Girls Gone Gravel podcast

Kate Cross didn’t fall in love with mountain biking on her first ride. But, after the pandemic changed her career plans, she found that riding her bike was the perfect outlet for her energy. As a former runner and heptathlete, Kate’s competitive spirit pushed her towards mountain bike racing which is where she really fell in love with the sport. Fast forward a couple of years and a few gravel race...

Not many people choose a 4-day mountain bike stage race as their first racing experience, but Deanna Mayles did. Deanna started cycling with her dad when she was in college, and fell in love with the sport. Her job as an engineer took her to Tucson and Colorado Springs, two cycling meccas that helped to foster her development in the sport. In 2023 Deanna burst onto the racing scene with a top 10 f...

The freedom of the open road is what draws many of us into cycling. This is no different for our guest this week Frankie Holt. She tells us how a cycling trip with her sister inspired her to stay on the bike and changed her life for the better. After a very warm and welcoming experience at her first group ride, Frankie was inspired to create that same feeling for other cyclists. This is what led h...

Many people change career paths in their lives, and our guest this week is no exception. Alisha Zellner recently started a new career path as the Community Specialist at SRAM. She tells us how her combination of policing, social work, and her experience as a woman of color in cycling all lead her to this role. Alisha is also the founder of Bike Ride For Black Lives, and is on the board of Ride for...

Our guest this week is ultra endurance cyclist and 2023 Colorado Trail women’s champion Katya Rakhmatulina. Not only did she win the Colorado Trail race, Katya also set a new women’s record at the race, which was her third bike packing race of the season. She also raced the Tour Divide this past June and finished closely behind friend of podcast Lael Wilcox, in just over 17 days. We hear what insp...

If you’ve ever seen Kate Courtney ride a bike, you know that she sends it. Growing up in Marin County, Kate rode a mountain bike from a young age, and rose through the ranks of US mountain biking to race on the UCI Elite World Cup circuit. She talks about the changes and growth that she has seen in US mountain biking, and where she sees the future of the sport heading. Kate’s success in cross-coun...

This week on the show, Kathryn is joined by another Cal Poly graduate making waves in the gravel scene. Anna Hicks will be making her debut in the Lifetime Grand Prix in 2024, and she is ready to take on the new challenge. Anna spent last season on the pro road circuit in Europe, she chats about the skills she gained there and how she will use them to her advantage in gravel and mountain bike raci...

Growing up in Boulder with a father that ran marathons, Alexis Skarda was destined to be a professional athlete from a young age. As a runner in college, Alexis explains how injuries paired with an open-minded track coach lead her to mountain bike racing. After college she pursued professional racing while working as a substitute teacher, and was drawn to the Lifetime Grand Prix for the opportunit...

Jenna Rinehart made her Lifetime Grand Prix debut in 2023, and with a quietly consistent effort she made her way to a 6th place finish in the overall points standings. Jenna grew up racing alpine skiing and running cross country, but like many cyclists, was drawn to the bike following injuries that kept her sidelined from running. She raced on the UCI U23 and Elite world cup, but backed away from...

After a career as a professional racer in the women's road peloton, Abby Mickey was ready to walk away form the sport entirely; she was burnt out and frustrated by the treatment that she and her colleagues received as professional athletes trying to make a living racing bikes. But, Abby also knew that the women that she had raced alongside had incredible stories that weren't being told. So she and...

Creatine is having a moment and, as today’s guest, Shannon O’Grady says, “Creatine has been waiting for its moment for decades.” Shannon has her PhD in Nutritional Physiology and is the COO and Chief Product Officer of Gnarly Nutrition, where she leads product research and innovation across their entire line of products. Today, she and Sara focus their conversation on creatine. Creatine is the mos...

Racing 350 miles across the flint hills of Kansas is no easy feat. This week we have the privilege of hearing from the woman who did it the fastest in 2023, Kristen Legan. This was Kristen’s third time toeing the line at the Unbound XL, and her first win at the event. She tells us about her race, and how she managed to keep her mindset steady throughout the day despite dealing with the inevitable...

