'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' w/ McKenna Peterson & Jed Yeiser (Blister Book Club)

Xavier de le Rue is a 3-time World Freeride Champion, a 4-time boarder-cross World Champion, and he has pushed the boundaries of big mountain riding so far, it is basically impossible to overstate his significance and influence. (Or his total badassery.) He also happens to be one of the smartest and most reflective skiers or boarders out there.Among other things, Xavier and I talk about his philosophy of life and risk taking; why he thinks that riding faster = riding safer; the current state of the snowboarding industry; some of his former and current film projects; and what’s next for him.TOPICS & TIMES:Where are you currently? (1:59)Snowboarding, Surfing, and Why XV hates traditional Fitness Programs (2:54)XV on risk, death, “progression,” and his film White Noise (5:27)Do you look at the younger version of yourself and think, “The risks I was taking then were stupid”? (13:59)Why Xavier gets nervous before every line he rides (17:25)When things start getting intense, do you get serious, or do you try to keep things light? (25:47)Who were your heroes growing up? Who were you drawing inspiration from? (28:23)The importance of boarder cross for XV; why he is disappointed in the current state of it; and what he might do about it (32:56)Why XV thinks riding faster = riding safer in the mountains (36:44)What do you think of the current state of snowboarding? (39:54)What XV is currently reading, and why he doesn’t watch many snowboard movies (45:32)XV’s DIY Project, and why he has moved away from more traditional films to his current projects (49:09)Xavier’s board — how it was designed to be ridden, and whether his taste in boards has changed over the years (54:17)Which of your films is your favorite? Is there one that you think is most representative of your riding? (56:53) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Juli 20161h 2min

This week's podcast somehow ended up being about topics that begin with the letter 'B' — Noah and I talk about bikes; Brexit; Butte (Montana); Brady (Tom), the best bike movie, bands (Noah’s favorites) ... I could go on. And we even discuss one or two things that don’t start with the second letter of the alphabet, like the new SRAM Eagle 1x12 drivetrain; the current state of bike trails access and advocacy, and whether or not we can expect to see bike trails in wilderness areas, etc.TOPICS & TIMES:How Noah spent the 4th of July (2:50)Why Noah hates Butte, Montana (3:05)Noah enlightens us about Brexit (4:45)Noah tries to explain Trump and Hilary to me (7:00)Noah's top 3 favorite bands (that we're not sure actually exist) (8:02)What Noah learned on Blister's recent bike review trip to Whistler (9:42)Peachios! (10:30)Best way to carry water: Fanny packs vs. water bottles vs. hydration packs vs. bibs (11:25)What's the greatest bike race / bike event in the world (12:35)New bike tech: what trends do I have to familiarize myself with now? (16:58)Which bike company is bucking the trend of going lower, longer, slacker? (18:00)SRAM Eagle: do I need 12 speeds? (19:50)Clipless pedals vs. Flats: which is trending? (22:50)E-bikes: are they currently more of a thing or less of a thing? (23:40)The part in the podcast where you can actually hear Noah blow my mind (26:50)What bike movie should I watch? (29:00)Bike advocacy: How to go about improving trails & trail access (33:35)The conflict between mtn bikers and other wilderness users — IMBA / Sustainable Trails Coalition vs. the Sierra Club & the Wilderness Society (36:50)What Noah is reviewing now & what's up next (40:48)Heroin vs. Carbon Wheels? Which is worse? (42:28)Episode Sponsor: Nest BeddingThe last couple of weeks we’ve talked about the importance of sleep to achieve peak performance and for improving the quality of your life, day in and day out. But this week, we want to provide a bit of a Public Service Announcement, and point out that Nest Bedding makes a mattress they call, The Love Bed. Why is it called the Love Bed, and what is it supposed to be good for? Let’s just say that, ideally, your mattress should be doing more than just delivering a great night of sleep. Get it? Whether you do or you don’t, check out The Love Bed at nestbedding.com, and ask yourself whether that nasty, stained mattress of yours is doing you any favors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Juli 201645min

On our last podcast, we talked to Ståle Møller, the co-founder and lead designer of Sweet Protection, about the critically important issue of head injuries, and how helmets can mitigate the risks we take outside. Today's episode can be viewed as Part II of that conversation, and we focus a bit more on The Future and What's Next? To that end, we recruited the senior director of R&D at Giro, Rob Wesson, to further flesh out some of the fundamental issues surrounding head injuries, what sorts of new safety standards we can expect to see in the near future, and how helmet designs will evolve in the coming years.Rob and I cover a lot of important ground in this conversation, and you will find a detailed breakdown of the topics and the specific times at which we cover them in the Show Notes below.TOPICS & TIMES:Rob’s background & what his work at Giro’s R&D Center involves (2:40)What most customers regard as the #1 factor when selecting a helmet (12:18)Which helmet type (road bike, mtn bike, ski, etc) is the most labor-intensive and most difficult to design? (14:40)Where are we headed in terms of helmet design? (18:14)Why MIPS matters, but why Giro wasn’t an early adopter (20:15)What's the Difference between “MIPS” and “Rotational Energy Management Systems” (22:38)Helmet Standards & Certifications: Who sets them & How does it all Work? (25:10)Setting the record straight on the term “Multi-Impact” (30:10)Why Rob doesn’t think I should start skiing in a hockey helmet (43:37)CTE: How does our growing understanding of head injuries and CTE affect your work? (36:30)Why people who are against the use of helmets—and the evidence they tend to cite—are off base. (42:28)4-5 years from now, what will be the biggest differences in the helmets from what is available today? (45:38)What is Giro doing different or better than other helmet companies out there? (50:19)A dirty little secret about over 80% of the companies that sell helmets (52:35)What’s the real difference between a $60 helmet and a $250 helmet? (59:15)Why Giro is coming out with a $600 ski helmet, and why it was a huge project (1:02:22)How does Giro determine what sort of shape and fit their helmets will have? (1:04:40)EPISODE SPONSOR: Nest BeddingMore studies are showing that the quality of your sleep is directly related to the quality of your life. So even if you happen to have a cool job, the best friends, or you make a bunch of money, you won’t feel all that great if you aren’t well rested. (This is a super obvious point, by the way, so how come so many of us report that we aren’t getting enough quality sleep?) So if you’d like to literally improve the overall quality of your life and feel better every single day, you might want to consider a new mattress. Check out nestbedding.com — the affordable alternative to overpriced mattress stores — to see which of their mattresses is the best option for you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1 Juli 20161h 11min

These days, most people understand that when we're out skiing, biking, boating, or climbing, it's pretty stupid not to wear a helmet. More than ever before, we are gaining a better understanding of the variety and the devastating consequences of head injuries, ranging from (what we used to call) "mild" concussions, to full-blown "CTE" (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). But while we can agree that helmets are a good idea, it is pretty alarming how little most of us know beyond that — and that lack of knowledge could prove to be dangerous.Are all helmets pretty much the same, and equally safe? What's up with all those different safety certifications? What should a helmet fit like if it is actually going to protect your head? What are the main things you should you be looking for, and what do you most need to know, before selecting and purchasing a helmet? One thing’s for sure: the time to figure all of this out is not after you’ve had a bad crash.In this episode, we talk to Ståle Møller, the lead designer and co-founder of Sweet Protection. Ståle has spent a lot of his time thinking about and designing helmets, and I am confident of three things if you listen to this podcast: (1) You will come away much better informed about how to protect your head; (2) You will almost certainly purchase helmets differently in the future, and (3) You will see why we were so impressed with Ståle back at SIA.TOPICS & TIMES:What is your background — athletic and academic?How did you get into helmet design (4:15)How did you go from making some products to starting a company, Sweet Protection (12:20)What are the most important factors for people to consider when purchasing a helmet? (17:20)What does a “properly sized" helmet fit like / feel like? (19:00)What is the real difference — in terms of safety — between a $80 helmet and a $300 helmet? (26:30)Does “MIPS” (Multidirectional Impact Protection System) matter? (30:25)What's up with "Multi-Impact" helmets? (35:58)How do I evaluate / know when it's time to replace my helmet? (41:04)What are the trickiest compromises to deal with in helmet design? (43:13)Why use carbon in helmets? Is it just for the bling factor? (53:00)What's next for Sweet Protection — are there other categories Sweet is looking to move into? (1:07:42)As a designer of helmets for outdoors sports, what other fields are you paying attention to? (1:09:00)Where are we in terms of helmet tech — pretty advanced, or in the early stages of development? (1:14:20)How do helmet certifications differ? Is one better than the others? Are they the same for bike and ski? (1:18:41)What makes Sweet Protection's price-point helmets different or better than others on the market? And why should someone consider buying a kid's helmet from Sweet? (1:25:50)What makes Sweet's top-of-the-line helmets different or better than others on the market? (1:29:40) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Juni 20161h 35min

