Talk Gnarly To Me

*BUY A TGTM JERSEY HERE*When Your Ride Is Trash… But Maybe It’s Not Your BikeSome rides are epic. Some rides are humbling. And some rides have you sitting in the parking lot afterward wondering if you have ever actually known how to ride a bike. 😂In This Episode We Talk About:🚲 Failing doesn’t mean you’re getting worse.Because apparently mountain biking requires us to repeatedly throw ourselves at rocks before our brains decide to learn the lesson.🧠 Sometimes the bad ride starts before you even get to the trailhead.The stress you’re carrying off the bike doesn’t magically disappear just because you put on a helmet.👩‍👧‍👦 Motherhood, exhaustion, and real life absolutely affect how we ride.Turns out you can't always expect peak performance when you're running on coffee, three hours of sleep, and someone else's unfinished laundry.🎮 That weird feeling of being a passenger instead of the pilot.When you're riding but don't actually feel present—and why that's worth paying attention to.🫁 Getting out of your head and back into your body.Sometimes “just focus harder” is terrible advice. Breathing, moving, shaking it out, and even talking to yourself can help bring you back to the moment.👯‍♀️ Why riding with the right people can completely change your day.Sometimes you don't need motivation. You need your friend to show up and drag your ass onto a bike.🫶 Helping newer riders can actually help YOU.There’s something about watching someone else experience the joy of riding that reminds you why you started in the first place.🌵 The emotional-support trail vs. the “let’s go get humbled” trail.Sometimes you need an easy, familiar ride where your biggest challenge is remembering where you parked. Other times, you need to go find some spicy tech and remind yourself what you're capable of.🔄 Resetting is part of progressing.Recovery doesn't mean you're losing ground. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is step back, breathe, laugh about it, and try again another day.💥 Keep showing up.Because progress in mountain biking isn't always sending bigger features or riding faster. Sometimes it's simply learning how to have a bad day, recover from it, and get back on the bike.Just a quick note: the views shared in this episode are our own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of our sponsors.Instagram:TGTMStephJuliaSound Design:Loui StrumOur website:tgtmpod.comOur email:[email protected]

Would You Rather: Mountain Biking EditionJulia and Steph keep things light in this playful mountain biking conversation, trading trail updates, crash recovery context, and a long run of ridiculous "would you rather" scenarios. It is a casual, funny episode built more for laughs than instruction, with both hosts clearly leaning into the absurdity.In this episode, Julia and Steph also recap recent rides around PMP, Flagstaff, Meteoride, Brookbank, and Full Sail, including a trail closure and helicopter rescue on the trail. They then spend most of the episode debating mountain bike-specific hypotheticals, from braking problems and wet gear to exposure, bike setups, and awkward trailhead situations.Key topicsJulia and Steph recap their recent rides, including a beginner ride at PMP and a Flagstaff day that ended up on Meteoride and Brookbank instead of Full Sail.They discuss the trail closure and helicopter rescue on Full Sail, including how unpredictable search and rescue costs can be.Steph shares that Meteoride felt exposed but went well, while Julia says she was still mentally affected by her earlier crash.They talk about gatekeeper features and how one hard move can shape the rest of a rider's confidence on a trail.The episode shifts into a mountain biking "would you rather" game with increasingly ridiculous scenarios.They compare awful choices like being cold and wet for hours versus climbing forever, or riding downhill with only a front brake versus climbing with only the hardest gear.They debate whether they'd rather shuttle friends for six months with no riding or only climb for a month.They weigh exposure-heavy options like White Line in Sedona versus a Whistler trip with a free dream bike.They get into absurd equipment problems, including farting suspension, a bell that plays John Cena’s theme, wet socks versus wet gloves, and a mystery headset rattle.The episode ends with more style-based hypotheticals, like riding in roadie spandex, thong bikini bottoms, or with ridiculous eyelashes and fake nails.Just a quick note: the views shared in this episode are our own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of our sponsors.Instagram:TGTMStephJuliaSound Design:Loui StrumOur website:tgtmpod.comOur email:[email protected]

Fear, intuition, and how to tell the difference on the trailSteph and Julia break down how fear shows up in mountain biking, why it changes as your skills grow, and how intuition can feel a lot like fear in the moment. They get specific about the kinds of features that trigger each feeling, from exposure and steep slabs to drops, OTB risk, and night riding. This episode is especially useful for newer riders who assume advanced riders are fearless. Steph and Julia show that fear is normal, useful, and something you can learn to read instead of ignore.In this episode we chat about: How fear in mountain biking evolves rather than disappears, even for experienced riders.Why OTB risk is one of Julia’s biggest fears, especially on steep, slabby, awkward entries.How exposure affects Steph and why trails with serious consequences feel different.The difference between fearing a feature and fearing a situation that feels out of your control.Steph’s scary drop and how fear changes as your skills improve.Why certain steep trails can feel scarier than bigger, more obvious features.How to distinguish fear, intuition, and impulse in the moment.Personal cues that help riders decide whether to push through or back off.How self-talk, visualization, and reframing fear as excitement can reduce panic.Why fear is a normal part of mountain biking—and how to use it for better risk assessment.Just a quick note: the views shared in this episode are our own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of our sponsors.Instagram:TGTMStephJuliaSound Design:Loui StrumOur website:tgtmpod.comOur email:[email protected]

