Bikes or Death – Details, episodes & analysis

In her first year as a bikepack racer Jen Kelly has already racked up an impressive resume. She entered into 3 bikepacking races this summer and won them all! She's also a professional poker player who picked up cycling 4 years ago when she moved into a condo next to a rails to trails. She quickly fell in love with it and just wanted to ride further and further. Last year she put her career, as a professional poker player, on hold to focus on riding her bike.

Her first bikepacking race was the inaugural Great American Wheel Race, a 3,600 mixed surface race across America which she placed 4th overall and 1st Female. Just 6 weeks later she entered the 900 mile Big Sky Spactacularie in Montana where she took 1st overall. Then only 5 days after finishing Big Sky she entered the 1,750 mile Montana Bike Odyssey and took the overall win again! Needless to say her gamble to focus on bikepacking is paying off!

We had a great chat and it was great to talk to someone who is new to the sport and already having so much success.

LIVSN – Use code “BOD10” at checkout to receive 10% off your order for being a loyal listener!

New Patrons 
None this week, this is a great time to sign up to support the show 🙂

Join them won’t you? Now is a great time to sign up at Patreon!

Nicolette Jones just won the 2024 Colorado Trail Race on her first attempt. Not only was this her first time racing the Colorado Trail, it was her first bikepacking race ever! Which makes her finish time of 5d 12h 21m even more impressive.

Although this was her first bikepacking race, she is no stranger to adventurous pursuits or the Colorado Trail. She is the only person in the world to have thru-hiked, skied, and biked the Colorado Trail. So she is no stranger to this trail and, in fact, probably has a higher familiarity with it than most people. In 2023 she toured the trail in 11 days with thoughts of racing it one day on her mind. This year, those thoughts turned to reality and she rolled out at 4am with about 75 other racer at this years CTR. She was able to get a lead on her competitors early on and then maintain it for the entirety of the race.

On today's episode we talk about a host of interesting topics. From her jobs as an adventure guide and coach, to making your own bikepacking bags, her love for tandems, and a 7.5 month bike tour she did with her Husband, Mark, from Arizona to Argentina. And, of course, we talk about her impressive win at the Colorado Trail Race. At only 25 Nicolette has a huge adventure resume and it was a lot of fun getting to know her and hear about some of her adventures. If you'd like to learn more about Nicolette after you listen to today's episode you can take a deeper dive on her blog, WalkSkiCycle.com.

LIVSN – Use code “BOD10” at checkout to receive 10% off your order for being a loyal listener!

Red Granite Grinder - Epic gravel race in Wisconsin on Oct. 12th, 2024. Smash the link for more information and registration.

New Patrons 
None this week, this is a great time to sign up to support the show :)

Join them won’t you? Now is a great time to sign up at Patreon.com/bikesordeath!

Daniel Connell has become a regular on the bikepacking race scene and in the cycling community. You will often see him on Trackleaders under his trail name, Dirty Dan. It was under this pseudonym that he recently set a new FKT on the Race Across Arizona and will be lining up in a couple of weeks to race the Tour Divide for the 4th consecutive year. Each year he's done it he's been able to shave a day off his finish time. This year he's on a new bike and gunning for a 15 day finish.

His entry point into cycling was a 4,000+ mile bike tour with a buddy from California to Columbia in 2017 after graduating college. Armed only with a bike, some gear, and very little planning of what was to come. It was on that trip that he found the bike to be the "perfect form of travel". Since then he's only progressed as a traveler and cyclist racking up credentials too numerous to list, but to give you a taste, here's what he's done so far in 2024:

Baja Divide
Transcordilleras race (Colombia)
Bikepacking trip all over Colombia
Double Everest
Stagecoach 400
Tour de Los Padres
Race Across Arizona

He's packed more into the first 6 months of this year than many will experience in a lifetime. It feels like every time I log into social media he's on another trip or lining up in another race. I've grown fond of following him on all of his adventures. He brings with him a big smile and a big appetite for adventure, fruit, and white milk. All of which we discuss on today's episode.

