Episode 41 - Taylor Johannigman - Dry-Land Dog Musher

We've been living in it since so long.

All

Welcome to episode 41

of Let's Talk Claremont. I am your host, Patrick,

and thank you very much for joining me and tuning in. I'm really happy you're here listening.

And, I thought we'd kick things off today since it is Thanksgiving. So thank you very much for tuning in on Thanksgiving. I know everybody's busy.

Probably have some car rides to go on, so

time to listen to a podcast then.

But thank you. Thank you very much. And like I said, I wanna kick things off with just saying something I'm thankful for,

and it's for you. It's for you listening. We've grown quite a bit since starting this.

When was that? Maybe May. So we haven't been doing this very long.

And we've got a good audience. We've got our numbers are going up. We're growing, and that is

has everything to do with you,

the audience, the person listening right now. So I am very, very, very thankful for

everybody that's been tuning in

and making this a success. Whether or not, you know, it's a value for value podcast, and I I'm I'm well, I'll give that pitch later. Don't worry.

But even if you don't

participate in the value for value thing or donations or writing in or anything like that, I'm still extremely thankful,

that that you give your time to this podcast just to listen to it. So thank you very much.

And

if you are new here, because like I said, we are getting new listeners,

I'll just do real quick what we're gonna do. We start off with a little bit of news, then we go into our interview, and we wrap things up with some events from around the county.

So with that said, let's get into it, and we're gonna start with some county wide news.

First thing we got is the animal shelter upgrades are almost done.

Interior and exterior construction at the Clermont County Animal Shelter is almost complete

with contractors expecting to finish both projects, the interior and the exterior,

early December. So it should be this year, pretty soon, actually.

Crews are expanding the outdoor kennel area with a $141,000

project that's gonna add 30 new kennels

within the existing footprint,

and it's gonna increase outdoor capacity from 23 to 53.

And it'll use dog resistant materials to cut down on wear and tear.

Inside the shelter,

there'll be a new laundry facility, which includes plumbing upgrades,

reset floor tiles, and installation of an industrial washer and dryer and dishwasher.

This, it's

about a $79,000

project that was funded by a donation

and county capital funds. The larger outdoor kennel space is gonna let staff move dogs outside all at once during cleaning, and that's gonna make the indoor kennel cleaning faster

and more efficient while also giving the dogs more outdoor time. So

sounds like those are almost done, and that's awesome.

Next up, we have,

I thought it was kind of an interesting story.

Christmas night of lights at the Clermont County Fairgrounds is going to be postponed just a little bit this year. There was a lightning strike

during Tuesday's storms that damaged some of the displays.

Opening night has been pushed from

I'm sorry. From November 21

to Wednesday twenty sixth

while the organizers repair the damaged decorations.

Now if you already have a ticket, you can reschedule your visit for a different date, so don't worry about that. And

I assume everything will be fixed, and you'll be able to to attend that event. No problem. So I thought that was I mean, what are the chances you put on a Christmas event that gets hit by lightning in a freak winter storm?

So hopefully, they'll get that over paired soon.

And the last county wide thing we have is a little bit concerning.

Officials are starting to worry about contamination

in our drinking water.

The former Walter c Beckjord

coal plant in Pierce Township

has a huge amount of coal ash in unlined ponds along the Ohio River. And this is just upstream

from Clermont County's main drinking water wells.

And local and this is I normally don't curse on here, so this is a quote, and it's not necessarily a bad curse. But

local leaders say,

that this should, and I quote, scare the hell out of everybody.

So I don't know if that's

that could just be a little sensational trying to get attention for it, but I I don't know. I don't feel like local leaders say that very often.

But the coal ash pits, they sit in the river floodplain,

which is about a thousand feet from public well fields.

Now the worry is that a migrating sulfate plume and other contaminants

could pollute the aquifer

that serves hundreds of thousands of people, not just in Clermont,

but Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati.

Now they do have two interceptor wells, which if I remember

what an interceptor well is supposed to do, you put those, you know, downstream from your main aquifer so that you can detect any contaminants before they get to the aquifer and you can do something about it. So these two interceptor wells, they were installed,

but

one hasn't been operational since 2023,

and the other one has had ongoing issues. Ohio EPA says there are no immediate concerns,

but county officials and an environmental attorney,

disagree with that assessment.

Groundwater monitoring reports have been filed late with no 2025 reports on file until WCPO, which was the news agency that did this report, started asking questions about it. The plant's current owner, Commercial Liability Partners,

and its related engineering firm have also been slow to submit data and fix problems, which local officials see as a lax approach

to a high risk site.

Now since Duke Energy sold the site in 2018,

Pierce Township's fire chief says there have been no required annual disaster drills, and the emergency action plan is outdated and untested,

leaving first responders without a clear practiced playbook.

Pierce And Anderson Township Trustees wrote governor Mike DeWine in May 2025 asking for help,

saying there's been a lack of oversight by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources

and Ohio EPA.

The governor's office didn't respond until WCPO

contacted them, after which his staff began reaching out and reviewing what authority the state has to help.

Nearby residents report years of blowing fly ash damaging their homes and worry that major Ohio River flooding, the floods that happened this year, may have mixed floodwaters with buried ash,

increasing the risk of contaminants reaching reaching the river and groundwater.

So I'm gonna keep my eye on this one because that seems a little dire.

And I'm gonna try to get somebody on that that can talk intelligently about, you know, groundwater and how our water works and

what threat and contaminants coal ash has,

that can pose to our to our drinking water. So stay tuned, and we're gonna try to we're gonna keep our eye on that one because it sounds pretty important.

Okay.

Moving on to Batavia Township.

The zoning saga continues.

Batavia Township trustees unanimously approved two housing developments totaling 1,100 homes, and this is gonna be Arborside and Stone Lick Ridge.

Stone Lick Ridge being the one that is right across from Lexington Run. They did that in a November 20 meeting. They used an emergency resolution, which immediately put the decision into effect and blocked another referendum. If you remember from the last episode, we had an anonymous producer write in, and I'd I've heard some other rumblings

that,

signatures in Lexington Run were being collected,

to put to put a referendum on this and and put,

at least Stone Lick,

on the ballot, as a referendum.

With this emergency resolution, that can't happen.

Now trustee Rex Parsons, who we've interviewed, and I go back and listen to those interviews if you wanna hear more from Rex. But he warned that if the land were annexed,

the township could lose tax dollars and control,

required road improvements from traffic impact studies might not occur, and schools could lose funding. So from what I can gather from all this, they did an emergency resolution

for, for fear that the village

would just annex both of these developments,

put them into a tax abated structure,

and then the schools and CJ Fed

wouldn't get those tax dollars anymore, which is what happened with some of the other zoning battles,

that the township and the village have been at at odds about.

So residents who led the earlier referendum effort where 86% of the voters opposing the zoning,

say the trustees overrode the will of the voters and are angry about the density of the planned developments.

Now a local attorney noted that the Ohio Supreme Court has upheld emergency resolutions,

leaving opponents

with few options other than future elections

or lobbying for a change at the state level.

Township leaders say the new housing is needed to address shortage a shortage of homes, especially for people outside higher income brackets even though political or legal pushback may continue

as the projects move forward.

So and as another note on this,

I

should be I don't wanna promise of it, but I'm pretty sure, like, 90% sure,

we're gonna get the developer of the Arborside development on for an interview. So he can talk about what he's trying to do there,

and we can get into the the legal aspects of this because he's also a lawyer.

But I've also definitely have an interview with a with a lawyer,

who knows about, you know, zoning processes and developments and things like that. So in the future, we're gonna have at least two people on who can talk,

as experts,

not just for one of these specific developments, but

developments and zoning,

in general, the legal side of it. So,

we also had something else that came out of that twentieth meeting.

The trustees

directed staff to evaluate a new levy to create a Batavia Township fire department,

effectively withdrawing from CJ Fed,

to maintain current service levels and fund future growth and new fire stations in the township.

And they said more details will be released in the coming months.

So it sounds like

the township is looking to get out of CJFED,

which means the village would either I don't I don't know what the village would do. I guess they'd have to get their own fire department. I'd I have no idea how that would work.

But

we are definitely gonna stay tuned to this.

And with all of this stuff coming out of the township, I think, eventually, we'd like to get,

somebody from the township back on, you know, when they're ready and they've got something to say about all of this stuff that's going on. So stay tuned for that.

Okay. Moving on. Union Township. They have a spot open on the zoning commission board.

Now the commission's primary responsibilities include zoning map, but then, amendment recommendations,

preliminary

development plan review, plan development review, text amendment recommendations,

preparation and facilitation of the township comprehensive plan, and fee schedule review.

So if you are interested in being on the Union Township zoning commission board, head over the website, and you can apply for that.

Alright. So the last place we have a bit of news, my favorite place to get updates, New Richmond.

And it sounds like there's some serious plumbing issues in New Richmond. A while back, we reported on the funky smell that they were having,

and then their water was slightly discolored.

And now on the twentieth,

there was a water main break at Sycamore And Columbia Street that resulted in a boil alert that was lifted on the twenty first. So if you live in New Richmond,

you should be fine to drink the water

according to the city at least.

So it was resolved, but there was another main break in the Indian Ridge area on the twenty fifth.

Crews have started the repairs on the twenty sixth, and residents

should expect a water outage while repairs are being made. Now this is the twenty seventh, so I don't know if that's actually been done.

Once services are restored, residents makes to experience discolored water or air in the line, you can run cold water for a couple minutes, and that should clear those issues.

So, yeah, I if somebody is is there in New Richmond,

please send in a boots on the ground report if you know what's going on with with the water and the plumbing because it sounds like there's a couple issues.

And a little lighter from New Richmond, there's gonna be cookies and cocoa with Santa and missus Claus.

That's pretty much it. It's gonna take place on December 20 from 2PM to 4PM at 104 Market Street in the village of New Richmond.

And, hopefully hopefully, they're making that hot cocoa with with some bottled water.

Now we hope that water situation gets gets resolved in New Richmond. Like I said, if you got a boots on the ground report about that, or you're an official in New Richmond, you wanna come on the podcast to talk about it,

I'd love to have you on.

Alright. That is all the news we have for today. We also don't have any producers to thank, which is okay. But we are still running that holiday special now until January 1. It is a half off donation special. Producers that donate $25 and above

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I will say the short holiday message is a well constructed sentence. Like, I'm not gonna read off, like, a paragraph long

sentence of, you know,

all the extended family you're you're thankful for.

Short, sweet, to the point, because that wouldn't be fair for anybody that donates $200 and above and gets a full note read. So that's how we're doing

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Okay.

Let's talk about next Thursday.

We will be talking with Ron Dunn from Sleep in Heavenly Peace

and the Bethel Village Council.

Originally, I wanted to talk to him about his involvement with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which is a really cool charity organization. They go out and they make beds for children that don't have beds in Clermont.

It's a larger organization. I'm pretty sure it's national,

but Ron is working just within Clermont.

And I didn't

this is a bigger problem than I originally thought it would be. I didn't

I didn't imagine that there would be a large amount of children without beds in our own county, but there's a pretty significant amount of them. So he runs a really cool

charity that does that, and I didn't realize this until I sat down with him. He's also on Bethel Village Council.

So we also talk about his role there and what's going on in Bethel.

And overall, really enjoyed talking to him. He's a really nice guy.

So tune in next week for that.

But today, we are talk and you know what? I'm just gonna say Joe because she said most people just call her Joe, so I'm just gonna say Joe because I've been having

just a heck of a time with her last name. So we're talking with Joe, and she is training sled sled dogs for dry land mushing, which we get into in the interview. You'll learn all about it.

We talk about she trains a dog. She shares some stories from past races. And

I've done two interviews with her now. The first interview was before all that election madness,

and I wasn't able to get the episode out until now.

But in the time between I my first interview and now, she actually came back from competing at

the world championships of of dry land dog mushing, which was held in The United States for the first time ever. So I just recently I think it was Monday or Tuesday.

I did a follow-up interview with her. So you'll get to hear how that went, well, how she did at worlds and her future dry land mushing plans.

And we also kinda kinda got off the rails a little bit. We talked a little bit about movies and and the state of Maine, and I enjoyed both of those things.

So it was a really fun interview. I enjoyed talking to Joe.

And I hope you enjoy the interview too.

Okay. Well, we'll start this interview. I always start them with just tell us who you are and what you do. Sure. My name is Taylor Johanekman.

I am an ER veterinarian

by day

and a sled dog musher by any other time of the day. So how do you pronounce your last name? Johanekman.

Oh, no. I got it wrong. In one of the podcasts I did, I'd I'd because you were interviewed. I can't remember who interviewed you. Fox nineteen. Fox nineteen. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I I I think I called it I think I said Johnnyman. That's close enough. Yeah. I usually just go by Joe.

Alright. Well, Joe, it is. That'll work.

So what are you what are you training for?

Right now, I am training for the dry land world championships in October. It's For dog mushing. Right? For dog mushing. Yeah. What is that? So it started out as a way to train

your traditional sled dogs, so the ones who run on snow in the off season. So So it started out as a way to to get them in shape before the the the sled season started.

And then because mushers are a competitive group of people, they turned it into a way to race. So they have it on bikes, on scooters, on foot, on three or four wheeled rigs,

to race dogs without snow. And how did you even get into this?

