The Utah Mixed Epic is known for linking together some of the more remote and rugged pieces of road and trail throughout the state of Utah. This year, Tim Tait’s 637-mile route starts and finishes in Moab, arguably one of the birthplaces of the underground adventure ride race scene. Heading straight into the La Sal mountains, the route alternates between high-altitude mountainous terrain and low-desert roads and trail. It visits the Abajo Mountains, Bears Ears, Glen Canyon, Henry Mountains, San Rafael Swell, and Green River before returning to Moab on the world-famous Mag 7 Trails for a comprehensive tour of the area.
This year sees four highly experienced bikepacking women lining up for the route, including one of the The Town Bicycle founders, Katie Strempke. Two of the women are on singlespeeds, all of them have a great outlook on what will hopefully be remote, challenging, beautiful, and memorable days in the desert.
As Lindsay Shepard so aptly said:
“I feel like, in Western society, a person’s perceived value is too intimately tied to busyness and career productivity. Long days cruising the desert or dragging my bike through the mountains gives me time to reset and let my mind wander.”
Read more about them below and follow along starting 7 a.m. on Friday morning at Trackleaders.com.
Karin Pocock
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia
Home Now: Blue River, Colorado
Bike: Santa Cruz Carbon Chameleon with as many after-market parts as I can figure out how to afford
What’s appealing about trying the Utah Mixed Epic this year? Have you ridden much in the Moab area?
Moab is a bit of second home to me, mostly as a crack climber than later in life as a mountain biker. I have been spending lengthy time in Moab and what is now Bears Ears since 1998. Despite the tourism and the busy roads, I can’t drive into Moab without remembering a time of living for free on Potash Road (downstream of UMTRA, probably a bad idea), staying at the Days Inn for 30 bucks when it was just too cold to deal, climbing in Indian Creek using the old staple-bound guidebook from Marco and using my mountain bike to ride washes to check out desert rock climbs. I have ridden and climbed extensively in the Moab area and the land is appealing to me and always has been. I have tried to live no further than four to five hours from the desert my entire life in Colorado. I also guided a chunk of the route for Lizard Head Cycling in 2019 (supported) and it’s appealing to try and ride it unsupported.
What are you most looking forward to out on route? Are you dreading anything?
I just want to feel and breathe the desert that has felt like one of my homes since I was a teenager. It’s a bizarre concept to call a place home that you only visit seasonally, yet as a multi-generational immigrant and a nomadic person with what society calls “itchy feet,” it does seem fitting to call the land surrounding Moab one of my “homes.” I am looking forward to being in the land. I am dreading the water. I have spent a huge part of my life researching surface and groundwater contamination and I have a certain duress about the water quality throughout this route. I hope anyone riding this route or planning to ride this route has watched “Uranium Drive-In,” if not read further into the mining history of Western Colorado and Eastern Utah.
UME seems to have a bit of everything when it comes to terrain. If you had to choose one type of terrain to ride in for the rest of your life, mountains or desert, which would it be and why?
This is a hard question as a seasonal migrant. I would choose to ride raw, awkward single track for the rest of my life, but in doing so I would have to move between mountains and desert to stay on that type of terrain. I appreciate immensely that this route asks for a diversity of skills in its execution and that the route changes each year so that those who have more time and money to rehearse a route do not have an unfair advantage. Thanks Tim for keeping us on our toes!!
Tell us a bit about your bike setup. Did you try to optimize for being efficient on roads, being comfortable and fast on the chunky trails, floating on sand, or something in between? What was your thought process behind the bike setup?
I had a rim completely die this year on the CTR. To be fair, I knew I was in need of new rims and didn’t have the cash. Now I have a new carbon wheelset despite the $$ and will hopefully pay them off in the winter. Overall, I don’t have the means to optimize my Carbon Chameleon much past what it innately is, which is actually a very competent mixed-terrain bike. I’ve installed a Old Man Mountain Elkhorn rack for this ride to help offset the water and cargo weight, and I’ve actually gone to heavier tires which are less optimized for roads, but I have a little wheel/tire CTR PTSD at the moment, so I’m willing to take the drag despite my love of low-drag race tires. I also know the desert can eat through just about material and the more durable the better.
It seems like there are going to be long stretches between water fill ups. What’s your water capacity? How are you carrying it?
