Ep. 209 ~ Kurt Refsnider, First to ride the 5,000 mile Orogenesis Route

Ep. 209 ~ Kurt Refsnider, First to ride the 5,000 mile Orogenesis Route

From Bikes or Death by Patrick Farnsworth

January 29, 2026 · 2h 2m · Season 1 · Episode 209

About this episode

Kurt Refsnider discusses his record-setting ride of the 5,000-mile Orogenesis Route and his experiences as an ultra-endurance cyclist.

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…

People in this episode

Host: Patrick Farnsworth

Guest: Kurt Refsnider

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Orogenesis Route

Places: North America, Canadian border, Mexican border, Baja Divide

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