Well, I've always loved sled dogs.

Even though I grew up in Southern Ohio, I'm not really sure how that started, but it it is I like huskies too. I Yeah. I get it. Trust me. Yeah.

So I've always loved it. I didn't really get into the sport until veterinary school. I rescued

a husky who'd been through, like, three homes, and he had a lot of baggage.

He's honestly kind of a jerk and the only Well, huskies, at least because I I was telling you earlier, we have a husky rottweiler mix. Yeah.

And he's got that personality. He's, like, passive aggressive in weird ways. Yep. Hides food all the time. Like, he's he's got a real big personality. Yes. Big personality.

And I

had made a post to our, like, vet school Facebook group that I needed someone to

walk my dog for me while I was at clinics.

And someone said, oh, we do this thing called bike drawing. We can take them with us if you want. And I said, well, actually, I kinda wanna go with you guys while you do that. That actually sounds pretty interesting. Right. Yep.

So I did that. It's actually on that bike you see there, which is not ideal. It's a road bike. That's not what you should use when you go out with a dog. Did you try it on a road bike? Yeah. That's what I went out with the first time. That work? Was it tough? It was it was fine. It was very bumpy. Yeah. And he's not like a high octane dog, so it was fine. But if you go out with a high octane dog, I would not do it on that old road bike. But we went out on that old road bike I had. I borrowed some gear from my friend.

It was the first time where my my dog really enjoyed something I was asking him to do. We weren't really mad at each other.

It was a good outlet for him, and I just had a lot of fun doing it, and it kinda spiraled from there. So what what does the setup even look like? Because I'm I'm I don't even know what to picture. Because I as a kid, you know, I'd have a dog and put a leash on my bike, and it was a disaster. Sure. So how do you even hook this up to a dog? So typically, the setup

most of the time, there's an antenna. So a little metal rod that goes out in front of the bike and holds the line out of the wheel. Okay. That's probably important. It it's helpful. Not everyone races with one, but I I find it helpful.

And the line typically is connected to the frame of the bike. It's usually a bungee line, so it has a little give in it.

And it goes through the antenna and then attaches to the dog. The dog's wearing the special X back harness or whatever type of appropriately fitted harness.

And

most of the time, a lot of especially as you get into the the higher levels of racing, the dogs are purposefully bred to do this. So,

you can still get in wrecks and such, but they don't a lot of people imagine just, like, chaos chasing after squirrels and things like that. Yeah. Yeah. That still happens, but a lot of the time, the dogs are very driven and moving forward and doing their job. What's part of the breed, right, is, like, that just innate sense to wanna run and pull things and have a lot of energy? Exactly. Oh, because your dog is a rescue. Right? The one I started with is a rescue. He's not who I race with anymore.

Do you race with rescues, or have you gotten, like, purposely bred dogs for this? That's a great question.

I got my the dogs I race with right now are all from purpose bred chemicals. So I have when you talk about sprint racing, which,

dry land racing is mostly all sprint. So short mileage How many miles?

Like two to five depending Okay. On the race. So it's still a pretty fair distance, but it it's not like the I did around, which is 100. I think how long is it? Like It's a mile. It's hundreds of miles for sure.

When you talk about sprint racing,

in dry land and in a lot of the sled sprint racing, they break it up into registered Nordic breed,

which is specifically for papered

Siberian huskies, malamutes,

and simoyeds.

Okay. And papered meaning that they've got, like, a lineage and Correct. They have their prove AKC or or whatever paperwork on them that they can prove their purebred to preserve the the heritage of that breed because

the the dogs that are dominating the sprint scene right now are are typically purpose bred mixes. Usually,

German shorthaired pointer, greyhound, Alaskan husky mixed together Oh, really? To make a a really fast dog. I imagine that'd be pretty fast. Yes. So they they kinda dominate the sprint scene, so that's why they they made this other class to preserve

the the heritage of the Siberian huskies and Alaskan nomutes in them. So I have,

three Siberian Huskies right now from,

a sled racing kennels, and I have one Eurohound, which is the kind of purpose bred hound. And I use the Eurohound for Canacross.

The Huskies for dry land, I use for a mixture of things, but mostly focus moving towards focusing on sled racing with them. Where was the breeder?

The breeder Did you have to go far away? I guess that's kinda what I'm asking. Yeah. So two of my Siberian Huskies are from a breeder in Canada Okay. In Ontario,

and one of them is from Upper State New York. Okay. So not too far. But they weren't cheap. I don't I'm not gonna be crass to ask how much they cost, but I get a bet they weren't very cheap.

It really depends. The the Eurohound was more expensive. Yeah.

It it really just depends on who you go to. It it definitely is an investment,

but I've also seen doodles go for a lot more than I paid for for my husband. Goldendoodles and so on. Yeah. Those designer Mhmm. Yeah. I'd I get I don't wanna make anybody upset, but I can't stand Goldendood.

You know, I don't get them. They they are are great dogs. Not my not for me. But Yeah. I guess that's a better way. Yeah. They're good dogs, not my cup of tea. Correct. But I would encourage anybody to rescue a dog because we

we had really good luck with Homer. He's a good boy. Yeah. And they always seem

a little bit more loyal.

Yeah. I I have a mix of rescue dogs and my working dogs, and I love them both for different reasons.

When you're doing,

you know, the if you wanna be really competitive

in the racing, sometimes you can get lucky with a rescue. But if you're, you know, really wanting to get competitive and kinda stack the odds in your favor, it it's helpful to to get one where the dog's lineage is known and you know that it's kind of Well, and they're purpose built for this purpose. Built. They're health tested so you know that their hips aren't gonna give out at, like, two years old Yeah. Sort of thing. So when you when you go to look for these dogs, what what are the kind of things that you're looking for? Like, what makes a really good dry land dog?

Again, depends on what you're racing. When I'm looking at my huskies,

I definitely want health testing, meaning, you know, their hips are x rayed, their eyes are checked by an ophthalmologist.

I know a lot of the dogs in lineages at this point. I study a lot of the lineages.

I watch other dogs at races and watch how they perform and kinda look into their lineages. And everyone will have different preferences, but there are a lot of kind of well established racing Siberian kennels, and

some people will prefer dogs from one kennel versus the other. So it's just kinda time. Getting a good mentor is really important. Do you have a mentor? I do. I have two mentors. I have the breeder I got my first two Siberians from up in Canada,

provides me with a lot of mentorship. And then the breeder I got my third Siberian from in New York also provides a lot of mentorship for me. Okay. So the breeders will also like, if you go to a breeder and you say, look. I'm trying to do this dry land thing. They'll help you out. Yeah. Okay. Here's your dog, but you should talk to this person. Here's some equipment you should Yeah. Or sometimes they'll say, here's

your equipment and who you should talk to before you get a dog for me. Yeah. Yeah. Because I imagine that's

they don't wanna give you a dog, and then you completely screw up the race or something. That's not good advertisement for them. It's not they just want what's best for their dogs, and they think their dogs are, you know, driven athletes. They can't be couch dogs. Yeah. They can be lovely. Like, I do find that my

my race dogs

are actually easier to live with than my rescue dogs. Mhmm. They have a better off switch, but you do have to

give them a job. Yeah. Once they do their job,

they're very easy to live with. Yeah. Whereas some of the rescues have

behavioral quirks and and things like that that are a little harder to work with. Yeah. Kinda like people, really. Yeah. So what does the training look so let's break it down into two things. Like, how do you actually train the dogs to do the job? And then what does the actual, like, sled

training look like? Yeah. So

for training the dogs,

it depends on the season. In the off season, when it meaning summertime when it's hot, we'll do a lot of kind of I do a lot of off leash running with them.

Swimming's a really good exercise for them,

and it's a good break from them from harness, so they're not doing the same thing all the time. Mhmm. And kind of right now, the late summer, early fall is a transition period where when it gets cool enough,

in the mornings, I'll start to take them out on short, usually bike tour rides, so they'll pull me on the bike.

We start out at, like,

half mile

and kinda build our way up from there. Mhmm. We really want the dogs to to finish feeling like they're superheroes. Yeah. Like, they could go A dead tired. Oh, yeah. If they finish dead tired, you kind

of give them the expectation that they're not superheroes, and you really want them to to feel invincible when they're running like they could go forever.

What's your cat's name? That's Marie. Marie.

She's

very nosy. She seems very inquisitive. She is.

I've never really owned cats.

And the cat distribution system got us.

Oh, I lost my train of thought. We're talking about training. Training. Yes. Yes. So what does the training

actually, I I don't know. I guess I kinda already asked it, but what like, take us out on the training, a normal day of training. What does that that look like? Yeah.

So it's in flux right now because I'm working on building a trail on my own property, so it's gonna change for me. And you need to I guess this would be a good time to talk about that because in the the article I read, you're looking for some help with that. Are you still looking for help? There's a local guy who's offered to help with his his tractor Okay. Cool. Which is gonna be super helpful. So we're kind of in the in the midst of organizing that. Cool. But we are almost there, almost finished.

But before I had access to my own trail, a lot of it is training on the bike, and it's been hard to find somewhere that is both dog friendly and bike friendly on the type of path I need. Because I think a Red East Fork is probably a little bit too It's very technical. It's a little bit too Yeah. You don't wanna be doing that with a a dog pulling you, at least not at high speeds.

So there is a place out in,

Dayton called Cranes Run, which is a pretty popular spot for

mushers to meet up. There is a little bit of a community in a row. Ask, is there a community around here? There is. There's a little bit. It's been for a while. A lot of them have moved

to better mushing locations, but it's kind of this location has been passed down to me by

mushers who are now living elsewhere. Yeah. But it has a good amount of trail and it's, you know, never had any issues running our dogs there. But, typically, we'll get up early, try to get there by seven or eight in the morning.

I have a van Up to Dayton. That's Yeah. That's why it's another day. Yeah. Yeah.

Have a, a van full of dogs, get there, kind of let everyone walk, go potty,

then you start I usually run-in one or two dogs at a time.

So that you can hook up multiple dogs to your how many dogs are typically on? On a bike, I'd I mean, you can hook up as many as you want, but

I only do two at a time. Okay. And with races, you can't do any more than two dogs. Okay. So, yeah, it's not like a big train of dogs. No. Some people have done that and they're crazy, but they have done that. How does that even, man, on a bike? So wait. So you said there's other there's bicycles and, like, sleds with wheels and stuff like that. Are there different classes like that, or can anybody do whatever kind of So the races are kind of usually two days for sprint races, and they're broken into different classes. So there's

bike drawer, which you can do one or two dog bike,

and those are their own separate classes. And then scooter, which is basically

Like a little razor scooter or something? But it's more on like, it has bike size wheels. Okay. So it's it's kind of a a kick bike is also what it's called. Okay. And you can do that with one or two dogs.

And then

you can do can across, which is when you're running behind the dog. You have a special harness on you around your waist. You have to run

with the dogs? Yeah. The dog only well, some races do two dogs. But most of the races I go, only one dog. Okay. And you run behind the dog with the dog pulling you. Have you ever done that? That's That's my that's my favorite one. Is it really? It is. What is that like? It's

a real love hate relationship. During it, you're like, why the heck am I doing this? This is so painful. And then at the end, you're like, that was so cool. I ran so fast. So what does that even feel like? I I does the dog kind of help you? Yeah. Because I because what I'm picturing is I strap a dog around my waist, and then about mile two, the dog's just dragging me through the dirt. Yeah. I mean, we try to avoid that, but it has happened.

Typically, it's just trying to stay on your feet behind the dog. But Yeah. You know? Because they can run I mean, that's the whole purpose of a dog like that is they can run far and fast. Right. Yep. So they they definitely run far and fast, and you just try to stay on your feet behind them. How long is that race when it's just you running? Usually, it's still, like, the two to three mile range. Okay. So So it's not like a marathon or something like that? No. Because that would be

That's so wild. I didn't realize people did that. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's a lot of fun. It's one of my favorite events. It's one of the things I'm competing in at the world. So were you a a runner?

How many dogs do you have? Oh, I think we have 12 or 13.

I was gonna say that's quite a that's quite a bit of dogs.

Were you a runner to begin with? I mean, I imagine

you had done biking and running before this. I was a wrecker. I started running in college as just like a way to blow off steam when I go run, like, four or five miles, but had no training plan. It was just I'm gonna run until I'm not stressed anymore. But it wasn't like you were just sitting on the sofa. I'm like, you know, I should strap the dog to me and start running three, four miles away. I had I had some background in in running,

and my dad's a a big cyclist. He's a a road bike enthusiast. Yeah. So I grew up on a bike. Gotcha. Which is very different from mountain biking. I thought it would be like, oh, it's fine. Transition from road bike to mountain bike. Super easy. It's not. It's not. It's a very different beast.

But at least I kinda had the exposure to bikes. So what is your bike act the actual bike setup? And And feel free to get as nerdy as you want. I'm actually not that I wish I was a bigger bike nerd. I have friends who are bike nerds and kind of tell me what I need to do, and I just do what they say. Okay.

And Bishop's Bicycles here in Cincinnati also takes really good care of my bikes. That located?

It is Is that Milford? Yeah. Okay. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. But they've always taken really good care of my bikes, and even I have a three wheeled rig that they they help me build up.

So I rely a lot on help of friends and Bishop's Bicycles.

My bicycle is,

just a a mountain bike. It's just a really light mountain bike Yeah. That one of my friends

found used and said, this is a good option for you. And I said, okay.

So you're trading for

you're training for, the world championship. Right? And this is the first time it's gonna be in The United States? It is. Yep. Okay. Where where is it typically been held?

It's usually more of a European,

thing. So Okay. You know, they were in Spain recently.

Snow races are are obviously gonna be places with snow.

Like that. Yeah. The Nordic States. Yeah. I imagine there's snow in Germany and places. Right. But So If you're doing sled dogs, I imagine Canada before Okay. But just not in The US before. So do you have to is it like you have to do a certain amount of races and then qualify for it, or how does that work? Yeah. So there are there's the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports that kind of accredits races where you can accumulate, like, points. And The US has 10 races that you can gain points at. So you kind of try to hit those races to get the points. And if you get,

top three ranking in any of the classes you are looking to compete in, you get an automatic invitation to worlds. Otherwise, you can apply to worlds with your points and your race history, and then a committee decides if they want to and, you know, extend the invitation or not. And where are you in that process?

I we're it's wrapped up. They have the list of athletes already. I I was fortunate enough to to prequalify for both Canaccross and by store. So you're gonna be in them? Yes. That's awesome. Yeah. And you're gonna have to you're gonna have to come back on after Oh, yeah. And talk about your experience because I bet it's how many people compete? Oh, I don't know the numbers off the top of my head. Oh, I don't know. I mean, it's a lot. It's it's not like you're gonna show up and there's 10 people. No. No. It's in the number. So this is a bigger

a bigger sport than I think I probably realized. It's

it is. And I also think it's bigger in Europe Yeah. Than it is in The US, although it's growing pretty quickly in The US.

Even from when I first started doing this, you know, my first race was probably in 2019.

Okay. So you've been I I guess it should have been another question. How long have you been at this? 2019,

I would dabble in it with my rescue. There's a couple of really beginner friendly race races in Michigan. Mhmm. So I'd go and do that, and it was fun. I didn't start competitively racing until about two years ago with my first racing line, Siberian.

So where where have you competed in races?

I've competed

all over the place. There are races

kind of in Georgia, Alabama.

You know, in the wintertime, they'll have dry land races in Yeah. In the South. Those states.

Michigan, Wisconsin,

New York, New Hampshire, Canada. So you've been all over. Mhmm. Is it again, I don't wanna even if you don't have to answer this question if you don't want to, is it expensive to do? So expensive. Okay.

I mean, no hobby is cheap, but No. This one especially kind of

Ohio's

a a mixed blessing because you do have the option to go to races all over the Midwest and even kinda shoot up to the East Coast. Mhmm. But also you're not super close to any of the races. Right. So you're driving a lot. There's a lot of money into gas and to up key. I just needed to put new brakes on both of our cars because we You've been driving so much. Driving so much.

You the entry fees to races aren't exorbitant, but they're there. Yeah. You gotta

either a lot of places you can camp, but I'm kind of a glamper.

I really like There's nothing wrong with that. I really like a shower after a day of racing and a mattress. Yeah. So I do spend money on, like, hotel rooms or I'll split Airbnb's with friends when we're on races.

So it does stack up quickly. My five year old daughter's been bugging me to go camping.

And she's like, we'll go into the woods, and we'll drink creek water, and we'll just, like, live out there. I was like, honey, let's try the backyard first. Yeah. Because I don't know if you know what camping really is.

I mean, it's gonna be cold and wet and miserable. It's like, no. No. It'll be fine with I think she's

picturing some, like, Swiss family Robinson Right. Type

type get up. I'm like, honey, that's not That's not what you're expecting. That's not what camping is. I

I like camping. I don't I don't like camping. Like camping too, but not when I have to get up and go running and competing the next day. I Well, with a five year old, I I guarantee you we're gonna be out in that tent

in, like, twenty minutes into it. Like, dad, can we just go inside? Yep. Yep. That's why we did the backyard first. Exactly.

So

oh, again, I lost my I'm sorry. I keep losing my train of thought.

I know what I wanted to ask you.

What are some of your

I hate asking double barrel questions, but I'm gonna ask one.

Some of the best stories and best experiences you've had out on the trail, and then we'll contrast that with just some of the worst.

Yeah. This race went terrible

type two kind of fun stuff where it was awful at the time, but you can look back on it and say, oh, that was good. Yeah. Absolutely.

So

I think

probably some of the most magical race experiences I've had.

I just started racing snow races this past season. Oh, so you're getting into the sleds and everything too. That's awesome. And that's working a team of dogs is a whole other beast than working one or two dogs at a time. And and

and sled races are a little bit longer. They tend to be, you know, for a four dog team, more in the, like, five to six mile long Mhmm. Range.

And it's

something really special about being out in the snow Yeah. With a team of, you know, four dogs.

It's

still a race, but it also feels less like a race because it's a little longer and you're kinda just out there Yeah. With your dogs, and it's usually pretty cool. I'm not from somewhere that gets a lot of snow, obviously, Southern Ohio. So it's just like a winter wonderland every time I get to go Yeah. Race the dogs in a in a sled race. So that's that's really cool. Where have you done, the the snow racing?

It was

entire oh, no. I had one race in New York

last year and then two in Wisconsin.

Okay. So that's where it was last year. And I imagine the sleds are purpose built and

Yeah. So for the sprint racing, the sled I have is a very small,

like, carbon

Yeah. Yeah. Sled, very light.

They for, like, longer races like the Aditarod, they'll have bigger sleds. Yeah. So it just kinda depends on And they have a bigger team of dogs. Yeah. Right? Much bigger. Yeah. So, you know I imagine you have to worry about where you place certain dogs.

Mhmm. And Yeah. It's another really cool part is just learning what dogs do best wear and also challenging them in new positions and

learning how they work together as a team is really cool. And I bet they love it. Yes. Yes.

It gets very loud. They're very excited to go. Your huskies, they do that husky talking where they Less talking, more screaming.

Yeah. We'll watch sea husky videos online, and,

man, those things they they just have huge personalities. Yeah. Huge. I mean, Homer's only half husky, and he's he doesn't thankfully do that that complaining or whatever it is they do, but, man,

it's just a lot of dog. So if anybody's thinking about getting a husky, really know what you're getting into. Yes. For sure. Because then they shed like mad. Yes. Like mad. I've never seen a dog shed like that. Yeah. And I grew up with Goldens. They Oh, yeah. And they shed a whole bunch, but not like this.

So what what were some of the I guess we'll call them just disasters that

that

it was just an awful time, but but you got through it. Yeah.

So

there was one race last year

where it didn't stop raining

the entire weekend. Yeah. Just literal rain

the whole time. You couldn't get dry. You couldn't get warm.

And

you're eating mud the whole bones are cold. Your bones are cold. You, like, you get back from doing a race and you're just coated head to toe in mud. Yeah. The dog kicks mud up at you. The wheels kick mud up at you.

It's miserable. And sometimes these races don't really have, like, a gathering area. You usually kinda hang out outside. Yeah. But if it's pouring rain, you're, like, huddled in your car Yeah. Occasionally turning on the car to warm up a little bit. Yeah. It smells like wet dog, so you turn it off.

But we got through it. And, you know,

looking

back, I don't say to do it again, but,

you know, we did it.

So, yeah, that was that was a a tough race just mentally being cold the whole weekend, and

I don't particularly like

running in the rain. It's not my thing. I'm not sure who does, really. I think some people do, but it's real I

I I'm kind of cat like in that regard. If it's raining, I really don't wanna go outside.

So I don't think you're alone in that in that sentiment.

But that was a tough one. And then another race towards the end of last season,

one of my dogs came up lame Oh, I see. Halfway through the race and Were they were you able

to get them better? Yeah. We did. We kinda worked with them,

all through the summer,

with a physical rehab

person who kind of did some rehab stuff with him, and he's feeling a lot better, but it's just that, like,

sinking feeling when you see a dog come up lame halfway through the run. You know, I scratched. I immediately stopped, and we kinda just walked back to the finish. But it was it's a it was a rough way to end the season. It was the last race of the season, and we were doing really well. And then, you know, it's hard not to have a redemption run afterwards. But it's also Yeah. A good lesson to remember that it's about the dogs, not about your I imagine you get really invested in these dogs too. I mean,

I I don't know if it's one to one comparable, but it's like a horse. You know? You train a horse, you put all this energy into a horse, and you get to know the horse. Yeah. Well, I imagine it's very similar with your dogs. And then to have one get hurt Particularly this dog, he's the size of a horse. Is he really? Yeah. He's a big dog. He's a big boy. He's my hound, and he's a large hound.

But I imagine it's

not just like, oh, bummer. The race is shot, but it's like, oh, no. This dog that I love and Yeah. I put all this time and energy into. He's hurt. Right. You know? And it's also just like, oh, what if he can't run again? Running's like his passion and Yeah. You know, what am I gonna do if he can't run again? How am I gonna keep him happy and and fulfilled?

And luckily, he's fine. But Good. It's all those things that kinda race through your head as when you see him come up hurt.

How physically demanding on you? Or I mean, imagine the running. You're obviously running. But are when you're on a bike, are you pedaling as well? Or Yeah. So You have to actually

design the bike so that it can be pulled and pedaled? Because I imagine it can or your or your legs just go in with the bike. It kinda depends. So when I'm training them, I use a fat tire bike, and I don't pedal at all. I do a lot of resistance training. I just want them pulling the weight and getting used to to pulling a weight and building up muscle.

But during a race, I use my lightweight bike, and I do pedal. It depends a little on the dog.

Particularly, Siberian huskies tend to not like their line to go slack. Okay. So Which is probably good. I mean, you want them not to have a slack. Correct. But you can over pedal them, like, especially on a downhill or something. So if you're pedaling, they're gonna try to be keeping up with you to keep that line tight. They wanna keep their line tight. So sometimes I will break a little if we're, like, going downhill just to keep the line tight. Okay. Because the slack will almost slow them down because it'll kinda look over their shoulder and be like, what you doing back there? Why is the line slack? Yeah.

But, like, uphill or even on a flat, I'll pedal to to Give them a break. Yeah. And and just help us go faster. Yeah. So it is

physically demanding. And I imagine the balance that you've gotta keep.

Yeah. It Oh, are there switchbacks and stuff in turns, or is it just like a straight go? Depends on the course. Some courses are more challenging

than others as far as switchbacks and and such.

Okay. But

I'm pretty comfortable on a bike.

I started doing scooter with my hound, the kick bike. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm a lot less comfortable on that. I've done a lot more crashing on that one. Yeah. So

I think a lot of it just depends on what you're comfortable with. And, you know, some people think bike is super scary. I think scooter is super scary. Honestly, I think all of this sounds super scary.

I don't know. Like I said, my experience is hooking a golden retriever up to a bike and then Sure.

Just screaming as he runs after a squirrel. Yeah. You know, when I'm Sometimes that happens to us. Yeah? Yeah. Is it hard to get them to focus? Because they're like horses. Now, again, there's a comparison because racehorses will put blinders on them so that they It can be, like, just like people, dogs can have off days, you know, where they're just their their

brain's not in it. Yeah. But a lot of again, a lot of times these purpose bred dogs They they wanna do what they're bred for. Their their desire to run outweighs any other desire even, you know It's like a collie or a Yeah. Shepherd. It's you you see families that have them, and they're hurting their kids. Right. It's innate desire to to run.

And it's not to say if, you know, a kamikaze squirrel runs in front of the team, they're not gonna dive after it. I've definitely seen that happen. But

for the most part,

they wanna keep moving. Yeah. They're focused on their job. Yeah. Now is this something that you get sponsors for? Or or Some teams do have sponsors. I

have been working on getting sponsors, but also, you know, I'm this is gonna be my third year doing it, so it's kind of all new to me.

Bishop's is a sponsor for my team, and I've loved having their support.

And then I have

some local friends who help donate some stuff here and there. Well, there's another call out. If anybody wants to sponsor Yeah. This adventure I have so many things.

The dogs are always in need of stuff.

So let's actually switch a little bit from the racing and just talk about you a little bit if that's alright because you're a vet. How did you get into being a vet?

Oh,

I don't know.

I've always loved animals, but both my parents were doctors. So everyone's like, oh, you're gonna be a veterinarian, and then that made me mad.

So So I was like, I'm not gonna be a vet. I'm gonna show you. I'm gonna show you.

So I resisted it for a long time. I wanted to be like a wildlife biologist

and work with wolves and because I've always loved wolves. Yeah.

And then

for some reason, my junior of undergrad, I was like, actually, I think I'm gonna be a vet. Okay. Like everybody said. Like everyone said, I'm over it now. I I think I'm ready to do that.

Because I I completely identify with that just resistance to what everybody thinks you're gonna do. Yeah. When I started a podcast, that's Yeah.

So that's kind

of it wasn't like a big

revelation. It's not something I've always dreamed of of being, but I

my family has come from a medical background. I have always loved animals, and I like science. So Yeah. I worked out. Yeah. And it allows me to

kind of do my passion, which is the dog sledding stuff. That's awesome. And I'm assuming you're a vet somewhere in the area, somewhere in Claremont. No. I'm a a vet down at MedVet Cincinnati.

