost killed myself?
• 35:48
  If you want to. Yeah, no, I'm comfortable with it.
• 35:53
  So, what happened, I mean, it was a true miracle.
• 35:56
  So I don't it's wild
• 36:00
  to think how it all happened I silently
• 36:04
  suffered for a year and I was having these
• 36:07
  panic attacks that would last two or three hours I was
• 36:09
  having them all day they came out of nowhere and I was like I was a hot shot
• 36:15
  wildland firefighter and I thought I was so and it's like a stigma with men
• 36:21
  that we think we're so tough that we can't tell people we're We're weak and
• 36:26
  we're going through all this shit.
• 36:28
  So I would have two or three beers to calm down my panic.
• 36:31
  And I got so sick of that. Like I could, I'd tie up my shoes to go run and I'd
• 36:37
  make it a quarter mile down the road.
• 36:40
  And I'd have a panic attack and have to go home. And it'd be 10 o'clock at night
• 36:45
  and I just wanted to go to bed. And I'd start having a panic attack.
• 36:49
  And then I'd have two or three beers. I didn't want to talk about it.
• 36:52
  So I would just calm myself down.
• 36:55
  And then I started getting deeply depressed and I was just afraid to ask for help.
• 37:01
  Or there's so many people that looked at me for my positive energy and like
• 37:05
  looked at me like I would never go through this. that I felt like I could never talk about it.
• 37:11
  And when I was so sick of suffering and I was so depressed, it was crazy.
• 37:19
  I was, I'll never forget it. I had all the lights off in my apartment and I
• 37:25
  was drunk and I didn't want to live anymore. And I was fully ready to kill myself.
• 37:32
  And I always tell people, if I owned a gun, then I wouldn't be talking to you
• 37:36
  right now. I would have 100% shot myself.
• 37:39
  I didn't own a gun, and I had Rocky, and I decided I was going to drive my truck
• 37:47
  as fast as I could, 100 miles an hour, into a brick wall, one of the concrete
• 37:51
  barriers on the highway.
• 37:53
  And so I had all the lights off and I'm drinking
• 37:56
  way too much and I'm depressed it's late at night two in the morning and I'm
• 38:02
  crying and I pour out 40 pounds of dog food and I don't write any notes I don't
• 38:08
  call anybody I was just totally done and I go to open the door to my apartment,
• 38:15
  and something comes over me, God, really.
• 38:20
  And something just comes over me as I grab the door and I close my eyes or something
• 38:26
  closed my eyes, energy, whatever you want to call it.
• 38:29
  And I feel a hand on my shoulder and I hear my dad's voice in my ears.
• 38:37
  I hear my dad's voice and I can feel a hand on my shoulder and he says,
• 38:41
  you never give up, son, you never give up.
• 38:44
  And I closed the door, like I stopped opening the door, and I just sit there and I cry.
• 38:50
  And I decided right then I wasn't going to kill myself. And it was a miracle.
• 38:55
  It was just a miracle. I was dead set on doing it. There was nothing that was going to stop me.
• 38:59
  And as I'm sitting there, I see my touring bike, and I see a map of the United States.
• 39:07
  And it's the end of October. And I'm like, I'm just going to get on my bike.
• 39:13
  The only route you can ride that time of the year in the United States is the southern tier.
• 39:17
  And I called the Wildland Firefighter Foundation that night,
• 39:21
  and they called me back the next morning. And I said, hey, I'm going to go ride
• 39:26
  my bike 3,500 miles across the country. I want to raise money for the Wildland
• 39:30
  Firefighter Foundation.
• 39:32
  They help families when wildland firefighters are killed in the line of duty.
• 39:37
  And they also help wildland firefighters that are
• 39:40
  going through mental health crises and help
• 39:43
  them get therapy so they do just it's an
• 39:46
  amazing non-profit and i'm real close with burke
• 39:48
  minor who who's the executive director and
• 39:52
  he called me back the next morning and i told.
