[00:00:00] Tayson: Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Live Ultralight Podcast powered by Outdoor Vitals. Today we had an awesome adventure on the podcast. I'm really excited to share this interview with you from Ryan Van Duzer. Ryan is an adventurer from Boulder, Colorado, and he's best known for his popular YouTube channel as a bike packer, but he's also a hiker, trail runner, ultra racer, and world traveler. As a TV host, uh, his work has been featured on in Men's Journal, Discovery Channel's Out of the Wild: Venezuela. He's written books as a motivational speaker as well. Um, it's just an incredible array of feats that he's done such as, um, bike packing or biking 4 ,000 miles from Honduras to Boulder. He cycled across Cuba. Um, he's run the famous Leadville 100, uh, ultra marathon twice. He also has done things like take a three speed cruiser bicycle across the entire United States. Um, but I love his perspective on life. I love his perspective on what he's hoping to accomplish with his time here on earth. And I think you guys are going to really enjoy this as well. So if you're interested in bike packing, travel, adventure, um, or just, just hearing, um, a very positive person and influence in this world, stay tuned for this interview with Ryan Van Duzer. All right, Ryan, I'm super excited to have you on the show. You are a man who has traveled the world in so many ways. I was just digging through some of your content. It feels like you've been everywhere and experienced almost everything. Um, I'm sure you have like a list of things you still want to do, but from the outside end, it's like, what is this guy not done? Where has he not been? Um, but I wanted to ask just to open up kind of that initial question of how did you get into this outdoor career you're in? Right? I know that, you know, you've, you've worked on TV, you've done, you know, YouTube, you've had your hands on a lot of things, but like, where did it really begin? Like what was kind of your first paying gig to, to be an adventurer, I guess, a professional adventurer.
[00:02:02] Ryan: Yeah. Good question. Anyway, I'm psyched to be here. Thanks for having me on. It's fun to meet you and talk with like -minded folks who like to sleep under the stars and get out there. So this is fun for me. So I appreciate that. I would say my first paying gig was, um, I got paid $50 an article to write for the Daily Camera newspaper here in Boulder, Colorado. And at the time I was riding my bike from Honduras back to where I live in Boulder, Colorado. I was a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Honduras. I worked with little kids. It was an amazing experience. And I didn't want to just get on an airplane and fly home after two years of being down there. I really wanted to process the work that I had done and also have time to dream about the future and what I wanted to do with my life. And I wanted to go on a big adventure. So I decided to jump on my bicycle and leave my little village on a bike and ride it all the way home to Boulder, Colorado. And along the way, um, I wrote articles, weekly articles, chronicling the adventure for the Daily Camera newspaper. 50 bucks a pop.
[00:03:12] Tayson: That's a big money down there. I'd imagine nothing.
[00:03:14] Ryan: Yeah, definitely. Oh, it's all I needed, man. I'm just, uh, you know, living off of rice and beans and, you know, buying some fresh fruit drinks in the morning. So that's, you know, that's only a handful of dollars there. So I'm good.
[00:03:25] Tayson: Yeah. How did, how did you end up, you know, down there doing that work? And like, what were you doing on a daily basis with the Peace Corps?
[00:03:32] Ryan: Yeah. So I've always been service minded in a way, even when I, you know, living here at home in Boulder, I worked in after -school programs with kids. I've always liked working with youth, uh, specifically like, you know, Latin American immigrant youth. There's, there's quite a few in Boulder. And at a young age started working with him. It was just awesome. I loved it. I love the culture. I love the language. I love everything. And so I really wanted to, you know, dive deep, you know, um, into service work and the Peace Corps was a way for me to do that. I had done like week long, you know, trips in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala working at orphanages and stuff, but the Peace Corps was my first opportunity to really become part of a community and live there, not just pop in for a week and then leave. And, um, after I graduated from college from the University of Colorado, I was on my way to a small village in Honduras and I lived there for a little over two years working with at risk youth. And I did all sorts of different projects ranging from coaching boys and girls, soccer teams to building a school. But mostly I was just like a big brother in the neighborhood and I gave out like a million piggyback rides and all that kind of stuff.
[00:04:50] Tayson: That's, that's super interesting. So it wasn't so much like you're going down there and doing physical work or like, or professional, uh, you know, you're not like a dentist. There, right? You're just you're just helping in more of a personal one-on-one level.
[00:05:06] Ryan: Absolutely, I worked in a lot of different schools. started my own projects, but really, it was About giving the young people there something to do and one of the biggest projects I did was a youth news TV show. I had a degree in broadcast journalism and I thought well maybe I can use some of my actual skills and teach these kids, something that might help them down the road. And so I got a bunch of cameras donated from UNICEF. and we started a youth TV show, and the kids would run around all week and film topics that were interesting to them from, you know, the environment and picking up trash to to love or whatever it was and every Sunday we had a little TV Super fun and it's still going to this day. That's really one of the goals with the Peace Corps to create sustainable projects so that you start something there. And then We still carries on and that's really the goal overall with Peace Corps around the world.
[Editor’s note: Ryan’s statement that the youth television project was still operating was recorded in October 2023. Its current status was not verified for this historical transcript.]
