She's a DH World Champ. Now, she's giving her best at bikepacking and gravel too.

Miranda Miller is a downhill mountain bike World Champion and three-time Canadian National downhill champion from Squamish, British Columbia. Her video series, Here, There, Everywhere regularly features inspiring riders and mountain bike destinations around the world as Miranda takes on new cycling challenges ranging from gravel biking to gravity racing.

How did you get introduced to downhill mountain bike racing at such an early age?
What was the biggest difference between racing DH and enduro for you?
What are some favorite trails or mountain bike destinations you’ve ridden over the years?
Do you do a lot of specific training or prep before big endurance rides like the 22-hour, 360km gravel ride and a 5-day bikepacking trip on the AZT you completed?
How involved are you in the creative side of the Here, There, Everywhere video series?
Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? Does the search for perfection ever cause problems for you?
What do you make of the state of professional enduro racing today?
What’s next for you, and for your video series?

You can follow Miranda on Instagram @mirandamillermtb and catch up on Here, There, Everywhere on the @DVRGNTminds and SRAM YouTube channels.

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Automated transcript

Jeff Barber 0:00
Hey everybody, welcome to the Singletracks podcast. My name is Jeff, and today my guest is Miranda Miller. Miranda is a downhill mountain bike world champion and three time Canadian National downhill champ from Squamish, British Columbia. Her video series here, there, everywhere, regularly features inspiring riders and mountain bike destinations around the world as Miranda takes on new cycling challenges ranging from gravel biking to gravity racing. Thanks for joining me, Miranda.

Miranda Miller 0:31
Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having me.

Jeff Barber 0:35
So you started racing downhill, like, at a really young age. How’d you get introduced to the sport?

Miranda Miller 0:41
I was probably like, 14, I guess, when I did my first downhill race, just growing up in Squamish. You know, it’s like, you ski in the winter, you bike in the summer, kind of thing. I think I went to the first, like, Joyride Crankworx festival in like, 98 or 99 to watch? Yeah, I remember, like, there was like peak Cedric Gracia. And he was like, it wasn’t like a four cross, there’s like a dual cross or something. And he was like, hitting the jumps, doing his like, mustache thing. And I was like, the sport is crazy,

Jeff Barber 1:16
And you had a bike then?

Miranda Miller 1:22
I had a hardware store bike, you know, that you work around town on, and then, yeah, I just kind of like, love biking, because I think it was something I could do on my own terms. Like, you know, I liked other sports, but you would have to, like, Wait till Wednesday at three to play soccer on a bike, you could just go out whatever you wanted. And then my mom was actually visiting a friend, like, in sort of the interior of BC, and she’s like, oh, there’s like, a down horse. Do you want to come do it? And in my mind, I just had never, like, I didn’t know I knew racing existed because I saw it in magazines, but I didn’t know, like, I could do it.

Jeff Barber 2:03
Was that common, though? Like, how many kids were in this race? Like, people your age?

Miranda Miller 2:08
Yeah, people my age, like myself, and Micayla Gatto. She was, like, the category above me. She’s a few years older than me, but we were essentially, like, the junior women at this race, yeah, and she would just, like, smoke me every race.

Jeff Barber 2:26
Well, I mean, I read that by 16 you were racing at the Elite level. So what was it like to you know? I mean, it seems very quick to go 14 years old to two years later, ish, you’re racing elite like. What was it like to race at that level, at such a young age?

Miranda Miller 2:42
Yeah, I feel like that. That makes it sound a bit more grand than it was. Essentially, I had to race at least elite level if I wanted to race anyone. I said, Yeah, you know, there’s like, no, there’s like, maybe three of us racing at a like, a BC cup or a Canada Cup. And so the option, like, was to race up an elite.

Jeff Barber 3:05
Was that intimidating, though? Were you like, no, I just want to race people my age?

Miranda Miller 3:10
I think at the time, I wish, like, looking back now, and you look at like, the sort of like, how many juniors there are, you’re like, wow, like that would have been so incredible to have, like, such a competitive field, but at the time, you just didn’t know any better. And you’re just like, oh, this is just the way it is, yeah. And it was, it definitely was intimidating. But like, the whole sport of downhill racing already felt intimidating, so it was just like, one more layer to it, you know, like you kind of just had to do it if you wanted to race anyone. And at World Cups, there was, like, juniors didn’t exist, right?

Jeff Barber 3:49
So yeah. And I assume, too, you had adults in your life that were supporting this, right? Like, I don’t know that every parent would want their kids doing this, or would even, I mean, to your point too, would even know it exists? So I assume, though you had some support there?

Miranda Miller 4:07
Yeah, it’s, it’s like, neither of my parents do a lot of, like, sports or anything. But yeah, I don’t know my I’m the youngest of four kids, so I feel like by the time they got to me, it was kind of like, I don’t know, just whatever do your thing.

I definitely think I got like, a little more of a relaxed, you know, upbringing than my siblings, who are a lot closer in age, too, yeah, and yeah, my parents did the best that they could, taking me to races, and then, honestly, being a Squamish, there’s a lot of a lot of kids that go to races, so carpool with your friends, and, yeah, pretty much all boys. But that was kind of what I was used to anyways at the time. And it’s only now looking back that you realize how beneficial it would have been if there had been, you know, more women or girls. My. Age to kind of ride with. And, yeah, even though I was comfortable around boys, it’s still, like, it’s a different environment.

Jeff Barber 5:07
Yeah well, I mean, you kind of alluded to, like, that it’s changed, or that it’s different now. Like, what is it like now there in Squamish, like, in terms of younger people racing downhill, particularly women?

Miranda Miller 5:20
Yeah, it’s, it’s like, man, these kids are living the dream. You know, they’re like, 13, beating all the elites. They’re like, so good.

Jeff Barber 5:32
Are they organized in some way, though, is it like through schools, or is there like, private teams, or, like, how does that work?

Miranda Miller 5:39
For sure. Like, there’s like, mountain bike programs through the school, like, and then there’s also, you know, blueprint does like, a really good job in town. He’s like, a local coach. He used to be a teacher, and now he does like mountain bike coaching. Jamie Hill has, like, hilltop and there’s like, all different avenues. It’s really cool. Like, if, if you’re not into racing, you don’t have to race. And there’s, you know, a ton of other options that you can do. And yeah, it’s cool. And I also just think, like kids now, just they have these sort of posses that they go ride with all the time and build trails. And, yeah, it’s like, it’s cool. And parents seem to be, like, a little more. I remember having to, like, just, like, beg my mom to, like, drop me off at the top of 19th hole, like, once, you know, yeah. And like, these kids are just like, their parents are shuttling them, you know, all the time. It really pays off.

Jeff Barber 6:33
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it’s interesting, because here in the US, like, obviously, NICA is big, but, you know, clearly that’s focused very much on, like, cross country style racing. So, yeah, I mean, is there? Do you see that as, like, a thing that’s maybe starting to develop where there could be this more, like gravity oriented, at least, where you are?

Miranda Miller 6:55
For sure. Like we have, like, when I was in high school, the same thing, like our school bike team was just cross country, but now they like, and there’s like a community group called Team Squamish and and that’s like, maybe more inclusive than some of these other programs. It’s like a little bit like lower barrier of entry and everything, but they offer like, cross country enduro downhill, and then, like, through Whistler Mountain and stuff, like, you can do any kind of program that you want, I mean, yeah, like living here right now you can, you can find support in, like, any, any category that you’d want to race.

Jeff Barber 7:33
I mean, Squamish is a bit of a mountain bike bubble, but also, obviously, like, a trendsetter, right? So if we see it happening there, like, there’s a good chance maybe it’ll start popping up other places. So that’s cool.

Miranda Miller 7:47
Yeah, yeah, it’s funny. You travel now, and we used to as kids, we used to get made fun of from being from Squamish, you know, like, all the city kids would make fun of us. Or now you can be, like, anywhere in the world and be like, kind of explaining where you’re from, oh, like, north of Vancouver. And people like, oh, like, Squamish,

Jeff Barber 8:05
So in 2019 I believe you fully switched from racing downhill to Enduro. So what? What was sort of the biggest difference for you between the two formats of racing?

Miranda Miller 8:21
At that time, I just needed to, like, step back from downhill a little bit. I was just had these injuries that weren’t, like, wasn’t able to, like, get on top of and at that point, like, I had just, like, kind of put myself in a hole, like, physically, mentally, like, trying to race downhill when you are not, like, 100% healthy. Is like, kind of scary, you know?

Jeff Barber 8:45
Is this scarier? Like, I always wonder this, in some ways, it seems like enduro is more dangerous, right? Because, like, you don’t necessarily get to pre-ride. Like, the courses are more remote, like, a lot of reasons, so, I mean, but it felt safer to you?

Miranda Miller 9:02
Yeah. Never felt that scary. There’s one race that I was like, it was, like, one of the first years we went to Madeira, and we’re, like, so remote, and it was like, kind of sketchy trails. And I remember, like, looking around and being like, wow. Like, if something went wrong, yeah, you’re out here for a while.

