Detours: Bikepacking, Ultra-Cycling and Adventures by Bike – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Stoked to catch up with my good friend Mateo Paez. 2022 was Mateo's first attempt at any ultra endurance bikepacking race and that experience quickly changed his life. Over the past two years he's gone head first into the world of ultracycling, writing his own story and tackling these rides with his unique approach, fondly referring to this niche sport as "Competitive Exploration". He raced this year's Tour Divide and finished the route from Banff to Antelope Wells in 17 days 22 hours 17 minutes.

Today we chat through his experience as a rookie on the Tour Divide and more on his approach to racing. He shares many fantastic tails from the trail, as well as some particularly vulnerable person reflections that happened along the way and just how much these rides have the power to transform your life.

To keep up with Mateo's adventures check him out on Instagram @whatswrongwithpaez_

He also does a fantastic job of sharing post race write ups on his website https://ultrapaez.com/, where he also shared his Tour Divide Kit List

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It's so much fun to have two people in an interview, so I'm stoked to share that you'll be hearing more of Quinda's voice on the show, as she'll be joining as a guest co-host on some upcoming episodes. There will still be plenty of episodes where I'm (Mel) the host, but it's such a joy to have another conversation partner and to collaborate with another woman in the space.

Today we catch up on Highland Trail 550, prepping for Silk Road and all the things in between since it's been a while the two of us chatted. Quinda puts on the hat of interviewer and asked me some questions which was super fun. Tune in for some good banter, and Quinda's hot tips on mastering the art of the resupply.

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This week we step just outside the world of ultra, and into the world of long distance gravel racing. For folks who follow the gravel scene, you may already be familiar with Sarah Sturm. Sarah Sturm is one of the top gravel racers in the world, with podium finishes at events like Unbound 200 and Traka 360. While these events aren't ultras in their own right, they can often be gateway events for many folks, and there is so much we can learn from Sarah. Known for her bubbly personality, she shared insights into her transition away from cyclocross and mountain bike racing, to longer events, how she has built a career out of racing her bike and created a program to help pave the way for other women to become professionals in the sport.

This year Sarah will be racing both the Gravel Earth and Life Time Grand Prix series. You can follow along with her season over on Instagram.

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Jenny Tough is a woman who hardly needs an introduction. A quick Google search will pull up a laundry list of accomplishments in the outdoors — from winning the Silk Road Mountain Race (twice!), to running across a mountain range on six continents, to publishing two books. While each of these accomplishments is exceptional in its own right, Jenny remains humble, honest and dedicated to making space for other women in the outdoors.

Our conversation is wide reaching; from her first bike trip to the Yukon where she carried handwritten notes to help her fix mechanicals, to becoming one of the most prolific women in bikepack racing, to putting her career on pause for two years to heal her eating disorder. While we do spend some time on serious topics, we had so much fun in this conversation and are grateful for Jenny's humour and sharing so candidly.

Warning: We discuss disordered eating and exercise dependency from approximately 1:00:00 to 1:18:00, so please skip this section if you need.

You can stay up to date on Jenny’s adventure on Instagram and read more of her writing on her Substack.

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Show Notes

Meg Knobel is the organizer (or as you’ll come to learn, “disorganizer”) of the wildly popular bikepacking event in Southern California, Stagecoach 400. From her first experiences tackling the route, to taking the reins from Brendan Collier in 2019, Meg was an absolute joy to chat with. She talks about hosting the first Grand Depart and how her confidence grew over time, and gives us a behind the scenes look at just how much effort goes into putting on these Grand Departs. This year’s edition of Stagecoach 400 kicks off March 29th at 8AM PDT in Idyllwild California. 

Follow Stagecoach400 on Instagram

Dotwatch this year’s Stagecoach

The Stagecoach 400 route

00:00 Quick catchup w/ Mel & Cynthia

09:10 Interview with Meg

13:20 Meg's Background and Stagecoach 400

33:55 Hosting the First Grand Depart vs. Now

42:39 Advice for Folks Touring the Route

57:16 Planning and Organizing the Event

01:01:58 The “Perfect” Bike for Stagecoach 400

01:05:04 Why Keep the Event Unsanctioned

01:19:37 Fun Banter you don’t want to miss out on 

01:29:26 Giving Stagecoach Tattoos

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While she's a relative new comer to the world of off-road ultra racing, Nathalie Baillon hardly needs any introduction. She has a laundry list of accolades, including a joint first at Silk Road Mountain Race in August 2023, the fastest woman to ride across Europe, and more. It was such a treat to get to chat with her and learn more about how she found her footing in the sport and where she's hoping to go from here.

To keep up with Nathalie's adventures, follow her on Instagram.

Thanks for all your love and support as always. If you loved today's episode please leave us a five star review wherever you tune in and consider pledging $5 to support the show.

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We're baaack! Today on the show we share more about our time in Morocco for the Atlas Mountain Race, as well as answer your questions about the race. Let us know what you think of this episode and if there's anything we missed - it's always a challenge post event to synthesize our thoughts and cover it all.

As always thanks for being here! If you loved today's episode please consider leaving us a five star review, or buying us a coffee. Every little bit helps us continue to produce the show.

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A small but mighty field of women will be starting the fourth edition of the Atlas Mountain Race. We were fortunate enough to hear from nearly all of them ahead of the start. These incredible individuals share what they’re most excited about and what challenges they are likely to face. Each of them has a unique story, and we hope by shining a spotlight on the women’s field it will encourage more to line up next year or to take on their own challenge. 

You can follow our dots on MapProgress - www.amr24.maprogress.com

We’ve put together a list of the women featured in this episode so you can track them on the map by cap number. They are organized here in the same order as they appear in the episode. 

Cat Magill - 183

Christiana Tamburini - 173

Cynthia Carson - 172

Hannah Larbalestier - 140

Hannah Simon - 139

Harriet Wingfield - 314A

Marika Latsone - 101

Marion Dziwnik - 99

'Masca Lu Wahlig - 130

Megan Casebow - 309A

Melina Boening - 84

Mel Webb - 85

Molly Weaver - 79

Nathalie Baillon - 78

Quinda Verheul - 56

Sarah Heller - 306A

Shona Oldfield - 305A

Veera Lahde - 6

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It's officially the week of Atlas Mountain Race! We're joined by special guest host, Allan Shaw, who interviews us on our preparations for the race, expectations, and much more. Expect a lot of giggles, hot tips on navigating the race from Allan (who raced in 2023), and a not-so secret announcement!

The not so secret announcement? We'll be producing a daily podcast in partnership with Atlas Mountain race, that will be hosted on their feed. Search for "The Silk Road Mountain Race and Atlas Mountain Race Podcast" wherever you listen, or click the links below for Spotify and Apple.

Listen to the AMR podcast on Spotify

Listen to the AMR podcast on Apple Podcasts

Racing kicks off at 6PM local time and there's plenty of places to catch the action.

• Dotwatch here
• Follow Mel on Instagram for live updates
• Follow Cynthia on Instagram

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We're officially into racing season over here at Detours. Cynthia and Mel will be toeing the line of the Atlas Mountain Race kicking off on February 9 and what better way to get ready than to host last year's women's winner, Luisa Werner. She shares about her winning ride — from the crash that resulted in a major mechanical, to injury, and doing things your own way, this episode will surely get you in the dotwatching or racing mood.

Follow Luisa on Instagram to keep follow her 2024 cycling plans @luisasophiewer

There's a few ways you can follow Mel and Cynthia on their journey through the Atlas Mountains

• Follow along on Instagram @melwwebb and @watt_wagon
• Watch our dots https://amr24.maprogress.com/

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