My Back 40

When I first started dipping my feet into the world of bikepacking, my searches for gear information on the internet led me to this guy, Darwin Rakestraw aka Darwin Onthetrail - Long Distance Hiker, Creator, Human Powered Adventure Machine. The crossover between thru-hiking and bikepacking is pretty short and since I was looking for gear recommendations from experienced hikers and bikepackers alik...

On December 29th, Chris Bruckner got the official call from Guinness that named him the new world record holder for the fastest time to cycle across Canada . The ride took place on July 13th, 2019 so I can’t imagine the anxiety of having to wait that long to find out. Chris completed the 5,747km ride in 13 days, three hours and 49 minutes, taking the record by merely 3 hours. Chris has always been...

In 2018, Bill took a train from Kansas city to Sante Fe, then rode the GDMBR to Banff using some old Adventure Cycling Association maps and hand written cue sheets. Now, rewind 17 years before when Bill weighed 435lbs. Those are two different people and the story of how he got to where he is today is inspirational. Bill knew he had to change his life to save it, so he started an endurance journey...

This past summer, on the Lost Elephant Ultra Race, I had the privilege of spending some time riding bikes with Harry Tudor and Moe Nadeau. No stranger to riding bikes, this young couple decided to tackle their first bikepacking race by jumping in with both feet. The Lost Elephant Jumbo route takes riders on an arduous jaunt around the East Kootenays. With just over 500km and nearly 9000m of ascent...

This week on the podcast, I speak with Keith Morical . On June 14th 2020, Keith started his Guinness World Record breaking attempt of riding to each of the 48 contiguous states on his bike. On July 16th, he arrived in Kittery, Maine breaking the record by 12 days. His final time? 31:22:29. A staggering ride of 11,400km / 7,075mi and 64,600m / 212,000ft of climbing. Keith is no stranger to competin...

I’ve been wanting to have a chat with this dude for a while now and we finally were able to connect. Those of you who are even mildly interested in the Tour Divide, a self supported race that takes riders 4,400 km down the continental divide and has them climbing the equivalent of Mt. Everest 7 times (nearly 61,000m), will know who this man is. In 2015, Josh Kato had the fastest time and finished...

This week it’s my pleasure to bring you a conversation with Sarah Hornby of Bikepack Canada. Bikepack Canada was formed in 2016 by Sarah’s late husband, Ryan Correy , as a way to bring the Canadian bikepacking community together. To offer a place where people could find information about this exploding activity called, Bikepacking. Ryan passed away on April 27th, 2018 after an intense nine month f...

One of the beautiful things about social networking is the ability to engage with people with similar interests from all over the globe. It means a lot to me when people reach out to send a voice intro to add to the podcast or DM me in response to a post. Enter, Michael Roman . For those of you who routinely listen to the podcast, you’re likely familiar with the random rumblings and grumblings I p...

John Stamstad was the first person to time trial the Great Divide Mountain Bike route in 1999. He completed the route in just over 18 days! Navigational technology like we have today just didn’t exist then, so considering he only had paper maps available, his time truly is astounding. It seems like only yesterday that I spoke with John but I wanted to reconnect with him after his battle with the T...

Renaissance man, Robert Biron, aka Salty Beard Bikepacking , has spent his life going where the wind takes him. From a career standpoint, he’s the kind of guy who is a mile wide. He’s worked as a trucker, oceanographer, photographer, videographer, artificial reef builder, oil rig diver, climbing gym builder, seamster; the list goes on. Rob was born in St. Albert, Alberta but grew up in Kamloops in...

I first spoke with Clee Roy on Bikepack Canada Podcast #51 , when we connected with Kurt Refsnider of bikepackingroots.org to discuss The Wild West Route . As one of the scouts, Clee was one of the riders to help develop this alternate route to the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. What stood out to me most about Clee, was his ability to paint a picture of his experiences through his outstanding s...

On this episode of the podcast I speak with my coach, Ryan Draper of Cycling 101 . As a Consultant, Coach, Instructor, Guide & Bike Fitter, Ryan has built Cycling 101 to be, not only a place for him to share years of experience and wisdom of being behind bars, but to also help his athletes show up to be their best selves. I first met Ryan @Cycling101 at the 2017 Bikepack Canada Summit . After...