Jeff Barber 9:20
And so you do dial it back though? I mean, mentally, like, subconsciously. And you hope everybody else does too. I mean, that’s what I would be worried about, is like, well, if I don’t go full-on, somebody else is going to beat me that’s willing to, like, take a little bit more of a risk.

Miranda Miller 9:37
Yeah. But for enduro, for me, it was like, yeah. Just something completely different, something I wasn’t good at. Like, definitely coming from downhill, and, like, my personality definitely suits downhill more in the sense that you really get to work on improving on something over the weekend, like you really get to kind of master that down. Old track, or at least try to whereas enduro is much more just wing it, thinking on your feet. That’s where, like, someone like Jesse is like, so good at enduro, because he can take these like crazy risks his first lap. And like, he’s just kind of one of those people where, like, he pulls it off somehow, you know, he’s like, fine. And you’re like, what you pulled for that? He’s like, Oh yeah, so sketchy. And I was like, I would have just died, like, so there’s like, certain things like that that I found really challenging. And then, like, fitness wise, just coming from downhill, it was really cool to push myself trying to do these long days, trying to, like, trying to figure out, sort of, like, all the strategies that go into Enduro.

Jeff Barber 10:47
Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, clearly you’re not afraid to try new things and and you don’t just try them, like you dive in head first. And, you know, I was watching the intro for here, there and everywhere, your video series, and you said something along the lines of, you were bored with some aspects of racing and cycling in general, and you wanted to experience more. I’m wondering, like, did you feel like you’d already accomplished everything you wanted to accomplish, or was there something else that was sort of like driving that desire to try new things?

Miranda Miller 11:21
No, like, I wouldn’t… It wasn’t like, a sense of like, when I look on my career, you know, I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished very much. When it comes to racing, it feels like there’s still like, you know, there’s like, so much more I wish that I had been able to achieve. But for me, it was going to all these, like, at first enduro was, like, pretty exciting, but it, but it became pretty clear that, like, I didn’t have the same passion for it, like the trails that we raced, you would get to go to these pretty incredible places. Yeah, they never really, not. Well, some of them did, but they never felt like mountain bike destinations. A lot of the time, no, like, incredible that we get to go to Zermatt, there’s, like, no bike trails, and they’re mad, you know, yeah, and it kind of felt like that a lot of these locations, and we kept going back to them, and I just felt like I was just doing it because I didn’t know what else to do. And then also, you would go to, like, like, these incredible locations, and then just ride these, like, four hiking trails and not get to see really where you were, or meet the people who built the you know, like, you never got to, like, really embed yourself in any of the communities. And I was like, Man, I should take advantage of all this like opportunity I have to, like, see the world, but like, experience it a little bit more. And there’s also, like, a lot of talk at the time about just sort of ironic looking at where we are, like, in this enduro state of enduro right now. But there’s a lot of talk with my sponsors about, like, what value I was, I was bringing by racing these enduro races. And like, you want to, when you’re in that position, you want to, like, try and like, justify the value. But like, inside I knew I was, like, there’s, like, no value to this.

Jeff Barber 13:18
I mean, you’re hard on yourself though, right? Like, I mean, the value, there’s value in winning a race, but then there’s also, like, yeah, lots of other factors, I guess.

Miranda Miller 13:28
But at the time, it didn’t feel very fulfilling. I was like, I don’t know, I’m like, eighth, you know.

Jeff Barber 13:33
Which is, like, awesome. Like, anybody in the Top 10 would be like, All right, I’ve arrived.

Miranda Miller 13:39
I just felt like there was something I could be doing that I might enjoy more and might, like, I don’t know, like, maybe connect myself more with the community of mountain biking.

Jeff Barber 13:53
Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, you mentioned it like, as a professional mountain bike racer, clearly, you’re able to travel all over the world and in this new video series. I mean, not new. You’ve been doing it for a couple years now. I think you visit and ride in in places like Japan, Bolivia, Tasmania, what are some of your favorite trails or destinations that you’ve that you’ve ridden over the years? What are the places you want to go back to that you’ve been?