[00:06:09] Tayson: Wow. Yeah, that's that's really awesome to know that it's still up and running today. And yeah, sure that's, that's super satisfying to so you mean that that lasting difference was that like, your first time leaving the country or going out of the country or if you travel a lot when you're younger,
[00:06:24] Ryan: I did not travel a lot. When I was younger, you know, I was raised by a single mom. She had four kids, we didn't have a lot of extra money for travel, you know. And I remember, I always joke like the furthest I ever traveled was to go to Cheyenne Wyoming for a soccer game. And, you know, I live in Boulder so it's like two hours away. Not a big deal. So, travel was not a part of our Lives growing up, but I always loved watching the Discovery Channel and Travel Channel and dreaming of these far-off exotic places. And so I said to myself, at a young age, okay? I want to find a way to be able to travel to these places someday. You know, I didn't know what that meant at the time, but I was gonna make it happen and I did. So. After I graduated high school, I lived in Sweden for a year as an exchange student, a rotary exchange student. So that was my first Tip of the world outside of the Boulder Colorado bubble. And from that moment on I really wanted to make travel a big part of my life. I love meeting new people and learning languages and cultures and eating interesting food and Me up like nothing else. And so that's really when it started. And then I went to college at the University of Colorado, and I did some study abroad here and there and then off to the Peace Corps. I, Got back from my big bike ride from Honduras. I really was serious about. Okay, I want to find a way to make a living by telling stories. Essentially, I want to be a Storyteller and I want to travel and that's what lit the fire.
[00:07:57] Tayson: So you get back from Honduras with this goal in this dream. What do you do? How did you make a reality?
[00:08:04] Ryan: You know, it's hard. I didn't quite know what to do but something just kind of fell into my lap. I started working for Public Access TV here in Boulder and Public Access is usually the channel that nobody watches because it's just kind of low budget and weird. An outdoor adventure TV show, and the show I called Out There and I dreamed it up and I would just run around Boulder with a little Sony video camera and film. I filmed a little adventures in the goal of the show was to inspire people to get outside and get off their couches and challenge themselves. So I would do anything from like trail running to kayaking anything that you could do in Boulder and that show Surprisingly enough was watched by more people than just my mom and it kind of was my my start in the world of broadcast journalism. Really? I didn't make any money doing the show, its Public Access you don't get paid. So it was just like a way to practice what I wanted to do. You know, you've heard the term, fake it to you, make it, I was faking it until I was hopeful gonna make it you know and That show is led to essentially what I do today on YouTube. It'll make adventures with the goal of inspiring people to go out and challenge themselves.
[00:09:23] Tayson: Yeah. No. I like that a lot. I always tell people that that asked me for advice to to work for an education. Not for money, right? Yeah. You know if you really know what you want to do then then do whatever job or whatever you can to Learn. And then the value will follow right? The money will follow and I think that's exactly. It sounds like exactly what you did. There is say this isn't, this isn't the easy route. This isn't the I get paid big bucks for this. You probably had to turn down other opportunities but paved the way, right?
[00:09:53] Ryan: Yeah and it was an interesting time in life. I was 25 26 years old, a lot of my friends. We're making real money and buying houses and here, I was living in my mom's basement because it was free and doing Public Access TV. And then I also worked at a local elementary school running, their after school program. So I still really wanted to keep that. Service minded aspect to my life. And that's how I pulled it off by, not having high expenses, you know? I, I've never had a car in my life. I ride my bike everywhere. I keep my expenses low and I was able to pull it off and now it's led to a pretty exciting life. Yeah. So
[00:10:35] Tayson: take me through like, going from that to maybe getting into more of these massive Adventures, right. Because, I mean, you've done been a tremendous amount of of bigger Adventures, you know, from The Great Divide mountain bike route, you know, Colorado Trail, Honduras, you've gone Across America multiple times. So are those all really put on and sponsored I guess by your YouTube channel at this point or were you doing some other work in the meantime?
[00:11:04] Ryan: The early days, I really wasn't making. Much money. I continued working for my local newspaper and some of those rides across the United States. I would I would write weekly articles and this is all. So when like online video became a thing, you know, YouTube started in like late to 2005. Time. And so I started making videos of my bike Adventures across the country, also writing articles. So making, you know, a little bit of money just enough to scrape by, but, you know, I was living the dream, I was traveling the country on a bike, doing what I love. Then again, it was all about hopefully inspiring people to leave their cars behind and ride their bikes more and I'm not a car hater. I realize that there's there's definitely used for cars but it's like I think we can ride our bikes more. And so the goal is to like say hey you know what, I'm gonna ride this three-speed Cruiser all the way across the United States and show you that you don't need the most expensive gear to do something big and maybe it'll inspire people to ride their bikes to work or to the grocery store or whatever. And Kind of how it started. I was like, I'm just trying to like try a little bit of everything. I was a writer, I was making videos. You know, I was trying to be a TV host at the same time, I really thought it'd be cool to be like a TV host for Travel Channel or Discovery Channel. So I I was going to auditions. And doing that whole thing. And I had some success in the TV world, I was on the Travel Channel. I was on a Discovery Channel, Survival show in Venezuela. So I've done a little bit of everything but right now, I feel like I've really hit my stride with YouTube because I get to share stories that I truly believe in and I get to share my heart and my soul the ups and the Downs of Adventures and I absolutely love it. And I have direct contact. With all of my viewers which is something I didn't have in the TV world. People can comment and they can ask questions and I can write them back immediately and help them on their own adventure Journeys, which is pretty cool. Yeah, I think it's hard for people to
[00:13:05] Tayson: understand how valuable that is from a Creator standpoint to have that direct connection. Otherwise, you know, if you're doing it let's say the TV method. You know, you film and you just you're only interaction is with the camera, right? And like a crew that's there, but you're not really sure if you're having an impact and, you know, judging by what you said, that's that's your whole point is to have an impact, right? So I'm sure that's, that's such a cool thing. That's come from from opportunities like YouTube, Right?
