Podcast: Joaquin Madrid | From Chile to Squamish: Building Confidence, Community & Exploring The World’s Best Trails

On today’s episode of podcast, I sit down with Joaquin Madrid - operations manager and lead guide at RideHub in Squamish, BC.

Originally from Santiago, Chile, Joaquin’s journey into mountain biking started at 16 with sketchy city trails, downhill racing, and plenty of crashes. After stepping away from the sport, diving deep into rock climbing, and eventually rediscovering bikes through guiding and freeriding, Joaquin built a new relationship with riding - one rooted in skill development, self-trust, and community.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMh2AfPtRT0

Now based in Squamish, Joaquin brings over a decade of outdoor industry experience and a calm, supportive coaching style that helps riders build confidence, manage fear, and truly enjoy the process of progression.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why racing wasn’t the right path for him and what riding for fun gave him instead

• The mental crossover between rock climbing and mountain biking

• How to rebuild confidence after serious crashes

• The “full circle” approach to riding: skills, fitness, mindset, and bike setup

• Why community is an underrated performance enhancer

• The biggest mistakes riders make when they first come to BC

• How to approach steep granite slabs with control and confidence

We also dive into what makes Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton such a special riding corridor - and why a guided experience can accelerate your progression while keeping you safe and confident on world-class terrain.

This conversation is packed with honest reflections, practical insight, and a powerful reminder that mountain biking isn’t about proving something, it’s about the progression, the passion, and the people you share it with.

You can learn more about Joaquin and RideHub here.

And if riding BC has ever been on your bucket list, this episode might just be the push you need to make it happen - Check out the BC MTB Expedition

You can listen to the episode here or by searching 'The Mind Mountain' on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Until next time, happy trails - Jake FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:  [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Mind Mountain podcast. This is the podcast that delves deep into the mental performance side of mountain biking with interesting guests from across our sport, so that you guys, the listener, can pick up tools.

Tips and tactics to help you become a better rider and have more fun out on the trails more often. Today on the podcast, I've got Joaquin Madrid, who's the operations manager and one of the lead guides at Ride Up here in Squamish with over a decade of experience in the outdoor industry. Originally from Chile.

He's been riding bikes since he was 16 years old, and he's got roots in downhill racing and a love for free riding that's only grown since moving to Squamish in 2020, Joaquin has been guiding riders through BC's, legendary trails, bringing his calm, supportive approach that helps riders from around the world build confidence, improve their riding, and have a ton of fun along the way.

Joaquin, no further ado, man. Welcome to the show. 

Yeah, thank you for hugging, 

man. It's great to have you here. We, uh, I wanna say we don't know each other [00:01:00] that well, but we've hung out a bit in the last year since meeting. Got out for a couple of good e-bike rides together. 

Yeah, man. 

I'm excited for this opportunity today to dive into a little bit more of your experience that I don't know yet.

Yeah. 

Let's start right from the beginning. You get into mountain biking at 16 according to the internet. How did that all come about for you? 

Yeah. Um, so I grew up in Chile. Um, well, I'm from Chile. Mm. Grew up in the big city of Santiago and yeah, just like cool. During high school, uh, one of my best friend who introduced me for like, on a bike, uh, actually a mountain bike, and yeah, I was hooked from the beginning.

Um, I remember crashing a lot in with that really crappy bike. 

Yeah. 

Um, but, but yeah, I, I loved it. Uh, absolutely loved it and yeah, that, that was it. [00:02:00] Like, and chili is like very raised. Oriented country, I think a little bit now, like it's starting to shift. Definitely shift into like, like more like enjoying 

Right.

Free riding. Free riding is getting pretty big over there now. Uh, but I started in two, 2008, uh, without really knowing, uh, what I liked about it. But it just like the adrenaline rush and like jumping these like really sketchy jumps, you know, and, and yeah, going around like the city of San is huge. Is like, right now I think's around 8 million people.

Wow. 

So that's huge. But there's a couple, few spots in the heart of the city. There's like a big, uh, there's a huge like park, like city park that is a hill and it's called Santo [00:03:00] Hill. And. It has like a, a pavement, um, road all the way to the top. And then there's like these illegal trails, uh, network, not less illegal, but back, back then, it's like everything was illegal and, and just people just, uh, uh, trail building, sketchy jump.

So like, no, I like pretty good things, you know? And then, uh, that's where my roots are. I live there, like pretty close from there. And, and then I had like a, a, um, just right when I was starting on biking, uh, the age of 16, I moved to Australia. 

Okay, 

where are you from? But I moved to Perth. It's like my family got, my dad got transferred from work to Perth, which is super flat.

Um, but I just started mountain biking, so I would just like commute a lot. Really long distances just to go to mountain bike. Like outside of. 

[00:04:00] How did you find that transition from like Chile and the, the terrain you were riding there to like Yeah, the dusty dry Perth. I know it's known for what's called pea gravel, like the 

Yeah.

Little round marbles of gravel everywhere. 

Yeah. So, uh, for me it was like just in the beginning of my mountain bike, uh, career where, um, literally didn't have, like initially we don't, we didn't have like, uh, big brands of bikes. So you will go to these like market where you will basically build your own Chinese bike, 

right?

Uh, with like weird breaks. Weird, weird for that you don't see anywhere. And I got that bike to Australia, it's like, oh, I'm gonna mountain bike so much. And it's like, it was really hard. But, um, I used to go to this place, place called the Goat Farm maybe, probably. People listening Will will know. 

Yeah, there's gonna be someone out there.

I'm from the opposite [00:05:00] side of Australia 

in Victoria. I, 

so, I don't know. 

And I would go like an hour on the train, uh, to get there. Wow. Um, just like small things. There was like a mini pound truck, but I always, I always, always talk about it. And then, um, I moved back to Chile. I was just there for a year and I got the chance to buy my first like real mountain bike there, um, with I was 16 with help of my dad and like sold my bike there too.

And I got like that giant glory 2008 and he was like, I think it was so heavy. I think I waited the same of the bike, to be honest. 

Would I be surprised? 

Yeah. And then I got to Chile, and Chile was like, again, and this is where I realized like, okay, if I want a bike, I have to. Mm, so there was like nothing, nothing in between, right?

There was no like, enjoyment of biking. It was like [00:06:00] race, everyone brace raced. And honestly, I really liked it, but I never do very well. Never did very well. Um, and, but from there, I just like, started biking long time. But at one point, so around around, uh, 20 years old, 19, yeah, 19, 20 years old, I completely quit because racing, I wasn't getting any result.

I was crashing all the time. They call me, uh, Lisa, which is sandpaper because like, I would be like, oh, and like even the, the people that I was biking with, like, oh yeah, you are like, oh, like roll rush everywhere. You know? Uh, 

why, why do you think that was? 'cause like, I've ridden with you. You're an incredibly talented, like, skilled fast rider.

Was it the pressure of being in a race environment that was putting you off? 

