Bikes or Death

This week we are talking all things East Texas Showdown & Slowdown.  We asked this years participants to send in their questions and we brought in 5 previous racers to answer them!   Even if you aren't doing the race this year, this episode is chalk full of bikepack racing goodness! Our panelist are: Alex Maldonado Katya Morzhueva Davis Sims Lisa Cervantes Dave Easley  Thanks to support from our race sponsors: Wren Sports Ruby Coffee Kuat Quad Lock Bullet Grill Rockgeist

Recently the Bikes or Death instagram account hit 10k followers. I figured that's as good of a reason as any to do my first AMA (Ask Me Anything). We put out the call to listeners, instagram followers, and Patrons to submit your questions and we got a Bunch! Today's episode is hosted by Bronco Tryhard (previously known as Matt Mason). He did a great job hosting the episode, asking your questions, and throwing in a few of his own. This episode is a nice mix of serious and silly, which we hope is a nice balance. Episode Sponsors Ruby Coffee – We know Ruby makes great coffee, but what makes Ruby a great company? Jesse comes on to share his thoughts. Use Code BIKESORDEATH during checkout for 15% off any one time purchase or 20% off the first shipment of any subscription. Kuat ~ There is a lot of hype around the new Piston Pro X, with good reason, but Kuat makes a bunch of great bike racks and Tom comes on to tells about some of them. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Harry Mahler Join them him won’t you?

Ben Playter and Ezra Ward-Packard are currently on their bikes riding across American. Today is actually the final day of their trip which ends in Florida. I caught up with them in Austin thanks to Stephanie Hall who turned me onto them and gave us a spot to record. So today's episode is kind of a two for one. First I chat with Ben and Ezra about their trip which was highly entertaining. These two friends have much different approaches and it resulted in an interesting dynamic they had to work through. Hint, one of them is touring and the other is training for a run at Tour Divide this year. Then Stephanie joins Ezra to discuss riding with Type 1 Diabetes. Both of them have accomplished some cool things on the bike and learning to manage their diabetes is a critical part. They share some of their experiences and tips to help other people with diabetes get out on their damn bikes. Ezra was actually on Team Nova Nordisk, a professional road cycling team made up entirely of racers with Type 1 diabetes. How cool is that? Episode Sponsors Mulberry Gap – This week we chat about the Cohutta Cat bikepacking route that is right out the front door of Mulberry Gap! Wren Sports ~ Cameron shares about a new pilot program they are rolling out to help support women owned bike shops, email cameron@wrensports.com to start a conversation! 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Bradley Cordaro Nick Marzano Gavin Bailey Nemo Sandoval Join them won’t you?

A couple weeks ago Nickel Potter and a 100 or so other cyclists were participating in the Rule of Three in NW Arkansas. They had just turned onto a remote gravel road in the Ozarks when a lady in a Dodge Ram came up behind them and when the cyclist got over to the side of the road she gunned it around them, losing control, and ultimately rolling her truck. After checking to make sure she was okay Nickel did the next logical thing which was to take a picture and post it on instagram. When I saw the image originally I laughed and shared it to my stories and spent the next couple of days seeing it re-shared within the cycling community. Then I was on Reddit and his image was posted on several different subs with thousands of likes and comments and there were link to news articles as well. Thats when I realized the true impact of this picture. It broke out of the cycling community and found itself floating all over the internet which stirred up a long of conversations, most that I read were mostly positive towards the cyclist which was a nice surprise. So today, we talk to the guy who took that iconic picture, hear his side, and chat about our rolls as cyclist when we are out on the roads and representing the community as a whole. Visit www.bikesordeath.com for a full writeup and links to Reddit and News articles related to this event.   Episode Sponsors Rockgiest – This week Greg Hardy comes on to tell me all about their new 52Hz Welded Waterproof Framebags available now! Remember Patrons of this show get a code for Free Shipping and a Patch with your order. Quad Lock ~ Everyone knows that Quad Lock make the best bike mount + phone case system, but did you know they make all kinds of mounts? Patrick shares some of his experiences with Quad Lock over his 10 years of use. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Tobias Wessendorf Daniel Young Join them won’t you?

