120. Eddie O’Dea - The Eastern Divide Trail

This week on the podcast I speak with Eddie O’Dea, the first person to finish all segments of the 5,950 mile (9,575km) Eastern Divide Trail riding from Newfoundland, Canada, to Key West, Florida in one fell swoop. His actual stats of 6,235 (10,034km) actual miles with 425,967 feet (129,844m) of elevation gain in 79 days is impressive and considering he suffered some gastrointestinal issues early on is a testament to his dedication to completing the route. Eddie managed to raise over $41,000 for the Georgia Cycling Association, whose focus is encouraging youth to take up cycling as a lifelong sport for good physical and mental health.

Once an IT professional, Eddie changed his career life to do things that were more meaningful and fulfilling becoming a professional bike fitter. He splits his time between Free-Flight Bicycles and Bob’s Bikes. Eddie gets a lot of fulfillment in helping people ride their best by making sure their bikes fit perfectly.

Eddie O’Dea is a co-founder of the Georgia Cycling Association and is an accomplished rider with 22 years of racing and cycling adventures. He holds course records on the Trans North Georgia (TNGA), Huracan 300, and Stagecoach 400 routes. In 2017, Eddie also completed the Tour Divide.

In this episode, Eddie and I speak about his origin story and how cycling helped him through some difficult life situations. We chat about the logistics of tackling such an immense route and he shares stories of trail magic and the highs and lows he experienced on the EDT.

I hope you enjoy the conversation.