Gravel Union Talks

• Gravelling around the world with Markus Stitz

  Gravel Union Talks is a podcast series full of inspiring stories, news and events from the world of gravel biking. Each month hosts Carlo and Olly will be chatting with guests who are passionate about riding off the beaten track… adventure riding, bike packing and gravel racing. In this episode:Guests: Markus Stitz -  the first person to ever ride around the world on a singlespeed bike, guide book author, filmmaker, gravel event organiser, public speaker and passionate advocate for all things Scottish.Gravel Union Talks podcast with hosts Carlo van Nistelrooy and Olly Townsend.Want to bring in ideas for topics or guests? Mail Olly at [email protected] Check out our platform and socials www.gravelunion.ccInsta: @gravel_union Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravelUnion/Komoot: https://www.komoot.nl/user/1080024447202Thanks for listening. Please share a review, like and share!Don’t forget: join us now. It's free!Travel Gravel – Karibu KenyaUntil 2021, Kenya was perhaps better known for wildlife safaris or high altitude trekking than it was as a destination for gravel riders and bikepackers, but the launch of the Migration Gravel Race saw that turned on its head. With an incredible network of dirt roads, stunning wildlife viewing opportunities and plenty of sunshine, Kenya is now well and truly on the radar of adventurous gravel riders. Julian Velascotravelled there in autumn 2024 and has sent in an amazing write-up of his adventures. Armchair Adventure - Gravel racing at the end of the worldMany of us have probably had the opportunity to ride off the beaten track before. After all, even in the most populous of regions, a gravel bike is often the perfect way to find a bit of solitude. Jorge Padrones decided that he wanted to really explore the wilderness though and headed off to Patagonia to try and find the end of the world. The Karukinka Gravel 2024 race seemed the perfect opportunity to explore somewhere that very few people have ever visited, let alone ridden a gravel bike. Read on to find out more. Gravel Inspiration – Mastering high-mountain gravel riding - essential preparation and top tipsIn early February, Olly will be on the far side of the world, heading for some of the planet’s highest gravel roads. A small but intrepid group of gravellers are going to be taking on the Trans-Nepal gravel event which starts at nearly 5000m, right on the border of Nepal and Tibet. With temperatures forecast to be way below freezing, rough terrain, fairly basic accommodation and the remote nature of the event, proper preparation is key to having a good time. What bike to take? Which clothing to pack? How to keep the luggage below the 25kg maximum? Olly shares his top tips for gravelling on top of the world. 

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• Erwin Vervecken: UCI Gravel World Series, racing in 2025 and beyond...

  Gravel Union Talks is a podcast series full of inspiring stories, news and events from the world of gravel biking. Each month hosts Carlo and Olly will be chatting with guests who are passionate about riding off the beaten track… adventure riding, bike packing and gravel racing. In this episode guest: Erwin VerveckenErwin Vervecken, UCI Gravel World Series Gravel Union Talks podcast with hosts Carlo van Nistelrooy and Olly Townsend.GU’s editor-in-chief Olly on last month’s most popular articles on the Gravel Union platform.Want to bring in ideas for topics or guests? Mail Olly at [email protected] Check out our platform and socialswww.gravelunion.cc   Insta: @gravel_unionFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravelUnion/Komoot: https://www.komoot.nl/user/1080024447202On this episode's guest:Erwin Vervecken, Mr Gravel at the UCI, the world governing body for cycling. As a former multi-time world champion in cyclocross, Erwin is pretty adept at riding off-road on a dropbar bike. It would be fair to say that gravel racing since the arrival of the UCI into the gravel racing scene, has seen stratospheric growth. Today we’re going to be chatting to Erwin about the UCI’s plans for gravel racing in 2025 and beyond... What's cooking on Gravel Union website:Armchair Adventure - Across the AndesUltra-distance gravel event riders seem to be a different breed to mere mortals, riding incredible distances in short periods of time and surviving on tiny levels of sleep, unimaginable to ‘normal’ riders. But is there a point where the safety of riders is being overlooked in the pursuit of ever greater challenges? When he took part in this year’s Across Andes, Mark Livesey was pushed to his absolute limit and wonders whether the spirit of gravel is being lost somewhere out there in the wilderness? Gravel Adventure - Canyon’s gravel review of 2024It’s that time of year where we all probably start thinking about what the future might bring, but also reviewing how this year went. What went well? What do we need to work on? What shall we just gloss over and pretend never happened? It’s not just Joe Public who do this of course, the cycling industry having been doing it too. Canyon sent over their version of a “year in gravel” featuring two of their sponsored riders, former Unbound winner Carolin Schiff and ‘the original gravel privateer” Pete Stetina. We’ve cherry picked some of the highlights from their year to share with you. Armchair Adventure - Getting cross in Antwerp“Do you fancy going to see one of the rounds of the cyclocross world cup later in the year? We could take our gravel bikes and make a long weekend of it?” As a veteran of numerous CX world cup and world championship viewing weekends over the past twenty years, Olly thought he knew how to make a mixed CX/gravel weekend fun. Despite the fact that only one of his regular gravel riding buddies actually ride or race CX, everyone else were keen televised CX racing fans and jumped at the chance to see it in real life. Plans were made, tickets booked and the #fridaygravelgang were soon on their way to Antwerp. Read on to find out how they got on.