As cyclists, many if not all of us have had mechanical issues on our bikes. And because cyclists are so friendly, many if not all of us have been asked if we need help. For Casey Wytaske, this very question prompted her to become a bike mechanic. This week, Casey shares her love for helping people, and what it means to be self-sufficient in the biking world.  Casey explains how she got into t...

Our guests find their way into cycling from many different avenues, snowmobiling however is one way we don’t typically hear. This week’s guest, Jacqui Ball, hopped on a snowmobile during a backcountry ski trip, and her skills on the sled impressed her trip mates and they encouraged her to try downhill mountain biking. After just a few bike rides Jacqui was hooked, and she began racing downhill and...

On Saturday October 7th the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships were hosted in Veneto, Italy. Despite the significance of the event, no live coverage was provided by the race organizers or the UCI. This week on the show, Kristi is joined by 3 members of the US women’s team that competed at the event; Sarah Sturm, Paige Onweller and Katherine Sheridan, as well as journalist Betsy Welch who was on t...

Many of our listeners will recall that Unbound 2023 was epic for many reasons; the women’s start and depth of the field, the weather, and of course the mud. Our guest this week, Sarah Lange, found a way to thrive despite the tough conditions, and surprised many people with her 5th place finish in her first Unbound. Sarah started her endurance athletic career as a collegiate runner, but after deali...

The last time we heard from Cynthia Frazier in 2021, she had just finished her first Unbound XL race. Since then she has gone on to race - and win - numerous other ultra endurance cycling races, including the Unbound XL in 2022. Cynthia talks about what inspires her to take on the next big challenge, and what she loves most about ultra endurance racing on her bike. Cynthia also gives us her take o...

Like many off road cyclists, Rebecca Fahringer got her start in triathlon during college. But after watching just one cyclocross race she decided to give it a go, and was hooked. During her cyclocross career Rebecca sustained multiple concussions that eventually left her sidelined for months. She opens up about her slow road to recovery, and how gravel cycling has given her an avenue to get back o...

Many people turn to cycling to find a sense of community within the sport. Our guest this week, Margaret Barawskas, has made it her life’s work to help create those communities. After moving to a new state, Margaret discovered her love for “community oriented cycling” and decided to create her own women’s race team to build a welcoming space for other women that wanted to dip their toe in bike rac...

Our guest this week is ultra endurance cyclist and 2023 Colorado Trail women’s champion Katya Rakhmatulina. Not only did she win the Colorado Trail race, Katya also set a new women’s record at the race, which was her third bike packing race of the season. She also raced the Tour Divide this past June and finished closely behind friend of podcast Lael Wilcox, in just over 17 days. We hear what insp...

The freedom of the open road is what draws many of us into cycling. This is no different for our guest this week Frankie Holt. She tells us how a cycling trip with her sister inspired her to stay on the bike and changed her life for the better. After a very warm and welcoming experience at her first group ride, Frankie was inspired to create that same feeling for other cyclists. This is what led h...

Many people change career paths in their lives, and our guest this week is no exception. Alisha Zellner recently started a new career path as the Community Specialist at SRAM. She tells us how her combination of policing, social work, and her experience as a woman of color in cycling all lead her to this role. Alisha is also the founder of Bike Ride For Black Lives, and is on the board of Ride for...

Queer lives have been seriously attacked in U.S. legislature lately (and, always). The voices of those that do not value or respect trans lives have been loud, and this week, we want to learn how to be better allies, create safer spaces in cycling, and ultimately - be louder. That's why we welcome Abi Robins - founder of Queer Gravel.  Abi shares their experience of being non-binary in the gr...

At just 19 years old, Isabella Hyser is the youngest female racer in the Lifetime Grand Prix. Even though she may not be able to share a post-race beer with her fellow competitors, she has leaned into the welcoming community of the endurance racing space, and learn as much as she can from the older racers in the field. Growing up racing cross country mountain biking, Bella got into longer enduranc...

This year marked the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Each of the eight days of racing were filled with excitement, drama, and inspiration. Our guest this week, Anne-Marije Rook, is the editor of Cycling Weekly, and gives us her inside scoop on all of the Tour action this year. As a veteran of the sport and long-time cycling journalist, Rook chats with us about how the racin...