Girls Gone Gravel Podcast - Coming 4/6

So we’re doing a thing, and I’m telling you about it first.

We’re launching a podcast! 

Let me start by saying I was reluctant to start a podcast. I co-hosted a podcast several years ago, and it was a ton of work. My co-host and I were both the hosts and producers. I loved the interviews, but it ended up being 10-12 hours of work each week. My co-host went through some major fertility issues and happily got pregnant with twins who arrived very early. Our podcast just went to cyber heaven. I was okay with that.

I like creating content but my thought on podcasting was, there are already so many podcasts, do we need another one?.

But a few people reached out to me on Instagram and asked if I would consider starting a podcast. They asked in various ways, but the gist was, ‘there are no women’s voices consistently talking about gravel ’.

So I started listening to every podcast I could find, and they were right. I did find a few that had women co-hosts, but to be honest, I would forget they were on the podcast because the male voice so dominated it. I don’t have anything against the male voice. I ended up subscribing to a lot of these podcasts and regularly listen. But I wanted a place to share stories in a way that spoke to the women I knew.

I had met the team from Live Feisty media through my original podcast. Through some collaborations, we had become friends. Live Feisty exists to elevate women’s voices in mass participation sports. As I started to consider a podcast, I knew I needed the right partner. In February, we officially decided to partner to create this podcast and hopefully, another cool collaboration when events start back up.

From there, I knew I needed a co-host. I had heard about Kristi Mohn from several podcasts. She’s been the leader in creating parity for women in gravel cycling, starting with the 200 women to Kanza push. When I talked to the Live Feisty team, I said if I could have any co-host, it would be Kristi.  By a happy chance (or divine intervention), she had reached out to me about the Women Ride the World initiative and halfway through our call I blurted out, “I’m starting a podcast, do you want to be my co-host?.”  She immediately said yes, and two weeks we were recording our first episode.

On Tuesday, we launch the podcast. Our first guest is the one and only Alison Tetrick. I had hoped this podcast would be different - that we would laugh a lot and have some real conversations, and y’all, this first episode does not disappoint. 

I can’t wait to share it with you on Tuesday. But right now, what I want to share is our purpose. This is about building a community of women who are chasing adventures on their bikes - whether it's an epic adventure like a DK200 finish line or an everyday adventure like exploring a new route. It’s not about race reports or winners or how to train. Yes, we’ll learn a lot of practical things along the way, but my dream for this podcast is that we’ll hear more stories like Lauren’s.

Outside of some bike commuting, Lauren had not really ridden a bike since she was a kid. I met her because I was a coach at the tri club and she decided to do a triathlon that summer.  After completing a few triathlons, Lauren realized her love was with the bike. She heard Alison Tetrick talk about Dirty Kanza that December and signed up for the lottery. She was shocked to get in (not knowing about the 200 women to Kanza initiative). Less than a year after she started seriously riding a bike, Lauren rolled across the Dirty Kanza 200 finish line. 

I was ready to hang up my bike and find a new sport when Lauren started telling me about gravel cycling. It caught my attention and she took me out on my first few rides. I fell in love with it. Together we began to scheme of this community. 

She heard a woman’s story and followed an adventure. She introduced me to an adventure. Together we’ve had some really fun adventures. That’s the goal of this whole thing. I believe right now, more than ever, we are longing for adventure. I can't wait to share this one with all of you!