Okay. Yeah. And then oh, I guess that'd be in Cincinnati. Yeah. It's on Red Bank Road. I actually think I went there. Yeah. So our it was the night before

we were going on vacation to Florida. And at the time, we had two kids and our dog, Homer, and we're all we're, like, so close to getting packed. We're eating dinner. Yeah. And I put a bunch of raisins on. Oh, no. Oh, no. This is going. I bet you do. I put a bunch of raisins

on our boy's plate. Yeah. And he's eating them, and and then he's a he's one and a half. So he's throwing them off. And Sure. Our dog, Homer, grabs a raisin. And I go, oh, look at that. Homer likes raisins. And Katie, my wife, goes,

I don't think dogs are supposed to have raisins. I said, that's ridiculous. I've never heard of that in my life. Well, lo and behold,

raisins can just poison dogs. I have no idea. Do

why is that? Do you know?

I don't know the exact mechanism.

It depends a little bit on where the grape was grown and what Yeah. Soil it's in, so there's no way to predict which ones are gonna cause problems. Which is why I took probably, like, a thirty minute trip to the Yeah. Emergency vet on Red Bank. To get him to throw up. Yeah. And they gave him a shot. The poor guy. I think he thought we were going to a park or something. Then he he comes out, and he's like, what the hell? Why did you take me here? This was terrible. This was zero out of 10. Yeah. Would not recommend this whatsoever,

but I had no idea.

Because growing up, we fed our dog grapes all the time, and I don't think it was a problem. It's a lot of dogs, you can feed,

you know, a ton of grapes too. It's just because there can be the one time they eat the wrong one, and it causes issues. It seemed like it can cause long term issues too that Yeah. Like your kidneys. Yeah.

Yeah. So, you know, we have to treat everyone as if it's potentially

really bad even though a lot of times it's fine. Yeah. And he's fine. Yeah.

Same dog we've always had.

Do you get a bunch of is it mostly just cats and dogs that come into emergency vets, or do you get, like, snakes and

and other things? The place I work is small animals, so cats and dogs Okay. Only.

Some other locations will see exotics, but we just do cats and dogs. Is that a special thing that you need to see exotics? I guess you need to have somebody that knows about reptiles. Yeah. You just need the person who's comfortable with it. You don't need a special

license for, you know, the pocket pets like rabbits and guinea pigs and rats and mice. It's just

they have

some pretty different anatomy from your cats and dogs, and so you, you just have to be comfortable with it. And most of the people who work at my place just don't have the experience with with

exotics. Yeah. No. I don't mean to blame them. I don't know if I'd wanna work on big snakes and stuff like that. Yeah. It's just a literally a whole different animal. Yeah.

Quite literally a whole different animal.

Yeah. I think you said when we were talking earlier, you you haven't you just moved out here how long ago? About a year. A little over a year ago. How do you like it? I like it. I like,

there's a lot more space Yeah. Which I really like. It's a lot quieter Yeah. Which I like. And it we we kinda have our own little park in the backyard Yeah. And the dogs really enjoy having a lot more space. Yeah. That's why because my wife and I lived in Newport for

about a year while we were dating and got married. Mhmm. And then we moved out to Felicity, which is, like, the middle of nowhere. Mhmm. But we had 10 acres, and we had a fence 10 acres.

And then we're in Batavia now Yeah. Just because

we got a great deal on a house. Right. Yeah. But

I really like the area. So it's not like I'm a lifelong Claremont resident. So it's just interesting to hear the perspective of somebody's head. Yeah. We we moved out here to have more space for the dogs. That's that's literally the the goal. I think that's why a lot of people move out

this far east, I guess. Yeah. Because it's just it's beautiful land. Yeah. And it's private. You know? You don't have people breathing down here on the other side. And, you know, if you like neighborhoods and suburbs, you know, that's fine. But I don't.

I do miss some of the walkability. We used to live in Mariemont, and we could, like Okay. Mariemont's right there. We could walk to greeters, and we could That movie theaters Yeah. That's still there. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that was nice. I, you know, I miss sidewalks a little bit because I do, you know, like to go on runs outside, and and it's little more sketchy running on some of the roads around here. A little bit.

But it's a give and take. Yeah.

Cool.

Well, I, honestly, I think I've run out of questions.

But I do wanna give you an opportunity to say who you are again and what you're doing and then plug anything you want. If you're trying to find sponsors or you still need some help doing what you're doing,

I'll give you the floor. Alright. Thank you. Yeah. So I'm Taylor Johanigman.

I am an ER veterinarian

and also a dog musher.

And,

my kennel name is Old North Sled Dogs, and we're always looking for sponsors. We're always happy to do demos. We're always happy to have people come meet the dogs. Are you gonna get into breeding? I'm sorry. I don't mean to cut. That's fine. I don't know. I Okay. It's a it's a lot of commitment, a lot of health testing, and,

you have to prove your dogs out. I wanna make sure they're Yeah. Worth there's a ton of dogs who need homes. I don't wanna Yeah. Yeah. You know, take that lightly. So Sorry. It's not gonna That's a good question. It's just an unknown at this at this juncture. Fair enough.

But, yeah, I I love

teaching other people about the sport. I run,

Ohio Urban Mushing on Facebook. It's a Facebook group. I do meetups so people can learn about doing it with their dogs. Any dog can do the sport.

I bring a bunch of extra gear and stuff to the meetings. So if you're interested, it's Ohio Urban Mushing on Facebook,

and I'll let you in the group.

And because I'm the boss.

And that's yeah. I I just love talking about dogs and dog sledding and dog mushing and,

So if somebody is interested in getting into this, you're probably the person to talk to. Yeah. Cool. At least in Southern Ohio.

Well, cool. Like I said, I think

it's all the questions I have. Great. So I'm gonna call it a successful podcast. And

when you're done running at the worlds,

please get in touch. Sure. Because I'd I'd love to hear about the experience. Absolutely. Awesome. Cool. Well, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.

Well, welcome back. Thank you. You've, you've been on a on a trip. I have been. You have been. So why don't because I'm gonna splice this together with the earlier interview. Mhmm. You just got back from the world's

dog machine, the dry land dog machine. Right? We got back October.

And I can't remember where it I feel bad because it'll probably overlap with the old interview. But where was it? It was in Utah? No. It was in Minocqua, Wisconsin. Wisconsin. Yeah. What was Wisconsin? It was beautiful. It was a little cold?

It wasn't too bad. It was it was good for the dogs and not too terrible for the people. So you didn't show up to a dry land dog machine event, and there was snow all over the ground? No. That has happened at this particular location before. Yeah. Does everybody just break out the sleds, or do you have to No. We have to call it. Really? Yeah. Oh, that would suck. Yeah. Well, I'm glad it was dry for you. Yes. Yes. And so what events did you compete in? I competed in one dog bike door with my Siberian husky, which is its own cat own category.

So in these I don't know if we talked

about this last time. But in most of these events, there's an open class where any dog breed can race, and, typically, they're dominated by

the hound dogs that have been bred for this. So there's greisters and eurohounds that that dominate that class. And then they also often have a a registered Nordic breed class, which is for Siberian huskies, Samoyeds, and Malamutes that are AKC papered and to preserve the heritage of the breed. So

I raced bike drawer in the registered Nordic breed class with my ski. Nice. And then I raced women's can across with my big euro hound blackjack. And his can across, if you remind me, is that the one where you just pretty much tie the dog around your waist? They have a specialized, like, harness belt. Yeah. And then you have a bungee line that connects you to the dog, and the dog's in harness, and you just try to stay upright too much. So I'm I'm torn between

just asking you how you did Yeah. And building it up a little bit. Which which would you like to do? I don't know. You're in charge. Oh, man. Okay.

Well, let's just talk about the prep and and getting there and what what the event was actually like. Yeah.

So

the prep you know, we tried our best to train. It was a little warm this fall,

but a lot of getting up early and just trying to get mileage on the dogs. And then as far as packing for the trip, it it was mostly

make sure you have enough dog food for everyone.

People too? Yeah. Yeah. Have you started eating dog food now that you I mean, it would make things easier if we did.

But,

we did rent a a yurt with some other friends who were there. Never stayed in a yurt. How was it? It was great. I mean, it was it was very much glamping. There was,

running water in a bathroom and a kitchen. That I feel like that's the only way. Yeah. I really need my my requirements for these races is a shower and a mattress. I'm I'm I'm not a happy camper much of the time. But we might have talked about this, so I feel bad I didn't have time to listen to this. Oh, that's okay. My daughter keeps wanting to go camping, and I keep trying to tell her, like, I don't know if you It's not as fun as you think it is. Because she wants to go to, like, East Forkast. Yeah. Like, kill animals and live on the land. Oh, wow. Like, Olive, I don't think you understand. No. There's not gonna be any animal killing. We're gonna have beans. Yeah. And then a fire

and be cold. Yeah.

But you'll learn. Indeed. So so you drove there. How long does that drive?

It's, like,

eleven ish hours.

We have to stop and, like, potty the dogs and stuff, so it takes a bit longer.

And how many miles did you did you have to

to train for? Like, how what was your training regimen like getting into this? The course itself

was

I don't remember exactly how long. It was, like, 2.4 ish miles

of rolling hills.

So I got bike and and For both. Well, I think can across is a little shorter than bike. Bike was probably a little longer than that.

But

we you start out the season doing really small distances, like half mile to a mile because you always want the dog finishing strong. You don't want the dog finishing tired because you don't want them to ever feel like they can't do it. Yeah. So,

we've probably gotten up to, like, two, two and a half miles consistently. So they're before the race. So So it's almost like training for a marathon. Yeah. You gotta just incrementally. Right. And it sounds like it's more for the dog than because two and a half miles

Yeah. I mean I could probably run two and a half miles, but I no. I don't wanna make that.

I did a lot of it's it's a lot different. Like, when I run by myself, I can run, I don't know, like, seven minute miles, and I run five minute miles with the dog. And it's just

trying to do that and breathe is and not follow her. I didn't even think about that for can across. Like, that's gotta be It's a it's a whole different feeling. And then pulling you. He's pulling hard. He's eighty pounds. He's a big dog. And Yeah. The uphills are great. The downhills are what hurt because you're trying You're trying to stop him. So Yeah. You're trying to stay upright. Did you avoid injury and everything? Funny story. I did

get through my bike drawer and can across events for the same day as I raced Tuesday and Wednesday, and I did bike drawer in the morning and can across later in the day. Twice? I raced twice each day.

And I got through all those

clean runs, great runs.

And then the next day, I was running with a friend's puppy in the parking lot, tripped over the puppy, fell, and needed stitches.

So So so the competition, you survived? I did. Yeah. Playing around with the puppy. But playing around with the puppy. Yeah. I couldn't hurt the puppy, so I chose to to sacrifice myself.

Well, that's kind of you. Yeah. So what was the what was the trail actually like? Could you describe that a little bit? It it's a beautiful trail. It's a a Nordic skiing center in Manakwa. So the trails are are for cross country skiing.

Very hilly, nice wide trails. We like wide trails because especially for the rig classes, which are like the three and four wheeled carts,

that dog teams pull.

If you get to the point where you're passing another team Yeah. It's nice to have a nice wide trail. Yeah.

Really a lot of, like, on your left? Yeah. So when you're catching up with a team, most it's most of the time, you're supposed to to yell trail Mhmm. And then indicate which side you you wanna pass on Sure. Just so there's good communication and a clean pass for both teams. Do you hate hearing that?

No. No. You know, if if they caught you, they've already won because they, you know, there's

thirty seconds to two minutes between each

musher. So Yeah. Yeah. If they're coming up on you, then you might as well let them pass and chase them because it'll make your dogs go faster and improve overall time. So I didn't even think about that.

So The dogs are even a little competitive. Oh, they're very competitive.

Yeah. Yeah. So if your dogs are starting to flag, it's kinda nice when a team passes because then they they get another boost of energy. Do you actually is that part of the strategy of it? Like, you don't wanna pass somebody and make their dogs quicker? Do you think No. Not as like, if you're if you caught them, then you've already beat them. So it's only gonna help the person behind you with teams that are

slower than What do you mean if if they've already passed you, they've already beaten you? How does that Just because typically, they're released one team at a time Okay. In about, you know, one or two minutes between them. So if they've made up a minute of time, they've already surpassed your time. Got you. So Got you. Okay. So it's

I guess that that would be another thing to tell you just, like, the actual structure of the competition. So they release

they don't release everybody at once. No. Not for most. There is, like, a fun relay event at the end of the the competition where the top speed teams will kind of there's the top can across, top bike tour, and top scooter times. Mhmm. From each country, we'll form a team, and they do a relay. So they'll all start a mass can across start and then hand the baton off to

cool. Like the scooter people and then hand the band baton oh my gosh. Baton off to the bike people Oh, that's cool. And race the course that way. How do how do they pick the teams, or is it just It's just the fastest time in each

category for each country.

For each country. Okay. Yeah. So it was like just have the fastest times of everybody. It seems like Yeah. So it was like US

had their team, Norway had their team, and there are a couple other teams. What other countries were there? There are a lot of countries there.

Yeah. There were many many any fun,

foreigners, I guess? Yeah. Yeah. I met people from all over the all over the world. It was really cool. Any any, good friends you can keep in touch with anyone? Yeah. I'm hoping to to go overseas to race. It's a little more competitive overseas.