As the host of The Hidden Athlete Podcast , Ross Burrage ( @rossburrage ) speaks with people from all over the globe about their accomplishments and what drives them as athletes. Ross is a hidden athlete in his own right. After raising three kids, an endurance sport in and of itself, and upon entering his 40’s, Ross was drawn to pushing his limits in endurance sports. In 2019 he finished the Tour...

This week on the podcast I speak with Matthew Kadey @rocketfuelfood , the mastermind behind the BT700 , a 700km bikepacking race in southwestern Ontario. The event generally starts as a grand depart every July in St. Jacobs, Ontario but, due to Covid-19, the start was modified to be a grand depart weekend and was a great success. Matthew is a James Beard Award -winning food journalist and a regist...

MTB Hall of Fame inductee , John Stamstad, is an Ultramarathon cyclist living in Seattle, Washington. For those of you unfamiliar with John, he was the first to race the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 1999 as an individual time trial finishing in just 18 days, 5 hours. Considering the bicycle technology at the time and the fact that he navigated the route using paper maps, this time is nothin...

Justin Hettinga @cuscocanuck has been riding mountain bikes since he was a teenager. Mostly DH and Enduro. After his first Everesting , he started looking for more personal challenges and found the Lost Elephant Ultra Race . After 520km and 8900m of climbing on the roads and trails of the East Kootenays, Justin was the first to cross the line in just 2 days, 4 hours and 39 minutes setting the time...

Tyler Hamilton @realtylerhamilton is a former professional road cyclist best known for being one of the key assets for Team Postal from 1995-2001. If you haven’t already read the book “ The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France ” , which he coauthored with American writer Daniel Coyle, I’d suggest you grab a copy. In 2009, Tyler founded Tyler Hamilton Training and since then h...

Most of you will already know this fine lady. Bonnie Gagnon @loves_to_mtnbike is one of the admins/moderators of one of the Great Dived Mountain Bike Route groups on Facebook. Those of you who follow Bonnie will know how passionate she is about cycling and what the GDMBR and the Tour Divide race means to her. Bonnie’s journey hasn’t been an easy one, battling injuries and a bout with Lemierre’s Sy...

I think it’s safe to say that any bikepacker will know who Mike Dion is. 12 years ago, Mike stumbled upon the Tour Divide and was immediately drawn to this epic race, an annual mountain biking ride traversing the length of the Rocky Mountains, from Canada to the Mexican border which follows the 2,745-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. It is an ultra-distance cycling ride that is an extreme tes...

When I first reached out to Kerry Staite @klite_dynamo_power , the master mind of kLite , I had no expectations as to where the conversations was going to lead, but I knew it would be interesting. This week on the My Back 40 podcast, Kerry and I dive deep into mental health. You’ll hear how good timing and following his instincts led him to his journey into building the best dynamo powered lightin...

“There’s a beast in the woods in the Rocky Mountain Trench. It’s very, very old but it’s patient. It silently waits and watches. It weathers harsh winters and is home to a rich diversity of life. It is generous and will bestow the gifts of crisp, clean drinking water, places to rest and beautiful views but you better put your back into it because this unrelenting beast will try to break you.” Stev...

Lyle Wilson, owner at Nipika Mountain Resort is a trail advocate living in Invermere BC , a small town in the East Kootenays. Invermere is already a popular mountain biking destination, but as the pressure on the trails in the area build, it’s people like Lyle and groups like the Columbia Valley Trail Society and the Columbia Valley Greenways Trail Alliance who work hard to ensure that cyclists in...

This week, I’m keeping the My Back 40 podcast local as I sit down with Invermere’s Chris Skinner of Playwest Mountain Experience @playwest . Honouring his mantra, (dis)Connect, Engage, Experience , he wants his guests to unplug from life, plug into nature and experience what makes being in the mountains so special by guiding them around the Canadian Rockies, Columbia Mountains and the Columbia Riv...

It was such an honour to be able to connect with Paul Brodie @brodie8191 this week on the My Back 40 podcast. He would hate for me to use the word “legend” to describe him, but for anybody that was riding a mountain bike on the west coast in the 80’s and 90’s, Paul Brodie was a household name. We discuss his background and the events that led to him to starting Brodie Bikes in 1986. We also chat a...