Totally. I think, um, I think I was putting too much pressure in, in, in [00:07:00] myself, 

right. 

Without skill skills. Okay. Like fundamentals. Now, now that I've coached people and, and I've learned from other instructors, and I've been in this coaching instructing world for a few years now, um, I wish that I, someone told me it's like, Hey, you should have like more like, uh, lessons and you will, uh, like skip this whole crashing, um, like seasons that you were having, right?

Yeah. There's a lot of painful lessons there that can be skipped, right? 

Yeah. I skipped same. I always skipped like five years of crashing, I would think, honestly. 

Yeah, 

that 

would've been nice. 

So after breaking some bones and like crashing a lot in races. Definitely my, my skills weren't there and I wanted the bad, so bad the results, and I didn't progress fast [00:08:00] enough, but I was very, or can you say ballsy?

Right? 

Like a lot of courage. Yeah, a lot of courage. 

Yeah. 

And, and, and that was my thing, you know, they call it, uh, Spanish Erba that is let's, it's called like it translate to the dog bomb that is like basically, you know, like a crazy dog that just go for it, like a pit bull kind of thing. And it is like, it will crash and we'll like stand up and then keep going and do it again, you know?

Yeah. 

Until at one point I was like, you know, man, I am like, I'm not built for this. I don't want to keep crashing. I was taking bikes. It was getting expensive. Racing is really expensive because you have to travel, you have to stay, you have to look for recommendation. Entry fee. And then just for what never.

I, I think at that point I didn't understand what I was looking for, so I quit. 

Right. 

I quit bump on [00:09:00] biking. I was like, first I want to get, I, I have to get stronger. I went into, like, I never, I never quit biking because I moved to like fixed gear. Okay. Uh, like city bike biking. Yeah. Cool. Which, it was fun.

And then rock climbing was like huge for me for doing three full years. That was like, like around the age of 20 to 23 around that, that, that age. 

Okay. Now this fascinates me 'cause I've done a little bit of rock climbing too. Probably just enough to get myself into trouble. But, uh, I'm curious, like, is there anything you've learned from facing challenges out there on a rock climbing wall that has then helped you when you go back to mountain biking?

Yeah. Um, so.

I went into rock climbing because he was, um, I went to university to study, uh, like ecotourism, uh, management, which is kinda like a, [00:10:00] basically outdoor tourism with sustainability and a little bit of business. 

Yeah. Amazing. 

Uh, degree. 

Funny enough, that's what you're doing now. 

Yeah, I know, I know With biking, which 

is 

awesome.

It's cool meeting someone that's actually working in what they went to university for because I know these days it's often not the case. 

It is true. It is true. I mean, everyone bring events themself, but, but for me, um, and I was like always surrounded with a lot of mountaineer mountaineers and rock climbers, and so it was really easy to get into, like, actually part of my courses was rock climbing.

Yeah. Okay, 

cool. So then it's like, oh yeah, I love these. And because you also give, gave me that adrenaline. Also, it was a very challenging, it was like, it's like, um, like problem solving kind of thing. 

Yeah. 

And I, it was in the community. I'm always been like very social. So the [00:11:00] community I always liked and, and I learned a lot about, like, that's when I actually like, went really deep into nature.

And that's like also biking is connected to that. Yeah. So many 

parallels, eh, 

right. And, and, but the main thing for me at that time was like fitness, to be honest. I felt so weak. I always, now I'm like a little bit bigger, but I also feel like the skinny guy, super skinny. That's good on 

both. 

Yeah. So, so, 

right.

So learning how important that was to be able to have more fun in your sport. 

Yes. Yeah. Like stop crashing, like, I'm so weak, you know, I have to, so then I went to rock climbing because I, I saw everyone's always strong. It's like, okay, I have to get strong. I hate the dream. Maybe rock climbing is the way, 

yeah.

Cool Way to work out in the outdoors. 

Yeah. 

And I'm curious, 'cause I know rock climbing, you're obviously taking some pretty crazy risks as well and you're overcoming challenges and going from moves you're not quite sure you can do yet. 

Yeah, totally. 

But most of the time you're roped up, right? [00:12:00] 

Yes. 

Unless you're one of those crazy free climbers.

I'm not sure. No, I'm not. Yeah. So you're roped up. So I feel like when I'm climbing it's that little bit different. 'cause I'm like, I'm not sure if I can do this, but I've also got in the back of my mind that I'm on belay. 

Yeah. 

Like the worst thing that can happen is I could whip around and Yeah. 

For 

me, shoulder the rock.

Whereas on a mountain bike. And so I kind don't wanna fall off my bike. It's, it's usually pretty bad when I fall off my bike. Right. 

I, I think it's really, uh, uh, it's a crazy perspective when you think about it. Rock climbing, pretty safe until it's not safe. But that not being safe is, can, is like death is there, you know?

Yep. 

But the mountain bike is different. It's like, not that safe, but like, it's more like you'll break your bones, you know? Or something like that. It's not like a, a, like that, that dangerous maybe when things, things don't go 

like rock climbing's, like low risk, but really high consequence. 

Yes. 

So it's like, if the, I would 

say 

[00:13:00] system was something was to fail or your partner was to fail, it's like, that's really bad, you're gonna fall.

Mm-hmm. 

Whereas mountain biking, like, yeah, you're right, we can, we can take falls. And it's not often that those falls might be really high consequence for most of us anyway, when we're riding for, 

yeah. 

Normal mountain bike trails we'll say. Anyway. 

Definitely there is is great deal. 

That's a whole rabbit hole.

See 

the sky. 

I know for me, like so often on a mountain bike it can be so easy to like walk around something that we find challenging, like, ah, I'm just not gonna do it. Whereas when we're rock climbing, it's like my buddy's already at the top of this pitch. If I want to not do this, it's gonna kind of ruin our whole day and we're gonna have to go down and you know, ab sail off the wall here.

So it's, you kind of like have that time and you sit there and you calm yourself down and you breathe. You think about that problem, you solve it. 

Yeah. 

And then you go for that move. Yeah. For me, being able to take back that process to my mountain biking has helped me look at things a little bit differently and maybe like 

totally 

spend a little bit longer on top of a feature and be like, actually no, I'm gonna give this a second look.

I'm gonna calm down here, [00:14:00] see if I can figure out this move. 

Yeah. 

Did you find that as well? 

Yeah, totally. No, I. You, you're saying it like totally makes sense for me, it's, uh, uh, I didn't quite like, I think I definitely got stronger, but um, at that point, uh, I feel like I didn't have, I wasn't skilled enough in mountain biking, so I, I couldn't like, relate things to another.

Um, and by rock climbing definitely helped me in the, in the, like, mental. Mental, 

yeah. 

Uh, because, um, when you are leading, for example, you're not top rope. You're leading, you have like the rope down there and, um, there's moments that you're like, okay, like you are, like in the, whatever it's called, the, um, the carbin, how you call the, the Carin.

