Detours: Bikepacking, Ultra-Cycling and Adventures by Bike

 Meaghan Hackinen just rode the Tour Divide faster than any woman ever has in 14 days 10 hours 2 minutes, taking more than a full day off her own previous time across nearly 4,400 kilometres from Banff to the Mexican border, and besting Austin Killips record 14 days 23 hours. In this episode of Detours, Meaghan shares the ins and outs of her record-breaking run: what she learned from her rookie at...

 Svenja Betz is a rider I've had on my radar for quite some time. She's won the likes of Unbound XL — twice — along with Badlands and Traka560. But what's intrigued me most is how she's balanced racing at such a high level with her career. For the past two years she's been in an intensive teacher training program in Germany, finishing her final exams just one week before flying to Kansas to defend...

The Traka has become one of the biggest gravel events in cycling, rivalling Unbound for prestige and increasingly important for sponsors. The 560 – their adventure distance added in recent years – has quickly become a proving ground for endurance talent. This year, Maddy Nutt lined up for the 560 having never raced an ultra. She had big goals, with her eyes on the women's record time – which she w...

Racing and riding season is in full swing! This week we hear from some of the women racing Tour Divide 2026, along with Hannah Glatter who is currently riding 5,600KM along the Great Plains Gravel Route.      Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If yo...

For the first time ever, the Highland Trail 550 has a 50-50 gender split on the startline. For the 14th edition in 2026, 32 women will be racing. Since 2022, Alan has worked hard to build a 50-50 start list, encouraging women that they belong on the startline. This year’s event is longer than previous editions, with 913km around the Scottish highlands. Created by Alan Goldsmith, it was inspired by...

Nutrition is one of the most underestimated parts of bikepacking and ultra-distance racing. We can dial our kit, obsess over our gear, train for months — but if we're not fuelling well, none of it matters. This week, Dietician Uri Carlson is back on Detours, and this time we had a very specific agenda: Highland Trail 550 is on the horizon, and this year I'll be lining up for my first time, and I w...

What do you do when things don't go your way? When you're caught in the eye of a storm and unsure whether to continue. When the race you trained all winter for falls apart on day one. Justyna Jarczok has been cycling for only two years, and in that short time she's found some answers. She's resilient, positive, and ambitious – and she just won the women's race at Dale's Divide. We talk about decis...

A lil life update on our recent trip to Spain, bikepacking around Girona, one month living overseas and the final few weeks of prep before Highland Trail 550.  Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If you enjoy listening please consider pledging your s...

Gala Giannini is an ER doctor, ultra racer, and now event organizer based in northern Italy. She's raced Italy Divide, Gran Guanche, Silk Road, Atlas, and Badlands. At her first ultra, there were maybe four women on the start line. At Atlas this year, the change was undeniable. In this episode of Detours, we talk about the growing movement of more women on start lines, how winning a gravel bike by...

What if the thing waiting on the other side of "failure" is more valuable than the goal itself? Vedangi Kulkarni is an ultra-endurance cyclist, adventurer, and two-time round-the-world rider. She first circumnavigated the globe at 19 – starting in Australia in 2018 and finishing on Christmas Eve, turning 20 somewhere along the way. Then in 2024, she set out again, starting and finishing in India,...

Millie Gibbons loves riding her bike. And when I say loves, I mean she's Everested four times and her idea of a really good time is gathering eight women and riding 200K to France for a croissant. Based in Girona and always surrounded by a girl gang, Millie has built community simply by showing up and doing what she loves. She's also a seriously quick racer, winning the women's race at Kromvojoj i...

There has been a LOT of life lived in the past few months.  Jake and I are in the middle of packing up our life in Vancouver ahead of our move to Bristol + Atlas Mountain Race just happened, so I thought we were long overdue for a bit of a catchup. I share a few reflections from Atlas Mountain Race, including what it felt like to see nearly 70 (!!!!) women on the start line this year. We also talk...

