Overland Archive Podcast

This week we are joined by Emma Bateup, the women's winner and 11th overall at the 2024 Tour Te Waipounamu.

We're back! Getting back to racing has sparked up some inspiration and I really wanted to hear the story behind Joe's epic run down the TTW route! Hear about his race strategy and the battle with Rufus up front.

We're back! Toto joins Lewis on this episode to discuss his GTMC FKT project and battling saddle sores on the Atlas Mountain Race.

Jay Petervary joined me days before heading up to the Canadian/American border at Rooseville for this years abridged edition of the Tour Divide. With the Canadian border still shut racing on the route will only be from border to border across America, in the vein of the original Great Divide Race. As such theres some differences to the route, throwing back to the ACA's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, where some deviations now exist between that route and the Tour Divide.

Simon joins me (in person!) to tell us all about his upcoming race in South Australia; the Kudlila Rally which runs from the River Torrens/Karrawirra Parri to the Spencer Gulf in Port Augusta with the Grand Depart on July 3.For more info on the race check out the facebook event: https://fb.me/e/2uOgQoQKm

This episode is packed full of short interviews from the Victoria Divide racers out on trail and a post-race chat with winner and new course-record holder Stephen Lane.

We're back! This episode we are joined by Brian Alder from New Zealand's South Island to tell us all about the inaugural running of his rugged, backcountry ultra race; the Tour Te Waipounamu!

Eliza Sampey joins us to talk about her bikepack racing accomplishments and the release of an upcoming book and project she's been involved with bringing to life: The Bike Raft Guide. For the uninitiated, bikerafting is a combination of bikepacking and packrafting. That is; riding to a river with a 2-4kg inflatable raft strapped to your bike, then inflating the raft, strapping your bike to the front and paddling down said river. It opens up some incredible opportunities to traverse the natural environment.Eliza is not only an accomplished bikerafter, with many epic expeditions under her belt, but also a talented mountain biker and bikepacker, holding the course record on the Arizona Trail Race 750. The Bike Raft Guide: https://fourcornersguides.com/thebikeraftguide/IndieGoGo Campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-bikeraft-guide-by-doom-lizzy#/The Bike Raft Guide Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebikeraftguide/Eliza's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizasampey/Vital Motion Life: https://www.vitalmotionlife.com/

Kurt Refsnider who was an early guest back in Episode 9, joins us again to tell us about his new FKT on the Kokopelli Trail, breaking the record set by Lachlan Morton earlier in 2020.He also has some updates to share in regards to his non-profit Bikepacking Roots. Their new BIPOC Adventure Grant and a renaming of their Wild West Route to the Western Wildlands Route.

A slightly different episode this week. The first half is short chats with riders on course of the GDT400, then followed up by 3 slightly longer interviews with riders after they've had a chance for their legs to recover and gather their thoughts on the route.

This week we're joined by Craig Wiggins who recently smashed the FKT on the Munda Biddi Trail, taking very nearly a full day off the previous mark.

This week's guest is Ryan Hawson, the man who started the GDT400 race back in 2013. We chat about this humble beginnings of the event, and take a look at this history of bikepacking racing in Australia and how it evolved from the early days of the sport back in 2008.

Another Tech Talk, gear-focused episode this time focusing on tarps. I'm joined as always for the Tech Talk episodes by my good friend Ty Domin, and this time, also by Evan Howard, of Terra Rosa Gear, manufacturer of incredible ultralight tarps here in Melbourne, and someone who's pushed tarp usage to the extremes.Some great insights in to all things tarps including size and material choice, pitches, knots, and a general pro/con comparison of why you would choose a tarp over another type of shelter for bikepacking.A look at Evan's prussik system for his guylines as mentioned in the show: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGlnyY_lBZt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Natt Williams joins me from London on this episode to tell us all about his trip down the 550km Iceland Divide route that traverses the island North-South. The route crosses desolate glaciers and lava fields, with no towns or resupply options for its entire length!Natt's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natt.ewill/?hl=en or @natt.ewill