• 39:55
  My story and they fully supported me and next
• 39:59
  thing you know it i was on a train with rocky
• 40:02
  from salt lake city to san francisco i
• 40:06
  added 500 miles to the to the southern
• 40:09
  tier normally starts in san diego we had
• 40:12
  this saying in fire nobody cares dig
• 40:15
  harder so i was like nobody cares and i've
• 40:19
  ridden san francisco to san diego before i love
• 40:22
  big sur and that route so i just added 500
• 40:25
  miles just for who cares why not and
• 40:30
  yeah I just started riding and it was wild because
• 40:34
  I'm towing because I was mentally ill I had
• 40:36
  like 45 pounds of dog food which if
• 40:40
  you're ever towing a dog just get like five or ten pounds and
• 40:43
  just refill you know a few times later but
• 40:47
  I'm crazy so I got dog food and toys he's got a bed and i got all this it was
• 40:54
  it was like 150 pounds it was something like that it was crazy i think i got
• 41:00
  it i think it was 175 when i started and then i got his dog food down.
• 41:05
  I got to the golden gate bridge i got off the train i had never towed a trailer
• 41:10
  before i called my dad i'm riding up this big hill coming out of the golden
• 41:16
  gate bridge And I called my dad and I said, dad,
• 41:19
  I promise you, I will finish this.
• 41:23
  But I am never, ever, ever towing a dog ever again. I told him that five minutes into my ride.
• 41:32
  That's so funny. The wild thing is like when we go back to like our mental life.
• 41:40
  Like it's all connected. Your nutrition, your mental health,
• 41:44
  your physical health, that's all connected.
• 41:47
  But your mental fortitude, when you build that up over time, becomes so powerful.
• 41:53
  And I built it up through all my long distance hiking and all my cycling and
• 41:59
  running a marathon, running an ultra marathon. on.
• 42:02
  I built this fortitude where I do not fail.
• 42:06
  I just can't because in my head, there's no quitting. That's not an option.
• 42:13
  I always tell people, don't make excuses.
• 42:16
  The second I don't want to go to the gym, I go to the gym. When I don't want
• 42:20
  to go for a run, I put on my shoes.
• 42:23
  That reinforces it to where all of a sudden now I'm like, I've just got my shoes
• 42:28
  on and I'm running for fun because I hate running, but I'll go run 10 miles.
• 42:34
  Yeah, it's true. You're stronger than you think you are. And when you think
• 42:38
  you are depleted, you always have a little bit more in you. So you're right. Yeah.
• 42:44
  It's also very mental. Like you said, you need to build that mental strength
• 42:48
  if you don't have, because it's not just physical, everything's connected.
• 42:52
  So you touched on Rocky, your dog. How was logistically, emotionally,
• 42:59
  and in terms of community response has changed your trips riding with him?
• 43:05
  Well, riding across the country with him was a pain in the ass.
• 43:10
  But I got so much support from wildland firefighters where they would watch him for a day or two.
• 43:20
  And then my dad came out for 10 days and had him in a car.
• 43:24
  So I just had my bike. And so when I shed that 90 pounds between him and the
• 43:33
  trailer, then I was able to do 90, 100-mile days.
• 43:36
  So I did the 3,500 miles in 47 riding days and then 52 full days.
• 43:44
  I took five rest days on that trip.
• 43:47
  But if I didn't have that support from all these wildland firefighters across
• 43:52
  the entire country, and then my dad coming out for 10, 11 days,
• 43:57
  I joke with people, I'd still be riding my bike across the country.
• 44:01
  Because when I was riding, when I started with him, I did my first day,
• 44:06
  I believe, San Francisco to, gosh, where did I make it that first day?
• 44:11
  It skipped my brain, but you weren't allowed to camp there.
• 44:15
  And I camped at like, you know, it was a state park, but they didn't have camping.
• 44:19
  And so I like stealth camped. And I think it was 47 miles that first day.
• 44:24
  And that was felt like I did 100 because my biggest bike day is like 120.
• 44:30
  And it felt like I rode that even like I was like, how am I 47 miles?
• 44:36
  And it took me the entire day.
• 44:39
  Wow. Yeah. Yeah, well, it's not
• 44:41
  easy riding. Also looking at like a few thousand feet of elevation gain.
