Bikes or Death

Eric House joined our community during the pandemic, like many others. However, two and a half years later, I don't think this pandemic-born-bike-baby is going anywhere, but up! His first bikepacking race was the 2022 East Texas Showdown. He packed light, read "nothing", went fast, placed 9th, and learned a lot, but most importantly, he got hooked. This year he leveled up. He completed the MidSouth 50k run and the 100 mile gravel race. The next weekend he lined up at ETS and took 10th place, then a couple weeks later he went to Arkansas for the DOOM race and placed 9th there. For Eric, the year will culminate with an attempt at the infamous Leadville 100 in August. Please visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup on today's episode and photo gallery. EPISODE SPONSORS Stan's NoTubes - Stan's has been keeping my tires inflated since 2001. Now they are keeping the podcast inflated by becoming a sponsor! Do yourself a favor and trust your tire sealing needs to the sealant I use, Stan's! Athletic Greens – An important part of my health and wellness routine and a great way to provide the nutrients your body needs on the go and on bikepacking trips. Go to www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to take advantage of a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Skyler Martyn Join them won’t you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Ever since I started the podcast I dreamed of one day recording an episode in front of a live audience. Fear kept me from pursuing it. Fear that no one would show up. Fear of having an audience that amplifies the pressure and anxiety. At one point that dream progressed into a goal. And a goal needs a plan.  And a live event needs a venue. Austin, TX seems like the obvious choose as a Texan. It's two hours east of me and has a rich cycling culture and community. Nestled on the east side of Austin is Cycleast, a bike shop that I've been a friend/fan of. They do so many great community events, including bikepacking group trips. A couple months ago a met with Russell Pickavance, the owner of Cycleast, and told him my idea about BoD Live. He was immediately receptive to the idea and offered to allow me to host them at his facility after store hours! The timing worked out to make doing an East Texas Showdown episode a no-brainer. Three of our guest this week are employees of Cycleast and One is a friend of the shop. My guest this week are Hannah Simon and Stephanie Hall who are veterans to the ETS and this year shared a first place finish. Also joining me are Russell Pickavance and Ariel Marlowe who both completed the LOWdown, which is a new 160 mile bikepacking group ride and not a race. We had about 30 people join us for the first BoD Live and it really made for a great atmosphere. I want to thank the Austin community for showing up and supporting the guest and this event. Its so great to see bikepacking thriving here in Texas. EPISODE SPONSORS Old Man Mountain ~ Use discount code "bikesordeath" for 15% off site-wide and use this affiliate link so BoD gets a Thank You check in the mail :) 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 CycleNuts USA Join them won’t you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

During the pre-race meeting for the 2022 East Texas Showdown Hannah Simon asked me, "have you ridden the entire course?". Even though I'd ridden many of the roads over the years and was very familiar with the area and the route, I had to say "no". I hadn't ridden this particular route. The fact that I couldn't answer that question in the affirmative stuck with me. It ate at me. So I decided to do something about it. Two weeks before 200 riders descended upon East Texas, I set out to pre-ride the course as an ITT. For me, ITT stands for Individual Timed Tour. While I wanted to push my own personal limits, I knew that it wouldn't be anywhere near what most people would consider "race pace". On this episode I take you along for my journey. _________________ Support our work at www.patreon.com/bikesordeath  

Rebecca Rusch is an accomplished endurance athlete with 40 years of experience. Her list of accomplishments over that time period has been impressive. Among other things, she is a 7x World Champion Adventure Athelete, 2x Iditarod Trail Invitational winner, MTB hall of fame inductee, and a Red Bull Athlete. On today’s episode we tackle the topic of Winter Riding. Some of the topics discussed are layering, eating, keeping water from freezing, managing electronics, and going potty. The information is this episode is invaluable and it’s a result of Rebecca’s extensive personal experiences. We are honored to have Rebecca back on the podcast and grateful for her willingness to share some tips she’s learned over the years. EPISODE SPONSORS Red Granite Grinder – It’s time to register for the RGG that takes place on October 14th in Wausau, Wi. I did an episode about last years event that you can check out here. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Johnny Napoli Ales Zavoral Join them won’t you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Jerry Kopack followed the “laminated playbook” that many Americans are familiar with; go to college, get a job, buy the house, save for retirement, have the family, etc. etc. While he was on the path to a traditional standard of success, he wasn’t fulfilled. In 2016 he set out on a 4 week bike tour in Zimbabwe with the goal of resetting himself in search of what’s next. That 4 week trip turned into 2 years through a chance encounter with a mindset of “alway saying yes”. Visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup and gallery of images from Jerry's travels. Jerry's Book: The World Spins By EPISODE SPONSORS Ombraz – Use code “BOD20” for $20 off your order AND BoD will get $20 from Ombraz as a thank you! Athletic Greens – An important part of my health and wellness routine and a great way to provide the nutrients your body needs on the go and on bikepacking trips. Go to www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to take advantage of a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Kevin Lee ~ Spinistry Zac Ramsey The following Patrons increased their pledges! Mathew Wells Join them won’t you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Ronnie is roaming around the states on a much deserved vacation. He was in Austin for a few days and we were able to meetup at Cycleast for a little chat. A lot has happened since the the last time we spoke back in the Fall of 2019. During the pandemic he moved back to Connecticut and ended up staying there and ramping up on his entrepreneurial efforts. What he's been able to accomplish in the cycling industry is truly inspirational. One may be tempted to say he got there by being counter culture, but I'd argue that he has created a cycle culture that is unique to himself. EPISODE SPONSORS Old Man Mountain ~ Since 1996, Old Man Mountain has made durable, functional cargo racks for all types of bikes. We’re excited to continue the legacy! Ombraz ~ Use code “BOD20” for $20 off your order AND BoD will get $20 from Ombraz as a thank you! 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Andy Stockman The following Patrons increased their pledges! Mike Christensen Join them won’t you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

