Maddy Nutt just made her mark on ultra-cycling in her very first attempt at this year's Traka 560.

She is no stranger to big efforts on the bike — or The Traka itself. Over the previous three years she competed in the 360km event, notably finishing 7th last year despite tearing her AC ligament only 100km into the race. She's also raced some of the biggest gravel events in the world including Unbound Gravel, Migration Gravel Race, and The Rift (among others).

Coming into this year's Traka, Maddy believed the previous women's record of 28h 52m was within reach, but respected the field enough to know that anything could happen.

She wasn't listed as one of the favorites, she shares in today's episode, and maybe that helped take some of the pressure off.

In the midst of the many conversations surrounding this year's Traka, Maddy's story stood out as something worth celebrating. Her ride was thoughtful, calculated, and deeply intentional. She visited Girona multiple times to prepare, pre-rode sections of the course, and even used Google Street View to scout water fountains and resupply locations. She left no stone unturned in her preparation.

At the Traka 560, Maddy rode through the night for the first time. She rode farther than she ever had before. And in doing so, she rode herself not only into victory, but into an entirely new realm of possibility.

She can now officially add "ultra-cyclist" to her already impressive list of accomplishments.

Congrats Maddy…welcome to the club. Can't wait to see what comes next.

Presented by www.OldManMountain.com

Support at www.patreon.com/bikesordeath.com

Ride your dam bike www.texasshowdownseries.com

We're gearing up for the second edition of RYDB Fest in Fayetteville, AR. In today's episode, we're breaking down everything you can expect this year.

So what is RYDB Fest? A bike festival? An ultra-cycling race? A friendly bikepacking overnighter?

The answer is: yes.

RYDB Fest is an open invitation to ride your damn bike, any damn way you want. Built by the bikepacking community, for bikepackers of all shapes, sizes, and abilities. Everyone is welcome to play bikes with us in NW Arkansas!

In today's episode, you'll hear from the team and supporters behind RYDB Fest as we get ready to welcome you to Northwest Arkansas for a full weekend of Bikes… or Death.

RYDB Fest is brought to you by Ozark Gravel Cyclists and Bikes or Death, with help from key partners and friends who are making this whole thing happen. Expect grassroots vibes, strong community turnout, and some of the best damn bike riding in Arkansas.

More info about RYDB Fest click HERE

Register for the Fayetteville Ultra Circuit HERE
**Use code FUCBOD at checkout for $15 off reg

Register for the Bikepacking Overnighter HERE
**Use code bod_rydb_26 for 20% off reg

Find out more about the Wander Outdoor Adventure HUB HERE

Suppor the show on PATREON

Something new came to Sea Otter this year, and I went to get the scoop.

Sea Otter is widely regarded as the largest bike expo in the world, but calling it a "bike expo" doesn't quite cover it. With over 70,000 attendees, 1,000+ brands and exhibitors, and 10,000+ athletes competing across a huge variety of races, it's… a lot.

And with all of that, it's hard to imagine anything was missing.

Enter Old Man Mountain.

Five years ago, Erik Fenner, OMM's Marketing Manager, attended Sea Otter for the first time. That night, he organically invited a few folks to join his campsite hangout. Nearly 30 people showed up.

An idea was born.

This year, that idea became reality with the inaugural OMM Bikepacking Campout and After Party at Sea Otter.

OMM and their partners staked out a beautiful campsite about a mile from the main expo, tucked into a serene setting that felt worlds away from the chaos. People came from far and wide. Some rode their bikes. Some drove. Some flew. Some may have crawled. However they got there, everyone seemed to find what bikepackers tend to gravitate toward: a little dirt, a little community, and some grassroots vibes.

It turns out, in the sea of Sea Otter, something was missing.

Bikepacking is still a small but mighty corner of cycling, but it's clearly on the rise. You could see it in the growing number of adventure cycling booths, the people stopping by to ask questions, and the strong turnout for the first-ever OMM Bikepacking Campout.

In today's episode, I take you into Sea Otter as a first-time attendee. But I wasn't there to see how many grams I could save if I sold a kidney. I was there to see what my friends at OMM were cooking up.

Spoiler alert: it was really damn good.

This episode is made up of five conversations with sponsors, vendors, and attendees of the OMM Bikepacking Campout. You'll hear from:

Chris Kratsch — Co-Owner of Old Man Mountain
Carley Boyce — Campout attendee who attempted the Great Divide with her dog Rowdy, then went back the next year to attempt the Tour Divide
Noelle Battle — Executive Director of Bikepacking Roots
Wade Green — Managing Partner for Tout Terrain in the U.S.
Erik Fenner — Marketing Manager at Old Man Mountain

I had an incredible time at this inaugural event. It was so good to be far from home, but still feel like I had a built-in community of "my people."

Big thanks to everyone who took a little time to chat with me about their experience at Sea Otter.

Let's do it again next year!