The quick draw. 

Yes. 

Yeah, 

the what? Sorry? 

Is [00:15:00] it a quick draw? Like sport climbing? 

Quick draw. Yeah. Yeah. So you go like, 

yeah, I know what you mean. Climb a 

bus and you get the rope and you're like, okay, here, there's like a huge slack. 

Yeah. 

And you're like, 

and you'll fall double the length of that rope. 

You're like, yeah, you fall double.

Right. 

That's definitely that similar leap of faith when we're going down a rock roll for the first time or doing a new gap jump. 

Yeah. Yeah. Like, 

I think I know how this is gonna go, but we can never be 100% sure until I've done it. 

Yeah, exactly. So like the mental part of it definitely helped me to, uh, battle.

Were those battles that you, okay, I can do this like, like, um, like a, like a really hard feature or like a high consequence thing, but you do, you know that you have the skills for it, but is that it's kinda like that fear factor, but that you can use it into your advantage, I think. 

Yeah, 

definitely. You know, like, like using this part of the equation.

But, but you can't let that here [00:16:00] overcome you, then it like we think it's pretty good. Very important. I learned about that in, in rock climbing. And also I feel like the whole thing around rock climbing, I love bit, to be honest. I still love it. I still have like so many good friends from it and my best friends are rock climbers.

And yeah, it was really, it was a really good period and I think that period was very significant to me. Significant enough to um, kind of try to connect the mountain biking to the rock climbing and the mountaineering part side of things. 

Right. And is that how you ended up here in Squamish? 

Not really.

Okay. Actually, when I came to Squamish and I been here like five and a half years, and it's a crazy spot for 

rock climbing. 

Where I know like so many people come out like, yeah, I've been climbing like five and a half year, probably like no [00:17:00] more than 10 times. 

Right. 

You know, it's just like mountain biking is crazy time here and, but I can guarantee how I got here.

Uh, 

yeah. I'd love to kind of hear that story from like giving up mountain biking in Chile, taking a break, doing lots of rock climbing at university, where to after that. 

So one day, like when I quit, I quit, um, mountain biking, started rock climbing. At one point I started like that back of, I want to go back mountain and biking, but maybe I don't wanna race.

I don't know. Endura was becoming a thing. This is 2015. Built my, like a short travel bike. It was a transition covered. It's like, uh, yeah. Covered 26 inch at that time still, like 27 5 was just coming up. 

Yeah. 

Right. I think, um, and it's like, yeah, and dual racing was [00:18:00] the thing. I was like, eh, I'm not gonna race now.

I'm just gonna do it for fun. 

Great. 

And, um, kinda like stop rock climbing, like, uh, progressively and then until like, okay. I just like, uh, got a few jobs around mountain biking in 20, I think it was 2016 or 20 15, 20 16 in that summer. Because in You're from Australia? Yes. So it's like, so summer there is December, January, February, right?

Mm-hmm. Um, I got like a internship in a, with, it was like a friend of a friend that had like a bike tour. Company in Pcan. 

Yeah. 

That is like a volcano lake district in down south Chile. Beautiful. It's like, um, a huge lake with a town. It's like, the town is like adventure tourism is huge [00:19:00] rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking, and it's like super popular in summer.

Really 

cool. And, and it's like in the foothill of the volcano. It's like the most active volcano children. Wow. Yeah. It is quite amazing. And it started guiding there, doing like some, uh, things, operations thing with them. Um, is called by and it's no longer a thing anymore. But, uh, then I was with friends and.

We take people to the volcano. That was like a, like, um, there was a, there's a ski, a ski heel. It's a ski Hillel 

right. 

With this very crappy, uh, uh, chair lift there. 

Okay. 

They don't use it for bike park. Not yet. But there was, there's the sense like you start at the, in the volcano and then you go all the way down to the town and it was like two to two and a half hours of riding down.[00:20:00] 

Wow. 

That's insane. Just connecting trails and like you go, it is basically free right in the Alpine. Mm-hmm. Not, it's not even called alpine, but when you see a volcano, right. Like there's no much vegetation and so you started in the no vegetation part and then you start going down into the forest and then just connecting trails all the way to to down there.

And we do that every day. It was like, it was amazing. It was a good season and yeah, that's when, so I came back to. To that. 

Yeah. 

Um, and then like did some other, I was like finishing my career and like doing just, you know, like the thesis and had a part-time job. So I kinda like didn't buy too much around, around that time, 2015 and 2016, I think.

But how I ended up here, it was in 20, then I went back to work again to that company and um, I was [00:21:00] like the main lead guide at that point in that company. And a friend of mine was here in with. Okay. Yeah. And that person was like, Hey, yeah, I just met her. She, when she came back to Chile and then she was like, yeah, it was in Whistle.

I was like, wait, what? You were where in Whistler? Yeah, this town in, in bc. I'm like, what? 

Yeah. This is what I wanted to ask you. Was like Canada, somewhere on your radar when you were growing up that you knew about? It sounds like it wasn't just a random occurrence, right? Through a 

friend. It was. It was like, I don't know if you remember, see the, okay.

My, one of the bike videos, I was always like a, I'm pretty nerd into mountain biking. Like I get a very, I always got very addicted to it. Yeah. Watching videos when I skateboard, I watch all the videos when like a month of like, I like watch all the videos and one of the videos that actually was like [00:22:00] my favorite videos, it was the seasons.

Okay. 

Yeah. From the collective. 

Yep. 

And two th that's 2008 and it was all in dc Pretty much all in C. Mm-hmm. 

Okay. So you had this image of like what BC is and what mountain biking is here. Yeah. 

Also with New War Disorder seven. Yeah. Right. Like with Fly high again. I still remember that. It's like everything was around here.

Yeah. 

The Whistler Bike park. 

Yeah. And it lives as like this legend in your mindt there. 

And then 

all of a sudden you meet someone that's been here. 

Yeah. 

Always the same. And yeah. 

And I was like, what? What do you mean you were, was okay? Uh, who do you work with? And she worked for a tourism company. 

Okay. 

I was like, can I get a contact there?

It's like, yeah, here. Called her. She's like, and I was like a pain in the ass really to that like Harvey, Harvey, Harvey and Michelle. 

Okay. So like lots of following up. 

Yeah. Yeah. A lot of following up. But she did a great job when she worked with, uh, it's called Whisper Eco Tours up in wi. [00:23:00] And, um, the owner of that, it, Keenan, he, uh, she got, she did such an amazing job with them that she was kinda like recommending me and she, if she was recommending someone is because it was good, I guess.

And, and yeah, like long story short, I, I got the, I got like the job offer process visa and stuff. Came to Whistler in 2018. 

Amazing. Yeah. What were your thought first thoughts of those first couple of months in Whistler? 

Whistler is, is just a dream. 

Yeah, 

right. Um, I was just like, couldn't believe what I was doing.

It's 

funny, isn't it? 'cause I feel like sometimes we have these dreams and then the reality doesn't always live up to the dream. 

