Bikes or Death

On this episode I get a private tour of the new Texas Hill Country Overnighter with it's creator Maxwell Johnston. This is one of only four routes listed on Bikepacking.com in Texas and two of those are in Big Bend, which is beautiful, but also very remote, requiring a 10+ hour drive from Central Texas. When I got into bikepacking I quickly learned that the lack of Public Lands in Texas creates a barrier to accessing the outdoors via bike, because 97% of Texas is privately held land. The genius of Maxwell's route is that he used Private Campgrounds as a way to string together some of the best gravel roads in the Hill Country. This route was originally submitted to Bikepacking.com and you can find all the route info with gps file by searching in their route library.   I can't tell you how many messages I've received over the years asking if I knew of a bikepacking route in the Hill Country, and I'm happy to have an excellent route I can share next time I get a message! This route quickly became my favorite route in Texas. The roads are idyllic and lightly travelled that will treat you to a wide diversity of flora and fauna. We road it in the late spring and the wildflowers made for an extra special trip, but Maxwell is quick to point out that this route is also beautiful in the winter; and a little cooler! Today's episode takes a deeper look into this new route. What really sells this route is the pictures! ~~~~~~~~ These shows aren’t possible without your support! Thank you to our newest sustaining Patrons! 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 Jon Fernandes Adam Kowis Claire Richard Arturo Lopez Austin Shaw Tõnu Tunnel David Nichols Clare Paniccia The Eggman Cometh!! Daniel Linck Avinash Ignatius Steven Rickards Rachel Clayton Nate Layman Anthony Roach Jeff Sapp Eric Brunn Adam Z Corey Cullen 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤    

On May 22nd Liam Glen lined up at the start of the Highland Trail 550 on his fully rigid single speed Stooge Cycles Scrambler against the likes of James Hayden, Josh Isbett, and others. He would go on to win with a time of 3d, 10h, 55m which was good enough to get the SS Course Record and almost enough to best the Course Record set by Neil Beltchenko in 2017 (3d, 10h, 20m). Liam is no stranger to this event, he also won it in 2016 with a time of 4d, 2h, 48m. After a 2019 DNF on this route he switched up his bike and his mindset which proved to be the winning receipt. No doubt about it, this was an impressive run at this course, but when you factor in that he was riding a steel, rigid, ss (34x20) it's kinda mind blowing. The Highland Trail 550 is a route created by Alan Goldsmith in the northern region of Scotland, covering 550 miles with 52,500 ft of climbing through Scotland's rugged terrain and unpredictable weather. It was great to catch up with Liam for a chat. I wasn't familiar with him prior to this event, but that's what's exciting about being a podcaster in this space right now. It's so much fun to talk to someone who accomplished something absolutely remarkable, but yet we know so little about them. I hope you'll enjoy hearing about this amazing accomplishment, but also what it took, and his path to get there. These shows aren’t possible without your support! Thank you to our newest sustaining Patrons! 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 Jim Phillips Zachary McCool Aaron Dibben Andrew Kepler Ronald Alisch Jukka-Pekka Ronkainen Dan Green Mike Christensen Russell Nethercott michael battjes Huw Williams Jeremiah Shepherd Brad Jaide Doug Carroll Bobby Finster Jake Thornton Selene Schumacher Stephen Fuller Warwick Poole Geoff Akins Joel Meddings L.B. Morse Kevin L Fath Garrett Fardon Ben Jackson Andrei Turró jay murphy Travis Bell Steve Apostal 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Like many of you I didn't know who Andrew Onermaa was before he signed up for the 2020 Arkansas High Country Race. And if you still don't recognize his name, maybe you'll know him as the guy who was going toe to toe with Ted King before he ultimately went on to set an FKT. Andrew withdrew from the race around mile 700 after pushing himself further than ever before. Literally pushing his mind and body to it's limit. Sitting there on the side of the road, eating McDonalds pancakes, Andrew turned on his cell phone and captured those raw emotions he was feeling in that moment. After watching that video I knew I had to talk to this guy, he is all heart and I wanted to hear his story. Six months later I was able to meet Andrew in person and hear his story from the banks of the Mulberry River, there in the Ozark National forest where the race took place. His story is truly incredible, but it became a little more so for me