Central Texas Showdown - Four distances to choose from, 28 spots left, 100% Texas. Come find out why the call this part of Texas the Hill Country on Oct. 25th, 2024. Register here!

New Patrons
None this week, but you can change that :)

Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

This is the third episode to come out of a podcasting trip I made two Austin right after the East Texas Showdown. I interviewed five participants of the ETS in less than 20 hours just days after the their ride ended. It was really cool as a first time event director to get all of their feedback shortly after finishing the event.

Alicia Danze and Hannah Simmons shared first place this year on the East Texas Showdown route with a time of 2d, 1h, 21m. It was both of their first times to do a bikepacking race, but they each came in with experiences that gave them confidence. Alicia is a well rounded cyclist with bikepacking experience and as a member of Ultra Violet Racing. Hannah is the shop manager at CycleEast in Austin and the first bike tour she did was the Texas 4000 that starts in Austin, TX and ends in Anchorage, AK, she did it almost on a whim because a friend asked. This time she was sucked into the ETS by her Austin friends, Alicia included, but I don't think she needed much convincing.

Full writeup along with a nice gallery of images of Alicia and Hannah from the race on www.bikesordeath.com.

These episodes aren’t possible without support!

Rockgiest is a cottage gear company specializing in custom framebags and welded, waterproof gear. If you're looking to improve your bikepacking set up, looking for tailored gear, or searching for waterproof solutions definitely reach out to them by visiting rockgeist.com. In addition to their custom work, they have a wide selection of universal gear that prioritizes stability for singletrack use. Most recently they have re-release their super stable Barjam harness, which now uses locally machined brackets made in Asheville, NC. Visit rockgeist.com or email [email protected] to see all their gear options and to get in touch with their team.

East Texas Showdown - April 1-3rd, save the dates!

Huge thanks to our newest Patrons:
🖤 Hank Doupe
🖤 Dave Brink
🖤 Matt Heckler

Buy me a cup of coffee or a glass of whiskey as a thank you for this episode on Patreon

From Wikipedia, "The lanterne rouge is the competitor in last place in a cycling race, the phrase comes from the French for "Red Lantern" and refers to the red lantern hung on the rear vehicle of a passenger railway train or the brake van of a freight train, which signalmen would look for in order to make sure none of the couplings had become disconnected."

I first met Katy at a 6 hour MTB race in 2016, she had just moved to town and we became fast friends. Since then we've both found our way into the bikepacking world. She spent the past 5 months riding 5 routes and accumulating over 4,000 miles of bikepacking, most of it solo. Somewhere in there I announced the East Texas Showdown and I sent her a personal invitation to participate. She accepted and lined up with high expectations for the race. She had just spent 5 months riding some impressive routes and she was ready to put it to the test. Also seeing old friends again after months of solo riding was a big draw for her as well.

Unfortunately, illness prevented her from achieving her race goals, which turned to more survival than bike race. That is what makes the Lantern Rouge a honored position, it usually indicates some that had a tough go of it, wanted to quit, but didn't. That is worth celebrating, as is ever single person who lined up and started regardless of how far they made it. Many people are too scared or are unable to even try something like that, so I applauded them all.

Katy and I met up at a park in Austin, TX four days after the race. We had a enjoyable chat thanks to her open and honest approach to live and bikepacking. We wish her luck on her job hunt, and if an interviewer is seeing this....you should definitely hire her!!

Here are the routes Katy did that we mentioned in the episode. Has anyone else ridden any of these? The comment section is open at www.bikesordeath.com. 

These episodes aren't possible without support!

Mulberry Gap - Is a new advertising partner, but Kate Gates and Mulberry Gap are no stranger to the podcast. I conducted 5 podcast interviews at the 2019 Bikepacking Summit which was hosted at Mulberry Gap. Of the 5 guest, Kate was one of them. The story about how Mulberry Gap came to be and how it is run is quite fascinating. If you'd like to learn more about Mulberry Gap, check out my episode with Kate Gates and a write up I did on my experience riding and eating there!

