The Adventure Stache

Payson and Sarah had two very different experiences on day four of the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder. They recap their respective miseries and triumphs on this second-to-last day, discuss how things are shaping up in the overall standings, and talk about the literal run-in with wildlife that left the racers shaken. They also talk about Dylan’s victory at the hot dog eating contest, the greatest gift Sarah ever received (an ice skating costume), liquified shower curtains, and, just in case you t...

Transcribed - Published: 29 June 2025

Stage 3 saw the riders heading out for an enduro day that turned out to be very heavy on the climbing. Skyler Taylor, who won the men’s stage, joins Payson and Sarah to talk about how he managed to reel in Cam Jones who has so far dominated the race with his power and descending skills. He also talks about deciding to leave his full-time job to focus on gravel this year, which he quickly followed through on by winning a wild card spot in the Grand Prix. Plus, Sarah talks about why time has ne...

Transcribed - Published: 28 June 2025

After the punishing 94.7 miles of stage two, Payson and Sarah sit down with Cécile Lejeune, who is currently duking it out for first place in the overall despite having raced fewer than 10 gravel races in her entire career. They recap the day, which included multiple crashes, plenty of interpersonal drama, and a few good samaritans. They also talk about Sarah’s issue with Cécile’s snack choices, the multiple jobs Cécile holds down when she’s not racing, and whether running (her first sport) f...

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2025

After the punishing 94.7 miles of stage two, Payson and Sarah sit down with Cécile Lejeune, who is currently duking it out for first place in the overall despite having raced fewer than 10 gravel races in her entire career. They recap the day, which included multiple crashes, plenty of interpersonal drama, and a few good samaritans. They also talk about Sarah’s issue with Cécile’s snack choices, the multiple jobs Cécile holds down when she’s not racing, and whether running (her first sport) f...

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2025

As the dust settles on stage one of the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder, Payson and Sarah sit down to talk about the punishing 80 miles from Bend to Gilchrist. They discuss how things played out in the men’s and women’s fields, how Sarah’s new haircut might have taken her out of contention, Evel Knievel’s leap across the Snake River, and her husband Dylan’s run-in with a skunk that has followed them to the race. Today’s episode is presented by SILCA. Use code: withpaceoregontrail to get 15%...

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2025

As the dust settles on stage one of the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder, Payson and Sarah sit down to talk about the punishing 80 miles from Bend to Gilchrist. They discuss how things played out in the men’s and women’s fields, how Sarah’s new haircut might have taken her out of contention, Evel Knievel’s leap across the Snake River, and her husband Dylan’s run-in with a skunk that has followed them to the race. Today’s episode is presented by SILCA. Use code: withpaceoregontrail to get 15%...

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2025

In this final episode on this year’s Unbound, we’re bringing you two interviews that Payson recorded while on the ground in Emporia. The first took place with Sarah Sturm the night before the race in which she discusses the limitations of team tactics in the women’s field. Her husband Dylan Stucki and mechanic Anna Greetis also chime in to talk about what it’s like doing the aid stations at such a big and important event. Next, Payson talks to Taylor Lideen, who he caught up with the da...

Transcribed - Published: 22 June 2025

In this final episode on this year’s Unbound, we’re bringing you two interviews that Payson recorded while on the ground in Emporia. The first took place with Sarah Sturm the night before the race in which she discusses the limitations of team tactics in the women’s field. Her husband Dylan Stucki and mechanic Anna Greetis also chime in to talk about what it’s like doing the aid stations at such a big and important event. Next, Payson talks to Taylor Lideen, who he caught up with the da...

Transcribed - Published: 22 June 2025

Going into Unbound this year as the defending champion, Rosa Klöser knew she was a marked woman. What she didn’t expect was that the usual crashes and chaos of gravel’s biggest event would start as soon as the first handful of miles. After a fall, a flat, and a wrong turn in the finish shoot, Rosa managed to walk away with fourth place. She caught up with Payson for a recovery spin the day after the race to talk about how her race went down, how she tried to combat the caginess of the c...

Transcribed - Published: 16 June 2025

Going into Unbound this year as the defending champion, Rosa Klöser knew she was a marked woman. What she didn’t expect was that the usual crashes and chaos of gravel’s biggest event would start as soon as the first handful of miles. After a fall, a flat, and a wrong turn in the finish shoot, Rosa managed to walk away with fourth place. She caught up with Payson for a recovery spin the day after the race to talk about how her race went down, how she tried to combat the caginess of the c...

