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- [00:00]
Rob
Foreign
- [00:04]
Matt
people get wrong is they don't recognize that the hard part about commitment is not making it. The hard part about commitment is not making it. Like, not making the commitment. Living your entire life in this limbo, in this mental torture space of like, am I going to do the thing or am I not going to do the thing? Once we make a commitment, once we put the flag in the ground, it's actually pretty easy to determine what actions we need to take in order to achieve the thing we set out to or the thing we desire to. But it's the inability to take action or the inability to make commitment that I think is ultimately what most of us torture oursel with constantly. Should I make the call? Should I have the hard conversation? Should I quit the job? Should I start the business? Should I ask the girl out? Should I? Should I? Should I? Until we make that actual commitment, we are literally spending every waking minute I have found in my personal life mentally torturing ourselves and trying to decide what will happen. Should I? Shouldn't I? When we actually make the decision, when we actually make the commitment, if nothing else, even if it goes horribly wrong, at least we got clarity as to what that commitment or what that decision did for us in our life. And what I believe nobody is really truly telling you or telling me is what commitment really costs. And what I've recognized from this bike ride is, and this commitment to the ride is what commitment truly costs. For me in my life, the first thing is the nose. By saying yes to something, you're ultimately saying no to a lot of other things in your life. For me, the ride. By saying yes to this, I have said no to a lot of things. A lot of experiences, a lot of travel, a lot of late nights, fun evenings with friends, haven't drank alcohol. Through this training protocol, I've said no to sleeping in because I have to get up and get the training in. I've said no to weightlifting sessions because I had to put in time on the bike. When we make a commitment and we say yes to one thing, we are ultimately saying no to a lot of other things in our life. And that cost is real, whether we recognize it or not in the moment. That is a real thing to take into consideration. Now, when I look back on the ride and my commitment on the ride, I publicly announced it in November of 2025, and I'll never forget somebody called me immediately after that announcement. Now, granted, at this moment in time, I hadn't even ridden my bike. It was still hanging on the wall, the tires were flat and I hadn't even really done the thing. But this man called me somebody I would say is a mentor of mine, somebody I look up to, somebody that, you know, I know very well. And he said, hey, can I share with you my perspective now? Being a person that likes to think I'm genuinely curious all the time. I said, of course, like, why do you have, like, share your perspective? He said, you know, I've been thinking a lot about the ride. And then he corrected himself and said, no, my wife and I have been thinking and talking a lot about the ride and we don't think you should do it. This is a bad idea. And you have no idea as to how much you're going to have to sacrifice in order to achieve this. The businesses, the family time, the, the friend time, the amount of work, the amount of workouts, what it's going to do to your body. You should not do this. This is a terrible idea. Like, you should come up with a different idea. Now, I am the kind of person that may be labeled as a smart ass or a little bit witty. So I said, like, man, I really appreciate that feedback. Can you tell me how you did it when you rode your bike across the country? And of course, he had never done it. Now, that doesn't mean his opinion wasn't valid. That doesn't mean his perspective wasn't something I could still learn from. It was just a sign to say, you haven't done this either. And so do I really want to take criticism from you on this now? The magic we are seeking lies on the other side of the work we're unwilling to do. And the work we're unwilling to do oftentimes shows its face in the I want to quit moment. I don't want to do this anymore moment. I've had so many of those moments on this bike ride journey. I've had so many of those thoughts. And every single time the next day, I came back stronger. I came back better. I came back with more purpose, more on mission, with a more powerful why. If I look back on this week, Tuesday, dark day, low day, bad day. And I was given the gift of having a six hour training block on Wednesday right on the backside of a bad day. What better opportunity to show up with my actions towards the commitment I had made than to have one of my biggest training days on the backside of one of my worst days. And I showed up with a new attitude. Attitude. I showed up better prepared. I showed up more motivated. And how I did it is very simple. In the evening on Tuesday I got myself in a better prepared state to tackle Wednesday. I did a better job meal prepping, I did a better job setting out snacks. I pre picked out the clothes I was going to wear on the trainer. I pre packed my backpack. I made sure that the, the act of leaving the house and getting in motion towards that training block was super effortless. I made sure I had enough fuel, I made sure I had enough water, I made sure everything was easy. So I removed some of the excuses from becoming a possibility on Wednesday by doing it on Tuesday night when I was yeah, maybe tired but I was like fresh and I could think. It's really hard sometimes in the morning to get yourself going. It's still dark outside. Maybe the alarm went off a little earlier than you would want it to go. And you find all of these ways to start to negotiate with yourself. But if you make a commitment the night before and say here's the clothes I'm going to wear, here's the food I'm going to eat, here's the intervals at which I'm going to eat this food, here's the things I'm going to drink, you've now made again another micro commitment inside of that bigger commitment to go do the thing. The next thing I did was on the way to the ranch, on the way to, to the training session, I listened back on the first YouTube video that we dropped and it's all about commitment, which is ironic but it was like why am I doing the ride? What is this all for? And it's a three minute 40 second video and really it talks about why. Like what is my why for this? It talks about the kids we've already been able to impact the stories we've already heard, how I want to show up for my family and my friends who's going to be there with me at my side riding at various points throughout this 2,000 mile journey. And ultimately what do I want my kids to see from this? What do I hope that they can take from this? I re instilled in myself the mission, the purpose, the why. And I just kept listening to that over and over and over again until I got to the ranch, until I got to my training block. And what I was doing was I was really trying to drown out the negativity and I was trying to flood my conscious and my subconscious being with all of this recollection as to why am I doing this. Like this is a mission bigger than myself, this is for a cause bigger than myself. This is