Grow the Good

In todays's show, I had the opportunity to speak with a concussion expert with all of the latest cutting edge research. As someone who has had a few concussions myself, learning about CTE ( Chronic traumatic encephalopathy ) a few years ago was frightening.  I wondered how concussions and the after-effects would impact my life.  My last concussion was in 2016 just days before defending my Wor...

As athletes, we all know if we exercise, we'll feel better and get stronger.  When you start adding in focus and structure, I like to say that you are no longer just exercising: you are training.  As a Professional Athlete myself, I've been through pretty much every scenario of trying different things in my training, I've been chronically overtrained, I've played with doing min...

Today, I had the opportunity to talk to Josh LaJaunie.  I first heard him on the Rich Roll Podcast about a year ago and was blown away by his story.  I literally had to stop by bike while listening because his story was so overwhelming and his authenticity and passion were contagious.  His story is a powerful one of transformation.  It's about how taking one brush stroke after another can cre...

Last year, I went to the Bicycle Leadership conference and discovered that Bicycling Magazine appointed a new Editor-in-Chief, a female Editor-in-Chief, Leah Flickinger.  I was excited to see that one of cycling's biggest publications had a female at the top of their leadership.  I did more research into who was working at the magazine and noticed something exciting - over half the team was c...

Aaron Stuber and Jackson Long are the plant-based duo behind Thought for Food Podcast and TV.  Their mission is to educate and inspire people to live healthy, compassionate, and adventurous lives through plant-based nutrition.  I personally enjoy their show and use it as one of my guides for staying up to date on the latest evidence-based nutritional science. They are both high level athletes and...

Dr. Kris Keim is a well-known sports psychologist and work's with some of cycling's top athletes. She has her doctorate in clinical psychology and her master’s in sports psychology AND she was actually my very first podcast guest.  The link is in the show notes if you want to go back and listen to it !  She is incredibly passionate about helping others.  She said, "During my competi...

You'd never guess that Lauren Gregg wasn't a cyclist growing up.  She identified as an artistic musician type.  It wasn't until she decided to grab her dad's dusty bike out of the garage and start mountain biking on a whim that she turned into an athlete.  The simple yet life-changing decision to start mountain biking has enabled Lauren to carve her own path. Starting as an XC...

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn is a pioneer in medicine.  He currently directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute and has saved thousands of lives. As a surgeon, he was operating on patients with breast cancer.  Disillusioned by treating the disease and never addressing the cause, he decided to do his own research. From his bio : "In 1995 he...

Today’s guest is no stranger to the cycling world.  He has finished 5 th   two times at the tour de France, won stages in races like the Giro D’Italia and the Vuelta Espana. His name is Tejay Van Garderen and he currently rides for BMC Racing.  This guy is in on top of the world stage of professional road cyclists. The thing I really enjoyed about Tejay is that he was really down to earth and easy...

Yesterday, I had moments of self-doubt and feelings of wanting to give up.  Here is a breakfast table conversation with my husband Matt.  We talked about what I was feeling, how to navigate self-doubt, and how to accept these feelings.  -------------- The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Just because you don't eat meat or dairy doesn't mean that you're healthy. Chef AJ can relate.   She said, "For 26 years, I was the quintessential fat vegan.  It wasn't until I had a health scare.... that I realized I had to do something."  She is a self-proclaimed recovering food addict and a classically trained chef, author, and speaker. As an unhealthy vegan for mo...

Rebecca Rusch is one of the most prolific adventure athletes out there.  From first ascents as a rock climber (El Capitan in Yosemite) to kayaking in the Grand Canyon to taking her bike up Mount Kiliminjaro, nothing stops the Queen of Pain.  Rebecca was one of the top Adventure Racers before becoming a pro mountain biker and is the 7x World Champion in several sports.   Rebecca's depth goes f...

Julieanna Hever is a well-known plant-based dietician, author of 2 books, and has her own TV Show!  She is also a columnist for VegNews Magazines and has been featured on  The Dr. Oz Show ,  The Steve Harvey Show ,  Reluctantly Healthy ,  The Marie Osmond Show ,  The Jane Velez-Mitchell Show , and  E! News , co-stars on  The Chef and The Dietitian , on numerous radio shows, and lectures extensivel...

