A new ride is coming to Eastern Iowa May 9, 2026, organized by yours truly and today I am joined by my co-host from The Just Go Bike Podcast to discuss everything you might want to know about the Pedals and Petals Women’s Ride. This 34 mile bicycle ride utilizes the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and takes riders from Cedar Rapids, through the quaint town of Ely to Solon where we turn around and head back to Cedar Rapids. It is meant to be more than just a bicycle ride, and you can find out more at our website which is https://pedalsandpetalsride.com/. We couldn’t do this ride without our generous sponsors which include Northtowne Cycling and Fitness, Iowa Fluid Power Motion Services, the Linn County Trails Association, this podcast, and PrimalWear. And I will list out friends and supporters of the ride below.

Just Go Bike Podcast: https://ragbrai.com/justgobike/

Northtowne Cycling & Fitness: https://www.northtownebikes.com/

Iowa Fluid Power Motion Services: https://www.ifpusa.com/

Linn County Trails Assn: https://www.linncountytrails.org/

PrimalWear: https://www.primalwear.com/

Email me at [email protected] if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

Friends and Supporters of this ride:

Lucky's on 16th

Big Grove Brewery

McKay Insurance

National Czech and Slovak Museum

Sweet Spots Cakes

Joe Photo

Sherry Ott is back to talk to us about bike tours in other countries. You may remember her from a few years back when we did an episode highlighting her United States Capitol to Capitol by bicycle quest. That episode is listed in the show notes. Sherry is celebrating 20 years of Ottsworld, which is her travel blog that features her travels and small group tours that take tourists off the beaten path. She is going to tell us about some of her recent (and upcoming) bike tours and also provide us with a few tips on how to choose a bike tour that fits your style of riding.

You can check out all her travels on ottsworld.com

Here is the Capitol to Capitol episode: https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-115-sherrys-biking-capitol-building-to-capitol-building

And here is the Experience Plus episode:

https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-153-experience-plus-premium-bicycle-tour-company

Please rate this podcast, especially if you are a fan!

Email me at [email protected] if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

If you are a gravel cyclist, or maybe gravel curious, mark your calendars for October 6-10 of 2026. It is the Arkansas Graveler and Brannon Pack is on this episode to tell us more about this fully supported multi day gravel bicycle event that takes riders on a north to south route across the Arkansas Delta. This event is organized by Ozark Foundation, a nonprofit that puts on dozens of outdoor recreation events that showcase Arkansas. Registration opens March 3rd!

www.murphologypodcast.com

https://www.arkansasgraveler.com/

https://ozarkfoundation.org/

Could you be sure to give this podcast a follow, a like, 5 stars or whatever it takes to show your support. It helps this podcast, and Murphology, out a lot!

Email [email protected] if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

Have you heard of a brand of bicycles called Priority? If not, today is the day! Co-Founder Connor Swegle is on this episode to talk all things Priority! Priority Bicycles is a small company with big dreams. They went from a Kickstarter 11 years ago to a company that has a full line up of bicycles that feature a belt drive system instead of your standard chain. This makes for, as they would say: the best low maintenance bicycles in the world, period. Their strategy is simple: high quality parts, an efficient supply chain, low overhead, and an online business model. Connor talks about the company, exactly what a belt drive is, and what is in store for the future of Priority Bicycles.

www.murphologypodcast.com

www.prioritybicycles.com

www.duzertv.com

www.ragbrai.com

Email me at [email protected] if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

Meet Eric Paton, someone who did not consider himself a cyclist, watched a few YouTube videos that sparked the urge to ride his bike across Canada!! Eric went out and bought his first bike as he neared retirement and the planning, and training began soon after. He shares some of the highlights from his solo adventure. Upon returning he not only sat down and wrote the book: Live the Dash: 70 Days I Didn’t Know I Could Do, he went on to create ‘Epic Canadian Rides’, a touring company that helps others live their dream to do what Eric did!

https://epiccanadianrides.ca/

www.murphologypodcast.com

Email me at [email protected] if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

Who wants to ride in North Carolina with me?? Today meet Chip Hofler from North Carolina Amateur Sports and Cycle North Carolina. What started in the early 80’s as an organization bringing the Olympic festival to the area, it is now host to some pretty cool rides including a mountain ride and a coastal ride. I am planning to do an epic tour with them in early October that combines both. It is called Cycle North Carolina Mountains to Coast Ride. It is a 7 day fully supported ride with an average of about 65 miles per day. Featuring the North Carolina scenic beauty from the mountains to the coast, Chip also tells us about some of the historic and visitor attractions riders can look forward to on this ride.