Motivation, mountain biking, and staying consistentSteph and Julia sit down with archaeologist and postdoc researcher Jayde Hirniak for their first interview episode, and the conversation turns into a real talk on motivation, confidence, and what keeps riders showing up. Jayde shares how mountain biking became the outlet that carried her through graduate school, and how the same mindset that helped her earn a PhD also shows up on the trail.In this episode, we hear from Steph, Julia, and Jayde as they swap origin stories, compare ride notes, and unpack how community, structure, and a little bit of ambition can keep you moving even when you are not feeling it.Key topicsJayde shares how she went from a casual bike rider to mountain biker, starting with a Walmart bike, then a $400 hardtail, and eventually falling in love with the sport.In this episode, Jayde explains that mountain biking became her sanity outlet during her PhD, especially through the fatigue and transition of finishing graduate school and starting postdoc life.We discuss how motivation is not constant, and how low periods are often where growth happens if you keep showing up in some form.Jayde breaks down her personal motivation system into three tiers: dreaming, remembering your why, and setting different scales of goals.Steph and Jayde talk about how tiny wins matter, from just getting on the bike to walking the dogs, doing dishes, or crossing one task off a list.Julia shares that fun is her biggest motivator, especially because biking gives her a physical challenge and a mental reset away from everyday adult responsibilities.The group talks about accountability, especially riding with friends, making plans, and being willing to invite people even when the answer is probably no.Jade explains how her biggest mountain biking accomplishment was conquering the Snotch on  the Whole Enchilada in Moab UT, including the psychological side of committing to a feature that looks far harder than it is.We discuss the value of mentors and role models, from academic guidance to mountain biking inspiration, and how seeing someone skilled and down to earth can change what feels possible.The conversation closes on the idea that ego can block progress, while community, structure, and a playful mindset can keep riding fun and sustainable.Just a quick note: the views shared in this episode are our own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of our sponsors.Instagram:TGTMStephJuliaSound Design:Loui StrumOur website:tgtmpod.comOur email:[email protected]

Talk Gnarly to Me: What’s in our mountain biking bagsSteph and Julia do a full bag dump of their mountain biking gear, comparing what actually lives in their ride bags, what’s purely emergency backup, and what they keep carrying even though they barely use it. The conversation turns into a practical, funny inventory of trail essentials, desert-specific gear, and the real-world mistakes that shape what goes in a pack. It’s part gear check, part trail-safety chat, and part coaching talk, with a surprise fan-mail unboxing at the end. If you ride in hot, dusty conditions or just want to know what experienced riders actually carry, there’s a lot to steal from this one.Key topicsSteph breaks down her three-bag system: a car duffel, a hip pack, and a coaching bag, each with a different jobJulia compares her simpler setup and explains why she keeps a hand pump, spoons, and cactus tools instead of trusting her tire gadgetBoth hosts talk through hydration habits, including extra water bottles, bladder cleaning, and why water bottles often beat bladdersThey cover desert ride essentials like sunblock, lip balm, eye drops, cooling towels, and backup layers for Arizona’s surprise cold morningsEmergency gear gets a lot of attention: first aid kits, hemostats, gauze, saline, bandages, gloves, and nosebleed suppliesThe hosts share real stories of flats, failed CO2 cartridges, a tire explosion scare, and why hand pumps are a must-have backupSteph explains her coaching kit, including cones, two-by-fours, and how she uses them to build rider confidence on obstaclesThere’s a long detour into trail-specific tools, like tire plugs, chain tools, multi-tools, and the mystery items neither host fully understandsThey talk about what to carry on group rides versus solo rides, especially when riding with newer or unknown ridersThe episode ends with fan mail from Erik Lantz, who sent them Arizona mountain biking guidebooks and sparked ideas for a future history-focused episodeLink to Fat Tire Tales and Trailshttps://www.amazon.com/dp/0966476905?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallbackJust a quick note: the views shared in this episode are our own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of our sponsors.Instagram:TGTMStephJuliaSound Design:Loui StrumOur website:tgtmpod.comOur email:[email protected]