In Episode 1104 of the Outlier's Edge Podcast, Niiamah Ashong coaches Cat MacLeod live on air. For 14 years Cat has led motorcycle tours with track time on famous MotoGP circuits, and he counts about 70,000 hours on race tracks and in the saddle. The coaching centers on the first of the many books he has in him, and on finding the perfect press agent to put it on every talk show.
Episode at a glance
- Guest: Cat MacLeod, motorcycle tour leader
- Background: started making motorcycle parts at 16 in his neighbor's garage; four college degrees with honors and distinction; about 70,000 hours on race tracks and in the saddle
- Host: Niiamah Ashong, coach to outlier leaders
- Show: Outlier’s Edge Podcast, Episode 1104, released November 8, 2026
- Format: live coaching conversation, 25 minutes
- Topics: motorcycle tours with track time, training and 10,000 hours, trusting instincts, writing a first book, finding a press agent
What Cat brought to the conversation
Cat has been in the motorcycle world since he started making motorcycle parts at 16 in his neighbor's garage, and his first real mentor taught him how to ride. For 14 years he has led motorcycle tours with track time on famous MotoGP circuits, and he says his team runs so organized and tight that vendors give his tours a discount every year. He holds four college degrees with honors and distinction, the last one in film, and he describes his tours as not a vacation but an escape. His teaching is simple: get licensed, get trained, keep training, then go to the track, until the skill becomes muscle memory and part of the adaptive unconscious.
What shifted
Asked for the single most important thing, Cat named publishing his book, the first of many he has in him: a combination of his life stories, funny and scary, and the songs he found inspirational. He's working from a finished outline, and his ask was for the perfect press agent and a seat on every talk show; with his degree in film, he already knows cameras, lighting and what a crew needs. Niiamah did something he hadn't done on the show before and invited Outliers to come together and help find Cat that press agent.
If you’re a leader ready for this kind of conversation about your own work, here’s where to start: 1:1 with Niiamah | World of Difference, our coaching membership.
Questions this episode answers
How does a rider develop instincts on a motorcycle?
Cat MacLeod's answer is training and saddle time: get licensed, keep training and put in the 10,000 hours until riding becomes muscle memory and part of the adaptive unconscious. Then a rider starts to know where the road will turn from the shape of the mountain.
Is intuition the same as pattern recognition?
Niiamah Ashong shared a description of intuition as advanced pattern recognition, and Cat agreed: with enough time and variety, the brain picks up things a rider isn't consciously thinking about, and the instinct comes up.
Why ride on a race track instead of the street?
In Cat MacLeod's words, the track has no dogs, no cops and no deer. His advice is to get trained, keep training, since the initial program isn't necessarily the best one, and then go to the track.
Should an author use AI to write a book?
Cat tells anyone listening not to have AI write their book. He says it mangles the grammar and spelling and the result is obvious to readers.
What goes into a first book of life stories?
Cat's first book is a combination of his life stories, funny stories and scary stories, with songs he found inspirational and thinks will inspire other people. He's writing from an outline that's already done and calls it the first of many books in him.
In their words
“You don't have to be a genius to do this. You just need to be open to the experience and trusting your instincts.”
Cat MacLeod
“It's not a vacation, it's an escape.”
Cat MacLeod, on his tours
“Please visualize me finding the perfect press agent.”
Cat MacLeod, his ask of listeners
Key moments
00:00 – Welcome to the Outlier's Edge Podcast
00:52 – 14 Years Leading Tours on MotoGP Circuits
02:50 – A Comfort Zone That's Quite Wide
05:16 – Why Vendors Give His Tours a Discount
06:21 – From a Neighbor's Garage to His First Real Mentor
08:57 – Training, Saddle Time and 10,000 Hours
09:55 – Trust Your Instincts
10:34 – Intuition as Advanced Pattern Recognition
11:26 – Get Trained, Then Go to the Track
12:34 – Get So Good It Becomes Second Nature
14:36 – Not a Vacation, an Escape
15:56 – The One Thing: Publishing His Book
16:58 – Don't Let AI Write Your Book
17:35 – Life Stories and Songs That Inspire
20:49 – Visualize the Perfect Press Agent
21:53 – Outliers, Help Find Cat a Press Agent
Enter Cat MacLeod’s world
Cat asks listeners to visualize him finding the perfect press agent. For anyone who wants to ride with him, his advice is to get a motorcycle license and get trained first, then visit leodescapes.com.
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About Niiamah Ashong
Niiamah Ashong is a coach to outlier leaders, host of the Outlier’s Edge Podcast, and founder of the Trailblazer Collective. He coaches leaders who are creating something only they can make: a company, a body of work or a movement. The Outlier’s Edge Podcast is a live coaching show. Make a difference with your difference.
Work with Niiamah: 1:1 with Niiamah | World of Difference, our coaching membership
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