Patrick Farnsworth

In 2000 Chris Smith was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, by 2009 he was declared legally blind. No longer able to drive he turned to the bike as a way to get to work 3 miles from his house. At the time he tipped the scales at over 300 lbs and the 3 mile ride to work was a real challenge, but Chris wasn’t discouraged.

Edyn Teitge, at 15 years old, just became the youngest person to complete the Tour Divide solo. He set out with a goal of finishing in 20 days and was able to complete the race in 19d 13h 14m.

Spencer McCullough just did something that’s never been done before! He visited all 51 National Parks in the lower 48 by bicycle. This epic trip around the U.S. involved 411 days of riding, 18,000 miles covered by bike, and a total of 28 flat tires. 

This year, on his second attempt, Jusinas Leveika became the first person to best Mike Hall’s record with an official time of 13d 2h 16.

Last year Ulrich Bartholmoes, aka Uba, won the Tour Divide on his first attempt. This year he came back to do it again, but with a larger goal of completing the Bikepacking Triple Crown. We will be following Uba’s Triple Crown attempt at each stage along the way.

The Arkansas Graveler is a supported bike tour across the state of Arkansas. It boast 366 miles and 26,700 feet of climbing over 6 days.

Last year Ulrich Bartholmoes, who goes by Uba, won the Tour Divide in his first attempt with a time of 14d 2h 23m. This year he’s back to defend his title at the Tour Divide, but he’s got bigger goals than that. This year he will be attempting to complete the Triple Crown of Bikepacking (Tour Divide, Colorado Trail Race, and Arizona Trail race) and he’s gunning to beat the current record time of 27d 18h 33m set by Jay Petervary in 2015.

Daniel Connell has become a regular on the bikepacking race scene and in the cycling community. You will often see him on Trackleaders under his trail name, Dirty Dan

Alissa Bell is the creator and owner of ExploringWild.com and BikeSleepBike.com. Both projects are inspired by her 20,000+ miles traveling by foot and bike all over the world and her passion for helping others find their own adventure. In 2018 she quit her job to travel the world – a move that many of us dream about making, but that few of us ultimately find the bravery to take the plunge on. 

It’s Midsouth Week! At least here at Bikes or Death headquarters ;). This week, we are going back in time and reliving Midsouth through the lens of Patrick and Natalie’s experience.