What what country?

I'm looking at Poland. Poland? Yeah. Pretty good things about Poland. Yeah. And, you know,

Finland, Norway, Sweden, they all have excellent racing. So I think you said that in the last interview that that's typically where the dry

land, mushing that's And snow and Yeah. Yeah. And skiing and bobsledding and anything else that has to do with snow. Yeah. She's a pretty good, ice fisherman too. Probably. I know nothing about fishing, though. I don't either. I don't get it, to be honest with you. But

so how'd you do?

So bike touring, we came in second place. Nice. Yep.

My good friend

came in first, so that was really cool to So did America

win that? Yeah. So for the most part, a lot of the registered Nordic breed classes so to run a class here at Worlds, you have to have at least three countries participating.

Okay.

So

a lot of the registered Nordic breed

folks don't travel,

so it was hard to fill the Nordic breed classes. We usually have people from Canada and US. We just try to get the third country in. So we a lot of times, like, someone from another country will volunteer to run

a dog from another kennel in The US just to fill the class so we can still have the class run. Gotcha. So they're just the they were very US and Canadian heavy classes in the a lot of the registered Nordic breeds. Cool.

But, yes, I think all three USA. Right? Yeah. All three,

of the registered Nord breed bike drawer, I'm pretty sure. Yeah. They were USA. Okay. Yeah. So how did so you got second in I got second in bike drawer and then

came in fifth in Canacross.

Nice.

Congratulations. Thank you. Will you be going back? I I assume.

To To worlds? I I'd like to. It's expensive to travel with dogs. Yeah. It was expensive to do it here in The US for for me to get there and to trying to think about would you get them across? I guess you'd have to create them and Yeah. You you can haul them and and ship them overseas.

Yeah. So Is that hard on dogs? I think it depends on the dog. Some dogs don't care. Other dogs, I think it is hard on them. Yeah. So So what was the overall experience like? I mean, what what is the kind of oh, before

we started recording, I was talking about rugby and kind of

the culture of rugby. What what is it like at Worlds?

It

it's very I think it's very similar. Yeah. There's definitely a culture.

Everyone

cheers everyone on.

And, you know, we had a big banquet one night. We're all we all had dinner together

at one of the casinos up there in a big banquet hall. A casino? Yeah. I think it might have been the only place big enough to house everyone.

Are, dry land mushers big gamblers?

No. No.

They're not. I mean, we do enough gambling by swapping ourselves to dogs and running around the courses, so I think that probably fulfills it for most people.

But, yeah, there's a lot of camaraderie, a lot of learning from each other.

There's a lot to learn. Would you like?

Mostly just

that, you know,

the the competition overseas is is a whole other level. Yeah.

And just there's always room to improve.

Yeah. So what what's your plan for training now that that you've done worlds? Where where do you go from here? So I have done two races since worlds. Okay. I just joined those. Good. Good. The they were more laid back races. I went to a a race called in Rehuron up in Canada,

the first weekend in November, and I just got back last night from a race in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Oh, you got back last night from Mhmm. Nice. How'd you how'd you do in those? Did did good.

I got first place in Canaccross.

Congratulations.

I have just started running rig with my four huskies. So I did Can you remind me what rig is? Yeah. So that's the three wheeled cart, and you have, like, teams of four or more dogs pulling it. Is that kinda like I don't wanna say next level. But No. Not necessarily. It's just a whole other different. Yeah. It's more

I feel like with mono sports, I can

help a lot more Mhmm. Because I you know, I I've always say mono sports? Yeah. So mono sports is, like, the one and two dog sports. So, like, biking, scootering, can't across.

We call those mono sports, and then there's the rig teams. So, like, the four plus dogs.

And I just find with the mono sports,

you help a lot more, obviously, and can't cross it. You're the rate limiting step. And then Yeah. Yeah. Scooter and bike drawer, you can kick and pedal. Whereas

rig, it's a lot more like the training you put into the dogs is very much what's reflected Yeah. In the race time. Because I can make up for not training the dogs as much and some of the mono sports by working harder myself,

but it's less so in rig. So So when you when you

I don't know. Transition to rig is the right way of putting it. But because I know you have one dog. How many dogs do you have?

How many racing dogs? Racing dogs. I have

I have four adult Siberian huskies that race. Okay. I have one puppy Siberian husky who will eventually join the race team.

I have one adult hound who I do can across and then

whatever monosport I feel like doing. Mhmm. And then

I just got another puppy hound

to add to a monosports. So you have a lot of dogs. Yes. I I remember you having a lot of dogs.

I'm nice. So you've got you've got a team then? Yeah. I I'm starting to move away from mono sports with the Huskies

and and do strictly rig and sled with them. So the Huskies, do they perform better on a rig as opposed to can across or I feel like they do. There's probably differing opinions. I think it's more fun to run them together as a team. Yeah. You know? Do they play off each other? They've yeah. It's it's really interesting to see when you kinda change up the configuration of the team.

Some dogs run better next to each other, amp the energy up better Yeah. Make better decisions.

You know? How much time does it take to train a a team as opposed to? Well, I'm still learning that.

This is my first rig race this past weekend. Yeah. So, you know, the day one, we didn't have any crashes or anything, but there's some questionable decision making by my the dogs I put up front. And so we swapped it around the next day. It's a much cleaner run. So it's just learning. I have two really young dogs on the team too. So they're very So where do you put the young

I I guess, how do you figure that out, the placement? How do you trial and error, obviously? Yeah. It's kind of the f around and find out method a lot of times.

It's a lot of training and just,

you know, rotating them around and taking notes on who does best where. Yep. My two young dogs are very, very fast, but they're not very good at decision making yet. So As most young people are. Yeah. Yeah. So As you could probably tell from all my rugby stories before this. Yeah. But, yeah, second day, I put my two young dogs in wheel, which is closest to the rig. Yeah. And then my older dogs are in lead, and we made much better decisions. Maybe we're

not as fast overall speed Yeah. But had to stop a lot less because better decisions were made. So when you're just doing a single dog, is it do you have to worry about the decision making of the dog there as well? Oh, sure. Yeah. Yeah.

Sometimes it's a little easier to stop with one dog, but

I wouldn't say that with with my 80 pound hound. If he makes a bad decision, we're both we're both making the bad decision. There's no stopping it. So

So how how was the race in general? Did you that worlds? Did you feel good? Did you Yeah. It was fantastic. I I really enjoyed it. It was really I'm sorry. What kind of grade? You said they were rolling hills. Did is it I don't know how to grade hills. Okay. That's fair. Yeah. They're they're hilly hills. They're hilly hills. They weren't gentle hills.

They weren't the steepest hills I've ever ran on, but they

you felt them. Yeah. Yeah. So two a day. That's gotta be I mean, that's gotta be taxing for you. Yeah. It wasn't if I was really going in trying to do, like, my best performance in either class, I would have chosen just one. But I got into racing with my Siberian husky, Newton. Mhmm. And I wanted to run him in worlds because he got me into it. Yeah. And then blackjack, I got to run Canacross.

So I was like, you know, worlds only come to The US once. Yeah. It's not really about winning. It's about having a good experience with your dog. So Yeah. And you did. Yeah. It was it was great. What are the other names of your dogs? I don't know if I asked you that in the last Oh, boy.

So my main team of Siberians

is Richter, Kavick,

Edison, and Newton.

Edison and Newton? Mhmm. Nice.

And then,

the puppy Siberian I have is Hubble.

Nice. Very science based. Yes. Nice.

My can across dog is Blackjack. He came with the name. Mhmm. We didn't we didn't change it.

And the puppy I just got, she came with the name monkey, and we'll probably keep it. Yeah. Monkey? Monkey. Yeah. It was a wicked themed litter. So all the Oh, okay. The puppies, there's, like, an elfie and a Glinda Yeah. Yeah. Wizard, Bach, monkey. No. Yeah.

I haven't seen have you seen Wicked? This character. Did you like it? I did. Yeah. I wasn't I'm a big fan of the original musical. Yeah. I read the book. I remember that. Yeah. I've read the the book as well.

And I went into the movie not expecting great things. I was really hesitant

about Ariana Grande, but I actually really enjoyed her performance. I was pleasantly surprised. That's good. Yeah. I'd I think I wanna say that was

this is has nothing to do with what you did.

One of the first times that

they did that thing where it's

the villain

Mhmm. They give a sympathetic backstory and kind of reshape Yeah. The tale. I think that was because they've done that with

I know they did that with

Sleeping Beauty. I think so. It was the one with Angelina Jolie. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That

has nothing to do with dog racing. That's alright. It's a fun little detour. It's a fun little at the end. You get a movie review. So Indeed. Yeah. That's great.

So what else what else did you take away from it? Like, what other kind of exhibit? Were there any, like, standout experiences? Or

I

in Canacross,

my goal was not to podium in Canacross just because I knew

the times overseas are much were much more competitive than mine, but it was I raced the same course the year before. Mhmm. So I wanted to improve, which is what we did. But I the second day so the the way the racing works is you race two days in a row in each class, and your combined time is the time that

is compared to other people's. Sure.

But the first day is in fourth place overall. On the second day,

another competitor caught me at the finish line. It was just incredible. She made up, like, forty seconds of time on the second day. It was amazing.

But it was just so cool. Like, you couldn't even be mad about it. You know? Yeah. That's insane. I can't believe you made up that much time. So it was just really cool seeing everyone celebrate, and all of her teammates were there. Yeah.

And everyone was just so excited.

And it was I mean, it's just really cool seeing people get that excited about,

you know, their their teammates or even just, like, another fellow can of crossers

success.

Yeah.

That's

I'm I'm excited for you. And so

I guess I'm trying to ask,

where do you see the sport going

in The United States? I mean, it sounds like there's a really strong community.

Yeah. Enough to bring worlds here. Did you see this growing?

It's a it's an interesting question. I think

we're we're battling climate a lot. Mhmm.

So

dry land is becoming more popular as there's a shorter and shorter snow season Yeah. Every year.

I think

as with a lot of dog sports, there is some gatekeeping to it. So it can be hard for for newbies to get in. Yeah. I think in the last episode, you said there's a lot of there's there's mentors out there. There are.

But there's also, like,

people who are like, if you're not doing it right right off the bat, you can't come play with us situation. So There's always people. Yeah. I think it's no matter what you do, there's gonna be that situation.

But I do see a lot of,

you know, shift towards sprint racing. I've only I mean, I'd say this as if I've been doing this for a long time. I've not.

But

I think,

you know, Canacross in particular has drawn a lot of people to the sport. Mhmm. It's

become a lot bigger in the last couple years. There's now a North American Cana Cross,

organization,

and that draws in a lot of people to these sprint races that I feel like prior

to the advent of the popularity of kind of Cana Cross,

Cana Cross was just more of a like a, oh, do you wanna run the course with your dog for fun and less of a competitive thing like it is now? Yeah. What is the competition? I mean, it sounds like it's very,

I don't know if social is the right word.

Collegiate, perhaps? Like, it sounds like it's very supportive. Yeah. But, I mean, obviously, there's some competition. Did did do you feel that competition?

I mean,

not really. I mean, it's mostly myself that I'm most competitive with.

I'm really good friends with all the other,

like, can across oh my gosh. Can acrossers who are pretty serious about can across. You know, we talk to each other about strategies and,

you know, how are you training for this? And everyone,

we just wanna ask want each other to to do the best we can. So I think that's

I was actually at a interview this morning, and we were talking about it was, for four h, and they were talking about, you know, the kids and what they do for four h and all that stuff.

But talking about how, you know, the kids obviously are competing,

well, at least when they're, like, showing animals and stuff like that. They're competing.

But

the

the stiffest competition you'll ever have is against yourself. Right. Like, if you're not setting goals for yourself to get better,

you know, it's great to beat people. Right. But, you know, even if you beat everybody, you've still got to beat yourself Right. Essentially. Yes. I don't know if that was the right way of saying that. No. I mean, that's essentially it is

I mean,

you're trying to train your dogs and and train yourself, and,

I mean, you win

little cool little trinkets and stuff, and there's a purse, but most of the time, it's like gas money. You know? So

it's all about for me, it's just going to the the events and being with the people that I like hanging out with Yeah. In front of my dogs,

seeing them perform at their best. And it it's a really I'm not gonna lie. It's a nice bonus to win. I really enjoy winning.

And I I think everybody likes winning. Yeah. And I do get a little, you know, I can get a little caught up in the competition. But at the end of the day, it's

it's about your dogs and improving,

you know, against yourself. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

So what was your your strategy going into worlds? Like, did did you have a

strategy? I mean, to be honest, I got a coach last year. Yeah. Yeah. So my strategy is Joy's strategy. I do what Joy tells me. What did Joy tell you to do? I just I don't even know the overall strategy is. I have a training app, and it just tells me what to do every day.

This is why I love it. I'm terrible at making a plan.

My wife just started lifting, and it's because I lift as well. Yeah.

And I told her, I was like, well, what do you what's your plan? What do you like, what you what kind of thing are you doing? And she's like, I have no idea. I was like, I'll make you something. Yeah. I've never ran competitively

before. I started running in college to relieve stress. I just feel like gonna run till I'm not stressed anymore, and that was the goal. Yeah. Didn't really think about paces or times.

