December 27, 2024 • 19 mins
What happens when two passionate cyclists with backgrounds in racing come together to create a life-changing camp and initiative? Ryan Petry and Alexey Vermeulen, founders of From the Ground Up, share their inspiring journey that began during the pandemic. Their unique program started with a massive bike tour in Colorado, focusing initially on the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, and has since expanded to Bentonville and beyond. Discover how their story is not just about races but about enriching lives and building a community from Colorado to Bentonville. Stay tuned for the possibility of another season, and all that's in store for From the Ground Up in 2025.
Learn more at www.fromthegroundup.bike
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beth Bobbitt (00:10):
Welcome to A New American Town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt,broadcasting from Haxton Road
Studio, and today I have theprivilege of talking to Ryan and
Alexey with From the Ground Up.
Thank you both for being here.
Alexey Vermeulen (00:26):
Thanks for having us.
Thanks, Beth.
Beth Bobbitt (00:28):
Yes, of course, and so we want to start with
telling folks what From theGround Up is.
It's a bike camp, but it's alsoa series, so can you give us a
little bit of a primerbackground on how this all came
about?
Ryan Petry (00:46):
of a a primer background on how this all came
about.
Yeah, um, from the moment Istarted, I had just moved to
Colorado actually um midpandemic 2020 and didn't know
anybody.
Um, I had met Ryan once on abike ride and, uh, he reached
out and said hey, I'm going todo this massive, crazy bike tour
from Boulder to Crested Butte.
It'd be about 300 miles, 30,000feet of climbing.
And, being from Michigan andbeing a road bike racer, I was
(01:10):
like no, thank you.
That sounds like all the thingsare too much for me.
And Ryan kind of took me underhis wing and it was just this,
really epic.
I always say it's like the bestway to get your Colorado
license is by actually doingsome kind of tour.
So, um, over three days, we hada lot of time to talk.
I was sent 10 hours a dayriding and, um, during the
(01:30):
pandemic, we talked a lot aboutwhat was an issue or what was a
struggle in the cycling industry.
Um, ryan had come from atriathlon background and I come
from a road racing background,so we had, um different
viewpoints, but I think wereally believe in the same
things.
Um, and, from the ground up,was born as a way to help people
coming to the sport who hadnever, ever thought about racing
(01:53):
or riding a bike, uh, peoplewho came in because of their gym
closing or needing mentalsanity from their families.
Uh, and it kind of justblossomed from there and uh has
slowly become more and more of acommunity in the bike uh
industry and something that we,uh, I think every year are kind
of like wow, this, this got evenbigger.
Um, it cause the first yearjust kind of was supposed to be
(02:15):
something really small and it'sgrown.
Beth Bobbitt (02:17):
Amazing and you touched on this, alexi your
world tour cyclist Ryan, sixtime Leadville finisher.
What were you both doing?
So cycling biking is yourpassion.
What were you?
Alexey Vermeulen (02:37):
both doing professionally during that time
around the pandemic.
I think this was both of ourcareers at the time riding bikes
and kind of small tangents offof racing for podiums, working
with brands in differentcapacities.
You see, a lot of kind of thedefinition of being a
(02:57):
professional cyclist is sort ofadapted to be sort of like an
extension of the marketing armof their brands they work with.
So that's kind of what both ofus were doing and I think at the
time, Alexey, and I just wereally saw eye to eye on kind of
what that sort ofextracurricular of what an
athlete can and maybe should bewas, and that's what started.
(03:22):
You know, we started bouncingideas off each other and it just
was really exciting to, youknow, have somebody who saw
things the way that I did, Uh,and yeah, that bike ride was a
good, good time to sort of justtry to hash out all the ideas.
Beth Bobbitt (03:37):
Right, and so fast forward.
Now you've finished the fourthseason.
How, how has the vision grownor changed, and what can we
expect for the future?
Alexey Vermeulen (03:54):
Yeah.
So we just finished our fourthseason.
So this year we switched thefirst three seasons.
The kind of final race was theLeadville 100.
This year we switched it upwith seasons.
The kind of final race was theLeadville 100.
This year we switched it upwith kind of the rise of gravel
and we ended up going and havingthe race be the Steamboat
Gravel, which is like their125-mile gravel race in
(04:18):
Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
So that was an exciting shift.
It took some adjustment on ourend, but I think it reached a
few new people, people thataren't really maybe into
mountain biking as much, butgravel biking seems kind of
right up their alley.
