Murphology Podcast

Ever thought about riding your bike in Mexico? How about with a top notch bicycle tour company? BRAG is a non profit that provides quality bike tours including their signature tour called by the same name. BRAG stands for Bicycle Ride Across Georgia and that is a multi day bike tour across Georgia that has been going on since 1980! In addition to BRAG they offer other bike tours around Georgia. They also take bikers internationally on adventures to Croatia, the Netherlands, France, and finally the trip I went on with them, to the Riviera Maya! BRAG.org is their website and it lists all their upcoming rides. At the time of this recording Riviera Maya 2025 registration is open. On this episode you are going to hear my recap!

BRAG Episode: https://soundcloud.com/justgobike/episode-249-franklin-johnson-from-the-bicycle-ride-across-georgia-brag

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www.brag.org

The Be Good Foundation was founded by Rebecca Rusch who among many things is an ultra endurance athlete, adventure cyclist, a world champion multiple times and the star in a film called Blood Road. At the Be Good Foundation, the bike is the center of their work as a catalyst for healing, empowerment, and evolution. They provide grant support to a number of organizations that use the bike in just this fashion. One such recipient is today’s guest, Megan LaBeth. Megan is currently on an epic bikepacking adventure, riding from New York City to a cycling event in Idaho put on by Rebecca Rusch called Rebecca’s Private Idaho. Megan has a mantra, "One Rotation at a Time," that to her is a reminder of the power of persistence, the importance of mental health, and the healing nature of cycling. She is raising money for the Be Good Foundation along the way so that there can be future Be Good Foundation scholarship recipients. She is going to tell us about her adventure and experiences as a solo traveler making her way to Idaho. You can donate to her Be Good Foundation fundraiser at: https://www.thebegoodfoundation.org/fromthebigappletothebakedpotato

Follow along on Megan’s journey on her Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/eatplaybike

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https://www.thebegoodfoundation.org/

https://www.instagram.com/eatplaybike

Watch Rebecca’s film Blood Road: https://www.redbull.com/us-en/films/blood-road

Experience Plus! is a premium bicycle tour company with a great past. Back in the late 60’s a foreign exchange student from Italy met a high schooler in Oregon. They parted ways but reunited, fell in love and married. They chose to live in the US but wanted to travel. To make ends meet they put up posters to get people to join them on a bike trip to Italy, and it was a huge success. Throughout the years they continued doing tours and eventually decided to make a business of it. Today Experience Plus! is owned and operated by the couple's daughters, including today’s guest Maria Elena. They offer over 100 premium tours in places like Europe and South America including the classic guided tours, bike & boat tours as well as gravel explorations. Maria Elena is on to tell us all about Experience Plus!

www.ExperiencePlus.com

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What the heck is DFL? Well, keeping it PG, it stands for Dead Freaking Last and at Mid South Gravel there is a celebration for the last rider to finish the 100 mile gravel course, a high energy celebration that I have never experienced before. Hundreds of people line up at the finish line and this year as Beth McBride crossed that finish line, people were cheering, the champagne was spraying and the band was playing. It was epic! Bobby Wintle is the Race Director and he goes out of his way to make this weekend one heck of a party. Beth tells us about her experience at Mid South, which was her first 100 mile gravel finish. She also tells us about a challenge she joined on January 1st..to ride 10 miles a day. With over 100 days of consecutive riding, she is still going strong on this challenge and has no plans to end her streak!

I was lucky to get to meet and ride bikes with Beth recently when we both were part of the Driftless Gravel Camp in Winona, Minnesota. We both share a deep love for the bicycle and the opportunity to ride. It was such a fun weekend!

Beth’s Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/trexlovescake/

https://www.midsouthgravel.com/

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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.

Have you heard of the Florida 500? This is an ultra endurance bike race that starts in Jacksonville FL and Finishes in Key West, giving riders over 530 miles of some of the fastest and flattest stretches of roads in the world. You can race as a solo unsupported rider, a solo supported rider, or as a Team Relay with 2, 4 or 8 riders. Today on the podcast meet cyclist Dan Swenson. Dan is an ultra endurance racer who lives in the high mountains of Colorado where he balances his professional time coaching others as an Endurance Sports Coach, owning and operating Dogma Athletica, a boutique fitness center, and as a small business consultant. He did the Florida 500 as a Team Relay with Mike Garcia and they won in their category. It took almost 27 hours for the duo to pedal 535 miles complete with nonstop headwind. They took turns pedaling 40 minutes and then taking 40 minute breaks as they made their way along the Atlantic coastline to Key West. Dan is going to tell us about his experience racing and winning the Florida 500, and just how important the power of the mind is while racing, and living life!