for people who Deserve to be seen and loved and heard and given hope and joy in at least a brief moment with whatever we can do when our paths cross them. And I will tell you, Wednesday was probably my best training block yet. It was six hours on the bike, covered 103 miles, averaged almost 17 miles an hour, which is some of my fastest riding. And I felt good, I felt inspired, I felt powerful. I felt like I could have kept going all day. And I look back on that and it goes back to when we make a commitment. Do we have the ability to be disciplined enough in the good days and the bad days to put ourself in a position to win, especially on the bad days. Tuesday was a terrible day, but I was disciplined enough to put myself in a position to win on Wednesday, to set up my clothes, to pack the food, to pack the fuel, to prepare mentally on the way to the bike so that I could say I am going to win the day. Because I have put myself in this position to win. Learning to tell the difference of do I want to quit or is this the wrong decision for me, I think is another concept that we can sit with on those dark days or in those bad moments, like, do I want to quit because this is hard, which is why 97 some percent of the world probably quits the things they want to do, or do I want to quit because this is no longer the right commitment. When you are sitting in the bad days, when you're sitting in the bad moments, when you're sitting, ask yourself, do I want to quit because this is hard or do I want to quit because I know this isn't right? And if you know it in your true heart of hearts that that's not the right decision, then you're not really quitting. You're just making a new commitment. Now in that same moment, if you're sitting there going, I don't want to do this anymore, I want to quit, this is hard. I believe, then you're truly quitting. You're quitting on the commitment you made. You're quitting on that flag that you planted in the ground towards that thing you said you wanted to accomplish. And for me in my life, how I live, that is not acceptable. That's the easy way out. And I'm not willing to choose the easy way out. Go back to the 100 mile run. I did a hundred mile run without training. The longest I ran during the training was three miles and that was two months before the run. And the last time I ran before the run was two months before the run, mile 40, I quit. Now, I don't think I quit. I think I reprioritized my commitments. But most of the world said, you quit, you failed, you dropped out. Yes, by definition, I got dnf, did not finish. I got that status. Like, I've got that badge of honor I can carry with me for the rest of my life. But I had this conversation at mile 40 with a gentleman who was in the military and was getting ready to be deployed, and he could see I was struggling going up a hill. My Achilles was really bothering me, having ruptured it twice before. I'm very sensitive to it. I do not want to hear that gunshot in my leg ever again. And I was working my way up a hill sideways, and he came up alongside me with his walking poles, and he said, hey, man, are you okay? What's going on? I'm like, yeah, man, I'm all right. He's like, what's going on? I'm like, man, I got. My Achilles is really bugging me, and I've ruptured it before, and I'm just trying to be very sensitive. He's like, well, why are you out here? What's this all for? And I began telling him about the run and my desire to do something like this without even training for it. He's like, yeah, but what's the bigger why? I'm like, well, the bigger why is I'm preparing to ride my bike 2000 miles from Mexico to Canada. And he looked at me, and I'll never forget it. He said, what the fuck are you doing out here? And I was, like, taking it back at first. And then I proceeded to ask questions because that's a way to deflect the vulnerability that I would have had to show in that moment. And he ultimately went on to tell me a story about how a couple years prior to, he was running this exact same race on great pace in the middle of the night, stepped on a rock, wrong, snapped his ankle, and had to be carried off the trail. He's like, you don't know if that's going to happen or not going to happen. But if you're even feeling something off in your ankle, why would you jeopardize this bigger commitment that you've already made publicly? Essentially, what he was saying was, reprioritize. Don't quit. Just say, like, this run is no longer relevant or important to me given what I've also committed to. And so I'm going to recommit to the ride, and I'm going To drop out of this race and I'm going to go back to the hotel and I'm going to have some dinner. I think if we sit in those dark days and we surround ourselves with people that tell us what we need to hear, not necessarily what we want to hear, we can truly identify if we have a desire to quit or if we just really don't feel called to something anymore and we have a desire to recommit to something else. So where I want this to land with you is exactly where it landed with me after I reflected on it and after I journaled on it. Commitments are not free. Anybody who tries to tell you anything else is either selling you on something else, part of their vision, part of their dream, part of their product, or they're just blatantly lying to you because they've never truly made a commitment. Commitment comes with cost. Commitment costs you time, it costs you no's, it costs you low days, it costs you sleep, costs your identity. Commitment costs you things. Now, on the other side of it, commitment does buy you something else. And it buys you something else that I don't think you can get any other way. It buys you clarity about who you are. It's proof that you can carry something or accomplish something, or do something, or stay disciplined enough on task to actually pursue what you want to pursue, or whether or not you win the race, it doesn't matter. Did you finish the race? And the version of yourself on the other side of that hard work on the other side of those low days, I think is the magic we're all seeking in our life. We want to know who we truly are, what we're truly capable of. Can we do the things we want to do, or are we not made to be that person or are we not capable of becoming that person? When you make a commitment, you buy yourself, I think one of the greatest gifts you can ever buy yourself. And that is clarity around who you are as a person. And as you look at where you go from here. I mean, you've been an incredible coach, like an incredible advocate in my corner. I mean, I told Rob the other day, I'm like, the good news is, is most of my training I've done fasted. So once we actually start to fuel properly while we're doing the actual bike riding, I'm going to be dynamite. Like this week, I think you had me at a six hour day on Wednesday and I was like, man, I better like bring the right fuel. And I had the right fuel for five of the six hours. And I felt so good, like, much better. So you've been an incredible advocate, not just on the biking side, but on the nutrition side. You know, what's next for you? I know when we had first talked, you were thinking about maybe the Olympics, but you knew age might be a thing. Like they like to go after the 16, 17 year old kids. Like, what? What are you going to do from here?
