Experience by Bike

n this episode I talk with Jenny Tough, a freelance adventurer, writer, and film-maker. Jenny has competed (and won the women's category) in two of the most notorious ultra-endurance bikepacking races: the Silk Road Mountain Race (2019), and the Atlas Mountain Race (2020).

In addition to competing in bikepacking events, Jenny is an avid expedition runner and the first person to traverse the High Atlas mountain range, and the Tien Shen mountain range, through solo and unsupported journeys. I chat with Jenny about her experiences and mindset during some of these adventures, and we also discuss some of the ways in which Jenny gives back to the adventure community through her educational, and inspirational content.

Follow Jenny on her adventures:

Instagram: @jennytough

Website: jennytough.com

YouTube: Jenny Tough

To support the Experience by Bike Podcast, please check out our support page here: www.experiencebybike.com/support

In this episode I speak with Jesse Blough, the race director of The Big Lonely. The Big Lonely is a 362 mile unsupported bikepacking adventure with 25k feet of elevation gain, which takes place in Central Oregon. Racers traverse through the iconic Mrazek trail in the Skyline Forest, ride along the Metoliusand Crooked Rivers, summit the relentless Ochoco mountains, and cross the high desert on a rarely-ridden 30-mile ribbon of smooth singletrack. All proceeds of registration for this race benefitted Bethlehem Inn, a shelter supporting the homeless community of Central Oregon.

For more information on The Big Lonely, go to nwcompetitive.com/events/biglonely

Follow Jesse on Instagram: @thegreatjesse

Follow Northwest Competitive on Instagram: @northwestcompetitive

This August, Emily Lippe competed in her first unsupported ultra-endurance cycling race, the Hoodoo 300. Not only did she set the overall record for the unsupported (nomad) category, but she also beat the record for the women's supported (solo) category with an overall finish time of 21 hours and 11 minutes. In this episode Emily gives us an overview of her training for the race, and details about her race experience.

You can read more about Emily's race experience on her blog at misslippes.com/blog

In this episode I chat with Jackie Baker, fifth place finisher and overall women's winner of the inaugural 2020 Utah Mixed Epic. This race was over 800 miles, and consisted of approximately 70k feet of climbing through remote desert and mountainous sections of Utah. Jackie discusses her experiences about the race, which not only brought challenging terrain to the riders, but also some incredibly unpredictable weather.

Follow Jackie on her future adventures on instagram: @ohjaybay

In this episode I chat with my good friend Abdul about his first successful Everesting attempt! In addition to a long day of climbing 29,029ft on his bike, Abdul also used this Everesting as a means to raise over $2100 for The Northwest Hub, a not-for-profit full service bicycle shop, bike reclamation program and training center. Tune in to hear about Abdul's experience, and tips he has for anybody else interested in attempting their own Everesting.

Follow Abdul on instagram: @theadroitman

See Abdul's official Everesting stats here: https://everesting.cc/hall-of-fame/#/hill/3952317746

In this episode I speak with Evan Deutsch about his most recent race, the inaugural Big Sky Spectaculaire. A 960+ mile mixed terrain ultra-endurance bike race that takes place in Montana. Evan is an experienced bikepacker and ultra-endurance cyclist, so I really enjoyed hearing about his racing experience and getting some insight in regards to his approach for racing this event!

Brady Lawrence is a Seattle-based filmmaker, photographer and writer specializing in documentary, editorial and outdoor adventure work. Brady recently filmed and produced a spectacular feature film, In to the Rift. This film documents the Atlas Mountain Race, a 1200km ultra-endurance cycling race through some of the most rugged and remote sections of Morocco. In this episode Brady gives some insight in to what it took to produce the film, and some experiences that came from it.

Watch the In to  the Rift Documentary on YouTube if you haven't seen it already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5k5ayE9iqU

You can contact Brady on instagram @bradylawrencephoto, or via his website bradylawrence.com

In this episode I'm interviewed by my partner Nyah about my experience racing the BC Epic 1000 (bcepic1000.com), a self-supported ultra-endurance mountain bike race through British Columbia where I placed second. In addition to my race experience, we also have some general discussion about bikepacking in general.

I hope you enjoy, and please reach out to me via instagram (@experiencebybike) or email ([email protected]) if you have any questions for me about the race or my experiences bikepacking. I'm also happy to hear any suggestions on future podcast episodes!

Kristen is based out of Bend, Oregon where she spends time bikepacking with her four legged adventure partner, Emma Bean. In this episode I talk with Kristen about her athletic background, and and what led to her and Emma becoming bikepacking adventure partners together! Follow Kristen and Emma on their bikepacking adventures through instagram @kquadrone!

Tim Tait is a bikepacker, ultra-endurance racer, and the race director of the the Utah Mixed Epic 1000. In this episode Tim discusses his background in bikepacking where he explains how he dove head first in to the sport, and how that led him to jump in to the seat of race directing. Of course, we also discuss Tims event, the Utah Mixed Epic, a 1000 mile self-supported bikepacking race through Utah.

Visit nextgearadventurecycling.com to read more about the event.