My guest today is Gemma Baird who recently set a new Singlespeed FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the Highland Trial 550 in Scotland. After battling breast cancer, surviving homeschooling her three kids through the pandemic, and turning 40, Gemma needed a big goal. That's when she set her sights on the 2022 HT550 group start. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to make the group start, but that' didn't stop her. In August she lined up at the start line solo for an ITT (Individual Time Trial). She finished with a time of 5d 9h 48m which was good enough to best the previous SS FKT by Isla Rowntree.

Please visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup on this episode with an amazing gallery of photos from the HT550.

Quote of the Week:  "Until you make the unconcious consious, it will rule your life and you will call it fate" ~ Carl Yung

Gemma pinned an article about her ITT for Bikepacking.com that is refrenced in today's episode.  

BoD Takeover – Join us for the first ever Takeover happening at Mulberry Gap in Ellija, GA from Nov. 10th – 13th. Visit MulberryGap.com for all the details and to register! Have questions? Don’t hesitate to ask!

Ruby Coffee - Ruby is our official coffee sponsor for the BoD Takeover! If you can't make the Takeover you can try any of their coffee and get 20% off when you use the code "BIKESORDEATH".

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Doug Armfield Kenny Young

Join them won’t you? Now is a great time to sign up on Patreon. For a limited time Jefe Velo will be matching all new pledges made at Patreon.com/bikesordeath.com

Seth DuBois just completed his biggest bikepacking challenge yet at the 2022 Silk Road Mountain Race. SRMR has quickly captured the attention of racers and fans from around the world. The stunning imagery and landscape that is Kyrgyzstan seems to lure people in. Seth felt that pull and he answered the call. This year, he joined 154 other brave souls from around the word to challenge themselves on the 1,120 mile course that scales over 100,000 ft. While the landscape may be breathtaking it is also relentless. This race has an attrition rate of 50% or more (depending on the year).

Visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup and gallery of todays episode.  

Quote of the week ~ “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” ~ Jack Kerouac

BoD Takeover – Join us for the first ever Takeover happening at Mulberry Gap in Ellija, GA from Nov. 10th – 13th. Visit MulberryGap.com for all the details and to register! Have questions? Don’t hesitate to ask!

Red Granite Grinder - Oct. 15th in Wausau, WI. Listen to my chat with Shane Hitz all about this event and bikepacking in Wisconsin, then register to race. I'll be there on the media team, so come out and say hi!

Ombraz ~ Get the shades all the cool kids are wearing! Ombraz is offering a special deal to BoD listeners, use the code “BOD20” to get $20 off your order, PLUS Ombraz will send BoD $20 too!

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Matthew L Annabel Cedar Blanchard Christopher Bartling Jeff Hehn Christian Meinke

Join them won’t you? Now is a great time to sign up on patreon. For a limited time Jefe Velo will be matching all new pledges made at Patreon.com/bikesordeath.com

What were you doing at 17? Whatever it was, it's probably not as cool as my guest today. PJ Terry just shared first place at TNGA with a time of 2d 12h 30m. He crossed the finish line with Andrew Weidrich who shared the win with PJ.

Visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup!

This weeks quote ~ "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." ~Albert Einstein

BoD Takeover – Join us for the first ever Takeover happening at Mulberry Gap in Ellija, GA from Nov. 10th – 13th. Visit MulberryGap.com for all the details and to register! Have questions? Don’t hesitate to ask!

Ruby Coffee ~ The best damn coffee can be yours at a 15% discount, just use code "BIKESORDEATH" at checkout!

Ombraz ~ Get the shades all the cool kids are wearing! Ombraz is offering a special deal to BoD listeners, use the code "BOD20" to get $20 off your order, PLUS Ombraz will send BoD $20 too!

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Schwan Hardi Travis Krzyminski

Join them won’t you? Now is a great time to sign up on patreon. For a limited time Jefe Velo will be matching all new pledges made at Patreon.com/bikesordeath.com

Shane Hitz has been busy building routes and putting on gravel races in Wisconsin for many years. This week he's here to tell us all about his routes, the Red Granite Grinder, and Wisconsin gravel riding and bikepacking. After this conversation I'm even more excited about at the Red Granite Grinder on Oct. 15th! The Red Granite Grinder is quickly making a name for itself in the gravel world. What makes this route really special is the hard work that Shane and his counter parters at Ironbull to get access to private land that you can only ride if you enter this race! Listen to today's episodes for all the details and when you're ready to sign up head over to Ironbull.org. I'll be there this year covering the event from a media perspective and riding the 25 mile group ride on Friday. So make sure to ride over and say hi!

Ready to sign up for the Red Granite Grinder - Sign up here and I'll see you there in Oct!

This weeks quote ~ "Pay attention! This is your life. You're going to want to know what it feels like."

BoD Takeover – Join us for the first ever Takeover happening at Mulberry Gap in Ellija, GA from Nov. 10th – 13th. Visit MulberryGap.com for all the details and to register! Have questions? Don’t hesitate to ask!

Passchier ~ These handcrafted, bamboo laminated beauties give the rider a comfortable experience never felt before. With a slight amount of flex the rider has reduced jarring and a more relaxed ride, allowing you to ride on and on… Use Code "passchierordeath" at checkout for 10% off your order!

Kuat ~ Best racks on earth with the best No Worries Warranty. Kuat has your Rack and your Back!

