Keeping the Wheels Turning with Emily Schaldach
Today's episode includes an interview with professional cyclist Emily Schaldach as well as a surprise crossover with Hannah Stelter/Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue and a debrief on the episode with dear chums Meagan and Molly. Tune in for 75 minutes of fun!
There is no one way to exist in the world, and our guest today is an example of someone who pursues her passions without being set on a specific career trajectory. Emily Schaldach is a professional cyclist, writer, and researcher and in this episode, we get insight into all three pursuits. Emily shares her cycling history, training tips, and her most memorable cycling stories, emphasizing the importance of keeping it fun! We discover how Emily got into writing and what she prefers to write about, before getting a glimpse into the structure of college creative writing programs. In terms of her work as a researcher, Emily breaks down the fascinating topic of her current research and her inspiring job-finding strategy that got her in the door. Tune in to hear everything from Emily’s experience of queerness in the cycling space to her heart-stopping encounter with a moose, and so much more!
Key Points From This Episode:
• Introducing professional cyclist, writer, and researcher Emily Schaldach.
• Emily reads the rules of engagement.
• How she feels she’s perceived by others.
• Emily’s training tips.
• Her relationship with adversity.
• Emily partakes in the “I’m a 10, but…” trend.
• Her relationship with social media.
• The structure of her work life and the fascinating topic of her research.
• Her job-finding strategy.
• The value of meaning over money.
• Emily’s cycling history.
• How her family influenced her, growing up.
• How to channel competitiveness in a healthy way.
• The best advice Emily received from her cycling coach.
• What motivates her to upgrade her equipment.
• The recommended mountain bike to start on.
• The longest ride Emily’s ever done!
• A recount of crossing paths with a moose on a cycle.
• Emily’s favorite race thus far.
• How she connected with Sarah Sturm.
• Emily’s trajectory as a writer and favorite content to write about.
• The structure of college creative writing courses, in Emily’s experience.
• Her experience of being queer in cycling and writing about it.
• Emily answers our rapid-fire questions!
Tweetables:
“You just have to do enough every day so that when you do want to do a lot, you’re able to.” — @emilyschaldach [0:03:55]
“I don’t need everything, I just need enough.” — @emilyschaldach [0:16:18]
“I’m always telling people, especially [those] who have kids, just keep it fun as long as you can.” — @emilyschaldach [0:30:14]
“I go through phases of having apprehension about talking about queerness but the more that I do it, the more fun it is.” — @emilyschaldach [0:54:35]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
