All right, I am out for a bike ride and I am at a spot here where I can see three different mountain ranges.

And I only know what one of them is.

And I'm always curious what the others who are.

Lucky for me, there's an app called PeakVisor that can help. PeakVisor is our

sponsor for this episode. Their app tells you what mountains you're looking at wherever you are in the

world. They also have intricate 3D maps to help you plan out your adventures, and you can keep track of your accomplishments with their peak bagging feature.

If you'd like your own personal mountain guide, check out PeakVisor in the app store. You just might love it.

Hi, I'm Willow Belden, and you're listening to Out There, the podcast that explores big questions through intimate stories outdoors.

As the world reopens, many of us are returning to the things we used to love.

We're traveling, we're seeing loved ones,

we're going on adventures, and every adventure is better with a great soundtrack. This summer,

our season theme is nature's nostalgia. Each episode, we're fueling your adventures with award-winning narratives and beloved fan favorites from the early days of Out There.

Today's story is about a mountain bike race and about what happens when meeting your goals isn't all you'd hoped.

But before we get to that, I have a favor to ask. If you enjoy listening to

Out There, please take a moment and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening

right now. Your honest feedback is so important for helping new listeners find this show. And reaching new listeners is crucial for out there to grow and thrive. Thank you so much for your support. And now, on to our story for today. Every summer, there's a crazy long mountain bike race near my home in Wyoming.

The race course has changed over the years, but back in the day, it was 70 miles on trails and dirt roads, with almost 9,000 feet of elevation gain.

On a scale of one to epic, that's pretty epic. And in fact, the race is now called

the Laramie Range epic. Back in 2015, I made the mistake of signing up. On today's episode,

I'm going to tell you the story of what happened. It's a story about trying to prove yourself,

about pushing limits, about testing what you're capable of. And ultimately, it's about how forcing yourself to succeed can end up being

its own kind of failure. The story first ran in 2015, and I should note that back then,

...