• 44:46
  Yeah, I don't know how you did it, honestly. Just those climbs with a trolley
• 44:52
  and a dog and the dog food and everything.
• 44:55
  I'm sure not only your dad helped you with the logistics, but also probably
• 45:01
  also a boost of emotional energy there, having him support you on the road.
• 45:07
  It was wild because Juliana from...
• 45:13
  A few days before when I'm holding that doorknob and an angel saves my life
• 45:18
  and I'm fully committed to taking my life, no letter, nothing, fully committed.
• 45:24
  There was nothing that was going to stop me. When the angel came down,
• 45:28
  the second I started riding my bike across the country, I felt better.
• 45:35
  And people, it blows people's mind. But the thing is that challenge builds character.
• 45:40
  And in life, we always need a purpose.
• 45:44
  And part of my struggle, yeah, I had purpose.
• 45:49
  So when I set off to ride across the country, I had three goals.
• 45:52
  And on all my bike rides since then, I try to have three goals in mind.
• 45:58
  And one of those goals was to overcome my panic disorder. So to find calmness
• 46:06
  and stillness in my mind and retrain my brain and heal.
• 46:12
  And then the second one was to raise money for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.
• 46:16
  And then the third one was to raise awareness about mental health.
• 46:23
  And if you read the book, I accomplished my three goals.
• 46:27
  Well done. Well done. And the work you're doing is amazing and your book and
• 46:33
  your channels, I'm sure, are touching and helping a lot of people.
• 46:39
  I want to touch on something that I don't remember if I read or how I came across,
• 46:45
  but it was a very touching moment for me.
• 46:47
  And I really, really love this story. I don't know if that's what you're going
• 46:49
  to share, but I wanted to ask you, what is one of the most powerful or surprising
• 46:55
  encounters you've ever had while bike touring across the country? It's easy.
• 47:01
  It was the most humbling moment of my life. One of them.
• 47:08
  I've had up to that point.
• 47:10
  So I was on the news in Phoenix on Fox.
• 47:17
  And I was riding through an Apache reservation.
• 47:24
  And I guess they all watched the news. And I stopped at this place called the Apache Burger.
• 47:30
  And it's so hot. We're in Arizona.
• 47:33
  And I'm sitting in the shade. And I go inside. And I got Rocky with me.
• 47:38
  And there's this huge football-looking guy, Apache, in front of me.
• 47:44
  And he turns around and he goes, is that Rocky?
• 47:47
  And he goes, I think I saw you guys on the news last night.
• 47:53
  And I was like, oh, don't, I didn't want to make a scene.
• 47:56
  There's, you know, 50 people in the restaurant and he kind of turned around to everyone.
• 48:01
  You know, a lot of them know each other and he goes, this is Kevin and Rocky.
• 48:05
  He's the firefighter riding his bike across the country.
• 48:09
  And I'm, you know, I don't get shy or nervous, but, you know,
• 48:12
  I was like, you know, I don't, I didn't want the attention.
• 48:15
  And I tried to be humble and he goes
• 48:19
  you know we're all ordering food and I
• 48:22
  I'm eating my food outside in the shade with Rocky and
• 48:25
  feeding him getting him water and he comes outside
• 48:28
  and he's with these young they're probably
• 48:31
  high school kids and he said
• 48:34
  we would like to sing you this ancient it was
• 48:37
  like a war song but it was also a song for
• 48:40
  Apaches when they went hunting and it's
• 48:43
  called coming home and he
• 48:47
  calls the kids off this bus they
• 48:51
  just happen to be on this up like an
• 48:54
  hour or so away they were on a at a parade where
• 48:57
  they had on you know their garments and
• 49:00
  feathers and stuff i mean that out of all respect
• 49:03
  and war paint and so they
• 49:06
  had all that off and they were just in their jeans and
• 49:09
  t-shirts and he said we want to
• 49:12
  sing you this song to wish you
• 49:15
  safe travels on your journey and the kids
• 49:18
  get off the bus and one's got a drum and they sing me this like 10-12 minute
• 49:23
  ancient apache song and i was just like in tears because they're singing me
• 49:32
  a song that was probably sung for thousands of years.