Miranda Miller 14:22
Good question. Honestly, I want to go back everywhere our last honestly, I think it’s hard to say, like every that’s what’s so cool about the here they’re everywhere, is that every episode was like, such a unique experience for Graham and I, Graham films and edits them. Everyone was like, really special in its own way. But I think, like last season, when we went to Bolivia and we got to ride all the trails built by the chilitas, who are like the Indigenous women there, that trip was like so. So special to us, like we had a friend, a Bolivian friend, Yannick, who is guiding us, and he’s a local and he’s, like, very passionate about, like, his local community. And it just gave that trip like an extra layer of you know, usually when you go somewhere new, you’re standing somewhere looking at a mountain, and then you’re on Google trying to figure out, like, what that mountain is. Yeah, no. Or like, where you are, whereas with in Bolivia, Yannick had all the historical stories of the mountain, or like, the area and the people, and it was just such an incredible trip. And you’re riding in, you know, we went up to like, 5300 meters, just like, riding these scree slopes. And wow, every day was, like, so special. It was honestly, like, the best trip I’ve ever been on. And yeah, I Bolivia was just such a beautiful place, and the people are so, like, so vibrant, and like happening. And, yeah, it was amazing.

Jeff Barber 16:00
That’s awesome. I mean, has there, have there been places where you’re disappointed, or maybe, like, it’s not what you thought it would be? Because I feel like a lot of, I mean, everybody’s interpretation of of mountain biking is different around the world, right? Like, we all have certain types of trails that we like or ways we like to ride. Like, has there been places where you’re like, Oh, this isn’t what I thought it would be, or isn’t, yeah, as exciting as maybe the internet has made it seem?

Miranda Miller 16:28
It’s funny, because, like, when we’re planning these episodes, it is, like, a pretty big risk. Like, especially Bolivia, you couldn’t find any information on these trails, yeah. And so we went in fully trusting that, yeah. Like, I was like, Yannick, are these, like, if we come these trails are like, not good, you know.

Jeff Barber 16:50
Like are they just goat trails? I feel like, you find that a lot where it’s like, oh, we have trails, and you’re like, Yeah, I mean, you can mountain bike them, but they’re not, it’s not fun.

Miranda Miller 17:01
So we put, like, a lot of faith in some of these people. And so far, like, everything has worked out. And I feel like part of that is, like, kind of just, like dumb luck and like, there was a few episodes where the storylines didn’t go the way that we thought they would. Like, usually we try to, like, storyboard everything a little bit before we go in, so we can, like, have know what to shoot and things like that. Yeah. So a couple episodes like from the second season were just not quite what we had to pivot pretty hard, like filming them. But that wasn’t because of, like, the terrain being bad. It was just, like the story, yeah, wasn’t going in the direction that we thought it was going to go in.

Jeff Barber 17:45
I mean, was it better in some cases, though, where you’re, like, pleasantly surprised, or, I don’t know, sometimes it’s like, the best story is when there’s like, adversity, or, like, some challenge that that you face.

Miranda Miller 17:56
Yeah, exactly. And it’s, it’s like, you’re telling the story. So it’s like, story, you know, you can’t, you can’t, like, fully steer it, you know, you got to be, like, true to the real story. It just like, wasn’t what we were expecting.

Jeff Barber 18:10
Yeah. You’re like, Oh, sweet. The van broke down. Now we’ll have something for our story. Well, so in in your videos, a lot of them, you talk about other riders, mountain bikers, who inspire you. And one of them that I kind of keyed out on was ultra endurance phenom Lael Wilcox. And you know, even though you to compete in different disciplines, it seems like you see some of yourself in her like, what, what is kind of the connection there. Like, what, what inspires you about Lael?

Miranda Miller 18:44
Well, I think, like, Lael is just such an inspiring person, and she’s got such a, like, magnetic kind of personality and sort of demeanor to her. Like her right around the world this year is like, perfect proof of that, you know, like, that was like, the most feel good thing to watch, you know, like, yeah, every day so many people were coming out to, like, support her and just to meet her and, you know, and she had just endless energy for everyone. And it’s just so impressive. And I kind of first got, like, turned on to like Lael and like Lachlan Morton through like Rapha’s YouTube channel. I feel like it was the first time that I had watched content like that that actually kind of like spoke to me a little bit, or like got me excited to, like, try something, because it’s like, a it’s a fine line. You know, like, a lot of the time you just find yourself being like, there’s no between being inspired and then thinking, like, there’s no way I could do that kind of thing. Yeah. And for some reason, like those two people, I think, just like their ability to just kind of be real in in the yeah video was, like, relatable to me, even though they were doing. Things that, you know, I could never, still never achieve, like the pace at what they’re at which they’re moving and stuff, but just their sort of genuine personalities came through and the hardship, but also, just like, probably mostly the hardship was always counteracted with, like, the reward of doing things like that. And I think that’s what really kind of got me excited to try, try something like that.

Jeff Barber 20:24
That’s interesting. It does seem like the more like gravity-focused, like video content and shred its and things like it is missing that kind of like real component to it. And, yeah, I wonder, I mean, does it inspire you in different ways? I guess like that, that kind of content connects with you more than maybe what people are doing on the gravity side.

