Ep 67: James MacDonald - John o'Groats to Lands End, and Back; RAAM, 24-hr Indoor Attempt

Divya Tate is the founder and director of Inspire India, the premiere organizer of ultra cycling events in India, hosting the annual Deccan Cliffhanger, Ultra Spice Race, The Great Himalayan, and soon the Dunes 6-12-24 Hour Time Trial. Let's roll! 🚲💨

October was a month full of awesome ultra races and inspirational stories. There was a lot of action all around the world taking us from the United States to France and across Europe. On today's episode, we'll recap the latest and greatest happenings in the ultra cycling world, including past events, guests on our show, and things to look forward to coming soon to this show. Let's roll! 🚲💨

23,000 miles of double centuries and much more, all with asthma and a bad hip. On today's episode, we'll learn how Kirsten Walker has managed to overcome the obstacles in her life to pursue her passion of riding ultras for so many years. Let’s roll! 🚲💨

Have you ever ridden your bicycle to the starting line of an ultra event? Our guest on today's episode, 28-year old Pierre Charles of France did exactly that riding to and from the Race Across France and the Ultra Bike Pursuit with over 28,000 miles (45,000 km) already logged this year. Get ready to be inspired... or perhaps just shocked in disbelief. Let’s roll! 🚲💨

Luca Masini's Giro d'Italia Nonstop (GINS) provides ultra racers with a grand tour through Italy with over 2,400 miles (almost 4,000 km) traveled and 166,000 ft (over 50,000 m) of climbing through historic cities like Venice, Milan, Rome, Naples, and over the snowcapped Alps. Let’s roll! 🚲💨

On today's episode, we celebrate Stanko Verstovšek's glorious achievement in breaking and setting 11 world records in the outdoor road category, including the gold standard of 24 hours, a record previously set by the one and only 6-time RAAM champion, Christoph Strasser. Stanko rode 914.02 km (567.946 miles) with an average speed of 38.08 kph (23.66 mph). Let’s roll! 🚲💨

Georgi Stoychev, a Bulgarian ultra cyclist, set a new WUCA Cross State Record traversing from South to North across the US state of Maryland, In an official time of 7h 25m, averaging 18.7 mph after battling strong winds up to 25 mph from the very start of his ride. In this episode, we learn all about his record setting. Let’s roll! 🚲💨

10 years ago we lost one of the greatest ultra cyclists the world has ever seen, Slovenian ultra racer and fan favorite, Jure Robic. On today's episode, we have the privilege of commemorating Jure's life with his former crew chief and longtime friend, Matjaz Planinsek. Let’s roll! 🚲💨

Imagine racing Christoph Strasser in his home country of Austria. Today's guest Philipp Kaider did exactly that and came in just behind Christoph in 2nd place, in the Race Around Niederösterreich (RAN), or translated to English, the Race Around Lower Austria. Philipp, a local Austrian himself, was a smoker for over 10 years, but has already achieved a lot. Let’s roll! 🚲💨