I have a 10 to 12L capacity, depending on some extra pack weight or awkward strapping, as the first couple litres get consumed. I have 4L in my triangle/framepack and 2L up front and another 2L on the rear rack with the remainder being possible in my pack.
What do you think the biggest temperature swing in a single day on the route will be? Are you planning on trying to time your ride to be high during the day and lower at night, or are you just going to ride and hope for the best?
Last time I was out on portions of this route (same time of year) I had 90F to 30F swing. I’m planning for something similar. I’m a bit of a lizard and don’t mind the heat. I’m mostly concerned about cold nights and will keep riding to sleep/nap on lower ground and also have thermal leggings and arm sleeves packed.
What’s the appeal of long back-to-back days in the saddle?
I don’t know if there’s a sport or pursuit out there that gives you so much time sitting with yourself; with your own mind. It’s an amazing space to occupy. I had a challenging childhood, but despite it, I got to have a mother who constantly encouraged me to love myself and the space inside my head. Realistically we all die alone inside our minds, no matter who is in the room, the real room is inside our heads. Why not make it a sacred and valued space. I do believe ultra endurance riding allows us to meet ourselves in an authentic way that we are otherwise happy to be distracted from by life’s daily routine. I appreciate getting to meet myself as I grow and age, again and again through challenging solo pursuits.
Have I missed anything that you’d want people to know about you?
I’m a little terrified of this race. For the first time since the start of Covid, I have been sick with normal flu bugs twice in three weeks. Teaching at a college probably hasn’t helped. I’ve been googling “racing during flu recovery” and hoping that I’m not making a poor choice after booking time off for this race. Similarly, I’ve worked most days since the CTR, I’m not sure if others have that kind of schedule, but that’s my schedule, so my time in the saddle has been limited and I’m hoping that “residual” fitness, as my partner calls, it will see me through. I do question if endurance racing is really the appropriate sport of the full time guide/outdoor educator due to how we grind ourselves down (death by a thousand cuts) with our schedules. Well, I’m taking a shot at this beautiful route in a landscape/country that I feel close too; that nurtures my soul.
Editor’s Note: Karin wrote some amazing responses for her Faces Behind the Dots profile for the Colorado Trail Race. Check them out here.
Katie Strempke
Home Now: Van, chasing good riding and living
Bike: Chumba Sendero Singlespeed
Tell us a bit about your bike riding and bikepacking experience.
I’ve dabbled in lots of areas of cycling from road touring to cyclocross to racing crits to riding gravel. These days I’m most focused on mountain biking and bikepacking. I’ve been on lots of bikepacking overnighters and weekend trips. The first time I did an overnighter by bike was a cross country tour from San Francisco, California to Yorktown, Virginia in 2012. In 2018, I toured the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route with my husband Andrew. I’ve participated in several bikepacking races the past few years. This year I raced Pinyons & Pines and the Tour Divide. The Utah Mixed Epic will round out the season for me!
Was there a specific thing that got you into riding bikes and/or bikepacking?
Both of my parents are avid cyclists and supported me riding bikes since I was a teenager, first in a handful of triathlons, then they encouraged me when I decided I wanted to do a bike tour across the country at age 19. My dad also taught me how to change a flat tire and gave me lessons on bike maintenance before I went away to college so I’d be self sufficient. I went on that bike tour from San Francisco to Yorktown with Andrew (a great way to see if you’re a compatible couple!) and Aiden, another person our age who was looking for riding partners on his tour. When we returned, I raced cyclocross, road, and gravel for several years before we went on another tour, this time on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. That trip was life changing and we spent the next two years scheming about how to head west and live in our van. We’ve been mobile for just over two years now, getting in as much riding and bikepacking as we can!
What’s appealing about trying the Utah Mixed Epic this year? Have you ridden much in the Moab area?
I wanted to race the Utah Mixed Epic because I just love this part of Utah. I’ve spent as much time as I can in the Moab area the past couple of falls and springs. The route covers some rugged Moab 4×4 roads and singletrack and also goes up into the surrounding desert and mountain ranges. I’m really looking forward to seeing new roads and trails in this zone.
What are you most looking forward to out on route? Are you dreading anything?
I’m most looking forward to gawking at all the red rocks and seeing the changing ecosystems as I move through the route. This area is just so visually stimulating and it’s one of the reasons I love it so much.
I try not to go into a race dreading anything. If we have to walk through sand or hike our bikes, whatever. Everybody has to do it and it often slows the geared riders down! Singlespeeders can be weird that way.
