Ben Hildred is an inspiration. In 2021, while working a full-time job, he managed to climb and descent 1,000,000 feet in just 200 days. Never one to make life easy, this came after Everesting the Queenstown bike park, climbing the height of the stratosphere in 30 days and the height of the solar system's highest volcano in just 3 days. Ben is a real inspiration for those days where you don't feel like heading out on the bike! We sat down to find out more about Ben, where these crazy challenges come from, what they are like to take on, and how he goes about it. We chat about his bike and kit choices, nutrition and sleep, motivation and mindset and plenty more. Sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Ben Hildred.

You can find Ben on Instagram @benhildred.

Here is a link to the Max Richter album that Ben talks about in the episode.

Bike check here and SRAM video here.

Supporting Partners

Canyon

Over the last few weeks, I've been riding the Canyon Spectral CF 29 LTD. As one bike to do everything, the Spectral really excels. It's light and climbs with efficiency and heaps of grip, but point it downhill and its 150mm of travel really excels. The geometry is confidence inspiring and easy to ride fast, and the suspension platform provides a great amount of grip and support. If you want to find out more, then you can head over to canyon.com.

Podcast Stuff

Downtime EP

Downtime EP issue 1 is now available at downtimepodcast.com/ep. EP takes inspiration from the guests and topics of the podcast, expands on them, and takes them into a stunning print-only format. EP is the perfect companion for some quiet time away from the distractions of modern life. Beautiful to have and hold, and a timeless piece of mountain bike history.

What’s even better is that there are going to be two issues a year, and you can subscribe now. Just head over to downtimepodcast.com/ep and you’ll be able to save yourself £5 off of the cover price with an annual subscription for just £20 plus postage

Merch

My 2021 Spring/Summer merch is here, including our first ever recycled t-shirts. If you want to support the podcast, and represent, then my webstore is the place to head. All products are 100% organic, shipped without plastics, and made with a supply chain that's using renewable energy. So check it out now over at downtimepodcast.com/shop.

Follow Us

Give us a follow on Instagram @downtimepodcast or Facebook @downtimepodcast to keep up to date and chat in the comments.

For everything video, including riding videos, bike checks and more, subscribe over at youtube.com/downtimemountainbikepodcast.

Are you enjoying the podcast? If so, then don’t forget to subscribe. It’s free and means you’ll get every episode delivered to your device as soon as it’s available. You'll find all the links you need at downtimepodcast.com/subscribe. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google and most of the podcast apps out there. While you're there, why not join our newsletter, to get our Weekend Warm-Up email every Friday, full of interesting bike-related stuff, competitions, product recommendations and more.

Our back catalogue of amazing episodes is available at downtimepodcast.com/episodes

Photo - Callum Wood