This week you get to listen to my recent interview on an episode of the Just Go Bike podcast. Along with most organized bike rides, the 7 day tour I talk about all the time, RAGBRAI, was a little different this year due to COVID. I tracked down a few people who participated in Virtual RAGBRAI to find out the what why when and how they spent their week. A big thanks to Josh, Gretchen, Sharon and Liz for taking the time to chat. It was fun hearing about how their week went and how even a virtual event can bring people together. Here are their stories.

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Today marks the 50th episode of the Murphology Podcast. 50! I did a bit of reflecting on all the people I have met and interviewed and I am amazed at the quality of conversation in each episode. It really is true that no matter who you meet, every person has a good story to share. Each interview gave me inspiration to try something new, or revisit something I hadn't thought of for awhile, and added to my growing list of places to visit. With almost 10,000 listens, I am so thankful for each and every listener who takes the time to tune in. This week I had my very first guest back on the show. Dana Fortier was on to talk about adventures she has been on and she ended up turning the tables on me and had some questions to ask me which was pretty fun. Enjoy!

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Ready? Today you are going to be listening to my interview with Reese Ruland who is a gravel racer living in Fort Collins, Co. She has a love for endurance racing that began as an ultra runner. Along the way she has had great opportunities to connect with inspirational guys like Allen at Scratch Labs and work with bicycle companies like Specialized before settling in to the life of biking in Colorado. She works and trains hard and it shows, she is kicking ass in the sport of gravel and has a fleet of Cervelo bikes to prove it. Along with a sponsorship from Cervelo, she is also sponsored by others including Fat Tire which is a tasty craft beer made by New Belgium Brewing. Um, yes please. Reese not only has a lot of passion for her sport, she also has passion for the cycling community through some pretty cool organizations like the Cycle Effect. It is obvious she contributes a lot to the gravel community. Take a listen to hear Reese talk gravel, nutrition and her French bulldog Loaf.

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www.outdoorvoices.com discount code: rrulanddoer

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This week is a great interview with Dave Puffer. Dave works at Bike World in Des Moines and he is on the show to talk about his cycling adventure riding the Great Divide Bike off-pavement route. The Great Divide is about 2,800 miles of pedaling from Alberta Canada, through British Columbia and then south through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and finally through New Mexico to the Mexico border. Dave’s expertise in long distance cycling tours along with the help of maps from Adventure Cycling, resources from bikepacking.com, and a book by Michael McCoy called Cycling the Great Divide, got him and his friend Gary through over 190,000 feet of climb in 33 days, and some of the best scenery he’s ever seen. So here’s is my interview with Dave Puffer. Enjoy!

Join us each week where we will get to know new people and explore great destinations to ride your bike. Learn tips and listen as guests talk about their adventures on the bicycle. Email me with your ideas and questions.

www.bikeworldiowa.com

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www.adventurecycling.org

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Meet Jeff Conaway. He got back into cycling just 2 years ago with a mission to lose a few pounds. He succeeded in losing weight, but in the process discovered how much he enjoys being on the bike. He now averages 30-50 miles per ride and has expanded his fitness to include triathlons. Recently he even started his own bike club to encourage others to give biking a chance and shares what is like to form a local club for cyclists.

Join us each week where we will get to know new people and explore great destinations to ride your bike. Learn tips and listen as guests talk about their adventures on the bicycle. Email me with your ideas and questions. [email protected]

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This week is a great interview with Veteran Aaron Martinez who is in his 4th season of a documentary series about veterans called Struggle Beyond the Decade. Aaron is an extraordinary individual with the desire and lots of motivation to help veterans find purpose and connection to community after they return to civilian life. He is also part of the Veterans Adventure Group that does epic challenges like bicycling and ultra running. So sit back and enjoy my interview with Aaron.

Join us each week where we will get to know new people and explore great destinations to ride your bike. Learn tips and listen as guests talk about their adventures on the bicycle. Email me with your ideas and questions. [email protected]

www.strugglebeyondthedecade.org

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Karen Matingou earned herself an award as Most Inspirational Rider and this interview proves that she is truly inspiring. Karen was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2018 and decided to take up cycling by joining a training group and registering for a 2 day, 100 mile ride to support MS. That was 2 years ago and now she is hooked! She has been on an amazing journey and as she says....get out there and just do it!

Join us each week where we will get to know new people and explore great destinations to ride your bike. Learn tips and listen as guests talk about their adventures on the bicycle. Email me with your ideas and questions.

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Kenneth Rosales joined me for an interview on the JustGoBike podcast. We talked about the ins and outs of the bike team he is part of, Tall Dog Bike Club. This team has been doing RAGBRAI since 1976!! Kenneth tells us how it works to be part of a big team when it comes to getting gear to the route stops each day, to how that many people camp together. Kenneth also gives us the scoop on some of his cycling adventures!

Join us each week where we will get to know new people and explore great destinations to ride your bike. Learn tips and listen as guests talk about their adventures on the bicycle. Email me with your ideas and questions.

[email protected].

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Meet Chris Welch, an Iowa native and ultra-cyclist who recently moved to Colorado. He shares his Iowa adventures that include racing and riding gravel, fat biking, and mtn. biking. He gets into events like the Triple D, Spotted Horse, 24 Hours of Cumming, Dirty Kanza and more. The abundance of Iowa hills prepped him for the Colorado mountains and he talks about great places to go bikepacking in Colorado and Utah. Also a bonus story about his pup Farley!

Join us each week where we will get to know new people and explore great destinations to ride your bike. Learn tips and listen as guests talk about their adventures on the bicycle. Email me with your ideas and questions.

www.bikeiowa.com

[email protected].

www.MurphologyPodcast.com

Mountain biking in Bentonville, Arkansas is epic. The MTB scene in northwest Arkansas is considered an up and coming must-go type of place to take your bike and this week Chris Strobl is on to tell us all about it. They are experiencing major expansion and people are noticing. In 2021 they are even welcoming the cyclocross world championships. Chris considers cycling as a life saver, literally. He tells us why, and also about his experiences on both the mountain bike and the road bike. Great adventure stories from a great guy!

Join us each week where we will get to know new people and explore great destinations to ride your bike. Learn tips and listen as guests talk about their adventures on the bicycle. Email me with your ideas and questions.

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