Detours: An Ultra Cycling & Adventure Podcast

This week we step just outside the world of ultra, and into the world of long distance gravel racing. For folks who follow the gravel scene, you may already be familiar with Sarah Sturm. Sarah Sturm is one of the top gravel racers in the world, with podium finishes at events like Unbound 200 and Traka 360. While these events aren't ultras in their own right, they can often be gateway events for many folks, and there is so much we can learn from Sarah. Known for her bubbly personality, she shared insights into her transition away from cyclocross and mountain bike racing, to longer events, how she has built a career out of racing her bike and created a program to help pave the way for other women to become professionals in the sport. This year Sarah will be racing both the Gravel Earth and Life Time Grand Prix series. You can follow along with her season over on Instagram.If you loved this episode please leave us a five star review and consider making a pledge to help us keep producing episodes.

Jenny Tough is a woman who hardly needs an introduction. A quick Google search will pull up a laundry list of accomplishments in the outdoors — from winning the Silk Road Mountain Race (twice!), to running across a mountain range on six continents, to publishing two books. While each of these accomplishments is exceptional in its own right, Jenny remains humble, honest and dedicated to making space for other women in the outdoors.Our conversation is wide reaching; from her first bike trip to the Yukon where she carried handwritten notes to help her fix mechanicals, to becoming one of the most prolific women in bikepack racing, to putting her career on pause for two years to heal her eating disorder. While we do spend some time on serious topics, we had so much fun in this conversation and are grateful for Jenny's humour and sharing so candidly. Warning: We discuss disordered eating and exercise dependency from approximately 1:00:00 to 1:18:00, so please skip this section if you need.You can stay up to date on Jenny’s adventure on Instagram and read more of her writing on her Substack.

Show NotesMeg Knobel is the organizer (or as you’ll come to learn, “disorganizer”) of the wildly popular bikepacking event in Southern California, Stagecoach 400. From her first experiences tackling the route, to taking the reins from Brendan Collier in 2019, Meg was an absolute joy to chat with. She talks about hosting the first Grand Depart and how her confidence grew over time, and gives us a behind the scenes look at just how much effort goes into putting on these Grand Departs. This year’s edition of Stagecoach 400 kicks off March 29th at 8AM PDT in Idyllwild California. Follow Stagecoach400 on InstagramDotwatch this year’s StagecoachThe Stagecoach 400 route00:00 Quick catchup w/ Mel & Cynthia09:10 Interview with Meg13:20 Meg's Background and Stagecoach 40033:55 Hosting the First Grand Depart vs. Now42:39 Advice for Folks Touring the Route57:16 Planning and Organizing the Event01:01:58 The “Perfect” Bike for Stagecoach 40001:05:04 Why Keep the Event Unsanctioned01:19:37 Fun Banter you don’t want to miss out on 01:29:26 Giving Stagecoach Tattoos

While she's a relative new comer to the world of off-road ultra racing, Nathalie Baillon hardly needs any introduction. She has a laundry list of accolades, including a joint first at Silk Road Mountain Race in August 2023, the fastest woman to ride across Europe, and more. It was such a treat to get to chat with her and learn more about how she found her footing in the sport and where she's hoping to go from here. To keep up with Nathalie's adventures, follow her on Instagram. Thanks for all your love and support as always. If you loved today's episode please leave us a five star review wherever you tune in and consider pledging $5 to support the show.

We're baaack! Today on the show we share more about our time in Morocco for the Atlas Mountain Race, as well as answer your questions about the race. Let us know what you think of this episode and if there's anything we missed - it's always a challenge post event to synthesize our thoughts and cover it all.As always thanks for being here! If you loved today's episode please consider leaving us a five star review, or buying us a coffee. Every little bit helps us continue to produce the show.

A small but mighty field of women will be starting the fourth edition of the Atlas Mountain Race. We were fortunate enough to hear from nearly all of them ahead of the start. These incredible individuals share what they’re most excited about and what challenges they are likely to face. Each of them has a unique story, and we hope by shining a spotlight on the women’s field it will encourage more to line up next year or to take on their own challenge. You can follow our dots on MapProgress - www.amr24.maprogress.comWe’ve put together a list of the women featured in this episode so you can track them on the map by cap number. They are organized here in the same order as they appear in the episode. Cat Magill - 183Christiana Tamburini - 173Cynthia Carson - 172Hannah Larbalestier - 140Hannah Simon - 139Harriet Wingfield - 314AMarika Latsone - 101Marion Dziwnik - 99'Masca Lu Wahlig - 130Megan Casebow - 309AMelina Boening - 84Mel Webb - 85Molly Weaver - 79Nathalie Baillon - 78Quinda Verheul - 56Sarah Heller - 306AShona Oldfield - 305AVeera Lahde - 6