An inspiring episode with a very inspiring person! This week meet Kymberly Byers, a cyclist, a bikepacker and a photographer who found purpose riding a bike and sharing the experiences with others. Kymberly pedaled into 26 states in 2020, was able to bikepack 100 consecutive days and shares some memories of this great adventure. We discuss bikepacking how-to and expert tips on how to bikepack in the most minimalistic way. Kymberly mentioned how important it is to stay in the moment and I find th...
Mar 20, 2022•54 min
This week meet Jason Sumner. You probably already know that I am a co-host on another podcast called Just GO Bike. Recently Andrea and I caught up with Jason who is from the Ride the Rockies team. He is a long time cyclist and a Colorado Native living in Crested Butte. He is also a journalist and has authored the book: 75 Classic Rides Colorado. Ride the Rockies, a multi day tour that explores communities in Colorado, has many similarities to RAGBRAI, the 7 day tour across Iowa, and has the hist...
Mar 11, 2022•33 min
Meet Darren Alff. As one of the world’s most experienced bicycle travelers, the author of four popular cycling books, and the founder of BicycleTouringPro.com, Darren Alff has helped thousands of people plan, prepare for, and execute their own bicycle tours all around the world. He is the Bicycle Touring Pro and he started bicycle touring at just 17 years old and never really stopped! He currently calls home Salt Lake City, Utah where he offers tours around the area for beginners and seasoned bi...
Mar 05, 2022•49 min
On the show today is J.D. Shaeffer. J.D. is an endurance junkie who has done ultra runs and even hiked the entire Appalachian Trail. Last summer he was able to save up money and get some time off work. The plan was to hike the PCT but an injury caused him to have to pivot from hiking to something else. Since he still had the time off, in a matter of a few weeks he found an old bike and decided to bike across the country by himself. See below for his route. It was August 31st when the group I was...
Feb 25, 2022•45 min
This was one of my favorite episodes from a while back! 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...
Feb 18, 2022•54 min
On the show today is Kathy Browning. She lives in a small town in Wyoming and is a big fan of fat biking. She started writing a blog about her experiences and as it grew in popularity, it turned into a website called FatBikeGirl.com that is a great resource for everything bike related including fat bike events, product reviews, and inspiration. And of course all of Kathy’s blog posts! Now in addition to the FatBikeGirl.com website, there is a private Facebook group, also called Fat Bike Girl for...
Feb 11, 2022•34 min
Today I celebrate episode 100! I wanted to take a moment to thank YOU for being a Murphology Podcast listener. It means so much to me. I absolutely love the opportunity to talk with bike-minded people and share their stories with you. To celebrate 100 episodes, I asked Andrea Parrott to come on the show and she put me in the hot seat. Andrea and I are co-hosts on another podcast called Just Go Bike that focuses on the 7 day bike tour in Iowa called RAGBRAI. Andrea asked me great questions about ...
Jan 28, 2022•34 min
I randomly ran into these two last summer (July, 2021) while biking and they are as amazing in real life as they are in their book! So cool to meet them both. Ward and Jacky Budweg are on the show this week. They published a book called The World at 10mph. This book is the result of a 3 year worldwide bicycle journey Ward and Jacky went on that started with a clever pre-nup, involved 7 years of planning and ended up being over 33,000 miles of bicycle travel. It is not only a great adventure, it ...
Jan 21, 2022•51 min
Anna Abrams is on the show today to chat about riding a bike tour solo, but not alone. Self described as sporty but not outdoorsy, in 2021 Anna tackled RAGBRAI, a 7 day bicycle tour (and camping event) where cyclists pedal across the state of Iowa in the heat and humidity summer brings. She wanted insight on what exactly she had signed up for, so she created a Facebook group called RAGBRAI Newbies with the hope she could spark conversation with strangers, and answer some of the questions she had...
Jan 14, 2022•43 min
Meet Kasey Clark. Kasey, a cyclist and organic farmer, is on to talk about how he decided to ride every gravel mile in Loudoun County, Virginia to raise money for a nonprofit called American’s Routes. His one day journey took him on some of the nation’s oldest and most beautiful rural roads. He was able to raise almost $8,000, there is a film about this event on YouTube, and he even made it on NPR! In addition to riding some epic adventures, Kasey saw a need for a gravel bike club for all abilit...
Jan 07, 2022•37 min
A favorite episode to re-share. Would you hop on a fat bike and race in 8 below zero weather? How about mountain bike over rocks, rocks and more rocks? Kristen Heath is on this week to talk about her adventures, and pushing your limits on the bike. Her advice? If you want to, you can. And it's not the end of the world to fail. Each week 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. Emai...
Dec 31, 2021•54 min
One of my favorite episodes! After this interview, I want and need to go visit Pueblo, Colorado! Full of scenic views, riverfront, and interesting history, it is also home to 45 MILES of singletrack! Meet Adam this week, president of the Southern Colorado Trail Builders nonprofit group. This guy is an expert on keeping the singletrack in great condition. He also bikepacks and has been working with his young daughter to enjoy the bike as much as he does. Great interview with Adam about Pueblo, bi...
Dec 24, 2021•52 min
On the show today is Kathryn Taylor from Girls Gone Gravel. Taylor is a former triathlete turned gravel enthusiast who saw a need for a place for women to learn, inspire and connect with a community in the gravel world. So Girls Gone Gravel was born. With over 11,000 followers on their Facebook group, it is obvious she was right. Coming up in April of 2022 Girls Gone Gravel will be hosting the very first Gone Graveling Festival which will take place in Bentonville, Arkansas. Kathryn is going to ...
Dec 17, 2021•39 min
On the show today is Brannon Pack. Brannon is the Director of Cycling Tourism in Fayetteville, Arkansas. If you haven’t been to Fayetteville yet, get it on your calendar! They are nestled in the Ozark Mountains and offer some of the best mountain biking in the nation, with easy access trails that are well constructed and well maintained. They are a designated Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists and in addition to mountain biking, they offer about any kind of cycling y...
Dec 03, 2021•26 min
On the show today is Daniel Troia, The Travelin Dude. He is a filmmaker who at one point did a little questioning of life, needed some soul searching and hopped on his bike to find answers. He has been on some epic bike touring adventures, and on at least two tours he took along his GoPro to film his experience. His first film, called “Two Wheels to Freedom”, documents his tour from Rome to Amsterdam and is full of adventure and beautiful scenery. Bike touring to Daniel is all about the freedom ...
Nov 26, 2021•40 min
You may or may not know that in addition to the Murphology Podcast, I am a co-host on another podcast called Just Go Bike. It is about topics more specific to the weeklong bike ride across Iowa near and dear to me called RAGBRAI which stands for The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, a ride that started back in 1973. This episode I am going to play the most recent Just Go Bike podcast where myself and Andrea Parrott discuss all things RAGBRAI. RAGBRAI Registration for 2022 is now ...
Nov 19, 2021•46 min
Considered the first rail-to-trail in the United States, the Elroy-Sparta State Trail is located in Wisconsin, east of LaCrosse. With three rock tunnels and five small towns along its 32.5-mile route, this limestone rail-trail is obviously a favorite Wisconsin bicycling destination with over 60,000 people visiting each year. Traveling between Sparta and Elroy, the trail stretches through the communities of Norwalk, Wilton and Kendall, passing by wetlands, prairies, and of course farmland. I rece...
Nov 12, 2021•21 min
On this podcast episode meet Jason from Gravel Worlds, where the mission is to create a fun, kick-ass gravel event for all levels of athletes to enjoy. Located in Lincoln, Nebraska Gravel Worlds started in 2010 and has grown tremendously over the years. and throughout that growth they have always kept the true grassroots spirit alive, which basically means when you are out on the course, it is just you and your bike and no outside support. So whether you are going for victory or you like to peda...
Oct 29, 2021•38 min
Becky Furuta is on the podcast this week. This busy mother of two currently juggles being a pro athlete for Team Noro Nordisk and a diabetes ambassador. And when she’s not racing her bike, Furuta is caring for her children and serving as the owner and sports vision specialist in Golden, CO, and owner and co-founder of a private label eyewear company. She holds a master’s degree in Public Health Policy from the University of Colorado and works as a consultant on childhood anti-obesity and public ...
Oct 23, 2021•50 min
On this episode meet Kim who recently completed an epic solo bikepacking adventure by completing the Katy Trail on her bike after being inspired by a female colleague who did the same adventure while back. At nearly 240 miles long, the crushed limestone Katy Trail spans nearly the full width of Missouri and is the country’s longest continuous rail-trail, intersecting with rural farmland, scenic small towns, and centers of commerce and government on its route paralleling the Missouri River. And i...