You'll hear us talk about a neck surgery Dan underwent just after completing the Florida 500. Dan separately shared with me that his surgeon assured him the neck issue wasn't related to his biking position, but more likely to a life-time of staring down at a computer while at his work desk.

https://dogmaathletica.com/

www.facebook.com/dogmaathleticaco

www.instagram.com/dogmaathletica

https://murphologypodcast.com/

www.patreon.com/murphology

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.

The Iowa Gravel Series started in 2020 after Chris McQueen put on the Glenwood Gravel Grinder and decided to expand. Seven races now make up the Iowa Gravel Series, and it is a full season of events all over Iowa that take place from May to September. Races include the Glenwood Superbloom which is a unique and first of a kind women’s gravel race in Iowa and takes place in late September.

In this episode Ian Breitlow, the Marketing Director with the Iowa Gravel Series, is on to tell us more about how the Iowa Gravel Series uses gravel roads to connect people with community.

https://iowagravelseries.com/

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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 I chat with Jonathan Cain from TREE Fund. TREE Fund, which stands for Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund, is a national nonprofit that among many tree related things, distributes scholarships to college students who are going into the tree care industry. Their biggest fundraiser is the Tour des Trees. Each year they host this fully supported multi day bike tour for about 100 riders. This year in late September riders will pedal about 425 miles in the Southern New England area while attending outreach events along the way. You can be part of Tour des Trees as a rider, or donate to the cause at tourdestrees.org. Jonathan is going to give us some great highlights about the bike tour, and also all about TREE Fund.

https://treefund.org/

https://treefund.org/tourdestrees

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www.patreon.com/murphology

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.

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE DISCUSSION. On this episode Dan Hurd, AKA Lt. Dan joins me, and we talk a considerable amount about the sensitive topic of suicide so please be aware. Dan himself has attempted suicide several times and lucky for him, and all of us, he found the bicycle and it changed his life for the better. He had only been on a few rides when he decided to join a friend for a long ride. As we all do at times, as the miles ticked away, the complaining started and Dan’s friend came back at Dan with some tough love and a phrase that stuck…one pedal at a time. The bicycle became Dan’s new obsession and he went from just a guy on a bike to a cyclist who spent several years biking the lower 48 states….all 48 of them! His bicycle journey became a mission to promote suicide awareness and to talk suicide prevention to anyone that would listen. And from that a nonprofit was born called One Pedal at a Time Movement, or OPAATmovement.com which focuses on suicide prevention. Most days when he is out riding he has a huge sign on his bike that reads Make a Stranger Smile. The bicycle is where he finds his peace and in this episode you will learn how he helps others find their peace as well.

Again, please be aware this episode talks a lot about the sensitive topic of suicide.

https://ridewithdan.godaddysites.com/

https://opaatmovement.com/

Ryan Van Duzer Episode: https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-113-bike-adventurer-ryan-van-duzer-recaps-ragbrai-xlix

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

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www.patreon.com/murphology

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.

Frankie Holt wasn’t really into cycling when she had a life changing experience while on a bike trip with her sister. She was in her 40’s and that bicycle trip gave her new energy, new confidence and the realization that freedom came with cycling. She also realized she couldn’t find a cycling bag that was quite right for what she needed, so she went about creating her own and her company, Fierce Hazel, was born! At Fierce Hazel, Frankie sells products that are unique, eco-friendly, and sustainable. She cares about the planet along with the people who make her products, and even uses rescued materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Frankie has created and sells the lightest full size wallet out there, along with other bike bags that are functional and appeal to everyone. On this episode, Frankie tells us about her journey into cycling and starting her California based, woman owned bicycle bag company. You can find Fierce Hazel products at Fiercehazel.com.

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linktr.ee/Murphology

www.fiercehazel.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 and Instagram page for daily entertainment!

I recently spent a week riding my bike in Florida with the Rum Runner Tour and asked the tour hosts to join me on the podcast. Pat Mayben and Bill Plock both have a ton of experience as event organizers, and run this successful bicycle tour that leads riders through the Florida Everglades and down to Key West. The Rum Runner Tour will introduce you to really cool places that you might not find on your own. Plus they take care of all the logistics so all you have to do is bike and enjoy. Their next tour is coming up mid January of 2024 so if you are looking for something warm and fun to get you through the winter, this is it! Find out more info at rumrunnertour.com. Here is my interview with Bill and Pat.

www.rumrunnertour.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 and Instagram page for daily entertainment!

www.bicycleresort.com

www.lizardlips.net