Good friend of the podcast and host of the Hidden Athlete Ross Burrage joins me to tell us about his story of redemption on the Tour Divide route in 2019 after calling it quits on the race in 2017 before he made it out of Montana. He also shares his story of how he became involved with the Masaka Cycling Club while training for his 2019 Divide run in Uganda.https://www.masakacyclingclub.com/https://thehiddenathlete.com.au/https://instagram.com/rossburrage?igshid=1t5660jass3vchttps://instagram.com/masakacyclingclub?igshid=hgl237v3hhpqhttps://instagram.com/thehiddenathletepodcast?igshid=1lmtrexym2ql4

Melbourne local Faith Hunter joins me this week to talk about this history of women cycling in Australia in the 1890's. The birth of the modern bicycle was linked directly with the women's suffrage movement and also facilitated unprecedented levels of freedom and independence for women from traditional Victorian social standards. Many people will know about the history of the Overlanders racing their bikes across the country from city to city to best each other's records, but Australian women, although not as well documented, were out their overcoming social stigma and abuse pushing the limits of what was possible on the bike.

The winner of this year's GB Duro Josh Ibbett joins us fresh off the trail to talk about his victory. The race underwent some significant rule changes this year to accomodate the situation of the pandemic responsibly. Riders were required to be entirely self-sufficient from the start of the race, carrying all their food for the entire journey. Stepping foot into any business or public building for resupply or shelter would mean disqualification. These rule changes made for a very interesting race dynamic and one that we have never seen before in bikepacking. Josh talks us through how the race unfolded and some of the logistical challenges he faced in light of the new rules.Josh's GB Duro bike and gear setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu0RsE9-Ta0VIideo from Josh's Tour Divide race last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqgWRjG9M2sSupport the show:https://www.patreon.com/overlandarchivehttps://www.paypal.me/overlandarchive

This week is another Tech Talk episode! This time around, tackling the topic of navigation for bikepacking. I'm joined by Ty Domin and Emma Flukes for a round table discussion to cover everything from our route planning processes, navigation devices, phone apps, and GPS communicators/trackers such as InReach, Spot and ePIRB/PLBs.Resources/maps:NSW: https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/TAS: https://maps.thelist.tas.gov.au/listmap/app/list/mapVIC: https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/MapShareVic/SA: https://sappa.plan.sa.gov.au/WA: https://www0.landgate.wa.gov.au/Support the show:https://patreon.com/overlandarchivehttps://www.paypal.com/paypalme/overlandarchive

This week Patrick Farnsworth, host of the Bikes or Death Podcast joins me for a really fun episode with a twist! A co-hosted episode where we talk about bikepacking, media in the sport, how Patrick got started with the Bikes or Death Podcast and then he turns the mic on me and asks me some questions about my bikepacking, ultra racing and route creation!Instagram: @bikesordeathWebsiteL: https://bikesordeath.com/

This week we are joined by Theo Kelsey-Verdecchia of Toronto, Ontario, only days after setting a new fastest known time on the 1100km BT XL route.Theo has gone all in on ultra-racing and amassed a large amount of experience in a short amount of time. He provides some great insights on how he prepared himself for the FKT including his training and gear selection.Follow Theo on instagram: @theokelsey_

Miiro Michael is the chairperson and founder of the Masaka Cycling Club in southern Uganda.Miiro joins us to talk about what is not only an inspirational story of developing the sport of cycling in Uganda, but also an incredible lesson that cycling communities all across the world should listen to and learn from to make the sport a more inclusive and more accessible sport for all.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Masaka-Cycling-Club-Uganda-308927445825890/Website: https://www.masakacyclingclub.com/Instagram: @masakacyclingclubMore listening on The Hidden Athlete Podcast:https://www.spreaker.com/user/thehiddenathletepodcast/finalthaprojecthttps://www.spreaker.com/user/thehiddenathletepodcast/masaka-cycling-clubhttps://www.spreaker.com/user/thehiddenathletepodcast/giropodcastfinalThereabouts: Outspoken Podcast with Team Amani:https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/thereabouts-outspoken/id1504493856?i=1000480931541