(04:46):
The project has evolved um quitea bit from this.
Hey, let's just get a friendwho's a videographer and we'll
just throw this little thingtogether and take three people
from colorado and just sort ofsee if we can help them get a
bike, and in that first year itreally just it had legs.
I think during the pandemic alot of brands were just trying
to figure out how they couldspeak to these entry-level
riders who were getting into thesport, and so we got a lot more
(05:08):
support than we anticipated andit was one of the more exciting
things of my life at that point.
And then now we've also justbeen riding the waves of
post-pandemic.
You know the bike industry haskind of had some ups and downs
pandemic.
You know the bike industry haskind of had some ups and downs,
um, but our mission stays thesame.
As we like to challenge peopleand show that you know it when
(05:31):
you try and line up to try to dosomething seemingly impossible,
you know it's.
It's not about.
It's not about necessarilygetting to that finish line, but
um, sort of just all that canhappen along the way to finish
line, but sort of just all thatcan happen along the way to
improve lives.
So, and I feel really proud ofthat, I really do feel like
we've improved dramatically allof the lives that we've directly
(05:53):
touched and tons of others whokind of have been watching and
following along.
Beth Bobbitt (05:58):
Yeah, and the whole philosophy is to, you know
, get people motivated and breakdown barriers.
It's just amazing.
So kudos to how much it's grown.
And I'm curious, so you areboth based in Colorado.
This started in Colorado andexpanded to Bentonville.
(06:20):
Can you talk about whenBentonville kind of entered the
scene and why?
Ryan Petry (06:24):
Yeah, when Bittenville kind of entered the
scene and why, yeah, that wasprobably the biggest growth of
this project was realizing thatwe started as kind of trying to
just make an impact on threepeople and show how hard it was
but how capable people are whenthey put their mind to something
, but quickly realized in yeartwo that the community was the
(06:45):
most important part of this.
And if you look for community inbike racing, bentonville has
put itself head and above therest and it's in year two.
We kind of reached out and wewere talking with Visit
Bentonville and said, hey, wewould love to host a camp, not
only for the three athletes thatwe pick every year to go to the
events, but we would like tobring in people who applied and
(07:06):
we didn't choose and kind ofhave a get together around the
table, learn some bike skills,um, and open this up a little
bigger um, that kind of Grew umfrom something that was just a
little bit more Colorado basedstraight into something that, um
, I think has become ethos tothe project, a lot of the
community focus.
Beth Bobbitt (07:25):
And what was that experience like for you two
being in Bentonville?
Had you been to the area before?
Ryan Petry (07:33):
Tell us a little bit about that.
What did you say, Alexey?
You got us to go early on theyear before.
Alexey Vermeulen (07:41):
Yeah, I mean, this is back in 2020, 21.
Yeah, that was like theinfluencer trip.
Yeah, I uh.
This is when alexi and I hadjust become friends, he had just
moved out here and, uh,benville was really starting to
try to attract more mountainbikers to the area and one of
(08:02):
the ways that you guys weredoing it at the time was
bringing out pro riders.
And somebody randomly reachedout to me.
I mean, yeah, and this is kindof how it all started.
I feel like I think we wouldhave ended up there eventually,
but this is how it started.
Somebody reached out to mesaying, hey, you want to?
You know, come to Bentonvilleand just show through, you know,
(08:24):
photos and just kind of a youknow sort of like an influencer
weekend of just all the greatthings to do here.
And I was like that soundsamazing, but coming by myself
doesn't sound that fun.
Can I bring my new buddy, alexihe's also a pro along and he
can take photos of me and I'lltake photos of him and we'll
show what it's like.
And they were like absolutely,and so that we were just kind of
(08:46):
blown away and I mean, thingshave changed already so much in
the last four years from then.
But after that we had thatrelationship and we were started
.
That was year one of the projectand it was just super natural
to be like hey, like we had agreat time and we're trying to
figure out like a camp orsomething way to change this for
season two.
Could we do maybe a camp and itwas.
(09:10):
It was kind of like a home runopportunity for both sides yeah,
how exciting, but tell us aboutthe, the application process.
Beth Bobbitt (09:20):
So when and how?
What characteristics are youlooking for?
How do you cast this group ofwriters?
Ryan Petry (09:29):
The minute we launched this we didn't know.
We were so underwater, it wasalmost overwhelming, but also
really exciting because it wassomething that we both believed
in.
But until you throw it out inthe world, you never know who's
excited.
