May Jackson - From Gymnastics to Endurance Cycling - EBR Women

In this episode of EBR Women, Clare Pearson speaks with May Jackson, a Colorado-based endurance cyclist and one of our 2026 EBR Women scholars.

May’s background in competitive gymnastics continues to shape her approach to cycling, bringing a strong sense of discipline and a natural competitive edge.

She balances her development as an endurance athlete alongside full-time work, building her training around the realities of everyday life rather than ideal conditions.

In this conversation, Clare and May explore her progression into endurance cycling, her experience in events such as Leadville, and the challenges of moving beyond a plateau after years of self-coached training.

They also discuss the role of coaching, consistency, and practical strategies around training and nutrition when time and energy are limited.

EBR Women is a podcast from Endurance Bike & Run exploring the relationship between endurance sport, wellbeing and the wider journey of life.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Women have always been powerful. Throughout history we've been peddling, running and climbing our way to that unique freedom that only movement outdoors can bring. Let's keep inspiring each other. Join me each month as I talk to inspiring women who quietly get on with their everyday lives whilst doing amazing things in nature. So I thought what would be good to do first off is for just because people might be watching this who don't know you, to just introduce yourself and say a little bit about you and your passion and the year ahead.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

Kind of starting off, um, I'm based out of Colorado. I've been cycling now consistently for about five, six years. Um, but I had a bunch of previous experience racing and cycling. Um, oh my gosh, like 16, 15 years ago is really when I first got into cycling. And I did a little bit of racing back on the east coast of the US. And now I picked racing back up kind of around COVID and really got into cycling full-time. Well, not full-time, um, you know, as much as one can do when they are still working full time. Um, but it's looking like it's gonna be a really busy year. I actually have my first race coming up um mid-south down in Oklahoma in two weeks. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Two and a half. Um oh wow, no, it really is two weeks.

SPEAKER_02 1:40

Um so probably likely sticking with the hundred miles there. And then my next race of the season will be sometime in April. Um doing a race in western Colorado. Um so yeah. Um, and then of course, on my list as always and has been, um, as my friends like to say, May, you're doing Leadville. And I'm like, I wasn't planning on it, but yes, I am. Um, so I've got Leadville, I've got the Leadville stage race. I'm sure I'll do Silver Rush, um, just because I'm a glutton for pain. And I love doing those really hard hard high altitude races. Um but lots of fun races and just having fun on the bike is kind of always the main goal.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Well, yeah, but I think there's a little competitive streak in you.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

Yeah, that never that never left me, unfortunately, for my gymnastics background. Um kind of having a little bit of team aspect in there, and then um, you know, individually being able to judge yourself, kind of, you know, and see where you've grown and what you've worked on, where you've made your gains. Um and oh, other really kind of to bring in a team aspect to this, I was accepted onto the Mosaic Factory off-road team, um, which it's the first year of it, so I'm not really sure how that's all gonna work out, but I have a custom to me uh tie frame being built up, which I'm super stoked to be able to build out and hopefully use, you know, um, some of our sponsorships uh parts for.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Yeah, get some of the Schwabby tires on them.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Yeah, we'll get Schwabi. We've got do we we've got physique?

SPEAKER_00 3:52

You've got your Schwabby tires. So you're gonna have a fabulous bike, uh, physics saddle, schwalby tires, and some tail fin luggage.

SPEAKER_02 4:02

Yeah, you know, and what's super cool is having a custom bike made for me. Like I can have them attach and put the attachments on for whatever mounts I want. So I'm really excited to have kind of an all-around um gravel bike that I can use for whatever and will also be stunning and beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Yeah, yeah. And yours individuals.

SPEAKER_02 4:27

And mine. And you know, to have a bike that's you know, being a smaller human and a shorter person, um, it's really hard to find bikes that work really well. Like they'll they'll, you know, I think it's one of those things where I've made a lot of bikes work for me. And, you know, having the bike kind of be custom with, you know, making sure there's enough clearance in there for my toes with the tires, um, and just like small little detail things to really, you know, help make that bike so much easier for me to use. I think it'll be really, really cool and interesting to see how that goes and how that can help also increase, you know, my prowess on the bike.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Yeah, I mean, there's certain amount of what's to be gained from having a good bike fit, um, from having even the right saddle just for comfort can increase endurability. So definitely. I mean, one of the questions that I was going to ask you was just what um what difference do you think having a good kit in general makes for for you?