Grace joins us on this episode to talk about her background in audax, bikepacking and ultra-endurance cycling. Grace discovered long distance riding through semi-supported audax events, eventually working her way up to complete the renowned Paris-Brest-Paris. Grace also competed in the Transcontinental bikepacking race back in 2017 during the scorching heatwave known as "Lucifer".Grace is also the managing editor at DotWatcher, a platform dedicated to providing comprehensive coverage of bikepacking and ultra-endurance bike races. The idea behind the site is a community driven platform collating information that tells the story of the race beyond what could be gleaned from simply watching the racer's "Dots" move across the map.Honestly its an awesome idea thats growing momentum and has me really excited about the window it can provide into our sport. But the platform relies on us the community to contribute information, data and content to make it work. So lets gets behind it!Grace's instagram: @thisisgrace_Grace's twitter: @thisisgraceDotWatcher instagram: @dotwatcher.ccDotWatcher twitter: @dotwatcherWebsite: www.dotwatcher.ccEmail: info@dotwatcher.cc Support the show:https://www.patreon.com/overlandarchivehttps://www.paypal.me/overlandarchive

This week I'm joined by guest Dan Hunt to talk about Hunt Bikes and the epic adventure that is the Hunt 1000, a self supported bikepacking challenge traversing the Australian Alps from Canberra to Melbourne.We discuss the original inspiration for the route and the event, some of the unique aspects of the route and how Dan has tried to foster a really inclusive spirit around such a rough challenge. As well the serious and harsh nature of the Australian high country, preparing yourself to undertake the challenge and some of the potential avenues Dan is looking to explore for the future of the event.Last year Dan competed in the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan, which is a really unique and challenging event in its own right. We discuss Dan's experience there and what lessons he took away from that event that he might look to apply to the Hunt.For more information on the route head to:Website: https://hunt1000.huntbikes.com/ Instagram: @hunt_bikesUnaffiliated, community-based Facebook discussion group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/352981951816063/As always if you would like to support the show financially:Patreon - https://patreon.com/overlandarchivePaypayl - https://www.paypal.me/overlandarchive

Ty Domin joins the show again for an in depth look at everything we eat and drink to fuel long bikepacking adventures. We cover everything from racing to touring. Snacks, cooking setups, dehydrated food, hydration and even caffeine!!

This week's guest Steve Halligan is an Irish bikepacker based in Hanmer Springs, NZ.Steve has completed the Tour Aotearoa 3 times, the Kiwi Brevet 4 times, won the inaugural Terra Australis Bike Epic and finished in 4th place at the 2019 Tour Divide with a time of 16 days, 3 hours and also completed the race in 2017.In our chat Steve talks to us about all things bikepacking in New Zealand, some of the incredible routes and trails the country has to offer as well as the rich bikepacking culture spurred on by the plethora of Brevets across the country.Off the bike, Steve runs the Vibrant Living Retreat, and we discuss how this holistic approach to life also influences his riding in terms of diet and mindset.Blog: https://selfpropelled13.com/  Instagram: @halligan.steve - https://www.instagram.com/halligan.steve/ Vibrant Living Retreat: https://www.vibrantliving.co.nz/

Joe Grant is a household name in ultra-running, but a few years back turned his hand to bikepack racing to challenge himself with something new.Joe has some incredible finishes in both the Colorado Trail Race and the Arizona Trail Race. He also took on a project called the Tour de 14ers, setting a fastest known time and becoming only the second person to complete the project in the process. The concept is simple, tag all 58 of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks, travelling between the clusters of mountains by bike and tagging the summit on foot, entirely self-supported.Joe is also an artist and a photographer and has created some incredible content in the process of his journeys. Telling his story and documenting the journeys only adding to his experience.https://www.alpine-works.com/https://vimeo.com/ondemand/themiddleway@alpineworks / https://www.instagram.com/alpineworks/As mentioned in the episode intro:https://www.bikepackingroots.org/bipoc_adventure_grant.htmlTo support the show:https://www.patreon.com/overlandarchivehttps://www.paypal.me/overlandarchive

In lieu of a full interview, this week we have a short chat about DIYing your own bikepacking gear or modifying existing gear to better suit your needs!We also have some bikepacking news! Previous guest Lachlan Morton breaks the FKT on the Kokopelli Trail!