when I learned that he didn't even get his first gravel bike until May of 2020, which means he only had 5 months of experience before signing up for the ARHCR!! Think about that for a second. Think about how hard he must have pushed himself leading up to and then during the race. He lined up at the start line on an entry level Salsa Warbird with 5 months of experience against a former world tour pro who has transitioned over to gravel earning the title King of Gravel. At some points of the race he was leading, but it was always close, as Andrew pushed his limits and probably pushed Ted King to dig a little deeper. This story typifies one of the best aspects of this sport, it is an equalizer. It shows that anybody can do this, anybody who is willing to train hard, ride hard, push hard, and dig deeper than ever before can do this if they choose. It's not easy, in fact it is very hard, but it is possible and I love that about this sport. For this event Ted King's decades of experience paid off earning him a well deserved FKT and I couldn't be more happy for him. I'm equally happy for Andrew Onermaa for the courage it took to push himself that hard, to find his limit, and for his willingness to share so openly his story. I think it can be easy as a dot watcher to be numb to how hard these efforts really are and how hard the athletes dig to find the courage to keep pushing when their mind and body are rebelling. As I've interviewed many of the top athletes in endurance cycling I am guilty of this myself, which is why I'm grateful to Andrew. His story really resonated with me as a reminder of how personal these efforts are and the heart it takes to push yourself to the limit. Easy words to type, but they come to life through Andrews telling. GPS Coordinates to where this episode was recorded: 35°39'32.2"N 93°51'28.9"W When he's not working or training Andrew is busy developing routes and the gravel community in NWA through the Ozark Gravel Cyclist. They are doing great things in that area, so definitely check them out if you are in or visiting that area. These shows aren’t possible without your support! This episode was from my recent trip to Oklahoma and Arkansas to capture interviews for the podcast. Thank you to our newest sustaining Patrons! 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 Michele Aguilera Mat Long Joseph Harrington Shanelle Hayes Ben Holbrook Randy S Braley Jeff Caroll Joanne Maurice (June 2019) 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🚨 ADnouncement 🚨 This episode is supported by Experience Fayetteville and the Fayetteville, Arkansas community. Fayetteville is excited to once again be the host community for the 2021 Arkansaw High Country Race. Quickly becoming known as one of the most challenging bikepacking races in the country, the 1000+ mile Arkansaw High Country Race departs from Downtown Fayetteville on Saturday morning, October 9! The race follows the perimeter of the Arkansas High Country Route – a series of three mixed surface loops that connect several of the state’s stunning natural regions including the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas River Valley. New for 2021, race officials have announced the creation of the Short Circuit Race – an opportunity to experience just the Northwest Loop of the route. The shorter 240-mile distance is perfect for the weekend warrior looking for a limit-pushing course. Registration for the 2021 Arkansaw High Country Race and the Short Circuit Race opens June 1, 2021. Each race distance is limited to a field of 50 competitors and expected to fill up fast. Additional race information including links to register can easily be found by searching High Country at ExperienceFayetteville.com

I met Dr. Seth Wood at a wedding in Oklahoma back in 2019. I was early in my podcasting journey and I was shocked when I learned that he was using the Bikes or Death Podcast as part of his circulam at OSU, where he still teaches today. So shocked, that I completely blanked when he told me about it! I took this opportunity to indulge myself and find out what he could possibly be using my podcast for in a college course?! More importantly, I wanted to hear Seth's story about his journey from almost losing his life in Feb. of 2013 after being ran over by a car while commuting on his bike. To then go on to set a Singlespeed FKT on the Arkansas High Country Race. The collision nearly cost him his life, but a year later he competed in the 2nd ever LandRun 100 (Now Midsouth) and he finished! All while wearing an eye patch as a visible reminder that he was still recovering from the injuries he sustained. He would go on to race the Tour Divide in 2016 and 2018 completing it both times and taking home 8th place in 2018. Then in 2020 he set the