Detours: Bikepacking, Ultra-Cycling and Adventures by Bike

Mel Webb
  • 4.8 (34)
  • WILDERNESS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Hosted by ultra endurance and adventure cyclist Mel Webb, Detours brings you stories from inside the world of bikepacking and ultra cycling, featuring racers, community members, race directors and more. This show is about celebrating the journey, and the detours along the way, as much as the destination. We're especially passionate about providing space for folks that identify as women to share their stories and hope to inspire more people to ride bikes.Presented by Albion CyclingHave a topic you'd like us to cover? A guest you think we should interview? We'd love to hear from you! Please shoot us an email at thedetourspodcast@gmail.comIf you love the show and want us to keep making it, consider becoming a supporter at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

  1. Women of Atlas Mountain Race 2026

    FEB 5

    Women of Atlas Mountain Race 2026

    Last year’s Atlas Mountain Race saw 30 women take place. This year, beginning in Beni-Mellal, 54 women will be on the starting line. Of course there is still a long way to go in seeing equal participation between the men and women, but to see a race nearly double it’s participation in one year is certainly a sign that momentum is building. We hope that their stories inspire you to take on your own adventure, and of course, to have more women on start lines. Dotwatch the 2026 Atlas Mountain Race Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If you love this show please consider pledging your support to sustain producing this show: https://buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

    53 min

  2. JAN 29

    Adventure More: Sami Sauri on Building A Life In The Mountains

    Three weeks after finishing second at Silk Road Mountain Race, Sami Sauri hiked up Mont Blanc in the dark and paraglided off the summit at dawn. Sami is a mountain woman in every sense — she ski tours, she paraglides, she bikepacks remote corners of the world, and she documents it all through her lens. Based in Chamonix, she's proof you don't have to choose between competing and creating. In this episode of Detours, we talk about the steep learning curve of ultracycling, getting a mentor to prepare for Silk Road Mountain Race, and the power of mantras. Sami shares how she went from signing up for her first ultra after a couple bottles of wine to podiums at the world's most demanding mountain races and how she's built a life that blends her creative and competitive pursuits.  Follow Sami on Instagram: @samisauri Plus we have a bonus segment with our Sound Designer, Ben Crannell. Ben just got back from riding the Queen's Ransom route in Arizona and shares all about his adventure! If you're keen to hear more about the Queen's Ransom or Arizona Trail Race, check out our Detours episode with Kara Woolgar.  Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If you love this show please consider pledging your support to sustain producing this show: https://buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

    1h 21m

  3. JAN 22

    A Peek Inside Mel's Highland Trail 550 Training: Building Back From Zero

    Mel shares a peek inside her training for the Highland Trail 550 in May. We go into building back from ground zero, incorporating more strength training and an easter egg for those who make it all the way to the end.  Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If you love this show please consider pledging your support to sustain producing this show: https://buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

    22 min

  4. JAN 15

    Permission to Change: Kara Folkerts on Trail Running, Bikepacking and Life on the Road

    Kara Folkerts doesn't fit in any boxes. She's a trail running guide, bikepacker, and has lived a nomadic life for the past ten years. In this conversation, Kara opens up about identity, life on the road, and the freedom that comes with allowing yourself to change. We talk about sustaining a nomadic lifestyle, run travel, bike travel, solo adventures, and bikepacking with a partner. She also shares what's next — upcoming trips to Oman and Morocco, and her first ultra bikepacking race later this year. Follow Kara's adventures: @karafolkerts Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If you love this show please consider pledging your support to sustain producing this show: https://buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

    55 min

  5. JAN 8

    You Can Do Hard Things: Jana Kesenheimer, Two-Time Transcontinental Race Fastest Woman

    The Transcontinental Race is often described as the self-supported bikepacking race across Europe, drawing some of the biggest names in ultra cycling each year. Riders plot their own routes across the continent — this year, roughly 4,700 kilometers — linking a handful of mandatory control points and parcours. Every decision, from navigation to sleep and everything in between, is left entirely to them. Jana Kesenheimer has won the women's race not once, but twice, lining up in 2025 alongside riders like Lael Wilcox and Cynthia Carson in the most competitive women's field TCR has ever seen. In this conversation, Jana reflects on the road that led her to ultra-distance racing — and why, despite all her experience, it took years to feel ready to line up at TCR. We talk about her 2025 race, confidence, and self-trust. As a psychologist, Jana brings a rare perspective to the mental side of endurance racing, exploring how gender, motivation, and self-perception shape not just how we race, but whether we feel like we belong at the start line at all. Follow Jana's adventures and racing: @jananas.banjana Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If you love this show please consider pledging your support to sustain producing this show: https://buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