Yeah. 

That coming here to pc, it's like the dream exceeds, or the reality exceeds the dream. Totally. Or at least for me. And it sounds like for you, 

unlike in the bike park, you have, okay.

You have the bike park. In that time I stayed three [00:24:00] months, I broke my foot, came back to Chile, but those three months were like the best thing. I was like, summer in Wizard is amazing. I, the lake life is amazing. I mean, you have the bike park that is already like the, like creme, you know, it's like the best.

But also the things around, uh, the, the bike park, that's it. 

Isn't it 

really special? 

The long days? The warm weather, the wildlife? 

Yeah. Yeah. 

Hanging out with good people. 

Yeah. And I was like also guiding. 

Okay, great. 

And I was canoe a canoe guide for the river Colton dreams. So if someone comes to wish, it's like a good thing to do.

If you don't want to bike, you can fall on the weaver. 

Definitely. Good thing for those on the expedition, on the rest day. 

Yeah, exactly. That, that is a chill, nice day. Um, and did that for in the mornings and then I would go to the bike park and yeah. Went to different places and [00:25:00] I didn't come to Squamish.

Okay. 

Didn't know. 

Yeah. 

It was good. Yeah. Now that I look back, it's like, damn. Yeah. Yes. And obviously like Squamish is insane. 

So what ended up bringing you here to Squamish? 

So I broke my foot in that season. 

Okay. 

In the bike park. Uh, it is easy to do those things when you Yeah. When you are trying to push yourself.

Um, 

did you feel like there was a sense of, I guess, like not having enough time? So wanting to ride everything 

possible, that happens a lot, but I was, and that didn't happen to me, but that had happened so much for with the people that can, for like a short period of time. 

Yeah. 

Um, and I always talk with that two people, but at that point, at that time it was like, I just an unfortunate crash at the end of the season.

Um, that I jump in this new hip in their merchant [00:26:00] and yeah, like I lost my bike, landed on my feet in the bottom, breaking my footing during like the other one. And, um, but I don't attribute that to. To, like, wanted to do everything. But I did attribute that like, as a, as a huge error of like, um, of myself, but, um, on, how can I say it?

Of like trying to push something without having my, the experience before. 

Right. 

You know? Yeah. Trying to do something without experience, thinking that you're gonna do it. But now that I look back, it's like, okay, it's a, it's a hard feature for most of people, but, but start with something smaller. 

Yeah. 

You know, and that's my takeaway from it, but also it is mountain biking.

Yeah. Man, is is, things happen and that happen to me. [00:27:00] 

We've always got more clarity in hindsight, don't we? There's always those things that we might change, but I think if we're learning from it and that can be our takeout, then at least we're still gain something from the experience. Right. 

Yeah, for sure.

And a hard time. 

I know you have, like, you've, you've beat yourself up, you've broken lots of bones, you've had quite a few crashes, but I wanted to talk about like, I guess your process or your, your wisdom now that you're older, you're guiding, you've had a lot of coaching, you take care of yourself physically.

Because I thinking back to a ride we had here in Valley Cliff when it was pouring rain, it was probably about as bad as conditions. Get in the middle of winter and, you know, we're right into, you know, some rock rolls and some features in there. And that was quite a big one. It's probably like the height of a two story house.

And anyway, I took a look at it. I said, ah, no, not today. Anyway, you, you kind of took a look at it and he broke it down. He said, yeah, I'm gonna hit it. I so rolled down it. You made it look awesome. Then afterwards you said, oh, that's my first time doing that. I, I broke my wrist on that feature. Um, 

I broke my, uh, [00:28:00] ribs.

Your ribs, yeah, sorry. Remembering that incorrectly. But I wanted to ask you like. What do you do when you're going back to a feature or a trail where you have had a crash or a pretty like traumatic experience on in the past? 

Yeah. 

How do you reapproach that? 

Um, yeah, that's, that's a great question because I've, that thing on the hip, like when I broke my foot, it was definitely a crazy moment in my life.

Uh, so I couldn't go back to the bike bar. And then when I came back in 2020 and then I rode that again, I was like, oh my God, I'm gonna ride the heap again. And I was like, thinking, I was like, okay, just relax. I have, you have more experience now. You know what I, what I did wrong? 

Mm-hmm. 

So now you know what to do.

Good. Like the good, you know? Yeah. Like, and I was [00:29:00] behind this person and the person in front of me. This is the second time. This is just, I just came back for, for first time on that hi on the hip right of their merchant in Proline where the people that are like, know about this, I'm coming in and then I see him going up and then like hitting like so bad.

I'm putting his foot out. 

Oh, 

destroy his knee right there, calling patrol and everything. That was my second time just on the hip. So I got like traumatized for like 

time. So yeah. You're coming into it with the, the baggage of like hurting yourself. 

Yeah. 

Seeing someone else get really badly hurt. 

Yeah. 

Okay.

What was the third time? The 

third time I was like, okay, this has to go third time in the charm. I have to hit this. And something that now I realize I internalized about, uh, about mountain biking before I would, I would do it without thinking of like, oh, I'm just gonna do it. 

Mm-hmm. 

But now that I, I have [00:30:00] coach and I have people have coach me as.

Is, um, learn about like the past. You have the, your, your past experience, right? And you tell yourself, you, you know how to do this. You have done similar things. You know, you have done this thing, uh, you know what, it went wrong, so now you know how to execute it correctly. Mm-hmm. Right? Other thing would be, uh, other part of it, because I think it's a equation of multiple things, is, um, have that fear management and also also like the, the repeated, um, just, just to, I think it's two things.

So, okay. I kind got confused there, but it's like, I feel like the fear management, it's one [00:31:00] thing and then you repeat it. Uh, an experience repeating something, your skills and developing those skills. 

Yeah. 

I wouldn't come to something now that I know Moha have all this experience now, I wouldn't come to something without, um, without trying something similar before.

Right. Yeah. 

You know? 

So you're older and wiser thanks to all those experiences. 

Yes. Yeah, for sure. I don't wanna crash, like I'm known for around like my circle to be the one that crashes. 

Sandpaper. 

Sandpaper, yeah. So, um, 

well, hopefully the sandpapers getting smoother and smoother with old age and perhaps less.

Yeah. Well there's like, there's few things too. There's like, there's so many components on mountain biking. I think that is one. You have the, the mental part of it. 

Mm. 

Then you have your physical part of it, and then you have the mechanical part of. [00:32:00] So you have two mechanical parts, right? Yeah. You have like your body 

Yeah.

And the bike. 

Yeah, 

and the bike. I learned in the, actually I learned this like in not too long, like when probably all these times that I've been here, that's just five years. I started in when I was 16, but I think like I really started mountain biking I think like around like seven years ago. 

Yeah. 

Or five years ago.

I'd say the same for me, like when I started my coaching journey was really when I started getting coached myself. 

Yeah, totally. 