[00:13:34] Ryan: Absolutely. I'm so grateful for YouTube. You know, for a long time, the Pinnacle was to be a TV host. That's really what I wanted to be. Every day I woke up that was the goal. Number one, I want to be a TV host. But now that I have this YouTube channel and this wonderful audience, I would never go back to the TV world. And it's mainly because of my contact with my viewers, I mean, the goal really is to help them out on their Journeys. Yes. You got to make some money here and there. But really, I want to show people how beautiful the world is and that we can all challenge ourselves in some way, shape or form. Yeah. Yeah.
[Editor’s note: Ryan’s description of his YouTube work, audience, income, and career preference reflects the October 2023 recording. Current channel activity and work may differ; the Resources section links to the verified official guest site.]
[00:14:13] Tayson: Well, I want to ask you what, you're toughest Adventure has been just of all the things that you've done. What was kind of what was the hardest one? The hardest one
[00:14:23] Ryan: by far without a doubt was being on that Discovery Channel, Survival show. I had never been through anything like that in my life. You know, I've done ultramarathons, 100 milers riding my bike, thousands of miles, but that is a piece of cake compared to trudging through the jungle and eating termites and grub worms to stay alive and sleeping, you know, in rainstorms and just getting pelted with, you know, water and bugs and all sorts of stuff. So that was the hardest. I lost like over 30 pounds and about a month. And it was, I mean, in really, it's due to starvation. I mean, So uncomfortable, it's hard to explain but it was absolute misery in the moment now that I look back on that Adventure. You know, it's very valuable and there's some things I definitely learned about myself and I learned that, you know, we can always push ourselves a little bit harder as long as we keep our mind in the game and keep our mind kind of like thinking positively. But yeah, that Adventure was rough.
[00:15:26] Tayson: Yeah. No. I I relate. I've I've lived in the jungles of Malaysia and eaten, Sago worms, and, and Bee larvae, and some of that stuff. I mean, it wasn't For survival purposes. I mean it felt like I was trying to survive sometimes but you know, no, it's super tough to do. Like I can't imagine. Like all of those factors coming together at one point in time, right? Like to you, when you think about that particular TV show like what was the hardest element was? It? Was it the hunger or was it like the Sleep depravity? Yeah
[00:16:03] Ryan: I mean it was her or you said it? Well it's a variety of things coming together at once. Hunger was the hardest that was So uncomfortable because when you're not feeding your body like nothing works, well, like your mind doesn't even work. I remember trying to, like, tie knots to put up tarps and I would just couldn't figure it out. It was almost like I was drunk like my brain just wasn't functioning and so starvation, just affects everything and it really affects your mood. I'm usually a pretty cheery positive guy, but I mean there were some dark times out there, right? Just felt so, Deflated because your body just doesn't work, you can't do anything. And I'm used to being strong, you know. I do these Ultra marathons and they're hard but there's eight stations every 10 miles with people like forcing food down your throat. So it's like it's not that big of a deal compared to, you know, sitting in the jungle for a month. So that was that was right, I'm very grateful.
[00:17:01] Tayson: He think that like you're lost of even cognitive ability, or mental ability was was sheerly from the hunger and the lack of energy or food, or was any part of that, like exposure? Like were you getting super cold or hypothermic? Right. Because I like I've experienced those same things. From exhaustion or or like my body temperature getting dangerously low. So just curious if like, is that really just from
[00:17:32] Ryan: the calories in your opinion? You know, it probably wasn't. I attribute a lot of it to starvation, but we really weren't sleeping much. We didn't have tents or sleeping, bags, or sleeping pads. So, when it was time to sleep at night, sometimes we Would just pile up there. Were nine of us. And we would have our rain jackets on and put our hoods over our heads. And we would just be getting rained on all night and shivering and just be just, it was absolute misery and in the nights that it wasn't raining. We had bugs in our ears and our faces constantly like biting us. They had these little things called pootie's, which is like a like a Sandfly. And God, when I got home from this adventure, my body was just all scabbed up and bloody. I looked diseased.
[Editor’s note: The rapid weight loss, starvation, sleep loss, rain exposure, shivering, insects, mood changes, and cognitive impairment above are Ryan’s recollections from a survival television production, not a safe training method or medical explanation. Confusion, impaired coordination, uncontrolled shivering, or suspected malnutrition or hypothermia require prompt qualified medical or emergency guidance.]
[00:18:15] Tayson: Energy too right to heat your body when it's raining on you and cold. So it's just the constant toll, you know.
[00:18:26] Ryan: And on top of it all haven't even mentioned it yet. This is a TV show. So there's cameras in your face all the time and that's stressful too.
[00:18:33] Tayson: That was the best training. You could have to pick yourself up for the camera, right?