Jess Douglas is a 3 x Australian 24 Hour National Champ, 3 x 24 Hour World Champ, GDT400 bikepacking race winner and record holder, ultra runner and coach. In the interview we learn about what shaped Jess as an athlete and discuss some of her key accomplishments before shifting to talk about training an preparation. As a coach Jess has an all encompassing approach to guide athletes to prepare physically, but also mentally, emotionally and logistically. We discuss how riders can prepare themselves for success not only racing in ultras, but just to prepare and set themselves up for success at any bikepacking event. As you can tell from her resume, Jess is both incredible accomplished but even more well rounded as an athlete. She’s overcome a lot in her personal life too and it’s shaped her to be an extremely gritty ultra racer and so, so knowledgeable as a coach. Jess coached host Lewis Ciddor to a course record on the GD400, a win at the Tour Divide in 2018 and his attempt at the Colorado Trail Race in 2019. She also coached countless other endurance and ultra-endurance athletes. To learn more about Jess or to contact her about coaching, follow her on Instagram @jesouglas73 or head over to:https://www.jessicadouglas.comTo support the show financially head over to:https://www.patreon.com/overlandarchivehttps://www.paypal.me/overlandarchive

Adventure cyclist and bikepacking route creator Sarah Swallow joins me to discuss some of her published routes; The Trans America Trail and The Sky Islands Odyssey, as well as her event Ruta Del Jefe. The Sky Islands region is central in many different environmental and political issues including immigration and mining. Sarah has used the event to bring awareness to and raise money for non-profits fighting for these causes whilst simultaneously enhancing the experience and connection to the landscape for those riders tackling the route.Sarah also shares some great insight on how she goes about creating routes and the resources she uses to do so.We then discuss WTF Bike Explorers and some of the incredible work they are doing to make bikepacking and adventure cycling a more diverse, inclusive and accessible space for all people. From the WTF Bike Explorers summit, to their gravel racing team and their industry pledge, they have some great initiatives that are benefiting the sport and community of bikepacking in so many ways. Its well worth taking the time to do some further reading on the topic!WTF BikexplorersCycling Industry Pledge: https://wtfbikexplorers.com/cycling-industry-pledgeGuiding Principles: https://wtfbikexplorers.com/guiding-principlesGravel Program: https://wtfbikexplorers.com/gravel-programRide Series: https://wtfbikexplorers.com/grassroots-ride-seriesRuta Del JefeFilm: https://youtu.be/mnJHFxFjMrc Event Website: https://sarahjswallow.com/ruta-del-jefeBike RoutesTAT (Trans America Trail): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9275460Sky Islands Odyssey: https://bikepacking.com/plan/sky-islands-odyssey/Central Oregon Backcountry Explorer: https://bikepacking.com/routes/central-oregon-backcountry-explorer/Elkhorn Crest Trail: https://bikepacking.com/routes/elkhorn-crest-trail/Buckeye Trail: https://bikepacking.com/routes/buckeye-trail-bicycle-route/

Brad Serls joins us this week to share insider knowledge on the Munda Biddi Trail, the Perth bikepacking community and his experiences on the Hunt 1000 in 2018.Munda Biddi means "path through the forest" in the Noongar languange of the indigenous group who are the traditional owners of the land through which the route passes.More information on the trail can be found at: https://www.mundabiddi.org.au/Follow Brad on Instagram at @ride_that_trail or drop in to Cycles Bespoke in Perth:http://cyclesbespoke.com/

A little mid-week mini-episode! I'm joined by Ty Domin to get nerdy about plus sized tires and their application in bikepacking and adventure cycling. We talk about the pros and cons (hint, we haven't found many!), pressures, and what tyres we are each running! You might even see me on some for my next ultra endurance race!

This week I am joined by 24 Hour World Champion and Arizona Trail record holder Kaitlyn Boyle.Kait is incredibly accomplished in both worlds of ultra endurance mountain biking: supported 24 Hour racing and bikepacking. Its not uncommon for Kait to be at the head of the field of a race - including both men and women. We discuss some of the attitudes and reactions to her success.We also talk about a 2018 trip she wrote about in Mountain Flyer Magazine, where she rode across Navajo Nation, and the Wild West Route which also passes through Navajo land. Passing through First Nations Reservation land requires some unique logistics and we discuss how to go about that respectfully and how acknowledgement of First Nations People as traditional owners of the land through which we ride as bikepackers and adventure cyclists is very important in terms of being responsible trail users.Navajo and Hopi Covid-19 relief: https://www.gofundme.com/f/NHFC19ReliefMTN Flyer article we discuss: http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/latest_issue/Kait's website is www.imkait.com and Instagram is @kait.boyle if anyone wants to follow/get in touch.Episode proudly supported by Lead Out Sports: https://www.leadoutsports.com/