ARHCR FKT on a Singlespeed. I learned from our discussion that this is a story much larger than himself. It's one about this community and how much impact it can have on the lives of those it touches. I learned that the cycling community in Stillwater, OK, that is spearheaded by Bobby Wintle and the District Bicycle crew, is a special one. When a local cyclist, who they didn't know, was hit and nearly killed by a college man driving a car they stepped up and not only provided financial support, but they also poured out love and gave Dr. Seth Wood a new family and community. This probably the most moving episode I've had the privilege to be part of. I hope that it will serve as a reminder of how special this community is, the power that it has, and that we should remember to embrace ALL cyclist, regardless if you know them or not. Thank you Seth for sharing your challenging journey with us. Thank you to Bobby Wintle and the District Bike Family for being examples in our community. I truly believe this community is made up of some of the best humans on earth and you are all examples of that. These shows aren't possible without your support! This episode was from my recent trip to Oklahoma and Arkansas to capture interviews for the podcast. Thank you to our newest sustaining Patrons! 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 Kelly Woolverton Seth Wood Hyacinthe Gauthier Antti Leskinen Andrew Onermaa 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🚨 ADnouncement 🚨 This episode is supported by Experience Fayetteville and the Fayetteville, Arkansas community. Fayetteville is excited to once again be the host community for the 2021 Arkansaw High Country Race. Quickly becoming known as one of the most challenging bikepacking races in the country, the 1000+ mile Arkansaw High Country Race departs from Downtown Fayetteville on Saturday morning, October 9! The race follows the perimeter of the Arkansas High Country Route – a series of three mixed surface loops that connect several of the state's stunning natural regions including the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas River Valley. New for 2021, race officials have announced the creation of the Short Circuit Race - an opportunity to experience just the Northwest Loop of the route. The shorter 240-mile distance is perfect for the weekend warrior looking for a limit-pushing course. Registration for the 2021 Arkansaw High Country Race and the Short Circuit Race opens June 1, 2021. Each race distance is limited to a field of 50 competitors and expected to fill up fast. Additional race information including links to register can easily be found by searching High Country at ExperienceFayetteville.com

When we did our Bikepacking Basics episode earlier this year we got a lot of questions, but the most asked questions where about route building. So I reached out to Kevin Prentice with RideWithGPS to see if they would be interested coming to do a episode on route building and (spoiler alert) they said yes! On this episode we get to know Kevin and some history on RWGPS and then we get into the maps! And we go deep. But, we also cover very basic topics. This episode was designed with the hope that it will be a resource for you to build your own routes, modify existing ones, or fly by the seat of your pants using heatmaps. Even if you think you're a RWGPS expert I can guarantee you'll learn something on this show, I sure did! For me Route Building is one of my favorite parts about bikepacking. With the tools and information available to us now it's truly remarkable what you're able to do from your laptop in the comfort of your home. This is where you can hone in and find the perfect camp spot or best gravel roads. Regardless of how well you plan, we all know that even the best plan can go wrong. So it's also important to know how to navigate when things don't go according to plan. After listening to (or watching) this episode you will be able to know more about doing both! This episode is available where ever you get your podcast and also in video format with timestamps so you can comeback to it as often as needed. These episodes aren’t possible without your support. Thank you to our newest supporting Patrons! 🖤 🖤🖤🖤🖤 Courtney Naquin Travis Vliem Scott McDonald Brian Benavente 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 🚨 Patron Perk 🚨 - 20% off RWGPS Subscription