[Editor’s note: Tayson’s “best training” remark refers only to having to compose oneself for a television camera during this historical production. It does not describe starvation, sleep deprivation, cold exposure, or impaired cognition as safe training methods.]
[00:18:41] Ryan: God and they're like, hey Ryan. So tell us about the relationship with Michael. What's going on. I feel some tension and you're like, oh man. Like I don't have, I don't have the energy for this.
[00:18:54] Tayson: yeah I can't I can't imagine that this it kind of seemed like because I I was watching some of that prior to jumping on the call with you and It kind of seemed like that was, like, the original Survival show, like,
[00:19:07] Ryan: yeah.
[00:19:07] Tayson: Is there anyone doing that before this? And it was the point of that, just to survive or like, what was the point of the whole show?
[00:19:13] Ryan: The point of the show—that was called Out of the Wild—was to get out of the wild. So they dumped us into the jungle and every few days we get a piece of a map and we're navigating to different Camp spots and the goal is to find civilization essentially, And yeah it was rough but I really actually I'm proud of that show it kind of portrayed the best of humanity, it wasn't like Survivor where there's a million dollar prize. And there are alliances and people are backstabbing each other. Like we really had to come together as a team. And it was a really, it was a, it was powerful. It really was powerful to be with those nine other eight other people and I'm still friends with, with all of them. I mean, we went through some serious stuff together.
[00:20:00] Tayson: Well what did what did you learn from it? Like what's the right? Like I guess when I get done with stuff like that even if it's type 2, type 3, fun, you know, where you're like, wasn't fun during the moment, it's not even. That fun to think about it after, right? But like usually, in those moments, you learn, right? You grow in some way, shape, or form, just curious. What what you took away from that experience.
[00:20:21] Ryan: you know, I learn that we can push ourselves much much harder and further than we ever thought imagined, you know, I tell people about this and their first response is. Oh, I could never do that, but I tell them. Yeah I bet you could, you know, humans are pretty incredible. As long as you have like good teammates around you and you're working together like nine times out of 10, you're going to get yourself out of a sticky situation. So that was a really powerful lesson, you know, to not quit, and to keep going with it. And support the other members of the team. And so all of those lessons have been very valuable going through my life working just in group projects, or TV Productions or whatever when times get tough. There's always a way through. You know, I also learned about our relationship to the environment in the humans. You know how we, you know, treat our environment. And what we can do to live off it and we don't need all of the things. That we have in this modern world. I mean, we we made life so easy for ourselves that it's rare. That humans actually go outside anymore and even just walk Barefoot in the grass or anything like that or even sleep under the stars, right? And so, it really helped strengthen my relationship with with nature and the outside world for sure.
[Editor’s note: The claims above about pushing through a sticky situation, not quitting, living from the environment, going barefoot, and sleeping under the stars are personal reflections from a controlled historical production, not wilderness survival instructions. Teamwork and positive thinking do not replace food, shelter, navigation, risk limits, or emergency help.]
[00:21:39] Tayson: Yeah. I think that's man, there's so much there to talk about, but I I've been, I don't think I came from like a minimalist. Mindset growing up or anything like that. It was more like Kind of the opposite, right? That's kind of what drove me to to even get into business per se was like, oh all my friends, have these things that I would like you know, and and you kind of drive into that. And so I think when I first started my career there was definitely that element and the more I get into things. The more you just realize that there's no happiness in in things, right? And it's just all relationships and and, you know, things like that. And and so I've slowly, like, I don't know, like I think it's just this constant battle for me of like, trying to justify life, but in so many ways, it just, it always comes back to other way, but it is it. We've, I think, personally that we have created Our own problems. I think humans are so smart and our brains don't shut off. And so if life is too easy, will create problems, right? We'll create Havoc for ourselves and It's sad, and it's crushing. And I've seen people do it around me and I've seen probably myself do it at a time, but it's a huge factor. And so I really appreciate a guy like you who has nailed that down and can see that, you know, black and white separation and and you try to help other people with it because I I feel strongly that that we just need more and more and more of that. Okay, so that was the one side. The other side though, is this whole push yourself, this whole push yourself thing. I, I think back to Like I was always kind of a hard worker and whatnot, but it wasn't until I was actually in high school and I played football and I had this coach who would just make us run forever like he'd make us run and tell basically someone would collapse, right? Like he put a few kids in the hospital. It was just we thought he was off of his rocker. We thought he was crazy, everyone thought he was crazy, right? But when I looked back at that later on I realized that what he taught me was that I could push so much farther than I thought possible. For some reason that that's what really stuck with me from it. And then I feel like I've been able to kind of push that throughout my life and what I think is one of the most valuable things that you could ever do for people is help them have that same experience, right? And I would say the medium that we're often trying to do it through is through backpacking. You know, that's kind of our Core Business and our core thing but we just love to hear you're insights on on. I don't know how you what? If you found success, you feel like in ways of helping people, maybe push, and push themselves and rewrite their own paradigms and rewrite their own limits. You know, how does Ryan Van Duzer—Duzer, Duzer. I should learn your pronunciation.
[00:24:37] Ryan: You can call me Dozer too though.
[00:24:38] Tayson: That's How do you go about kind of? The same thing with with trying to inspire people.
