Bikes or Death

For the final episode in this series, we catch up with Hannah Simon after finishing 3rd at the Arizona Trail Race last month. The AZT was the last race in a three race series dubbed the Bikepacking Triple Crown. Prior to that she tied for 3rd at Tour Divide in June, followed by a 6th place finish at the Colorado Trail Race in August. The Triple Crown is the hardest and most prestigious accomplishm...

Kurt Refsnider just became one of only a handful of people to have ever successfully traversed the Continental Divide Trail by bike.  The trail is 3,300 miles long and spans the length of the United States along the Continental Divide.  In many ways it's similar to the popular Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.  However, there is one big distinction, the CTS is primarily singletrack.  And much of i...

My guest today is the winner of this years Arizona Trail Race 800, Alex Schultz. Alex is no stranger to bikepack racing or the AZT. In 2019 he entered his first bikepacking race, the Colorado Trail Race, and was hooked! In 2022 he entered the AZT 300 and won it. This year he came back to take on the 800 with only the goal to finish and do his best. It turns out his best was good enough to win and...

Last month Natalie and I took on the Ozark Rando 120. This is a new event by Ozark Gravel Cyclist and hosted by Experience Fayetteville.  As the name suggests, the format of this ride is a Randonneur -a non-competitive long-distance unsupported endurance cycling event.  I used this ride as part of my training for an attempt at the 475 mile Central Texas Showdown Route.  I've also been really inter...

After I scouted the Central Texas Showdown route by car it was time to ride the damn thing.  Last time I did an ITT of the ETS route my editor, Ben Crannel, joined me, but aside from the start and finish, we never saw each other.  That experience taught me how much different an ITT is vs a group start. I still wanted to do an ITT of the CTS, but this time I wanted to invite some people.  Invitatio...

Ultra-endurance and bikepacking legend, Jay Petervary set out on his solo and unsupported FKT attempt of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route which he called "Great Divide Ride Unearthed". Over 2,000 miles into his ride he was struck by a motorist. Suffering multiple series injuries, Jay's resilience is unwavering. He may be battered, but he is not broken. He continues to inspire with his mantra "...

By now I'm sure you are familiar with Hannah and her quest to take on the Bikepacking Triple Crown. She's agreed to share her journey with us at each stage along the way. So far she's been able to complete the first two races, the Tour Divide and Colorado Trail Race. In this episode we follow up with her after finishing 6th on the CTR and only a month before taking on the 800 miles of the Arizona...

Ten years ago Phillip Crosby and Jedidiah Jenkins set out on a bike trip that started in Oregon and traversed Central and South America and ended in Patagonia. Jedidiah, was an aspiring author at the time and was on the trip to have an experience worth writing about as he grappled with his sexuality and Christian faith. He wrote that book, and it's titled, "To Shake the Sleeping Self". For a full...

Katya Rakhmatulina just won the 2023 Colorado Trail Race and set a new FKT in the process. With a time of 5d 1h 53m she beat the previous time of 6d 1h 34m set by Alexandera Houchin in 2019. Prior to this she placed Second at this years Tour Divide behind Lael Wilcox. For a full writeup please visit BikesorDeath.com, this episode is available to watch on our website as well.  New Patrons Spencer S...

In 2022 Miron Golfman set a new FKT on the Baja Divide. Then he set his sites on an even bigger challenge in 2023 by attempting to race the Iditarod Invitational, the Tour Divide, Colorado Trail, and the Arizona Trail Race, all in a calendar year. A feat that I've never heard of anyone attempting before. For a full write up on todays episode along with photos and links from todays episode please v...

Payson McElveen probably needs no introduction. Among many of his achievements he is a Red Bull Athlete, 2x Marathon National Champion, 2x MidSouth Campion, and he is the host of the popular  Adventure Stache Podcast . He's also a wizard at production and social media which has added to his visibility. Please visit www. BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup, show links, and photo galley from todays...

Last month McKenzie Barney peddled her bike into Colombia, the last country in her Cycle the World project that started years before. In total McKenzie cycled 18,000 miles, through 28 countries and 5 continents, and most of it was solo. Her travels would take her through Africa, South America, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and South East Asia. For a full writeup on McKenzie's episode and for pho...

This June James Collins became the first person to attempt the new Central Texas Showdown route as an ITT. James is a 3 time veteran of the East Texas Showdown and will be leaving Texas before the CTS group start this October. Not wanting to miss out on this new route in his backyard, he decided to tackle it as an ITT (individual time trial). This episode is a great introduction to that route and...

In todays episode we catch up with Hannah Simon two weeks after finishing tied for 3rd on the Tour Divide Race. If you've been following along you'll know that Hannah has committed to attempting the bikepacking Triple Crown, which is the Tour Divide, Colorado Trail, and Arizona Trail, all in a calendar year. With only four weeks left to prepare for the Colorado Trail I caught up with her on a park...

GRUSK or Grave Ride up Spruce Knob  is a bike race that has been taking place in West Virgina since 2016.  It's evolved over the years and now offers distances from 25 miles up to 260 miles.  Each route features a long out and back up Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virgina at 4,863'.   Please visit www. BikesorDeath.com for a full write and a large gallery of images from my weekend in West...

Chris Burkard is a well known photographer and storyteller who has brought his passion for life and his dedication to be successful to the endurance cycling world.   The results are hard to argue with.   In 2019 he set a world record of the WOW Cyclothon in Iceland traveling 844 miles in 52h 36m 19s.   He then put together a team and did the first ever interior travers of Iceland on the bike.   Th...

Yesterday Ulrich Bartholmoes aka "Uba" finished the 2023 Tour Divide in first place with a time of 14d 2h 23m.  For much of the race he was head of the record setting pace of Mike Hall.  In the end he would finish only 4.5 hours behind that record setting run.  Considering the rain, mud, and wind on this years Divide his time is beyond impressive.   I sat down with him the morning after his win at...

This week we are talking with Jesse Turner who is the custom bike maker and artist behind Slow Southern Steel based out of Fayetteville, AR. Jesse started this new company less than a year ago and I've been following with interest since the beginning. I love to showcase and support people who are following their passion and doing things to make the cycling world a better place. I'd certainly inclu...

In less than 2 years Hannah has established herself as a real contender in endurance bike racing. Somewhere along the way she decided it was time to take it to the next level, or maybe the next next next level! This year she will be taking on the biggest challenge that Bikepacking has to offer, The Triple Crown. Please visit www. BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup on today's episode and photo gra...

At the end of last year I was encouraged and inspired to get my passport by my girlfriend, Natalie. It's something I always thought I would do one day, but had never made it a priority. I've been so enamored and satiated by the wild and natural beauty of North America that I hadn't even really started to think seriously about international travel. Natalie is a very well seasoned and experienced tr...

I don't know about you, but dealing with injury and being sidelined while I watch all my friends go play bikes is not my idea of a good time. As I've started to get a little older I'm starting to notice that injuries are happening with greater frequency and staying longer than I'm used to. The real motivation for me is to have a healthy body and prevent injuries when possible and deal with them ap...

I started following Lindsay Shepard's journey when I saw on social media that she had built her own bike frame and was planning to race on it. To my surprise the first race she signed up for was my East Texas Showdown! Right after that, she turned her van North East and did the Gravel Doom race, in Arkansas. When she finished that race, she wasn't done. She turned her bike around to ride the cours...

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 MidSout...

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 t...

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...