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

John Howard was a pioneer in American cycling, representing the U.S. in the 1968, 72 and 76 Olympic Games. As a four-time U.S. Road Racing National Champion, he was one of the first Americans to race in Europe. He also stood atop the podium at the 1971 PanAmerican Games. After his days road racing, he turned to triathlon, winning the fourth edition of the Ironman World Championships in 1981 and fo...

Scott Sumpter, originator of BIKEIOWA.com, is a prolific winter fat biker yet still enjoys being warm and not loosing his digits to frostbite! As such, he has put much thought and research into the science of keeping your hands and feet warm - and discovered that the material your handlebars are made of matters to your hands! In his recently published article; "Convection Convection, what's your F...

Kallie Stewart, of the Boone Factory Racing Team, is one of the top downhillers in the country. At age 14 she won the U.S. National Enduro Championship and at 15, she won the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series for her age group. As one of the fastest downhillers in the country, in 2025 she'll be lining up with the pro women in the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Race Series! She's a wonderful human wh...

The Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships, SSCXWC, brings together the greatest well-rounded riders in the world to test their mettle through Feats of Strength and the most demanding cyclocross the host town can find to dish out. In the words of Sarah Sturm from 2022 in Durango: "Single Speed Cyclocross World Champs is the not-so-underground, fringe, party event that calls itself a World Cha...

Erik Schlimmer is no stranger to long, difficult days either on foot or on the bike. As a mountain biker, he raced at the top level in the early 1990's, then turned to long distance bike packing adventures, but not just his love of long distance hiking got in the way of his cycling - so did life and some time served in the military. He found himself going years and years without riding. Until rece...

In an era that is becoming increasingly friendly to online ordering for bikes and bike parts, and increasingly hostile to brick and mortar retail stores, Clint Mongan has carved out a niche, selling high end full suspension mountain bikes to an ever growing list of clients out of a small, remote shop in an unassuming little town in south-central Iowa. He's also the owner and manager of Boone Facto...

Jenna Rinehart, a Midwest mountain biking icon, a competitor in the Lifetime Grand Prix (get to know her in Episode 141!) just returned from racing in Belgium at the UCI Gravel World Championships and was kind enough to stay up late (past 7 pm #jetlag) and download her European Vacation and what it was like racing in the third ever UCI Gravel World Championships. Jenna and her husband, Justin, own...

"Pay Nothing. Give Everything" is the moto of the Limestone 77.7 State of Iowa Single Speed Gravel Championship Race held on Oct. 5 of 2024. The race is promoted by CK (Chris Kyle) and is almost as grass roots as you get - except for the details - CK and friends cover the cost of the event - numbers, insurance, food and water at the aid stops and prizes- and as such, he charges zero to enter. Two...

Enticed by the mountain bike trails she could see underneath her skis as she ascended the lift at her local ski area, Jenna Rinehart went from carving turns on on snow to carving turns on dirt. In her early mountain biking career, she often stood atop the podium at what is now one of the oldest mountain bike races in the country: the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, as well as many other midwest mou...

This week we’re going back to Gravel Worlds - and not to hear race highlights or the story of a big victory by gravel national champ Lauren Stephens or norwegian Simon Svendsen - this isn’t even a story about the marquee 150-mile race - but this week we’re talking with a couple of guys who did the Privateer 75-miler - and did they win? Nope - 19th and 20th overall - But this IS a story of friendsh...

The Trans Rockies Race Series is celebrating 20 years of multi-day, multi-stage cycling and ultra-running races through the Rockies. We talked with the series promotor Aaron McConnell about the 10-race series which includes mountain biking, running and gravel stage races as well as gravel and road fondos. The Series spans the Rockies from British Columbia and Alberta Canada down through the Colora...

Chris Mehlman has represented the United States at the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championship, competed in multiple ultra-endurance gravel races, such as the Unbound XL and most recently the Garmin Gravel Worlds 300-mile Long Voyage. He joins us on Bike Talk with Dave to share the story of his 2024 race on the rolling gravel seas around Lincoln Nebraska. Be sure to follow Chris on Instagram...

