This week I had an opportunity to catch up with Neil Beltchenko, who raced the 2021 CTR under the pseudonym Ned Bachanko. Neil is no stranger to ultra endurance racing, he's been pushing his limits on the most demanding routes since 2013. In 2014 he and his wife Lindsay started Bikepacker Mag which was an online publication about bikepacking, routes, and gear. In 2017 Bikepacking.com absorbed Bikepacker Mag and Neil. You will now find Neil creating some amazing content for Bikepacking.com's YouTube channel, which I highly recommend. Whether on the bike or behind the camera Neil is always moving the sport of bikepacking forward and we are lucky to have him in our community.

Neil and Lindsay, also put on the Bikepacking Summit, which is where I met them in 2019. I can tell you, they know how to throw one helluva bikepacking party. We talked about the future of the Summit on the podcast, but you'll have to listen to find out 😊

We were able to cover a lot on this episode, we chatted about content creation, his introduction to bikepacking and ultra endurance racing, his 2015 Tour Divide race, pre-race anxiety and pressure, his soon to be fatherhood, his bike setup, this years CTR 1st place finish, and of course we talk White Sox.

After almost 10 years we had a lot to talk about and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I mostly enjoy Neil's seemingly unlimited positivity, it's contagious and I like it.

Follow Neil on Bikepacking.com's YouTube Channel or on his instagram @neil_beltchenko, he takes a nice picture, check'em out!

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

Rockgeist - This week we had Jessica on to tell us about some new fabric offerings! If you haven't checked out their Fabric Page, you should! They have collected an impressive about of data and information about fabric types, how they wear, and suggestions on what may be best for you.

Quad Lock - Personally, I dumped my bike computer years ago and have been using Quad Lock on all my bikes ever since. For me it was about simplicity. One less thing to charge, upload, download, update, etc. It's been a great solution for me whether I'm going on a mtb ride or a 5 day bikepacking trip.

Thanks also to this week’s newest sustaining Patrons and welcome to The After Party 🎉 🖤 🖤🖤 🖤🖤 Terence Bonsey Joseph Knight Keaton Haney James Turner Bob Brill Chris Clodfelter Vincent Schumaker 🖤 🖤🖤 🖤🖤