- [13:57]
Coach Joey
Yeah, I mean, right now one of my big things is for me personally is like focusing on that, like, well rounded fitness. So, you know, I'll still get on the bike and I still train, you know, between 10 to 15 hours a week on the bike, but, you know, running, spending time in the gym, and then I really have a pretty big passion, I'd say, for helping others. And, you know, I get that through coaching. So whether it's nutrition, you know, or coaching their cycling or, you know, in your case, it's like, all right, how are we going to just in general prep for this endurance event? I really enjoy that. And so, you know, continuing to pursue that as, you know, a passion of mine, you know, it doesn't have to be, you know, I don't personally have to be competing at the highest level, but if I have an athlete that has a goal, you know, similar to yours, where it's like, all right, you're not just doing it to ride. Like, you have a what behind the why. And, you know, whether it's, you know, from a charitable, charitable side of things or I do have an athlete that wants to pursue the highest level. Like, both of those are super fulfilling to me personally.
- [14:56]
Matt
As you look at this bike ride we're about to do, starting on May 27, what do you think the biggest roadblock or obstacle will be for us?
- [15:06]
Coach Joey
You know, the first one that really comes to mind is just like the. That many hours, day after day in the saddle can really take a toll on the butt. You know, like, you can train a lot, you can put in a lot of miles each week, but it's hard to replicate, you know, seven, eight hours a day for 15 days. You know, I always tell people, it's like, you know, you have to season your butt. Like, you got to get it used to this. Um, so that's kind of like my first initial concern. Um, and then, you know, I reached out earlier this week to start collecting some of your, like, body composition information so we can really dial in, like, all right, how many grams of carbs do you need every single day during the ride as well as after the ride? And then you know, protein and fat as well. Because if we start to miss on that nutrition early on, it's gonna make the back half of that ride super miserable, just because you're always gonna be trying to play catch up. So it's like these smaller things. It's not even, like, riding the bike, like, physically. I know you're capable. I'm capable of riding the bike every day. It's just these smaller pieces that takes a whole team to make it so you can execute it well.
- [16:13]
Matt
Yeah, I think I totally downplayed the nutrition side of the marathons. I did. And the 29, 029 events I did. Even the 100 mile, I mean, you just. You can't take the nutrition side of it lightly. And. And I think people listening to this that are training for a marathon or training for the ultra, like, should really focus on the nutrition side almost as equally as they focus on the actual training for the event side of it. Because it is an like, a science. Like, I mean, it is. The people that are winning these races, the people that are doing these consistently are like, how many grams of carbs per hour, how many grams of sodium per hour? Like, they can tell you to the number what they're doing across the board. If somebody's listening to this, what's a good resource for them to start to think about this kind of stuff? I mean, obviously they can reach out to you.
- [16:58]
Logan
Yeah.
- [16:59]
Matt
But is there a podcast? Is there a website? Like, where do you take my stats that I gave you and then go calculate, you know, what we need to be eating?
- [17:07]
Coach Joey
Yeah. So, you know, I do. I'm a huge podcast guy. Like, I love to be able to kind of listen and learn while I'm multitasking or, like, training. And so there's a handful of different shows that I like to listen. Most of them are more, like, scientifically backed. So it kind of gets through some of the fluff that's out there. And then, you know, from continuing to learn for yourself, like, outside of podcasts, like, I think really trying to work with either a coach or a dietitian like myself is what it takes to kind of get that next level. Because the thing I tell about everyone I talk to about nutrition, it's like, all right, nutrition is difficult because everyone eats, so everyone has an opinion.
- [17:47]
Matt
Yeah.
- [17:47]
Coach Joey
So everyone's going to tell you what they think is right, and there's nothing wrong with that. But the other thing about it is that it is science, and it's never the same for every single person. There's A lot of like blanket calculations out there that we can use but you know I'm going to use a calculation for you that I'd use it myself. But some of the inputs in that are going to be completely different just based on you know, how much energy we're expending throughout the day and you know what our body composition goals are. Like are we looking to put on muscle or are we looking just to go fast? And so the other piece of that is like when you're, when you're training as much as you are and getting ready for this ride, like being able to track a little bit of your diet to know that you're getting enough is like kind of the, the next level. Because if we just estimate what we're trying to eat, like typically we're under eating when we're doing these 20 plus hour weeks and that can be you know, detrimental to your performance increases. So you know, tracking like the simple some like my fitness pal super entry level but just input in your foods, you can weigh them, tell you exactly what you got there. But yeah, I would say that take it to that next step is like really trying to seek out help. Whether it's just like a one time getting ready for your race or it's like all right, these are the things I've been dealing with. And it's like more of like a weekly or monthly call check ins to make sure we're staying on track.
- [19:02]
Matt
Yeah, because when you had me do the six hour this week after I was done, I mean to give people context, like I started riding at 3:30 in the morning, so I was done at 9:30, like most of the world's not even up. And I was like oh this feels great. So Holly had to go run some errands. And I was like hey, while you're out, can you grab me McDonald's? And I told my wife, I'm like oh my God, I did six hours, I'm eating McDonald's. Like cuz I was just starving and I love fries. So I was like oh those fries would be so good as soon as I ate that McDonald's. Now granted it was a small cheeseburger and fries, that's was like an immediate crash. Like I could have laid on the floor and taken a nap all day. So I remember looking at Holly from my team who's coming on the ride with us and I was like we cannot eat McDonald's during the day because I will not be able to continue pedaling. And so there's like different foods That I guess give you energy, but then there's others that will have a fast spike and then immediate crash on the backside. And it's just a game to play with, you know, which gives me which.
- [19:56]
Coach Joey
Right, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it's like the. It's like the glycemic index that you're referring to is, like, how it affects our blood glucose. And, like, part of your crash is more likely due to just lack of fueling. And your body's like, all right, I can take a nap now. I'm not dying. But, you know, on the wrap diet, you're right. Like, all these sports nutrition products are great and they work excellent, but trying to slam, you know, that much sugar, essentially, day after day starts to get exhausting. So we figure out what are some other carbohydrate rich options that are gonna foot the bill and make sure that you're still getting fuel. And I crewed and did some nutrition for an event called Race across the West a handful of years ago. And, like, we were on day two of this 900 mile ride, and people were like, I don't want any more, you know, gummies. Like, give me those cold roasted potatoes we have in the van. I'm just going to eat those. And, like, it also works. It's like a slower burning carb, but it's, you know, it really helps with cutting through that sweetness. You know, I don't know if you've ever had a. Gone into your kids a Halloween candy and like, oh, yeah, next day you're like, oh, my God, I feel terrible.