Transcribed - Published: 16 June 2025

In the second part of our Unbound recap, Payson chats with Karo Migón about her dominant win. After initiating an early breakaway with two other riders, she went solo with nearly 50 miles to go, finishing all on her own despite having a slow rear puncture. Her ride is even more impressive considering that last year was her first gravel season and she's currently on sabbatical from her job as a coder. She talks to Payson about why she decided to hop into a breakaway so early, when she knew it ...

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2025

In the first half of our Unbound recap, Payson sits down with men's 200 winner Cam Jones to talk about his stunning breakaway with TudorPro rider Simon Pellaud that stuck from mile 50 all the way through to a massive course record. Cam went into the race hoping to earn a wild card slot in the Grand Prix and left the race as a favorite for the series overall. He chats to Payson about his decision to stick to Simon’s wheel, the camaraderie they built over 150 miles together, and how he m...

Transcribed - Published: 5 June 2025

It’s Unbound week and Payson sat down with fellow sidelined-by-injury Grand Prix rider Dylan Johnson to set the scene and make some predictions. They talk about how last year’s race played out, what the weather is shaping up to be like and how it could impact the race, and why they think the team tactics will be completely different this year. They also have the obligatory conversation about tire choice, explain why the aid stations might be the most important selection points, and pick the r...

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

For years, Payson has maintained that Nichole is the most talented athlete in their household, but it wasn’t until this winter that she finally decided to add some structure to her riding and shoot for some concrete goals. It all came about during an unusual lull in her schedule shortly after she and Payson finished his crossing project in New Zealand and got married in Tasmania, and just after she completed her capstone project for her Master’s Degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins.&nbs...

Transcribed - Published: 26 May 2025

Alexey Vermeulen has a lot of thoughts on how US gravel can improve. A 100-mile Unbound. A U23 field. Fewer elite riders in the Grand Prix—the list goes on. Since leaving the WorldTour to join the American off-road scene, Alexey has become one of the most prominent racers in the sport, finishing second overall in the first two years of the Grand Prix and being a leading voice among his peers through a host of media projects. This year, he’s started a post-race debrief podcast with Keegan Swen...

Transcribed - Published: 18 May 2025

When Iz King got pregnant six months ago, she wasn’t sure how it would affect her career as a gravel racer. Like many female athletes who want to have a baby at some point, she was all too aware that pregnancy, like being an elite-level cyclist, is contingent on a finite biological window. She knew right away that she wanted to continue racing, but she also knew that her career was going to change significantly. This year, she’s continued to race, but she has no intention of being at the fron...

Transcribed - Published: 12 May 2025

Chef Biju Thomas made a major impact on cycling when he co-founded Skratch Labs with his friend Allen Lim, but these days, you're most likely to find him cooking for cyclists at large events. For example, he was part of the squad that fueled the US cycling team at the Paris Olympics last summer. More recently, he was busy making several thousand meals at Sea Otter. Biju sat down with Payson in Bentonville to chat about the logistics of cooking for Olympic athletes from such different d...

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

Anneke Beerten was one of the top mountain bikers in the world for a decade, starting her career as a two-time BMX world champion before dominating the 4 cross circuit with three world titles. She’s gone through many career transitions over the years, embracing Enduro and Crankworx to earn even more accolades. In early 2020, just after finishing her best season in enduro racing, she was in a car accident that forced her to retire from racing. She spent years in rehab, moved states, and starte...

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2025

The Life Time Grand Prix is back, which means we've got a whole new season of recap episodes on the way. To kick things off, we’ve got South African rider Hayley Preen and Swiss rider Simon Pellaud here to take us inside their races. Hayley just won the South African Gravel Nationals shortly after grabbing third place at the Cape Epic and is on her second go-round of the Grand Prix. Last year, she had to drop out after a broken wrist, but she’s started off this season strong with a fourth-pla...

Transcribed - Published: 20 April 2025

Today, Allied Cycle Works released its long-awaited ABLE gravel bike. Payson has been test riding it for a year now and is pretty sure it's going to redefine gravel racing. He sits down with Allied CEO Drew Medlock and Director of Product and Engineering Sam Pickman to break down exactly what makes the bike so different, including that 57mm tire clearance, and how they developed it from idea to factory floor. They also talk about the input from Payson that was integrated into the final design...

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2025

Instagram: @withpacepod YouTube: Payson McElveen

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

Brayden Johnson landed his dream situation in 2024 when he signed a contract with a factory team. As a third-year U23 rider, it was a crucial opportunity on his way to the elite field. He had already shown his potential, winning National Champs and podiuming at World Cups. Soon after moving to Italy for the new team, however, Brayden started to notice some red flags. Before the end of the season, he was blacklisted from the team shortly before organization collapsed altogether. Th...

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2025

Gwen Gibson is one of the best World Cup XCO racers in the world, but she almost didn’t make it into the professional ranks. In college, she juggled racing with a full class schedule and held down three jobs to make ends meet. When she graduated, she thought it was probably time to quit her dreams of being a World Cup racer and find a ‘real’ career path. But then she started showing up to races and beating some of her idols, and in 2022, she had a breakout season, winning a World Cup short tr...

Transcribed - Published: 23 March 2025

Reigning Queen of Gravel Rosa Klöser returns to the show to talk about some of the major developments in her career since we spoke with her after her surprise win at Unbound last year. That victory launched her into the spotlight as a major new player in the gravel scene, but her spur-of-the-moment decision to race German Road Nationals really brought her to the attention of the broader cycling world. After coming in 9th place in a stacked field, Rosa scored a contract with the WorldTour team...

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

Payson stops by XCO National Champion Bjorn Riley’s apartment in Girona to hear about his training camp in South Africa with his new team, the one and only Scott-SRAM. They also discuss the part of winning a race that people don’t often talk about: the terrifying moment when you decide to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Then, Bjorn pulls out some of the artifacts he’s found in abandoned buildings on rides in the Spanish countryside and recounts his experience of getting bitten b...

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2025

The final stage of Sahara Gravel in Morocco ended in a sand pit that left some riders sprinting on foot across the line. Payson sits down on a windy sand dune to chat with stage winner Petr Vakoč about how the event went for him over the past four days -- the highs, lows, and his favorite type of tagine. He also talks about his plans for the rest of the season and his unconventional travel plans to get back to Europe from Morocco tomorrow. Instagram: @theadventurestache YouTube: Payson ...

Transcribed - Published: 27 February 2025

Stage 3 of Sahara Gravel in Morocco was harder than pretty much anyone was anticipating. Despite seeming to have hardly any climbing, it proved to be the toughest day yet and the first stage that took the riders deep into the Sahara Desert. Payson sat down with British rider Maddy Nutt, who has been battling for first place with Luise Valentin since day one. She talks about getting caught in the sand, how this race stacks up with Migration Gravel, and why she avoids events with a certain type...

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2025

Stage 3 of Sahara Gravel in Morocco was harder than pretty much anyone was anticipating. Despite seeming to have hardly any climbing, it proved to be the toughest day yet and the first stage that took the riders deep into the Sahara Desert. Payson sat down with British rider Maddy Nutt, who has been battling for first place with Luise Valentin since day one. She talks about getting caught in the sand, how this race stacks up with Migration Gravel, and why she avoids events with a certain type...

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2025

It's day two of Sahara Gravel and the general consensus is that the scenery was pretty mind-blowing on this 68 mile mountain stage. Payson sits down with Oti Zolati, the only Moroccan in the race, to talk about being a tourist in his own country and his bikepacking trip across Africa that got him hooked on cycling. Then he talks to the founder of the race, Janosch Wintermantel, about how he went from living in Switzerland and working at Scott to event organising in Morocco. Instagram: @...

Transcribed - Published: 25 February 2025

It's stage one of the four-day Sahara Gravel stage race in Morocco and Payson is sitting down with the stage winners Luise Valentin and Matteo Fontana. They tell us how their days unfolded, what they do when they're not training (Luise is an engineer in Zurich and Matteo is a former triathlete and bike fitter outside Milan), and how they're feeling about the race so far. Instagram: @theadventurestache YouTube: Payson McElveen

Transcribed - Published: 24 February 2025

If you’ve seen two-time Olympian Alison Jackson in the media, chances are she was either dancing, standing on top of the Paris-Roubaix podium, or both. The EF rider won Roubaix in 2023 and quickly became a fan favorite for her joyful social media presence and finish-line celebrations. She caught up with Payson in Girona this week shortly after breaking her arm at a race, and somehow seems to be as optimistic as ever. She talks about growing up on a bison farm in rural Alberta, why she goes ou...

