There’s a certain magic in firsts — especially your first bikepacking race. They’re full of unknowns, and no matter how much you prepare, nothing ever goes exactly to plan.

For Sarah Diekmeyer, a gravel racer with Enough Cycling, this year’s Badlands was her first ultra — a leap into the world of bikepacking races she once thought were only for “other people.” What followed was a crash course in everything that comes with your first ultra: the highs, the hunger, the hallucinations, and the hard lessons learned along the way.

In this episode, Sarah shares the unfiltered behind the scenes of her first bikepacking race, from fuelling disasters and sleep deprivation to the small moments of magic that made it all worth it. 

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