- [20:59]
Matt
Well, that's how. That's how I feel already on. On some of the stuff. I mean, the first training camp we did was back to back 105 mile days. Well, 105, 103. And by, like, midway through day one, they gave me, like, another pancake with Oreos and like, another Rice Krispy. And I'm like, dude, I need real food. Like, I can't eat this anymore. And you just start to, like, see what your palate will accept, but then also what your body responds to. And my body was just like, dude, as much as it sounds good to eat candy all day every day, like, my. I just can't do this. And so, literally, for what we're about to do now, training camp two, which is you and I are gonna ride 170 tomorrow and then 170 Tuesday, allegedly, hopefully. I literally did some of those roasted potatoes for us, because I remember you told me, like, boil the potatoes, douse them in salt, put Them in a bag and they're like a great snack cold. So I was like, my wife's like, what are you doing? I'm like, Coach Joey said potatoes. Like, that's what we got to do. And that's like the craziest part is the recovery side of these things. Like whether it's just a marathon or whether it's these big ultras, like, the recovery side is real.
- [22:00]
Logan
Yeah.
- [22:01]
Matt
For you, like, what's your go to on the recovery side? Is it ice baths, saunas, none of that stuff, and just chill and watch movies? Like, what do you do?
- [22:09]
Coach Joey
Yeah, I mean, you're gonna hear me say it and I've already talked about it. But, like, I lean into the nutrition still. Like, I'm a big proponent of recovery shakes. So whether you're using like a whey protein or using something that's like pre mixed already, like scratch labs, is a great recovery mix. That's both carbs and protein. But essentially, like, always whip up a smoothie with anywhere between 20 to 40 grams of protein and then throw in fruit, maybe a little bit of peanut butter, stuff like that to help boost up the carb intake. And, you know, that's just gonna help replenish that lean, that glycogen we've lost from our muscles, help get the lean muscle mass and recovery part started. But, you know, foam rolling, I think I've probably told you this every time we've talked. It's like, make sure your foam rolling your calves, your quads and your hamstrings, because that's going to keep the knees happy, at least in the cycling world. And so that's the other big piece I like to use. And then when I have available, though, like an ice bath or like Norma Tech compression boots, like, those types of things are kind of icing on the cake.
- [23:07]
Matt
Yeah, but you're just keeping it simple like you really believe and you've been preaching to me the whole time. If we dial in the nutrition, the body will do what it needs to do to recover and to perform when we're in the. In the moment.
- [23:19]
Coach Joey
Oh, yeah, Yeah. I mean, you think about, you know, kind of look back, like our ancestors, like the Tarahumara tribes, like, you know, they don't have anything fancy that allows them to, like, exercise day after day the way that they do. Or like, you know, think about, like hiking through the woods or rucking, like anything like that. Like, all you have is nutrition and then your body staying healthy. And so, I mean, there's something to be said there but now we have all this great technology at our fingertips that allow us, you know, massage guns, ice baths, you know, the contrast therapy, like, it's all great, but yeah, keep it simple.
- [23:54]
Matt
Yeah, it's like you said, it's the icing on the cake, but at the end of the day, you're, you're like really driving home. It's the basics. It's like, for this, for me, it's really been time in the saddle, smooth pedal strokes. We've been working on RPMs a little bit and nutrition. And I think I've gotten two of the four dialed in pretty good. The nutrition is lagging behind slightly. The RPMs is hit or miss, man. Like, some days I am on right on target with where you want me, and other days I'm just like, that thing keeps flashing. Spin faster, spin faster. I'm just like, minimize screen. I'm just gonna ignore this because you, you even told me you're like, you know, you're, you've been doing a good pace and everything's good, but like, if we can get you spinning faster, you're gonna have to put forward less energy and like, long. It'll help you in the long run. But it feels so weird to go that far fast.
- [24:44]
Coach Joey
Yeah, especially it's like a new cyclist,
- [24:47]
Matt
something to get used to.
- [24:48]
Logan
Yeah.
- [24:49]
Matt
For people that are listening to this going like, man, I've been a runner forever. My knees hurt, my ankles hurt. You know, as, as a cycling sort of enthusiast that you are, what would you tell them to do to like, get started in the sport? Because I did it all wrong. Like, I bought a bike on Craigslist, never got fitted for the seat, never got fitted for the bike until we finally bought the new bike. What would you tell somebody to do if they wanted to get into this sport?
- [25:13]
Coach Joey
Yeah, I mean, the biggest thing is like, figuring out, like, where your, your interests lie. Nine times out of ten, I find that most people that are transitioning from running or just looking to get into the sport, like, they aren't exactly sure what type of terrain they want to ride, which can determine the type of bike you need. So it's like nine times out of ten, it's like, all right, let's get you a gravel bike because it's very versatile. You can go on gravel roads, you can go on pavement, you can go on single track if you work on your handling skills. But then getting the right size bike, getting the right, you know, handlebar with stem length saddles like that takes a little bit of dialing in so like, you know, going to your local bike shop is really going to be the easiest way to make sure you know, you're getting the best setup for you. And you know, they, they might try to sell you a bike. Sure. But they're also going to tell you everything you need size wise. And you might be able to go do some around research, find a good deal on like Facebook, Craigslist, if you're not ready to dive in fully to buy that, you know, two, $3,000 bike. Like it's, you know, a slight barrier to entry for sure. But I mean it's. Once you get on a bike and you start to get used to the butt pain that is initial, I don't
- [26:18]
Matt
think you get used to it, man. I don't think there is a such
- [26:21]
Coach Joey
a thing as getting used to that over time. You know, it's a great way to. Like I said, you can see so much more coming from the running world and less knee pain for sure.
