Detours: Bikepacking, Ultra-Cycling and Adventures by Bike

• Get to Know Nathalie Baillon [ReRelease]

  I've been getting loads of questions as this year's Tour Divide is underway – who is Nathalie Baillon? After leading for the first 4 days of the race, she suffered a major mechanical just after Fleecer Ridge, forcing her to return to Butte and get a new wheel. Back on the road, she's chasing hard to catch Lael Wilcox. Both women are ahead of Lael's record pace, and gunning to be the first woman to reach Antelope Wells. Originally released in March 2024, in this episode Nathalie shares about her entry into the world of ultra-racing and offers a deep dive on her mindset as a racer. She has quite an impressive resume, including joint first woman at Silk Road Mountain Race in August 2023, the fastest woman to ride across Europe, second woman at Atlas Mountain Race 2024 and more. I hope you'll join me in cheering her (and the rest of the Tour Divide racers) on. Watch the dots hereFollow Nathalie's on Instagram: @nathalie_baillonFollow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebbFollow Detours on Instagram: @detourscyclingFollow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Women of Tour Divide 2025

  Each year, on the second Friday in June, hundreds of riders gather outside the YMCA in Banff, Alberta, to begin what’s widely considered bikepacking’s most iconic ultra-endurance race: the Tour Divide. Riders follow the Continental Divide across 4,400 kilometers, tackling rugged dirt roads, remote wilderness, high mountain passes, and variable weather on their way to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.While more women take to the start year after year, they still only make up ~10% of participants. In 2025, 29 of the 238 riders registered on Trackleaders are women. This episode of Detours is dedicated to those women.In an effort to celebrate the women of this year’s Tour Divide, and to inspire more to line up in the future, I collected voice notes from riders across the globe—sharing who they are, why they’re racing, and what brought them to this start line. Inevitably, I wasn't able to capture everyone's voices despite my best efforts and internet sleuthing.You’ll hear from first-timers, returning riders, dot-watching converts, and those chasing the Tour Divide women’s record. Their stories speak to why representation matters, why adventure is worth the risk, and why more women belong at the start line.I hope you'll join me in cheering them on and watching their dots as they make their way from Banff to Antelope Wells.Follow the dots here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• In the Field at Hellenic Mountain Race: Listen to the Mountain Races Podcast

  I'm out in the field reporting from the Hellenic Mountain Race and dropping daily episodes through June 1st! If you're after your bikepacking, ultracycling, and adventure fix, head over to the Mountain Races podcast and subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.Detours will be back with regularly scheduled programming the first week of June!Listen to the Mountain Races Podcast on Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts. Follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for daily visual updates throughout the race. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Nelson Trees on Building The Mountain Races

  Most people in the bikepacking world know Nelson Trees as the mind behind the Silk Road Mountain Race—a race that has become legendary for its beauty, difficulty, and unpredictability. But before he was designing some of the most talked-about routes in ultra cycling, Nelson was a mountaineer, a Deliveroo rider, and someone who once rode a homemade carbon tandem from Shanghai to Paris.In this episode, he shares about his path to founding The Mountain Races: a series of fixed-route, unsupported events that now span Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Greece, and soon, Türkiye. He shares about his first experiences with bikepack racing at the Transcontinental Race and how that event inspired the Silk Road Mountain Race, what it actually takes to build a good race route, and the power of experiences where the outcome isn’t guaranteed. Nelson shares stories from the early editions of SRMR—including a bull trampling a rider’s bike—and offers a sneak peek at the newest addition to the series: Taurus Mountain Race, coming in 2026.Mentioned in this episode:Silk Road Mountain RaceAtlas Mountain RaceHellenic Mountain RaceTaurus Mountain Race (coming 2026)Transcontinental RaceHighland Trail 550Mike Hall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• For the Vibes: Alyssa Gonzalez on Building Inclusive Spaces and Joyful Movement in Cycling

  It’s wild how something as simple as walking into a bike shop can make you feel like you don’t belong. It's a feeling many folks, especially marginalized identities, have encountered, and one that Alyssa Gonzalez has made her goal to change. She wears so many hats. She is a designer advocate, cyclist runner, community organizer, model, content creator, and she owns a bike shop. And at the heart of everything she does, is the goal of elevating marginalized communities and creating welcoming spaces for folks in the outdoors. Her bike shop, which she co-founded, Treehouse Cyclery, is a community-first space, redefining what it means to be a bike shop. She also leads the Colorado chapter of Radical Adventure Riders, organizing events, rides, and camps that help women, trans, and non-binary folks find belonging in adventure cycling.In this conversation, Alyssa shares how she got into the outdoors later in life, what happened when she signed up for a 600-mile bikepacking race after just one year of riding, and how she’s learned to tune out the pressure to perform and lean into joy. Whether she’s leading a group ride, fixing bikes, or talking to new riders about their first gear purchase, Alyssa is helping reshape cycling culture, and always bringing the vibes. Check out Alyssa's bikeshop Treehouse Cyclery in Boulder, ColoradoFollow Alyssa's adventures on Instagram: @__alyssagonzalezFollow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebbFollow Detours on Instagram: @detourscyclingFollow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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