Ep. 36 The Power of Mountain Biking with Melissa Nakaya, the Candid Kiwi.

I'm Lacey Jones, and this is Elevate the Individual Episode 36 the Power of Mountain Biking with Melissa Nakaya, the Candid Kiwi. The fun continues this week with our guest, Melissa Nakaya, the Candid Kiwi, as she share is her personal experience and dive into mountain biking and what developing that talent has looked like for her and her family and her community. It has been eye opening for me, and it helped prep me this last week as my son decided to also join the mountain bike community and purchase his first bike, which, I will tell you now, I was not ready for that sticker shock, but it was something that he worked for and he's excited to dive into. So thank you, Melissa, for sharing your perspective on the benefits of this sport and also the different metaphors that can be applied to all of us throughout our life. So sit back and enjoy, and we're going to hop right into that conversation.

I kind of want to shift gears because you have this other amazing, beautiful talent that you have been sharing more recently, and that is of mountain biking. Now, tell me if I'm using the correct terminology. I'm going to let you kind of just explain where this desire came from. How did you get into this, and where has it taken you and your family?

Well, my husband mountain biked, and he got me out. I was pregnant with one of my children, and we decided to go mountain biking. And I hated it. I felt like throwing off, and I was like, this is for the birds. And so I was like, Nah, leave me alone. And then years later, when I was pregnant with my youngest, my girlfriend, I'd given birth to her, she was about two. My girlfriend said, let's do mountain biking. And my girlfriend Jobeka, she makes me do lots of stuff all the time. And I have another my other girlfriend, Natalie, she does stuff all the time and makes natalie will be like, let's go to art in the park, or, let's go to the zoo, or let's go. Otherwise, I just wouldn't I'd just be at home doing my own thing, and I'm a homebody, and Jobeka gets me out. Like I like the outdoors. I'm outdoors, or I'm home and jobeka's. Like, let's do this outdoors. We should do this outdoors. Have you thought about even a she's like, I want to take you to my hometown. Like, I want to climb the highest peak. I'm like, all right, let's do it. I'm all over it. I'm, like, a willing participant, but planning isn't my and she's a planet, and my other girlfriend is, too. So I hang around these people that plan. So I can just be you set.

Yourself up well, right? Like, you know who to make friends.

So she she got me mountain biking, and she started it, and her and I have shared a really beautiful journey of mountain biking to you because I wouldn't have done it with Drew, but with a girlfriend, it felt safer. And we were starting it together. She hardly did it either. And so I'm like, yeah, let's do it. So I was on my $300 Walmart bike, and we go out there, and we're having a good time, and we're like, having fun. And we bought in other women, too. And we all just went out there, and none of us knew what we were doing. And we're like, let's do this. And then she was like, I'm going to try and get to the top of this hill without stopping. And I was like, yeah, I should try that, too. And then that was when we kind of separated from the rest of the women in the group because we decided we're going to take this a little bit more seriously and maybe try and go more with this.

And so her and I almost broke off and started doing this more regularly. And then she said, and then I got a better bike. My husband was like, okay, so you really like this. Let's get you a better bike. Should we get you a better bike? I'm like, sure.

And the difference between a $300 Walmart bike and an $800 Specialized bike that was made for mountain biking is huge. Don't let anyone tell you anything less, okay? You can do more on a nice bike, but then it tops out, too. At the end of the day, it's a person on the bike as well. But there are some nice features on some expensive bikes. So my bike is somewhere in the middle, and I love it. It's been really good. It's connected me. It connected me with her.

It's connected me with myself. It's always hard to climb. So when I first started mountain biking, I hated climbing. And then after a couple of years, I was like, I can't hate climbing. I need to just love it because my jam was the downhill. You're free, it's exhilarating you slightly. Don't know if you're going to die. So awesome. You learn new talents. When you go over a certain rock or do a jump, you're like, oh, my goodness. I'm like, the coolest person on the planet right now. Just the adrenaline that runs through you for being so cool. And it was just almost because I've always moved my body. I've always been into sports. I've done all the sports. I've always gone to the gym, swim, you name it.