- [26:32]
Jeff
I also didn't realize it until I think you were in, we were in Breckenridge and you were talking about the, the list of people and the things that they've said to you of like, you know, it's, you're, you're not going to be able to do that. 100, even 100 miles a day is really hard. You picked a terrible, like just showing all of those people, like it's not you're capable of doing it, but like it's also when you have the right people with you, you do the right training and you push yourself to do it. I think that to me is like, yeah, anybody can do anything. You just have to believe in yourself.
- [27:12]
Rob
Yeah. It's like, what are you willing to sacrifice for it? How bad do you really want it? I mean, there's this like YouTube clip I used to listen to all the time when I was younger. And I believe the guy speaking was Eric Thomas, that motivational speaker. And he said basically, like, if you
- [27:26]
Matt
want to achieve success, you got to
- [27:28]
Rob
want it badder than you want to breathe was the line he used. And I was like, man, like, I was thinking about that today when I was running. I'm like, I want this so bad to impact so many people. It doesn't matter if my legs hurt or my butt's killing me or I can't figure out how to shift. Like, who would have known that the left shifter could make it easier to
- [27:45]
Matt
go up a hill?
- [27:46]
Rob
Like, I went through a whole day not even knowing that. Like, no awareness around it. But I Was like, I want this so bad. Like, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. And. And I think the other thing you just touched on, which is huge, is like, surrounding yourself with the right people. Like, when I saw you crewing mats run across Texas, I was like, that dude is a drill sergeant. Like, we need him in our corner. When I've seen, like, the footage you guys have shot, the stories you guys are able to tell, I'm like, man, we need those guys in our corner. But how the hell did you get involved in this? Like, you know, you kind of came out of the woodwork.
- [28:19]
Mats
Yeah, Rob has a funny way of getting me into these things. I. Similar to Rob, like, this is.
- [28:28]
Matt
I don't want to say it's a
- [28:29]
Mats
selfish endeavor, but I take a lot from these types of events, whether it be just like, the people I meet or becoming inspired from whatever big goal is being accomplished or attempted to be accomplished. So, yeah, when I was presented with the opportunity to get out here, I knew right away, like, there was no chance that I wasn't going to be a part of this.
- [28:51]
Rob
You're willing to give up the house projects?
- [28:53]
Mats
Oh, yeah.
- [28:54]
Rob
The remodeling projects.
- [28:55]
Unknown Mentor
Yeah.
- [28:55]
Mats
Yeah. This is a good break from laying flooring and painting cabinets.
- [28:59]
Jeff
You too. I mean, we're sitting in one of the guest bathrooms right now. Where is this?
- [29:04]
Matt
This would be the garage.
- [29:05]
Jeff
The garage. Okay.
- [29:06]
Rob
Yeah, this would be the garage, man. Crazy.
- [29:09]
Matt
But I mean, what's really cool is y' all are willing to put your
- [29:12]
Rob
life on pause for this opportunity, like to provide direct impact to people that, like, need it, that don't really get seen otherwise. I mean, when we were talking yesterday to Mr. Steve and he was sharing about how, you know, women get help, young girls get help, but like, these boys, they kind of just get forgotten about. And we saw that yesterday. I mean, one of the kids there was 17. He said he's been in the system for five years. When I was talking to that little 10 year old boy about riding his bike with me, his response was, I'm gonna have to ask my caseworker because I'm not allowed to leave the property. Like, could you imagine, at 10 years old having a concept of what a caseworker is and then also knowing you have to talk to them in order to see if you can do something you want to do? Like, it's just.
- [29:56]
Matt
It's gonna be really cool.
- [29:58]
Rob
But when you watch Logan and I fail at the 100 mile race, did you have any doubts about this? What was your thoughts I mean, we set out to do 100. We came zero prepared. Logan didn't bring water to the start line, so I gave him one of my 250 milliliter bottles that I got and then we quit. What did you think?
- [30:19]
Unknown Mentor
I know that they're two very different disciplines. And that's like if you ask somebody who's great at crypto to say, hey, I want you to go find a great real estate deal, purchase it and get it done within two weeks, it's like, it's very different niches and different powers that you have. So I just didn't know what was going to happen. The main thing that I saw on that, that I knew would be good, is that everyone showed up on time, everyone knew where to be. And it's just if you're able to hit those wickets of like, show up on time with the right gear at the right place, the mission will most
- [30:52]
Matt
likely be accomplished with the right gear.
- [30:54]
Logan
You said we're not disciplined. That's all I heard.
- [30:56]
Rob
That's all I heard too. We didn't have the right gear. We weren't disciplined.
- [31:00]
Unknown Mentor
You guys had gear. It might not have been the best gear, but it was not terr here. You had water bottles, 250 milliliters, two of them for two people. And then you had poles.
- [31:12]
Matt
Yeah, I like the poles.
- [31:13]
Rob
I was twirling the poles. I was having fun with the poles. I was like in a marching band. But did you have any doubts? Like, did you call Charlotte after that run and be like, I have no idea if they're going to be able to do.
- [31:23]
Unknown Mentor
No, I. I told her when we were first starting this, I was like, he wants to run 100 miles without training in the middle of the bike block. She's like, that's not a smart idea. I was like, no, it's a terrible idea. It's absolutely horrific idea. It's like, I would prefer he just
- [31:36]
Jeff
doesn't do it at all.
- [31:37]
Unknown Mentor
And then he or you wound up dropping a four. That's perfect.
- [31:41]
Rob
Yeah. Okay, so it sounds like we did the right thing. Yeah, yeah.