We are joined this week by World Tour racer Lachlan Morton of EF Education First Pro Cycling. He tells us stories from his beginnings in road racing as a kid, going professional and most recently his exploits in racing EF’s “Alternative Calendar”. Races such as DK and Leadville 100 as well has his first forays into ultra endurance cycling and bikepacking at GBDuro (self-support ultra stage race) and an Individual Time Trial of the Colorado Trail Race, where he came within 90 minutes of the Northbound course record. In the show we discuss the DK gravel race. I recently heard about some issues with the name and disrespect it causes to the Kaw People of the region. Please take the time to read and sign the petition:https://www.change.org/p/change-dirty-kanza-event-titleGone Racing DK: https://youtu.be/7MJFHWd3XcYGone Racing GBDuro: https://youtu.be/e74xncSCoqwGone Racing Leadville 100: https://youtu.be/s9LviOF5aJMThereabouts #1 video: https://vimeo.com/102429420Thereabouts #2 video: https://vimeo.com/148552222The show is proudly supported by Lead Out Sports: https://www.leadoutsports.com/

Ultra endurance racer and bikepacking advocate Kurt Refsnider joins us to talk about his recent win at the ITI 350. The first half of the episode covers his Iditarod experience and winning his third and final Bikepacking Triple Crown race (the Colorado Trail Race) in 2019. Making him the first person to win all 3 events. In the second half of the interview we shift gears and talk about training for ultras and endurance events, his coaching and consultancy business UltraMTB, as well as his advocacy non-profit Bikepacking Roots. The company is involved in advocating for bikepackers as trail users, conservation of trail, the natural environment and access to public lands as well as creating well-curated routes for bikepackers in areas all across America. UltraMTB: https://www.ultramtb.netBikepacking Roots: https://www.bikepackingroots.orgNormalising Difficult article (as discussed in episode): https://www.bikemag.com/fully-loaded-bikepacking/normalizing-difficult/You can help support the Overland Archive Podcast by visiting: https://www.patreon.com/overlandarchiveAlternatively, taking the time to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast helps other people find the podcast, enjoy the content and allow us to continue to grow and bring you great stories from around the world of bikepacking. Follow us on Instagram @overland.archive to stay up to date with new episodes, upcoming guests, gear hacks and more!

Race director Nelson Trees joins us to talk about his bikepacking races: the Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan and the Atlas Mountain Race in Morocco. More information on both routes and incredible videos and media produced by Nelson can be found at:https://www.silkroadmountainrace.cc/https://atlasmountainrace.cc/Overland Archive Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/overlandarchive

Father and son bikepacking duo Tom and Rich Seipp join us from the UK to tell us all about the 22,000+ miles they've ridden together including an ITT of the Tour Divide last year when Tom was just 14!Follow more of Tom and Rich's adventures on their blog and instagram (@minipips)!https://minipips.blogspot.com/Overland Archive Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/overlandarchive

Troy Szczurkowski joins us to talk about Alaska's Iditarod Trail Invitational - a winter, fatbike race with 1000 and 350 mile distances.I've just launched a Patreon for those who wish to support the podcast. I've recently had to upgrade my hosting subscription as the hours of episodes accumulate. If you're enjoying the content, any contribution would be appreciated!https://www.patreon.com/overlandarchive

Guest Jeff Kerkove joins us from Colorado to talk about his recent victory at the Stagecoach 400 bikepacking race in Southern California as well as some of his ultra endurance racing history including the Silk Road Mountain Race, Colorado Trail Race and even a bit of winter/fat bike racing at Fat Pursuit.

We're joined by Evan Howard of local Melbourne ultralight and bikepacking gear manufacturer Terra Rosa Gear to talk about gear and adventure cycling

We talk to Tasmanian bikepacker and adventure cyclist Emma Flukes about her 2nd place finish at Victoria Divide, her bikepacking history and her route; The Tassie Gift.

We talk to French ultra-endurance beast Sofiane Sehili about his win at the Atlas Mountain Race and his ultra racing and bikepacking career.

Short interviews discussing the Victoria Divide bikepacking route with guests Adrian Bielenberg, Kia Matley, Tim Ottaway and Ty Domin.

Introducing the Overland Archive and getting to know host, Lewis Ciddor. The show is dedicated to bikepacking, ultra endurance racing and adventure cycling!