In mid December Miles Arbour, with Bikepacking.com, and I headed to Phoenix Arizona to check out the Queen's Ransom Route developed by John Schilling. Miles flew down from Canada and I drove up from Texas, each of us coming from completely different riding environments and levels of fitness. To be honest, this trip was planned last minute and neither of us did much homework before setting out on the 230 miles Queen's Ransom Route that features a lot of singletrack, some of which is rated Black.   Miles was there to ride the route with the goal of publishing it on Bikepacking.com. I was there because he invited me, and I invited my recording equipment. So, what happens when a Canadian and Texan ride off into the Arizona Desert? Only one way to find out! Check out this episode and then go ride your damn bike, maybe even on the Queen's Ransom. Episode Sponsors Mulberry Gap - This week Kate comes on to talk to us about the Trans North Georgia Route that is almost right outside their from door and how it's become known as "Mulberry Trap". Wren Sports ~ The new Perseverance Bars from Wren Sports are shipping soon and Cameron came on to give us the deetz. Use code “BOD10” for 10% off your entire order New Patrons 🎉 Jessica Alexander Chris Hodgkins Andrew Drury Dennis Feeney James Collins Mark Norford Marty Johnson Jorge Callado Tim Colebrooke Scott Grossman David Gaus

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Hal Russell. The bikepacking community and the world lost a true legend on January the 19th when he passed away in his home surrounded by family. Hal lived a full and adventurous life that touched almost everyone that he met, you could say he Touched Both Lines. Today we pay tribute and celebrate the life of Hal so that his story and example can continue to have a meaningful impact. Todays episode features stories and tributes from the bikepacking community and clips from my first interview with Hal back in June of 2019 right before he completed the Tour Divide for the 6th time. On this episode we hear stories about Hal from: Sofiane Sehili Marty Johnson Bonnie Gagnon Josh Kato Shelia Reiter Billy Rice Followed by some of my favorte segments from my interview with Hal back in June 2019. Visit Bikesordeath.com for funeral and visitation information and for information about how to buy Hal's book, "Touch Both Lines".    

Dylan's name has come up on the podcast many times and many of you have sent in request to have him on the show. Is it because he is heir to a salt empire? Maybe it's his epic mustache? Or his high level mechanic skills? Seeking answers to some of these tough questions I pointed my van in the direction of Arkansas to meet up with this international man of mystery at the Meteor Cafe in Bentonville, AR. When I interviewed Lael in Bentonville for Episode 10 she talked about a local that made a route from Colorado to the start of Unbound XL in Emporia, KS. That "local" was Dylan Morton who would go on to ride to Emporia with Lael and compete as well, completing the course in 25h 16m. During the pandemic he found himself living with Lael and Rue in Alaska and working with Pepper Cook at the Anchorage bike shop. Dylan is a guy who says "yes" and this podcast is a reflection of that. He is also no stranger to big efforts on the bike. Most recently he won the Utah Mixed Epic with a time of 7d, 16h, 38m which is well known to be a challenging course. He has also done an ITT of Arkansas High Country, completed the Atlas Mtn Race, among others! He is no slouch on the bike and he's a pretty darn good mechanic too. On this episode Dylan shares his passion for cycling, the bikepacking community, and a well dialed bike to adventure on. Episode Sponsors These episodes aren’t possible without support! Kuat ~ Besides making great bike racks, Kuat is also making a difference with the Future Forest Initiative. Every time you buy a rack from them, they plant a tree for your future. Ruby Coffee ~ With so many options to choose from Jesse comes on the show to give us some guidance on which coffees to try! Huge Thanks to our Newest Patrons: 🗝 Keith E Smith 🗝 Brian K Davidson 🗝 Jocelyn De La Rosa 🗝 Terry Woods 🗝 Diane Prekup Join them on Patreon to support your favorite podcast, plus get access to bonus content, the BoD After Party, Patron Perks, and more!