- [31:44]
Unknown Mentor
Like, realistically, we could have just biked 100 miles that day.
- [31:47]
Rob
Probably should have. Yeah. Honestly, yeah, it would have been better. I mean, 100 miles on a bike is a long way, but it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be with the right gear, with the right team, most importantly, the right fuel.
- [32:01]
Matt
What do you guys hope to learn
- [32:02]
Rob
about yourselves on this journey? Like, what do you think you're gonna discover about Yourself. I mean, you've done a lot of these, Rob. But, like, every time, I'm sure there's another gift or another lesson that comes from it.
- [32:11]
Unknown Mentor
I learned from the person most that I am crewing, and everyone who I've crewed has had a very different background, and yours is a very, very unique background. So as I'm able to help you, you won't notice it, but you'll also be a mentor figure to me and to everyone else in this crew. So to being able to learn from that and then also the giving experiences, being able to learn from everyone.
- [32:33]
Rob
They learned about fire ants today.
- [32:35]
Unknown Mentor
Yeah, I got obliterated.
- [32:37]
Rob
So it's a real thing in Texas, dude. Then they, like, welt up and then they pus.
- [32:41]
Logan
They did.
- [32:41]
Matt
They're nasty. Did they pus already?
- [32:43]
Rob
Yeah, they will.
- [32:43]
Matt
Pus.
- [32:44]
Unknown Mentor
That's great.
- [32:45]
Rob
What about you, Logan?
- [32:50]
Logan
I'd say I'm excited to learn about the actual communities because I'm one of the people that you talk about that I've been to all these states more than twice, only just driving through them, never stopped, never hung out, never met the actual people that live there.
- [33:04]
Rob
Yeah.
- [33:04]
Logan
So it'll be fun to do that.
- [33:05]
Rob
Fun to see people. Yeah.
- [33:07]
Jeff
Jeff, what was the question?
- [33:09]
Rob
What do you hope to learn about yourself?
- [33:15]
Jeff
It's a good question. I don't know. I think I really had to think about what to learn about myself is just, I think, just pushing past the point of, like, where my limit might be or wherever that, like, might look at kind of going back to, like, what I was saying before of, like, you know, being. I love being prepared for things. And then I know, like, if I'm not prepared, like, I'll mentally either have to deal with it or I, like, stress myself out. So I think that mental deal with it over this, like, actually the past couple weeks, I've been feeling that way for a variety other reasons that we, like going on. And I think it's just a learning curve that I'm, like, getting more and more used to, of just surviving the craziness of life, you know?
- [34:02]
Rob
Yeah.
- [34:03]
Jeff
It's like what you said the other day is like, you're just in a season of life and you have to kind of shed the other version of yourself and kind of move on to the next point of, like, what's going to push you through that? And, you know, this. Obviously this experience is going to be unique in its own way, in a variety of ways. So it's exciting to see the person that I'll become After it.
- [34:22]
Rob
Yeah, it's funny you say that, because yesterday there was a moment where all I was praying for was no more hills. And then I, like, was sitting there talking to myself. And I'm like, but who am I to expect a life without hills?
- [34:33]
Matt
Like, life is all about hills.
- [34:35]
Rob
It's all about ups and downs. And I was like, I don't want any more headwind. I'm like, yeah, but life is all about a headwind. Like, why not just embrace it and enjoy it and rather than complain about it, just, like, see what's on the other side of the hill. And I think what I hear you saying is just embracing the chaos that's gonna come from this, because it's gonna be nutty.
- [34:53]
Jeff
And you seem to have taken that mentality today and embrace it 100%. Cause you went off route and went your own way. That was the hilliest that I think I had seen in this area.
- [35:09]
Rob
Yeah, I was feeling a little embarrassed last night because I was dead. And I was on the couch and Rob, my daughter, was asking Rob, like,
- [35:16]
Matt
what are you doing? What are you doing?
- [35:17]
Rob
What are you doing? He's like, I'm planning the routes. I'm planning the routes. And he's like, let's just do the same 55 mile loop. I'm like, no, too many hills. And so he went above and beyond to try to get us the flattest route. I mean, this is called the Texas
- [35:29]
Matt
Hill country for a reason.
- [35:31]
Rob
And I was like, riding this morning, and I was like, we literally have the slogan that pain is a part of the plan. Like, who am I to ask Rob
- [35:41]
Matt
to go out of his way to
- [35:42]
Rob
find the flattest route? And then as I was riding, I was like, these guys are sitting in a van barking orders at me, challenging me, pushing me. I'm like, I'm gonna push them. I'm like, I'm just gonna go rogue.
- [35:53]
Matt
I'm not gonna tell them what I'm doing.
- [35:54]
Rob
I'm not gonna tell them where I'm going. Like, I'm just gonna go rogue. And so we came literally to Darden Hill. I know exactly where we were. And there's like a big bend, but then there's this, like, little sneaky fork off of it. And I'm like, the route's telling me to go left. I'm like, I'm not going left. I'm going right. And I knew exactly where I was going. Now the humbling thing was like, I was acting all cocky and confident when you guys pulled up next to me. I'm like, I'm going rogue. I got an idea. And then once you guys kind of pulled back and got behind me, I like looked up and it was just a giant hill. Like, I mean, a giant hill. I was like, take that, Matt. Nice little slice of humble pie. What are you most worried about?
- [36:34]
Unknown Mentor
You eating the right amount and you sleeping the right amount. If you eat and sleep the right amount, you could go do 150 miles a day with your fitness that you currently have.
- [36:43]
Rob
But what do you think the right
- [36:44]
Unknown Mentor
amount is when you're on the ride? Anywhere from 150 to 250 calories an hour, roughly about a half a liter to a liter of water. With the right sodium levels, sleep would be roughly five to six hours a night at a minimum, preferably seven to eight. And then also if you're able to have big meals in your. Mainly your dinner time, but also your lunch.