I'm a jack of all trades, master of none. And so mountain biking did a couple of things for me. It helped me exercise. Bonus, it got me outside. I mean, at the gym, I'm just like a hamster in a wheel, right? It's important to do weights and lift. I know it is, but outside is my jam. And mountain biking got me out there. Lacey the views. I'm a sucker for a view and a mountain bike ride gets me to a view every time. And that I forget this blood, sweat and tears of the brutal uphill that I did because I'm at that view and I'm just like, oh my goodness, this is the most beautiful. And then I just got the downhill to go. And so the time I finish my ride, I'm like, man, that was epic. And everything has left. And on the mountain bike, I'm me. I'm not mum, I'm not wife, I'm not sister, I'm not employee, I'm not the candid Kiwi.

I'm just Melissa on a bike in nature, loving it. And sometimes I think whatever small or big, we need that, right? And mountain biking did that for me. And so then it introduced it to the family because again, the same friend is like, we've started a mountain bike club at the local junior high. We're going to do this. You should come and do it with us. And so my son at 7th grade, he's twelveTH grade now, but at 7th grade he's like, let's do it.

So we got involved with that and now my husband is the head of the team now. It got passed on to him like two or three years ago. And now my son just raced varsity this last season, and that was his last season. He's going to come back this season and he's going to help coach. And it's just, again, this full circle, and they all love it, and for different reasons. My son loves mountain biking for the downhill, my daughter likes climbing and the downhill my other daughter is just about to start this year, and the community that it's bought and the respect. And if you go to a mountain bike race for the high schools, no one is yelling and screaming at those kids, you should be doing better.

Stop that. It's very peaceful, it's very kind, it's very adrenaline based, of course, but it's extremely positive. I've almost been kicked out of a basketball stadium. I've watched people yell at my daughter on soccer sidelines. I'm like, you don't get to talk to my daughter like that, man. But at mountain bike races, people are one time this mum was yelling at her son.

She was like, don't you stop. Don't you stop. And he's like, I know, mom. That's about the harshest thing I've ever heard in my seven years of doing this mountain bike community. People would just because mountain biking, this is a team sport and it's an individual sport, like, you work hard, you'll do better, you don't work as hard, you won't do as good. Do you care? I don't know. Maybe. We've got some kids in our team that are just in it for the social.

They love it, it's a good time. They know they'll never meddle, but they don't care, and it's beautiful. Then we have other kids that are like, this is really hard. I don't know. I'm cool with getting 50th. And then something changes in them and they're like, actually, I want to see if I can get in the top ten, the top 20. And then they work hard and they do it. And as a team, we come together and we practice and we do stuff. But at the end of the day at that race, it's you. It's just you. It's this beautiful lesson for these kids from 6th grade to twelveTH grade to learn about the team and the socializing and the community and the support.

Because we have them pick up trash on trails. We have them go out and work together as a team and build trails. And I mean, just the community that we have here in Boise with the mountain biking is beautiful because at the end of the day, we want good trails and we don't want them to be trashed. And so the community that we have with each other and those children, I mean, that's how my daughter got her boyfriend was through mountain biking. And so many friends have been made through being a part of this 6th grade. And what other sport are you? All one team, 6th grade to twelveTH grade, my daughter is going to be with twelve seniors and we're all one big team. And you should see them out there cheering each other on and the 80th person and the first person, and everyone's just like it's such a beautiful thing to celebrate the community of it and then the individual, because we don't put any pressure on them to get anywhere.

That pressure comes from you, you know where you're at. And so it's changed me and I love it for a lot of reasons and just metaphorically, too.

I was going to say, there's so many metaphors in here for life, right? You're talking about the climb and you hate that, but you love coming down and then you develop these new talents as you're doing jumps or whatever on the way down and you love the view. I'm like, oh my gosh, there's like a million metaphors in there, right? And then all the different ages working together like total family. You, you shared some of the stories of your oldest son on Facebook and with his cutoff jean shorts, racing and I think wasn't his last race. There was one moment where I was like bawling reading about it was his last race or almost last race.