• 49:36
  And they're doing it for me and Rocky to wish us safe travels across the country.
• 49:41
  And I got this teenage boy. It was one of the most touching moments of my life.
• 49:47
  And then the next morning, well, that night I had one of the most amazing sunsets.
• 49:54
  I camped on the Apache lands.
• 49:57
  I had to jump over this barbed wire fence. So I had to take the trailer apart and veneers.
• 50:03
  And I camped out there.
• 50:05
  And whenever I camp on really anywhere, there's a lot of sacred native lands.
• 50:11
  I mean, all of America's native lands. I always say I respect these lands.
• 50:16
  Thanks for having me here. I appreciate you.
• 50:19
  I have a deep appreciation for all the natives in America.
• 50:23
  One of my best friends is a Navajo down in Chinle, Arizona. And the Apaches
• 50:28
  treated me with so much love.
• 50:32
  And there was people that told me, oh, you got to be careful on the Apache lands.
• 50:36
  But that goes back to what I was saying earlier, like this energy that you put
• 50:40
  out is the energy you receive.
• 50:42
  And so like they gave me this blessing right when I got there.
• 50:47
  And I camped there, see one of the most magical sunsets, just like this dripping
• 50:52
  red, these like oranges and purples.
• 50:55
  And it was like, I felt like I was like at home on their lands,
• 50:59
  you know, like they saw the respect in me and I respected them.
• 51:06
  And the next morning I pull up to this little spot to get water.
• 51:12
  And this Apache pulls up with his wife and he comes over and he's got this cowboy
• 51:19
  hat on and he has what they call sinew.
• 51:22
  It's like a thread that they make.
• 51:24
  And I guess when they're younger and they become an adult, their grandfather,
• 51:29
  their father gives them an arrowhead and they tie it to this cowboy hat and
• 51:35
  he pulls out this huge butcher knife off his hip.
• 51:39
  And he was like, I heard about you. The whole word got through the whole Apache nation.
• 51:46
  And he takes off his cowboy hat and he cuts it off and he gives me this arrowhead.
• 51:53
  And I wish I had my wallet with me. I carry it in my wallet to this day.
• 51:58
  And he says, this is for safe travels.
• 52:02
  And it was just amazing, like what the Apaches were just giving me so much love.
• 52:08
  And it was all these people along
• 52:12
  the way that helped me heal that
• 52:14
  were helping me like come back to life
• 52:18
  i was having these miracles that were so
• 52:20
  serendipitous that like like what were
• 52:24
  the chances if i was 20 minutes later or 20 minutes earlier i would have never
• 52:30
  met these guys you know and these kids that sung this ancient you know tribal
• 52:35
  song and same with at the gas station if I was just a mile behind or a mile ahead.
• 52:42
  And so all these magical miracles were happening around me. And it was just like every day.
• 52:50
  Yeah. You're getting like messages all the time to keep going and showing how life can be.
• 52:57
  And I had goosebumps when I first heard this story and I had goosebumps now.
• 53:02
  It's so beautiful. And it's especially that, you know, knowing the history,
• 53:07
  you know, American history of, you know, the Native Americans and the white people.
• 53:12
  And it's just so special that they welcomed you. They sang you this song and...
• 53:18
  Him giving you, this was passed from his father to him and then just cutting
• 53:24
  it off and giving it to you for your protection.
• 53:26
  It's incredible.
• 53:28
  Yeah, it was amazing. And it's wild.
• 53:32
  I had so many people of every race help me.
• 53:38
  Everyone. I went through one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Baton Rouge,
• 53:44
  Louisiana, like through the, you know what they call the ghetto or the hood.
• 53:48
  Yeah. And these these African-Americans were so stoked to see this guy with,
• 53:55
  you know, I got big curly hair and I stopped at this liquor store to get a Gatorade.
• 54:00
  And they're like, are you you're
• 54:02
  riding your bike? You rode your bike all the way from San Francisco.
• 54:06
  And most people would think, oh, I was the only white person for, you know, maybe miles.