Miranda Miller 20:50
Maybe because it’s like, so different, like, like you said, like you watched like a shredit or something, and it’s so hard to stand out now.

Jeff Barber 20:59
And it’s perfect. Usually, I mean, they’ll show like, some dabs or like, outtakes or whatever, right? But the goal with that video is to be like, watch what I can do. And, yeah, who knows how many tries it took…

Miranda Miller 21:13
And it’s like such a crazy world we live in, where you can watch this edit, where they’re doing in, like, incredible things on a bike, and you’re just like, you know? And right, yeah, exactly. You’re like, I have seen this before. That’s why like Brandon Semenuk videos are so good, because he takes them to such another level with, like, the artistic side, and his creativity in the way that he uses the landscape and his builds the way they shoot it, like, that’s like, that’s like, what you have to do to stand out now, he’s like, the best at doing it, whereas, like, these sort of Lail and Lachlan videos can almost be a little bit scrappier and like, they’re just showing like, the experience, and that’s what everyone wants, right, is to like, connect with the experience of being another human or whatever. So, yeah, you know, you gotta have a mix. You gotta have, like, the pinnacle pieces to, like, look to, and then, think a lot of people just want something kind of relatable. That’s why I think so many YouTubers do well, is because it’s relatable content.

Jeff Barber 22:21
Yeah, well, you know, clearly you’ve been, you’ve been crushing some pretty big rides yourself for your series, including you did, like a 22 hour, 360 kilometer gravel ride, and then also a five day bike packing trip on the Arizona Trail. So watching those videos, it’s not really clear. Did you do a lot of, like, training and prep for these trips? Or did you just like, are you naturally just kind of, like, in shape for that kind of thing? And just like, I’m just gonna try it.

Miranda Miller 22:56
No to both of those questions.

It’s funny, like, I did this Rapha ride called the Yomp, which was, like the hardest gravel thing I’ve ever done. And it was like a community event, you know, like people from all over came and signed up, and I was talking to these women beforehand that are from my area, and they’re like, oh, like, how did you prepare? And I was like, I didn’t like, I was like, I wrote to like, the Sea to Sky trail once, and like, back. And they’re like, what? And so I always have plans to prepare for these things, but they come up a lot quicker than you know you’re ready for. All of a sudden, they’re like, a month away, and you haven’t done any I’m always training, but I’m not, like, maybe training specifically for that. The thing is, like, I have so much saddle time that I’m like, okay, I can probably do it. It’s not gonna feel good. I’m not gonna be able to do it that quickly. Like, for sure, I can do it. So in a perfect world, I would prepare more, and then at the end of all those things, I was, like, pretty banged up. Reality, you know, like, get crazy swollen, like, you can’t feel your feet. Yeah, you’re just, like, my body’s like, not used to doing that. But after you do one of those things, you realize that it’s mostly, it is a lot physical, but it’s like, way more mental, that you just have to, like, you know, push through and then just believe that you can do it, which I don’t, which just has been fun about those challenges, because everyone I’ve, like, truly not known if I can do it.

Jeff Barber 24:38
Yeah, well, I mean your approach, again, it sounds very relatable, right? I think a lot of us are that way, where we like, sign up for a thing and we’re like, Oh yeah, I’m going to train. And then we don’t train as much as we thought. I’m curious though, like, where do you think you you get that confidence, though, to know, like, it’s going to be fine, like, I’m going to be able to do this.

Miranda Miller 25:02
Um, I don’t know. I don’t know if I think, I think part of it is just like, throughout my racing career, I always felt like I left a lot, left a lot out there. Like most of the time, like so many times I’d finish a race run and it would be like, not even close to what I knew I was capable of. And like that feeling is, like the worst feeling, like, yeah, all you want in a downhill run is knowing that you, like, tried as hard as you could, yeah, and you did everything the best that you could. And I never had that very much. And so I think this is almost like a way to, like, kind of feel that just, just know that you, no matter what happens, you just tried as hard as you could, kind of thing, and that’s, like, probably the best feeling. So I feel like a lot of is motivated from knowing that feeling of, like, not giving it your all, and just like, yeah, it’s kind of just like a shitty feeling, you know? So yeah, that’s probably the biggest thing. Because, like, a lot of these times I start, I start I start these rides, and I’m like, pretty nervous, because I it’s like, especially, like the Arizona Trail run, there’s a few times I was, like, in the middle of nowhere, yeah, by myself riding, like, some like, pretty, like, not super tech, but like, you’re like, shredding these, like, trails with like, bags and stuff on your bike. And I mean, like, I love Graham, like the filmer, but like, That guy’s not coming to save me, you know. So I’m like, Damn, I’m, like, pretty out here, and definitely, like, I’m a little bit, like, on edge and stuff, yeah, but it’s like, kind of part of the fun.