Yeah.

What's that story?

It was really hard for him because he's an enduro rider. And enduro rider means you're a good climber, but the timed part is the downhill. So my son Maso will be an amazing enduro rider because he's fit, he's healthy, he can climb like nobody else's business but varsity for this particular for Nike that we race for, it's a cross country race, so you gotta love the climbing and be totally into it. And the downhill, because it's not masadu is extremely good at the downhill and crazy downhill. Huge drops, big rocks, crazy cornering. No one can corner like Masadu on the team. The cross country is like brutal climb and a pretty mellow downhill fun flowy downhill, but not like what he kind of likes. But he still did it anyway. It was fitness and stuff. And so he was in this race, and he was realizing, you know what? I don't know if I like this. Like the varsity, the pressure of varsity. He was just like, I'm going to interview him at some stage. I was just going to ask you.

Have you sat down with him and had him share his story?

I got notes about what but he's just about to graduate high school, so I think I'm going to wait until he graduates and then have him on the can you tell his story? Him and I butt heads a lot, though, so it'll be a really good episode. Yeah. And so he had raced two varsity races, and he's like, I'm over it. I don't like it. I don't like being on my bike anymore. And he loves his bike. He's like, I just and for perspective, the boy that won the whole state varsity, he breaks down his his father was telling us in the feed zone, he was saying, he breaks down his bike every week and cleans it. He has a nutrition plan. He bikes hundreds of miles, a mean. This is who Masaru was racing against. And he doesn't care.

No.

Cleans his bike maybe once a month. He knows how to work on it, and he loves it. But he's in it for the love. He's in it for the fun. And he started realizing that it was too serious for what he cared about. He's like, I'm not racing the last three races. And so we're like, all right. And then his friends were going to surprise him. And so we're like, oh, you might want to race this race. And he did. And he does well on this course. And so he's racing, and he's doing pretty good. But he hadn't been training. He hadn't been on his bike for like, two or three weeks because he was like, I'm over it. I quit. He still comes into this race, and he's like, that's three rounds. He does this first round, and then he does the second round. And in the first round, his tire had burped, meaning it had come up and then back again when he cornered, meaning it had burped out some air from the tire. And so he had to stop and pump it up. And then he kept going, trying to catch up with everything he did. And then it burped again because the courses the cornering is crazy. Anyway, he asked himself his other friend had crashed, and he asked himself, what am I going to do? Should I just bust my body out and try and catch up with these people again? Or should I just have fun? And he decided, just have fun. And his friend had just that was his first varsity race. He had been bumped up into varsity and he was super self conscious. He didn't want to come last. And my son was like, you know what, I'm just going to stick with him. I'm just going to stick with him. And he talked to him the whole way up and he was doing, like, wheelies and stuff, and this kid was hurting real bad in his lungs and stuff. And his father was like, you can do it. You can keep going. And so he did, and him and Masado just hung out for the rest of the race. And they came in exactly together and were fist bumping each other together. And actually, the last race, the kid beat Masaru. He came in and he beat Masaru. And I think he was so stoked about that. And I think his mum and his family were like, I can't believe he beat Masadu. And I'm like, well, I can. He hasn't trained in four weeks. He hasn't trained in a month. And I'm like, Are you going to do this last race? And masadu's like, yeah, I am. I'm like, you haven't trained in a month. The only thing you've done is that race last weekend. He's like, well, it's my last race and I just think I'm gonna and I'm just like, this kid is killing me. He's killing me. So he races this last race. He's answering phone calls. His mate comes to me at the end. He's like, yeah, I was riding with him and he answered a phone call. And I'm like, that is totally him, though.

I can see it, right? And he's got his jean shorts, he's.

