As cyclists, many if not all of us have had mechanical issues on our bikes. And because cyclists are so friendly, many if not all of us have been asked if we need help. For Casey Wytaske, this very question prompted her to become a bike mechanic. This week, Casey shares her love for helping people, and what it means to be self-sufficient in the biking world. 

Casey explains how she got into the cycling space, and how her career as a bike mechanic developed. Further, she shares some of the most challenging issues you can run into on the bike, and how she teaches women to solve these issues.

@o_acacia

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywytaske/

Our guests find their way into cycling from many different avenues, snowmobiling however is one way we don’t typically hear. This week’s guest, Jacqui Ball, hopped on a snowmobile during a backcountry ski trip, and her skills on the sled impressed her trip mates and they encouraged her to try downhill mountain biking. After just a few bike rides Jacqui was hooked, and she began racing downhill and enduro. In her quest to become a better gravity racer, Jacqui got into freeride mountain biking to help her progress her skills. In the world of women’s mountain bike freeride, the marquee event was called Formation and was hosted in southern Utah. That was until 2023, when the title sponsor Red Bull canceled the event. Red Bull also hosts a freeride event for men called Rampage, which is the biggest week in the world of mountain bike freeride. With the cancellation of Formation earlier this year, the women of freeride were hoping to finally get the invitation to join the men at Rampage this fall - but that didn’t happen. Jacqui talks about the impact of the cancellation of Formation for women trying to make a name for themselves in freeride, and where she sees the sport going from here. 

Follow Jacqui on Instagram @jacqui.m.ball  

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On Saturday October 7th the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships were hosted in Veneto, Italy. Despite the significance of the event, no live coverage was provided by the race organizers or the UCI. This week on the show, Kristi is joined by 3 members of the US women’s team that competed at the event; Sarah Sturm, Paige Onweller and Katherine Sheridan, as well as journalist Betsy Welch who was on the ground covering the event. The group discusses why the lack of coverage for the women’s event is such a significant misstep for the UCI, and how we as fans of the sport can help support the women who are not getting the coverage they deserve. 

Follow our guests on Instagram:

@thebootsappeal 

@sarahsturmy

@paigepowered

@klutzykatherine

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Many of our listeners will recall that Unbound 2023 was epic for many reasons; the women’s start and depth of the field, the weather, and of course the mud. Our guest this week, Sarah Lange, found a way to thrive despite the tough conditions, and surprised many people with her 5th place finish in her first Unbound. Sarah started her endurance athletic career as a collegiate runner, but after dealing with disordered eating and many injuries she found her way to cycling and fell in love with the sport. She did her first gravel race in 2021, and after having success in the local race scene in New England Sarah realized that she had potential to do well in the sport. She has certainly proved that to be true this season, racing with the Velocio Exploro team, posting some impressive results, and constantly pushing herself to take on the next challenge.

Follow Sarah on Instagram @sarahwlange

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The last time we heard from Cynthia Frazier in 2021, she had just finished her first Unbound XL race. Since then she has gone on to race - and win - numerous other ultra endurance cycling races, including the Unbound XL in 2022. Cynthia talks about what inspires her to take on the next big challenge, and what she loves most about ultra endurance racing on her bike. Cynthia also gives us her take on where she sees the sport going in the future. 

Follow Cynthia on Instagram and YouTube @watt_wagon

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Like many off road cyclists, Rebecca Fahringer got her start in triathlon during college. But after watching just one cyclocross race she decided to give it a go, and was hooked. During her cyclocross career Rebecca sustained multiple concussions that eventually left her sidelined for months. She opens up about her slow road to recovery, and how gravel cycling has given her an avenue to get back on the bike. 

Follow Rebecca on social media @gofahr

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Many people turn to cycling to find a sense of community within the sport. Our guest this week, Margaret Barawskas, has made it her life’s work to help create those communities. After moving to a new state, Margaret discovered her love for “community oriented cycling” and decided to create her own women’s race team to build a welcoming space for other women that wanted to dip their toe in bike racing. She tells us about why she started this team, and their mission to keep women on their bikes at all ages. 

Follow all of Margaret’s adventures at:

@m_barawskas 

@jaysbikeswomen

@indiana_gravel

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Our guest this week is ultra endurance cyclist and 2023 Colorado Trail women’s champion Katya Rakhmatulina. Not only did she win the Colorado Trail race, Katya also set a new women’s record at the race, which was her third bike packing race of the season. She also raced the Tour Divide this past June and finished closely behind friend of podcast Lael Wilcox, in just over 17 days. We hear what inspired Katya to go from bike touring for fun to racing with some of the best in the world, as well as how she biked from Michigan to California to get herself to graduate school, and what her plans are for next race season.

You can follow Katya on Instagram @kat__yea

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The freedom of the open road is what draws many of us into cycling. This is no different for our guest this week Frankie Holt. She tells us how a cycling trip with her sister inspired her to stay on the bike and changed her life for the better. After a very warm and welcoming experience at her first group ride, Frankie was inspired to create that same feeling for other cyclists. This is what led her to start Fierce Hazel, a company that makes bags and accessories designed with all cyclists in mind. 

You can learn more on their website https://fiercehazel.com/ and follow them on Instagram @fierce.hazel

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Many people change career paths in their lives, and our guest this week is no exception. Alisha Zellner recently started a new career path as the Community Specialist at SRAM. She tells us how her combination of policing, social work, and her experience as a woman of color in cycling all lead her to this role. Alisha is also the founder of Bike Ride For Black Lives, and is on the board of Ride for Racial Justice, and she tells us about the work that these organizations are doing. 

You can learn more at www.bike4blacklives.com

Follow Alisha on Instagram @epic_strong

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Sign Up for our 2025-2026 Winter Training for Cyclists Program: https://feisty.co/winter-training-for-cyclists/

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