Jeff Barber 26:37
Yeah. I mean, I think that’s, that’s great, like, advice or, I mean, that’s a great way to look at things in terms of, you know, Will I have regrets at the end of this for, you know, either not finishing or or whatever. And that can be a huge motivator, for sure. I mean, I’ve, I’ve found myself with that same motivation, particularly with bike packing where, you know, I’ve had trips where I’ve, like, kind of cut them short and, you know, given up prematurely, and then it’s like, but for the next one, I’m like, No, I’m gonna, I’m gonna power through this, and I don’t want to have any regrets at the end of it.

Miranda Miller 27:13
Yeah, like, what did it feel like in that, like, you probably felt so different in the time that you decided to stop, and then, like, the next day, yeah, you know, the next day, you’re like, gosh, like, fine, yeah,

Jeff Barber 27:26
Exactly right. Like, it wasn’t that bad. What am I doing?

Miranda Miller 27:31
Yeah, in the moment, you’re like, there’s no other option.

Jeff Barber 27:35
Right. But at the same time, like, I think people struggle. Mountain bikers struggle with the idea of like, risk too, right? And, you know, do I push myself, like, into an unsafe situation? And I guess, you know, I’m just thinking, then maybe the perspective shifts to any regret about, like, getting injured, right? Like, do I want to go so far that I’m actually, like, not going to be able to ride my bike for a year? So, yeah, that’s seems like a fine line.

Miranda Miller 28:12
Yeah, for sure.

Jeff Barber 28:15
So you mentioned Graeme, who does the filming on your series. How involved are you on the creative side of Here, There, Everywhere?

Miranda Miller 28:25
So usually, like, I’ll come up with, sort of, like, the episode ideas just based on, like, athletes that I admire or places that I’ve sort of seen might have a cool kind of story. And then Graeme and I would work, and then SRAM will, like, kind of go through, and sometimes there’s a few things that, like, SRAM has a couple ideas, or maybe some of our ideas align better with, you know, like some of strands plans. So we kind of just go through and pick, pick the best ideas, and then Graeme and I will sort of develop a bit of a storyboard for them and then, but as far as, like, stylizing of the of the actual episodes, that’s that’s mostly Graeme, like he he films and directs them and then edits them. So he is definitely in charge of, like, the overall look of the episode, whereas I’ll do logistics, you know, help develop the storylines, things like that, yeah, and then, like, Graeme and I are, we have pretty similar tastes, and we’re always, like, sending videos back and forth of like, other people’s work, being like, Oh, I really like this or things like that. Yeah, no. Graeme is also very good at like storytelling, like documentary style work like, I think he’s really good at understanding how to fill in, fill in a store and what he needs to shoot. And we got way better at doing that this last season than, like the second season. I think we’re just like, a little more exact with what. We wanted to say when we first started, we’re just like, we went with the idea, let’s just film everything and then figure it out in season one. You know? It was just a little it was just the two of us little more scrappy. And then that process has been refined a lot over the last three years. And I’m really, really stoked on Graeme’s work.

Jeff Barber 30:20
Yeah, yeah. It’s clear a lot of work goes into the editing in particular. Like, it really, to me, it really stands out and, like, makes it really fun to watch, yeah, probably some of the best editing I’ve seen in a mountain bike video, yeah, yeah. I mean, it’s clear, though, that there’s a lot of time that goes into that. And, like you said, kind of making a story out of what you’ve got, I mean, because you don’t know going into it necessarily, I guess what you’re going to get, and telling that story. Yeah, it’s really important. So I read in an interview you did with Singletracks in 2020 and you said the search for perfection is what keeps me motivated and curious. So do you? Do you consider yourself a perfectionist?

Miranda Miller 31:10
I think I’ve gotten better at that, but like, that was kind of why I love downhill, you know, but I think it did. So I would definitely get in my own way a lot of the time. Like, even riding for a long time, I was always trying to have, like, what I thought would be, like the perfect body position. But then you realize that, like, you can’t ride fast and always be like trying to have this, like, perfect, you know, like, corner perfectly, like you’re gonna have to just develop a natural style, and then that’s like, how you’re gonna have to, you know, ride your bike.

Jeff Barber 31:53
Were you working with coaches? Or people who were were telling you, like, you weren’t doing it right? Or, like, how did you even know what was right and what was wrong?