UME seems to have a bit of everything when it comes to terrain. If you had to choose one type of terrain to ride in for the rest of your life, mountains or desert, which would it be and why?
Desert…no, mountains… no, desert, bah! I can’t decide. Usually my answer is wherever I am. Right now I’m in Moab and I’m in love with the desert, but two weeks ago when I was in the San Juans I would have definitely told you mountains.
Tell us a bit about your bike setup. Did you try to optimize for being efficient on roads, being comfortable and fast on the chunky trails, floating on sand, or something in between? What was your thought process behind the bike setup?
I’m riding my Chumba Sendero set up singlespeed (32×20). I’m running 2.6-inch tires, a little wider than I usually run to be prepared for sandy roads. I definitely subscribe to the thought that comfort on the bike translates to speed in long races and I’m sure I won’t be complaining about the extra squish on the rugged and rocky terrain.
It seems like there are going to be long stretches between water fill ups. What’s your water capacity? How are you carrying it?
I’m carrying water all over the bike and in my backpack! I can fit 2.5 liters in my framebag, 1.5 liters in the Nalgene on my downtube, 1.5 liters between my two stem bags, and on the real dry sections, I can carry 3-plus liters in my backpack. I won’t have to utilize my full capacity at every stop, but there are a couple of really dry sections where it’s needed.
What do you think the biggest temperature swing in a single day on the route will be? Are you planning on trying to time your ride to be high during the day and lower at night, or are you just going to ride and hope for the best?
I’m just going to ride and hope for the best. If it’s hot in the afternoon, I definitely won’t pass up a nap in the shade. Fortunately the forecast looks pretty ideal. My bet is that we’ll see a 95-degree afternoon in the real low spots and if you’re up in the Abajos or Henrys at night, it could get down to freezing.
What’s your first memory of riding a bike? When did you discover riding long distances? What’s the appeal of long back-to-back days in the saddle?
Hmm, I remember my parents teaching me how to ride a bike without training wheels in the street in front of my house. I must’ve been about five then. I think that bike was pink and I put those round, colorful plastic spoke decorations on my wheels that make a racket as the wheel rotates. I thought it was so cool.
I’ve been an endurance athlete since I was a kid, but most of my time was spent in a pool looking at a black line. Riding bikes was a way to see new things in a self-powered way. I started riding longer days in preparation for my 2012 cross-country bike tour and pretty much haven’t stopped since.
Why are bikes awesome? Why is bikepacking awesome?
Traveling by bike feels like just the right speed. It’s slow enough that I can notice the plants, animals, and terrain surrounding me but fast enough that I can cover a lot of ground in a day. It would be really difficult to carry enough water walking this route, and you’d miss so much in a car! The simplicity of bikepacking, having all the stuff I need and only having to worry about pedaling to the next food and water, is a good reminder that it doesn’t take much to make me happy.
Have I missed anything that you’d want people to know about you?
I am going to eat so many Sour Patch Kids. RIP my tongue.
Lindsay Shepard
Home Now: Van, mostly in the southwest and midwest
Bike: Specialized Epic
Tell us a bit about your bike-riding and bikepacking experience.
I rode bike as a kid but didn’t get into riding as an adult until my mid-30s. In 2013, I was living in Phoenix, going to ASU for a career change. My car was breaking down, so I sold it for parts and got a bike to commute to school and work. I was riding about 15 to 30 miles a day. At the time, I was planning to do a thru-hike of the PCT. Realizing I couldn’t get the time off to do it all in one shot, I decided to see if there were long-distance cycling trails. I found the Great Divide Route on the ACA (Adventure Cycling Association) website, learned that people raced it, and decided that was the natural next step up from my short daily commutes. My 2013 attempt was an utter shitshow of things falling off my bike, a couple of minor wrecks, extreme sunburn, saddle sores, and a bruised ego, but what I learned that year helped me finish the route NOBO in 2014 and SOBO in 2015. Since then, I’ve completed the American Trail Race (2017), French Divide (2018), Utah Mixed Epic (2020), Arkansas High County (2020, singlespeed), and some shorter events in between. After this year’s UME, I’m doing the High Country SS again, but as a yo-yo. This sport is addicting.
What’s appealing about trying the Utah Mixed Epic this year? Have you ridden much in the Moab area?