    57 min

  6. JAN 1

    Holiday Throwback: Hannah Simon's 2024 Silk Road Mountain Race

    Happy New Years Detours listeners! We'll be back on Jan. 8 with a brand new episode, but in the meantime we've got an awesome throwback to our first ever in person recording with Hannah Simon back in August 2024. This episode gets me fired up for the racing season ahead is the perfect companion for your next long ride. *** Hannah Simon took the women's win at this year's Silk Road Mountain Race, in a time of 8 days 20 hours and 16 minutes. She navigated the 1939km and 30,000m+ with determination, resilience and grace. Not only was she the first woman home, but also landed 9th overall in an exceptionally deep field. In this episode we talk all about her preparation and the race itself. She shares so many great nuggets about her own personal hygiene, her kit and so much more. It was an absolute joy to get to record this episode in person together and to celebrate her achievement. Stay up to date on Hannah's adventures by following her on Instagram. If you loved today's episode please leave us a 5 star review wherever you listen and don't forget to subscribe.  Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If you love this show please consider pledging your support to sustain producing this show: https://buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

    1h 43m

  7. 12/25/2025

    Holiday Throwback: Alexandera Houchin on Racing with Heart & 10 Years of Bikepacking

    I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season! This week we're throwing it back to an episode recorded right around this time last year with the incredible Alexandera Houchin. It's one I've found myself listening to as I ramp up training for HT550 in May and every time I listen there is a new pearl of wisdom. I hope you enjoy and see you in 2026!  ***  When I think of women in bikepacking, Alexandera Houchin is one of the first people that comes to mind. She’s raced the Tour Divide countless time and been a steadfast figure in encouraging more women to take on these big challenges. As an Indigenous woman and member of the Fond du Lac tribe, becoming a sponsored athlete, heck an athlete at all, was not necessarily a pathway she saw for herself growing up. She joins me on the podcast to share about her journey to the bike, and how she’s made a career of this niche sport. We discuss what keeps her returning to these races year after year, her experiences navigating body image as someone with a bigger body, and how she’s redefining what success looks like in this next chapter of her career. Alexandera shares incredible insights on community, representation, and how showing up with her full heart have shaped her path in bikepacking. Trigger Warning: We discuss topics related to body image and disordered eating between the 19:00 and 25:00 marks. If these are sensitive topics for you please feel free to skip this portion of the episode. To keep up with Alexandera’s adventures follow her on Instagram @alexanderahouchin and read her writing on her Substack As always, if you loved this episode, please leave us a review, follow wherever you listen and share it with a friend. Even better you can make a one time pledge of your support and any funds raised go back into creating this show. Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If you love this show please consider pledging your support to sustain producing this show: https://buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

    1h 32m

  8. 12/18/2025

    Reflecting on a Wild 2025: Behind the Scenes of Detours and a Year at The Mountain Races with Mel Webb

    This episode is a little different. For the final episode of the year, the roles are reversed as Detours alum and journalist Hélène Fromenty steps into the host seat, turning the mic back on Mel Webb, creator and host of the Detours podcast. Together, we reflect on a wild 2025 and what the year really looked like behind the scenes of Detours — from building and sustaining an independent cycling podcast, to working on the ground with the Mountain Races, to navigating a complicated relationship with cycling during a season when riding took a back seat. We talk about imposter feelings, representation in bikepacking and ultra-distance race coverage, creative sustainability, and the ongoing balance between personal goals and creating work that serves a wider community. Follow Mel on Instagram: @melwwebb Follow Detours on Instagram: @detourscycling Follow Albion on Instagram: @albion.cycling Use code DETOURS15 to get 15% off your next order from Albion If you love this show please consider pledging your support to sustain producing this show: https://buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

    1h 7m
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4.8
out of 5
34 Ratings

About

Hosted by ultra endurance and adventure cyclist Mel Webb, Detours brings you stories from inside the world of bikepacking and ultra cycling, featuring racers, community members, race directors and more. This show is about celebrating the journey, and the detours along the way, as much as the destination. We're especially passionate about providing space for folks that identify as women to share their stories and hope to inspire more people to ride bikes.Presented by Albion CyclingHave a topic you'd like us to cover? A guest you think we should interview? We'd love to hear from you! Please shoot us an email at thedetourspodcast@gmail.comIf you love the show and want us to keep making it, consider becoming a supporter at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/detourspodcast

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