Ultra-distance racing seems to be ever growing in terms of popularity and the level of challenge that they offer. While the thought of riding 400 km a day for days on end has very limited appeal to many of us, for some people, ultra distance events have a magnetic appeal that draws riders in to them. That is exactly the case for our guest in Episode 31 of our podcast series, Nicole Van Batenburg, a Dutch cyclist who started off as a road racer, but soon discovered her love of racing (and winning) ultras.
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:
- Nicole Van Batenburg, Ultra-distance cyclist
- 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.
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Links for the notes
- Gravel Inspiration - Gravel riding and birding
- Your initial instinct might be that there’s not much in common between gravel riding and bird watching, but an early morning bike-powered visit to a local bird hide could be just the thing you need to kick start your day. We head out with slow adventure fan Abi Fisher and discover a hidden world just out of sight of our local gravel trails.
- News - GRA-VIA gravel race launched
- Long term Gravel Union readers will know all about our love of urban gravel riding, so when news of a new gravel race which starts in central London later this summer was announced recently, it was fair to say that we were quite excited! Read on if you’d like to find our details of what GRA-VIA is all about.
- Ride Report - A day in hell of Rheinhessen
- The old cobblestone paths of Rheinhessen are a reminder of times when the pace was slower and the roads more arduous – and therefore more intense. Riding them today on a gravel bike is like taking a small journey through time, with every meter carrying a piece of history. In their imperfection lies a unique beauty – raw, authentic and grounded, just like gravel biking itself. Timo Rokitta reports back from the recent A Day in Hell of Rheinhessen which took participants across some of Germany’s finest sections of pavé.