“The Noodleator” (Janeen McCrae) on The FattyCast
If you follow my blog — FatCyclist.com — you might know Janeen McCrae as “Noodle,” or “The Noodleator” (if you follow her on Twitter or Instagram, as you should). She’s the one who has created the gold standard of 100 Miles of Nowhere videos, starting with this one:
And this one:
But if you don’t know Janeen, you’ve still got to listen to this episode of The FattyCast. Why? Well, she just does stuff. Big stuff. And then she tells great stories — with words, pictures, and video — about what she’s done.
You know how you’ve got big biking adventure you’ve been thinking about? Well, Janeen — a more-or-less novice-level rider decided she was going to ride the Trans-America Trail…and then just went and did it: riding across America alone and unsupported.
And when she crashed four days into it — breaking an arm and getting a concussion — she changed her timeline, but she sure didn’t quit.
And when she was unhappy with what she was doing for a living…but loved her Specialized bikes? She went and got a job at Specialized, and now she’s responsible for making the company site more of a destination than a catalog.
As you can guess — and as is going to be obvious in this conversation — I’m a huge fan of Janeen. She’s the creative force I can only dream of being. I talk with Janeen about books, jobs, deadlines, and using the bike to create the life you want.
I think you’re going to like — and be inspired by — this episode of The FattyCast. Subscribe to it on iTunes, or Google Play Music, or get the RSS Feed (http://fattycast.com/rss). Or just listen / download it here:
Comment by Brian in VA | 02.22.2016 | 2:17 pm
Great Videos! Janeen, I approve of your post ride protein shake; it’s my choice, too.
You are far more of badass than I can ever hope to be. But you inspire me to be more than I am and that’s awesome!
Thanks and well-ridden! (Going to follow you on Twitter, now!)
Comment by spin_echo | 02.22.2016 | 2:49 pm
Hi fatty
Love your blog – have been following it for a long time, at least 5 years. I don’t listen to podcasts but would love to read the interview – any possibility of posting a transcript? If it requires any substantial work on your part, never mind, but figured it couldn’t hurt to ask
Comment by spin_echo | 02.22.2016 | 2:52 pm
Just to clarify, my question refers to all the podcasts, not just this specific one. Thanks again for all that you do -
Comment by Jill Homer (@AlaskaJill) | 02.22.2016 | 4:26 pm
I’m sort of bummed that I’ve lived in the Bay Area for 5 years and never managed to join Janeen on one of her epic Santa Cruz Mountain road rides. She seems fun. :)
Comment by onemoremile | 02.22.2016 | 5:43 pm
Love the Noodleator (and you also, Fatty). Been stalking her for awhile now and never cease to be inspired by her writing and her riding. Thanks for taking the time to sit down and talk to her, filling in the blanks, for all us out here in blog reading land.
Comment by PNP | 02.22.2016 | 6:44 pm
Ever since the first video she made, one of my favorite phrases has been “the vehemence of the suckage.” Brilliant.
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 02.22.2016 | 10:02 pm
Can’t be A Fatty and not love Janeen!
Comment by Corrine | 02.23.2016 | 12:07 am
@davidh said it best- how can you not love Janeen! Great podcast, Fatty. And I love the term, “the vehemence of suckage”, too. I would so buy a T-shirt with that on it.
Comment by Kristy in MD | 02.23.2016 | 5:16 am
Phew. I now know where noodleator comes from. And how you pronounce it. It’s the little things.
Write it. Share it. Gonna practice it.
Comment by JIm | 02.23.2016 | 10:18 am
These podcasts are totally expanding my cycling multimedia universe. Awesome! Great interview! And I absolutely love the bike-across-america-memoir genre so whenever this comes, she’ll sell at least one copy to me.
Comment by MattC | 02.24.2016 | 1:34 pm
I ‘ran into’ (not literally thank goodness) Noodle on my first ever “SUPER” century a few years back…she was riding along the other side of the road coming towards me. I didn’t know who it was at first, only that it was a FOF (because she was wearing the ‘Neapolitan’ Fatty kit). I shouted out to her, and we chatted a few brief minutes. Of course, as with all celebrities, I know who SHE was, but she had no idea of who I was. She told me she had been doing a bunch of doubles (double-centuries) lately. Yep… right there as I was in the middle of my biggest ride ever, I suffered a complete and utter deflation. But she gave me some directions on roads in the area I might consider (which I did)…and they were good.
So anyway…that’s my 2 minutes of fame with “the Noodelator”.
@Jill…yep, a true shame you two never hooked up for some epic suffering…you’re two peas in a pod for sure! But you’re not in Colorado yet…(and when do you leave for the ITI? Must be VERY soon I’d suspect).
Comment by Don Mackey | 02.25.2016 | 4:11 pm
awesome podcast Fatty..I found myself listening to this interview during my southern California commute traffic and saying out loud…” This woman is awesome” Her spirit and fire in the belly is fantastic. well done to both of you