I think the thing that probably helped the most is we've done a lot of just

adding

in tempo runs and, like,

thinking about running fast paces and and because before I just kinda, like, run three miles at the same pace or run three miles as fast as I can. Yeah.

Whereas now I have workouts where I'll, like,

have particular amounts of time. I'm supposed to run particular

speed, and, yeah, I think that's helped a lot. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I bet it helps the dogs too with predictability or something. Yeah. I don't really train with the dogs, like Oh, okay. When I do can like, running myself. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I do train the dogs, obviously, but I usually am running them on my fat bike,

and and or on the ATV around my property. Yeah. Yeah.

So I think when I last talked to you,

you had gotten the course

at your house? Okay. Yep. Yep. How's that coming? It's going I mean, I haven't since worlds, I've been either working or traveling to to another race.

So I haven't used it a whole lot. I am planning on using it this upcoming week and the week after. Yeah. I have another race coming up December.

I don't know. The first weekend in December. Yeah. I feel like you're going hard in the paint with these competitions.

Yeah. That's kinda how it

I'm ironically, it's been less intense than last year because last year, everyone was chasing points so they could go to worlds. So it's like every weekend for six weeks, you're at a race.

So this year hasn't been as busy, which is nice. Yeah. I imagine with a job and Yeah. House and all that stuff. Yeah. But every weekend, I'm not at a race. I'm like, man, I wish I was at a race. So you know?

Like we were talking before, that's what happens when stuff like this just, like, gets in there. Yeah. It's like, oh, finally, I have a a rest.

Maybe I should go out and train. Yeah.

You're like, this the race I went to this past weekend is one of the longer courses. It's three miles. Mhmm. It's very flat. It's not

super technical at all, but, like, at 2.3 miles in when most of my can across races end, I was like, oh, man. Why do I do this? It won't end.

But then now I'm home. I'm like, I can't wait till my next race.

Yeah. I had that that friend I was talking about does the ultra marathon.

He wrote me into one. When was it? It might have been

I think it was probably after we had made it last week. You talking about it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I'd I'd I'd whimped out halfway through. I'm not happy about it. But it was still, like, seven and a half miles. Yeah. And I'm a big guy. Like, I don't run. I don't Sure. I don't do cardio. Seven and a half miles is a lot if you don't run. Oh, man.

I was

oh, it was awful. Yeah. I felt terrible.

And I I sat down, and I was just like I just kept eating these weird honey things. Yeah. The stingers probably. The stingers, and nothing was helping. Yeah. I just kept drinking water and, like, eating pickles. They had tons of pickles. I don't know why.

Pickles are a thing with ultramarathons.

And my friend got done with it, and he looked worse.

Like, he he they were, like, pouring ice on him, but cooling down. He was like, so are you gonna do the next one? I'm like, no. No way. No. I don't I don't Yeah. There's something wrong with us, for sure. I think so. There might be. Yeah. I mean, you seem like a person like a very nice person. But Something's wired wrong. I think so. Yeah. I think you might need to I totally admit to it.

All of a can across there are known to have something really wrong with them. Well, that that's the thing. Like, I couldn't imagine

because that was it had, you know, there were, like, hills and trails. And

if I if I was just, like, seven miles on a road, it wouldn't be fun, but

I'd probably be better off Yeah. Going up these hills and down. I couldn't imagine

putting a like, strapping a dog around me Yeah. And having a dog, like, especially when my legs are tired and I'm tired. Yeah. Just like I guess,

like, I can't stop. No. You can't stop at all. Many toenails were lost at this race. Oh, you lost toenails. Not mine. Not yours. I know some friends who lost toenails. Oh, man. I've lost toenails in the past, but I've since found the perfect sock and shoe combination. What is the perfect sock and shoe combination? I really like,

well, I have a brand of trail running shoes called Car Hoos Mhmm. That I really like, but I don't get blisters and or lost toenails. This is specifically for when I run with my hound. Okay. Because if I wear my road running shoes when I run my hound, I do get blisters Okay. And lose toenails.

Oh. Yeah. Loose toenails. It was a bad So how fast are you running when you've got that dog strapped to you? Like, what's that pace like?

Well, I looked I did look at my Garmin

this past weekend after the race, and it was a flat course so we could get up there and speed. And I think we got up to, like, 18 miles an hour. You were

On foot? Not for long. We did not, like, maintain that at all. But when we're out of the start shoot and he's amped up Oh my god. Are you just doing everything possible? Oh, yeah. You just stay upright. Oh, man. Yeah. Because I imagine if you fall, like, the dog just I heard. Take it with you. Yeah. Yeah. My dog's good. He'll stop, but it you know, the two seconds it takes for him to realize he'd fallen, he'd still get dragged a couple of feet. Yeah. So were there any big injuries? Or No. It was there was day two. So toenails falling off, which is awful. At the no. I don't think there were too many injuries at Worlds. I think

there were, like, some there was a sharp corner where a lot of people did wipe out, but no one wiped out super bad. Yeah. There was one video where someone

took the corner, wiped out, got back up, and then fell off the other way, And she took it all in in good fun. She she's like, look at this video of me.

But you didn't have any terrible spin. You didn't lose any toenails? No. I I had good runs while running with my dogs. It was just the parking lot instant that got me in the end. Yep. Tripping over the puppy. Yep. What do you do for a lost toenail?

You just Let it go back. For it to grow back. Yeah. I lost my toenail last spring, and it the highlight is just a little bit left. Oh, no. We're almost back.

So what's the what

got you off track? So what was your favorite trail shoe?

My what what? Your favorite trail shoe. Oh, the Carhoo's. Yeah. Favorite trail shoe is the Carhoo Carhoo's, k a r h u.

What do you like about them? Do they just have good grip and I don't know. I've tried on a bunch of different shoes,

and they're the only ones I don't get blisters in. Oh, that's true. Question it. I don't know a lot about them. I just know that I don't get You'll need a whole lot of blisters as long as you got all your toenails. Yeah. They have, like, a wider toe box, which is nice. And Yeah. But I I honestly am not a big

running nerd or shoe nerd. I don't know stuff about drops or

like, I I really got into running to relieve stress. I've never been Yeah. My coach tells me what to do. I don't know anything about stats or training.

I don't really enjoy running without a dog. The only reason I train is because the ultimate goal is to run with the dog at a race. So Yeah. I'm not a huge actual running nerd for the joy of running. Well, that's fair. I mean Yeah. I just like to run with my dog specifically.

I I don't know if I wanna say this.

Yeah. We'll go with it.

I feel like

if you're nerding out on, like, the drop of your shoe or high wide your toe boxes and not just wearing shoes that work,

you might be focusing on the wrong thing. I have no idea, to be honest. I mean,

it may make it like, you don't wanna get hurt No. No. No. No. Because then you can't But, like, if you if you're

like, I've got the perfectly designed

optimal scientific trail shoe and you put them on and you're losing toenails and getting blisters,

like, clearly, clearly, it's not just like

I think they're numbers to help you find your best fit. I don't think there's any, like, optimal shoe out there. I think it's like, oh, I know this drop works well for my feet Yeah. Yeah. Or for these conditions.

I'm probably using that phrase wrong, but I think it is probably just so you have a way of knowing

what shoes tend to work better for you. So, like, if you're going between trail shoes and running shoes and

that, it might be helpful, but I don't know that much about it. I've been running in the same brand of road shoes for years because they also don't hurt my feet, so I just stick with them. Yeah. Which is fair enough. I mean,

you gotta go with what works. Yeah. If you get too bogged down in

the science of shoes really bad about going down rabbit holes. So I either, like, know way too much about something or nothing at all. There's not, like, a good just, like No.

Normal amount of knowledge. I know. It's like hyperfixation

or ignore.

That's been my curse with the Internet.

I I have a feeling it's mine. And, again, I I'm apologize for not relistening to the Oh, that's okay.

But

I have a sneaking suspicion that the dry land dog machine might have been a a bit of a rabbit hole. Oh, I'm still tunneling through it.

I did this I don't know if there's another end.

I've done the same thing with so many things.

A lot of, like I've been too deep to turn back now. No. That's what happens. Like, the mead making. I started making mead. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. It's it's it's actually super simple if if you ever wanted to do I'll be a taste tester. I should have brought you a bottle.

I'll get you a bottle. Okay. Sounds good.

But

it it started as like,

oh, I just wanna be a Viking. Yeah. Fair. Who doesn't? Exactly. You know? It's like, I wanna brew the original alcohol. You know?

Sure. I'm brewing mead.

Yeah. And before I know it, you know, like, twenty hours into a YouTube rabbit hole. I was like, I should really be thinking about the free nitrogen, and maybe I need to do this. And, oh, let's look at yeasts. I mean, I have to think about how many times times my dogs poop before they race. So, like Oh, really? Yeah.

What how many times do they have to poop? Depends on the dog. Oh, no. Some dogs are two poopers.

Yeah. Some dogs are one pooper. So you don't want them pooping on the trail. I didn't even think about that. Yeah. Some dogs will run while they poop, and, yeah, then you're less worried about those guys. It's the ones that come to a full stop that can really throw your runoff. I imagine, especially if if you're doing a team. Yeah. That leads to crashes. Yeah. I was gonna say one dog's like, well, time to go. Yep. And the rest of them were like, no. We're going. Yep. That leads to a tangle and or crashing. So Has that ever happened to you?

Not tear not due to pooping. No.

Yeah. No pooping accident. No pooping accident. About peeing? Does it does this the same thing? Or That it can. I feel like it most dogs will come to less of a complete halt for that. Do you ever get, like, male dogs that are just have to mark every Yeah. Some dogs will get distracted. And Yeah. I guess it's all part of the training. Yeah. It is part of the training, or sometimes he's just like, I'm gonna neuter you, buddy. Yeah. That's it. You need to focus. Well, listen to Homer's neutered, and that guy marks everything. Does he? Yeah. Sometimes it doesn't fix the problem. No. He's

we've got boxwoods

around our house, and there was one specific spot

that he just always pees on. Yeah. And it drives my wife nuts. Is it nice and yellow now? Oh, it's all dead. It's all dead.

I don't know. I can't remember if you have boxwoods at your house, but there's also a moth going around. That's killing all the boxes. If if you didn't know, I did not.

Now I know way off of of drowning dogs. How do we get here? I have no rabbit holes.

I'm telling you, man. YouTube is

I went down one where it was like

foreign policy and

strategy and, like, carrier groups. Oh, no. Oh, man. It was

And you emerge, like, four hours later, like, where was I? Exactly. Like, the world's a lie. What has happened to me?

So how else was worlds? I I feel bad. I'm kinda running out of questions. Oh, that's okay. I mean,

it was wonderful. It was a week of you know, I stayed my wife came with me. We stayed with really good friends in the yurt.

We spent the day at the race site, and,

you know, I I did lend some of my dogs out to other teams, so I was helping get their teams out. Happen a lot where you people kinda lend dogs around? Yeah. Yeah. It's very dog dependent. Some dogs will run for other people. Some dogs won't. Yeah. Like, my big hound won't run for other people. Really?

Mhmm. So if I if we went to your house and I strapped him around my waist, he would just kinda No. He probably run to me. He'd run to you. Yep. So I'd be dragging behind him. Mhmm. That's interesting. Yeah. My huskies will run for pretty much anyone, though. They just like running. Yeah. It's all go. No. No brain cells. They just go forward.

But, yeah, it was

it was fun.

I didn't have to think about work for, like, a full week. That's nice. Did dog stuff a whole week. Yeah. Had dinner with

friends. My family came up to see me race on the two days I raced. So, yeah, it was magical. I can't remember your family. You're from around here. Right? Yeah. I'm from Cincinnati. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The Stolen Hills. Yeah. Yeah.

That's awesome.

So

if there was

one experience at Worlds or actually any of your races, we'll just broaden it out,

that you would point to and say,

this is why you should get into dry land dog mushing.

Do you have any, like, experiences like that? Yeah. Honestly, it was that second day at Cana Cross where

the the woman behind me caught me, and there's just, like, a there's a picture of us crossing the finish line at the same time Oh, really? Which is awesome. And just

seeing everyone get so excited and, like,

I've

never really I've been, like, on rec recreational teams in high school and stuff, but they never serious. So, like, you went, Yay. Let's go get pizza. You know? But this was, like, tears and, like,

you know, such emotion, and it was so cool. Well, especially to,

like,

to train physically

so hard for something for so long, and then you do it. Yeah. You know? And it's just like that release of, like, I did it. Yeah. And it wasn't only, like, that

the person on Canaccross was crying. She was, like,

talking to her dog in a language I didn't understand, but you could tell she was just adoring him Yeah. For being such a good dog. And I bet the dog loved it. Oh, yeah. He was like, I did it.

It was all me.

I don't know why you're here. Yeah. It's just really cool seeing

the bond with the dogs and, like,

it's you can see that it's not about winning. It's about being there with your dog and Yeah. Having that special moment with them. That's awesome. So when when's your next race? I can't remember. Yeah.

When is your next race? I can't remember.