As the East Texas Showdown heads into it’s third year the excitement is growing and so are the questions. To help answer the questions we brought in a few past participants who are also competing again this year. Our guest are Kuya Takami who won the Showdown last year, Emily Miller who is hoping to ride the Slowdown without sleeping, and Brendan Hare who was our Pro Slow winner last year and is stepping up to the Showdown this year. EPISODE SPONSORS Gravel Ride up Spruce Knob aka GRUSK - Join me in West Virginia on July 6-9th for one of 6 gravel rides they have to choose from. Find out more at www.MountainRides.net or Register Here Athletic Greens – An important part of my health and wellness routine and a great way to provide the nutrients your body needs on the go and on bikepacking trips. Go to www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to take advantage of a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Mindaugas Urbontaitis Julien Millan The following Patrons increased their pledges! Corey Eichelberger Join them won’t you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

On today's episode Holden and I chat about a little bit of everything. His day job is at a hot rod shop in Ft. Worth and he's owned a few pretty rad cars over the years. He put his mechanical abilities to use and built hims a rad Tall Bike, which is the fodder for many of my questions on this episode. When he's not tooling around on his tall bike you may see him on his fixie cruising the streets of Ft. Worth with a cycling syndicate that goes by the name of "Smash Bros Plus One". Visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup, plus pictures of Holden's Tall Bike, Cars, and more.   EPISODE SPONSORS Panorama Cycles - Patrick is stoked to be riding and representing this forward thinking Canada based company. They build Backcountry Bicycles for the adventure cyclist and they are the only Certified Climate Neutral Bike Company on the market. Patrick is the new U.S. Sales Rep, so if you're interest in learning more please reach out at bikes@bikesordeath.com Athletic Greens – An important part of my health and welness routine and a great way to provide the nutriens your body needs on the go and on bikepacking trips. Go to www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to take advantage of a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Christopher Rahilly Michelle Jensen The following Patrons increased their pledges! Ash Werner Join them won’t you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Scarlet & Flint Ziegler just made waves in the bikepacking community when word got out that they had completed the Tour Divide Route in 42 days. The Tour Divide is a well established route that many have done, but what sets this father daughter duo apart is that Scarlet was only 13 years old when she completed it. Please visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup on todays episode and a photo gallery of Scarlet and Flint! EPISODE SPONSORS Old Man Mountain - Since 1996, Old Man Mountain has made durable, functional cargo racks for all types of bikes. We’re excited to continue the legacy! Athletic Greens – An important part of my health and welness routine and a great way to provide the nutriens your body needs on the go and on bikepacking trips. Go to www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to take advantage of a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 MTB Shenanigans Ville Haataja Patty Short Steve Lindemann Steve Thompson Keith Buchanan Gary Cors The following Patrons increased their pledges! Alfred Lau Chris Hodgkins Join them won’t you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

In October my friend Connor (Natalie joined us on day one) and I were the first ones to ride a new route I created as part of the East Texas Showdown. This one is called the Lowdown and is for participants who want to ride (not race) and enjoy the East Texas Piney Woods with a group of other riders. It's 160 miles with a little over 5,000 ft of elevation, with four camping options, and plenty of resupply points. Of course, you don't have to wait to ride it, the route has been vetted and you can find it on BikesorDeath.com. For a full writeup on today's episode, a gallery of images from this trip, and the finialized Lowdown Route, please visit www.BikesorDeath.com EPISODE SPONSORS Athletic Greens – An important part of my health and welness routine and a great way to provide the nutriens your body needs on the go and on bikepacking trips. Go to www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to take advantage of a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Ombraz – Use code “BOD20” for $20 off your order AND BoD will get $20 from Ombraz as a thank you! 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Zachary Loudon Holly The Dog Grant Beauprez Travis Olson Jared Proegler Patrons who increased their pledges! John Hickman Allen Boardman Johnny De Martin Shane Hitz Nick Marzano Join them won’t you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath