{"podcast":{"title":"The Ride Companion","slug":"the-ride-companion-1105810","podcast_index_feed_id":1105810,"rss_url":"https://rss.libsyn.com/shows/116030/destinations/661415.xml","website_url":"https://theridecompanion.co.uk","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/c/a/c/8/cac83d30f25ceb3a40be95ea3302a6a1/The_Ride_Companion_TRC_MEDIA_HOUSE2.png","author":"TRC Media House","episode_count":457,"summary":"The mountain bike podcast that sometimes forgets to talk about mountain bikes... Hosted by Olly Wilkins and Davi Birks #theridecompanion","last_synced_at":"2026-07-15T14:17:46.983950+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ride-companion-1105810"},"episode":{"title":"Nathan Bennett Explains Why Japan Might Be Mountain Biking's Best Kept Secret","slug":"nathan-bennett-explains-why-japan-might-be-mountain-biking-s-best-kept-secret","published_at":"2026-06-03T04:55:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ride-companion-1105810/nathan-bennett-explains-why-japan-might-be-mountain-biking-s-best-kept-secret","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ride-companion-1105810","url":"https://thehktpodcast.libsyn.com/nathan-bennett-explains-why-japan-might-be-mountain-bikings-best-kept-secret","audio_url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/p19512/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thehktpodcast/TRC246_MTBJAPAN.mp3?dest-id=661415","summary":"Olly Wilkins is in Minakami, Japan for a special bonus episode of The Ride Companion with MTBJapan founder Nathan Bennett. Nathan moved from New Zealand to Japan 30 years ago and has spent decades building, clearing and guiding mountain bike trails in one of the most unique riding destinations in the world. In this episode, Olly and Nathan talk about the hidden MTB scene in Japan, why the dirt and terrain are so good, the famous \"halfpipe\"/bobsleigh-style trails, Japanese trail culture, secret riding spots, trail access, language barriers, moving to Japan, and why Minakami might be one of mountain biking's best kept secrets. Find out more about Nathan and MTBJapan: mtbjapan.com Episode Sponsors:- - Compex → 20% off with code THERIDECOMPANION: compex.com/uk/ Get early access & ad-free episodes → https://www.patreon.com/theridecompanion You can also support our long term partners: Marin Bikes → marinbikes.com/gb Focus Bikes → focus-bikes.com SRAM: sram.com/en/sram adidas FiveTen: adidas.co.uk/five_ten invisiFrame: 15% off with code REFRESHANDRIDE at invisiframe.co.uk Troy Lee Designs → 10% off with code theridecompanion at saddleback.avln.me/c/OzduCWvjtcOr Manta Sleep → 10% off with code theridecompanion tinyurl.com/theridecompanion HUEL → 15% off with code RIDE: huel.com/ Mudhugger → Get 10% off with code ridecompanion10 at themudhugger.co.uk Compex → 20% off with code THERIDECOMPANION: compex.com/uk/ Igloo → igloocoolers.com/ Kecks → https://kecks.co.uk use code THERIDECOMPANION for 10% off Feedback Sports: feedbacksports.com WORX → 15% off with code THERIDECOMPANION at uk.worx.com HKT Products → 10% off with code PODCAST at hktproducts.co.uk Follow The Ride Companion Instagram @theridecompanion YouTube @TheRideCompanion Olly Wilkins Instagram @odub_23 YouTube @owilkin…","meta_description":"Olly Wilkins is in Minakami, Japan for a special bonus episode of The Ride Companion with MTBJapan founder Nathan Bennett. Nathan moved from New Zealand t…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2766,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ride-companion-1105810/episodes/nathan-bennett-explains-why-japan-might-be-mountain-biking-s-best-kept-secret/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ride-companion-1105810/nathan-bennett-explains-why-japan-might-be-mountain-biking-s-best-kept-secret.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}