SHOW NOTES

As heard on today's episode, Carley is racing the Tour Divide for a cause. She is raising money to support the Autism Society of Oregon. Find out more at Racing for Awareness

EPISODE SPONSORS

Old Man Mountain would like to thank their supporting partners and sponsors that made this event possible:
Priority Bikes
Tout Terrain
Ortlieb
Swift Industries
Outershell
Sklar
Feedback Sports
Revelate
Salsa
ABUS

Fayetteville Ultra Circuit: on today's episode Alex Kowalski, FUC race director, comes on the share a little more about the route. Take a deeper dive, and register, here. For being a loyal listener you can take $15 off reg when you use the code: FUCBOD

NEW PATRONS

Oregoniangal

Join them won't you at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Can you imagine packing up everything you own on a bicycle, riding away from your home with plans to cycle the world over the next four years? Now imagine it's your first bike tour.

That's exactly what Jacob Ashton did in 2016 when he rolled away from his home in Idaho.

Over the next four years, he would cover roughly 77,000 miles, visit 100 countries, and ride across six continents. His travels were not without challenges. He was confronted by machete-wielding villagers in Mozambique, lost a finger to frostbite while climbing Ojos del Salado in Chile, and experienced a bowel obstruction in Khorog, Tajikistan that required major surgery and temporarily paused his tour.

To date, he's accumulated over 120,000 miles, visited 108 countries, and ridden on six continents—and he's not done.

Recently, Jacob has been trading touring miles for racing miles, testing his skills in events like the Tour Divide, the AZT, and most recently, DOOM and the East Texas Showdown.

Jacob and I both competed at this year's DOOM, which is where we first met. He rode the long course and came in a respectable 7th place, following up a 2nd place finish the previous year.

After a 32-hour "nap," he loaded up his full-suspension Starling Murmur and rode 400 miles to Point Blank, Texas, to compete in the 400-mile East Texas Showdown.

ETS is a solidly a gravel ultra, and he was the only rider on a full-suspension bike—but he rode that thing like it was on fire, averaging 15 mph moving speed and finishing in an impressive 6th place.

Coincidentally, after ETS he had plans to ride over to my hometown to visit an old friend, so I took the opportunity to meet up with him and dive deeper into his story.

You can learn more and follow along with Jacob here:

Instagram - @occasional_bikepacker
Tour Reports - Read it here
His book, "Until the Road Ends" - Buy it here

OMM x Sea Otter Campout – Going to Sea Otter? Make sure to swing by the OMM Bikepacking Campout & After Party. Find all the deets here. I'll be there too, come find me :)

RYDB Fest Community Overnighter - May 22nd - 24th in Fayettville, AR. Use code bikesordeath_rydb_26 for 20% off reg.

New Patrons
David Lieble
Tomas Perez
Andrew Humes
Robert Keller

Join us won't you at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

In 2025 the Texas Triple Star was born.

Complete all three events in the Texas Showdown Series, in the same category, within a calendar year, and you'll earn a handmade belt buckle crafted by Texas builder Kyle Gilbert.

Last year the series became official with the addition of West Texas Showdown, and seven riders stepped up to attempt the full trilogy.

By the end of the year only one rider was left standing.

Tyler "Freakin" Reynolds.

Racing in the Slowdown Singlespeed category, Tyler completed the entire series and etched his name into Showdown history.

• ETS – 1d 9h 37m — 2nd place
• CTS – 1d 4h 37m — 1st overall
• WTS – 1d 15h 45m — 1st place

Total Time: 4d 5h 59m
The time to beat for the Slowdown SS category.

For a full writeup and photo gallery of this episode visit BikesorDeath.com

SHOW NOTES

East Texas Showdown
March 27th – 29th
Use code getoffthecouch at checkout for 15% off

Sea Otter Bikepacking Campout & After Party presented by Old Man Mountain
April 16th – 19th

RYDB Fest
May 22nd – 24th
Use code bikesordeath for 20% off the Community Overnighter registration

My guest today is someone who is no stranger to the front of the field. A perennial podium finisher as a professional mountain biker, and over the past decade-plus one of the most accomplished ultra-endurance cyclists on the planet, he has first-place finishes at the Tour Divide, AZT, CTR, and many many more. The truth is, I'd need to create an entirely new podcast series to fully unpack the range, depth, and longevity of his career as a lifelong cyclist. For that reason, he's a man who truly needs no introduction: Kurt Refsnider.

Most recently, Kurt became the first person to ride the 5,000-plus-mile Orogenesis Route -- a project more than a decade in the making, shaped by many contributors over the years. Like the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, the Orogenesis Route traverses North America from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, but it instead features as much singletrack as they can pack in - 50% of the route is singletrack. And when it reaches the border, the route doesn't stop. It intercepts and continues down the Baja Divide, one of the most iconic bikepacking routes in the world.