• 54:12
  And it's the same with that energy And there's two people On my whole bike ride
• 54:19
  That told me I was going to get hit by a car and die And you'll never guess
• 54:23
  those two people A police officer and a priest,
• 54:28
  Oh my god The ones that are supposed to protect you Out of all the people And
• 54:34
  I'm not hating on a priest or a police officer I love my first responders And
• 54:38
  I believe in God But I just think it's so ironic that out of everyone,
• 54:42
  those were the only two people.
• 54:44
  Another one of my favorite stories of someone that helped me,
• 54:48
  and I'll have to talk about my father.
• 54:51
  And this is touching because it's these little moments. And people.
• 54:57
  Like, it's always the little things in life.
• 55:00
  We always want these big things. It's the little things that make up the big
• 55:04
  things. And it's these little special moments in life.
• 55:07
  And I've always tried to live with a grateful heart.
• 55:11
  And I'm down, gosh, in New Mexico.
• 55:15
  And I went to this famous place to get food. And they let me,
• 55:18
  I had a flyer that I carried around to donate to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.
• 55:24
  Oh, gosh, I wish it was called Frosty's. What was it? Anyway, it's not important.
• 55:28
  It's this famous little restaurant in the middle of nowhere.
• 55:31
  It's out by these chili fields. And I hung my flyer up.
• 55:35
  And I take this, the route takes you on this back road. And then there's the interstate.
• 55:42
  And I'm on this back road. And I probably rode, I don't know, 15 miles.
• 55:48
  And maybe 20. And I'm on this back road way off the interstate.
• 55:53
  And this green like tinted out
• 55:56
  jeep is driving real slow behind
• 55:59
  me and i'm riding on the opposite side of the road because it was a quiet road
• 56:04
  so i didn't have to think about cars coming behind me and i could see you could
• 56:09
  see forever the road was so flat so i'm on the opposite side of traffic and
• 56:13
  i'm kind of freaked out i'm like why are they going five miles an hour because i'm towing rocky,
• 56:18
  and all of a sudden they pull over a little
• 56:22
  like 20 feet ahead of me and I'm going so slow and
• 56:25
  a lady opens the back door and she has a car seat
• 56:29
  right there and she comes over and she says sir sir sir we read your your flyer
• 56:36
  and it was a Mexican-American she might have been from Mexico we didn't talk
• 56:41
  too much and she said we read your flyer and she put her hand on me and she
• 56:45
  said I just wanted to let you know that we'll be praying for you.
• 56:49
  We really, really like what you're doing.
• 56:51
  And she gave me $5 and she gave me a hug and said, we'll be praying for you.
• 56:56
  And they drove like, it was like 45 minutes out of their way just to give me
• 57:02
  $5, give me a hug and say they're praying for me.
• 57:05
  Wow. And it's little moments like that. Yeah.
• 57:09
  That like change your life like i'll never forget that lady yeah simple gesture of kindness.
• 57:17
  Incredible. And I had these little moments happen, and they moved my heart,
• 57:25
  and they made me a more generous person. They made me a more grateful person.
• 57:29
  They made me a better person because I saw the effect it had on me,
• 57:34
  and it made me want to be a better person and also live with more integrity
• 57:39
  where it's like do things when no one's watching because that's what life is.
• 57:47
  Your character is pretty much defined by what you do, how you act,
• 57:54
  how you respond to things.
• 57:55
  And when you do nice things for people, you don't, like, I shouldn't even say this on the podcast.
• 58:02
  Like, I help homeless people a lot.
• 58:04
  I never post it on social media.
• 58:07
  Yeah. Yeah. I agree with that. Charity, that doesn't need to be public.
• 58:14
  You know, you don't need to advertise.
• 58:16
  I mean, in a way, just to show what others can do, yes, but not for self-promotion.
• 58:24
  When, you know, fundraising stuff, I have to. You have to, obviously.
• 58:29
  That's different because you need help from others.
• 58:32
  Right. But yeah, like on the back of my book, this is one of my favorite quotes
• 58:39
  that I wrote. Can I share this?
• 58:41
  Yes, of course. I wrote, Remember that life and your character are not built
• 58:47
  upon how many times you are broken and beaten down.
• 58:51
  They will be defined by the strength and the power that you provide yourself
• 58:56
  to stand back up and. Beautiful.
