Murphology Podcast

Sherry Ott is back to talk to us about bike tours in other countries. You may remember her from a few years back when we did an episode highlighting her United States Capitol to Capitol by bicycle quest. That episode is listed in the show notes. Sherry is celebrating 20 years of Ottsworld, which is her travel blog that features her travels and small group tours that take tourists off the beaten path. She is going to tell us about some of her recent (and upcoming) bike tours and also provide us with a few tips on how to choose a bike tour that fits your style of riding. You can check out all her travels on ottsworld.com Here is the Capitol to Capitol episode: https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-115-sherrys-biking-capitol-building-to-capitol-building And here is the Experience Plus episode: https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-153-experience-plus-premium-bicycle-tour-company Please rate this podcast, especially if you are a fan! Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

Have you heard of a brand of bicycles called Priority? If not, today is the day! Co-Founder Connor Swegle is on this episode to talk all things Priority! Priority Bicycles is a small company with big dreams. They went from a Kickstarter 11 years ago to a company that has a full line up of bicycles that feature a belt drive system instead of your standard chain. This makes for, as they would say: the best low maintenance bicycles in the world, period. Their strategy is simple: high quality parts, an efficient supply chain, low overhead, and an online business model. Connor talks about the company, exactly what a belt drive is, and what is in store for the future of Priority Bicycles. www.murphologypodcast.com www.prioritybicycles.com www.duzertv.com www.ragbrai.com Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

Who wants to ride in North Carolina with me?? Today meet Chip Hofler from North Carolina Amateur Sports and Cycle North Carolina. What started in the early 80’s as an organization bringing the Olympic festival to the area, it is now host to some pretty cool rides including a mountain ride and a coastal ride. I am planning to do an epic tour with them in early October that combines both. It is called Cycle North Carolina Mountains to Coast Ride. It is a 7 day fully supported ride with an average of about 65 miles per day. Featuring the North Carolina scenic beauty from the mountains to the coast, Chip also tells us about some of the historic and visitor attractions riders can look forward to on this ride. Get registered today! https://ncsports.org/event/cyclenc_mountainstocoast_ride/ If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to this podcast so you will know when new episodes drop! www.murphologypodcast.com

On this episode meet Amaiya Bearpaw. As a proud member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, she was chosen to pedal about 950 miles in 2023 as part of the Remember the Removal Bike Ride, also known as RTR. The ride spans from Georgia to Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma over nearly three weeks. The Remember the Removal Bike Ride was started by the Cherokee Nation in 1984 with the intent for Cherokee youth to retrace the Trail of Tears and get a glimpse of the hardships their ancestors faced when they made the same trek on foot years before. The ride became an annual event starting in 2009 and today, riders are selected based on an interview process. Then, the selected riders train for six months and also learn about the history of the Cherokee . During the bike tour, riders get re-connected with their past, honoring and visiting the historic landmarks and unmarked graves of their Cherokee ancestors. Amaiya was part of the 2023 team and is on today to tell us about her experience. https://rtr.cherokee.org/ https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/remember-the-removal-bike-ride.htm https://shop.visitcherokeenation.com/ www.murphologypodcast.com Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

On this episode meet Meaghan Hackinen. She is an ultra endurance cyclist who recently completed the Tour Divide which is over 2,700 miles of self supported bike racing that follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, from Banff Canada down to the US/Mexico border. Not only did Meaghan finish this grueling race 7th overall with a time of 15 days and 23 hours, she nailed first place in the women's division! Meaghan is tells us a bit about how she embraced the grittiness of the race by staying what she describes as consistently consistent. In addition to being an ultra endurance athlete with countless wins and FKTs, she is also a writer with two books focused on two wheeled adventures. Both South Away: 'The Pacific Coast on Two Wheels' and 'Shifting Gears: Coast to Coast on the Trans Am Bike Race' are available for purchase. https://meaghanhackinen.com/ www.murphologypodcast.com https://tourdivide.org/

The Be Good Foundation was founded by Rebecca Rusch who among many things is an ultra endurance athlete, adventure cyclist, a world champion multiple times and the star in a film called Blood Road. At the Be Good Foundation, the bike is the center of their work as a catalyst for healing, empowerment, and evolution. They provide grant support to a number of organizations that use the bike in just this fashion. One such recipient is today’s guest, Megan LaBeth. Megan is currently on an epic bikepacking adventure, riding from New York City to a cycling event in Idaho put on by Rebecca Rusch called Rebecca’s Private Idaho. Megan has a mantra, "One Rotation at a Time," that to her is a reminder of the power of persistence, the importance of mental health, and the healing nature of cycling. She is raising money for the Be Good Foundation along the way so that there can be future Be Good Foundation scholarship recipients. She is going to tell us about her adventure and experiences as a solo traveler making her way to Idaho. You can donate to her Be Good Foundation fundraiser at: https://www.thebegoodfoundation.org/fromthebigappletothebakedpotato Follow along on Megan’s journey on her Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/eatplaybike https://murphologypodcast.com/ https://www.thebegoodfoundation.org/ https://www.instagram.com/eatplaybike Watch Rebecca’s film Blood Road: https://www.redbull.com/us-en/films/blood-road