- [37:05]
Rob
Dinner and lunch. Yeah. What are you worried about? You don't really worry.
- [37:09]
Logan
I don't have much worries. But to play your game and answer your question, I would say from a documenting standpoint, it's gonna be fun to. It's gonna be the same thing every day. Like I realized that through the training camp is we're just riding behind you while you're just slowly riding at 20 miles per hour.
- [37:31]
Rob
Yeah.
- [37:31]
Logan
Same exact thing. So it's going to be fun to figure out how to make that different.
- [37:35]
Rob
Yeah.
- [37:36]
Logan
How each day can. Yeah.
- [37:39]
Rob
Because there's only so many sunrises, sunsets, bikes, shifts, hills.
- [37:44]
Logan
And then we had like a really good sun and then you made a right turn. So I just, that was a point of like, oh, now I gotta get different shots. Like, yeah,
- [37:54]
Rob
that's what happens. What are you worried about?
- [37:58]
Jeff
Similar to what Logan was saying, but also from the contribution standpoint. I mean when you, you had said that your friend was like, you know, that's like 75 grand a day. If we hit our million dollar goal. I just am worried that we're not gonna find the right people or the amount of people that we like are able to just because of the undertaking of, you know, being on the road that long. So I think obviously we can work within like getting other people to help. And I'm hoping whoever's watching this, if they're going to be a part of it or they want to volunteer or just join us for a day, like we just need support. I think when it comes to other people helping, going in the community, finding not necessarily like people that are deserving, you know, of it of the. But really just finding like stories and, you know, connecting with other people because it's hard for us to do that when we're so focused on the tasks that we're all here individually doing. I just want to make sure that we're, we're able to give as much as we can to as many people as we can that are, you know, need the, the opportunity to, you know, a few bucks to change their, their whole year, you know, maybe their life.
- [39:12]
Rob
Hopefully we worried about besides sodium intake levels and caloric restrictions or whatever. Rob's over here barking at me about safety.
- [39:22]
Matt
Safety? Yeah.
- [39:23]
Mats
We had a guy on the last transcontinental event that we crewed and he gave us a very good piece of advice and he said it is your job to get him to the end and you are not at the end until you are at the time is in Times Square. So just always being alert and making sure that we know, like, hey, getting you from point A to point B in one piece is the goal. Like you, we could get to day 12 and someone might not be paying attention on the road and something crazy could happen. It's just like being safe and being aware of what's going on around us on the road at all times is something that I'm a little concerned about, but not overly concerned about.
- [40:10]
Matt
Just aware of.
- [40:11]
Coach Joey
Yeah.
- [40:11]
Mats
Aware of.
- [40:15]
Unknown Mentor
Well, first of all, doing hard things puts you in the position where you're able to operate at that higher stress level and everyone operates differently. Just like if you're going over a deal, you have your parameters that you set for whatever investment before you get into it. But then once you're in it, things get a little bit convoluted and distorted. Being able to operate in that space more often and in higher pressure scenarios makes everything else in life a hell of a lot easier in regards to important decisions, family loss, relationships, breaking down pillars or levers in your life that you used to have as something to lean on. Sometimes when they go out, putting yourself forcibly into uncomfortable scenarios and discomfort helps you in the times when you can't decide to be in that scenario.
- [41:02]
Matt
But what have you, Rob, learned about you, Rob, in the shit you've put yourself through?
- [41:07]
Unknown Mentor
I'm really good at operating in a high stress scenario in just day to day life, whether it be the military or operating a team going from Mexico to Canada. I've also understood that my for investment risk threshold or stress tolerance is a lot higher than other people. And we've talked about my business before, it is very high levered the returns are great, but it's also. Other people couldn't stomach it.
- [41:37]
Matt
So it's almost like you're addicted to it, like you seek it.
- [41:41]
Unknown Mentor
I kind of do. Some people will say that it's like being. Some people will call me a masochist or kind of crazy, but I do seek that out. We were talking about in the past. I went on a gambling streak in Vegas for a month and a half. I didn't need to win the money, I didn't need to need the money in general. But that itch to do something very difficult or very stressful to put myself in that scenario is something that I do seek out from my prior life in the military, in the ultra space. I started doing that when I, just before I turned 21, I got off of a submarine and then five days later was my 21st birthday. So I signed up for a 50k the day after my 21st birthday. Mainly because in my past I was in these selection programs in the Navy where you'd work out all day, you'd get quote unquote beaten every day and your life would suck. And it was really hard. I grew a lot and I was like, now I'm on this team, life's easy, let me try manufacture that again where I'm able to grow. So I showed up to my first hundred fit, not 100 mile or 50k, trashed, drunk, having a good time as a newly 21 year old. It was a night run, so we started at 6pm I didn't finish until 1am I finished hungover, delusional, battered. And I made that more of a routine. And I did about six ultras without training before I started to really dive into it and see what I could really do.
- [43:10]
Matt
What did, what did you see in that first 50k that made you go for another one?
- [43:16]
Unknown Mentor
I think it's what I saw in selection is when you get put into a position where I used to call it putting someone in check. So if you're playing chess or if they're gonna checkmate you, is that in selection they're trying to put you in a position to quit and to see how far you can push yourself. And there'll be times where I'm sitting there, I'm like, if they do this or if they do this, like I gotta figure out how I'm mentally gonna figure it out because that would obliterate me. So being able to put yourself in a position of okay, I can't feel my legs. We're 22 miles in. I'm hungover. There's nine miles to go. Like, can I finish this? I told people, I do this, am I going to be the one to do this? Is there ramifications afterwards? Am I going to get injured? All these things are going through your head and you're able to operate and figure out how you perform under that stress.
- [44:02]
Matt
You know, it's just finding like the courage to start. I think is, is oftentimes where the good in life can come is just having the courage to start. And you've seen that with the run across America. You've seen that with two runs across Texas. You've seen that with setting the world record, which you're going to go back and beat in Antarctica. What do you think it takes from a person to actually have the courage to start?
