Meet the Rothwell's: Father & Son Bikepacking the World

Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP

Mitch Docker

Fitness, Sports, Wilderness, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 543 Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2025

⏱️ 74 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP I love riding my bike with my son. My boy Marlow and I head out when we can and boost around LanVegas on the bikes, and he loves it. It’s great to spend time together and see the little man starting to enjoy bikes and being outdoors as much as I did when I was a kid. But, my guests on this month’s episode of Life In The Peloton take on father-and-son cycling adventures. Based over in the North of England, Rich and James Rothwell are an adventurous, off-road, ultra-cycling father and son duo who have undertaken some massive rides together. Rich, a lifelong mountain biker, coach, and experienced ultra racer, got his son James into cycling from a young age. Still only 14 years old, James has already ticked off some absolutely huge rides on some world-renowned trails like the Highland Trail 550 and the AZT800 out in the USA. I really wanted to chat to these guys to hear how they started riding together, what their epic adventures look like, and just how far a young talent like James will go in the world of cycling. I found it really inspiring to hear Rich’s relaxed, supportive approach in helping James keep the enjoyment, and I also loved hearing how young James supports his old man out there on the trails, too! I hope Marlow can pick up a thing or two and give me a push or a spoonful of peanut butter when I’m in a bit of a hole next time we head out on the bikes. Guys, I hope you like this episode. To the mums and dads out there, it’s a great listen if you want to get your kids into bike riding and kids, if you’ve ever wanted to get out on a cycling adventure with your parents, I hope this inspires you. Cheers Mitch This episode is brought to you by our mates at Shokz – the world leaders in open-ear, bone-conduction headphones. Head to shokz.com and use the code LITP for a special listener-only discount. It’s also supported by Restrap – makers of seriously tough, technical bikepacking bags and accessories, which come with a lifetime warranty. I’ve used their gear on some of my biggest adventures, and it’s never let me down. Check them out at restrap.com. I’ll be heading to Adelaide this January for the Santos Tour Down Under — chasing the racing, riding the bunches in the morning, and soaking up all the summer vibes the city has to offer. Hope to see you there.

Transcript

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0:00.0	All gooday, guys. Welcome to Life in the Peloton, presented by MAP. Yep, it is gravel season.
0:18.7	Things are kicking off here in Australia. Well, I just got back from my first
0:22.8	gravel event of the spring, if you could call it that, because it is still winter, I guess. Well,
0:28.2	of the new season, anyway, it was back roads gravel over in Western Australia, up in the Midwest,
0:34.0	in Geraldton. A fantastic event, actually. I was there a couple of years ago
0:38.2	when it was in its second edition. Fast forward now in their fourth edition, and they've
0:43.3	clocked over a thousand participants. It was rocking out there. The gravel was mint,
0:48.2	the sun was shining, and in true Geraldton fashion, the wind was blowing right into my face
0:54.1	the last 20K. Well, it was time to get
0:56.7	the wheels dirty because the dirty docker is only eight weeks away. Can you believe it? I can't because
1:03.2	there's so much to do. Last year was our first edition and we're already around for the second one.
1:08.3	I'm so excited because I can see the entries rolling in every day.
1:12.1	The places are filling up. If you don't know what I'm talking about, the Dirty Docker is our very
1:16.9	own sporting festival based out of my hometown, Landsfield, better known to the locals as Land Vegas,
1:24.4	where in the Dirty Docker, I've decided to include all the things that I love,
1:29.4	kicking things off with an old school cross-country run, laps around an old-school course
1:34.6	I've designed passing right through the event village each lap.
1:38.0	There's water, there's sand.
1:40.2	It's old-school fun, so grab some runners and have a go.
1:43.6	Then there's the no rules cyclacross
1:46.1	because I love cross, but realistically, who has a UCI-spec'd cycle across bike sitting at home
1:53.3	and that's what no rules means. Come on whatever bike you've got and give it a crack. Same as the
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