The first weekend in December is another dry land race. Okay. Yeah. Assuming that it doesn't snow. It's in Michigan. So who knows? It sucks that they have to call it when it it it seemed kind of ironic. Right? Yeah. I mean, mostly, it's just because you have to get races sanctioned ahead of time. So if it's sanctioned as a dry land race Yeah. It's a dry land race and you can't it's not safe to run wheels on snow. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it makes sense. Yeah. But it's just one of those things where it's

it almost seems a little funny where it's like I know.

We can't do the sled dog, the dry land sled dog race because there's snow.

Not last year, but the year before, I was trying I'd my first sled races were last year. I had tried to go to sled races the year before. Mhmm. Every single one of them got canceled because of lack of snow. Really? But I got stuck in, like, three separate snowstorms on my way home from dry land races, and I was so upset.

It's like,

can't heck and have a snow race,

but I can't heck and get home from the dry land races because there's so much heck and snow.

I and, again, I'm sorry if this was in the original interview. So you are training for

sleds? Mhmm. Nice. Yeah. And that's very much a newer thing for me,

and I don't get a lot of opportunity to practice it. So,

it's a lot of times they go to the races, and it's kinda training for me because, you know, I don't get to do it. I mean, we get snow here, but it you know, it's not like Minnesota or something. Hoping that rig will kind of be good practice for sled because at least it's a team formation, and my dogs get used more used to running together as a team because it is a different feeling being, like, connected to three other dogs and having to learn Yeah. All the weird movements and jerks and Yeah. You know, stuff that happens. What's the main

what are the main differences between the sled and in the rig? Like, how do you have to change how you race?

Let me imagine. I don't know if I've done it enough to know, but I feel a lot more comfortable on the sled than I do with the rig.

I can absolutely believe that. Yeah. Like, I'm trying to picture what these rigs look like,

And I don't know why my mind goes to, like, cool runnings. Have you ever seen that? Mhmm. The movie heavy episode too. It's about the Jamaican bobsled team. Oh. It's got John Candy, and it's a funny it's like a funny Disney movie. But, you know, Jamaican bobsled

snow in Jamaica.

So they to practice, they get in this, like, rickety wooden

sled type thing. Mhmm. They're, like, push them down a hill. Yeah. And it's all comedic. Like Sure. You know, that's not

probably how they really trained. And you probably don't have some rickety,

like I don't know. Sled.

Some of the rigs that exist are like welded together bicycles. So Oh, really? Yeah. So, I mean, they're metal then. Yeah. And what kind of imagine they have kind of beefy wheels on them. Some of them do have some there are, like, some fat tire rigs out there, and then there are some, like, just mountain bike tire. Yeah. Yeah. But, I mean, you know, it's not like They're not racing Yeah. Tires. Yeah. They've got tread on them. Yeah. They Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because you're going through trails. Mhmm. How do you steer that? It has

a a bike handle on the front most of the time. I have a three wheeled rig, so it has one wheel on the front and two in the back. Okay. And then is it the same I guess you there's no wheels and sleds, so there's no steering wheel.

No. It's a lot like,

like, I grew up water skiing. Mhmm. So it's very similar

to, like, the way you move. The sled is very similar to how you move. So you kinda have to, like, shift your weight. Weight. Okay.

Yeah. Do you actually say mush?

No. We do say hike, though, which is often seen. We a lot of us use, like, g and which are the traditional.

Okay. So, I mean Is mush not? I It might be. I just never said it.

I don't use it, but it might be said.

I've not heard it, but

I'm only in the Midwest. Really. So

when are you gonna do your first?

I guess you've already done sled races.

When when are you gonna do the next sled race?

As long as they get snow, I'll I'll go up to Upper State New York at the January. At the January. Thirty first. Yeah. Nice. So And who's training you for is it the same person training you for that? Yeah. I'll still,

we'll probably like transition some of

The training plan to be more towards skiing because I also do ski drawer

sled races, which takes kind of different muscles than than running. Yeah, Yeah. Snow races will have snow can across, which is comical, but I'll do that, too.

So you strap a dog to you and you run through the snow.

They make running snowshoes, which I did not have at the last race, but some of the Canadians had them and it felt like an unfair advantage.

I mean, they're from Canada. They're already having unfair advantage. That's true.

What does a running snowshoe look like? Like short snowshoes,

but they're, like, lightweight and plastic, and they keep you on top of snow. They're really cool. I actually want a pair, but I don't have the snow to justify it. But they're not bad. Yeah. But it's just, like, in the long list of things I want for my dog's horse. They're just towards the bottom right now. Yeah. I mean, that's fair enough. I mean, I saw

I feel like I want a pair just to run-in the snow. I know. They're really cool.

So

again, we probably talked about this in the first one. They are skijoring.

Mhmm. That has got to

be a little terrifying.

It it probably is if you like, so I

Well, first off, how deep is the snow? Because I'm thinking,

do the dog the dogs don't wear snow shoes, do they? Oh, no. No. No. No. I know they wear, like, footies to Yeah. They can wear booties, but the trails are groomed usually. So they're, like, skiing trails. So they you're ideally

sometimes you do have snow that's punchy, and that's less ideal. It can be make it really hard. But the dogs can still Yeah. Handle that. Yeah. We don't do any, like, breaking of trail like they do in in the longer races. Yeah. Sprint races we run on groomed trails Okay. Ideally.

But I've done, like, downhill skiing before, but have never

Strapped a dog to you? Well that and I've never done cross country skiing before, which is very different. It turns out. Have you done cross country skiing now or not? Still never. Well, I've done it with a dog attached to me. Okay So that's what ski drawing uses like skate skis, which are okay of

cross country skis. As far as my understanding goes, I am a Southern Ohioaner. So my understanding of skis may be lacking. Well, that's fair. I I have no nothing about it. I just know from what I see in the Olympics. It looks like

it looks like the cross country ones are a little bit longer. They're long and narrow. And I think they have, like, a you can all it's not like Yeah. You can lift your heels up. You can lift the heels up. So it is almost more like skating. Yes. It is very much like skating. I was skiing once,

and I was a danger to myself and everybody around me. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. But last year,

the first time I tried cross country skiing ever, I had also decided to strap the dog to me for it. It was at a race, the first sled race I went to. My friend brought a pair of skis for me to borrow,

but I did it with one of my rescue dogs who's Okay. He's a good puller. He's just slower, and he stops when I fall. And he just sits there and eats snow and waits for me to get my act together. And then I tell him to go, and he's like, okay. Here we go. That sounds like a good quality. Yeah. It's perfect for learning. He's who I did ski drawing with all last year and probably who I'll do it again with all this year Yeah. Until I feel more confident. Right? Yourself some proper cross I think you said you have some proper cross country skis now. I'm working on it. I someone gave me an older pair that I can use, but I'd also really like a a newer pair. So,

use the older pair for when I'm fussing around and banging them up and a nicer pair for race. But

that's a good plan. Yeah. So are you gonna

I keep apologizing for that. You're good. I don't remember what we talked about last time. I think I'm probably more apologizing to the people who are listening.

Are you planning on doing any any, like, Iditarod type of stuff?

No. I like a shower and a bed at the end of my day. I as we spoke about earlier, I'm not a happy camper. Yeah. Yeah. Much less so in negative

degree weather Yeah. And a bed made of straw. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm a wimp. Yeah. That's fair. You know? Yeah. I might get into I'll be a kid. You're not that much of a wimp. You Well strap a dog to yourself and run two and a half miles. That may be true, but I I'm not I'm Not a camper. Not a camper. I may get into, like,

eventually,

if, you know, we ever move somewhere

that's more amenable to dog sledding, may eventually get into more, like,

I don't know, the fifteen, twenty mile races that you can do within a day. Yeah. Yeah. But I don't foresee myself

willingly camping

in the snow.

I will glamp in the snow. In the snow? But I will not camp in the snow. No. I imagine a yurt to you don't wanna,

like, a luxurious

yurt on your sled. No. It might slow you down a little bit.

Why'd you do so poorly? Well, I had all this equipment that I needed for my hot shower and bath. The sauna? Yeah.

Yeah. You're pulling a tub behind you. Yeah. That's a hot tub back there.

Yeah. Do people still people still get pretty

Tore up in the idea right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Brutal. I mean, people have died, haven't they? Probably lost. And I'm sure.

Do you plan on going to Alaska at all? Yes. I would love to go to Alaska. I'd love to work as a vet for the editor on Yeah. And I'd love to see the editor on. And I'd also like to go to Alaska when there's not snow and see Alaska and not snow. Well, then you get mosquitoes.

That's true. Yeah. I'd like to see both times. Yeah. Both the snow and the mosquitoes. That's the you know, it's when I've I don't know what it is about Alaska. But growing up, I was like, man, I just wanna go to Alaska. Sure. There's something about it. Yeah. It's just it's wild. And

and then I found out about the mosquitoes. Yeah. They're they're brutal. Yeah. Have you ever been? No. I've just No. I've seen pictures. Yeah. That's enough tonight. They're big too, aren't they? They're birds. Yeah. They're a state bird. Do you know why? I can give you a fun fact. No. I don't know why. So there's permafrost. Right? Yeah. There's a layer. Uh-huh. It just doesn't Right. Thaw. So when everything above that thaws,

it creates standing water. Mhmm. So there's tons of, like, swampy standing water.

There's your mosquitoes.

Like my backyard. Yeah. It's like my backyard too. Yeah. I got Something about Amelia. Yeah.

No permafrost. Just No. Just swampy. Just permanently low land. Yeah. Yeah. We live right in a valley, so it's

just always a little damp. Yeah. There's like tons of tiny

pond slash glorified puddles in my area. Mhmm.

I gotta clean the yard too. That's partly on the kids' toys that just Sure. Standing water.

The only way about my dog toys But standing water. Yeah. Well, it's just always more to do.

Always.

So can you actually

if we get a good snow, will you take your sled out here? Sure. I could. Yeah. Yeah. I actually funny story. If we get let me ask you. If we get, like, a a really big snow and everything shuts down,

would you take your sled down, like, one twenty five or something? Yeah. I mean, last year, when we had that big snowstorm,

I took my sled out down Glendale Mount Holly Road. Yeah. And one of I don't know which neighbor. I've not met this neighbor before, but they did record me

and

submitted it to that hilarious scales

guy. Yeah. The what what does he do? He does get is it ghetto news? Or I don't know. I I just know the the handle is hilarious scales. Yeah. And I went viral. I didn't know about it until Woah. Woah. Woah. I didn't know you've gone viral.

Just like Cincinnati viral. Well, I mean, that's still viral. But they're like, who is this person running dogs down the road?

And then I went to work the next day, and they're like, Joe. Joe, you're famous. I was like, excuse me?

You can I can look that up? Yeah. It's it's floating around there on the Internet. Like Cincinnati dog sled or something like that? Yeah. It's hilarious scales. It's on his page somewhere probably from Yeah. Whenever that snowstorm was. Yeah. Yeah. That was me.

Well, if you do it again, you'll have to you'll have to record yourself. Oh, sure. Did were you just practicing, or were you, like, going to get groceries or something? It's just like there's snow on the ground. I have a sled.

Nobody's on the road. Nobody's on the road. This looks fun. Let's go. I imagine I had

it's gotta be kind of a nice asset if we ever had, like, a really bad snow.

Sure. I'll deliver groceries. Yeah. I might call you up. Yeah.

My dogs love it.

Well, I gotta be honest with you. I think I think I'm out of questions. Alright.

Unless you wanna talk more movies or something like that. I see you have a Maine sticker there. Is that Maine? Yeah. That is Maine. Have you been to Maine? I've been to Maine many times. I love well, my wife and I,

we eloped.

Oh, nice. Yeah. I might have told you this.

I gotta stop talking about heard the story. So we went to,

Scarborough Mhmm. Because there's, like, a little bit of breakfast that he would stay there, and the guy would just marry you. Oh. It was off season. Sure. Because it's like a beach town or Yeah. When it's warm, I'm sure there's lots of people. But this was like

my wife loved it because it was spring. Mhmm.

Spring. We'll just leave it in spring. Yeah. Bad dates. But

k. Spring. Spring.

So we started in Ohio, obviously. Mhmm. We drove across Pennsylvania. We stopped it,

visited her sister in Connecticut where she was going to college, and we got to Scarborough. My wife loved it because we saw we got to have, like, four different springs

as we were going because things were blooming at different times. So we got all these blooms on the way there.

But it was really cool. Rodney was his name. He owned this place. Yeah. And he just cooked breakfast every morning, made rhubarb.

A little bed and breakfast in, like, Vermont and Maine are so cute. Maine in general. I've never been to a place. I love Ohio. I grew up here.

I really love Ohio. Yeah. If I didn't live in Ohio, I'd live in Maine, though. It's incredible. So from Scarborough, we went to

what's the name? Acadia. Yeah. And we did. Here's a pro tip.

If you ever hike a mountain, make sure you park at the bottom of the mountain. Mhmm. Because if you park at the top of the mountain,

you have to then climb back up the mountain to get your car. That's sad. Yeah. So we did

four mountains, I think. Oh, jeez. Yeah. It it was

she was not happy. No. She was not this was our honeymoon. Mhmm. So we hiked all over and Mhmm. Like, we were going up called Cadillac Mountain. I'm like, it's right there. It's right there. Mhmm. It wasn't never is. It never is. So we finally did that. And then we went

Whitewater rafting,

the Dead River, which was

Amazing. Yeah.

And then we went to. We did some rock hunting. I convinced her to do that.