Brendan Leonard is one of our favorite authors and favorite people. He's also the creator of one of our favorite websites, Semi-Rad.com. If you don’t know Semi-Rad, you need to. Brendan has a new book out, called, Sixty Meters to Anywhere. So it was a good time to bring Brendan onto the podcast to talk about the book, and a bunch of other things. Brendan is a great storyteller, so if you love the outdoors and have ever been tempted to pick up a pen or a camera to document your experience, you ought to listen to this podcast.TOPICS:Brendan's upcoming projects, including books about art, about pizza, and a book about football (that I might have to force him to write).Why Brendan is being drawn toward films & filmmakingAddictionDistraction (and social media and phones and dopamine)On being "busy," and why Brendan tries to avoid using the termKanye West (!!!)Coffee — and why I think Brendan is wrong to be trying to cut back on his consumption Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Maj 20161h 42min

Question: Aside from the graphics, what’s the difference between one ski from the next? How do you tell whether a ski is well-built or poorly-built? What sort of things should you be looking for?We’ve just returned from our review trip to the PNW, and our very first stop in Portland was at the ON3P Skis factory, where we stopped by to talk to ON3P founder, Scott Andrus. Of all the people I know in the ski industry, there is no one I talk to who obsesses more about the minute details of ski building & finishing than Scott. So I talked to Scott about how to tell the difference between a quality build and a crap build, and we go on to talk about a bunch of other stuff, too.My advice is to listen closely at the start of this one -- you’ll very quickly get the sense that not all skis are created equal, and hopefully, you’ll be able to size up various skis yourself with a more critical eye. And then after about the first 10 minutes, you can relax a bit and listen to us discuss a bunch of other good stuff - including Scott’s future cat farm.TOPICS:ON3P’s new ski lineup (and Scott’s personal favorite).Why ON3P loves a good bidet. (No joke.)The real and perceived differences between “major" ski companies and smaller “indie” companies.The role of “teams” at ski companies, plus how — and how not — to get sponsored.Why ON3P isn’t in the race to build the lightest skis out there.Questions from Blister readers + Scott's future cat farm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Maj 20161h 10min

It's time to talk bikes, so we brought in Blister's bike editor, Noah Bodman. Noah and I talk about a whole bunch of stuff.TOPICS:What the 'Most Montana' town in Montana is?Aaron Gwin’s impressive world cup victory in Lourdes, France, on his new bikeWhether Noah thinks I could beat Gwin down a DH course if I got to ride a DH bike and he had to ride a hardtailWhy Noah doesn’t think I should shoot Gwin in the leg in Butte, MontanaThe most intriguing new bikes this season27.5" vs. 29" — where are we in the war of the wheel sizes?Carbon wheels vs. Aluminum wheels — which riders would benefit most by going to carbon?The pros and cons of all the new bike standards (including "Boost", and what the real implications of all of these new options will be over the next 5 to 10 years.The "Best Bets" for bikes - which bikes Noah thinks amount to the surest things, the safest recommendations to a broad range of riders.Why I'm excited to go to Butte, MT, and whether or not Noah will ever be able to safely set foot in Butte after this podcast... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Apr 201652min

At the 2015 World Championships, Ted became the first skier to win three consecutive World Championship titles in GS. At the age of 21, he became the youngest American male to win an Olympic Gold Medal in Alpine Skiing, and he continues to dominate the men’s alpine circuit with five World Cup Overall GS titles and five World Championship titles.In our conversation, Ted and I talk about his end-of-January injury, what happened, and what his goals are for next season. We also revisit the question of the ‘current’ FIS-regulation skis, and whether his initial opinions about those skis have softened or grown stronger? We then set the record straight on Ted’s background: how and why he was able to go from losing races badly to becoming the best in the world, and we talk about “failure” and figuring out when to quit vs. when to persevere.Finally, we talk about Ted’s company Shred, and why he thinks that some of their latest developments are improvements over current technologies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Apr 201650min