And that first year we had theapplication series open for just
over two weeks and it was over1200 applications.
These are anything from 30seconds to 17, 18, 20 minutes.
(09:53):
Then it was at that time it wasmy girlfriend and myself and
Ryan and his wife and we wouldsit down and go through videos
at night and try to slowlynarrow it down.
And I'd love Ryan to touch onthis also because I think it's a
feeling from both of us, butit's really just a feeling.
You try to find someone thatyou think can be the head of
your ship and then you build ateam and a family around that,
(10:15):
because it's a very long andtough year when you're taking on
something as crazy or as hardas leadville or steamboat.
Um, so I think when you'relooking for people, you know
it's making sure they haveenough time in their daily
schedule, but also making surethey can, you know, take 14 days
off of work and come right askills camp in bentonville and
go to leadville and race andtrain.
So, um, yeah, what do you thinkthat feeling is, ryan, just a
(10:39):
gut?
Alexey Vermeulen (10:41):
yeah, I mean like say it can't just be gut,
uh, because it has to be like agut feeling and then it has to,
yeah, be put through a couplefilters of do you have the time?
Um, you know the some, somebodywho is willing to the magic I
feel like happens when somebodyis truly willing to commit
wholly to the process and to themagic I feel like happens when
somebody is truly willing tocommit wholly to the process and
(11:04):
to the hard moments that willcome.
And yeah, and then you knowonce you know ideally not all
the three people are like thesame type of person.
It's hard to like.
We try to get as much varietyas we can, um, just so the
(11:25):
maximum amount of people can besort of spoken to um throughout
the projects and sort of relatedto yeah, and I can imagine,
with a project like this and anundertaking so big, you're in
for some surprises.
Beth Bobbitt (11:42):
I'm curious if you have any, you know, kind of
nuggets or stories to share ofpeople or seasons that have
really surprised you no, it'sjust, it's people's lives they
get so excited about, kind of.
Ryan Petry (11:58):
I think what we've learned about this project is
someone who's you know gettingthey've settled into what their
career is, they've had kids andthey're settling into what life
is like, very typically, likesets big, massive goals that
seem impossible, and that's whatthis project has become, and so
throughout that, people getvery excited about it and apply
(12:18):
without really thinking throughwhat it takes, um, or what
happens.
So we've had a couple people.
We had a, a guy early on whoapplied and we got all the way
through.
We loved him, um, and he's anorthodox jew and he couldn't
race on saturdays and we said,well, let those on saturday I
don't know what I don't know howelse to put this out, um, but
it's just little funny thingslike that where everything fits.
(12:40):
But you know everyone didn'tthink through all the little
nuggets.
But you know it's, it's all ingood and good fun, um, and it's
it's always.
I think the most fun part forus is the creativity.
People come up with theirvideos.
You know, some people are,they're going through something
and it's very emotional and it'syou know you can, you can, you
(13:05):
can feel with them, uh, whatthey've been through, what
they're going through, why theyneed this, and other people it's
, you know, it's comedic reliefin a sense.
You know it's them creatingsomething.
Um, we've had people interviewpeople on the streets asking why
this should be a part of fromthe ground up, and you know
people on the streets are likewhat is from the ground up?
We've had people, um, you know,we had one, one kid who was in
it like working at a steakhouseand like made this whole thing
about like while working,explaining what the Argentinian
steakhouse was and what his jobwas, but then also why he wanted
(13:27):
to do from the ground up.
And it's, the creativity ofvideos makes it a lot of fun.
Beth Bobbitt (13:31):
Yeah, I bet yeah, amazing.
Well, where are you in theprocess now?
Alexey Vermeulen (13:37):
You're in between seasons we have a
(13:58):
million ideas, ways that we wantto grow the project, change the
project.
We learn every year.
We work with you know thepartners, and they give us
feedback and, um, and then Alexiand I, like our lives shift and
change.
I mean, the place that I'm atnow, compared to four years ago,
is so different.
Like, as a person, I have twokids and I'm not really racing
anymore.
(14:19):
Um, professionally, I wouldn'tsay in that capacity at all.
Uh, so it's do we have the timeto do it?
You know alexis fully committedto racing when he first.
Yeah, I mean when he first,when alexis first came over,
that's like when he reallystarted racing in gravel and now
he's one of the been one of themain players in the scene for a
(14:41):
few few years now.
Um, so, yeah, we're, we'rewe're in a place where we're
trying to figure out what nextyear really looks like, and it
can happen quick.