When I contacted Ryan Stoyer about coming on the podcast it was with the idea that we would talk about his unique lifestyle and how it allows for him to life a more fulfilled life. I still like that topic, but Ryan had other ideas. After the official BoD instagram invite was sent, his reply was an enthusiastic yes, followed by a suggestion, "how about we go bikerafting?". My response was equally enthusiastic and I gave no thought to the fact that I'd never been bikerafting, or had a raft, or new how to build a route, etc etc. But we had 5 weeks and that turned out to be the just enough to assemble the necessary gear and courage to tackle new adventure territory. The plan was to create a bikerafting route and share our experiences through a podcast. As I learned more about Bikerafting, I learned that there is a lot of interest in this re-emerging sport. The first recorded bikeraft trip was in 1987 by Roman Dial, but it seems to be growing in popularity in recent years. So the focus of the podcast shifted from being about Ryan and our trip, we also tried to provide some information that may help you prepare for your own bikerafting or packrafting trip! We discuss where to get packrafts, what to look for, how they handle, how to pack, how to plan a route, etc. It was a huge learning experience for me and I'm excited to share what I learned. I'm a complete newb and my tips reflect that, which is why it was good to have Ryan who brings more experience. It came in handy on the river and on the podcast. The route my friend Connor Thomas created in NW Arkansas is a real beauty. I will be publishing that route soon!! Unfortunately, you can't plan the weather and we got Cold and Wet every day we were there. So our trip had an extra element of Type 2 fun sprinkled in to keep it interesting. I will let the podcast speak for itself, but I can tell you that every person on that trip had a great time and the ones that didn't have packrafts are all now wanting some. Bikerafting was a little scary to me at first. It doesn't make sense that a 195 lb guy + 55 lbs of gear can float safely down a river on a 5 lb inflatable raft. Call me crazy! Any initial fears I first had were quickly squashed and I found bikerafting quite to my liking, and as Ryan says, "It's a great rest day after a long day on the bike". Not only that, but it opens up so many possibilities both with routes and with scenery. I'm glad that Ryan challenged me to do this. It was barely on my radar, but I'm not one to shy away from a new adventure. I equally enjoyed getting to meet and learn from Ryan. He is a wealth of information on a variety of topics that I find fascinating and meaningful. We cover a lot on this episode! To make it easier for you to enjoy and refer back to this episode at a later time I've included timestamps in the show notes so you can quickly find the topic/s you're interested in. Timestamp: 13:45 - Talking Tiny Home 22:15 - Maker Space - Elijah, GA 26:10 - Ryans First Bikepacking Trip 33:25 - Ryans First Bikerafting Trip38:30 - What is Bikerafting 44:15 - Rockgeist fanboy talk 47:20 - Resources for renting, buying, or building a packraft 48:33 - Renting backraftings from https://backcountrypackrafts.com/ 51:00 - What is it called?  Bikepack Rafting or Bikerafting? 52:15 - What kind of features to look for in a packraft that will work for bikerafting 57:45 - Creating a Bikerafting route 62:40 - Our Bikerafting Trip 65:00 - Packing a packraft on a bike 83:00 - Continuing our Bikerafting trip Day 2 85:00 - How to pack your gear and bike on your packraft94:15 - Description of the water on route98:10 - Trip Continues - Day 3106:20 - Random tangent about Psychotropics 120:00 - Beginning of the End  

Today's episode is with a true living legend. Rebecca Rusch has had a long and successful career spanning many different sports, but in the past 15 years has dominated the mountain bike scene, which as spilled over into bikepacking and gravel racing as well. She's been referred to as the Queen of Pain since at least 2004 and she was inducted into the MTB Hall of Fame in 2019. Here list of accolades and victories is as long as her storied career. On this episode we get insight into some of the wisdom that she has gained through her career. Her perspectives are deep and well thought out. You can tell they've been forged in her mind over the years and countless endurance endeavor that have pushed her to grow and challenge who she is as a person. For the uninitiated, here is a very brief history of Rebecca Rusch. She began her career as a professional athlete in Adventure Racing, which was popularized by the Eco Challenge and the subsequent TV show produced by Mark Burnett. She competed at a high level, often on the winning team or threatening the lead, from 1997-2006. She faced a pivotal point in her life and career when one of her teammates, Nigel Aylott, died in an adventure race in front of her and her team, the same year they lost their major team sponsor. With some time left on her Red Bull contract she decided to give MTB a shot. In 2006 she signed up for, and won, the USA Cycling 24-Hours MTB National Champion in