Bike Talk with Dave: All things bike! Bikepacking, cyclocross, gravel, mountain bike, road & events

Josh Sprague is the CEO of Orange Mud , maker of hydration systems and high performance gear for endurance cyclists, runners and other athletes. On today's episode he talks about what goes into the engineering to make hydration for athletes easy and comfortable. In addition to Orange Mud, he is also the founder and CEO of Seven Clay , a screenprinting and embroidery company supplying branded goods...

Taylor Nichols, a host of the Bike Talk Radio Show and Podcast, is in the midst of a cross country bike ride (Summer, 2026). He is riding 4,000 miles from California to see his 101 year old father in Lansing, Michigan. Nichols, an avid cyclist, has co-hosted the weekly syndicated radio show and podcast with Nick Richart since 2017. Bike Talk is a show focused on advocating for the bicycle as the m...

The Colesburg Back 40 began in 1993 as a training race for the then 10=year-old mountain bike race: The Chequamegon 40. But as can happen with a beautiful, fun, challenging and well run event... it's stuck around for the past 33 years! Today we talk with current race directors Sunny Carithers and Michael Lambert about what makes the race fun and unique as well as what brings them joy in seeing so...

Greetings all! A few months before recoring this episode, I had the unfortunate experience of blowing out my knee: ACL, MCL and Meniscus - all torn. At 12 weeks post surgery, I decided to begin sharing my story of rehab and recovery. It's not easy and requires patience, discipline and realistic expectations - and it also requires the ability to let go and accept the help of others! If you are, or...

Natica Dunning takes us through all of the events of the 2026 Break the Cycle calendar: The June 6 Challenge Ride with 100, 50 and 25 mile options, the June 19 BTC 200 Ride, a one day 200 mile ride from West Des Moines to Okoboji Iowa and the June 20 5K All Day Walk, Run or Ruck event at Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines. For information, to register, volunteer or to donate to any of these eve...

Erik Schlimmer was first on the podcast in October of 2024, (Ep. 145) having raced at the national level in the 1990's, then taking thirty years off - he decided to make a comeback and pin a number on again. Today we follow up to see how his winter of training and summer of racing went, and if it left him wanting more! In addition to that, he's a routemaker - having authored many books about trail...

TJ Tollakson ran his first triathlon in July 2001, and he has been a professional triathlete since 2005. In July 2011, he achieved his first Ironman victory at Lake Placid. In 2011 TJ founded his own manufacturing company Dimond Bikes in Des Moines, IA. Starting when TJ won his first Ironman at Lake Placid New York on a modified and re-branded Zipp beam bike. Since that early bike, his brand has b...

Joy Franco, in addition to being a Neuroscientist and Engineer, still finds time to train at the highest level. In 2024 she competed in the UCI Elite U.S. Cyclocross Pro Series, racing at the biggest 'cross races in the U.S. This past summer she turned her attention to gravel and qualified for, and competed in the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships in her age group. We caught up shortly after her...

Julien Gagne, from Quebec, Canada, has raced at the highest level in both mountain biking and road but has more recently turned his attention to gravel and is competing at some of the biggest races in the U.S. This past August he was treated to a champaign shower as the overall victor in a stacked Core4 race. We caught up with Julien the week before his 4th place finish at the rain-shortened Big S...

Connor Swegle founded Priority Bicycles in 2014 with his partner Dave Weiner via a Kickstarter campaign. It worked and today they have an entire line of bikes all with simplicity, performance and ease of maintenance in mind. By using a carbon belt drivetrain, they do away with greasy chains, clunky shifting and finicky derailleurs. Check their line up out at www.prioritybicycles.com and follow the...

Hayden Christian has spent the summer of 2025 chasing results in the U23 Lifetime Grand Prix. While we met at the Rattlesnake Gravel Grind in late March of '25, it wasn't until after his impressive ride in the Chequamegon 40 that we actually connected, which was perfect, as we got to hear about all of his incredible races this summer! First in the Unbound 100, Second U23 rider at Chequamegon, and...

Cullen Perkey, an aspiring U23 mountain biker, works hard to make it work, mixing training, travel, racing with a full time job to make ends meet. We caught up with this midwesterner-turned-Coloradan after he finished the blazing fast Chequamegon 40 mountain bike race. We talked racing as well as how he finances his racing career as he aspires to make it to the top. Be sure to follow him on Instag...

Guest Scott Matter describes the Dream Team as a five-month cycling program for teenagers in Central Iowa that provides a unique opportunity for teenagers to build relationships, achieve personal growth, and learn from adult mentors. The program shows youth that BIG goals can be attained with sufficient planning and preparation. Beginning in March, the teens and mentors begin preparing and trainin...