Transcribed - Published: 16 February 2025

Growing up in Ethiopia, Tsgabu Grmay was inspired to start riding by his father and older brother, who were both cyclists. As a teenager, he was selected to go to the UCI’s World Cycling Centre in South Africa and signed with his first UCI team in 2012. Since then, he raced 12 years on the WorldTour with teams including Lampre-Merida, Trek-Segafredo, and Jayco-AlUla. He retired from road racing at the end of 2023, but joined Team Amani as a rider and coach. This year, he’s on the roster for t...

Transcribed - Published: 9 February 2025

Geerike Schreurs spent nearly a decade as a WorldTour soigneur, taking care of some of the best riders in the world. Now, she’s their teammate. The Dutch rider officially signed to SD Worx-Protime to race a combination of gravel and road this season, and even though she had a breakout season last year and snagged second place at Unbound, she says that this is the first time she’s finally feeling like a pro. Payson caught up with Gee in Girona earlier this week to talk about how she made the t...

Transcribed - Published: 2 February 2025

Emilly Johnston was wondering if she was going to have a team for her first Elite season when she got a call from Scott-SRAM team director Thomas Frischknecht. Shortly after she signed a contract with the team, she placed third at Worlds, rounding out a triumphant 2024 season that marked her as one of the most promising up-and-comers in the women's field. Emilly sat down with Payson in Girona earlier this week to talk about landing a spot on her dream team, the chaos of racing last year’s com...

Transcribed - Published: 26 January 2025

Throughout his 12 years in the World Tour, Thomas De Gendt was known as one of the preeminent breakaway specialists of the century, winning five Grand Tour stages including the infamous Queen Stage of the Giro on the Passo dello Stelvio. Recently, he announced that after 16 years as a pro on the road, he would be switching to gravel. This week, Thomas sat down with Payson in Girona to talk about his illustrious road career, including that now legendary surprise stage win at the Giro in...

Transcribed - Published: 20 January 2025

Riejanne Markus is a Dutch WorldTour rider who is currently racing with Lidl-Trek. She went professional over a decade ago and has moved from strength to strength, nabbing three national titles and finishing second overall at last year’s Vuelta a España. Riejanne sat down with Payson in Girona this week to talk about her decision to join Lidl-Trek after four years with Visma-Lease a Bike, growing up in an athletic family (her dad and younger sister are speed skaters, and her other sister, Fem...

Transcribed - Published: 12 January 2025

Bond Almand was just 20 years old when he rode the nearly 13,500 miles of the Pan-American Highway from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina in 75 days, beating the previous record by nearly 10 days. That feat is even more impressive considering that the last rider to hold the record was a professional racer who did it with a support crew, while Bond did it all self-supported between semesters at Dartmouth.Bond sat down with Payson to talk about confronting months of intense loneliness, ...

Transcribed - Published: 5 January 2025

In an extended outtake from our previous episode, Payson and Hannah chat about how they're preparing for the upcoming season, whether they're changing anything, and how they're balancing the Grand Prix schedule with non-Grand Prix events they love.Instagram: @theadventurestacheYouTube: Payson McElveen

Transcribed - Published: 4 January 2025

This week, Payson is joined by Hannah Otto to run down the women's roster for the 2025 Grand Prix. They talk about the five new riders, the riders who won't be returning, and how the slimmed-down field might affect the overall series. They also go deep into the weeds on whether the Grand Prix is now geared toward mountain bikers (spoiler alert: they're biased), talk about why they want more rules rather than less, and speculate about how all the drop races and surgeries in the women's field t...

Transcribed - Published: 30 December 2024

Big changes are coming to the Life Time Grand Prix in 2025. Among them are fewer events, fewer riders, less altitude, and an extra mountain bike race. There are new riders, riders who were absent for a season but are coming back, and riders who have featured heavily in the series who won’t be returning. Payson unpacks all the changes on the men's side, including the new riders, the most painful omission on the roster, and why some racers decided to sit this season out. Instagram: @theadv...