Miranda Miller 32:03
Yeah, I guess, I guess true. But like, growing up, I had, like, a lot, quite a bit of coaching with, like, Sean’s March, like, when I was, like, 14 to maybe 18 or 20 kind of thing, like, and he was, like, a big body position guy, especially for, like, cornering a lot of, like, elbow, you know, like, really emphasizing those, like elbows out leaning the, you know, the pressure on the hands and all that kind of stuff, yeah, um. And so I was always thinking about it, and then, yeah, I found like that would almost like be overriding any of, like, my instincts, or, you know, kind of when you’re just trying to, like, always do this thing, um, whereas now I feel like I’m at a point where I can just ride, and then sometimes, if I feel myself, you know, maybe I’m getting, like, a little losing traction or something, then I can be like, Well, why am I losing traction? And then be like, Oh, well, I need to drop my heels, or I need to shift my weight or something, so I’ve definitely gotten better at it. And I think that, like, search for perfection thing was what was so addicting about downhill, because, like I said, rarely you would ever finish a run and be like, Oh yeah, that was perfect.

Jeff Barber 33:16
Right, right. I mean, it seems like you wanted to be perfect. At this point it appears that you’re, you’re like, a recovering perfectionist, right? Like, your current series is based around this idea that, like, the trips are not going to go perfect, and, you know, you’re going to just deal with whatever happens and and you’re going to be okay with it, like, and you’re gonna enjoy it. Is that? Is that fair to say?

Miranda Miller 33:43
Yeah for sure, I think that’s, like, something I’ve really had to, like, learn that, yeah, you can’t control the outcome of everything. You know, like, on these trips before we leave, a lot of the time, I’ve, like, made sure I’ve organized every detail. And then you’re on the trip, and you’re like, well, that doesn’t even matter, right, right? Yeah, and yeah. I think I’ve just gotten way better at that. I don’t know it’s like, it’s, I don’t know if, when you’re younger, maybe the stakes feel higher, or like, I think when I was racing, I never, I don’t know, like, I mean, for one when I was racing, I just, like, never had any money. So like, mistakes always felt higher if you would, like, make a big mistake in like, your organization of trying to get to a race or something, and then you had to, you know, like, it always felt more like higher stakes. And, yeah, I think just as you get older, you get a little more confident that you’ll figure it out.

Jeff Barber 34:49
Well, you know, through all this, it sounds like you’ve always kind of enjoyed riding long distances. Um. So I’m curious. Like, do you think you could have been a cross country racer if you’d, if you had taken that path instead of gravity?

Miranda Miller 35:06
No. There’s, like, a 0% like, no matter how hard, no regrets. Like, not that strong. You know, I didn’t bike up hills until I was, like, in my 20s. Okay? Like, hated cross country. Definitely, endurance is something that I’ve learned to like later in life. I don’t know if it’s like goes hand in hand with like, better equipment as well, but yeah, when I was a kid, I remember we were like 10, and we were riding this trail in peppermint called cream puff. My friend’s dad, he made we had to ride from his house in town up to cream puff, and there’s like, this hill, and he would hit us with a stick, if we like, to push our pipe. I remember just being like, this sucks. Yeah, grinding up this hill. Yeah. I there’s like as watching cross country is, like, the most impressive thing. You know, they’re just, like, so strong, but, yeah, there’s, like, I don’t think I could even win a local cross country, right?

Jeff Barber 36:12
Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, but clearly you’re a competitive person, and, you know, having raced elite level, I mean, you have to be right, but do you think so? It sounds like your competitiveness, you know, you feel like it only has, like, a certain outlet. I mean, is that? Is that fair? Like you couldn’t see yourself being like, well, if I race cross country, like I’d be just as competitive?

Miranda Miller 36:38
No, I’m too much of a realist. There’s just no way I feel like I’m more competitive with myself. Maybe, yeah, um, then, like, I guess I’ve never really done a lot of head to head racing, like, cross country. Like, I’ve obviously done some cross country right, usually battling it out for last but like, it’s definitely more, it feels more like, internal than like, oh, I want to, like, beat that person. I just wat to do better than the time before.

Jeff Barber 37:10
Yeah, yeah, that is a distinction, I guess, with gravity racing versus the other kinds of racing, you’re not head to head and so, yeah, do you think a lot of other competitors are that way, like they’re more of the internally competitive people. Or does it sometimes spill over?

Miranda Miller 37:29
Depending on, yeah, I think it’s like person to person. When I was on, you know, like on specialized with Finn and Loic, they would just be like, competing at everything, no, and that’s and I find that fun, like, when I play cards or whatever, yeah, I want to, want to beat you at cards, but I like, you know.