Jen Witt founded the Restoring Hope foundation to honor the work of her ex husband, Colin J. Witt, a Judge in the juvenile justice system. In August she is hosting a bike ride, silent auction with food trucks and music at Middlebrook Farms in Cumming, Iowa. Information on her foundation and the 5th annual bike ride can be found at www.restoringhopedsm.org. Also joining us on the podcast are Christ...

Serkan Yildiz, a Turkish engineer living and working in Belgium, turned the bike commitment dial to 10 as he sold his home, quit his job and began an adventure riding down the west coast of the United States, through Mexico and into Central America. After Bikepacking.com published a story about his custom bike, we connected via a video chat from halfway around the world! While the audio isn't perf...

Hope for Justice is an organization who's aim it is to stop human trafficking and end modern slavery. The Break the Cycle 200 is an annual 200-mile ride from West Des Moines, Iowa to Lake Okoboji in NW Iowa. The ride started more than a dozen years ago, Break the Cycle is now a series of cycling events, run relays, and other endurance events across the US, UK and Norway, which raise funds for Hope...

Ryan Birkicht, Communications Director for the organization People for Bikes www.peopleforbikes.org joins us to talk about Bike Month and Bike to Work Week. He's got some great advice on how to engage employees and others in the world of commuting and all the great things riding a bike can bring you whether you ride to work, the store, a coffee shop, with a group of friends or wherever your wheels...

Crystal Anthony has been racing professionally for nearly a decade in cyclocross, mountain bike and gravel. With 21 UCI cyclocross wins, her transition to mountain bike racing came naturally. Today, in addition to racing in her fourth season of the Lifetime Grand Prix (where she currently sits in 15th), she shares her knowledge and experience with others through her coaching business ( www.crystal...

Christopher Blevins , Specialized Factory Racing, was the first UCI Mountain Bike Short Track (XCC) World Champion! He's also won his fair share of UCI Mountain Bike World Cups as well. Most recently (as of mid-April 2025) the UCI XCC World Cup season opener in Brazil. He's raced in two Olympic games and is a multi-time national cycling champion in a variety of disciplines, from BMX and road to mo...

Levi's Gran Fondo, specifically, The Growler 138-mile elite road race, marks the first time since the USA Pro Cycling Challenge that U.S. road racing has been broadcast live. On April 19, the Growler, both men's and women's fields, will be streamed, for free, on the Levi's Gran Fondo website https://www.levisgranfondo.com/ beginning at 11:00 am Pacific Daylight Time. In this episode we talk with G...

The fourth annual Rattlesnake Gravel Grind, held in Sweetwater, Texas on March 22, was a hot, dusty and windy affair with repeat winners in both the men's and women's fields. Lauren Stephens and Joe Laverick repeated their victories from 2024. The infamous Bike Talk with Dave microphone emerged shortly after the podium presentation where Lauren as well as the top four men shared their thoughts on...

Justin McQuerry and Chris Mehlman are pros on dirt! Justin recently accepted into the Lifetime Grand Prix, Chris an all-pro endurance mountain biker and gravel racer share their thoughts on the training, nutrition and equipment needed to have a great day at your next gravel or mountain bike ultra! The conversation opens with talk about this weeks sponsor: the Rattlesnake Gravel Grind, held each Ma...

Vance Fletcher has kept cycling central in his life for most of the past 15 years; as a competitor, race director, volunteer and now as the Regional Director for the Central U.S. at USA Cycling. USAC Race Directors, connect with Vance for help at your race on Linkedin. Or plop down your thirty bucks to race the Outland and Back Loop Cross at https://outlandgrvl.com/ BIKEIOWA is your home for all t...

This weeks guest, Kurt Refsnider , is one of the greats when it comes to super long, difficult, mountainous and often cold and snowy bikepacking adventures. He’s been to Nome Alaska on the Iditarod Trail, finished the Tour Divide in 15 days and has reached Master of the Universe status on the Arizona Trail! We also talk about his podium finish at the U.S. Cyclocross National Championships! In his...

Fitz Cahall, host of the 17-year-running podcast Dirtbag Diaries and Climbing Gold with Alex Honold, is now author of the recently published States of Adventure. Released in 2024, States of Adventure brings to print, in both words and photography, 30 stories from the 17-years of Dirtbag Diaries. As an adventurer himself, Cahall spends his free time rock climbing, back country snowboarding and bike...