You know we're we're havingconversations now and then we
always aim to try to launch thenext season in early 2025 or
(15:04):
whatever that year is.
So there's a lot of unknownsstill right now, but we're
really pushing to make a seasonfive happen, I think, lexi and I
this is one of the mostfulfilling parts of our lives
and it's something that justbrings us great joy.
(15:24):
Right?
How often do we get to dosomething that is just truly
like from the heart and it's notabout anything, but just we
love it, so we want to keepdoing it, but it is.
It's a lot of work and there'sa lot of things to consider.
So we love it, so we want tokeep doing it, but it is.
It's a lot of work and there'sa lot of things to consider.
So yeah we'll, we'll see.
Not all the people will put outthe details as soon as we can.
(15:45):
Might be a few weeks after thispodcast comes out, though.
Beth Bobbitt (15:48):
We'll stay tuned, for sure, and congrats on all
the success.
And there is a lot of heart andso inspiring to go back and
watch these.
So let's wrap up with aquestion.
We ask all our guests you know,you've been in Bentonville,
you've spent some time here whatdoes a dream day look like for
(16:09):
you?
And I assume it would involvesome form of cycling or getting
out on the trails.
But what would you do if youhad a whole day?
Alexey Vermeulen (16:19):
I don't know, Lexi.
I feel like you've probablyalready lived out that day
Multiple times.
Ryan Petry (16:25):
Battenville is a little bit of a place you can
you can kind of dream a littlebit as a cyclist.
Um, there's so much to ride,it's almost overwhelming.
Uh, I have this sounds veryspoiled, but I have now done a
couple of the helibike tours, soI think that's the dream day is
start at Meteor, eat tacos tillI'm sick, helicopter, ride out
(16:48):
and lay in the middle of a fieldfor a couple hours and then
ride my way back home.
Beth Bobbitt (16:51):
I love it, perfect .
What about you, ryan?
Alexey Vermeulen (16:53):
That sounds pretty fun because I've never
been in a helicopter.
Pretty fun because I've neverbeen in a helicopter.
Yeah, I mean, the dream day forme is kind of what we do with
the camp.
We wake up, we rent really coolAirbnbs there's 15, like last
year, for example, there's 15additional people who come to
(17:14):
our camp alongside our four.
We've got all our film team,which is just such a tight-knit
community or little family atthis point, and we execute the
day.
We have, like you know, rich andsarah and all those guys from
the ride series they're ourcoaches and for everybody, the
skills coaches, and we get tojust sit back and watch
everybody learn to ride bikesand learn and progress quickly,
(17:37):
and those smiles and the highfives.
And then, you know, we hadbijou thomas.
He's bringing out lunch to the,to the parks and and at night
we're either going somewherereally nice for dinner or we're
cooking at the house.
Like there's so much work foralexi and I when we're there
because it's just, it's a lot tomanage a group of, you know, 25
(18:00):
people, but it is so fun.
You know we're, we're creatingwhat we think is the perfect day
If you're trying to learn thesport of mountain biking and we
just get to watch, and sometimeswatching somebody else live
that out is feels even betterthan us doing it necessarily,
yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (18:21):
So rewarding that totally is.
Alexey Vermeulen (18:23):
Yeah, that's totally my dream day, but I
would like to go on thehelicopter sometime Fair enough.
Beth Bobbitt (18:28):
Okay, we'll see if we can make that happen for you
.
Well, thank you both.
We will stay tuned for what'snext for you and appreciate you
spending some time with us insuch a busy season of life yeah
thanks for having us on, ofcourse yeah always, always,
appreciate you, uh, bringinglight to the project and, uh, if
(18:49):
you're watching this, yeah,stay tuned.
Alexey Vermeulen (18:51):
Our instagram is probably the best place to
watch for announcementsregarding next year um season
five, and it's just at From theGround Up Project, so we'll try
to keep you posted there on whenapplications open and things
like that.
Beth Bobbitt (19:07):
Amazing, Amazing and well.
Thank you both.
Happy holidays and hopefullywe'll talk soon.
Ryan Petry (19:14):
Awesome Thanks.
Beth Bobbitt (19:16):
Bye-bye.
Ryan Petry (19:16):
Thank you.
See ya.
Beth Bobbitt (19:18):
And don't forget, visit Bentonville is here to
help you navigate things to do,where to eat and stay and what's
going on in our new Americantown.
