Ben Hildred : The Unseen Effect of Big Challenges
Downtime - The Mountain Bike Podcast
Downtime MTB
4.9 • 628 Ratings
🗓️ 19 May 2026
⏱️ 61 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week we’re catching up with Ben Hildred.
You probably know Ben from what, on the surface, look like climbing challenges. Like his recent mission to climb 1 million feet in 100 days. But Ben’s story isn’t really about climbing.
For one thing, he’s doing these challenges on flat pedals, aboard a bike built for enjoying the descents. The joy doesn’t come from the climb itself, it comes from the ride, the experience, and the places it takes him, physically and mentally.
Every time I chat with Ben, I come away wanting to ride bikes more, and this conversation was no different.
So if you’re looking for a bit of motivation to get out and ride, hopefully this episode delivers. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Ben Hildred.
You can also watch this episode on YouTube here.
You can follow Ben on Instagram @benhildred.
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Every 69 hours, you've got to tick off an Everest. Did you do anything specific to get yourself |
| 0:05.2 | ready? No. I don't think my nervous system ever switched off. I was always charged. You've got to be |
| 0:13.4 | serious to put clicks on the bike, can't you? You've got to be pretty serious. Hopefully, I'm not |
| 0:18.2 | giving too much away. |
| 0:31.2 | Hey everyone, I'm Chris Hall and this is the downtime podcast, the podcast for the true fans of gravity mountain biking, taking you deeper into the sport than anywhere else. |
| 0:36.1 | This episode is sponsored by Industry 9 and Fox Racing, but more about them later. |
| 0:40.3 | Want to be in a prize draw to win a set of Industry 9 wheels of your choice or a full set of the latest Fox flex air kit? |
| 0:41.9 | Well, all you need to do is to take a couple of minutes to fill out our 2026 audience survey. |
| 0:46.8 | Head to downtimepodcast.com for slash survey now and help us find out a bit more about our audience |
| 0:51.3 | in exchange for a chance to win those great prizes. |
| 0:54.4 | That's downtimepodcast.com for slash survey for our 2026 audience survey. |
| 0:59.4 | Don't forget to give us a follow. It's as simple as hitting that button on your podcast app now |
| 1:03.1 | or head into downtimepodcast.com for slash follow. You can also give us a follow on Instagram, |
| 1:08.1 | Facebook and TikTok too where we're at Downtime Podcast. |
| 1:15.0 | And for the real inside line, you can join our newsletter at downtimepodcast.com for slash newsletter. |
| 1:17.1 | All right, this week we're catching up with Ben Hildred. |
| 1:19.5 | You probably know Ben from what on the surface looked like climbing challenges, |
| 1:23.3 | like his recent mission to climb one million feet in 100 days. |
| 1:27.0 | But Ben's story isn't really about |
| 1:29.1 | climbing. For one thing, he's doing these challenges on flat pedals, a border bike built for enjoying |
| 1:33.9 | the descent. The joy doesn't come from the climb itself. It comes from the ride, the experience, |
| 1:39.1 | and the places it takes him, both physically and mentally. Every time I chat with Ben, I come |
... |
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