Bikes or Death (2025)

12/05/2025

The perfect collab. Hayduke Ti x 🫶🏻

08/05/2025

You already know. It’s Cjell Monē () 🤘🏻

Cjell Monē just did the unthinkable by riding his custom Monē La Roca with coaster brakes on the Arizona Trail 800 (). The AZT 800, which is actually 840 miles, traverses the length of Arizona from the USA/Mexico border to the border of Utah. It’s infamous for being one of the most challenging bikepacking routes in the world.

Crazy? Maybe. Wild? Yes! But if you know Cjell Monē you wouldn’t be even a little bit surprised. Cjell is known for his style, flair, and fondness for individuality. Which is represented in everything he does, from how he rides his bike to the bikes he builds at his custom bike factory (which is a truthfully a 1990 Wonderbread Truck). Learn more about Cjell and the beautiful bikes he builds over at MoneBikes.com.

Full write up, photo gallery, and links to the episode can be found at BikesorDeath.com.

EPISODE SPONSORS

– Use code “bagsordeath” at checkout to get 15% off your order!

Central Texas Showdown – Registration open now! Use code “bikesordeath” to get $20 off registration.

New Patrons
None this week.

Join us won’t you at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

02/05/2025

Whoop, Episode 200 🥳

On today’s episode I’m joined by a long time friend and cycling buddy of mine, Kerry Snow. Kerry was our 2nd place East Texas Showdown in the women’s category and was 10th overall. While an impressive accomplishment on its own, Kerry’s effort was even more incredible considering that she is undergoing chemotherapy for stage 2 breast cancer.

Determined to not let cancer dictate her life, she has continued to maintain an active lifestyle by working out, riding her bike, and even competing in the 400 mile East Texas Showdown this last March. Along her way she raised money for a local non-profit, BCS Fights Cancer, and was able to raise over $15,000 for this organization alongside her friend and riding partner Maegan Fitzgerald.

Kerry and I live in the same town and have been riding bikes together for longer than I can remember. I know her to be a physically and mentally strong rider and I credit her with being one of the people who inspired me to get into bikepacking. It was a true pleasure to have her on the podcast. I appreciate her sharing her experiences on her cancer journey and wish her well as she kicks its ass!

📷 .johnston8 / /

⚡️EPISODE SPONSORS ⚡️

– Use code “bagsordeath” at checkout to get 15% off your order!

Central Texas Showdown () – Registration open now! Use code “bikesordeath” to get $20 off registration.

New Patrons
Stephen Flusche
Joey Acuff
Aleksander Scully

Join them won’t you at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

28/04/2025

Warning: last slide is kinda gross 🤮

This past weekend and I rode the new Central Texas Showdown “Death Loop” that I scouted a few months ago.

What was intended to be a good and fun day on our bikes was derailed by what we believe were ongoing post-covid related symptoms. Immediately after ETS I came down with Covid that really took me out. I thought I had made a full recovery, but that proved to not be the case. Throughout the ride my heart rate was 30-40 bpm higher than it should have been based on my effort and output. Around mile 20 I threw up for the first time. No big deal, been here before, just need to focus on refueling and hydrating slowly. But every attempt to intake food and fluids was met almost immediately with a reversal of that process.

There was a soda machine around mile 40 that was a lifesaver. I drank 4 cokes and took one to-go in a water bottle.

I limped in to the finish at the to locals who were cheering me on (Natalie beat me there by a few minutes and had told them about my woes).

All of that did not detract from the beauty of the route and I’m excited for this addition to CTS.

The new Death Loop is 60 miles, making the route total 501 miles, and is 60% unpaved/40% paved. As you make your way to the finish riders will be treated to a 5 mile section of beautiful downhill (featured in slide 5), a rare treat in Texas were long sustained climbs or descents are hard to come by.

Registration for CTS open on May 1st @ High Noon. Check out for more info!

23/04/2025

Finally got around to sorting and editing all the photos from my West Texas Showdown developmental trip last week. The only thing missing in most of them are rad humans on bikes!

Big Bend is near and dear to my heart (as it is with just about anyone who’s had the privilege to go and also has a pulse). I still remember my first trip to big bend when I was 15 and as an adult I try to make it out there once a year. The desert is my happy place and big bend is more like my temple. Even though this was a work trip, it still provided all the healing powers I’ve come to expect along with a much needed reset from the woes of daily life.

It also provided a lot of clarity as we march forward with plans and logistics for hosting an event in this beautifully rugged part of the world.