It has been a whirlwind few weeks but we will be BACK next week with new episodes. In the meantime, check out all the incredible guests, re-listen to a fave (or check out The Mountain Races podcast).  Thanks for all the love and patience and see you SOON! xx Mel  Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DET...

Last year’s Atlas Mountain Race saw 30 women take place. This year, beginning in Beni-Mellal, 54 women will be on the starting line. Of course there is still a long way to go in seeing equal participation between the men and women, but to see a race nearly double it’s participation in one year is certainly a sign that momentum is building. We hope that their stories inspire you to take on your own...

Three weeks after finishing second at Silk Road Mountain Race, Sami Sauri hiked up Mont Blanc in the dark and paraglided off the summit at dawn. Sami is a mountain woman in every sense — she ski tours, she paraglides, she bikepacks remote corners of the world, and she documents it all through her lens. Based in Chamonix, she's proof you don't have to choose between competing and creating. In this...

Mel shares a peek inside her training for the Highland Trail 550 in May. We go into building back from ground zero, incorporating more strength training and an easter egg for those who make it all the way to the end.  Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Alb...

Kara Folkerts doesn't fit in any boxes. She's a trail running guide, bikepacker, and has lived a nomadic life for the past ten years. In this conversation, Kara opens up about identity, life on the road, and the freedom that comes with allowing yourself to change. We talk about sustaining a nomadic lifestyle, run travel, bike travel, solo adventures, and bikepacking with a partner. She also shares...

The Transcontinental Race is often described as the self-supported bikepacking race across Europe, drawing some of the biggest names in ultra cycling each year. Riders plot their own routes across the continent — this year, roughly 4,700 kilometers — linking a handful of mandatory control points and parcours. Every decision, from navigation to sleep and everything in between, is left entirely to t...

Happy New Years Detours listeners! We'll be back on Jan. 8 with a brand new episode, but in the meantime we've got an awesome throwback to our first ever in person recording with Hannah Simon back in August 2024. This episode gets me fired up for the racing season ahead is the perfect companion for your next long ride. *** Hannah Simon took the women's win at this year's Silk Road Mountain Race, i...

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season! This week we're throwing it back to an episode recorded right around this time last year with the incredible Alexandera Houchin. It's one I've found myself listening to as I ramp up training for HT550 in May and every time I listen there is a new pearl of wisdom. I hope you enjoy and see you in 2026!  ***  When I think of women in bikepacking, A...

This episode is a little different. For the final episode of the year, the roles are reversed as Detours alum and journalist Hélène Fromenty steps into the host seat, turning the mic back on Mel Webb, creator and host of the Detours podcast. Together, we reflect on a wild 2025 and what the year really looked like behind the scenes of Detours — from building and sustaining an independent cycling po...

The Arizona Trail Race is a massive undertaking for any rider — rocky singletrack, long stretches of hike-a-bike, and a full bike portage through the Grand Canyon. It’s an especially bold choice for your first bikepacking race. This week, Detours listener Kara Woolgar joins the show after finishing the AZT DFL, a result she’s genuinely proud of (and we are too!!). Kara describes herself as fun siz...

The Triple Crown of bikepacking is a massive undertaking: three iconic routes, thousands of kilometres, and a season that demands a hell of a lot from you.  In this episode of Detours , I sit down with my husband, Jake, to look back on his year racing across the United States, and everything that he's learned from taking on the Triple Crown Challenge.  We talk about the early momentum he built on...

The beauty of riding is that it can hold so many versions of us at once — the traveller, the dreamer, the person who loves a challenge, and the person who wants to prioritize fun. Hélène Fromenty is a journalist and bikepacker has been bike touring for years, but Silk Road was her first ever mountain bike ultra — raced as a pair with her partner Stefan — and the experience opened up an entirely ne...

There’s a certain kind of freedom that comes with slowing down: giving yourself time to stay, to notice, and to let a place leave its mark on you. Over the years, Weronika Szalas’s mindset has shifted more and more toward slow travel — working in the winters and touring in the summers. This year, she spent nearly five months on the road with her partner, bikepacking through Central Asia. In this e...