Give us a follow on socialmedia, sign up for the
newsletter and check out thewebsite at visitbittenvillecom.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome to A New American Town presented by Visit
Bentonville.
I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt,broadcasting from Haxton Road
Studio, and today I have theprivilege of talking to Ryan and
Alexey with From the Ground Up.
Thank you both for being here.
Alexey Vermeulen (00:26):
Thanks for having us.
Thanks, Beth.
Beth Bobbitt (00:28):
Yes, of course, and so we want to start with
telling folks what From theGround Up is.
It's a bike camp, but it's alsoa series, so can you give us a
little bit of a primerbackground on how this all came
about?
Ryan Petry (00:46):
of a a primer background on how this all came
about.
Yeah, um, from the moment Istarted, I had just moved to
Colorado actually um midpandemic 2020 and didn't know
anybody.
Um, I had met Ryan once on abike ride and, uh, he reached
out and said hey, I'm going todo this massive, crazy bike tour
from Boulder to Crested Butte.
It'd be about 300 miles, 30,000feet of climbing.
And, being from Michigan andbeing a road bike racer, I was
(01:10):
like no, thank you.
That sounds like all the thingsare too much for me.
And Ryan kind of took me underhis wing and it was just this,
really epic.
I always say it's like the bestway to get your Colorado
license is by actually doingsome kind of tour.
So, um, over three days, we hada lot of time to talk.
I was sent 10 hours a dayriding and, um, during the
(01:30):
pandemic, we talked a lot aboutwhat was an issue or what was a
struggle in the cycling industry.
Um, ryan had come from atriathlon background and I come
from a road racing background,so we had, um different
viewpoints, but I think wereally believe in the same
things.
Um, and, from the ground up,was born as a way to help people
coming to the sport who hadnever, ever thought about racing
(01:53):
or riding a bike, uh, peoplewho came in because of their gym
closing or needing mentalsanity from their families.
Uh, and it kind of justblossomed from there and uh has
slowly become more and more of acommunity in the bike uh
industry and something that we,uh, I think every year are kind
of like wow, this, this got evenbigger.
Um, it cause the first yearjust kind of was supposed to be
(02:15):
something really small and it'sgrown.
Beth Bobbitt (02:17):
Amazing and you touched on this, alexi your
world tour cyclist Ryan, sixtime Leadville finisher.
What were you both doing?
So cycling biking is yourpassion.
What were you?
Alexey Vermeulen (02:37):
both doing professionally during that time
around the pandemic.
I think this was both of ourcareers at the time riding bikes
and kind of small tangents offof racing for podiums, working
with brands in differentcapacities.
You see, a lot of kind of thedefinition of being a
(02:57):
professional cyclist is sort ofadapted to be sort of like an
extension of the marketing armof their brands they work with.
So that's kind of what both ofus were doing and I think at the
time, Alexey, and I just wereally saw eye to eye on kind of
what that sort ofextracurricular of what an
athlete can and maybe should bewas, and that's what started.
(03:22):
You know, we started bouncingideas off each other and it just
was really exciting to, youknow, have somebody who saw
things the way that I did, Uh,and yeah, that bike ride was a
good, good time to sort of justtry to hash out all the ideas.
Beth Bobbitt (03:37):
Right, and so fast forward.
Now you've finished the fourthseason.
How, how has the vision grownor changed, and what can we
expect for the future?
Alexey Vermeulen (03:54):
Yeah.
So we just finished our fourthseason.
So this year we switched thefirst three seasons.
The kind of final race was theLeadville 100.
This year we switched it upwith seasons.
The kind of final race was theLeadville 100.
This year we switched it upwith kind of the rise of gravel
and we ended up going and havingthe race be the Steamboat
Gravel, which is like their125-mile gravel race in
(04:18):
Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
So that was an exciting shift.
It took some adjustment on ourend, but I think it reached a
few new people, people thataren't really maybe into
mountain biking as much, butgravel biking seems kind of
right up their alley.
(04:46):
The project has evolved um quitea bit from this.
Hey, let's just get a friendwho's a videographer and we'll
just throw this little thingtogether and take three people
from colorado and just sort ofsee if we can help them get a
bike, and in that first year itreally just it had legs.
I think during the pandemic alot of brands were just trying
to figure out how they couldspeak to these entry-level
riders who were getting into thesport, and so we got a lot more
(05:08):
support than we anticipated andit was one of the more exciting
things of my life at that point.
And then now we've also justbeen riding the waves of
post-pandemic.