Big Bend is B-I-G! To give you an idea of the scale the Big Bend National Park and State Park are a contagious chunk of public land that cover over 1.1 million acres. For reference, Rhode Island is less than 800,000 sq acres. Getting to Big Bend is no easy tasks. From Dallas, Austin, and Houston it’s between a 8-9 hour drive. Making the first challenge of WTS just getting there.

Once you arrive in our host city of Terlingua you’ll be treated to one of the most unique ghost towns you’ve ever seen. A setting that would fit right into a Mad Max film. With only 138 residents, finding a place to accommodate 200+ riders, plus staff, friends/family, and volunteers is a real logistical challenge.

We were fortunate the perfect home for the WTS at . The High Sierra is synonymous with Terlingua and delivers on all the local flair and idiosyncrasies of this small town. It also has a hotel, rv park, and camp sites, to be able to accommodate an event like this. Not to mention food, beverages, and live music.

I’ve gone back and forth on whether I should announce dates yet as there are still some details to iron out, but if you’ve read this far you deserve a prize. Easily the number one question I get these days is, “When is WTS?”. So I’ll tell you the dates we are HOPING for and you can PENCIL it in. Okay? Okay! We are currently shooting for Nov. 20th - 23rd 2025.

17/03/2025

My guest today is the one and only Dr. Eliza Sampey () who brings her wealth of experience to the podcast. Eliza was a professional adventure athlete for 13 years. Her adventures and expeditions have taken her all over the world by way of all modalities of human powered travel. She is also a doctor of physical therapy, a concussion specialist, and a coach. Needless to say, we had a lot to chat about!

Visit BikesorDeath.com for a full write up and photo gallery from today’s episode!

EPISODE SPONSORS

– a five-day cycling adventure winding through the moody Ouachita Mountains. Starting in Mena and ending in Russellville, this route traverses incredible backcountry. June 3-8th - Register @ www.arkansasgraveler.com

- Enter to win a custom Chumba Slackr MTB plus a lot of other cycling goodies AND support the BPR Bipoc Bike Adventure Grant Program. Enter @ www.bikepackingroots.org

New Patrons  Andrew C.

Join them won’t you at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

27/02/2025

I’m stoked to bring you my latest chat with Eric House () fresh off his finish at the in Morocco.

After being laid off from his job in September he decided to go “full send” on bikepacking and has an epic 2025 planned. Probably most notably, he’ll be doing all three of the Mountain Race series on a singlespeed. Something no one’s ever done before!

For a full write up on today’s episode and photo gallery visit bikesordeath.com

Video version coming soon!

📷

EPISODE SPONSORS

- use code “mountainordeath” at checkout for 10% off your order

New Patrons 🫶🏻
Arron Newbury
Annie Bilotta

07/02/2025

Stoked to bring you a chat with Indiana Schulz aka “Drive by Dildo” ()!

After completing the Triple Crown Challenge in 2023 he traded in his racing days for traveling the world by bike.

He started in Deadhorse, Alaska on the Dalton Highway and is currently on the Baja Divide. I caught up to him while he was on a rest day to learn more about his trip, his reasons for it, and to hear some epic stories told in his own words.

Visit BikesorDeath.com for a full write up and photo gallery from his trip.

EPISODE SPONSORS

- this week we highlighted their popular and proven Tour Divide rack. Use code “mountainsordeath” at checkout to get 10% off!

New Patrons

None this week, but we’d like to thank the 356 patrons that support this show monthly 🫡

Join them won’t you at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

13/01/2025

While you were sipping egg nog and opening the presents that Santa Claus brought you, .annabel was starting his AZT 300 Yo-Yo attempt. And while you were watching the ball drop or lighting fireworks to ring in the New Year, Matt was still out riding the AZT 300 Yo-Yo. I can’t think of a more epic way to close out one year and ring in a new one than riding your damn bike on one of the most beautiful and challenging routes in bikepacking, the Arizona Trail 300. In true legend fashion, and in true Matt Annabel fashion, he did it on a singlespeed!

Full write up and photo gallery at BikesorDeath.com

EPISODE SPONSORS

– Introduced their Experimental Bikepacking Team on today’s episode. To save 10% at OMM use code “mountainsordeath” at checkout

East Texas Showdown – We’ve got 195 registered and 55 spots left, so if you’d like to see what all the hype is about we’d love to have you join us.

New Patrons 🫶🏻
Pierre
Reid May
Matthew Hall
Christopher T – Increased monthy contribution
Mike Christensen – Increased monthy contribution

Join them won’t you at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

30/12/2024

2024 was one of the most challenging for me personally in recent memory. I entered this year with high hopes, lofty goals, and lots of ambition.