Transcribed - Published: 21 December 2024

Haley Batten spent years preparing for the Olympics, and it all came together this summer when she walked away with Silver. She sat down with Payson last month to talk about where it all began, when she was a 14-year-old with a printed resumé approaching pro racers at bike events. Eventually, one of them took notice and gave her her big break. She talks about how she built a career with the help of other women in the sport without trying to copy a blueprint of success, and the times (one of w...

Transcribed - Published: 24 November 2024

Earlier this week, Payson completed his latest ultra-endurance crossing challenge following his Crossing Iceland and Crossing Tasmania projects from previous years. This time, he connected three of New Zealand’s best-known routes — the Paparoa, Old Ghost, and Heaphy trails on the South Island. With a few unexpected twists, he managed to complete the 241 miles and 24,587 feet of climbing in under 24 hours. Payson sits down with the crew who helped bring the project (and the upcoming film about...

Transcribed - Published: 17 November 2024

Ryan Standish has had a tough year. During pre-season training in Madeira, he split open his knee during a crash and had to put his entire season on hold. The crash ended up going viral thanks to the GoPro he was wearing at the time, and he found himself in the middle of an unexpected internet news cycle. Ryan sat down with Payson over the Big Sugar weekend to talk about the crash, how it shaped his season, and the project he undertook recently to combine the Kokopelli and White Rim trails in...

Transcribed - Published: 11 November 2024

Kelsey Urban’s time racing the World Cup circuit has been anything but smooth. After years of suffering from a mysterious health condition that mystified doctors and forced her to pull the plug on her 2023 season, she was finally able to begin the long journey back in the UCI points this year. In the first World Cup of the season, she made it clear that she was a top contender by finishing 8th, and she rounded out the year by winning XC nationals in July. Kelsey caught up with Payson in ...

Transcribed - Published: 3 November 2024

And that’s a wrap on another round of the Life Time Grand Prix. Payson goes over the final points breakdown and talks about the changes that have been announced for the series for next year. He also talks to Matt Beers about their tie-breaking sprint for second place overall, and Alexis Skarda, who, after a five-week break in the middle of the series due to injury, still managed to come away with fourth overall. We also hear from listeners who attended the race.00:00:00 Introduction00:04:07 L...

Transcribed - Published: 27 October 2024

There was a point when Payson thought there were two Heather Jacksons racing the Grand Prix. How could one person excel in so many sports? The former hockey star who landed a spot on the Olympic track cycling team is now known mostly for her career as a star triathlete on the Ironman circuit. Lately, however, she’s transitioned into gravel racing and ultrarunning, competing at the highest levels of both at the same time. Heather sat down with Payson before the final round of the Life Tim...

Transcribed - Published: 20 October 2024

When Justinas Leveika raced the Tour Divide for the first time last year, it was, according to him, “a disaster.” But despite having done almost no preparation, he emerged from two weeks in the wilderness in second place behind Ulrich Bartholmoes. His bike barely made it, and he resolved to put the event behind him. This year, however, he returned, and not only did he win the race, but he beat the official record that has stood for nearly a decade. All this is just par for the course for Just...

Transcribed - Published: 13 October 2024

On this week’s episode, we’re covering round five the Life Time Grand Prix which took place last weekend in Trinidad, Colorado. We hear from listeners who attended the race followed by Payson's breakdown of the current points standings and some of the possible podium scenarios that could unfold in the final round in Bentonville later this month. Payson also chats to two breakout riders at the Rad, Finn Gullickson and Cecily Decker. At just 24, Finn decided to step away from pursuing a ro...

Transcribed - Published: 7 October 2024

In just two short years, Rosa Klöser went from never having ridden a gravel bike to winning the biggest gravel race in the world. Between her first gravel ride in 2022 and standing on the top step of the Unbound podium in 2024, she also managed to spend some time as a visiting researcher at MIT as part of her PhD work on the green transition of the maritime industry. Rosa catches up with Payson this week to talk about how she discovered her talent for gravel by accident during a trip to Giron...

Transcribed - Published: 26 September 2024

Another Chequamegon 40 has been and gone, and we’re here to recap it all with the help of 7th place finisher John Borstelmann, 8th place finisher Anna Hicks, and the listeners who sent in their reports on the race. And because this was a Grand Prix race, Payson and Nichole also do some serious number crunching to figure out where the current standings lie (including drop races) and see how wide open the chase for a top 3 overall is in both the men’s and women’s fields. Instagram: @theadv...

Transcribed - Published: 23 September 2024