Episodes
Imagine hiking a mountain with a backpack that doesn't really contain those usual items that you would take with you. You reach the summit and you open the backpack. What you take out is not a sandwich or an extra layer. It's a wing that will take you back down to the valley. Flying in the most natural way possible. Hearing only the noise of the wind and seeing the world from a completely different perspective. In winter you can even add a pair of skis and fly so you can touch the ground...
Published 05/30/20
»It's the purest and most vibrant form of freedom I've ever felt in my life. There's something special about being able to wake up every day and have absolute and utter autonomy over every decision you make.« was the answer when I asked what is walking and hiking giving him personally. In this episode, we try to inspire with the longest trails a man can hike on the planet. To only name the Appalachian trail with 3.500 km and 550 000' of elevation gain crossing 14 states and proposing his...
Published 04/26/20
Published 04/26/20
In this episode, we host Russell Grange, a leader, and videographer for Backroads where he also works as an assistant manager for social media and content. Russell is ''Mad To Live'' and you can almost feel all his passion for life, outdoors and traveling in his short movies – some of them personal but most of them he does for a living, showcasing the experience of traveling in some of the most beautiful places in the world.  He loves to be behind the lens but this time we've put him behind...
Published 04/07/20
In this episode, we're hosting Ingo Albrecht. He is an incredible source of wisdom, experience, and knowledge and today he shares all these amazing skills to those that want to become better. Better as a person, better in what she or he does and eventually better as a guide. BeABetterGuide is where Ingo Albrecht found his next mission after working in tourism and active holiday for more than 13 years. BeABetterGuide also became the first patron of the 26thSwitchBack podcast. Some of you may...
Published 03/24/20
In this episode, we have a guest that actually rode the 26th switchback on Vršič pass on one of her first assignments after she joined the traveling industry. A very sensitive soul that can't accept ignorance and inequality in the world. The Lakota tribe among whom she spent part of her life would probably give her an Indian name Big Heart. She is a guest with incredible stories to tell, but the one we were most curious about is her incredible experience with L'Eroica. She didn't only...
Published 03/03/20
In this episode, we're hosting McKynlee Westman. The description of the term ''wow effect'' sais: When you're surprised by something wonderful or really great, you get the "wow effect". She could be another definition of the ''wow effect''. Everything she does is wonderful and really great. It's an hour of listening but feels like a moment … or like having a nice cappuccino in a nice warm bar in her beloved Kansas City. We're gonna dance salsa in Cuba, ride a famous Tuscan L'Eroica multiple...
Published 02/21/20
This time Primož Šutak hosts Antonio Mota. A travel industry expert with a degree. A guy from Estoril, Portugal, with an outstanding passion for people, for knives, blades, and axes and for music. If you ever wondered why you have to put Lisbon on your bucket list, what is the difference between service industry and hospitality and how to treat anger with the snow then you'll get all the answers in the next hour, where we take a couple of brakes with the music made by Antonio. To enhance the...
Published 02/04/20
In this episode, your host Primož Šutak talks with Phil Welch. A man with 121.000 kilometers recorded on his Strava account. If you ever wondered how is to race a World 24h series race or how to survive the famous Crocodile trophy race in Queensland Australia or if you're just dreaming about conquering Mont Ventoux from all the three sides, you might find all the answers in amazing stories told by Phil. At the end of this podcast, you might consider Mongolia as your next travel destination....
Published 01/17/20
In this episode, your host Primož Šutak takes a flight with Borja Hernandez who spent almost 8 years as a Senior Flight Attendant before he joined one of the active travel companies and became a trip leader. If you ever wondered how it is like to be a senior flight attendant in the first class in one of the World's best airlines, how do they live, how much of the world they can see, where and how much do they sleep, then Borja will take you to an incredible 40 minutes journey of his past 7...
Published 01/08/20
In this episode of The 26th SwitchBack, Primož Šutak interviews Mimi, a lady with almost an overwhelming lifestyle. Her smile is like the morning sun, she dances like nobody else, she owns her business and runs her studio, has two kids and leads week-long trips with Backroads. She is opening her heart by telling her incredible story and experience of using a surrogate mother for her second child and revealing her experience in reality show where she remained all the way to the finals. The...
Published 01/01/20
In this episode of The 26th SwitchBack, Primož Šutak hosts Kyle Zick, a brilliant leader, extremely skilled bike mechanic and now the US Bike Shop coordinator who talks about how drastically his life changed when he moved into Europe. How living in Italy opened new perspectives on life and how important it was in shaping his personality as it is today only by getting out of the American cultural bubble. Putting bike and biking under the common denominator of this episode they talk a lot about...
Published 05/27/19
After a short recap of Giro d'Italia, this time in The 26th SwitchBack Primož Šutak hosts Jen Morris. We are opening the pandora box. We talk about anxiety, about the price of a restless life of traveling and working for Backroads. We talk about the hardest part of our job. How to work on self-love and physical and emotional wellbeing? What about when there's no one to bring you soup when you are sick because they are 1000 miles away? How to get more awareness of yourself, etc. but most...
Published 05/15/19
In this episode of The 26th SwitchBack, Primož Šutak hosts Simone Domenichini. These days it's impossible to imagine Backroads without him. It's also impossible to imagine Team Tuscany, and the leader house, and the warehouse. He has one of the finest sense of humor, a tremendous work ethic, and the best combination of Italian and British accent when he talks American English. He can always surprise you and when you think you know him well … he comes out with a joke that makes you think for a...
Published 04/30/19
In this episode of The 26th SwitchBack, the host Primož Šutak reveals one of the most talented musicians among Backroads community. The South East Asia specialist in his private and professional life that lived in all the corners of the world since he was a child is now based in Buffalo. When he gets into the studio and plays his guitar, amazing stuff is coming out. We have the honor to have a world premiere and play two out of three songs just before the release of the newest album. You are...
Published 04/20/19
In this episode of The 26th SwitchBack, the host Primož Šutak explores what does it have in common weight lifting and Backroads. We will get to know one of the best trip designers and reveal the secrets for success in building the best trips in the catalog. What makes the biggest challenge and what was the most important lesson during traveling with a bike from Spain to China with a significant other, … how is the wine in Georgia … how it is to have an important role in the organization of at...
Published 04/13/19
In this episode of The 26th SwitchBack, Primož Šutak interviews Fabio Marzi, the tallest man in Chianti, a gentle giant from the land of the Black Rooster, the real Super Tuscan and a man who taught me how to think of and make a cup of coffee as an experience. The 26th SwitchBack is a podcast about cycling, adventure, life outdoors, active travel and about Backroads community with people telling their life stories, revealing their passion and secrets.
Published 04/05/19
In this episode of The 26th SwitchBack podcast, Primož Šutak interviews a man who is an engineer, a horseback rider, a writer, an actor, a polyglot, a father, a Backroads leader ... all in one, the true renaissance man Marco Angeloni. The 26th SwitchBack is a podcast about cycling, adventure, life outdoors, active travel and about Backroads community with people telling their life stories, revealing their passion and secrets.
Published 03/28/19
In this episode of The 26th SwitchBack, Primož Šutak interviews a Backroads rockstar leader John Kruchoski who is living a dream of active life outdoors, and traveling and working around the planet. The 26th SwitchBack is a podcast about cycling, advent
Published 03/18/19