But like, when I lined up for a Down Home race, I didn’t care about who was gonna beat me? You know, like, honestly, yeah, you want to beat them, but it’s not, it didn’t feel like personal on any way. It was more so, like, I need to do better than what I’ve done before. Yeah, but I think that just varies, probably, you know, I think there’s a lot of hyper-competitive people racing downhill as well.

Jeff Barber 38:19
Well, this year, you know, we’re seeing sponsors pause a lot of their enduro race teams and programs for 2025 What do you make of the state of professional enduro racing today?

Miranda Miller 38:35
Yeah, I don’t know. It’s it’d be interesting to see how the season pans out. It definitely, I don’t know, I kind of looked at last year as like, so when I first started racing downhill, there was like three women at the top that were like, just so good, you know, there’s Rachel there’s Emmeline Ragot, like Sabrina Jonnier or something like that. And they were always so much further ahead than everyone else, like, time wise, yeah, but they were the only ones that had support. And so even looking at enduro last year, there was huge time gaps in all these like, even across the men’s field, you know, like, there’s like the Richie, Jack, Charlie, and then, you know, like one other person, it was always like four people that were like, sort of subbing around at the top, and then there’s like, these huge time gaps, and then you went down the result sheets, and like, most of those people had had a huge reduction in support, yeah, you know, like, even the rocky team drastically changed. The support went way down. The time started, you know, all sliding down huge gaps, yeah. And I’m just wondering if, like, this year, it’s that’s even going to be an even more extreme. Mean, right? He’s gonna watch the three people that are still making good money, still have mechanics. We’re just gonna be following three people battle, and then a minute and a half down, there’s gonna be 10 people instead of 20 people. I don’t know, enduro is such a cool discipline. It’s just like, I don’t know. It was probably never designed. It’s never supposed to be on TV, I guess. I don’t know. Yeah, I’m not sure. I have no idea. Hopefully, it’s, hopefully, yes, he’s still racing.

Jeff Barber 40:37
Well, I mean, it’s, that’s interesting. You mentioned how important support is in both enduro and downhill racing at the professional level. Like, what within that? What’s like the most important or like the two most important things that that does for the athlete? Like you mentioned, mechanics. But you know, is it, is it that, or equipment, or, like, getting a good night’s sleep before the race. Like, what? What is it that helps people when they have that support?

Miranda Miller 41:08
It’s just like a long list of little things that make, like, a huge difference. You know, it can be as simple as having someone, you know, you break a wheel your last run, and then you have to go up for qualifying or something. And knowing that that is like a zero stress situation makes a huge difference. Or, okay, you know, did that person have to work all winter? Or were they training all winter? You know, it’s like everything that comes with factory support is better than not, and it makes a huge difference at the end of the day.

Jeff Barber 41:44
That makes sense. So tell us what’s next for you personally, and also for the video series.

Miranda Miller 41:52
Yeah, I don’t even know. We’re in a little bit like just waiting because the series we’ve been doing with SRAM for the past couple years, so we’re just waiting to kind of hear what their main, sort of, like marketing goals and stuff are for this year, and then how we all kind of fit into that. Yeah, yeah. I honestly don’t know. Hopefully doing something, doing something with SRAM, but I’m, I’m not too sure, yeah, okay, but still, maybe I’m working on a grocery store, I don’t know.

Jeff Barber 42:27
Yeah, that’s, that’s tough, and a reality that I guess a lot of a lot of people don’t realize, is, is your reality, right? Like you never know.

Miranda Miller 42:39
You live in one year chunks. Yeah, those years are, you know that one year is like really fun, but there’s a lot of like, unknowns at the end of every year. I think a lot of riders felt that this year was just how the industry was changing a bit and how racing was changing, yeah, yeah. Hopefully there’s something else that you love aside from from racing or riding.

Jeff Barber 43:02
Well, yeah, clearly you’re very adaptable and are willing to try new things, and it’s inspiring to see you do that, and I think it gives a lot of other people kind of hope and inspiration to do the same thing for themselves. So thanks so much for coming on the podcast. It’s been an honor chatting with you.

Miranda Miller 43:23
Yeah, thank you. Thanks for thinking of me and thanks for watching the series.

Jeff Barber 43:28
My pleasure. So you can follow Miranda on Instagram, at Miranda Miller MTV, and you can catch up on here, there, everywhere, on the divergent minds and SRAM YouTube channels. We’ll have links for all of that in the show notes. That’s all we’ve got this time. We’ll talk to you again next time you.