- [44:26]
Unknown Mentor
I believe it takes consistency in that effort. So it doesn't have to be a massive start at first. It could be starting with making sure you make your bed in the morning or eat breakfast if you don't like to eat breakfast, but you want to, and all these small efforts and pursuits which will then make the idea for you personally to start on a bigger effort a lot less effortful, for lack of a better term. And then once you're that person who understands like three, two, one, go. You don't have to dwell on things. You get a good amount of facts, not overanalyzing it. Understand the opportunity and take it.
- [45:08]
Matt
So what I hear you saying is it's almost like your day zero mindset of like, these are the standards. We uphold the standards. And this is day zero. Talk to me a little bit about how you manage these run across Americas or these run across Texas's or this ride that we're about to do so that every day is day zero. Explain that to me. Day zero. Here's the standards.
- [45:28]
Unknown Mentor
So I, I learned this when I was in the military. And as things go well, the, the culture of the team will change to a one of we got this and that's when people die, or at least my old job. And that's when people screw things up and things go terribly wrong. So we would treat, at least I would treat every single day like it's day one, where everything is brand new, fresh, we have to learn everything or we have to operate at this perfect standard that you're trying to hit every single time before you understand that you're good at it. This eliminates complacency, which is where all the issues come from. So when it comes to getting people across the country, I Personally, don't go into the hotels or I won't go into anything that makes it enjoyable per se. Just because I know that when you have that. All right, now waking up at the 3:35 alarm or 3:40 alarm is a lot more difficult. Okay. Getting out of the hotel is actually a lot longer than getting out of the rv. X, Y and Z will wind up putting you into a position where you're now missing 15 minutes on three evolutions a day. You've wasted 45 minutes a day for 20 days and now you're a whole day behind where you would be something that's going wrong. Any movement is better 99% of the time than no movement.
- [46:49]
Matt
So you just had a plan. You just went back to your plan, went back to your standards and said, get on all my layers, stay warm, keep myself present, keep myself aware, and when the opportunity presents itself, I'll get out of the situation.
- [47:01]
Unknown Mentor
Yeah, exactly. I just had to wait like three and a half, four hours until sunlight.
- [47:05]
Matt
Just nothing.
- [47:05]
Unknown Mentor
It's pretty cool. There was a nice moon out, you know, could be worse. I could be like freezing in a different place. That's not the Italian Dolomites.
- [47:13]
Matt
Yeah.
- [47:13]
Unknown Mentor
Or that, that mindset of like it could always be worse. Definitely does come from when you do a lot of hard activities. As you're talking about, it's. It's easier than bull riding. It's easier than mile 80 of the 100 milers.
- [47:24]
Matt
When I came to run with Matt, when he was doing it the second time, I got to meet you and you were like a drill sergeant. I mean, Matt and I were just sitting there talking and Matt will tell stories all day and he's an incredible storyteller. And you're like, all right, dude, let's go, we gotta go. We gotta get to the start line. And you're like, okay, great, we gotta go. Nope, you got two more minutes on this snack break, then we gotta go. Like you were just dialed in. And I remember getting back in the car with my team, I was like, man, that was such a cool experience. Like this group of people are out here in the middle of nowhere, Texas, doing something for a cause greater than themselves and suffering on purpose. Like crewing is not this glamorous thing where you're staying in a Four Seasons. Like you're working 16, 18 hour days. Most often you're working longer than the athlete is because you have to prepare beforehand and then you have to clean up and prepare for the next day afterward. And the athlete is kind of resting like this is not a glamorous job by any stretch of the imagination. I was like, those guys are doing this for a cause bigger than themselves. It's like, what the hell could I do? And I remember the first thought I had was like, well, I'll just ride my bike across Texas. And I looked in the mirror. I was like, what a coward. That guy just ran across Texas twice. Who am I to get on a bike? Like, that's weak. And so I was like, well, what if I rode my bike from Mexico to Canada? And, like, I could feel a titan in my chest, and I could feel, like, a pit in my stomach because I'm not a cyclist. I don't really enjoy riding a bike. I've never really ridden a bike. I had a bike, but it hung on the wall because it was purchased off of Craigslist. And I wrote it once. I was like, if it scares me, I probably should do it. I mean, I. I say all the time, it's like the magic we're seeking in life lies on the other side of whatever we're unwilling to do. And so I was just like. I remember telling Holly on my team, I'm like, I'm gonna ride my bike from Mexico to Canada. She kind of did what you did. Maybe with Matt, at first you're like, okay, cool. Like, yeah, you're just saying this, like, whatever. And I remember reaching out to you, and I was like, hey, man, I've got an idea. Like, sure, let's jump on the phone. I'm like, I'm gonna ride my bike from Mexico to Canada to raise a million dollars for underserved families.
- [49:24]
Rob
You're like,
- [49:27]
Matt
okay, yeah. And I think there was a part of you that's like, he might be full of shit. And then I think there's probably. Is like, maybe this is legit good. Like, there's overlooked communities all across the United States, all across the world, but let's just focus on the United States. There's overlooked communities everywhere that all of us are guilty of saying. Like, I'll stop at the next town because it's a little nicer. I'm just going to keep driving till that next exit. But there's humans in those towns that deserve to be seen and loved and heard and might just need a handshake, might just need a high five, might just need a hot cup of coffee to give them that little glimmer of hope to keep going. And my hope is that this creates a movement for people to pause and say, like, hey, are you good? How are you doing? Oh, hey, let me buy that coffee for you and just try to make a difference in the world. I mean, the world's a big place. We're only here for a very short amount of time, so why not try like hell to make a difference, even if it's a little ripple that has the ability to create many more ripples,
- [50:26]
Rob
Sam.