Four days ago Brett Stepanik became the first person to complete the Doom Loop with a time of 3d 12h 9m. Doom is the brainchild of Andrew Onermaa, it's located in the Ozark National Forest it's 376 miles with 41,375 ft of climbing and almost all gravel. Andrew joins us at the top of this episode to share his thoughts on Doom before Brett hops on the mic. Brett is no stranger to bikepacking and ultra endurance efforts. He first got into bikepacking in 2012 and his most notable accomplishment is becoming the Single Speed Triple Crown Champion (TDR, CTR, AZT). At this past Arkansas High Country he set a new SS FKT and finished 4th overall. Something about Arkansas got under his skin and Ozark Gravel Doom was a perfect excuse to come back to Arkansas. It's by happenstance that Brett and I were able to meet up. I had coincidentally reached out to him about being a guest on the podcast at the same time he was scheming up this FKT, the stars aligned and we were able to meet up after he finished his race. Brett faced challenging conditions, namely freezing cold temps and lots of water crossings, making his effort even more impressive. Brett wanted to start the year off right and I'd say he accomplished that! Now what will he do the rest of the year? I'll be watching. Episode Sponsors These episodes aren’t possible without support! Quad Lock ~ Professional downhill mountain biker Ben Moore has been riding with QL for 4 years and he came on to share some of his experiences! Huge Thanks to our Newest Patrons: 🗝 Drew Raney 🗝 Jim Sevaly 🗝 Eric Warren 🗝 Jessica Swanson 🗝 Kyle Gilbert 🗝 Ryan Bozzell 🗝 Andrew Young 🗝 Howard Chapman 🗝 John Gibson 🗝 Kayce Peters 🗝 john campbell Join them on Patreon to support your favorite podcast, plus get access to bonus content, the BoD After Party, Patron Perks, and more!

On today’s episode I get to meet Ally Johnson who is taking the reins over at Bikepacking Roots. She was hired in October, but we wanted to give her a little time to get acquainted with her new role before having her on. Ally brings with her an impressive academic resume. From Bikepacking Roots, “Ally has a master’s degree in Policy, Organization, and Leadership from Stanford University, undergraduate work in nonprofit leadership, and last taught US history and civics at the high school level. Ally was chosen from a large candidate pool of highly qualified individuals, a testament to the passion and diversity of experiences in the bikepacking community.” Please visit www.BikesorDeath.com for the full article along with how you can support and get involved with Bikepacking Roots. Episode Sponsors These episodes aren’t possible without support! Kuat ~ Check out the new Piston Pro X coming March 2022! Did you know they salt spray tested this racks coating for 750 hours and had NO corrosion? Competitive Cyclist ~ This time of year got you feeling like doing some shopping? Check out the offerings over at CompetitiveCyclist.com/BikesorDeath and use code "BIKESORDEATH" to get 15% OFF & FREE SHIPPING! Huge Thanks to our Newest Patrons: 🗝 Stew Sowers 🗝 Ethan Croft Join them on Patreon to support your favorite podcast, plus get access to bonus content, the BoD After Party, Patron Perks, and more!

On this episode Ryan Van Duzer joins me for the first time and Matt Mason is back on the podcast for a chat about the New Mexico Bikepacking Summit and Dangerbird that took place in Las Cruces in Nov. Ryan did the whole course and filmed a four part series for his YouTube Channel, which is worth subscribing to, if you don't already. Full write up with picture and video gallery available on www.bikesordeath.com.   Episode Sponsors These episodes aren’t possible without support! Wren ~ Use code “BOD10” for 10% off your entire order. This week Ryan Van Duzer shares his thoughts on the Wren Inverted Fork. Check out his interview about the fork with Cameron! https://youtu.be/QX9lQKzDKvc Huge Thanks to our Newest Patrons: 🗝 Cory Ostertag 🗝 Chris Stewart 🗝 Kyle Russell 🗝 Ethan Croft Join them on Patreon to support your favorite podcast, plus get access to bonus content, the BoD After Party, Patron Perks, and more!