You know the bike industry haskind of had some ups and downs
pandemic.
You know the bike industry haskind of had some ups and downs,
um, but our mission stays thesame.
As we like to challenge peopleand show that you know it when
(05:31):
you try and line up to try to dosomething seemingly impossible,
you know it's.
It's not about.
It's not about necessarilygetting to that finish line, but
um, sort of just all that canhappen along the way to finish
line, but sort of just all thatcan happen along the way to
improve lives.
So, and I feel really proud ofthat, I really do feel like
we've improved dramatically allof the lives that we've directly
(05:53):
touched and tons of others whokind of have been watching and
following along.
Beth Bobbitt (05:58):
Yeah, and the whole philosophy is to, you know
, get people motivated and breakdown barriers.
It's just amazing.
So kudos to how much it's grown.
And I'm curious, so you areboth based in Colorado.
This started in Colorado andexpanded to Bentonville.
(06:20):
Can you talk about whenBentonville kind of entered the
scene and why?
Ryan Petry (06:24):
Yeah, when Bittenville kind of entered the
scene and why, yeah, that wasprobably the biggest growth of
this project was realizing thatwe started as kind of trying to
just make an impact on threepeople and show how hard it was
but how capable people are whenthey put their mind to something
, but quickly realized in yeartwo that the community was the
(06:45):
most important part of this.
And if you look for community inbike racing, bentonville has
put itself head and above therest and it's in year two.
We kind of reached out and wewere talking with Visit
Bentonville and said, hey, wewould love to host a camp, not
only for the three athletes thatwe pick every year to go to the
events, but we would like tobring in people who applied and
(07:06):
we didn't choose and kind ofhave a get together around the
table, learn some bike skills,um, and open this up a little
bigger um, that kind of Grew umfrom something that was just a
little bit more Colorado basedstraight into something that, um
, I think has become ethos tothe project, a lot of the
community focus.
Beth Bobbitt (07:25):
And what was that experience like for you two
being in Bentonville?
Had you been to the area before?
Ryan Petry (07:33):
Tell us a little bit about that.
What did you say, Alexey?
You got us to go early on theyear before.
Alexey Vermeulen (07:41):
Yeah, I mean, this is back in 2020, 21.
Yeah, that was like theinfluencer trip.
Yeah, I uh.
This is when alexi and I hadjust become friends, he had just
moved out here and, uh,benville was really starting to
try to attract more mountainbikers to the area and one of
(08:02):
the ways that you guys weredoing it at the time was
bringing out pro riders.
And somebody randomly reachedout to me.
I mean, yeah, and this is kindof how it all started.
I feel like I think we wouldhave ended up there eventually,
but this is how it started.
Somebody reached out to mesaying, hey, you want to?
You know, come to Bentonvilleand just show through, you know,
(08:24):
photos and just kind of a youknow sort of like an influencer
weekend of just all the greatthings to do here.
And I was like that soundsamazing, but coming by myself
doesn't sound that fun.
Can I bring my new buddy, alexihe's also a pro along and he
can take photos of me and I'lltake photos of him and we'll
show what it's like.
And they were like absolutely,and so that we were just kind of
(08:46):
blown away and I mean, thingshave changed already so much in
the last four years from then.
But after that we had thatrelationship and we were started
.
That was year one of the projectand it was just super natural
to be like hey, like we had agreat time and we're trying to
figure out like a camp orsomething way to change this for
season two.
Could we do maybe a camp and itwas.
(09:10):
It was kind of like a home runopportunity for both sides yeah,
how exciting, but tell us aboutthe, the application process.
Beth Bobbitt (09:20):
So when and how?
What characteristics are youlooking for?
How do you cast this group ofwriters?
Ryan Petry (09:29):
The minute we launched this we didn't know.
We were so underwater, it wasalmost overwhelming, but also
really exciting because it wassomething that we both believed
in.
But until you throw it out inthe world, you never know who's
excited.
And that first year we had theapplication series open for just
over two weeks and it was over1200 applications.
These are anything from 30seconds to 17, 18, 20 minutes.
(09:53):
Then it was at that time it wasmy girlfriend and myself and
Ryan and his wife and we wouldsit down and go through videos
at night and try to slowlynarrow it down.
And I'd love Ryan to touch onthis also because I think it's a
feeling from both of us, butit's really just a feeling.
You try to find someone thatyou think can be the head of
your ship and then you build ateam and a family around that,
(10:15):
because it's a very long andtough year when you're taking on
something as crazy or as hardas leadville or steamboat.
