Mind Matters Podcast Episode 3: Tasmanian Pro Nathan Earle on riding the highs and lows of a journey to the Pro Tour.
Mr Nathan Earle has traversed the Australian and global cycling landscape from local mountain bike races in his home state of Tasmania to the absolute pinnacle of performance in the sport; the world tour with the world’s biggest and richest team. Belying this journey however, is an incredibly intriguing and wise story involving hard work, injury, support, belief, confidence and tragedy.
We sat down with ‘Nearle’ for a chat about what keeps him going when the times are tough, the life experiences that have played a part in developing his racing style and attitude to life as well his career and what he still can achieve in this sport. The full audio of the interview is below.
NB. Language warning
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Nathan was born in the merino wool capital of Australia- Goulburn in NSW before moving to the southern island state of Tasmania as a child. This is where his passion for the sport of cycling was ignited.
“I got a bike and enjoyed it just because of the freedom, really. You can only walk so far or run so far. And you get a bike and you can go further and you can explore more.”
Nathan on North Western Tasmanian Coast recently.
“I still love riding my bike and get a thrill out of it and burning energy and pushing yourself and challenging yourself. And then obviously going down the hills and just the freedom of it. Being out in the open, you can clear your head, lot of time to think.”
Beginning with triathlon racing, Nathan discovered his strength lay in the 2nd leg of the tri’s- cycling. Lining up with other notable cyclists from the island including Richie Porte, Will Clarke and the Sulzberger’s, racing aside these names inspired Nearle to dream of a life as a professional cyclist- and see that it was a realistic goal! He was signed to the Tasmanian based team that continues to this day to be the dominant force in Australian cycling - Team Praties (now Bridgelane).
Taking a win on Arthurs Seat in the Herald Sun Tour with Australian team Praties. Cred: Michael Klein.
His life was dealt a tragic, horrific blow in these early years of his cycling career when he received the news that his older brother Ben, had been killed in kayaking accident whilst working in Canada. Such news as can be imagined had a huge impact on Nathan’s life. In the short term aftermath Nathan described it as making him somewhat apathetic about striving toward a goal in a dangerous sport. However, he was able to use the loss of his brother into an inspiration to honour the legacy of someone he had so much respect for.
“Eventually I thought, “You know what? He’d want me to pursue cycling and try and do what I love. And whether or not turn pro, you just got to crack on with it.”
“I guess, inadvertently he taught me if there’s one thing worse than failing, it’s not trying at all. You can’t regret trying your best and failing or just not being good enough.”
A hard but sustained journey such as Nathan’s, which evolved from working as a dish pig and a child care worker whilst striving toward his cycling goals to riding as a full time professional at the highest level has required healthy doses of grit and determination. To get this, he has a healthy purpose perspective to keep him going when the times get tough.
“The worst thing of all is regret that you didn’t actually give a crack and leave no stone unturned… I’ve got a tattoo on my back of some cyclists and stuff. So I need to try my best and at least turn pro or at least try to make that tattoo justifiable. Because if I stop now, I’ve got these bloody cyclists on my back and I didn’t even ride my bike for a living.”
Nathan with former coach and mentor Andrew Christie Johnson at the Tour Down Under.
“My mom used to always say, “Don’t become a victim of your own circumstances.” And that was something I carried with me as well. Because often I got a bit trapped in another injury. Or I’m just getting fucked over left, right and center. Poor me. And mom’s like, ‘No, not poor you. These are just things that you’ve got to overcome. Overcome them, move on. Or don’t overcome them, but don’t become a victim of your own shit’, basically.”
Nathan’s training regime would make a fair-weather cyclist buckle at the knees but his strong personality is shown through the way he races and trains which we discuss in some detail.
“I signed to Team Sky and had never even used a power meter. And when I got into it, I didn’t even have a heart rate monitor. It was just perceived effort, training, learning to feel your body, gauge your effort”
The training in Tasmania is for the hard core only.
“Being from Tassie, wind, rain, dead roads, hills whichever way you turn, the terrain just is challenging in itself. You’re riding a bike, it’s usually not easy if you’re from Tassie.”
As if Nathan’s cycling journey had not been hard enough, 2019 was a year where he was flung fully back into the the up/down nature of this career path. Whilst racing in Spain early in the season he was involved in a crash suffering a broken femur, a strong recovery put him back among the results in pro-tour racing before the season was out. Then in December some passers by on the local path pushed a shopping trolley into him resulting in a broken pelvis. His recovery path continues and one thing is for sure, he has come back from some of the most intense pain imaginable, so nothing will keep him down from here. Nathan is currently contracted to Japanese continental outfit ‘team UKYO’ and will be ready to race as soon the Covid situation allows.
“I think the main thing is keep true to yourself. Go after your goals. Give it everything. And don’t be afraid to fail.”
