tag
Jarrod Bunk was in attendance at a recent FKT attempt by two Angry Catfish team members, Nick Elliott and Josh Bauer on the Mega Mid South route in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Read on for a packed gallery with all the vibes, along with a fundraiser to get more riders out to the Mid South Gravel…
310 miles, 25,000 feet of climbing, one ride, what could go wrong? Ryan Standish linked two iconic trails in one massive FKT attempt – the Kokopelli and White Rim. Why take on a journey like this? Ryan Standish found inspiration and motivation to embark on a journey like this for those who no longer can, especially his Dad because of his battles with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). His Dad’s journey with MS made Ryan realize that we have to make the most of the time we have. So ‘Why Wait?’
The Kokopelli trail runs 137 miles from Moab, UT to Loma, CO and the women’s time to beat is 13 hours and 7 minutes. For professional mountain bike racer Hannah Otto, failure is not a common occurrence. She’s constantly pushing the sport and finds herself toward the top of the podium during her race season on a regular basis.
Last year, Hannah had great success clocking the FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the ascent and descent of the Whole Enchilada trail. But this year, she had her sights set on a more challenging route. The Kokopelli trail is an unforgiving beast that most skilled riders would consider completely ludicrous to ride in one day.
Hannah’s hunt for the FKT drove her to extreme temperatures resulting in a frozen hydration pack, frostbitten fingers, hypothermia, and moments of failure—but that only added fuel to her internal fire.
After sleepless nights, early mornings scouting, and a failed attempt, Hannah Otto holds the fastest known time on the Kokopelli trail at 11 hours and 53 minutes.
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
We are beyond excited to report that after 9 days, 8 hours, and 23 minutes our dear friend Lael Wilcox has established a new overall fastest known time for the 800-mile Arizona Trail Individual Time Trial*!
Tackling the Arizona Trail at a record-setting pace, from the Mexico border to the Utah state line, is one of the most grueling cycling challenges in the world and we couldn’t be more excited for Lael’s accomplishment. In the coming weeks, we’ll be featuring a full report from Lael’s time on the trail in addition to a short film from Rue Kaladyte. In the meantime, head over to Lael’s Instagram and send her a virtual high-five!
Edited on 4.23.2022 for clarity: We have correspondences with John Schilling, the organizer of the AZTR, where he reached out to Rue, the videographer and Lael’s wife about the media rule. Lael and Rue accept the * by their time for breaking the media coverage rule implemented in 2019. Previous records still stand.
Payson McElveen makes an attempt at being the first person in history to cross Iceland from coast-to-coast in a single push under human power.
Mind Over Mountains’ is a short film about the mindset behind riding far and fast. Challenging the idea that speed and suffering go hand in hand, it follows Annie Lloyd Evans, Huw Oliver and friends as they ride Scotland’s stunning Cairngorms Loop ITT on a perfect August day. Moving fast, light and in the moment, they show us that love for a landscape and joy for the simplicity of movement are what fuel unforgettable rides. Read on below for more on this video as well as a handful of photos by Huw Oliver…
In 2020, 11 year old Scarlet Zeigler set a personal goal for herself to ride 100 miles on her bike in one day. She accomplished that goal in the early spring and then set out riding several tours that year. One of those was on the Erie Canal where she decided to see how fast she could ride it. That year, she rode it in 2 days, 22 hours.
For 2021, Scarlet decided to see if she could beat that time and went back, fully self-supported, and rode from Buffalo to Albany NY on the Erie Canal trail. In November. She was responsible for buying all of her own food, finding water along the route and had to figure out the many detours completely on her own. I (her dad) simply recorded everything with a dated iPhone…
Here is the story….
The Long Traverse is about learning from, and loving, the landscapes we ride in. Through the story of an iconic 80-mile, 11,000-foot ride, @Christopherblevs, and @dillon.osleger consider the history of a landscape and our place within it, grappling with the realities of forest fires and extraction while letting the bike show us all we can appreciate and learn as people on the land.
