Meaghan Hackinen is your 2024 DOOM female winner and 3rd place overall. On day one she skipped a critical resupply point and found herself leading the field for a good part of the day. Dexter Kopas would eventually catch her and go on to take the win. Overall, it made for some exciting dot watching and resulted in an impressive finish for Meaghan. Meaghan got into competitive ultra cycling events back in 2016 and she has a long list of good results that include wins and FKT on several...

On today's episode John Schilling, AZT Race Director, is here to talk all things AZT. He became the race director in 2019 when Scott Morris passed the torch after 14 years of creating and overseeing the race. John is no stranger to the AZT. He first attempted it in 2012 and completed it in 2013. He's a local to the Pheniox area  and is well known for his hard work developing routes, leading rides, and for his great work on the AZT. Quickly after becoming the AZT race director he made...

Jenny Tough is one of the most impressive adventure athletes I've had the pleasure of chatting with. Her accomplishments in sports and writing are truly inspirational and mesmerizing. She is an ultra runner and bikepacker with numerous accomplishments to her name. Among her accomplishments, in the running world she was the first person to run across Kyrgyzstan solo and unsupported. Following that trip she set out to run across 5 other equally challenging terrains in different parts of the...

The East Texas Showdown is in its fourth year and it's our biggest one yet.  With 250+ riders from all over the world decending on East Texas we wanted to produce an episode to help you have a successful weekend in the woods.   We surveyed all the riders participating in ETS 2024 and I brought in a panel to help me answer your questions.  The panel consist of one person from each of the three categories from last year.   From the Showdown we have Harrison Kroos, the Slowdown is represented...

Today we are catching up with Lewis Ciddor after his impressive 3rd place finish at Tour Te Waipounamu. Many of you will be familiar with Lewis. He won the Tour Divide in 2018 and was the host of the Overland Archive Podcast for many years. Lewis was on the show in Aug. of 2020 for Ep. 51. Since then I've noticed he's been keeping a lower profile. Not entering races, not releasing episodes of his own podcast, not posting on social media as much, so when I saw him back in the race lineup I was...

John and Mira are a bikepacking duo who were the first to complete the Tour Divide Race as a human and dog team in 2023. They also emBARKed on a world tour in 2023 with the goal of dogpacking all 7 continents of the world. A feat that is so big that if you think about it too much it seems almost unattainable. But, John and Mira have over six years experience traveling the world together by bike and that experience, I believe, will lead to their success. Today's episode starts with an...

On today's episode, I sit down with Angus Morton to chat about his latest film: The Divide. This masterpiece follows Angus's brother, Lachlan Morton, on his 2023 ITT of the Tour Divide.  The Divide masterfully captures Lochlan's Journey, the landscape, and the beauty and challenges along the way. Lochlan traversed 2,700 miles, 2 countries, and 5 states over a period of 12.5 days. Showcasing a route that covers so much distance, so many different terrains, and carries with it so many...

At the end of the year Sofiane made a post on social media that caught my eye. The first line read, “So where do I go from here?”. Sofiane is arguably the best ultra bikepack racer in the world. A position that he earned by winning some of the most grueling races in bikepacking, in some cases multiple times. Having accomplished so much, he now finds himself in a unique position and wondering what’s next. Today we dig a little deeper into Sofiane’s thoughts about his career, his...

In the final installment Patrick answers listener questions and he gets his girlfriend, Natalie, to ask your questions. We got a ton of questions, so this episode will be sure to make the "long live long-form" listeners very happy. Thanks for riding bikes with us in 2023. After five years of podcasting I'm never not grateful to the listeners who support our work. As always, I've got big plans for next year and I look forward to riding with y'all again in 2024.

Bikes or Death is growing and I’ve hired some people to help. In this episode I sit down with Mckensie Barney, Ariel Marlowe, and Ben Crannell, to introduce you to the people that help make what Bikes or Death does a reality.

It's that time again. Time to look back at a year of podcasting, give some awards, and make some promises for next year that I'm sure to break a few :) This is the last episode of the year, and it's a doozie. Originally intended to be one episode, I've broken into 3 parts due to its length. So here's what we've got for ya with this one: Part 1: Bikes or Death Awards - Today We asked our listeners to help us vote on the best episodes from 2023. In this episode we look back on a great...

For the final episode in this series, we catch up with Hannah Simon after finishing 3rd at the Arizona Trail Race last month. The AZT was the last race in a three race series dubbed the Bikepacking Triple Crown. Prior to that she tied for 3rd at Tour Divide in June, followed by a 6th place finish at the Colorado Trail Race in August. The Triple Crown is the hardest and most prestigious accomplishment that our sport has to offer. By completing the Triple Crown, Hannah became one of only 6...

Kurt Refsnider just became one of only a handful of people to have ever successfully traversed the Continental Divide Trail by bike.  The trail is 3,300 miles long and spans the length of the United States along the Continental Divide.  In many ways it's similar to the popular Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.  However, there is one big distinction, the CTS is primarily singletrack.  And much of it is unmaintained, overgrown, and sometimes nonexistent trails.   It's not surprising that Kurt...

My guest today is the winner of this years Arizona Trail Race 800, Alex Schultz. Alex is no stranger to bikepack racing or the AZT. In 2019 he entered his first bikepacking race, the Colorado Trail Race, and was hooked! In 2022 he entered the AZT 300 and won it. This year he came back to take on the 800 with only the goal to finish and do his best. It turns out his best was good enough to win and set a new FKT (Fastest Known Time). His time of 9d 5h 43m was five hours faster than the previous...

Last month Natalie and I took on the Ozark Rando 120. This is a new event by Ozark Gravel Cyclist and hosted by Experience Fayetteville.  As the name suggests, the format of this ride is a Randonneur -a non-competitive long-distance unsupported endurance cycling event.  I used this ride as part of my training for an attempt at the 475 mile Central Texas Showdown Route.  I’ve also been really interested in doing a Randonneur ever since Cheech with Crust Bikes came on the podcast.  And, I...

After I scouted the Central Texas Showdown route by car it was time to ride the damn thing.  Last time I did an ITT of the ETS route my editor, Ben Crannel, joined me, but aside from the start and finish, we never saw each other.  That experience taught me how much different an ITT is vs a group start. I still wanted to do an ITT of the CTS, but this time I wanted to invite some people.  Invitations went out, but my friend Ariel was the only person to accept.  I’m not surprised, texas,...

Ultra-endurance and bikepacking legend, Jay Petervary set out on his solo and unsupported FKT attempt of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route which he called “Great Divide Ride Unearthed”. Over 2,000 miles into his ride he was struck by a motorist. Suffering multiple series injuries, Jay’s resilience is unwavering. He may be battered, but he is not broken. He continues to inspire with his mantra “ride forward” and reminds us that he’s not done with this ride yet. Watch or listen to this...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...