• 59:03
  Beautiful, beautifully said. And what's next for you? Any upcoming rides,
• 59:08
  projects, or goals that you are excited about?
• 59:12
  Besides the girl.
• 59:15
  Yeah, well, maybe I should say it on podcast. I'm going to marry this girl.
• 59:19
  So when it happens, I call her Ocean Eye. She has the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen.
• 59:25
  And she's like one of those radiating.
• 59:29
  She's like a sunflower.
• 59:32
  And she's just beautiful inside and out. She just walks into a room and everyone's
• 59:37
  so happy. She's so kind. And like her beauty is, it's amazing.
• 59:42
  She's beautiful, but it's her heart and that she's just awesome.
• 59:47
  So if it happens one day, we can look back and be like, Hey, I married that woman.
• 59:53
  But this year has been wild. So I just did a ride in January from Astoria,
• 1:00:01
  Oregon to San Francisco, California.
• 1:00:04
  And I did that in January. Do not do that in January.
• 1:00:07
  It was so cold and rainy
• 1:00:10
  but i was it's the off season of wildfire and i was like running running and
• 1:00:17
  i just i needed purpose i needed something and so i just got on my bike got
• 1:00:22
  a dog sitter and decided to ride my bike down the coast and raise money for the foundation again.
• 1:00:28
  And we ended up raising a lot of money for the wildland firefight firefighter
• 1:00:34
  foundation and And it helped heal me through some personal things.
• 1:00:39
  But talk about one of the most wild things that has ever happened in my life.
• 1:00:46
  I mean, I could go on and on. The Apache story is one of my favorites.
• 1:00:50
  But on my first day from a story, I rode 65 miles to Rockaway Beach.
• 1:00:57
  And I get to the hotel. My brother sends me a text. He goes, hey, I got you a hotel.
• 1:01:02
  And I'm looking, it's on the beach. I'm looking at this beautiful, beautiful sunset.
• 1:01:08
  And my phone tells me I got this email from Melanie Gladix.
• 1:01:14
  And Melanie and Frank Gladix, their son, Patrick Gladix, was a career firefighter.
• 1:01:21
  And he fought fire for over 10 years. He was on hotshot crews.
• 1:01:25
  He was on helicopter crews.
• 1:01:27
  He was a type one helicopter manager.
• 1:01:30
  And he took his own life a few years ago.
• 1:01:33
  So they're big on mental health. And they had read my book and they signed up for my newsletter.
• 1:01:41
  So I sent an email out saying, hey, I'm going to ride 1,000 miles.
• 1:01:46
  My goal is to raise $5,000 for the foundation and talk about mental health.
• 1:01:52
  Before I even posted anything on social media, I get this email from them and
• 1:02:00
  an email from the fundraiser says, you've achieved your goal.
• 1:02:04
  We raised $5,000 in less than 24
• 1:02:07
  hours and i didn't even post on social media it only
• 1:02:10
  went out to my newsletter and they
• 1:02:14
  said we would like to meet with
• 1:02:18
  you and if you would carry some of patrick's ashes down the coast so he can
• 1:02:25
  go on an adventure with you and then drop his ashes off in the san francisco
• 1:02:31
  bay And I just started crying Yeah I'm almost crying now.
• 1:02:37
  I was like,
• 1:02:39
  It took me like an hour. I took a shower and I was crying and I called her.
• 1:02:45
  And we had this really emotional talk. And Frank Gladix drove down the next
• 1:02:50
  day from Astoria and gave me some of his ashes. And we had a heart-to-heart
• 1:02:54
  discussion just over a cup of coffee.
• 1:02:57
  And yeah, I carried Patrick's ashes roughly a thousand miles.
• 1:03:02
  And I had these moments where, you know, I'm not crazy, but I could like, I would talk to him.
• 1:03:09
  And of course, I'd be like, Patrick, look at this sunset. And I had the ashes,
• 1:03:13
  you know, sometimes around my neck.
• 1:03:16
  And it was just one of the most humbling and honoring things I've ever been asked to do.
• 1:03:22
  And they were the reason that we hit the fundraiser the first day.
• 1:03:26
  They pledged $3,500 into the Wild Lane Firefighter Foundation.
• 1:03:33
  And yeah sometimes I'd be going through
• 1:03:36
  like a really scary tunnel or a
• 1:03:39
  place where there was no shoulder and I knew I
• 1:03:41
  had this guardian angel because there'd be no cars like
• 1:03:45
  I'd be going through like a tunnel uphill which
• 1:03:48
  is so scary and there'd be no cars he
• 1:03:51
  was right there with me my guardian angel and then I would feel like this gust
• 1:03:56
  of wind when I'd be going up a big hill and i was like patrick's right here
• 1:04:01
  and it was just it was wild and so i'm sure it was super healing for his parents
• 1:04:08
  as well let me show you this thing.
• 1:04:11
  So I'm going to mail this off tomorrow. So I'm sending this to his parents.
• 1:04:17
  And so this is Wildland Firefighter Foundation flag that I carried when I rode
• 1:04:25
  3,500 miles across the country.
• 1:04:27
  I carried it when I rode Mexico to Canada in 2023.
• 1:04:32
  And then I carried it on the 1,000 miles. So I've had this flag for a long time.
• 1:04:37
  And then I carried this American flag when
• 1:04:40
  I rode the thousand miles with Patrick and then
• 1:04:43
  I put it in this frame and I wrote in loving memory
• 1:04:46
  in honor of Patrick Gladdox one day we will tie in again bike tour Astoria Oregon
• 1:04:52
  to San Francisco California for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation thank you
• 1:04:57
  for the angel's wings and riding with me your friend Kevin oh wow that's so so beautiful,
• 1:05:05
  What a wonderful gesture.
• 1:05:07
  I mean, this is going to be so, so, so special for his parents.
• 1:05:10
  I'm sure they're also going through so much.
• 1:05:12
  It's never easy to lose somebody that can't even imagine lose somebody that
• 1:05:16
  took his own life. Beautiful.
• 1:05:21
  It's really sad. He was a really adventurous person, skydiving.
• 1:05:28
  And what do they call it when you jump off cliffs?
• 1:05:31
  Yeah. Yeah, he was doing it. It's not free diving, but I know what you mean.
• 1:05:37
  Yeah, and he was just this adventurous, badass firefighter.
• 1:05:43
  And yeah, it was just an honor. And Melanie made me promise her that I would
• 1:05:49
  never, ever take my life.
• 1:05:51
  And I made that promise to her, and I'll always stick to that promise.
• 1:05:56
  And I've talked to her a few times after my ride. We stay in touch.
• 1:06:00
  Text messages here and there.
• 1:06:03
  But, yeah, it's wild. And on my last day of that bike tour, I met a man in a parking lot.
• 1:06:13
  I was getting some water at a little convenience store, and I just happened
• 1:06:18
  to pull my bike next to this guy, and he was crying.
• 1:06:22
  And I just walked up to his car, and I was like, are you okay?
• 1:06:26
  And he said, no, I want to kill myself.
• 1:06:30
  And I said I got a hotel it's about 30 miles
• 1:06:33
  from there I sat in his car it started raining I sat
• 1:06:37
  in his car for a little bit we talked and then I invited him to the hotel and
• 1:06:42
  we called Melanie Melanie Gladix talked to him for a little bit and then I said
• 1:06:47
  just sit here and I'll listen to you and he sat there for about two hours and
• 1:06:52
  and we talked and I told him about my story and my journey.
• 1:06:55
  I told him about Patrick and his ashes.
• 1:06:58
  And he was like, you saved my life. I'm not going to do it.
• 1:07:02
  And he said, last night, I held a gun to my head right where you met me.
• 1:07:08
  He said, I don't know who sent you to meet me, but someone sent you to this.
• 1:07:14
  I just happened to stop at this.
• 1:07:16
  There was 20 places I could have got water within like three miles of there.
• 1:07:22
  And I just happened to stop there. Wow.
• 1:07:26
  So, so, so touching. And this is just one of the few examples that you are helping
• 1:07:31
  others and I'm sure there's so many more that you don't even know about.