The Los Padres national forest spans the Central Coast of California, from the Pacific Ocean to the fringe of the Mojave Desert. This land of many uses hosts world-class biodiversity, the endangered California Condor, 350+ miles of trail, and a multitude of Chumash cultural sites. The Los Padres Traverse route is not only an incredible ride, but it highlights the intersection of recreation, conservation, and climate. Through the trail stewardship and advocacy work of Dillon’s nonprofit Sage Trail Alliance, Christopher established the fastest known time (FKT) along the route. And throughout this process, Christopher learned more about caring for the places he gets to ride in and the communities along the way. Whether you’re trying to complete the traverse in six hours or taking three days to bike pack it with friends, the Los Padres is a place to visit. Likewise, whether you’re a World Cup racer or a Weekend Warrior, we can use the bike to understand our responsibility to take action to better our planet, and we can all dig during trail restoration days.
The White Rim Trail outside of Moab UT. is one of the most beautiful trails in the USA, unless you’re at White Rim trying to set a FKT (Fastest Known Time) on a mountain bike. That is when it becomes a torturous desert filled with endless miles of bone-jarring rock, sandpits, and a seemingly endless climb out of the canyon floor at mile 87 that simply takes your breath away.
Southern California’s Jared Lozonne ( @slothracing ) shares his vision quest after accepting a challenge from us to do the legendary White Rim Trail outside of Moab Utah…on flat pedals! You heard that correctly. Many have tried to earn a FKT on this trail, but none to our knowledge have attempted the grueling 100-mile ride on flat pedals. Jared, armed with almost a gallon of hydration, a pair of high-top Vans shoes, and a set of Yoshimura Chilao pedals sets out to establish a time for all others to come and take on the Flat Pedal Challenge.
Yoshimura has hand-crafted a one-of-a-kind Flat Pedal Challenge trophy that is to be passed to those that can break Jared’s time (kind of like the Stanly Cup). Join Jared on his quest to set the bar for all those who accept the challenge.
Earlier this year, Lael departed on an FKT on the Alaska Pipeline route. Rapha was there, documenting her efforts:
“Four feet wide and carried five above the ground by a seemingly endless series of stanchions, the Alaska Pipeline is, for most of its 800-mile route, the only mark humanity has made on the pristine wilderness of this last frontier. The only mark, that is, except for the road that accompanies the pipeline on its long journey south from the Artic outpost of Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.
For born and bred Alaskan Lael Wilcox, this lonely road has always held a special interest. In fact, she’s ridden most of it before. But this time she’s back with a new challenge to set a Fastest Known Time, or FKT, for the route and bring a new source of energy to the road. By pushing herself, she hopes to encourage other riders, wherever they live and however long they’ve been riding, to do the same.
But this is a record attempt not a race, so Lael’s number one adjective is to have fun. All you have to do is show up with what you have, ride with all your heart and see how it goes. Oh, and you need to eat like it’s your job! Created by an all-female crew, tune into this latest episode of Rapha Gone Racing to find out how Lael got on in the Alaskan wilderness and whether the rumours that she is quicker than crude oil are actually true.”
Check out this wonderful documentary here and see Lael’s gear breakdown in our Related Archives below!
I was born in Anchorage, Alaska, as was my mother. My grandfather was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, as was his father.
Alaska became a state in 1959. It’s a complicated and very beautiful place. It’s home.
In 2017, I rode all of the major roads in the state— about 4,500 miles, a mix of gravel and pavement. By land, Alaska is huge— twice the size of Texas. The road system is very limited, many places are isolated. I wanted to ride my bike to connect as much as I could. I set out in a series of trips— riding for a week or two at a time and hitching back to town to work at The Bicycle Shop to fund the next leg. For the most part, I rode alone. It was a lot of freedom and I had the time of my life.
Reflecting on my rides later, I wanted to go back to share my experience. Both with Rue, the love of my life, and with the public through photos and videos. This is something I have thought about since the fall of 2017.
This video from Kuat, featuring Kait and Kurt from Bikepacking Roots‘ records on the Kokopelli Trail is so well done!
Spanning 138 miles of the rugged landscape between Moab Utah, and Loma Colorado, the Kokopelli Trail is one of the original great bikepacking routes of the American West.
In November of 2020, Kait Boyle and Kurt Refsnider set out to explore the possibilities, testing their endurance against the current FKT (Fastest Known Time) records. Their journeys began long before the starting line, and the progression of record times on this trail is far from over.
Stay tuned for the release of Faster For Now later this spring 2021!
Covid has brought about new Fastest Known Time (FKT) records on various trails. Last week, we received an announcement of Kurt and Kait setting new FKT on the Kokopelli, and this week the mighty White Rim saw a new FKT set by Peter Stetina.