The core4 is an August race where no surface is left untouched - beautiful crushed stone roads (known to most of us as 'gravel'!), grassy farm access lanes, dirty level-B roads, lovely singletrack (and challenging singletrack!), limestone paths and even some much appreciated pavement to give your body a rest! And let's not leave out the cyclocross finish! Starting and finishing at the Wilson's Orc...

This week we welcome Curtis White, National Cyclocross Champion, Pan American Champion and host of the popular In The Red Podcast We talk about the state of cross in the United States as we head in the the 2024-25 cross season. We're also giving away a BIVO Waterbottle ! Listen in to win! And if you don't win, use the code: hydratewithcurtis for free shipping on any order! Be sure and follow Curti...

Patrick Coughlin and his wife Gabrielle started Team Cow on RAGBRAI more than 20 years ago, with a white bus adorned with black spots and a horn that moo's - and all the obvious puns that go along with it. After a wonder week of RAGBRAI in 2024, disaster struck the bus on it's drive back to central Iowa from the Mississippi River. Was that to be the final year of Team Cow or would the bus live on?...

Started as a 200-mile ride from West Des Moines to Arnolds Park at Lake Okoboji, Iowa 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 for Justice to transform lives in the fight against human trafficking. The flagship event continues to be the Break the Cycle 200, where w...

Chris Lillig was an Iowa City cyclist who was killed by a drunk driver in 1996, but continues to be a positive influence on cycling in the Midwest today. River Products Company, a stone company where he worked, has supported the biggest races in Iowa (and the world!) for the past 23 years, first the Old Capital Criterium then the Friday Night Races at Jingle Cross and now at the Stone Crusher 100=...

What can you say about JP? Beyond his cycling accolades, which are many, words like kind, friendly, thoughtful and generous sit right next to competitive, driven, adventurous, curious and... maybe a little crazy! His first go on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route was on a tandem with his wife of many adventures; Tracey. After more than 25 years of racing, including a dozen times up the Iditarod...

Danielle Ravnikar had an unlikely road to professional cycling, finding her way through dance to the starting line of the Elite Woman's race at the 2024 Unbound. Would her time on the sidelines of the Minnesota Vikings as an NFL Cheerleader be enough to get her to the finish line of her first 200-mile gravel race? Only time would tell. Danielle Ravnikar is a member of the Mazda Orange Seal cycling...

Recently, Cade popped into my life for a minute, thanks to a friend having a birthday party and Matt Zimmer bringing his teammate to said party on an e-bike. "It was a rest day,,," Cade is one of many weapons on the formidable Project Echelon Cycling Team and at a recent weekend of racing along the Mississippi River, Cade took 3/4 wins, throwing down 1700+ watts in the process. It was a good time...

I thought I'd send out Bike Month by joining some friends on a 100-mile singlespeed cruiser ride (full disclosure: I couldn't spend the whole day riding, so I joined in for a pile of miles in the morning!). In the spirit of Bike Month, I brought along Mr. Microphone and asked people what cycling has give them, but the episode begins with the swearing in of the Nut Checking Crew - vital to the succ...

Several months ago I got an email from a guy in Lacross Wisconsin - James Longhurst. He asked if I’d like to read his book on the history of bicycles sharing the American road. It's called Bike Battles. Recently, he was kind enough to carve out some time during finals week at UW-LaCross, to discuss his book Bike Battles: A History of Sharing The American Road. Thanks to James for sharing his book...

Kate Strom, a passionate mountain biker and talented graphic designer found a way to combine the two as a custom cycling apparel designer. After working for a small custom kit company for a few years, ventured off to start her own company with a conscience: Radical Custom Cycling Apparel. Her goal: Good looking, great fitting and performing cycling clothing that is easy for the customer, affordabl...

While we should be celebrating moms 365.25 days per year, we do have one day we set aside to really recognize how awesome moms are. And cycling moms - they're like regular moms, only better! So what better than to, not only invite some awesome cyclists who are also awesome moms, but also invite another awesome mom cyclist and journalist to lead the discussion? What we've got here is gravel pro Mar...

Matt Zimmer, Project Echelon rider for a good many years and I wanted to get his opinion on the state of road racing in the U.S. We met for a beer on the patio of a lovely local brewery: (Either Or - It's actually a restaurant and nice bar - but it's owned by the people who own a local brewery: Lua - so I call it a brewery... I guess it's Either a restaurant Or a brewery.... the name says it all)....