Better with Bikes
Better with Bikes
Trek Bicycle
On Better With Bikes, we explore the inspiring, unknown, and behind-the-scenes stories of people changing the world with bikes — sometimes in ways, you might not expect. This podcast is our way of pulling back the curtain and giving these extraordinary people a platform to share their perspective on cycling’s unique and varied culture.
Gone in 60 Minutes: One woman’s quest to smash the Hour Record
Ellen Van Dijk always had a need for speed. Becoming a speed skater at eight and cycling since the age of ten, Ellen has been competing for most of her life. Ultimately Ellen found more success as a cyclist, having become a national cycling champion for the fifth time in 2007, so she quit speed skating and became a full-time cyclist. Racking up the world title successes, Ellen decided she would try her hand at claiming a world record. So in April 2022, Ellen announced she would try to ...
Dec 6, 2022
30 min
A World Cup in Our Backyard: A Completely Different—and Way More Fun—Approach to Bike Racing
Every fall, thousands come to Trek’s global headquarters in Waterloo, WI, for one weekend to witness riders from all over the world race at the Trek CX Cup. From juniors, to weekend warriors, to the top riders, everyone is welcome at Trek’s CX Cup. And all certainly feel welcomed when greeted with cowbells, people in costumes, a world-class course, food, beer, and one hell of a good time. But the Trek CX Cup that started in 2017 is more than just a good time; it has been instrumental i...
Nov 8, 2022
19 min
Valentina Höll: The 2022 World Champion is Just Getting Started
Valentina Höll has been cycling for the better part of her life. Growing up in a rural town in Austria with parents who were avid cyclists, she soon found her way into the sport. Vali's journey began at just the age of three, but it wasn't until she won her first race against a bunch of boys at thirteen that she knew she had found her calling. By age twenty, Valentina Höll captured three World Championship titles, one of which was in 2022, just a few weeks before recording this episode. Fortu...
Oct 17, 2022
29 min
The Fight for Mount Diablo: One Man’s Mission to Make an Epic Ride Safer for Cyclists
Each year one hundred and fifty thousand cyclists ride on Mount Diablo. Unfortunately, the risk they take is too familiar to cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians alike; the threat of motor vehicle collisions. Since 2000, Mount Diablo has claimed over 21 fatalities and counting. According to Alan Kalin, President of Mount Diablo Cyclists, California State Parks is not doing enough to prevent the resulting injuries to Park visitors who ride bicycles, so he’s decided to take matters into his own...
Oct 11, 2022
21 min
Kiel Reijnen: Riding (And Running) Where the Road Ends
You may not know, but last year, former Trek-Segafredo stand-out turned gravel racer Kiel Reijnen had one of the craziest weeks in sports. Not only did it include running 18 miles (on gravel) after his bike broke down, but he also embarked on a 5-day boat race with his daughter the day after. So what exactly happened? Who is Kiel Reijnen? And why is gravel racing cycling's fastest-growing discipline? In this episode, we kick back with professional gravel athlete, Kiel Reijnen, to answer...
Aug 24, 2022
26 min
Feeding the Sharks: Bram Lippens, Team Chef for Trek-Segafredo, Shares Stories of Life on the Road with a Team of (Very Hungry) Cyclists
Imagine this—your job is to feed an entire team of athletes tackling some of sport’s most brutally taxing events on the road more than 200 days a year, you’ll be in a new kitchen every night, and you have to make sure that what you create satisfies their body’s needs as well as their tastebuds. Sound good? In this episode, we sit down with Trek-Segafredo’s team chef Bram Lippens to talk about one of the most important yet less visible jobs in all of pro cycling. Along with behind-the-scenes s...
Aug 3, 2022
18 min
Jolanda Neff Bonus: The Secrets of Peak Athletic and Life Performance, Where She Keeps the Gold Medal and More..
Jolanda Neff is known for many things, including winning gold in the 2021 Olympics, being a 14x World Cup Champion, being a 16x Elite World, European or Swiss National Champion, and being awarded Pink Bikes' 2021 Comeback Athlete of the Year. Jolanda has such an impressive resume that we had to split our conversation with her into two parts! If you haven't heard part one, be sure to check it out below. In part two of our conversation with Jolanda Neff, we fire Jolanda with questions about her...
Jul 27, 2022
14 min
Jolanda Neff: Her Crazy Journey to the 2021 Olympic Gold Medal and What's Next
Back in 2019, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jolanda Neff. A cyclist known for her diversity in three different disciplines: road, mountain, and cyclocross. But as we welcome her back in 2022, she's now known for winning Gold for Women's Mountain Biking at the 2021 Olympics. Along with being an Olympic Gold Medalist, Jolanda is a 14x World Cup Champion, 16x Elite World, European or Swiss National Champion, and Pink Bikes' 2021 Comeback Athlete of the Year. We had so much to catch u...
Jul 26, 2022
29 min
We’re Giving Away a Bike (and more!): The BWB Revival Episode
Eric Bjorling is back for the revival of Better with Bikes with his new co-host, Richie Burke. The two discuss Richie’s rich history with Trek–considering he’s the son of Trek’s President, John Burke, there’s a lot to unpack here–what’s to come in future episodes, and our Better with Bikes giveaway! So join us as we explore diverse, unknown, and behind-the-scenes stories of people making the world a better place through cycling. To enter giveaway: https://kingsumo.com/g/aoylow/treks-bet...
Jul 20, 2022
9 min
Black Watts: A Community of Fathers Bringing Cycling to Everybody
What started as a fun way to get out of the house during lockdown soon evolved into a community of over sixty people looking to make a difference. In 2020, Chad Bennett, Aquil Jannah, and Chris Harvell put together a Fathers Day ride consisting of just fourteen people riding eighteen miles. What they found was something far greater. With the spark of an idea and a passion for the camaraderie that cycling creates, they founded Black Watts—a group of cyclists that would work to help make cyclin...
Jun 16, 2022
29 min
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