SPEAKER_02 5:40

Having a good kit this year, like I've never really uh cycled through the winter months. Um, and Granton, Colorado hasn't been a super wintery month. Yeah, apologize, coffee machines cleaning.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Um I would do it automatically, that'd be great.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

The fancy houses I get to stay in. Um, having a good cycling kit, you know, like I've never really ridden in the winter. And so, you know, realizing that yes, the five the first five minutes is cold, and then like beyond that, like having a good kit, you know, um, I've got one of the really great wind layers. I don't remember what it is, but it's got a little bit of insulation on the inside, and it's definitely been my go-to piece, whether I'm going out and I'm walking like very active dog, so it's more of a run. Um, or I am on the bike and I'm starting out, and it can definitely be a little bit cold at first, and then like within five minutes, I'm almost like, I actually don't need this layer. So having those warm tights and the nice base layers from pedal like has made cycling in the winter possible for me, where like I used to just kind of be a baby and a wimp about it and be like, I'm really cold and I don't want to go out. So having really good fitting, you know, and just having pieces that fit really well is super helpful to you because like I've definitely had, you know, the chamises that like for whatever reason they do not work and I wear them, and then sometimes you get desperate and you get to the you know, you haven't done laundry, and you're like, oh my gosh, I have to wear that chamois. Yeah, I'm not, I'm gonna skip my workout um and do laundry.

unknown 7:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

So, you know, definitely having those good fitting pieces like that are comfortable and keep you warm, like have definitely extended my ability to be able to train outside this season um when the roads are clear of ice, because that's the scary part.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Yeah, yeah. And it's always a balance, isn't it? But I agree. I think having a kit that will keep you warm and kit that's comfortable, you know, you don't want a chamois that's catching on your saddle because it's just a bad fit, and you know, you don't want to just feel like you're sitting on a uh something really lumpy or something that's just not not good for you. So the it makes a big difference for sure. So it's great that the kit's working for you. Um and yeah, as you say, that's that's a pedal edge that have provided that, isn't it? So and if it's getting you outside, that's even better, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 8:35

That's uh yeah, which luckily we finally got some snow, so we haven't been riding outside. So it's been those three-hour trainer rides inside, but you know, yeah, been uh mental toughness with your three-hour training rides for sure.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

I actually kind of like them.

SPEAKER_02 8:55

Do you in a way that doesn't surprise me given how awesome and it's been super helpful with the Olympics, like the Olympics being able to be on and putting like the ski racing on, um, that definitely helps. But like, I don't know, it's a great way to like toil away three hours of a day.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Yeah, I just go into work and I'm absolutely brainless, but that's okay. It's a restaurant job.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Yeah, yeah. You just need to know how to smile, really. Yeah. Um, so the other thing that I was gonna ask you, um, switching about a bit here, was just what attracted you to the scholarship in particular.

SPEAKER_02 9:41

Yeah, so the scholarship looked like a great opportunity to see where I could grow my cycling because I've been training pretty much like on my own and kind of doing my own programming. Um, and I've kind of felt, you know, I had two Leadville results that I think are, you know, my last two Leadville results have maybe a minute of difference in the finish time. Um, so I kind of feel like I've hit this point of like, well, I've gotten myself here and I don't know if I can continue to push myself further. Um, and so I started talking and looking at, you know, coach different coaching programs. And then I happened to see, you know, the scholarship with endurance bike and run um pop up. And I've, you know, it's this seems to be the year of why not take the risk on myself and maybe, you know, like other people, if I don't believe in myself first, other people can't believe in me. So I applied and I'm beyond grateful to be working with you guys and to be working with you, Claire. Um, I don't know, I I definitely noticed some changes so far, um, but I'm really excited to just kind of see how being a little bit more focused and having somebody there able to kind of help lead me through this and especially navigating the month of June for me is gonna be really key, just kind of having somebody there in my corner being like, it's okay. Just like if you can get on your bike for 30 minutes this week, you'll be okay. Like, we're not gonna, you know, just kind of having that guidance and just kind of, you know, at different points being my cheerleader, at other points being like, hey, like now's the time to put in the work, um, and just kind of helping me navigate like and structure workouts between my races, around my races, and um, you know, helping me schedule things with work. Um, because my work life gets busy come summertime.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