And that was when my progression skyrocketing. Yeah. I was like, oh, what you're describing there is really like what I call the full circle approach. 

Yeah. 

Rather than just thinking about like our mindset and conquering fear rather than just thinking about perhaps how strong we are.

We think about like building up our technical skills, so how we actually ride the bike. Yeah. Think about getting our equipment tuned for us and learning how to tune it for different conditions. 

Exactly. Uh, 

yeah, we do the off bike work in the gym. We make sure we are [00:33:00] mobile. 

Yeah. 

And then we also learn some mental skills to work through that fear.

I think those three components are are, and each of each of them are really, really important. Especially when you get to on higher consequences, uh, terrain and or something else that can be external is the people that you ride with and mentors and the group that is like pushing as well. 

Yeah. 

You 

know, 

I wanted to ask you this, 'cause I've noticed on our rides together, you are really good at trusting in yourself and your skills.

Mm-hmm. 

And quite often, myself or other people on the ride might be like, ah, I don't like that because of whatever reason. Or, oh, that looks slippery as hell today and there's no way I'm gonna ride that. But you'll take a breath, you'll look at it, and then you either choose to ride it or not to ride it, but it's always your choice.

Yeah. You notice you're very good at blocking out the external. Is that something you do consciously or is that something that just kind of comes naturally to you? [00:34:00] 

I think it's more, yeah, I don't, I don't think about the external, obviously I do think about the terrain there, 

but like what other people are saying and doing.

No, I try, I try to block that. 

Yeah, 

that's for sure. I think like for me it's like knowing my capability of, of something I know my capability of something of, 

yeah. 

But also now since 2022, I became a dad. That's something a, a factor for sure. 

Yeah. 

I'm not like, I mean, it is kind of my job. It's funny because it is kind of my job what I'm doing, but it's not like I'm not gonna, I'm, I'm not like a sponsor athlete really.

I'm not a sponsor athlete that is gonna go and write the rampage and stuff that it's like. That it is, 

you don't have to risk your life. You do have to stay sharp. 

Yes. [00:35:00] And, and when I come to those moments, my approach is, is more in me. It's more in like, okay, you, you have this, I've learned that my bike has to be correctly set up for that.

I'm not gonna go and heat a massive jump. Or, um, yeah, let's say like in the bike park, I'm not gonna go and hit like crab apple heats with uh, 20 PSI and in my tires, you know, I'm not gonna go. And then here, I'm not gonna go in the rocks when it's wet and I need the grip with 28 psis in the tires. My, I'm gonna, I'm like, I'm gonna have the right tire, for example.

With the right compound. It's like the, my suspension has to be appropriate for what I'm doing. 

Mm-hmm. 

[00:36:00] And all those like I think bike factors are, are important. And then if everything lines up and it's just my skills that are like limiting is when I go back to my past when I was like, okay, all this experience that I've had, all these skills that I developed, I don't know.

Okay. I'm just like breaking down what I think that, I think 

that's a very sound approach, man. I love it. And it really speaks to that. Like if we don't, like say, if we just build up one of those elements, like we really say build up our technical skills, but we have no idea what tire pressure we're running.

We haven't checked how much airs in our suspension for months and if we did, we dunno what to do with it. Yeah. It's like there's gonna be a weak spot. And kind of going back to that full circle, I think of it like a wheel on a mountain bike and it's like if our wheel is. Doing this, it's got a big buckle or it's missing two or three spokes.

Like yeah, we can probably still ride it. 

Yeah. 

But only for so long right. Before something collapses, that wheel explodes. 

[00:37:00] Yeah. 

And it's kind of the same with our skillset. Like if we're leaving one area underdeveloped 

mm-hmm. 

It's like, yeah, we can still go mountain biking, but like eventually it's probably gonna be some sketchy moment or some crash.

Yeah. Totally. 

Whereas like you say, if we kind of control the controllables and we do everything we can Yes. To learn about all four areas and then keep adjusting and keep learning, we can kind of trust in that. Like, yeah, I've done the work. I deserve to be here. Wrote some similar things. 

Yeah. 

I can do this.

Yeah, totally. I think that's, that's the whole process. 

Mm. 

And uh, and then yeah, like trust is a big thing. 

Yeah. 

It's like trusting yourself. Yeah, 

definitely man. 

Yeah. 

And then I guess like you were guiding kayaking, you were doing the guiding in Chile. Yeah. I'm curious, like how did you come to be working at Writeup?

Yeah. Um. That was like super random. Yeah. But like, uh, I guess like just it lined up really well. 

Yeah. 

Um, [00:38:00] going back on how I got here, like how I, when I left here, um, to Chile, all with broken bones and stuff Right. I recovered and then I broke again another bone like in a few months after I broke my collar bone.

Right. 

I recover and, um, because everything's part of, of biking I think, and I went, I went guiding to uh, like hiking guide in Patagonia in the very deep south of Chile. 

Yeah. Amazing. 

COVID happened, but I had the plan to come here or had like my junk professional or like working holiday with the same company that I was with.

Right. 

Uh, I was, everything lined up. I was like, okay, I'm, because I already tasted wizard. I was like, went to Chile with this, like knowing that I'm gonna come back. Canada, and at this time I'm not gonna leave because this is what I want to be. And being there, COVID [00:39:00] happened, pandemic happened, the dream was like gone.

It's like my, the guy here was like, no, we're shutting down. We're no nothing happening. I like, oh, okay, whatever. I'm just gonna anyways, just, I just move on. When day someone was like, Hey, actually, uh, send me a, like a newspaper or something that they were looking for people that already ho like had job offer.

Mm. And they will let them in the country because the borders were obviously closed. 

Yep. 

So I contacted them and I came in. 

Amazing. 

So I came, actually, I came without like, if they deport me, whatever I tried, you know? 

Yeah. 

But yeah, I went through the border, quarantined for two weeks and yeah. And, and then I, I then, I just got here in 2020 and then I started a job.

Met a bunch of Chileans as well. They were like camera trapped here. They were all bikers. And that was like the start of like, uh, a dream life to be [00:40:00] honest. Yeah. 

Amazing. 

Yeah. Uh, it was great. Like the, I met so many at that, at that point. It was like, okay. But it was like I was looking around to like my circle of friends.

Everyone knew friend, but everyone in the same, in the, the same tune. You know, like everyone just loved biking, just wanted to bike. And this is where I learned really is like race wast. Mm. It's like, just enjoy biking and with your community or Yeah, your community will just go out in nature. Enjoy biking, do silly stuff.

Yep. 

Uh, just mess around. Um. Just push yourself, push the limits between you and like what's possible for, for each of you, you know? 

It's amazing what that does, isn't it? When you've got that community of like-minded, like skilled writers and you're all kind of encouraging or inspiring each other to keep [00:41:00] getting better and like you say, just having fun without the pressure, it's messing around.

Yeah. 

It's amazing how that will speed up a rider's progression. 