Um, so I think when you'relooking for people, you know
it's making sure they haveenough time in their daily
schedule, but also making surethey can, you know, take 14 days
off of work and come right askills camp in bentonville and
go to leadville and race andtrain.
So, um, yeah, what do you thinkthat feeling is, ryan, just a
(10:39):
gut?
Alexey Vermeulen (10:41):
yeah, I mean like say it can't just be gut,
uh, because it has to be like agut feeling and then it has to,
yeah, be put through a couplefilters of do you have the time?
Um, you know the some, somebodywho is willing to the magic I
feel like happens when somebodyis truly willing to commit
wholly to the process and to themagic I feel like happens when
somebody is truly willing tocommit wholly to the process and
(11:04):
to the hard moments that willcome.
And yeah, and then you knowonce you know ideally not all
the three people are like thesame type of person.
It's hard to like.
We try to get as much varietyas we can, um, just so the
(11:25):
maximum amount of people can besort of spoken to um throughout
the projects and sort of relatedto yeah, and I can imagine,
with a project like this and anundertaking so big, you're in
for some surprises.
Beth Bobbitt (11:42):
I'm curious if you have any, you know, kind of
nuggets or stories to share ofpeople or seasons that have
really surprised you no, it'sjust, it's people's lives they
get so excited about, kind of.
Ryan Petry (11:58):
I think what we've learned about this project is
someone who's you know gettingthey've settled into what their
career is, they've had kids andthey're settling into what life
is like, very typically, likesets big, massive goals that
seem impossible, and that's whatthis project has become, and so
throughout that, people getvery excited about it and apply
(12:18):
without really thinking throughwhat it takes, um, or what
happens.
So we've had a couple people.
We had a, a guy early on whoapplied and we got all the way
through.
We loved him, um, and he's anorthodox jew and he couldn't
race on saturdays and we said,well, let those on saturday I
don't know what I don't know howelse to put this out, um, but
it's just little funny thingslike that where everything fits.
(12:40):
But you know everyone didn'tthink through all the little
nuggets.
But you know it's, it's all ingood and good fun, um, and it's
it's always.
I think the most fun part forus is the creativity.
People come up with theirvideos.
You know, some people are,they're going through something
and it's very emotional and it'syou know you can, you can, you
(13:05):
can feel with them, uh, whatthey've been through, what
they're going through, why theyneed this, and other people it's
, you know, it's comedic reliefin a sense.
You know it's them creatingsomething.
Um, we've had people interviewpeople on the streets asking why
this should be a part of fromthe ground up, and you know
people on the streets are likewhat is from the ground up?
We've had people, um, you know,we had one, one kid who was in
it like working at a steakhouseand like made this whole thing
about like while working,explaining what the Argentinian
steakhouse was and what his jobwas, but then also why he wanted
(13:27):
to do from the ground up.
And it's, the creativity ofvideos makes it a lot of fun.
Beth Bobbitt (13:31):
Yeah, I bet yeah, amazing.
Well, where are you in theprocess now?
Alexey Vermeulen (13:37):
You're in between seasons we have a
(13:58):
million ideas, ways that we wantto grow the project, change the
project.
We learn every year.
We work with you know thepartners, and they give us
feedback and, um, and then Alexiand I, like our lives shift and
change.
I mean, the place that I'm atnow, compared to four years ago,
is so different.
Like, as a person, I have twokids and I'm not really racing
anymore.
(14:19):
Um, professionally, I wouldn'tsay in that capacity at all.
Uh, so it's do we have the timeto do it?
You know alexis fully committedto racing when he first.
Yeah, I mean when he first,when alexis first came over,
that's like when he reallystarted racing in gravel and now
he's one of the been one of themain players in the scene for a
(14:41):
few few years now.
Um, so, yeah, we're, we'rewe're in a place where we're
trying to figure out what nextyear really looks like, and it
can happen quick.
You know we're we're havingconversations now and then we
always aim to try to launch thenext season in early 2025 or
(15:04):
whatever that year is.
So there's a lot of unknownsstill right now, but we're
really pushing to make a seasonfive happen, I think, lexi and I
this is one of the mostfulfilling parts of our lives
and it's something that justbrings us great joy.
(15:24):
Right?
How often do we get to dosomething that is just truly
like from the heart and it's notabout anything, but just we
love it, so we want to keepdoing it, but it is.
