How To Check Off Your Fitness Bucket List: “I Hiked Everest Base Camp.”

Have you ever wanted to hike Base Camp Everest. So did 26-year-old Michelle August, and climb the bucket list mountain she did. As the founder of Canadian cycling studio chain Spinco, you know that she’s a driven woman. “In March of [2017], my brother and I took a spontaneous trip to Base Camp of Everest,” says August. “Every day had a new challenge. There were many obstacles we had to overcome mentally and physically during our 14-day trek.” Here she chats with us about those ups and downs and how she achieved this #BHmoment.

Why was it important for you to head to Everest?

“Growing up, I was really big into team sports and even played point guard on my university basketball team in California. Once I graduated and came back home to Kelowna I felt a void and missed the feeling of working out with a team. Eventually that void led me to open Spinco with a message that we work as one team, on one bike as we climb hills and run races together in one space.”

What steps did you take to reach your goal?

“I found out about the climb about three months before we were set to leave. I was already working with a trainer and spinning but knew that I would need to step up my game in order to get mentally and physically prepared. I have always considered myself to be a healthy eater but knew there was room for improvement so I enlisted the help of a nutritionist who helped me to understand the difference between what I felt was healthy eating and eating clean. The combination of increased cardio and weight training along with eating clean allowed me to reach the goal I had set for myself in those three short months of prep.”

What did you learn from your experience? Would you do anything differently?

“The most important leaning experience I took away was that the climb doesn’t end at the top. Whether it be on the bike, the mountain, or in life, we are constantly climbing, sweating and working to achieve the goals we set for ourselves every single day. The only thing I would do differently would be to make sure my sleeping bag wasn’t inside out…fun fact, an inside out sleeping bag doesn’t protect you from the sub zero temps.

What would you want others to know from your journey to make their journey successful?

“As a business owner, the one thing that I was worried about the most was knowing that I would be disconnected, unreachable and completely off the grid. I think a lot of business owners are afraid of taking time off, especially when they are involved in the day-to-day operations. I am lucky enough to have a kick-ass team of people who help make Spinco run so smoothly and that reassurance helped me to be okay with leaving.

“I would want others to know that it is OK to take time for you yourself, and the importance of surrounding yourself with people you can trust, people that have the same vision and dreams as you do.”

Why is your life better now that you’ve reached this goal?

“I am grateful and inspired by each and every goal that I accomplish along my journey. There isn’t a word to describe the feeling I get each time I reach another goal, big or small that I’ve set for myself, but there is a love in my heart ever day when I wake up knowing that I am working towards something a lot bigger then myself and even Spinco.”

What is the biggest tip you tell friends?

“Listen to your heart, all the ‘what ifs’ and uncertainties will be worth it.”