Get registered today! https://ncsports.org/event/cyclenc_mountainstocoast_ride/

If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to this podcast so you will know when new episodes drop!

www.murphologypodcast.com

Registration is open for the 2025 Colorado’s Ride! Use code MURPH to get $100 off your registration fee. Occurring in mid August, Colorado’s Ride is an epic cycling adventure that immerses you into stunning landscapes of Colorado, and charming towns like Durango and Pagosa Springs. I completed this ride in 2024 and invited ride director Bill Plock to be on the podcast to talk more about this bike tour. This multi day tour features an ascent up almost 11,000 feet on Molas Pass through the San Juan National Forest, and also up beautiful Wolf Creek Pass. Off the bike there are some really cool experiences available and we talk about some of them in this episode.

https://coloradosride.com/

Summit Cycle Solutions Episode: https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-157-leave-your-bike-tour-logistics-to-summit-cycle-solutions

Rum Runner Tour Episode: https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-146-riding-the-rum-runner-tour-to-key-west

www.murphologypodcast.com

Email me at [email protected] if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

On this episode meet Amaiya Bearpaw. As a proud member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, she was chosen to pedal about 950 miles in 2023 as part of the Remember the Removal Bike Ride, also known as RTR. The ride spans from Georgia to Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma over nearly three weeks.

The Remember the Removal Bike Ride was started by the Cherokee Nation in 1984 with the intent for Cherokee youth to retrace the Trail of Tears and get a glimpse of the hardships their ancestors faced when they made the same trek on foot years before. The ride became an annual event starting in 2009 and today, riders are selected based on an interview process. Then, the selected riders train for six months and also learn about the history of the Cherokee . During the bike tour, riders get re-connected with their past, honoring and visiting the historic landmarks and unmarked graves of their Cherokee ancestors. Amaiya was part of the 2023 team and is on today to tell us about her experience.

https://rtr.cherokee.org/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/remember-the-removal-bike-ride.htm

https://shop.visitcherokeenation.com/

www.murphologypodcast.com

Email me at [email protected] if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

There are many ways to enjoy a bicycle tour whether you join an event, pay someone to provide logistics, or you do all the planning yourself. On this episode meet Zach Ostrander from Summit Cycle Solutions. He started this all encompassing logistics company back in 2016 when he noticed a strong need for logistics specific to cycling. Summit Cycle Solutions does everything from full service, like ordering port of pots, filing permits, securing venues and hotels or camping for events, or they will take on one or two components of an event that a ride director may need help with. They also provide logistics support for private tours of 50 riders. Zach takes his job very seriously. He knows we as riders are trusting him and his company with our time and our vacation. A few rides that Summit Cycle Solutions are part of are the Triple Bypass and Colorado’s Ride in Colorado, and Cycle North Carolina Mountains to Coast. Events range from a long weekend to weeklong tours that take place in breathtaking places. Zach and his team work hard so riders can enjoy themselves without worrying about logistics. I got to see Zach and his team in action during Colorado’s Ride and was very impressed. They worked long hours, balanced many tasks seamlessly, and still brought the hype to the event! You can learn more about Summit Cycle Solutions and the events they are part of at summitcyclesolutions.com. Or email Zach at [email protected] and sign up for their newsletter so you are in the know. And if you are interested in riding the Mountains to Coast Ride in North Carolina, let me know!!!

www.murphologypodcast.com

www.summitcyclesolutions.com

https://ncsports.org/

https://coloradosride.com/

https://www.triplebypass.org/

Email me at [email protected] if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

On this episode meet Meaghan Hackinen. She is an ultra endurance cyclist who recently completed the Tour Divide which is over 2,700 miles of self supported bike racing that follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, from Banff Canada down to the US/Mexico border. Not only did Meaghan finish this grueling race 7th overall with a time of 15 days and 23 hours, she nailed first place in the women's division! Meaghan is tells us a bit about how she embraced the grittiness of the race by staying what she describes as consistently consistent. In addition to being an ultra endurance athlete with countless wins and FKTs, she is also a writer with two books focused on two wheeled adventures. Both South Away: 'The Pacific Coast on Two Wheels' and 'Shifting Gears: Coast to Coast on the Trans Am Bike Race' are available for purchase.

https://meaghanhackinen.com/

www.murphologypodcast.com

https://tourdivide.org/