3. Kristen Conquers the Arizona Trail

Kristen joins to recount her completion of the Arizona Trail Ultra Race — an 850-mile, self-supported bikepacking race from the Mexico border to the Utah border. Kristen walks through her training approach, her gear setup for desert riding, and the strategic choices that go into a multi-week self-supported event, including how to carry up to nine liters of water on a hardtail mountain bike.The episode gets into the real highs and lows of the race: the stunning beauty of the Gila River canyons and the Grand Canyon, the brutal hike-a-bike over Mount Lemmon, a skunk encounter that nearly ended the trip, and the quiet, anticlimactic 4 a.m. finish line moment. Kristen's story is equal parts adventure epic and honest meditation on mental resilience, fear, and what it means to keep going.The "Snacks" segment wraps up every episode with a tribute to the most important part of any ride: snacking. We are thrilled to have our friends at Neversecond as a sponsor for this segment. To help you fuel your ride or next epic journey, Neversecond is offering our listeners 15% off their high-quality performance nutrition. Just use the discount code SNACKS15 to get yourself some high-quality performance fuel / snacks.Arizona Trail Bikepacking Route