Caroline Gleich is a magnet for adventure.  She is one of the ski mountaineering world's most prolific skiers.  She has been on the cover of many skiing magazines, premiered in Warren Miller films, and skied some of the most challenging lines around the world. Most notable and recent was that she was the 4th person ever and first woman to ski all 90 lines in the Chuting Gallery in the Wasatch...

Do you ever have thoughts and feelings that you don't want? What does mental toughness mean?  Do you ever worry about what people think about you or wish that you were more confident? These are all questions that 3x X-Terra World Champion Lesley Patterson and Simon Marshall, PhD have addressed in their book, " Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down ."   It was great to talk with both of...

Brasil Ride is a 7 day mountain bike stage race in Bahia, Brazil.  This was my 3rd Brasil Ride and I raced it the Mixed Category with Gordon Wadsworth. My husband, Matt Ewonus took the helm and hosted this episode.  This podcast episode is how it all went down!  Boiling sun, technical terrain, heat stroke, 4-6 hour days in the saddle, losing and regaining the leaders jersey, how to be successful a...

Would you spray paint your bike?  Emily Kachorek does.  Maybe you've seen a blur of color, stoke, and little orange creamsicles fly by you on the road or in a Cyclocross Race.  This month, I've been focusing on entrepreneurs, and I was intrigued by Emily because she thinks outside the box.  Not only is she creative and learned how to run a successful business, but she has her Master&apos...

Rage, Rapture, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed...what does this have to do with running a business, philanthropy, and backcountry skiing?  It all ties under Lodi's premier winery; Michael David Winery.  David Phillips is a co-owner of the winery with his brother Michael and their family has been farming the fertile soil in Lodi, California for 5 generations- since 1865 to be exact.  However, the...

What do British born rock stars, the hosiery capital of the world, cycling, and dyslexics have in common?  One man: Shane Cooper. After traveling with his band and playing music/bass professionally, Shane got really into cycling and consequently, socks. “It kind of started by mistake” Shane said when I asked him how he started one of the most successful sock companies in the world.  Shane was raci...

When an NBA Hall of Famer and Olympic Gold Medalist says "Mountain biking is my new basketball," you know he means business.  Reggie Miller, the Knick Killer, is also killing it on the trails. If you've been watching the Legend's Instagram , you've noticed that the majority of his photos are of him on a mountain bike, sporting familiar gold and navy blue Pacers colors with...

You know those couples that seem to always be happy?  Those people who always seem to be having cool adventures?  Gordon Wadsworth and Emily Hairfield are those people.  This show is about secrets of being a biking couple, singlespeeding, and some adventure stories. Matt Ewonus (Sonya's husband) co-hosts this episode with Sonya.   In this show: life lessons from riding a tandem bike backgroun...

This week’s episode is a speech I gave about my journey as a plant-based athlete at the San Francisco Veg Fest (called the World Veg Fest). It was my first time to a VegFest and first time speaking outside the bike world about my diet. I wanted to share it with you on my podcast. There will be a video available soon of the speech as well so you’ll be able to see the accompanying slides. I’ll updat...

Kate Courtney found her love for cycling with tandem bike rides with her father in middle school and enjoying blueberry pancakes after the ride. "It was really just a vehicle for pancakes," she laughed. This was the beginning of 10x National Champion Kate Courtney's career on a bike.  Who knew that the little girl pedalling behind her dad in the woods of Mount Tam would become one o...

"Once you start acknowledging, and looking at, and being honest with yourself the role that the ego plays in the sport, and it's a big deal in mountain biking... once that starts to be addressed, then some smarter decisions can be made."  -Ryan Leech   Ryan Leech is one of the world's best Trials Mountain Bikers and has even performed with Cirque du Soleil.  But what is trials?...

"The person inside your head that you're with 24/7 is yourself. So you have to be your own supportive friend. I tell people you have a choice. you can be an inner ally or an inner enemy. It's that simple.  The voice in your head can either be kind, supportive, encouraging, nurturing 24/7 or cutting you down telling you you're a loser, you're no good, you're not good e...