Huge thanks to our newest Patrons:
🖤 Drew Pittman
🖤 Mark Smith
🖤 Matt Christensen
🖤 Caleb Schnatz

Buy me a cup of coffee or a glass of whiskey as a thank you for this episode on Patreon 🙏

The inaugural East Texas Showdown is over and now comes the podcasts! Hearing everyones stories after their rides as we shared food and beverages was a true pleasure, enjoyed by all. It was really probably the magic sauce that made this event special. I went to Austin shortly after the race and recorded 3 episodes with five guests and I look forward to sharing some of that post race fodder with you over the next couple of weeks. First up are Nick Ybarra (Showdown, 4th) and Kyle Gilbert (Showdown,. 6th). We meet the Wednesday after the race at Kyles workshop in Austin, which made for a cool backdrop to our conversation.

On this episode Nick and Kyle share their experience on this years ETS. It was both of their first bikepacking race and they had different approaches. For example, Nick wore sandals for, had rim brakes, carried very minimal gear, and no aero bars. Whereas, Kyle was clipless, with disc brakes, ran aerobars, and lived on crackers. It created some good conversation about different approaches to the same course.

It was a lot of fun for me to get to hear about my event from their perspectives. I had all kinds of concerns as a first time racer director with a brand new route, but as I heard more and more stories like these all of my concerns have been squashed. The feedback I got from participants was overwhelmingly positive. In fact, a Spring date was highly requested and we are happy to make that happen. Dates coming soon!

These episodes aren't possible without support. Thanks to this weeks supporting partners:

Kuat - They just released the Piston Pro X, and it's badass. How do you tell your bike you love it without saying I love you? Answer, you get it a Piston Pro X.

NM Bikepacking Summit - Part Summit, Part Bikepacking Party, 100% good times, good rides, and good tacos.

Schedule
Oct. 21st at 6:00pm - 12-15 mile mellow gravel ride
Oct. 22nd 8:20-11:00am & 2-5pm - Bikepacking Summit
- @7:30pm I'll be interview Cjell Mone' with a live audience
Oct. 23rd at 9:00am - Dangerbird Group Start
Contact Matt Mason for more info!

Huge thanks to our newest Patrons:
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Ryan Can
Mikaela Koch
Paul Lichtenauer
Edward Anderson
Nicholas Campbell
Andy Simmons
Anderson Simmons
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

In 2018 I took on the biggest challenge in my life, a 500 miles bikepacking race. To prepare mentally I relied heavily on the book "How Bad do You Want it" by Matt Fitzgerald. Matt is an endurance athlete himself and has made a career out of the study of endurance. He's written over 20 books on the subject, coaches endurance athletes, host his own podcast, and is a wealth of knowledge on the topic of endurance sports and athletes.

In this episode we focus on his book "How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle" which as you can infer by the title is all about how our mind is the thing that limits us, not our physical ability. Matt uses real examples of athletes overcoming obstacles to showcase the scientific principles outlined in his book. I found this format to way more digestible and relatable than a scholarly paper. Thankfully, Matt has done the hard work of reviewing and collecting the science and stories of athletes to add context to the science while making more relatable.

Visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full write up and pictures of Matt.

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This weeks episode is brought to us by the Sponsors of The East Texas Showdown

Rockgeist
Wren Sports
Kuat
Ruby Coffee
Quad Lock
Avani Salon

Big thanks also to our newest Patrons!
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Thomas Buttery
Shane Hitz
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

On this episode my buddy Miles Arbour is back on the podcast for a 3rd time to talk about his newly published route called the Tree to Sea Loop. This was a great excuse to catch up with Miles and also hear all about this epic new 1,000 km route in British Columbia.