It's a lot of work and there'sa lot of things to consider.
So we love it, so we want tokeep doing it, but it is.
It's a lot of work and there'sa lot of things to consider.
So yeah we'll, we'll see.
Not all the people will put outthe details as soon as we can.
(15:45):
Might be a few weeks after thispodcast comes out, though.
Beth Bobbitt (15:48):
We'll stay tuned, for sure, and congrats on all
the success.
And there is a lot of heart andso inspiring to go back and
watch these.
So let's wrap up with aquestion.
We ask all our guests you know,you've been in Bentonville,
you've spent some time here whatdoes a dream day look like for
(16:09):
you?
And I assume it would involvesome form of cycling or getting
out on the trails.
But what would you do if youhad a whole day?
Alexey Vermeulen (16:19):
I don't know, Lexi.
I feel like you've probablyalready lived out that day
Multiple times.
Ryan Petry (16:25):
Battenville is a little bit of a place you can
you can kind of dream a littlebit as a cyclist.
Um, there's so much to ride,it's almost overwhelming.
Uh, I have this sounds veryspoiled, but I have now done a
couple of the helibike tours, soI think that's the dream day is
start at Meteor, eat tacos tillI'm sick, helicopter, ride out
(16:48):
and lay in the middle of a fieldfor a couple hours and then
ride my way back home.
Beth Bobbitt (16:51):
I love it, perfect .
What about you, ryan?
Alexey Vermeulen (16:53):
That sounds pretty fun because I've never
been in a helicopter.
Pretty fun because I've neverbeen in a helicopter.
Yeah, I mean, the dream day forme is kind of what we do with
the camp.
We wake up, we rent really coolAirbnbs there's 15, like last
year, for example, there's 15additional people who come to
(17:14):
our camp alongside our four.
We've got all our film team,which is just such a tight-knit
community or little family atthis point, and we execute the
day.
We have, like you know, rich andsarah and all those guys from
the ride series they're ourcoaches and for everybody, the
skills coaches, and we get tojust sit back and watch
everybody learn to ride bikesand learn and progress quickly,
(17:37):
and those smiles and the highfives.
And then, you know, we hadbijou thomas.
He's bringing out lunch to the,to the parks and and at night
we're either going somewherereally nice for dinner or we're
cooking at the house.
Like there's so much work foralexi and I when we're there
because it's just, it's a lot tomanage a group of, you know, 25
(18:00):
people, but it is so fun.
You know we're, we're creatingwhat we think is the perfect day
If you're trying to learn thesport of mountain biking and we
just get to watch, and sometimeswatching somebody else live
that out is feels even betterthan us doing it necessarily,
yeah.
Beth Bobbitt (18:21):
So rewarding that totally is.
Alexey Vermeulen (18:23):
Yeah, that's totally my dream day, but I
would like to go on thehelicopter sometime Fair enough.
Beth Bobbitt (18:28):
Okay, we'll see if we can make that happen for you
.
Well, thank you both.
We will stay tuned for what'snext for you and appreciate you
spending some time with us insuch a busy season of life yeah
thanks for having us on, ofcourse yeah always, always,
appreciate you, uh, bringinglight to the project and, uh, if
(18:49):
you're watching this, yeah,stay tuned.
Alexey Vermeulen (18:51):
Our instagram is probably the best place to
watch for announcementsregarding next year um season
five, and it's just at From theGround Up Project, so we'll try
to keep you posted there on whenapplications open and things
like that.
Beth Bobbitt (19:07):
Amazing, Amazing and well.
Thank you both.
Happy holidays and hopefullywe'll talk soon.
Ryan Petry (19:14):
Awesome Thanks.
Beth Bobbitt (19:16):
Bye-bye.
Ryan Petry (19:16):
Thank you.
See ya.
Beth Bobbitt (19:18):
And don't forget, visit Bentonville is here to
help you navigate things to do,where to eat and stay and what's
going on in our new Americantown.
Give us a follow on socialmedia, sign up for the
newsletter and check out thewebsite at visitbittenvillecom.
Thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Intentionally Disturbing
Join me on this podcast as I navigate the murky waters of human behavior, current events, and personal anecdotes through in-depth interviews with incredible people—all served with a generous helping of sarcasm and satire. After years as a forensic and clinical psychologist, I offer a unique interview style and a low tolerance for bullshit, quickly steering conversations toward depth and darkness. I honor the seriousness while also appreciating wit. I’m your guide through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, armed with dark humor and biting wit.