211 – We Chat with Specialized Ambassador, Wardell Coach & Race Demon Conor Campbell
Today’s Guest:
Bike store founder & owner, Specialized ambassador , Wardell Coach, racer and all round top bloke, Conor Campbell
In episode 211 it is my pleasure to welcome Conor Campbell on the show. Conor has been involved in the mountain bike and race scene since the early days. He has worked, raced and played with Glyn O’Brien, Michael Cowan and the likes. He owned his own bike store and was a stable in the downhill, cyclo-cross and enduro race scenes. He is now a Specialized ambassador and a qualified Wardell Cycle Coach.
Join us as we have a good old chat about the early days, how Conor got involved in the MTB scene, what it was like working in Chain Reaction, why he decided to open his own bike store and why he eventually decided to close doors. How Conor fell into the coaching side of things and how his ambassadorship role came about with Specialized, Dublin. We also chat about what the race scene was like back in the day and we find out some stories about what Glyn and the crew got up to!
Thanks for being here, enjoy the show!
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This episode is proudly sponsored by ALLTA
ALLTA is a new brand dedicated to making mountain biking easier. Their range of environmentally friendly clothing will keep you looking good on and off the trails and their iconic Trail Changing Robe will keep you warm and dry while you change in and out of your biking gear. ALLTA is a Northern Ireland based brand helping you change how you change for the trails. With ALLTA you’re always READY FOR THE ELEMENTS.
Check them out at: www.rideallta.com
Or catch them on Instagram: @ride.allta
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Find Out:
- How Conor got into mountain biking
- Why he loved the scene so much
- How he has seen it change over the last 25 plus years
- How he enjoyed his time working in Chain Reaction
- Why he decided to open his own bike store
- Why he had to change the stores name to Green BIkes
- Who his first employee was and what they used to get upto when the store was quite
- Why he relocated his store a number of times
- The hard decision to close the doors after a number of years
- How he got his ambassadorship deal with Specialized Dublin
- What bike he decided to get first (this may surprise you)
- What the guys are like to work with in the Specialized store
- Why he decided to get more involved in coaching
- What programmes he runs at Wardell Cycle Coaching
- How Conor can get you fitter and faster on the bike
- Why he loves this side of the biking scene so much
- What Conor has planned for the future
- How you can follow him on socials and find out more
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It was a blast getting Conor on the show and I really enjoyed our chat. I love hearing stories about how these local legends get into the sport and how they have seen it change over the years. They all seem to get involved simply by the love of two wheels, hanging with mates and playing in the trees and mud. Back in those days (I am only talking about 25 or 30 years ago) things just seemed easier. It didn’t matter what bike you started on or rode, most of these guys stole their dads rigid and hit their local forest, building trails, jumps and most likely breaking lots of components along the way.
Now don’t get me wrong, there was a very strong local scene at this time and after all it has spawned riders like Conor, Glyn and Colin Ross, so it’s not like there was no talent. We all owe so much to these guys to have the scene we now have. They led the way, got younger guys like Kelan Grant etc interested and involved in the race scene. When Conor opened Green Bikes he gave young rippers all the help he could in the privateer scene and helped develop his local MTB scene.
Conor was always interested in the coaching side of things so I suppose it was a natural progression for him to get more involved in this side of things when he closed the store and was looking at the next chapter in his MTB journey. He got involved with Wardell Cycle Coaching, became a qualified coach and now offers some amazing personnel one to one coaching programmes. I will not go into them here in too much detail. You will need to listen to the episode to find out more, but this is something that is a little bit different and will take your skill level, fitness or however to want to make your riding better to that next level for sure, no questions asked.
So if you are wanting to know more about what Conor and the guys got upto back in the day, or you want to know more about why he decided to close his Green Bikes store a couple of years ago, or you need to take your fitness training to that next level, then tune in. put your feet up and find out more. I think you will enjoy this one for sure!
Thanks for your support and have a great Christmas!!!!!
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To Connect with Conor:
Instagram: conorcampbell9000
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Resources in this Episode:
Wardell Cycle Coaching Website: www.wardellcyclecoaching.com
Specialized Dublin: www.specializedireland.ie
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This episode is proudly sponsored by ALLTA
ALLTA is a new brand dedicated to making mountain biking easier. Their range of environmentally friendly clothing will keep you looking good on and off the trails and their iconic Trail Changing Robe will keep you warm and dry while you change in and out of your biking gear. ALLTA is a Northern Ireland based brand helping you change how you change for the trails. With ALLTA you’re always READY FOR THE ELEMENTS.
Check them out at: www.rideallta.com
Or catch them on Instagram: @ride.allta
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Thanks to Conor for coming on the show and sharing his story.
And thank you once again for tuning in!
Join me next time for another MTB TRIBE Podcast show.
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