By 2021, I felt stagnant with ultras and wanted to challenge myself with something other than sheer distance. I’d heard the 2020 UME course was an absolute beast of tough terrain and infrequent resupply, so jumped on the 2021 roster. My experience on that course convinced me that Tim Tait delights in stringing together the shittiest two-tracks, sandiest washes, most overgrown singletrack, and steepest scree-ridden hillsides to make us all reach for depths of mental, emotional, and physical strength we don’t know we possess. The views, solitude, and feelings of personal growth and self-sufficiency are totally worth it.
What are you most looking forward to out on route? Are you dreading anything?
Not working for a week. Quality alone time in beautiful landscapes. Low traffic. Challenging terrain. There’s limited resupply with some long dry stretches, so I look forward to the challenge of calculating how much water/food to load up on. I like to get a solid block of at least four hours of sleep and have never truly pushed the sleep deprivation game, so maybe this year I’ll see if I can manage a 24-hour push for fun.
Tell us a bit about your bike setup. Did you try to optimize for being efficient on roads, being comfortable and fast on the chunky trails, floating on sand, or something in between? What was your thought process behind the bike setup?
My basic setup for any mixed terrain ultra is a hardtail with flat bars and moderately chunky tires, 29×2.3 for this course. Gear-wise, I crammed my entire sleep system and layers into my seat bag, leaving the frame bag and front roll free for however much food/water I want for a given section. I don’t like to ride with a backpack or with lots of bottles on the bike, so I made room for the extra water bladders I anticipate needing on this route.
What do you think the biggest temperature swing in a single day on the route will be? Are you planning on trying to time your ride to be high during the day and lower at night, or are you just going to ride and hope for the best?
I’ve taken to making no plans for ride timing and either ride until I feel like I’m going to drop, or until I get to a section where I prefer to wait until daylight to navigate the terrain. I bring warm enough gear that temperature usually isn’t a factor in where I sleep. I’ve also stopped checking the tracker for the most part and just have fun and ride my own ride.
What’s your first memory of riding a bike? When did you discover riding long distances? What’s the appeal of long back-to-back days in the saddle?
I feel like, in Western society, a person’s perceived value is too intimately tied to busyness and career productivity. Long days cruising the desert or dragging my bike through the mountains gives me time to reset and let my mind wander. I like to assess where I’m at in life and whether my current actions truly reflect my values, and whether I’m making time to have meaningful experiences and relationships. It’s nice to go back to the ‘real world’ with a fresh outlook and make changes as needed.
Most ultra courses go through small towns, and I appreciate interacting with the people who live there. Most people are genuine and kind, which is easy to forget with all the madness emphasized by mass media. The people I meet during a race renew my faith in humanity and are always a highlight.
Why are bikes awesome? Why is bikepacking awesome?
Bikepacking is awesome because…
– Anyone can do it! Bike type and gear can be personalized to fit what you need.
– Even a 10-mile overnighter to camp outside of town is extremely rejuvenating.
– You don’t have to get caught up in the hype of expensive gear to get started on the big rides. My first successful Tour Divide was on a $500 bike with hand-me-down bags and a mash-up of camping gear I already owned or borrowed. Just go for it! Even if your first attempt bombs like mine did, you’ll learn a lot about yourself and will gain confidence and knowledge to succeed the next time.
– The community is amazing. I’ve met some of my best friends through cycling, and people are eager to answer questions and share experiences.
Kristen Wade
Hometown: Plano, Illinois (far far west ‘burb of Chicago)
Bike: Vassago Mooseknuckle Singlespeed
Tell us a bit about your bike riding and bikepacking experience.
My husband Al got me into riding bikes before we were married, (16 years ago) we’ve been on two wheels ever since in varying spaces. We ride a ton of dirt, whether it be single track or gravel. Last year we decided to go big and do the Tour Divide racing from border to border since Canada was still closed. We finished in 27 days. Although I primarily ride a singlespeed, I did not last year on the Divide, but my husband did. This year I made a commitment to ONLY ride one gear for every event and so far, it’s working out for me. This year we did a 300+ mile bikepacking trip in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and in July attempted the Colorado Trail, but Al broke his wheel just outside of Breckenridge, so that’s a race we’ll be back for in 2023. In August, we finished the Gravel Worlds Long Voyage 300 mile race and just this past weekend finished the Marji Gesick 100 mile MTB race in Marquette/Ishpeming, MI. All on one gear.