[00:24:46] Ryan: You know, that's my favorite part of what I get to do. And now that I've had Them for about seven years now you know my audience is bigger than it used to be. I get to reach a much larger audience and I get emails every day from people saying. Hey man, I watched your videos and it inspired me to pull my bike out of the garage for the first time in 20 years and I've now lost 30 pounds and I ride it every day to work. I never thought this was possible. Thank you for showing me the way, you know, and it's, I love those emails, you know, and sometimes I meet people in real life, that tell me these stories. And I, you know, it's makes me so happy and, you know, I also highlight a lot of ultra running on my channel and that's a sport where you really do have to push your limits like everybody in an ultra race is going all out and it's hard, and it's scary, and it's overwhelming. And I, you know, Chronicle a lot of my ultra races like the Leadville 100 or other things and people watch them. And they're like, wow, I would love to do that someday but I can't Give me a few excuses. And so I like to help them out and be like you know what, you can do this, I promise you you can do this you got to just train a little bit, you get your body ready, you know, and then you can build up to an ultra marathon. I truly believe that that most people can do this and you know I'll get an email after a year of chatting with somebody. They're like man I did my first 50 miler. It was the hardest thing I've ever done but it's also the best thing I've ever done and what it does is it builds confidence for your next adventure and maybe not even Adventure. But just life in general, when life gets hard, you know, we can tap back into these moments where we've done these different difficult things. And we're like, okay, I know, I can get through this because I've done this and this and this, you know, a lot of the adventures that you and I choose That's it right there. We choose them, we are voluntarily choosing to head out into the pain cave. But there are some times in life, where you get thrown something your way where you don't choose it. And illness and the family or a heartbreaking relationship breakup and it's hard. And so, I think that what we do on a daily basis, when we get out there, we're practicing for life and it really helps us get through the tough times, you know, in life, for sure.
[Editor’s note: The ultrarunning, weight-loss, training, pain, confidence, and mental-health statements above are personal or viewer-reported experiences from 2023, not universal fitness or health guidance. Build endurance gradually and use current qualified coaching and medical guidance appropriate to your health and objective.]
[00:27:02] Tayson: Yeah, yeah, I was just gonna say that You know, I've I feel like I've been through some pretty tough physical things in my life, but they probably don't amount to more of the mental emotional side of things, right? Like, how tough Which is kind of its bizarre. Right? And I think that's part of the world we live in today, right? Is just that, it's, I don't know that that was the case 100 to 200 years ago. Like, it was just physically hard all the time and they didn't think so much. I feel like I feel like they were so wrapped up in in like mental emotional type stuff. But yeah, I think that's That's really well said, right? If you can like I have two kids, right? And I feel like one of the most valuable things I can possibly teach them is To learn to do hard things, right? It's like if you can just learn to do hard things and and realize that like, life is going to be hard, it can change your whole Paradigm from being a victim, you know, to controling your destiny. And yeah. And like with Runners, I had a mentor of mine, you know, he said he'd get up and run every day and he liked to run marathons. But he's like, if I get up and I do something really hard and it's the first thing I do every day, what I like is everything else that day is going to be easier than why I have already done. Right? And so it's like, for him, it's like this mental switch, where, you know, it's like, look, I I know how to do hard things. I've done hard things today. I've done them yesterday and I am prepared for whatever life is going to throw up me today.
[00:28:32] Ryan: Absolutely man, I love that.
[00:28:37] Tayson: So, tell me about your absolute favorite adventure.
[00:28:42] Ryan: Let's see. I mean, I've done so many cool things. Um, Wow, it's hard to say. I mean different elements of different Adventures have been absolutely amazing. I would say, my favorite thing to do in general is to connect with humans around the world. Like when I go on adventures of course I love to push myself. I love the challenge. I love to see the Landscapes and beautiful things, but really, I love connecting with humans all over the world. That's my favorite thing and I portray this a lot in my YouTube videos. I think my audience loves it. When I happen upon somebody out in the middle of nowhere. And they have an interesting story to tell, and I film it and put it on my channel, like, I love that. It makes me feel more connected to other humans around me and humans that are thousands of miles away and another country and that we're all pretty similar. And we have all the same desires even if our cultures are totally different. So I'd say that's my favorite part of Adventures is meeting people, so I'll go back to in 2009. I wrote a three-speed, New Belgium Cruiser across the country and that was my first time traveling across the United States in any way, shape, or form hadn't. Even done it on a road trip like in a car. And I met so many wonderful people along the way like Farmers out and Kansas and coal miners and West Virginia. And it really gave me an appreciation for my country that I didn't have before. You know, I really discovered a lot about the United States through that first, cross-country ride, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
[00:30:19] Tayson: Yeah, do you have any like specific stories or anything that come to mind of like just meeting someone out there that that had an impact on you?