Yeah, I mean, you are busy. Um I think you haven't seen busy yet. Yeah, I was just gonna say, I think you are intrigued, you you are it's part of you, isn't it, to be busy. It's part of your personality, to have lots of things to do. And there's good sides and bad sides to that. You get things done. Boy, do you get things done? Um it's also about managing that any energy balance, isn't it? Especially when things get really busy and you work, it's sometimes physical because you you know you're working as a landscape gardener and just managing all that, and sometimes just thinking, well, I've put in some good work when things were quieter, I'm still active, and you know, if I get on, as you say, if you get on that bike for that 30 minutes, then that's uh that's enough. Um you're not gonna lose fitness overnight, you're not gonna lose it in a week, but you can get very, very tired in a week if you overdo it. We talked about the uh gear. You've mentioned the coaching. Um the other thing that I just wanted to ask you is about nutrition and what um what difference do you think having the right nutrition uh makes for your training and your racing? If I mean the racing's to come, isn't it? So maybe that's not something to comment on now.

SPEAKER_02 13:21

On nutrition, it's really important to have like good nutrition um for the training and beforehand. So having, you know, good um, you know, what works for me generally is having kind of a gel product um ever second has been one that I've used and it's worked really well for me. Um and then I also really prefer to do something that's got electrolytes in my bottles, especially when I'm doing those longer training rides inside. Um, and then you know, I'm honestly I've been doing a little bit of solid food while I'm doing my indoor rides as well, which has kind of helped, but it's also really important um come race day, like to kind of train the way you're racing. Um, and so making sure like I've got some of those gels as well as using, you know, what I'm gonna use on race day during those longer training sessions just kind of helps train my gut um and prepare my stomach for that. Um, because if anything kind of comes up in those longer training sessions or even just a regular one, I can at least take notice of it and be like, okay, is it the product? Did I not mix it right? Um, I'm classically known for mixing my electrolytes a little heavy, um, which is odd because I'm not a super salty sweater. Um, but I sometimes like them to taste saltier versus sweet. Um, but you know, it's nutrition's definitely one of my struggling points. So it's been really great to have, you know, guidance and never second um there to kind of help support me and use those products and start, you know, using them before I'm racing instead of, you know, being like, hey, system, we're gonna use this and it's kind of all we've got because it's race day and you know, there's nowhere, there aren't other options. Um, and it's also really great because um Never Second's been a product that I've actually used off and on for several years, because unfortunately my system doesn't always like consistency in my products. Um, so sometimes I have to switch up which product, which specific product I use, or I have to stop using something altogether.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

I know that one of the things, one of your strategies for your early morning rides is to just stuff that gel down your shorts and make sure that even if mid-session, um, if you have a bike, then you've got something there to just top top things up and and carry on.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

Yeah, even during my recycling training classes that I take, um, you know, I kind of actually, even if I don't really feel like I need it, I also kind of try to, you know, about 15 to 20 minutes into it, whenever we get our first like after the warm-up and after kind of the first block, um, if we've got at least more than a two-minute break or recovery zone, I try to take in another gel. Um, just so that way my body is like, okay, this is like the normal, so that way it gets used to it.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

The only thing that I would add is that um one of the things that attracted us to you as a scholar, because there were a lot of you applying, um, was this fact that I mean, obviously you're an accomplished cyclist and there's real potential there, which we saw, but also that you you you're coming from a very ordinary background, you know, this isn't like a privileged person who's got uh tons of muddy to throw at something. You're working really, really hard to support your sport. Um, and obviously we wanted to be able to help you in that, number one. But also, I think you know, you represent a lot of women, I think, who are you know just working really, really hard to balance everything, to balance you know, job and to balance the money coming in, and to balance the fact that you want to do all these rides and that you want to train hard. And it it's it's not easy, it's not easy to get it all right, I don't think, all the time. So uh for us, we are we are delighted to be in your corner. Having someone who's in it with you can make a real big difference to how consistent you are with your training and also to how you complete your event. At Endurance Bike and Run. We've got years of experience of working with women, helping them to achieve that big idea. So if you'd like some help and support, you can contact me at Claire at endurancebike and run.com. That's C L A R E at endurancebike and run dot com, or you can check out our coaching services at endurance bike and run dot com. We have group training programmes as well as one to one coaching options.