Was there a specific thing that got you into riding bikes and/or bikepacking?
Well, I think it was when my husband and I watched Ride the Divide years ago. But at the time the only person we knew of that had completed it was a riding friend of my dad’s and I got the impression that you had to qualify to get a spot. I was like, there is no way in hell that I could ever do that. But I was immediately enamored with the idea of riding in far-off places along ribbons of dirt.
What’s appealing about trying the Utah Mixed Epic this year? Have you ridden much in the Moab area?
Al and I have taken a few trips to Moab to ride singletrack for the past 10 years or so. We’ve attempted the Kokopelli Trail twice (have yet to finish it) and done the Whole Enchilada a few times, that’s a blast! We met a friend on Tour Divide last year, Evan Benoit, who told us about UME and our interest was piqued. So I watched for it and signed up. It’s appealing because it’s in one of the most stunning landscapes I can think of. And I think it’s going to be different than Tour Divide in the sense that you have to be calculated and prepared when it comes to sourcing water and resupply. You can’t rely on a gas station everyday to get you a honeybun or pocket burrito.
What are you most looking forward to out on route? Are you dreading anything?
I’m most looking forward to the vastness, the feeling you get when you realize you’re so much smaller than this earth. I haven’t done anything that compares with the perspective you get from bikepacking.
UME seems to have a bit of everything when it comes to terrain. If you had to choose one type of terrain to ride in for the rest of your life, mountains or desert, which would it be and why?
That’s a toughy, I think mountains. I grew up in Colorado. There’s a special place in my soul for those big piles of rock.
Tell us a bit about your bike setup. Did you try to optimize for being efficient on roads, being comfortable and fast on the chunky trails, floating on sand, or something in between? What was your thought process behind the bike setup?
I’m riding a Vassago Mooseknuckle set up with 27.5+ x 2.8 tires and a front suspension with a 32:18 gear ratio. So I guess I’m set up for chunk and sand but I will probably be a little spinny on the “flatter” sections. And let’s face it, there’s really nothing efficient about being set up as a singlespeed. Thought process you ask, ha ha, um, hmmm it’s a comfortable bike, it’s durable, it’s got enough space on the frame for what I need to carry and it’s a cool-as-shit-looking bike!
It seems like there are going to be long stretches between water fill ups. What’s your water capacity? How are you carrying it?
Total I’ll have the ability to carry 5.5 to 6 liters max. Most of the time I’ll have two bottles in feed bags, a hip pack (1.5L) a 1L on my down tube.
What do you think the biggest temperature swing in a single day on the route will be? Are you planning on trying to time your ride to be high during the day and lower at night, or are you just going to ride and hope for the best?
I think the rule of thumb is high during the day, low at night but best laid plans you know…… If I were a bettin’ kind of gal I’d guess the biggest temp swing would be 40s up high and early morning and 80-90s down low and throughout the day.
What’s your first memory of riding a bike? When did you discover riding long distances? What’s the appeal of long back-to-back days in the saddle?
My first memory of riding a bike…. Probably around six years old? I had a Huffy Powder Puff Racer BMX style. It was white with pink tires and grips. I discovered riding really long distances in 2016 riding Gravel Worlds, which was 150 miles, but that’s just one day. Multi-day stuff really didn’t happen for me until last year at Tour Divide. The appeal for me is it breaks life down to the basics, food, water, shelter, bikes. The problems you have to solve out there are yours to solve or else, and sometimes the “or else” can be dire. I fell in love with the simplicity of only having to ride my bike day after day. It’s such a recharge.
Why are bikes awesome? Why is bikepacking awesome?
Bike are awesome because they are freedom machines.
Bikepacking is awesome because you can go to some really far -off places fast (relatively speaking).
Have I missed anything that you’d want people to know about you?
For a living I’m a firefighter and a paramedic. I currently hold the rank of Battalion Chief for the Sugar Grove Fire Protection District. I also write for a nationally syndicated magazine called Fire House (it’s a trade mag). My husband and I also own an coaching business called Mudslingers Endurance Coaching, we have a small “army” of endurance athletes we work with who like to do “hard things” too. Can I say I love my husband for getting me into singlespeeding and really for getting me into riding my bike? He’s my biggest fan and I’m his!! I’ve met so many wonderful humans in the bikepacking community.