[00:30:30] Ryan: Sure so it kind of mentioned it but I met a coal miner in West Virginia, I was riding this cruiser bike up a pretty steep mountain in West Virginia and this guy came driving by me in a red truck. He yells out the window and he goes, hey, man, where you going. And I was like, I'm going to Washington DC, and he's like, no shit and he's like, come on over here. I'll give you some food. So I kind of got in front of me and led the way for a bit and we went down a dirt road and he gets out of the car. He's like hey man, my name is Danny. You know, I live here out in the woods and I don't have much but I can give you some macaroni and some Crystal lights and you know, I know what it's like to travel and I just want to make sure you're okay. And I was like, you are awesome. And so that guy ended up being so cool. I ended up staying at his house that night. And he showed me all around the area. And this small town, he lived in, in West Virginia, and he'd been a coal miner since he was 18. Old at the time. It was about 55 and he was just such a kind-hearted human. And when I left the next morning, he took this necklace off of his neck and said, I want you to have this, this stands for courage, wisdom and strength. And if you remember those three things in life it'll get you through anything. And so I've been wearing this necklace, ever since this is the 2009. I got this. So it's been what 14 years and I still in touch with Danny, I still call him on his birthday and, and holidays. And we have a great relationship. Now, I've actually been back to his house as well.
[00:32:04] Tayson: Yeah. Yeah. That's Wild. I didn't expect that story.
[00:32:08] Ryan: Yeah, totally.
[00:32:09] Tayson: I mean, you see that up perfectly like, I feel like, I, like just to have that relationship lasts this long and to still be That important to you is so so powerful, right? Like I feel like I don't know, just the fact that you've been able to hang on to that at that level is really, really.
[00:32:27] Ryan: Yeah. And you know, he had never brought anybody off the side of the road into his house before, you know, he just saw me cycling up a big mountain and I was struggling. He's like, I want to help that guy out and ever since he met me, he does it all the time. He like goes out and picks up, bikers and brings them home and cook some meals. And let them wash their clothes. I mean, Kind of like a trail Angel without even knowing what a trail Angel is. He doesn't live on the Appalachian Trail or anything. He just wants to help. His fellow humans, which is really cool.
[00:32:58] Tayson: Yeah. Well I'm sure you paved the way with your, your great big smile and personality, right? Where he felt comfortable enough to be like this guy seems great. I'll help him out.
[00:33:09] Ryan: in a way, I think of myself as an ambassador when I go on these travels. When I ride my bike, I'm an ambassador for the United States, or for Colorado. My community. For Humanity and I, yeah, I always try to put my best foot forward and, you know, be a good citizen, a world citizen or maybe I'm in Mexico or somewhere far away. I want those people to think. Wow, we met that American once on a bike and he was so cool and he sat down and talked with us for a couple hours. And so from now on when those people think of Americans, they think of me, you know, and they think of a good human which is what I want to do.
[00:33:46] Tayson: Yeah, I I couldn't agree with that more. I think in so many ways traveling. The world is is the best way to make the world a better place, if that makes sense because you develop so much empathy for the people there and hopefully, you're You know, helping them have empathy for us as well or see us as not. Whatever is on the news channel or not, whatever is being portrayed, right? And so, I couldn't agree with that as well. I couldn't agree more with that as well but I know what, let's talk. Yeah, let's talk for a little bit. I mean, this podcast we typically Love talk about gear and some of that kind of stuff. So you're a huge bike. Packer we've dabbled in bike packing at times on this podcast and just the the opportunities that it provides. would love to hear I guess, what makes you Prefer bike packing over another method such as backpacking or or I don't know Adventure dirt bikes or whatever. Why do you choose bike packing and then just love to maybe ask a few questions on on some of your favorite pieces of gear for it.
[00:34:54] Ryan: So early. So I love riding my bike, you know, like I said, I don't have a car. I ride my bike everywhere, I still get the same amount of Joy when I jump on my bike in the morning, as I did, when I was a little kid learning how to ride a bike. Sense of Freedom, you get on a bicycle so much fun. I mean of course you could feel that another sports but for me, I truly love. Just riding a bike and I love mountain biking too. I love ripping down a trail. Me I love bike packing because it's fun and you can cover long distances. You know, going uphill might be really tough but then you can bomb downhill for a while. and, you know, You carry all of your gear on the bike so it's not on your shoulders like backpacking and I've done backpacking for sure. I've done a lot of treks in the Himalayas but yeah, bike packing is just straight up fun so I'd say that's why I like it.
[00:35:47] Tayson: You definitely are covering more distance, right? Like running into people on the Colorado Trail, this summer. You know, there's one guy passed that was doing over 50 miles a day and I just couldn't believe that he could ever 50 miles a day in that kind of country, right? It's It's pretty wild. And I mean and that's on a rough trail, right? That's not on something where you could pick up the speed a little bit or not, be at 12,000 feet or
[00:36:07] Ryan: yeah, you know, I've done the Colorado Trail on my bike and it's definitely one of the hardest bike packing Adventures I've ever done because of the terrain, you're constantly pulling or dragging your bike up mountains and talus fields, and then bombing down and the weather is gnarly all the time. And but I remember running into a lot of hikers. They would see me going uphill. They're like man, I don't envy you at all and then they see me going downhill. They're like, man, that's so cool. I wish I could do that.
[00:36:34] Tayson: Yeah, totally totally. Um, when you did the Colorado Trail, I believe you had helped co-design a bike. Yeah, on that trail.
[00:36:44] Ryan: Yeah,
[00:36:44] Tayson: it's really that bike looks really cool. Like all the gears were enclosed, right driven? Is that bike still in production? Like why? I guess, why am I not seeing more of those bikes? Because it seems like such a cool cool concept.
[00:36:59] Ryan: That's why I love it, too. So the idea is—the idea is cool. So you can go on these Adventures which are already hard enough, and you don't want to deal with your bike breaking all the time. So that's why we have the enclosed gears and a gearbox called the Pinion gearbox. So mud and snow and Gunk, doesn't junk up a derailleur on a normal bike. And then the chain is not a chain, it's a carbon belt drive which never needs to be lubed and they just they work, you know. Essentially. And so I helped design this bike called the 600X which is just like an adventure bike made for like off-road Adventure. It's a hardtail mountain bike with front suspension and I love it and you know I think That more bike brands are going towards the, you know, internal gearing, whether it's an internal Hub or a gearbox. You know, I've heard that Shimano has some patent for a gearbox. But right now, it's, it's kind of only the boutique bikes and handmade bikes that use a lot of this technology. I think, because it's a little bit more expensive than the traditional bike. But yeah, I think we'll see more of it going going forward.
[Editor’s note: The 600X, Pinion gearbox, belt drive, Shimano patent, cost, production, and technology-trend comments above describe a 2023 conversation and were not independently verified here. They do not establish current specifications, compatibility, availability, pricing, patents, or maintenance performance.]
[00:38:08] Tayson: Yeah, that was that was my I guess, guess was that it was probably just a more expensive design right to put it together in that way. But Really cool concept. I thought it was that stood out to me as like, wow, that is a really cool concept for for just the benefits that you described for sure. So, so when you go bike packing, tell me a little bit about how much gear you take. I don't know if you're, someone who weighs gear has any idea of how much weight you're putting on the bike? Or Yeah, just any of your favorite pieces.
[00:38:38] Ryan: Yeah, so I am not like a weight weenie. As we call ourselves in the bike world where, you know, really concerned about the weight of everything that being said, I don't bring much because the heavier bike is the less fun. It is to ride it. And so I really don't bring a lot on my Journeys and people see me. They're like, damn, that's all you have. I'm like, yeah, but I also have to remind people that I have two different cameras and I have a drone and I have all these batteries and chargers. So that's where a lot of my weight comes from as far as, you know, gear. You know, I have like a NEMO two-person bikepacking tent. That's made specifically for bikepacking. The poles. You know, fold down, much smaller, so they can fit on your handlebars, which is cool. You know, I use, you know, Therm-a-Rest UberLite. Sleeping pads and you know, Vesper quilts made by Therm-a-Rest. So I like to use some light gear here and there, but I don't travel with the stove so that saves some weight. I just You know, I just eat. Yeah, I bring like tortillas and beans and make a lot of burritos and Snacks and nuts and all that kind of stuff. I don't drink coffee, so I don't need a stove for that. And people are always Have coffee in the mornings, they think I'm a freak but you know, I'm lucky. I just get up and I'm ready to roll.
[00:40:06] Tayson: Yeah. You're you're a vegetarian, right? So that's probably helps you to not need a stove right on idea about it. Like so much of what I'm heating up has meat in it, right?
[00:40:17] Ryan: Yeah. Yeah, you know. And so I just live off a pretty simple stuff and on a bike again, you might be 70 miles into your day and you're like, I'm starving I'm gonna go seven miles off Route a little bit and go to a restaurant, you know, whereas that's a bit harder to do when you're backpacking, because seven miles takes way too long.
[00:40:38] Tayson: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Now let's see, super interesting, what kind of bags are using? Are you wearing a backpack or you getting it all on your bike?
[00:40:48] Ryan: So I kind of changed throughout the years where I've done the CamelBak thing and then I go away from it. But now I'm kind of back to it. I have an Osprey Raptor 14, hydration pack, you know, It holds, two liters of water, and then I can carry my drone in the backpack because I want to protect it. You know, if it's on the bike, it's kind of getting slammed around a bit and it's pretty delicate. So I have my drone in there and some other things as far as bags go I have a full frame bag that fits the whole triangle and so I put a lot of my heavy stuff in the middle of the bike to keep the weight way down in the center to make riding a little bit more, I guess, efficient. A rear rack on the back that has like waterproof dry bags, and that's where I put my camping gear and clothing. Yeah, and then the tent goes back there as well.
[00:41:41] Tayson: Yeah. Seems pretty streamlined. If you can get away with just a 14 liter backpack. On your on your person, right? So,
[00:41:49] Ryan: totally
[00:41:52] Tayson: Yeah. Well, let's let's next. You got some Big Adventures planned or if you're finished a lot of them for the season. I mean, when I looked at your YouTube channel, which I would highly recommend people go check out your your YouTube channel. it's just So Many Adventures. Like he just seemed like you are out there a lot, right?
[00:42:11] Ryan: Yeah. you know, I try to Get out as much as I can, you know, but it's hard because I'll go somewhere for maybe two weeks, and film like crazy. Then I come home, and I spend a lot of time editing for my YouTube channel, and then when I'm done with that, then I'll head out again. So a lot of times I don't have these Adventures planned out way in advance the summer. You know, I was in Sweden, riding from above the Arctic Circle, all the way down to the bottom of Sweden, which was 1300 miles, which is pretty far and did some other Adventures this summer and this fall, get back out there. I don't know exact Doing. But I'm always riding my bike running or doing something fun.
[00:42:52] Tayson: Yeah. Do you ever just like head out from your house? And Not have an itinerary. I guess you've ever tried something like that. I've been thinking about that lately. I'm like I should just walk out the door with the backpack and Not have any idea where I'm gonna go for a few days and see what that's like.