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• Bike packing across Europe with Karen Ekman: inspiration and tips

  Gravel Union Talks is a podcast series full of inspiring stories, news and events from the world of gravel biking. Each month hosts Carlo and Olly will be chatting with guests who are passionate about riding off the beaten track… adventure riding, bike packing and gravel racing. In this episode:Karen Ekman: Scandinavian bike packer and great story tellerGravel Union Talks podcast with hosts Carlo van Nistelrooy and Olly Townsend.GU’s editor-in-chief Olly on last month’s most popular articles on the Gravel Union platform.Want to bring in ideas for topics or guests? Mail Olly at [email protected] Check out our platform and socialswww.gravelunion.cc Insta: @gravel_union Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravelUnion/Komoot: https://www.komoot.nl/user/1080024447202Thanks for listening. Please share a review, like and share! Don’t forget: join us nowShownotes:On Karen Ekman: At this time of year, when for many of us it’s cold and grey outside, having something inspirational as a future goal can be the best way of staying positive. Karen epitomises this attitude and we think will inspire quite a few of our listeners to think big in 2025. Karen Ekman is a Scandinavian bikepacker and this summer she rode 7000 km across Europe, taking in 13 different countries and climbing a mind-blowing total of 124,000 metres along the way. We’re going to be chatting with Karen about her amazing adventure. Hopefully her inspiration, tips and guidance will inspire you to do your first or perhaps your most challenging bike packing trip in 2025.Gravel Inspiration – Finding your way in winterDepending on where you live, winter might mean rain, mud, slippery roots and the Sisyphean task of bike and kit washing/maintenance. But it can also offer dry, bright conditions and hardpacked trails. We can't do much about the weather, but we can (hopefully) help you to find the best possible winter gravel riding routes. Read on to find out more.  Break for the Border - A gravel odyssey in Patagonia, ArizonaTim Wild was offered the chance to go and ride in Patagonia, Arizona earlier this year and discovered majestic scenery, incredible gravel riding and an intriguing local community. Interested in finding out more about this amazing sounding destination? Then read on….Armchair Adventure - Wales never fails - A tale of BearBones200 2024There’s a fine line between bravery and insanity as the saying goes. We suspect that Valerio Stuart is now pretty adept at finding this line (and then going well beyond it too). After a hideous experience at the 2023 Bearbones200, you would have thought he would have learnt his lesson, but no, he headed back for more punishment this year. Fortunately for us, he survived to tell the tale and what a great tale it is. 

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• Kerry MacPhee - Variety is the spice of life