She also wasn't happy about that. That's a nice boulder.

Oh, man, So they've got really studied geology. Okay That checks out. Yeah.

And I love rocks. And it's hard like, Ohio's got great rocks. And I'm actually trying to get somebody on and talk about a lot of people don't know that the fossils around here are

world class. Are they? Absolutely. There's a period of time called the Cincinnati,

specifically because of the fossils you can find in Cincinnati. Oh, you know? Yeah. I mean, it's not dinosaurs or anything. It's No. That's so cool. To be a shallow

tropical sea. That's why we have so much limestone is because all the, like Oh. Coral and everything made all this limestone. Yeah. So, anyway,

you can find really good, like, rocks, like rock rocks Mhmm. In Maine.

There was one place. It was an abandoned ski lodge. Mhmm.

It was creepy. It was really creepy. The guy that it was, like, some guy was in a basement. Hey. It was like a hotel. Yeah. Okay. We're looking. He's like, oh, just go to that ski lodge and follow.

Okay. So

we're following it. There's just flies and ticks everywhere. Yeah. We get to the top. We start hearing thunder, so we just have to come right back down. Oh, no. Yeah. She wasn't happy. No.

So that was a long winded story. We went to a place called Norway, Maine. Yeah. I know Norway. You know Norway? Have you been to the Norway Brewing Company? No. But I know Norway. Oh, I don't know if you're a drinker or not, but

you had

the best beer I've ever had in my life Oh, yeah? Ever. Like, it was just, like, almost like the platonic form of beer. It's like when you think about beer Yeah.

Like, this is what you think about. Beer. Yeah. Yeah. It was delicious. And they had a creme brulee,

also delicious. Oh, man. And I don't know if you've had this experience in Maine, but everybody in Maine

was just happy.

Yeah. And they were they were thrilled that you were in Maine, and they wanted you to experience everything about Maine.

It could have been because we were newlyweds and everything. It was, like, very happy about that, but

I didn't mean to go on a Maine rant. No. I love it. Where have you been in Maine?

Well, my hounds breeder lives in

Oxford, Maine. Okay.

I'm gonna feel really silly if I went on a main rant

in the

previous interview. I don't think you did. I don't think so either. This is all new to me. Okay. I have a bad memory, so I wouldn't hold me to it. But fairly good memory. I don't think

I I don't think we did. Okay.

But I Black Tex Breer is a good friend of mine. Mhmm. So I've just gone up to visit visit her quite a bit. We're actually going up this weekend to visit for her birthday. Nice. How'd you meet her? Is somebody in Maine?

I

had been looking for a hound to run can across with. Okay. And So you met her through dogs? Through a friend. Yeah. Yeah. My friend was like, this person has a dog for sale. That that might work for you. Yeah. Kinda went downhill from there. Yeah.

Yeah. It's it's funny. I remember when we we were in Maine, and everybody's just happy. It was Maine. Oh, you gotta go there. You gotta go here. We there was a guy called the stained glass wizard.

Oh. We found a stained glass wizard

That which was kinda disappointing, actually. Oh, no. They didn't down. It was. It was it's like you see a sign, and it says stained glass wizard. I'm like, well Yeah. You gotta check that out. You have to. Like, I wanna know what a stained glass wizard is.

Turns out it was just kind of, like, a weird guy in his house

that makes okay stained glass. Yeah. Now

it was a little disappointing. But the minute we crossed, I think it was into Vermont.

Mhmm.

And we were at, actually, we went to mister b's bonsai farm. Oh. Yeah. Hey, mister b. There's a mister b's bonsai farm, which I think actually might have shut down. But it was just some weird it was his backyard. I remember calling him because my wife wanted to get into bonsai. Yeah. It's like, hey. You open and so he's like, yeah. When do you wanna come by? I'm like, I don't know. Like, five. So, yeah, I'll be here. It's just his house. Like, it's just his backyard.

Yeah. It yeah. We actually, my wife and I We're people with niche hobbies.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, anyway, the minute we crossed into Vermont,

everybody just seemed I'll never forget. I was sitting I was outside because I I vaped. So one time I they don't want you vaping in the car. So I went outside

to get my neck fixed.

And this girl was out there, and she was just

completely crapping on the town. And Oh, jeez. Yeah. It was just like, oh. Yeah. This is beautiful.

Like, you've got this nice little town in the middle of all these mountains and everybody

how could you possibly be upset about this? But she was.

It was shocking. Yeah. I know. Yeah. Stark difference for me. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, I've rambled on way too much about myself. No. It's been a great combo.

Well, I think unless there's anything else that I missed. No. I'm I'm good. Okay.

Are you still looking for sponsors?

Always. Always. If anyone wants to sponsor our endeavors,

let me know. Is there anything else, you'd like to pitch? Or No. No. I'm pretty simple. Okay. Yeah. Well, congratulations.

And thanks for coming back on to give us an update. For having me. This is fun. Perfect.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that interview, and thank you again to Joe for sitting down with us. I I really enjoyed talking to her, and we'll have to have her back on just to talk more dry land mushing and,

end up, I guess, regular mushing if she, eventually gets into that.

So thank you again to Joe, and I hope everybody enjoyed listening to her. But now let's talk about some events. And the first one we have is Milford Home for the Holidays Festival,

November 28 through the twenty ninth. It's gonna be all day in the Milford Business District. It's Milford's annual holiday festival with family friendly activities and local shopping.

Stroll the charming downtown as you enjoy visits with Santa, strolling carolers,

free antique fire engine rides, and horse drawn carriage rides while browsing specials at shops and restaurants.

Kick off the season and get a jump on your holiday shopping with this two day celebration.

Alright. Also out of Milford, the City Of Milford Tree Lighting Ceremony is gonna be on the twenty eighth at 7PM at 5 Points Landing

Park. Join Santa in the Sin City Shakers dance troupe for Milford's official holiday tree lighting.

The community gathers as Santa Claus counts down to illuminate

the new city tree. Complimentary hot cocoa will be available for spectators during this festive

outdoor ceremony. Next up, we have Loveland Legacy Foundation's fifth annual biggest tailgate on November 29 from 9AM to 4PM.

At the tailgate lot behind Paxton's Grill, there's a community tailgate party to watch the Ohio State versus Michigan football game on a huge 15 foot outdoor screen. Setup begins at 9AM for tailgaters, and they have limited reserve spots available,

for $25 donations.

Enjoy a noon kickoff with game audio with Sam Adams beer booth and Dora drinks,

food from Paxton's and Ramsey's Trailside,

plus cornhole kids' games and a charity football squares.

All proceeds benefit Loveland area community projects.

Also out of Loveland, small business Saturday shopping on November 29 all day in downtown Loveland. This supports local shops on a small business Saturday.

Loveland's businesses will offer special promotions and a shopping passport program

organized by the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance.

Shoppers can pick up a shopping pass and collect stamps at participating boutiques, galleries, and cafes.

Completed passes can be entered to win prizes. It's a fun way to explore and patronize hometown businesses.

Next, we have Beaks and Talons live raptor show on November 29 from one to 2PM

at the Loveland Branch Library.

An all ages wildlife presentation by Raptor Inc, featuring three live birds of prey up close.

Learn about the amazing adaptations that make hawks and owls supreme sky hunters.

See real feathers, talons, and other artifacts, and hear

recorded bird calls. Now you can't touch the birds, but it is free to attend.

You do need to register though because there is limited space, and I imagine you can do that at the Loveland Library website.

Next up, Cincinnati's winter holiday traditions.

There'll be one on December 1 at 2PM at the Clermont County Public Library Batavia branch

and

one at 06:30PM

at the Clermont County Public Library Amelia branch. And it is a free presentation by the Cincinnati Museum Center on historic holiday traditions in Cincinnati,

and they invite adults to reminisce about Christmas' past.

Next, we have Miami Township community tree lighting on December 5, six to 8PM, Miami Meadows Park, a free magical evening kicking off the holidays as Santa arrives on a Miami Township fire truck at 6PM

to help count down and light the community Christmas tree.

After the outdoor lighting, families can head inside the cozy Lemming House for crafts, cookies, and cocoa photos with Santa and more festive fun.

And as a side here, get ready for all the Christmas events because that's that's pretty much gonna be the rest of these events.

Next is Trains of Williamsburg Christmas walk on December 5 from six to 9PM in Main Street downtown Williamsburg.

An annual small town holiday stroll featuring model train displays and shop windows, live entertainment, food vendors,

and open house specials at local businesses.

The village comes alive with decades old holiday charm as residents and visitors celebrate the season with free treats and festive activities.

Next, we have winter wellness sound bath and hike on December 6 at 11AM, Clingman Park, a free outdoor wellness program hosted by the Claremont Park District.

Kim from Soothe by Sound will lead a one hour relaxing sound bath meditation

using soothing tones followed by an optional

guided reflection hike through the park trails.

Tell you to bring a yoga mat or blanket. There are limited spots available, so you do need to register,

and you can do that on the park's

website.

Also, that might be a good way to de stress from all the holiday shopping,

if you're out there amongst the crowds. So

consider it.

Next, we have Heritage Crafts wrapping paper printing on December 6 from twelve to 2PM at Clingman Park.

This is a hands on holiday craft workshop

where participants can create their own unique wrapping paper.

It's recommended for ages 12 and plus, and you'll carve linoleum stamps and print sustainable gift wrap guided by local artist, Liz Mash.

You do there is a fee. It's $5 for materials, but all tools and supplies are are provided,

and you do need to preregister.

Next, we have Batavia Christmas in the Village, December 6 from five to 8PM, Main Street Village Of Batavia.

The village of Batavia's

annual holiday festival with old fashioned charm. Enjoy free horse drawn carriage rides through the village, the lighting of the town's nativity manger scene, and and Christmas tree, and visits with Santa Claus at the historic Armory Building.

Local shops and vendors will offer offer treats and warm drinks. This community event welcomes everybody to share in Batavia's holiday spirit.

Next up, New Richmond's River Village Christmas and Santa Paws Parade

on December 6 from, excuse me,

from three to 7PM

at Front Street. It is a riverfront holiday celebration in New Richmond's historic village.

Afternoon fest festivities include food and craft vendors, live music and kids activities,

all capped off by the Santa Paws pet parade at approximately 5PM.

Families and their costumed pets can walk in the parade and compete for fun prizes while spectators enjoy the affordable

oh, I'm sorry. Adorable

holiday outfits. The event is organized by Renaissance New Richmond and local

volunteers.

Next up, Old Milford Christmas golf cart parade, December 6 at 04:30PM.

A whimsical community parade featuring dozens of decorated golf carts lit up for the holidays.

Parade participants will line up by 04:30PM

to be judged for the best decorated golf cart contest.

At 05:30 pre PM, the parade caravan led by Santa and a special guest Elvis impersonator

riding an antique fire truck

will proceed along a route covering east, south, and main streets in Old Milford.

Free for spectators,

and you can expect music, lights, and lots of holiday spirit. And I've actually been to this, and it's, it's pretty fun. It's really fun to see all these

decorated golf carts. So if you're in the Milford area, I'd highly recommend this.

Next up, Trinity Milford live nativity,

December

from five to 8PM at the Trinity United Methodist Church.

Drive or walk up to experience a living nativity scene on the church grounds. This free outdoor presentation features church members in costume with live animals

reenacting the first Christmas in Bethlehem.

Hot chocolate is usually available for guests, and the live nativity is open both Saturday and Sunday evenings, weather permitting,

as part

of Trinity UMC's tradition of sharing the real meaning of Christmas.

Next, we have Claremont choral Christmas traditions concert.

There's gonna be one on December 6 at 7PM and one on December 7 at 4PM.

This is gonna be, Milford's

First United Methodist Church.

It is a joyous holiday choral concert

presented by the Claremont core Choral. I think that's how you pronounce that. An adult community choir joined by Chromatics,

a youth show choir.

The program features classic carols and contemporary holiday music

in rich four part harmony.

Each performance lasts about ninety minutes. Tickets are available to the public online and at the door. Proceeds support the nonprofit choir, and you can enjoy an evening of beautiful music to get into

the Christmas

spirit.

And I'll tell you there is plenty of events to get you into the Christmas spirit. But as I've said before, I do my best to find as many events as I can, and I know I don't get them all. So if you have an event or you know what event you'd like people to know about, just send an email.

I can't promise I'm gonna get everything on there, but the more I know, the better.

And we'll close things out with our last value for value pitch because we are a value for value podcast. And what that means is if you find value in this show, you decide what that value is, and you just give it back to the show in the form of time, talent, or treasure. For time and talent, just tell people about the show. Tell them you find value in this and that they should listen to it, and that would be an enormous help.

For treasure, don't forget about that $25,

donation special.

But you can go to the website, www.let'stalkclairmont.com.

Click donate. You can donate via PayPal or Stripe.

Any dollar amount greatly appreciated.

But like I said, for $25 and above, you get a special show mention and a brief holiday note read on air. For 200 and above, you will become an executive producer for that show, and I will vouch for that title.

And I will read a full note

on air that you write in.

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Click that newsletter tab, put your email in there, and we'll only email you once a week when a new show comes out.

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I would love to hear from

you. Alright. Well, that's all I got for today. Again, I hope everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we will see you next week.

Let's Talk Clermont