the Women's Solo category. But she didn't just win her field, she had the fastest time out of all participants, women and men! And this was in a discipline that she said in her own words was her worst sport. This win catapulted her fully into the MTB world where she continues to be a real threat any time she signs up for a race. Her accomplishments are not limited to the mountain bike. She also won the ITI 350 in 2019 and 2021, She is the Smoke n' Fire women's record holder, Unbound Gravel XL 350 winner in 2018, and she held the FKT on the Kokopelli Trail until just recently when Kait Boyle took it away by a meer 13 minutes. Her list of accomplishments is much longer, but I hope this paints the picture that Rebecca is a lifelong endurance athlete who has been competing at a very high level for a long time. In those years she has gained a rich understanding of human powered movement in the outdoors. For me it's daunting to put keys to pad and conjure up words to describe someone who has been a personal source of inspiration for me. Luckily, we recorded a podcast so you can hear directly from the Queen of Pain herself! These episodes aren’t possible without your support. Thank you to our newest supporting Patrons! 🖤 🖤🖤🖤🖤 Denise Brodigan James Vineyard Charles Gurrey Rick Stinson Joseph Lowhorn Damián García Crispin Hoult Mikey Hanrahan 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 🚨 ADnouncements 🚨 Jefe.bike – Patrons receive 10% off Arkansaw High Country Race - Registration Opens June 1st East Texas Showdown – Presented by Bikes or Death

Happy 420 everyone! My guest on today's episode with John Watson is one that I've been looking forward to for a while. We had plans to record this one a while ago, but covid put it on pause. On my recent trip to AZ and NM I was able to meet John at his Santa Fe office where he runs The RADAVIST. His office is quaint and simple with merchandise bins tidily lining the walls and stacked to the ceiling. I felt a kinship immediately as I pictured him editing photos, writing articles, fulfilling orders, etc etc. Despite his obvious success, what you may not see immediately is the 15 years he's been doing, the passion that started it, and the long hours that took to fuel it. In 2006 he began capturing urban bike culture for his blog that was at that time called "Prolly is not Probably". He was debating 650b v. 700c before you even had your first bike. He's been called a "Bike Snob", "Respected Tastemaker", a "Prolific Photographer" and more over his years in the industry. John made his mark by following his passion and using his camera and keyboard to share and shape the bicycle culture. If you are high af and want to go down the rabbit hole, google (or use DuckDuckGo) "Prolly is not Probably". You can find his original blogger page and hundreds of articles he's written or than have been written about him. Now The RADAVIST is a staple in the bike industry for its tasteful photography, wide range of articles and resources, and thoughtful articles that cover a large swath of the bike industry and culture. And from my perspective we are all the benefactors of his 15 years of hard work. It was an honor to meet John in person. Behind the scenes over emails he has always been very supportive of me and Bikes or Death. He has been a person that I look up to professionally for his work and personally because he's just a damn nice guy. So if for any reason you haven't been visiting The Radavist on a daily basis it's time for you to get your life together and start! Both his instagram accounts are equally worth a follow @johnprolly and @theradavist. After the interview the light was getting good and John asked if he could photograph my bike, which was a dream come true for me. Find those pictures and a write up by John on The Radavist and you can read my blog reply on Bikes or Death. Shred Lightly my friends. These episodes aren’t possible without your support. This episode is the result of my recently podcasting trip covering 2,500 miles, 2 states, and 3 interviews in 4.5 days. If you’ve been on the fence about becoming a Patron this would be a great time to sign up and help get BoD back on the road! You can Sign Up here or leave a one time Donation on Paypal. Thank you to our newest supporting Patrons! 🖤 🖤🖤🖤🖤 Bryan Seef Thomas Elliot Katya Morzhueva Mark Debano Ken Wallace Alex Cahill Chris Weiss Andrew Green Christopher Earnst Matt Knight Tim Nakoneczny Mike Morris Ian Goldinger 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 🚨 ADnouncements 🚨 Jefe.bike – Patrons receive 10% off 6AM WorkShirts – Patrons receive 20% off East Texas Showdown – Presented by Bikes or Death      