  Gravel Union Talks is a podcast series full of inspiring stories, news and events from the world of gravel biking. Each month hosts Carlo and Olly will be chatting with guests who are passionate about riding off the beaten track… adventure riding, bike packing and gravel racing. In this episode of the Gravel Union Talks podcast, we’re going to be chatting with Kerry MacPhee. We always try and give a quick overview of each guest, but Kerry is almost impossible to pigeonhole. She has competed for her home country of Scotland as an elite MTB racer, has won what is arguably the world’s hardest cyclocross race, the 3 Peaks Challenge, she is a gravel event organiser, she has set numerous FKTs on bikepacking routes all over Scotland and she is a voluntary director of three non-profit organisations, all geared up to help get more people outdoors and onto bikes. Away from riding and racing, Kerry is a fluent Gaelic speaker and spends half her week working in the renewable energy sector as a community liaison officer. In this episode: Kerry MacPheeGravel Union Talks podcast with hosts Carlo van Nistelrooy and Olly Townsend.GU’s editor-in-chief Olly on last month’s most popular articles on the Gravel Union platform.Want to bring in ideas for topics or guests?Mail Olly at [email protected] Check out our platform and socialswww.gravelunion.ccInsta: @gravel_unionFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravelUnion/Komoot: https://www.komoot.nl/user/1080024447202Links for the notesGravel Inspiration – Connecting with the gravel community through guidingWorking as a guide on a gravel camp involves so much more than just physically managing your group and getting them safely from A to B. Your role is also to inspire, motivate, teach and encourage. It’s not a job that suits everyone, but Claudia Gerosa has been bitten by the guiding bug and has now worked as a guide at three United We Are Gravel camps. Travel Gravel - Brittany contrasts - French coastal gravel for the whole familyUnderbiking? Family-friendly gravel trails? Hunting for shells on the beach? A family trip to Brittany proved to be a destination which ticked everyone’s boxes as Erwin Sikkens reports. If you ever wondered what the riding is like in this region of north-west France then read on to find out!The Metamorphosis - From MTB to monster gravel bikeTen years ago, when gravel riding was first taking off in Europe, riders tended to stick to smoother, wider off-road trails. Now though, with the introduction of better technology, an influx of riders coming from a mountain biking background and the never-ending search for the “new best thing” a growing number of gravel riders are looking for more adventure in their away-from-the-road rides. Timo Rokitta decided this was a good excuse for some bike building experimentation and the result is a fantastic looking monster gravel bike. Will it ride as well as it looks? 

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• Gravel riding far off the beaten track with Phil Evans

  Gravel Union Talks is a podcast series full of inspiring stories, news and events from the world of gravel biking. Each month hosts Carlo and Olly will be chatting with guests who are passionate about riding off the beaten track… adventure riding, bike packing and gravel racing. For today’s episode we’re packing our bags and heading off for a long haul gravel adventure. We’re going to be chatting with Phil Evans, a pioneer of multi-day gravel and mountain bike events in locations as inspiring as Sri Lanka and Nepal. We’re going to get an insight from Phil into what it is he loves so much about long haul gravel riding and his top tips if you decide to head somewhere exotic to ride next year.This episode with:Phil Evans, owner of Multi-Terrain BikingHosts Carlo van Nistelrooy and Olly TownsendEditor-in-chief Olly on the website GravelUnion.cc Want to bring in ideas for topics or guests? Mail Olly at [email protected] Check out our platform and socials www.gravelunion.cc / Insta: @gravel_union / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravelUnion/ and Komoot: https://www.komoot.nl/user/1080024447202Thanks for listening. Please share a review, like and share!Shownotes- Multi Terrain Biking- Ride Sri Lanka 2025- Trans Nepal 2025Articles on GravelUnion.ccRide Report - Racing the pioneer trails in OregonThe Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder first arrived on the gravel race scene in 2019. It offered riders multi-day gravel racing through stunning scenery, but also a ‘full service’ experience where the organisers take the strain and all the participants need to “is ride.” Jorge Padrones headed out to Oregon earlier this year and sent in this fantastic ride report of his experience.Travel Gravel - Taken by AlbaniaWhen Ali Ford told her friends that she was planning to travel to Albania to go on a bikepacking adventure she received a variety of negative responses, but it didn’t put her off going. Fear of the unknown can be quite a big hurdle to setting out on a gravel bike adventure but based on her über-positive write-up of her trip, we suspect that Ali will definitely be heading back there in the future. If you’d like to get some great insight into this relatively unknown destination, read on.News - Grinduro returns to its spiritual home in Quincy, California. Back in 2015 when the first Grinduro event was held at Quincy, California gravel riding was really in its infancy. Grinduro, where participants experience the perfect mix of timed sections, having a great time with their friends and painting the night purple at the famous after-party, is going to be celebrating its 10th anniversary in style by heading back to its birth place in 2025

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