My year was quickly derailed as the stress about money quickly sent me spiraling into a mental health tailspin. I won’t sugar coat it, running a micro business, in a niche market, with no money, and two children to support is stressful.

I’ve pushed this little business to the limit and well beyond what would be considered responsible as a single parent. I often chastise myself for sacrificing so much at the potential expense of stability for my daughters. Where is the line? What is the appropriate amount of risk to take? Is my big break just around the corner? Should I keep pushing or have I pushed too far? These are some of the questions that have haunted me for much of the year.

I am no closer to having answers, but I know this: I love this s**t and I will do it for as long as I can. I will push until my legs collapse and then I will crawl.

While I didn’t achieve everything I had hoped to this year I proved to myself that I will fight, scrap, and bleed for this. I’ve reminded myself that I can endure hard things on and off the bike. Life won’t always be easy, in fact it’s often challenging, and maybe one of the biggest accomplishments from the year is resilience.

I enter 2025 with a focus on gratitude and positivity. While the challenges have been great, I’m trying to remind myself that there is no value in dwelling on the negative. The past has happened and all you can do is move forward. So moving forward I’m committed to positive self talk and positive reflections, of which there are many.

I’m forever grateful for this community that has embraced me and stood by me when things are tough. Behind BoD there is a guy, and this guy is so very thankful to each of you for being part of my journey. I will never take it for granted and will always continue to do my best to reciprocate with every fiber of my being.

I’d like to especially thank my Patrons, Sponsors, podcast guests, and anyone who’s attended one of my events. I couldn’t do it without you 🤝🍻

Year breakdown in comments…

16/12/2024

Trying to delineate a trip of a lifetime into a single instagram post feels both daunting and reductive. That’s why this won’t be my only post about it 😅. I’ll be sharing a 5 days video series in the coming days to compliment our journey. Oaxaca is just too special, so more to come…

A little background. and I first visited Oaxaca in December of 2022. We went back with her family the next summer. Each time we dreamed of coming back with our bikes. To ride the remote roads, traverse the landscape, immerse ourselves in the culture, visit the small communities only visible from main roads, and to eat all the food and drink all the mezcal along the way.

Over the past year we started turning those dreams into a reality. The plan was to ride from the capital city of Oaxaca de Juarez to our favorite coastal town, Puerto Escondido. We decided to make this a proper tour and stay in towns along the way. Opting to soak in the culture in lieu of camping on the outskirts. We allotted 5 days to cover 183 miles with 18,000 ft of climbing.

We landed on a route that followed the Oaxaca Grand Dirt Tour (created by and ) from the capital city to San Jose del Pacifico. From there we strung together a route down to the coast using beta from Bikepacking.com and .

Natalie, her brother .a.allen, and I, landed in Oaxaca on December 1st, almost 2 years to the day after our first trip. Like most trips of this magnitude we had feelings of excitement and nerves. This was my first international bikepacking trip and it was Natalie’s first bikepacking trip longer than 2 days. After all the dreaming and planning, coupled with the fact that it would be a long time before we’d be able to get another chance at a trip like this, only added to the excitement and value of this trip. We were about to ride our bikes in and through Oaxaca. This was actually happening!

(Continued in the comments)

27/11/2024

At this point .and.bikes needs no introduction. In 2024 he completed a total of 10 ultra cycling races, winning most of them. Among them was a win, and new FKT, at the Tour divide, where he bested the long standing record Mike Hall set 8 years ago. He then went on to finish first, but not win*, at the Colorado Trail Race. Followed by a first place finish at the , a time that would have been an FKT if it weren’t for a re-route due to fires. His total time for the Triple Crown was 25d 5h 30m, which was 2d 13h 3m faster than the previous record time set by 9 years ago.

What Justinas accomplished this year has left me speechless and fumbling to find the words to fully emphasize the magnitude of his accomplishments. Luckily for me, I was able to chat with the man himself and we can hear from him on his own reflections from an incredible year of bikepack racing.

📷

⚡️EPISODE SPONSORS⚡️
- Shop their LIVDN line of products, the online marketplace to buy and sell pre-loved, repaired, and reimagined LIVSN clothing. Use code “BOD10” at checkout to get 10% off your order!

East Texas Showdown – Take $20 off when you register when you use the code “blackfriday2024” at checkout. Sale ends Sunday Dec. 1st at 11:59pm

New Patrons 🥳
Risto Sarvas

Join them won’t you at www.Patreon.com/BikesorDeath

Bikes or Death

12/05/2025

08/05/2025

02/05/2025

28/04/2025

23/04/2025

17/03/2025

27/02/2025

07/02/2025

13/01/2025

30/12/2024

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27/11/2024

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