And here in Canada it's like you meet so many crazy good rider and like, they're like Car Anders Electrician sound like waiters. They do painting and it's like so many people can be like dreadful athletes in these, these corridor. But in 2020 was when I did a summer up in Whistler and then I don't ski.

I didn't ski back then, now I ski. But I met with all the children and group. They had a house out here in Squamish, and it's like, I'm moving down to Squamish. I'm like, 

oh, you can ride bikes almost all year round in Quam. 

Exactly. In winter. And we rode all year round Even the, in the, in the snow. Yeah. Right.

And it started their jumping then. And that's like a huge, so if you guys like, uh, something that I recommend 200%, just get a hard tail and [00:42:00] work on your entire jumping skills. Mm-hmm. I think that's, um, honestly, the best mountain bikers, they like no downhill racing and stuff, but they are, in my opinion, the best ones are their jumpers.

Yeah. Dirt jumpers and BMXs. Right. And 

BMXs. Yes. It's 

like the most, they're on the most basic pieces of equipment. That means their technique has made that much better. 

And when they move, when they move to mountain biking, it's like. Oh man, I should have done BMX before. 

Yeah. 100%. I feel like that all the time.

Yeah, 

totally. 

I see this in your riding too, like the dirt jumping shows across the way. You have a technical trail and then all of a sudden you're making shapes on it. You're finding gaps or you're hopping from one side of the trail to the other. 

Yeah. Like definitely shaped you. And I started, I started dirt jumping like super late in my biking.

Yeah. 

So like just five years ago. 

Okay. 

And, um, and it totally like changed [00:43:00] everything. Everything and well anyway, ride hub. 

Yes. 

Um, that decision, like I was still working with her, but having a blast during pandemic, honestly. 

Yeah. 

I was like, um, and then met my, my now wife and doctor dating for a, for, for, for that year.

Um, she got pregnant and we Yeah. Became a dad. And that's like the best thing that has happened to me in my life, to be honest. Uh, mountain biker is after that, but, um, but yeah, having a child, uh, was a big challenge. And one of the challenges was like being around and I, and, um, I moved my work to Squamish and started something that I just found [00:44:00] necessary to do, started, uh, painting for a company, but it was like, I live right there in Battle Cliff and I painted all this piece all here.

You painted this building? 

Yeah. Not this building actually, but all the, all the, all the townhouses right 

there. Yeah, right. There you go. 

So, so I was like, right there. You gotta do what 

you gotta 

do. Exactly. That's a good time. And I was like, okay, this is a, maybe it's my path. It's many career. And it's something that I can support my family with.

And you know, we all have our crisis. I'm sure that you have your friends have had your Yeah, I've 

had more side jobs than I like 

to 

admit. Right? 

Yeah, yeah. Right. And everyone, like everywhere, like the people listening, we go through all these crisis and for me it was a huge one. Um, 

it's hard when you've got this burning passion and like this thing that you know, you'll put on this earth to do.

Yeah. 

And for whatever reason, circumstances, you're like, I can't be doing that right now. Yeah. It's challenging, eh? 

Ooh. Yeah.[00:45:00] 

Um, 

right. So eventually, 

so eventually, um, I couldn't do that anymore. I was like, right, I have to find something else. And the only thing that I wanted to be, it was out in nature. And biking, and then I figure out whatever I figure out what I can do with 

Yeah. 

You know, so for that summer, I just like applied to a bunch of different guiding, guiding coaching jobs everywhere.

And one of them was ride hub and Right. But then like, they were transitioning into ownership and, um, I would just cut there just in the, in that, and I went for a coaching position and they're like, you know what? For your experience, like you, uh, are you interested? You know, like overseeing the operations here.

Yeah. Amazing. 

I'm like, [00:46:00] yeah. 

Yeah. I was curious. I was like, did you work there for a few years and work your way up? That's really cool to hear that it, your experience landed you 

natural. I didn't, and I, and I had like, I really had like really cool friends there. Yep. Shout out to Yani and Jacob there and like now my, the and Sean as well.

And people have gone, have gone. Some people knew there. Yeah. And I, and it's been three years now. And, um, you had Ollie here and he's uh, 

exactly. I was like, you gotta shout out Ollie. He as been on the podcast. 

Oh, Ollie's a great, yeah, he's really great. And Ali's like, me and Ollie are like, uh, we just like support so much each other and um, yeah, create fun things really, and amazing.

And we have so much fun in the, yeah. In and, 

and guiding wise, like what do you love most about showing people or getting to show people the trails in Squamish for the first time? 

Oof. [00:47:00] The Squamish. Like, we, we, we never touched on that, but like, when I got started riding Squamish, I was like. This is better than whistle.

What? Yeah, like this is like the gem that is like hidden, you know? Um, there is such a variety and you, well, there's, there's like the best writers in the world actually come from here. Um, 

we're gonna piss off some Whistler people here that I've gotta agree with you. Best trails in the world. Hands down.

Yeah. Uh, I mean, which is great. Like, but nothing beats out trailed, right? 

Mm-hmm. 

Um, but, uh, trail riding here is, um, incredible. It has so much, so much, so much history for mountain biking. Um, it's like the Mecca really is around here and it's getting more popular also, but, uh, showing people for the first time the trails that like, everyone's buzzing it, it is [00:48:00] like, and now that I been here for a while and I've been, I don't know, all the trays trail.

There is actually like a thousand probably like legal one I think I read the other day. So I around like five to 600 like legal trails. But 

yeah, 

that could be the double, right? Like double 

I'd say at least. Yeah, 

so 

it is pretty mental, you know, I'm the same as you've been around for a similar amount of time and it's like we work on these trails every day.

Our job is to show people around the trails. We don't know all the trails. 

Yeah. 

Just because there's just so many. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Mental 

and like the access is amazing and honestly like the, this town Squamish is super special I think in, in the world to be honest. To become like, um, you have the fjord right there, the mountains, the granite of the chief cenic and the community as well.

The biking community is huge. [00:49:00] You don't see everyone trying to like. Be the best or to everyone's love, like enjoying mountain biking, being out in nature. And you'll find your own community of, of people and like-minded as well. And, and, and I think that's when I guide and I've been guiding for, um, profe like professionally for over, over 10 years.

Um, and it's all sort of guiding. 

Yeah. 

Uh, for hiking. Uh, a lot of, a lot of biking, city tours mentioned 

canoeing as well. A 

bunch of canoeing. I did, I did a lot of canoeing and kinda like the communities, I mean the, in, in this case, the trails is like the core of it, but also just to [00:50:00] experience what is around here.

It is what is also super special. So in our expedition, uh, where from Squamish w Pemberton, there are three different, uh, towns that are like very different. All of them, even though they're super close from each other. But you have a Squamish that is a growing town, ex locked logging town that was like super under the radar until like recently has grown a lot.

