Selfies and Self-Reflection on the Colorado Trail Race
This year’s Colorado Trail Race saw fifteen women and non-binary riders at the start line. In this competitive field, Katya Rakhmatulina took the win and set a new women’s fastest known time at 5 days, 1 hour, 53 minutes. Lael Wilcox, Ana Jager, Alexandera Houchin, and Karin Pocock also bested the previous women’s FKT of 06…
Lost Elephant- Women Rule!
On July 22, 58 bikepackers set out on the Lost Elephant, a self-supported race starting in Cranbook, British Columbia. The race includes two route options, the 520km Jumbo and the 316km Dumbo, both of which form a loop in the Kootenay region on the Western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The challenging route includes high…
Redefining Self-Worth on the Highland Trail
Lining up for the Highland Trail 550, I felt strong. I felt confident. I knew I was going to have a good race. I prepared well and felt faster than I’ve ever been. Conditions were dry and fast and I was ready to crush. I wanted to go under five days and I was sure…
It’s OK, the Snakes are Sleeping – Reflections from Pinyons and Pines
I headed towards the Pinyons and Pines bikepacking race with many bricks in my pack, so to speak. I didn’t really believe I would be racing until I was pulling away from Flag Bike Revolution and pedaling out with the group start.
Whoa Baby Part 2: My journey to be a competitive bikepacking mama
It felt like it was about 90 degrees out. I was battling a headache and a touch of nausea as I pedaled the singletrack out of Cottonwood and began the 15-mile and 3,500-foot climb up Mingus Mountain. I veered off trail under the first shade-providing bush I spotted and pulled out my breast pumps. The…
PolarRoll Ultra – My First Winter Ultra
Two years ago my husband Al and I watched the documentary Safety to Nome. If you’ve not seen it, it’s about the 350/1000-mile human-powered (by bike, foot, or ski) race through the Alaskan wilderness in the dead of winter. By the way, it’s going on right now. As we’re watching, Al turns to me and…
Into the Deep End and Back Again: A Cautionary Tale
The 2021 Utah Mixed Epic, official description: “A self-supported bikepacking adventure snaking through Utah’s alpine and desert regions. With plenty of high altitude climbing and long stretches without services. Favoring unpaved surfaces, be prepared for everything from smooth gravel roads to technical, rocky passages.” In the heart of the sleeping city, the chill of fall…
Jodi’s Huracan 300
I recently completed the Huracan 300 bikepacking route with my husband Mark and friends Cathy and Zach. The Huracan 300 is the Singletrack Samurai’s signature route, featured on bikepacking.com and described as “the ultimate off-road endurance experience in the state of Florida.” The route is a 360-mile loop of singletrack, forest service roads, grass, swamp…
Good Things Come in Threes: Jill Martindale Reflects on Her Unsupported Arrowhead 135 Win
I ripped dead branches off a pine tree just off the side of the Arrowhead Trail. I was trying to get a fire going inside a three-sided shelter so I could warm up a little bit. I wasn’t having great luck burning anything thicker than a pencil because the moisture in the branches was just…
To Be an Athlete
It’s dark outside and I laugh at myself as small balls of ice hit my face. Perhaps it’s just cold rain falling quickly from the clouds that circle above me, but either way, it is slightly painful. How many hours have I spent inside, on my trainer sweating profusely in a grand attempt to prepare…