Because Miles works at Bikepacking.com he is exposed to a lot of different facets of the industry. I took this opportunity to ask him about his favorite bikepacking tire, favorite cycling shorts “that don’t look like cycling shorts”, we also talk poop stories, and much more.

We always have a great time, and I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. You can find our episode link below and find all the route info over at Bikepacking.com
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Episode Sponsors: tell them thanks for making this episode possible!

Wren Sports: Cameron is back on to talk about the new bikepacking specific gravel fork they call the Beefcake. Use code “BOD10” for 10% off your entire order.

Ruby Coffee: Jesse comes on to tell us about coffee from different regions and what makes them different. Use code “BIKESORDEATH” for 15% off your first order or 20% off your first order of a subscription.

This week’s newest sustaining Patrons! Welcome to The After Party 🎉

David George – Newest patron
Paul Drees – 2nd longest patron
Miles Arbour – 3rd longest patron

This year the Tour Divide produced a new record, but one that wasn't set to be beaten. Quinn Brett just became the first person to complete the Tour Divide on an adaptive handcycle, with a time of 25 days. For her, this was more about showing the world what is possible for disabled people and that adventures like this are not only for the abled bodied. Thanks to advancements in bike technology, there are now some very capable options available, and Quinn's accomplishment are proof of what these machines are capable of.

For a full write up with lots of pretty pictures visit BikesorDeath.com.

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Episode Sponsors: tell them thanks for making this episode possible!

Quad Lock: Professional downhill mountain biker Ben Moore has been riding with QL for 4 years and he came on to share some of his experiences!

This week’s newest sustaining Patrons! Welcome to The After Party 🎉
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Joshua Perry
Dewitt Lunsford
Kyle Koch
Daniel Osman
Ryan Mcnabb - Longest Patron 🥇 
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Join me in the van as I scout a re-reoute for this years East Texas Showdown and Slowdown. Back in July on a scouting mission we discovered a 25 mile section of road that looked good on the maps, but once we saw it in person it was an obvious "no go" for safety reasons. This left a huge hole in the route and with only 4 months until race day I had to scramble for a solution.

On this episode I take you along the journey as I scout a new section for the route. Along the way I share what to expect for people who are signed up for the race or may want to ride it at some point in the future. I speak directly to folks from all over the world who have never been to Texas and have know idea what to expect, but I hope locals will find it helpful as well.

As we go along I share updates on the progress and also important details about surface type, tire choice, weather, a little Texas history, and anything else that pops in my head. If you are considering creating a route/race like this you may also find this episode helpful as I share some of my reasons for this event, what I hope to accomplish, challenges I faced, and how I am tackling things that come up.

At the end of this episode I answer questions that have come up since releasing the route and I also announce the live Facebook event for race participants. This will be part route overview and part Q&A to tie up any loose ends that may still be dangling in the wind.

Showdown Route Stats

• 373 miles
• 15,800 ft. elevation
• 60% gravel
• The hardest part of this route may be the last 40 miles.  At mile 329 you will pass the Bullet Grill and you may be tempted to stop for a burger and beer, but will you get back out on route?? Time will tell!  If it helps, the last 20 miles on the route are some of my personal favorites.  

Slowdown Route Stats

• 273 miles
• 11,300 ft. elevation
• 64% gravel

There are 2 days left to register and 3 spots left.

Episode Sponsors: tell them thanks for making this episode possible!

Ruby Coffee: This week Jesse shares some tips on brewing the perfect cup of coffee at home. Use code “BIKESORDEATH” for 15% off your first order or 20% off your first order of a subscription 
NM Bikepacking Summit: Matt Mason tells us a little about what they've got brewing for the first ever NM bikepacking summit on Oct. 22nd in Las Cruces, NM.

Thanks to this week’s newest sustaining Patrons and welcome to The After Party 🎉
Jonas Schaller
Christy & Ross Jones
Jim Barrow
Brandon Masters