And also wizard, like resort, ski resort like a dream as well. It's literally like a, like a dream town where we have like this tiny, uh, village where you have like restaurants and you walk around and you have the lakes. This is all summer and ski is great and skiing is amazing, but I think summer is better.

I gotta agree 'cause I feel like. In winter time, you like, you have a great time. If you're [00:51:00] skiing, it's a powder day, it's bluebird or whatever. Yeah. But then afterwards, you're all cold and wet and you gotta deal with that. It's dark at 4:00 PM 

Yeah. And you don't go anywhere. 

Summertime, you can have these fantastic long days out in the mountains.

There's no rush. And then you finish and it's like, oh, we've still got another six hours of daylight. Let's go to the lake. Let's go for a swim. Now what on Now let's go for apprais. Let's grab a beer. Like 

amazing. 

It's just like these Yeah. These dreamy days that never seem end. 

Yeah. And then you go a little bit north.

Mm. 

And you have Pemberton where it's like these farm town. I don't know how you, how would you could describe it? 

Yeah. It's definitely more rural, isn't it rural? It, it's a valley, isn't it? It's got these giant mountain peaks on either side, 

huge mountains, 

but then these flat fields full of, of, of farms, of, of breweries that growing their own.

Valley. 

Valley. It's stunning town. Stunning town. Mon curry right there when you're biking and like, and the biking is in really good. I mean, it is really, it is really different than Squamish. It's like a lot of like [00:52:00] fast trails and like beautiful like turns and yeah, it's like all these three towns, I think they have like their different, uh, vibe to 

it.

That's the beauty of it, isn't it? Yeah. And for those listening that don't know fully what we're talking about, uh, if you haven't listened to the past podcast episodes or whatnot, uh, Joaquin and I, we actually met through us creating this expedition together with Ride Hub and with Ollie, who was a past guest on this podcast.

So I kind of reached out to you guys kind of looking for a trip partner to run something here because like you say, it's, it's such a special place. You don't have to travel far to experience three very different riding areas. And just the ability to be able to have a, like, life changing experience is so high.

I was like, we can't not do this. Yeah. You guys are on board right away. You kind of shared a similar vision for wanting to get something happening here. So now that's all up and running, that's happening in July this year. 

Yeah. 

Um, a few spots left. If anyone [00:53:00] listening is interested, there'll be a link down below.

But, uh, yeah. Kind of getting back to like the why I wanted to ask you, like, firstly, I think you've kind of already answered this, but like, why travel across the world if you're from Chile or Australia or New Zealand, wherever, why put your bike in a bag and go to all that effort to come here to bc and then why come on this expedition?

Well, um, you are a mountain biker. I think it's kinda like a dream. 

Live your dreams. 

Yeah. To be honest, um, 

I feel like for a lot of people it's like that. Like one day. One day or like I'll get around to it. 

Yeah. 

So I've been like, 

as, as you say, it's like. So like, there's a few things in life, like if you like mountain biking, you gonna like, wanna have that lifetime experience.

Mm-hmm. 

And I think this place offers that. 

Yeah. 

Um, and, and then not just going to one spot and like, I feel [00:54:00] something important that I've realized like over the years, just like, how good is to have a guide and how good is just to get taken care of, like everything else, all the, all the things that are involving on a trip and just to go enjoy.

Yeah. And yeah. And here, uh, I bus I visited for a short period of time and I knew that I wanted to come back, uh, because it's just, it, it's like you are breathing these, these, uh, passion. Mm-hmm. And. And also around you. Everyone is in the sun. It's like nice. You see the highway like full of bikes that attract bikes.

Yeah. There's a bike rack. Every car bike racks everywhere. And it's like, yeah. Like you get, um, I think people, you will relate to everyone, right? And yeah, that's, and, and yeah, and like meeting new [00:55:00] people as well. I think, uh, it's, it is a whole thing. As I was saying before, like guiding when here is the trails, um, I'm from Chile and I was getting along in Chile.

There is like the culture there is like what people can bring, like what sort of people would be appealed to, you know, and, but here's the trails and the people around that, you know how things work and like how, like how can it sound like these be like. Drawn so many of these people that are like, like us.

Yeah. 

Like, like-minded on a sport, you know, that that is just basically passion, you know? 

Totally. And I guess like what we're really looking to create here is the opportunity for people to like, to make it happen. You know, it can be so hard like to, to find, you know, your, [00:56:00] your six ride in buddies and try and get them all together to all take the time off work book and, you know, someone's gotta figure out what trails to ride and book the accommodation and where to go and hire cars.

Yeah. It's a nightmare. Like it's a full-time job. 

Totally. 

And I guess you and I are similar in the fact that we were both young dirt bags. Maybe we're still dirt bags, but we're getting older. But we, we've, we've had those trips, we've di I yd it and we've done it the hard way and kind of learned from that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

So many headaches, so many learnings. So I think like for me in like crafting this trip with you guys at Ride Hub, it was like from the get go, like let's be really intentional about this. Yeah. And make sure we iron everything out. There's no kinks. Everything is just as easy as possible for the people in this experience.

Yeah. 

So that they can focus on having like that, that bucket list day every day for the 10 days and not have to think about the nitty gritty stuff that we're taking care of. So 

Totally. And we're the most, we're. We're proud to say that also right up you as well. It's like we're [00:57:00] very professional in trying to push this, this industry in a super professional way.

Mm-hmm. Where, where, where is all instructors guys slash guide where we can help you throughout the riding, but also, uh, safety is a huge, important thing, uh, especially in our sport. And if you are going somewhere else, uh, that's the most, one of the most important thing is just to finish the trip without an injury.

Well, that's it, right? Like our aim is to, to bring people over and let them have this bucket list experience to experience the trails here in BC, but also go home a better rider. And that doesn't happen if you go home with a broken bone or if anything like that. 

Yeah, totally. 

Okay. So that's like you say, that's a big part of it.

Like there has been I think a bit of an explosion of people just running BC tours and tours [00:58:00] Yeah. Here without perhaps the, the proper guiding certifications, experience, emergency management plans, like all of these things in place. 

Yeah, totally. 

Not to mention the land permits and all of those things.

Yeah. 

And I see the same thing, you know, down in Australia, in Ta Tasmania, there's what we call like the cowboy operators down there. 

Mm-hmm. 

Hiring a vehicle, getting some people together. It's super cheap. Let's go. 

Oh yeah. It 

the same. 

Chill is 

the same man. Yeah. Nightmare stories. We don't need to get into those, but really what we're going for here is the opposite, isn't it?

It's like, hey, we're, we're here as your coaches, as your guides, yeah. To help you really like live the experience that have been in your dream. 

Totally. 

I know so many riders and like us growing up, watching mountain bike films, but nowadays people are watching YouTube and they're probably already like getting an idea of like, oh, there's these trails in, in Squamish.

You know, like, I wanna ride a Rupert. Mm-hmm. I want to ride half Nelson, or whatever it is. 

Yeah. 

It's like, we're here to help you develop the skills you'll need to ride those trails. 

