Bikes or Death

By now I'm sure you are familiar with Hannah and her quest to take on the Bikepacking Triple Crown. She's agreed to share her journey with us at each stage along the way. So far she's been able to complete the first two races, the Tour Divide and Colorado Trail Race. In this episode we follow up with her after finishing 6th on the CTR and only a month before taking on the 800 miles of the Arizona Trail Race. It's been amazing to follow along as she takes on the biggest challenge our sport has to offer. EPISODE SPONSORS Lectric eBikes ~ Fun, Functional, and Affordable eBikes! AG1 ~ Go to www.drinkag1.com/bikesordeath to take advantage of a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Andy Fields Join them won't you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Ten years ago Phillip Crosby and Jedidiah Jenkins set out on a bike trip that started in Oregon and traversed Central and South America and ended in Patagonia. Jedidiah, was an aspiring author at the time and was on the trip to have an experience worth writing about as he grappled with his sexuality and Christian faith. He wrote that book, and it's titled, "To Shake the Sleeping Self". For a full write up and and photo gallery from their trip, please visit www.BikesorDeath.com EPISODE SPONSORS Old Man Mountain ~ Check out their new line of bikepacking bags and panniers. Use this link and get 15% off your order! **Must use https://oldmanmountain.com/bikesordeath to get 15% off order. It's the only way to beat the robots! 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Paul Mendricks Matthew Trinneer Join them won't you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Katya Rakhmatulina just won the 2023 Colorado Trail Race and set a new FKT in the process. With a time of 5d 1h 53m she beat the previous time of 6d 1h 34m set by Alexandera Houchin in 2019. Prior to this she placed Second at this years Tour Divide behind Lael Wilcox. For a full writeup please visit BikesorDeath.com, this episode is available to watch on our website as well. New Patrons Spencer Snider Dan Perez Alexander Getty Join them won't you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

In 2022 Miron Golfman set a new FKT on the Baja Divide. Then he set his sites on an even bigger challenge in 2023 by attempting to race the Iditarod Invitational, the Tour Divide, Colorado Trail, and the Arizona Trail Race, all in a calendar year. A feat that I've never heard of anyone attempting before. For a full write up on todays episode along with photos and links from todays episode please visit www.BikesorDeath.com EPISODE SPONSORS None this week, but you can help sponsor next weeks episode! Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Payson McElveen probably needs no introduction. Among many of his achievements he is a Red Bull Athlete, 2x Marathon National Champion, 2x MidSouth Campion, and he is the host of the popular Adventure Stache Podcast. He's also a wizard at production and social media which has added to his visibility. Please visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup, show links, and photo galley from todays episode! EPISODE SPONSORS Ombraz ~ Get $20 off any pair of Ombraz, just use code "bikesordeath20" at checkout. As a bonus, Ombraz will send $20 to BoD as a thank you 🙂 OZARK Randonneur - A new event by Ozark Gravel Cyclist and Andrew Onermaa. Two route options, 120 or 200 miles. I'm signed up for the 120 and would love to say how to as many of you as possible! 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Peter Mergaerts Jaque Parisien *increased monthly pledge Join them won't you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Last month McKenzie Barney peddled her bike into Colombia, the last country in her Cycle the World project that started years before. In total McKenzie cycled 18,000 miles, through 28 countries and 5 continents, and most of it was solo. Her travels would take her through Africa, South America, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and South East Asia. For a full writeup on McKenzie's episode and for photos of her journey, please visit BikesorDeath.com EPISODE SPONSORS Ombraz ~ Get $20 off any pair of Ombraz, just use code "bikesordeath20" at checkout. As a bonus, Ombraz will send $20 to BoD as a thank you :) 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 McGraw Coaching Join them won't you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

This June James Collins became the first person to attempt the new Central Texas Showdown route as an ITT. James is a 3 time veteran of the East Texas Showdown and will be leaving Texas before the CTS group start this October. Not wanting to miss out on this new route in his backyard, he decided to tackle it as an ITT (individual time trial). This episode is a great introduction to that route and to James, who's been such a large part of the Texas Showdown Series. After you listen to this episode if you want to take a deeper dive, I recommend you check out Jame's Ride Report about his ITT. He goes into great detail and is an excellent resource for anyone looking to ride or race that route! ⚡️EPISODE SPONSORS⚡️ AG1 ~ Go to www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to take advantage of a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Wren Sports ~ A special offer ONLY for BoD listeners... get their Beefcake Carbon Plus Gravel Fork at a MASSIVE 50% off just use code "HaveCakeEatItToo" at checkout! 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Scott Folland Andreas Hagbarth Join them won't you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

In todays episode we catch up with Hannah Simon two weeks after finishing tied for 3rd on the Tour Divide Race. If you've been following along you'll know that Hannah has committed to attempting the bikepacking Triple Crown, which is the Tour Divide, Colorado Trail, and Arizona Trail, all in a calendar year. With only four weeks left to prepare for the Colorado Trail I caught up with her on a park bench in Austin, TX to hear about her Tour Divide experience and how she is preparing for the next leg of the Triple Crown. If you didn't listen to my first episode in this series, I recommend you listen to that one first. This conversation will pick up where we left off before Hannah left for the Tour Divide. EPISODE SPONSORS Jefe.bike ~ Your source for reliable and hard to find gear for bikepackers and adventure cyclist. Including a full line of kLite dynamo products! 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Jacob T. Rex Robert Watson - Increased pledge! Join them won't you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

GRUSK or Grave Ride up Spruce Knob is a bike race that has been taking place in West Virgina since 2016. It's evolved over the years and now offers distances from 25 miles up to 260 miles. Each route features a long out and back up Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virgina at 4,863'. Please visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full write and a large gallery of images from my weekend in West Virginia! EPISODE SPONSORS Ombraz ~ Use code BOD20 for $20 off ANY pair of sunglasses, plus Ombraz will send BoD $20 as a thank you! Stans No Tubes ~ On todays episode I unbox a new MK4 wheelset from Stans. Spoiler alert, I'm in love 😍 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 None this week, help change that, won't you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Chris Burkard is a well known photographer and storyteller who has brought his passion for life and his dedication to be successful to the endurance cycling world. The results are hard to argue with. In 2019 he set a world record of the WOW Cyclothon in Iceland traveling 844 miles in 52h 36m 19s. He then put together a team and did the first ever interior travers of Iceland on the bike. This time Chris entered arguably the hardest cycling race in the world, the Tour Divide. For a full write up and a Gallery of images Patrick took of Chris' Tour Divide finish please visit www.BikesorDeath.com. If you've enjoy this episode I've recorded two others with Chris that you may enjoy. Ep. 17 - Chris sets a new WOW Cyclothon world record Ep. 58 - Chris assembles a team to do the first ever interior traverse of Iceland by bike EPISODE SPONSORS Jefe.bike ~ Your source for reliable and hard to find gear for bikepackers and adventure cyclist. Including a full line of kLite dynamo products! AG1 ~ Go to www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to take advantage of a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. 🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Jason Willis Patric Brown Kevin Lang Amanda Shih Quig Join them won't you? Find out more at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath