Episode 25: Alison Dunlap Adventure Mom

November 23, 2017
What an episode for Thanksgiving. Think family -- all the joys and challenges of having kids. Then multiply that by being an athlete used to taking your body to limit for adventure and riding a bike every single day.

Alison Dunlap is a remarkable cyclist with a long list of accomplishments. She won Mountain Bike World Championships in 2001, is many times National Champion in Mountain Bike, Cyclocross, and Road, a 2x Olympian, and the World Cup overall winner in 2002.

She is also mom of 6-year old Emmett and that's what we talked about in this episode.
Alison is very honest about the challenges she faced as an active person who loves being outdoors going on adventures. 

“It was very challenging for me to just give up my body to this growing little baby inside me. You know you’re going to get your body back, but 9 months is a LONG time.”

Alison is also honest about the joys.

“Even winning the World Championships is not an experience that relates to anything that I’ve had as a parent.”

On a personal note, I'll add that Alison and I raced together on the road in the 90s. I admired her greatly then, so reconnecting with her, thanks to a mutual friend, made me happy and grateful for the cycling community of women.