Yeah. '

cause I know a lot of times when people would just come here by themselves, they'll get here and be like, Ooh, this isn't 

goal.

[00:59:00] It's like, I, when I write this trail, I was like, okay, something important, something important to remind you is like, uh, intermediate trail here probably is like an advanced trail where That's right. Coming from. Yeah. 

So it's like that's where those skill sessions are gonna really come in handy, I guess, to bring the riders up a little bit.

Yeah. 

So that they can Yeah. Ride the trails they wanna ride. 

Yeah. 

That brings me to another question. 

Mm-hmm. 

This might be a tricky one, but what do, what do you think is the, the biggest skill, like the number one skill or thing you find yourself teaching rider that are new to Squamish? So they're already riding at like a, an intermediate or strong intermediate level.

What's the biggest thing they need? 

Yeah, I think like here, there's two things. Uh, there is something super particular that is like not many places in the world that is the granite, right? Like slaps and a lot of people wanna know or wanna like learn that and want to ride that in a [01:00:00] burger slab, you know?

And like the barely adequate or like, stuff like that. Yep. And then people are not to the steep of the terrain. And I feel like being an intermediate to advanced rider are like there where those, I think those two things are, um, what I usually like what? Like, and that distracting, like, like for example, using brake.

Yeah. Like using your position. Your body position to put more weight in, in your front wheel, for example. So then your braking is more effective. 

Right. Yeah. So tying together the body position and the bra. 

Yeah. 

Yeah. I find a, a really similar thing, and I think I'll lead at a similar answer as well. Oh yeah.

It's funny, isn't it, like pretty foundational skills when we look at like our skill pyramid, we've got position and balance, and then we've got operation of controls. So [01:01:00] body positioning break in the bottom of that skill pyramid. But when we talk about applying them to like some pretty technical, pretty steep terrain.

Yeah. 

All of a sudden it's like really little changes we can make can have huge differences to like, oh, I've got way more control now. Okay. Now I feel way more confident. 

Yeah. 

Okay. Now I'm set for a fun day. 

Yeah, totally. I think like also, um, it's not, it's like a lot of, there is a lot of high expectation I feel when people come from out from outside, so.

Oh, because all the media they're looking at, or Remy or Joanne and stuff, it's like, um, it, it tends to be like, okay, uh, these actually harder level how you would think. 

Yeah. 

So let's 

start 

with, 

yeah, everything looks easier on Instagram or off the Cobra, right? 

Yeah, exactly. So, 

so yeah, I guess that's a really good point you bring up, like your motivations of like, okay, I want to ride this thing.[01:02:00] 

I wanna go all the way to BC to ride in and out Burger. Why do you want to do that? 

Yeah. 

Do you wanna do that for a clip to put on your Instagram or do you want to do that 'cause you feel like that'd be a fun challenge for you? 

Yeah, 

and that's always a good question to ask when riding anything. And maybe something I wouldn't necessarily answer until I go and have a look at it for myself through my own eyes.

Mm-hmm. 

And then I might say, actually, yeah, I'll just self check here. 

Yeah. 

I think this is a little bit outta my league, or I think I need to go and get some more mileage on some easier stuff first before we come back to this at the end of the trip. 

Yeah, yeah. Mileage is important. It's a really important thing.

And yeah. Uh, bikes set up. There's a lot. So, so many things 

there is, and luckily for the riders on our trip, they won't have to learn this the hard way because they'll have asked to say, okay, this is our goal. 

Yeah. 

We're gonna go do this, this, and this first. This is what we're gonna work on. 

Yeah. 

And then day three and four, that's when we're gonna go to in and out further.

Exactly. And it's like the, the, that's the good thing about, I think like one of the best thing about guided trips is like [01:03:00] you set your expectation and you can like, okay, this is it. Um, then us, you limit two professionals and we will make the plan and will, the plan is like, okay, is this progression? So we progress obviously, but also have tons of fun and trade it.

And be safe and then, and end up the, and end up the trip on some better rider and like with friends and having peers and like, just to be like, 

oh 

man, this is the best thing. 

That's like, I can't wait. That's the best part of running these trips too. Or one of the best parts is just hanging out with the crew.

And I think this one's gonna be really special, like having the space at Ride Hub as well as like our kind of home base. 

Yeah. 

So like we'll be picking the riders up from Vancouver Airport straight up here to Squamish, but then it's like coffees, lunch, whatever, hanging out, building the bikes. 

Building bikes.

Yeah. 

And like you say, like they'll have us there to like set the plan, but that's gonna be in collaboration with the group as well. And it's gonna be like, Hey [01:04:00] guys, like what do we actually want to get out of this experience? What kind of stuff do we wanna write? What kind of skills do we wanna work on?

Yeah. And then having those regular check-ins along the way, you know, over dinner, over a beer each night, and then maybe over coffee in the morning like. Checking in, how, how are we, have we got what we wanted out of this yet? Yeah. Is everything else a bonus from here or is there still some, you know, skills we wanna work on or trails we wanna ride?

So, yeah. Yeah. Super excited to meet the crew. 

Yeah. 

We've got some, uh, some legends or familiar faces that we're on our Tasmania trip, and then Nice. Some new riders as well, so. Nice. Yeah. Check out that one down below if you're interested. Now, we've been chatting for a while now. It's probably been an hour or more.

I lost track of time. 

Wow. Crazy 

Goes fast, eh? 

Yeah. Yeah. 

To round this out, I wanted to ask you what does a perfect ride look like and why? 

Um, yeah, for me, really like these perfect ridings just riding with my friends, to be honest. Um, whatever. 

Yeah. 

Honestly, [01:05:00] whatever we have, like, I feel that's, uh, really important, at least to me, is, uh.

Having, uh, friends around and riding Mm-hmm. And just pushing our, pushing our levels and, and trading and, and checking out stuff. Um, about, but yeah. And then just finishing a long day. Hopefully a very long day. Hopefully you'll do a lot of mileage or a lot of shuttles or whatever you wanna do a lot of bike park, but with friends and then you end up with a cold beer and, and maybe yeah.

Just like relaxing somewhere beautiful. Yeah. 

Doesn't get much better than that does it Doesn't 

get 

much better. I love that answer. 'cause it is the simple things, isn't it? Yeah. Just like it doesn't matter what we're riding where we are, as long as we're out in nature, having fun with good people. 

Yeah.

Ticks the box for me. 

Yeah, man. Yeah. 

Awesome dude. Thanks so much for this chat. 

Thanks [01:06:00] for having me. 

It's been fantastic to, yeah, that was fun. Yeah. Dive into your experience a bit more. You guys listening. Thank you for listening. Hope you got a lot of that out of that podcast. Um, we'll have some links to, to Ride Hub if you'd like to learn more about, uh, Joaquin and Ride Hub down below, and also the BC Mountain Bike Expedition and Qua.

Yeah. Until next time. 

Yeah. 

Happy Trails.