What the heck is DFL? Well, keeping it PG, it stands for Dead Freaking Last and at Mid South Gravel there is a celebration for the last rider to finish the 100 mile gravel course, a high energy celebration that I have never experienced before. Hundreds of people line up at the finish line and this year as Beth McBride crossed that finish line, people were cheering, the champagne was spraying and the band was playing. It was epic! Bobby Wintle is the Race Director and he goes out of his way to make this weekend one heck of a party. Beth tells us about her experience at Mid South, which was her first 100 mile gravel finish. She also tells us about a challenge she joined on January 1st..to ride 10 miles a day. With over 100 days of consecutive riding, she is still going strong on this challenge and has no plans to end her streak! I was lucky to get to meet and ride bikes with Beth recently when we both were part of the Driftless Gravel Camp in Winona, Minnesota. We both share a deep love for the bicycle and the opportunity to ride. It was such a fun weekend! Beth’s Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/trexlovescake/ https://www.midsouthgravel.com/ https://murphologypodcast.com/ www.patreon.com/murphology Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

The Iowa Gravel Series started in 2020 after Chris McQueen put on the Glenwood Gravel Grinder and decided to expand. Seven races now make up the Iowa Gravel Series, and it is a full season of events all over Iowa that take place from May to September. Races include the Glenwood Superbloom which is a unique and first of a kind women’s gravel race in Iowa and takes place in late September. In this episode Ian Breitlow, the Marketing Director with the Iowa Gravel Series, is on to tell us more about how the Iowa Gravel Series uses gravel roads to connect people with community. https://iowagravelseries.com/ https://murphologypodcast.com/ www.patreon.com/murphology Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE DISCUSSION. On this episode Dan Hurd, AKA Lt. Dan joins me, and we talk a considerable amount about the sensitive topic of suicide so please be aware. Dan himself has attempted suicide several times and lucky for him, and all of us, he found the bicycle and it changed his life for the better. He had only been on a few rides when he decided to join a friend for a long ride. As we all do at times, as the miles ticked away, the complaining started and Dan’s friend came back at Dan with some tough love and a phrase that stuck…one pedal at a time. The bicycle became Dan’s new obsession and he went from just a guy on a bike to a cyclist who spent several years biking the lower 48 states….all 48 of them! His bicycle journey became a mission to promote suicide awareness and to talk suicide prevention to anyone that would listen. And from that a nonprofit was born called One Pedal at a Time Movement, or OPAATmovement.com which focuses on suicide prevention. Most days when he is out riding he has a huge sign on his bike that reads Make a Stranger Smile. The bicycle is where he finds his peace and in this episode you will learn how he helps others find their peace as well. Again, please be aware this episode talks a lot about the sensitive topic of suicide. https://ridewithdan.godaddysites.com/ https://opaatmovement.com/ Ryan Van Duzer Episode: https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-113-bike-adventurer-ryan-van-duzer-recaps-ragbrai-xlix Rum Runner Tour Episode: https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-146-riding-the-rum-runner-tour-to-key-west www.murphologypodcast.com www.patreon.com/murphology Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram page for daily entertainment.

I recently spent a week riding my bike in Florida with the Rum Runner Tour and asked the tour hosts to join me on the podcast. Pat Mayben and Bill Plock both have a ton of experience as event organizers, and run this successful bicycle tour that leads riders through the Florida Everglades and down to Key West. The Rum Runner Tour will introduce you to really cool places that you might not find on your own. Plus they take care of all the logistics so all you have to do is bike and enjoy. Their next tour is coming up mid January of 2024 so if you are looking for something warm and fun to get you through the winter, this is it! Find out more info at rumrunnertour.com. Here is my interview with Bill and Pat. www.rumrunnertour.com www.murphologypodcast.com Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook and Instagram page for daily entertainment! www.bicycleresort.com www.lizardlips.net

Joy Ride: A Bike Odyssey from Alaska to Argentina written by Kristen Jokinen, is a new book available now! On the show today meet WORLD TRAVELERS, Ville and author Kristen, who are currently on a book tour zigzagging across the country promoting the book. They are on to talk about their 2 year, 18,000 mile journey from Alaska to Argentina on bikes! After hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail they had the itch to do something equally epic, and the plan to bike from Alaska to Argentina was born. At the time, they didn’t even own bikes. With the help of a friend they purchased bikes suitable for touring, tested those bikes with a very short 20 mile test ride, and boxed them up for the flight to Alaska. Their journey was all about biking, making connections and figuring out how little it takes to be genuinely happy. Kristen kept daily blogs and went on to write the book; Joy Ride: A Bike Odyssey from Alaska to Argentina, which is available now in your local bookstore or online. Find out more at their website which is welostthemap.com. www.welostthemap.com www.murphologypodcast.com https://linktr.ee/Murphology Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook and Instagram page for daily entertainment!

Grassroots Gravel is a new entity and new event coming to Pueblo, Colorado this fall and Adam Davidson is back to talk about it. You can be part of this first year event and get 15% off! 15% off Grassroots Gravel entry for Murphology Listeners Registration Link: https://register.chronotrack.com/r/74848 Use code: MURPHOLOGY Adam was on episode 41 to talk about singletrack biking, trail building and the Southern Colorado Trail Builders group in Pueblo. This time he is back to promote a gravel event that is designed to attract the gravel racers, gravel bikers, and also the everyday rider who might want to try something new. October 14th is event day and you can find out more at grassrootsgravel.com. www.grassrootsgravel.com Episode 41 with Adam Davidson: https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-41-bikepacking-and-singletrack-in-pueblo-colorado-with-adam-and-fam Episode 134: Gravel Locos https://soundcloud.com/murphology-podcast/episode-134-all-about-gravel-locos-with-founder-fabian-serralta 15% off Grassroots Gravel entry for Murphology Listeners Registration Link: https://register.chronotrack.com/r/74848 Use code: MURPHOLOGY www.murphologypodcast.com https://linktr.ee/Murphology Email me at murphologypodcast@gmail.com if you have a topic or the name of a cyclist you find interesting. Support my podcast at Patreon.com/Murphology and visit my Facebook and Instagram page for daily entertainment!