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Veiko Vettik Kevin Shaffer

Join them won’t you? Now is a great time to sign up on patreon. For a limited time Jefe Velo will be matching all new pledges made at Patreon.com/bikesordeath.com

This week I'm joined by Ana Jager who just became the 2022 Tour Divide winner on her Rookie attempt! Most of the questions for todays episode came from women who answered the call on social media! Hillary, Laura, Tatiana, and Katheryn all called in with their questions and many more women sent me questions to ask!

Please visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup on todays episode!

BoD Takeover - Join us for the first ever Takeover happening at Mulberry Gap in Ellija, GA from Nov. 10th - 13th. Visit MulberryGap.com for all the details and to register! Have questions? Don't hesitate to ask!

Ombraz - You get $20 off your purchase, BoD get's $20, everybody wins! Use code "BOD20" at checkout and watch the magic happen.

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Manu Cattrysse Richard miller will gouty Colin Schindler Andy Field Joar Adrien Garnier Nico Olmedo Fabio Guarrasi

Join them won’t you? These episodes aren’t possible without support from our listeners.

Aleś Zavoral from the Czech Republic just won the 2022 Bike Nonstop US Race with a time of 18d 11h 51m. Aleś is no stranger to racing, he's logged 136 races in the past 13 years. I did the math, that's 10.4 races a year!

Please visit www.BikesorDeath.com for a full write up and photos from Aleś' race!

Embark Maple - Maple syrup tapped right from their farm made by, and for, bikepackers, adventurers, and outdoors people. For 30% OFF use code "bikesordeath30" at checkout Mulberry Gap - Tired of the heat and ready for fall? Me too! Start planning now for your fall get away to Mulberry Gap!

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Thomas Subritzky Michael Young

Join them won’t you? These episodes aren’t possible without support from our listeners.

Nick Marzano is back! And this time he has joined the ranks as an official Tour Divide Finisher with a time of 20d, 9h, 1m, which was good enough to secure 22nd place. Nick first appeared on the podcast while he was still racing the Tour Divide. We chatted when he was at mile 1,250 in Pinedale, WY at about the halfway point for the race. If you haven't already, you may want to give that episode a listen first.

Read the full writeup at BikesorDeath.com

Local Nation Podcast - Nick's passion podcast from 2018

Athletic Greens ~ Good for bikepackers on the go! Visit www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to get a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase.

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Abe Kaufman Darryl Carpenter

Join them won’t you? These episodes aren't possible without support from our listeners.

We continue our Tour Divide coverage with an interview from this years 2nd and 3rd place finishers, Manu Cattrysse and Adrien Liechti. This year I drove to the finish line of the Tour Divide to meet with finishers and record some podcast with anyone who was willing. On last weeks episode I chatted with First Place finisher Sofiane Sehili. This weeks episode takes place at Jeff Sharps kitchen table in Hachita, NM the day after Manu and Adrien finished their Tour Divide.

Visit BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup and pictures from the end of this years Tour Divide.  

Ruby Coffee - Ruby is a big supporter of coffee outside for hikers, campers, cyclist, and bikepackers. Check out their amazing selection of instant and steeped coffees. Use promo code "bikesordeath" for 15% of your first order or the first order of your subscription!

Kuat - The Pivot V2 is the perfect accessory to your rack that allows you to swing the rack and your bike away from the back of your vehicle making it easier to access. Learn more about this great accessory on their website.

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Mark d knight Tom Kom Boni from Hungary Alan Hanley Dave Crumpton Hal Arbor Eric Graham Josh Stair Yasmin Boakye Dexter Kopas Chelsea Gay

Join him won’t you? This weeks episode was a result of 28 hours of driving, 5 days away from home, and over 2,000 miles driven. Your support makes these episodes possible!

This past weekend Sofiane Sehili became the 2022 Tour Divide winner with a time of 14d 16h 36. This concluded a journey that started 8 years ago when Sofiane toured the Tour Divide for the first time. He would return in 2016 to race it for the first time and claim a very respectable 3rd place, while Mike Hall would go on to win and set a new course record in the process. A record that stands to this day. In 2019 Sofiane came back to try again. Everything was looking promising as he was leading the race and contending with Mike Hall's record until a massive snow storm stopped him in his track, forcing his return to Brush Mountain Lodge and taking him out of the race. 

Please visit BikesorDeath.com for a full writeup and gallery of images from patricks time at the end of the Tour Divide.  

Episode Sponsors 

Quad Lock ~ The best phone case and bike mount combo in the known universe!

Athletic Greens ~ Good for bikepackers on the go! Visit www.athleticgreens.com/bikesordeath to get a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase.

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Jeremy Chesler Huckansawyer (Kevin)

Join him won’t you? This weeks episode includes over an hour of raw conversations between Sofiane and I, available only to Patrons!

Last week I put a call out to anyone currently racing the Tour Divide to come on the podcast. I knew it would be a bit of a challenge, but I thought it would be really neat to hear from someone who is currently racing to give us a live account of this years Tour Divide. Nick Marzano answered the call via instagram and after a few days trying to make our schedules align we were able to chat while he was posted up in a hotel room in Pinedale, WY.

Nick Marzano - Trackleaders / Instagram

Embark Maple - Maple Energy Adventure Packs for the Modern Explorer. Use code "bikesordeath" to receive 3 free samples!

🎉 New Patrons 🎉 Daniel Heaton

Join him won’t you?