Got his jean shorts, he's got his cut off top. And guess who's showing up in jean shorts and cut off top at the state race? So many children, no one was doing this. And Masadu, he's this trendsetter, he does whatever he wants. It drives me nuts, but it's like who he is, and I love him for it. And he does this race and he comes in, like almost last, like, maybe five before last has a time of his life. And the feed zone is where you give. So on the three rounds he comes through, the feed zone is the place that is allotted for you to give them water, goo, fruit, snacks, whatever, gatorade, whatever. So I was in the feed zone and the last round that he came through, I said, I ran beside him and I'm like, this is your last round ever in the race. You've been doing this so long. Just have so much fun. I'm bawling my eyes out. And then the people in the feed zone, I turn around, they're crying because they're watching this mum and this son after years of this beautiful journey in this mountain bike. And this is his very last round of his last race and the flood of emotions that came over me and the people in the feed zone, they get it. Their parents, the only reason they're there is because they've got kids and they love them. And I was racing after him, and then I just walked out. I'm just like, okay, I'm done. I got to go cry and walk somewhere. And my mate that was in the feed, someone was like, do it. And it was just the most beautiful. And that is what mountain biking has blessed our family with. It's just these beautiful outdoor views, moments, internal struggles. Do I want to do this? The hardness, like, sometimes my kids couldn't walk at the end of the race, and you have to carry them. And just the lessons that are learned with doing something that's hard, right? And for us, it's this mountain biking, but it can be anything for your family, right? Anything. It can be choir getting into a choir. It can be chess club, it can be basketball, it can be writing a book, it can be machining. And that's what mountain biking has brought to me individually, my family and then the community of mountain bike. We just mountain biked in New Zealand and met people. Mountain biking? Yes.

Like, you've taken it total global, because I think your last episode, you talked about that, your trip going over for Christmas, and I was like, oh, man, they took their bikes. That was pretty bold to take a bike on an airplane, knowing how they treat them. Right, as you talk about and you develop this talent that then becomes global in several ways, which is amazing.

Yeah, it's beautiful. I love it. I love it. And my dream would be for me and Drew to be able to travel the world with our sprinter van and our mountain bikes and just hike, because I love hiking, too, for the same reason. It gets me to a view and it's outside. And I would love to just trip around the world and see the world through hiking and biking. That would be amazing. And I don't know. I don't know if it's going to happen.

Oh, you'll make it happen somehow, and it'll be you open that door, right? And then one step at a time.

Something else will open.

And maybe you have an idea now of what you want it to look like, but I truly believe Heavenly Father will say, okay, great. I like your little plan there. You keep taking your steps forward, but I'm going to open this door over here, and it's going to make an even bigger view.

Push on.

All you've got to do is just start small in pursuing those talents that are kind of on your heart, like your storytelling and your connections with people. And now mountain biking, I know you have amazing other talents as well, but those three just they stand out to me. Thank you. Thank you for sharing your stories. Thank you for sharing your talents and thank you for being brave enough to open up who you are in a space that allows others to heal as well.

You're welcome.

So good to hear you and hear your stories. So thank you.

Thanks, Lacey. This has been awesome.

Thank you again to Melissa for all of her beautiful, wonderful stories and thoughts that she's shared with us these last two weeks. I hope you take a chance to hop over to her podcast, the Candid Kiwi, and enjoy even more of her stories, her interviews, just the heart and soul that goes into her podcast and the vulnerability and the things that she shares. You will identify with at least more than one thing that she shares and give her some love and tell her thank you or offer some feedback about your favorite episode for her. I know she's doing amazing things over there, but I just wanted to give you one last challenge this week before I say goodbye. Please sit down and just take a look and try to make a decision about what talent you will focus on this week. Is there something new that you want to try or something old that you want to pick up? Something small that you can do today and this week to get moving in that direction of that new talent or old talent? Doors will open. You will have wonderful experiences. You're going to have challenges, right? But you're also going to have experiences that will bless your life. You're going to bless your family's life and your community. So enjoy your week and work on those talents.

I'll see you next weekend.