[00:43:08] Ryan: You know, I haven't done anything quite like that. I mean, there's a few Adventures that I've done for my front door for sure, but I know where I'm going. I have a route planned or something at least with bikes it. It pays to, like, kind of plan your route because I like to stay in dirt roads to stay away from traffic because I really don't trust drivers anymore with distracted driving and all that stuff. So I like to know that I'm on some what safer roads and that usually means dirt. And so, I plan out a little bit before I head out.
[Editor’s note: Ryan’s preference for dirt roads is a personal route-planning practice, not evidence that an unpaved road is safe. Traffic, access, surfaces, weather, remoteness, and local rules require current route-specific review.]
[00:43:41] Tayson: Yeah. Gotcha. Well. I think the last thing I wanted to ask you was just a little bit about your your book that you would love to kind of hear an overview of that and maybe a little pitch on what it is.
[00:43:57] Ryan: Yeah, so it's called The Long Way Home. It's about my first Adventure from Honduras to Boulder and how that led to a interesting life of being an adventure Storyteller. And really, the underlying theme is like following your dreams and really just going for crazy dreams, really? And so, that came out last December and I printed it here in Boulder. It's super eco-friendly all recycled paper. It is really cool. It's printed with algae inks. So they're non-toxic like typical book ink and so I'm really proud of the book and how it was made and I love that the story is out there. Now it's based on all of my journals from when I did this ride back in 2005. And yeah, it's called The Long Way Home, man. And it's really what set me off on this this life, but I'm doing today,
[Editor’s note: The book title, publication timing, printing materials, ink description, availability, and career statements above were recorded in October 2023 and were not independently verified as current here.]
[00:44:50] Tayson: Yeah, that sounds awesome. Definitely interested in picking that up and going through it. With a personality like you, you should throw that on Audible.
[00:45:01] Ryan: Well I mean you know bugging me about that. I need to do it just takes a lot of work.
[00:45:09] Tayson: I can't imagine. Yeah, those probably feels like a mountain that you just don't want to tackle.
[00:45:14] Ryan: Yeah, totally like is this really worth it?
[00:45:17] Tayson: Totally,
[00:45:18] Ryan: you know what I might do is I might just sit in front of a fireplace and a cozy chair and read the whole book and put it on my YouTube channel. It'll be the longest YouTube video ever.
[00:45:27] Tayson: Dude, that just strip it off. And you've got the audio and the video.
[00:45:31] Ryan: Yeah, so I might do that.
[00:45:33] Tayson: I like it, I like it. Well I've really appreciated you coming on the show today and talking to you you're obviously just a wealth of knowledge and doing so much good in the world. So it's always fun to to highlight that a little bit and you know hopefully inspire people to go and and follow suit right to go and do some crazy awesome adventures. To disconnect from this crazy world that we're in and try to reconnect with themselves more and and to travel the world, I think it is just a phenomenal way to grow as a person and to change your perspective on the world and on life. So I love the topics that we've covered and I really appreciate you coming on the show.
[00:46:17] Ryan: Yeah. This has been a really fun conversation. I appreciate your questions, your thoughtful questions and I hope to meet you in real life someday.
[00:46:24] Tayson: Man, we're not too far apart. I lost it there for a second. Yeah, no I would love to meet you as well. Hopefully we cross paths in the future for sure. So real quick, just maybe let people know the best places to follow you and so they can get in touch with you and start following your adventures as well.
[00:46:45] Ryan: Right on. So YouTube's where I put everything that I truly care about. So YouTube, youtube.com/DuzerTV. And then I have Instagram and all the other stuff at Duzer is kind of a handle for most of my things.
[Editor’s note: The channel URL, social handles, and platform activity above were shared in October 2023 and may have changed. Use the verified official guest site in Resources for current destinations.]
[00:47:01] Tayson: Awesome. Okay, thanks so much. Go give Duzer a follow. Appreciate you coming on the show
[00:47:06] Ryan: right on man.
[00:47:07] Tayson: All right, I hope you enjoyed that interview with Ryan. Obviously, he's incredible, human being and I hope that you guys go give them a follow. Appreciate you guys being here, listening to the podcast to help us with our purpose which aligns very much with, with Ryan's, which is to just help you guys get out there and stay mentally physically, and emotionally healthy and our tool to do that is to get out into the wild. So if you need any gear for that, obviously, head over to outdoorvitals.mom, check out some of our newer pieces of gear that have come into play, we're happy to help. And there is a way to acquire that gear at some big discounts through our Live Ultralight Membership. So if you have not heard of our little membership, go check that out. It's a huge win-win. Even if you're just going to be buying backpacking food or water filters, it's a great way to save money, but it works very well as a savings account too for you to slowly and carefully acquire pieces, that will Empower you on the your adventures. So, Okay, really appreciate you guys being here. Make sure you have subscribed to this podcast that helps us out as well as rate and review this podcast that helps us out as well. And we'll see you guys out on the trail or in the next podcast.
[Editor’s note: The Outdoor Vitals website, gear, discount, membership, savings, subscription, rating, and review calls above were recorded in October 2023. They are preserved as historical speech and do not describe current products, offers, membership terms, URLs, or calls to action.]