It's always an extreme pleasure to sit down and chat with Lael Wilcox. Her positivity and honesty is infections as is her drive to push herself to extremes all in the name of bike racing. She's an inspiration to so many of us in this community and I am no exception. She has been a huge source of inspiration for me as I dipped my toe into the bikepacking waters. There is something about her fearless approach to bikepacking that lulls you into a false sense of achievability, but make no mistake she works hard and has been at this a long time.  This sport has come a long way in a short time and Lael has been at or near the tip of the spear for the entire time. This was the third time Lael has been on the podcast and each time I have to reign in my personal tendencies to be star struck. Luckily, Lael is a total pro and is so easy to talk to. This time we met on Mount Lemmon outside of Tucson, AZ at the Gordon Hirabayashi Campground. Interesting side note, the road up Mt. Lemmon was built by prisoners in the 1930's and to house the criminals they built prisons as they went. The campground we recorded at was a former site of a Prison Camp. They say you should "never meet your idols". I've met one of mine three times now and have never been disappointed. Lael is Lael, what you see is what you get. The person I watched in the 2016 film from REI is the same person I met on a park bench on the side of Mt. Lemmon. Success, fame, racing results, through it all she has been able to stay humble, gracias, and kind. Maybe the saying should be, "get better idols". Personally, I'm grateful to Lael for just being her and pursuing what she wants in a way that is authentic to herself. We talk about this a little in the episode, but sometimes knowing yourself and staying true can be easier said than done, especially with some of the controversy she has faced, but in even in success she continues to navigate it all in a way that seems authentic to herself. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ These episodes aren’t possible without your support. This episode is the result of my recently podcasting trip covering 2,500 miles, 2 states, and 3 interviews in 4.5 days. If you’ve been on the fence about becoming a Patron this would be a great time to sign up and help get BoD back on the road! You can Sign Up here or leave a one time Donation on Paypal. Thank you to our newest supporting Patrons! 🖤 🖤🖤🖤🖤 Alex G. Tanya Rios Chris Schow Tim Fitzpatrick 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 🚨 ADnouncements 🚨 6AM WorkShirts – Patrons receive 20% off East Texas Showdown - Presented by Bikes or Death

This episode is the first one to come from my recent road trip to New Mexico and Arizona to interview guest for the podcast. My first stop was in Las Cruces, NM to meet up with Matt Mason to ride a portion of the Monumental Loop. We rode up to the base of the Organ Mountains and camped in perfect weather. In the morning we recorded this episode under little outcropping before descending 10 miles back to town on some epic singletrack. You may have noticed that the route was revised and released as the Monumental Loop 2.0. These changes were made for several reason, but all in an effort to make the route more enjoyable and attractive to a wider range of riders. We get into all the specifics on this episode and it left me wanting to spend more time than I had available on this trip. I will be back! *Outdoor Adventures The place to go for route information, gear, advice, and community  https://www.bikelc.com *Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Friends are on the frontlines of protecting and providing access to the public lands around Las Cruces.  https://organmountainsdesertpeaks.org *Southern New Mexico Trail AllianceSNMTA works tirelessly on advocating for new trails, maintaining current trails, and hosting the Sierra Vista Trail Runs.  https://snmta.org *Doña Ana SheWolves A group of FTW riders providing support and community.  Several of their crew are certified bike instructors and their skills clinics are highly recommended. https://www.facebook.com/groups/SouthernNMDirtGirls/?ref=share *MTB New Mexico Jose Solis has a YouTube channel and rides centered on a welcoming environment for beginner mountain bikers.  MTB NM’s videos are equally informative and entertaining.  https://youtube.com/c/MTBNewMexico These episodes aren’t possible without your support. This episode is the result of my recently podcasting trip covering 2,500 miles, 2 states, and 3 interviews in 4.5 days. If you’ve been on the fence about becoming a Patron this would be a great time to sign up and help get BoD back on the road! You can Sign Up here or leave a one time Donation on Paypal. Thank you to our newest supporting Patrons! 🖤 🖤🖤🖤🖤 Jeff Bloodworthy Barry Turner Dave Ortiz 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