Ultra Distance Scholarship with Alison & Taylor and Wild Wales

07/01/22 • 44 min

Gravel Union Talks is a podcast series full of inspiring stories, news and events from the world of gravel biking. Each month hosts Carlo and Olly will be chatting with guests who are passionate about riding off the beaten track... adventure riding, bike packing and gravel racing.

In this episode it’s all about making gravel riding more inclusive and welcoming to people who have typically felt excluded. We’ve got two special guests joining us in this episode - Alison Wood and Taylor Doyle, who are two of the founders of the Ultra Distance Scholarship - a scheme which they helped set up back in 2020 to support new riders from under-represented backgrounds who wanted to try ultra-distance riding.

Guests:

Alison Wood and Taylor Doyle, founders of the Ultra Distance Scholarship
Jon Heard from the Wild Wales Gravel Campout
Gravel Union Talks podcast with hosts Carlo van Nistelrooy and Olly Townsend.
GU’s editor-in-chief Olly on last month’s most popular articles on the Gravel Union platform.

Want to bring in ideas for topics or guests?
Mail Olly at [email protected]

Check out our platform and socials
www.gravelunion.cc
Insta: @gravel_union
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravelUnion/
Komoot: https://www.komoot.nl/user/1080024447202

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Don’t forget: join us now for a free membership with loads of benefits! https://members.gravelunion.cc

Links and most popular articles on GravelUnion.cc
Tour Divide 2022 - the preview
How tough are you? Are you the type of rider that doesn’t just handle multi-day rides, but sets out to crush them? If so, you might see a bit of yourself in Sofiane Sehili and Josh Ibbett, two riders lining up for the legendary Tour Divide that are capable of feats of endurance that would see many of us crumble.

The Traka ride report - Ibai Fradejas
Ibai Fradejas headed off to Girona in search of some full-gas gravel racing and he wasn’t disappointed.
HotChillee - London to Paris gravel route reccie

Despite having led groups on the road London to Paris on thirteen occasions, Hotchillee Ride Captain Rachel Przybylski, is a fairly new convert to gravel. She joined a group of fellow Hotchillee Ride Captains and gravel enthusiasts for the second reccie ride of the two French days of the London to Paris by Tour de France gravel edition.

Guests:

Alison Wood and Taylor Doyle, founders of the Ultra Distance Scholarship
Jon Heard from the Wild Wales Gravel Campout
Gravel Union Talks podcast with hosts Carlo van Nistelrooy and Olly Townsend.
GU’s editor-in-chief Olly on last month’s most popular articles on the Gravel Union platform.

Want to bring in ideas for topics or guests?
Mail Olly at [email protected]

Check out our platform and socials
www.gravelunion.cc
Insta: @gravel_union
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravelUnion/
Komoot: https://www.komoot.nl/user/1080024447202

Thanks for listening. Please share a review, like and share!

Don’t forget: join us now for a free membership with loads of benefits! https://members.gravelunion.cc

The Traka ride report - Ibai Fradejas
Ibai Fradejas headed off to Girona in search of some full-gas gravel racing and he wasn’t disappointed.
HotChillee - London to Paris gravel route reccie

Previous Episode

Ultra-distance gravel adventures with Sofiane Sehili and Annelore on the legendary Flanders Gravel Series

In this episode:

Guests:

Sofiane Sehili (http://www.instagram.com/sofianeshl), multi-event winning gravel and adventure racer
Annelore Cleuren (www.flandersgravel.cc) of the Flanders Gravel event series
Gravel Union Talks podcast with hosts Carlo van Nistelrooy and Olly Townsend.
GU’s editor-in-chief Olly on last month’s most popular articles on the Gravel Union platform.

Want to bring in ideas for topics or guests? Mail Olly at [email protected]

Check out our platform and socials
www.gravelunion.cc
Insta: @gravel_union
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravelUnion/
Komoot: https://www.komoot.nl/user/1080024447202

Thanks for listening. Please share a review, like and share!

Don’t forget: join us now for a free membership with loads of benefits!
https://members.gravelunion.cc

Links:

Launch of Omar Di Felice’s Arctic World Tour
- Ultra-endurance rider Omar di Felice is currently riding solo around the top of the world on his Artic World Tour. Setting off in the middle of winter, he wanted to be the first ever cyclist to successfully traverse the fearsome Kamchatka region of Russia. We catch up with how his adventure has panned out so far.

Most popular stories on GravelUnion.cc last month

Kona bikepacking video from the Verdon region of France
- It's another posting in our random "ooooh, look what we found" video series. This time we're off to the south of France on a bikepacking and pack rafting trip courtesy of Kona. Two minutes of stunning, peaceful entertainment for your viewing pleasure.
Interview with Stayer Cycles
- "There’s been a long history of bike builders in this part of London - since around 1890, so we feel like we’re carrying on a tradition” said Sam. Olly heads down to the Big Smoke to spend an afternoon with Sam and Judith from Stayer Cycles.
Sofiane Sehili https://sofianesehili.com/
Flanders Gravel :
- Saturday 11 June 2022 Diksmuide (Flanders Fields)
- Weekend 1-2-3 July or Saturday only 2 July Koppenberg (Oudenaarde)
- Saturday 6 August 2022 Limburg (Bilsen)

Next Episode

Gravelly "Fastest Known Times" (FKT) with Reese Ruland

In this episode Reese Ruland takes us to the realm of Cycling FKT's (the Fastest Know Time). She tells about the fun of riding, preparing FKT efforts, making routes and the real community sense of this gravel domain where you race the stopwatch on longer routes.

Guest:

Reese Ruland, founder of https://www.cyclingfkt.com
Gravel Union Talks podcast with hosts Carlo van Nistelrooy and Olly Townsend.
GU’s editor-in-chief Olly on last month’s most popular articles on the Gravel Union platform.

Want to bring in ideas for topics or guests?
Mail Olly at [email protected]

Check out our platform and socials
www.gravelunion.cc
Insta: @gravel_union
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GravelUnion/
Komoot: https://www.komoot.nl/user/1080024447202

Thanks for listening. Please share a review, like and share!

Don’t forget: join us now for a free membership with loads of benefits! https://members.gravelunion.cc

Biggest news item of last month

World gravel cycling championships 2022
- As long-term gravel addicts with one eye on race results and another on the development of gravel bikes and components, it feels slightly strange to be writing about the inaugural World Gravel Championship in 2022. It’s as though someone has come significantly late to the party. Emmie reports back from the inaugural World Gravel Championships.

Most popular stories on GravelUnion.cc last month

Gravel bikepacking on the Veneto Trail - Claire Frecknall
- “Little tears of happiness pooled in my eyes and blurred my vision”. Claire Frecknall heads to north-east Italy in search of gravel ‘paradiso’ on the Veneto Trail.
Remembering Sule Kanganki
- Over the weekend came the desperately sad news from the USA that Kenya’s top gravel rider and friend of Gravel Union, Sule Kangangi tragically died while taking part in a gravel event in Vermont. We look back at some of the achievements of this inspirational gravel rider.