• 1:07:36
  Some people, you know, reading your book, knowing your story, really incredible.
• 1:07:43
  How do you think the cycling community can better support those dealing with
• 1:07:49
  trauma, grief, or mental health struggles and how can this community also support too?
• 1:07:55
  Well, I think it goes beyond cycling.
• 1:08:00
  I think one of the most important things,
• 1:08:03
  in life is discipline and consistency.
• 1:08:08
  But your physical health, I think why we get the cycling community,
• 1:08:14
  why we love it other than sharing these bike rides, like you said,
• 1:08:17
  with your friend, is that we have this challenge. We have this purpose.
• 1:08:23
  And we're getting out, we're sweating, and we're getting our endorphins going,
• 1:08:27
  and we're making ourselves stronger.
• 1:08:29
  And running, hiking cycling you know going to the gym this physical health is
• 1:08:37
  tied into our mental health so when we push ourself physically it helps us mentally
• 1:08:43
  how the cycling community can help me.
• 1:08:47
  I don't know i love cycling i'm never gonna stop riding a bike the funny thing
• 1:08:52
  is i i i love bike torn, but I just roll out of bed and go ride a thousand miles.
• 1:09:00
  When I rode a thousand miles in January, I hadn't rented a bike in 18 months.
• 1:09:04
  I don't know how you do it. We just got to stick together.
• 1:09:08
  The cycling community, all communities,
• 1:09:11
  we just got to remember we're all fighting the same struggles.
• 1:09:16
  We're all fighting the same battles and you can walk by a stranger.
• 1:09:20
  You never know what they're going through.
• 1:09:23
  So always be kind to people. Treat people with respect and dignity.
• 1:09:27
  Help homeless people. Give your mom a hug. Hug a stranger.
• 1:09:31
  And just remember, never give up. You're never alone.
• 1:09:35
  And challenge yourself. And always have a purpose.
• 1:09:39
  When you have a purpose and you're thriving for something, it helps you keep
• 1:09:43
  those demons at bay and keep them at rest.
• 1:09:45
  And when you're going through trauma, talk about it. Be open about it. Be vulnerable.
• 1:09:51
  And don't be afraid to ask for help.
• 1:09:54
  Well said. Well said. Wise words. And it boils down to just being a good human.
• 1:10:00
  And I think that's a lot of that missing.
• 1:10:03
  There's a lot of disconnection these days everywhere.
• 1:10:06
  I was going to ask you if you could leave listeners with one takeaway from your
• 1:10:11
  journey, what would it be?
• 1:10:14
  That's a big thing to ask. Well, I'd like to also, I got to thank my dad because
• 1:10:22
  my dad dropped everything he was doing in his life and came out and supported
• 1:10:27
  me across the whole state of Texas.
• 1:10:29
  And I owe so much to him because he helped me grow.
• 1:10:32
  And that made our father-son bond like we became best friends.
• 1:10:36
  So I owe so much to him and I love my mom, my dad, my brother if I could leave
• 1:10:42
  you with one thing I'd say,
• 1:10:45
  oh gosh live a life of integrity
• 1:10:49
  live a life of character live your life selflessly live your life selfishly
• 1:10:55
  do things for yourself do things for
• 1:10:59
  others be grateful be mindful have self-awareness and you're never alone,
• 1:11:07
  never give up and always strive to grow,
• 1:11:11
  to learn and to be a better person.
• 1:11:14
  And no matter what you go through in life, things always get better.
• 1:11:20
  That's true. Well, thank you so much for sharing, for being so honest, so transparent, so raw.
• 1:11:29
  I will share with everyone on the episode description,
• 1:11:33
  your book your channels and hopefully we can continue to grow the movement to
• 1:11:39
  help others that are struggling with mental health thank you kevin so much yeah
• 1:11:44
  i appreciate it thank you so much for having me on your podcast it was a it
• 1:11:47
  was a pleasure and an honor thank you,
• 1:11:50
  and that's all for today's episode i want to thank the listeners for tuning
• 1:11:54
  in your support means everything if you enjoyed this episode please consider
• 1:11:59
  following leaving a review and sharing it with your friends.
• 1:12:03
  Music.