This was no small undertaking. Not only was this Kurt's biggest bikepacking trip to date, but he was also the first person to put bike tires on large portions of the route—sections that had only been scouted digitally and pieced together through community knowledge. Inevitably, that meant running into real roadblocks. This wasn't just a bikepacking trip; it was a true bike adventure. I can think of no one more qualified to take on a project of this scale, both physically and mentally, than Kurt.

It was an absolute pleasure to have him back on the podcast. He's a true OG and a legend in the sport for very good reason. And beyond all the accolades, he's simply a genuinely kind and thoughtful human being.

The Bikes or Death Podcast is Presented by Old Man Mountain

To support this work: www.Patreon.com/bikesordeath

Kurt's website: https://www.ultramtb.net/

Orogenesis Collective: https://orogenesiscollective.org/

We're kicking off the year with a special guest—Eric House! We met up in the Sam Houston National Forest for a bit of a role reversal; this time, Eric took the mic to interview me. I gave him free rein to ask anything, resulting in a wide-ranging conversation that covered everything from the silly to the serious.

The heart of our chat focused on the last six years of work that culminated in 2025 with the launch of the WTS Showdown and the completion of the Texas Showdown Series. We also looked ahead to 2026, discussing my goals for Doom High Watch and my current training mindset.

Eric is a fantastic interviewer who asks truly meaningful questions, including a "gamut" of listener inquiries that kept me on my toes. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper meetup without some trail time—prior to recording, we squeezed in a mountain bike ride that turned into a total adventure involving getting lost, a minor collision, and hiking our bikes out on our shoulders. It was perfect.

Bikes or Death is presented by https://oldmanmountain.com/

www.patreon.com/bikesordeath to support the show ☠️

For the past five years, the Texas Showdown Series has been slowly, inevitably, drifting west. We started in the dense, pine-soaked forests of East Texas, moved through the rugged limestone of the Hill Country, but the destination was always clear: Big Bend.

Few landscapes in the world capture the heart and soul the way West Texas does. For those willing to push themselves to the edge, something different waits out there—something ancient, indifferent, and extraordinary. In the world of ultra-cycling, that "something" takes the shape of the West Texas Showdown.

The WTS doesn't just test riders. It strips them down. It pushes them to their limits and then, without apology or sympathy, asks for more. Out there, the desert becomes your only companion—its silence broken only by your groans, your breathing, and the steady reminder that you are very far from comfort.

And the numbers tell the story: only 32% of the field finished the course.
In the Showdown category, the desert claimed all but three riders. Fifteen started. Three rolled into Terlingua.

Despite the brutality of the route, the racing was electric and equally unrelenting. A small but mighty group battled back and forth across the miles, creating genuine, edge-of-your-seat dot-watching. It wasn't clear who would take the win until the final stretch, and by then everyone—riders, spectators, and the desert itself—had given everything they had.

When the dust settled, here's who was left standing:

1st — Kyle Gilbert — 2d 5h 44m
2nd — Hannah Simon — 2d 16h 17m
3rd (DFL) — Robert Shine — 2d 19h 33m

These three deserve every ounce of praise and recognition—not just for surviving the desert, but for putting on one hell of a race. Everyone who was out there knows how hard they had to fight, and they earned the respect of the entire field.

On today's episode, I sat down with Kyle and Hannah in the back of DogSpeed Cycling in Austin, TX to talk all things WTS. At this point, they are the leading experts on the event, and we went deep: strategy, equipment, tire choice, water management, drop bags, preparation—you name it. Whether you're thinking about tackling WTS or you just want to hear two incredible humans break down an unforgettable ride, this episode is for you.

On a personal note, hosting both Kyle and Hannah at their very first ultra-cycling race back at ETS 2021 was one of the highlights of my time in this community. Seeing them return nearly five years later—stronger, wiser, and standing atop the WTS podium—was a full-circle moment that I'll never forget. I couldn't be prouder of these two, and I have no doubt they'll keep pushing boundaries and inspiring others along the way.

---------

The party starts again at the 6th Edition of East Texas Showdown at the Bullet Grill in Point Blank, TX. Need to know:
- March 27th-29th, 2026
- Registration Open now
- Showdown (395 miles), Slowdown (275 miles), Lowdown (160 miles)
- NEW FOR 2026 we're introducing a Gravél option. Please say "hi" to the 69 miles Gravél Throwdown. This is a unique race format that introduces another opportunity for others to get in on the action over the weekend, but it also presents a new challenge for the ultra-cylists - anyone who finishes the Showdown or Slowdown before Sunday at 7am can enter the Throwdown for free. Should make for a really dynamic race...a battle between gravel racers and ultra-cyclists - its the Gravél Throwdown y'all!
- more info can be found at TexasShowdownSeries.com

Thanks to our newest Patrons!!!

Dustin Mareth

Indiana Shulz

Manuel Busse

Dave Milam

Borja G

Join them won't you?! - Patreon.com/bikesordeath