Oct 15, 2021•32 min
On this episode meet Kevin Belanger, Manager of Trail Planning for the Great American Rail-Trail at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Rails-to-Trails is the largest non profit organization related to trails. Since 1986, they have worked to bring the power of trails to more communities across the country, serving as the national voice for the rail-trail movement. Get this, to date there are overt 24,000 miles of rail-trails on the ground nationwide and more than 8,000 miles of rail-trails ready to be ...
Oct 08, 2021•40 min
On this episode meet the Founder and Owner of Ladies AllRide, Lindsey Richter. Ladies AllRide is an organization dedicated to growing the community of female mountain bikers. Lindsey and her team of coaches travel the country hosting women's mountain bike skills camp where they aim to inspire women to face fears, believe in themselves and get RAD on their mountain bikes! Mountain biking taught Lindsey life is about CREATING yourself, not finding yourself and she welcomes all levels of riders, fr...
Oct 01, 2021•40 min
On this episode I am going to provide you with a recap of my recent bicycle trip, riding the Great Allegheny Passage and a bit of the C&O Canal Towpath. Around the same time Hurricane Ida was heading towards the east coast, myself and 7 friends loaded up our bicycles and made our way to Pittsburgh. The plan was to be self-contained and ride 7 days from Pittsburgh to Washington DC via the Great Allegheny Passage and then the C&O towpath. We would be staying in hotels and AirBnb’s along th...
Sep 17, 2021•26 min
On this episode meet Whitney Washington. She is a filmmaker intrigued by human powered travel and had a dream to go on a long distance bike tour. She dusted off her childhood mountain bike and said to herself, what am I capable of? And guess what, she hopped on that bike in Washington DC and is currently about halfway across the US. She is loosely following the Great American Rail Trail and I think you will find her story inspiring. Whitney talks about her transformative journey and the strength...
Aug 27, 2021•46 min
183.9 mph!! Today meet Denise Mueller, the fastest cyclist on earth. Denise holds the world record for paced bicycle land speed, pedaling her bicycle at an unbelievable speed of 183.9 mph! Back in 2016 Denise was successful at setting the first ever Women’s paced bicycle land speed record of 147.7 mph. But she didn’t stop there. On September 16, 2018 Denise shattered the overall record of 167 mph with a speed of 183.9 mph. This type of record was invented by Charles “Mile-a-Minute Murphy” who dr...
Aug 20, 2021•51 min
On this episode it is all about biking in the state of Oregon. Dj Waldron is on the show to talk about some group rides in Oregon he has been part of along with some rides on the old bucket list. Oregon seems to have it all with mixed elevation, scenic views and rides that take you right to the ocean. I did a little bike riding in the Deschutes National Forrest when I was in Bend a few months ago and promised myself I would make a return trip to ride some more. And after talking with DJ I think ...
Aug 13, 2021•30 min
Recently I completed another RAGBRAI and wanted to provide a recap of the event. This is not a race event, but a bicycle tour with riders of all abilities. It is a supported event that showcases Iowa and small town living. It is a chance to slow down and take in miles and miles of corn and bean fields with over 10,000 cycling friends. It is a one of a kind experience I would highly recommend. This 7 day ride takes place the last full week of July each year and typically Iowa weather is steamy, w...
Aug 06, 2021•21 min
On the show today is Mandy Hansel who recently completed and won the Women’s Fat Bike Division at the Lutzen 69er. The Lutsen 99er is an ultra-marathon mountain biking event in Lutsen, MN. There are 4 distance options, catering to all riding levels and abilities. The course takes cyclists on snowmobile and ski trails, Forest Service roads, and a bit of pavement and single track. The event begins and ends at Lutsen Mountains. Mandy also runs a great non-profit called the Storm Trail Race Series i...
Jul 17, 2021•31 min
This week it is all about the Paul Bunyan Trail which stretches from the Crow Wing State Park to Bemidji in Northern Minnesota. www.paulbunyantrail.com www.murphologypodcast.com
Jul 10, 2021•16 min
Rob and Todd are on the show today to talk about their Great Divide Adventure through Montana. In early June these guys loaded up their custom Salsa bikepacking bicycles and headed north to ride a portion of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. They rode 10 days of forest roads, single track and other varieties of terrain which provided them with over 40,000 feet of climb. They were able to ride with some of the racers doing the Tour Divide which is a race from the border of Canada to the borde...
Jul 02, 2021•52 min
