Does motherhood have to mean the end of cycling adventures? How can you find accessible trails? Is the bike industry doing enough to diversify the representation of cycling?  Spindrift was invited to host a panel discussion with 5 incredible guests at a live event in Sheffield, with Kelly-Jayne Collinge, Dr Fiona Spotswood, Vicky Balfour, Bron Black & Dr Phoebe Sneddon, discussing these topics and a whole lot more.

From stage management and musical theatre to bringing the atmosphere to the Mountain Bike World Series and the Cycling World Champs, Skye Murphy has fascinating role within the bike world, and an unusual path into it. Cool, calm and professional, she's worked at MTB events across the world over the last year with Great Big Events... and done it as a new mum, with her baby, Gwen, on tour with her. Spindrift spoke to Skye on the last day of the Cycling World Championship events in Glentress, Scotland, while the action took place around us.

This bonus episode is a crossover with On The Outside, a podcast sharing diverse views on outdoor news in the UK. Specifically, this episode discusses the Cycling World Championships which took place in Scotland in August 2023, looking at a range of topics around the event including its impact, accessibility, and what it was actually like to be there. Guests include Spindrift Podcast host Aoife Glass, Neil Russell, founder of the Adaptive Riders Collective (ARC) CIC, endurance athlete and adventurer Vedangi Kulkarni, and podcast producer, editor and host Francesca Turauskis.

Why is there still such a marked gender disparity in mountain biking? That’s the question that prompted Dr Fiona Spotswood, associate professor of marketing and consumption at the University of Bristol, to research gender equality within and women’s perceptions of mountain biking. After numerous conversations with women across the UK, the results are fascinating - but perhaps not surprising. Women often don’t feel represented or included in how MTB is portrayed, but the good news is they aren’t waiting around for the bike industry to catch up. This episode touches on representation, inclusion, grass-roots communities, how events like Red Bull Formation and Rampage play a part, and what needs to change to make mountain biking a more welcoming space for women.

Scottish mountain biker Lee Craigie describes herself as a storyteller and bike adventurer, and in this episode of the Spindrift Podcast she talks about her new book 'Other Ways to Win: A Competitive Cyclist's Reflections on Success'. The book is an autobiographical looks at her life, told in adventures, from childhood, to UK National Cross-country Mountain Bike Champion, to the formation of the Adventure Syndicate; along the way, Lee reflects on how success is and can be defined.

Cassondra Spring is the Global Brand Manager for Liv Cycling, one of the largest cycling brands in the world and one that’s focussed on putting women first in all it does. She chats about how she got into cycling, what exactly it is that a global brand manager does, and as Liv is also the sponsor of the White Jersey at the Tour de France Femmes, what plans are afoot for 2023, and where she sees the future of women’s cycling in general.

Emily Horridge discovered mountain biking in the 90’s when it was a fresh new sport, and never looked back. She raced as an elite athlete in the downhill world cup for many years, then became a mountain bike guide and now leads adventures in the Alps with evocative names like ‘Temple of Tech’ and ‘Cathedral of Flow’. This year, she’s decided to return to downhill world cup and settle up some unfinished business.  Emily talks about what mountain biking and mountain bikes were like in the early days of the sport, how her career has progressed and what she’s learned about riding, racing and herself along the way. She also talks about training and racing as an athlete in her forties, how YouTube has made access to information on race craft much more accessible, and how she’s been working to get ready for the challenges of the modern Downhill World Series, where racers tackle some of the most technical tracks on record, reaching incredible speeds.

A bonus episode with several of the people who make the racing magic happen at the UCI MTB World Series races, behind the scenes at the Enduro and Marathon rounds in Finale Outdoor Region, Italy.  Liz Walker, Liv Racing team manager, talks about what her role as entails, the highs and lows that come with racing, and the emotional rollercoaster that is waiting for your athlete to complete their race. From the racers perspective, I talked to enduro rider Dimitri Tordo from the Canyon CLLCTV team, on how his race went and what impact if any the changes to the event organisation have had. And finally, Rhys Person from Great Big Events (GBE), the company that run the in-venue event management, explained plans to elevate the experience for the venue crowd, with live video feeds, race timings, interviews and a whole lot more.

Nikita Ducarroz is an incredible Freestyle BMX athlete, European champion, Olympic Bronze Medallist and Red Bull sponsored athlete. The sheer style she brings to her riding is impressive, and her list of accolades demonstrates that she's an athlete at the top of her game.  She's also notable for her open and honest representation of life as an elite rider, and the lows as well as highs that go with that. In this episode, she explains how her start in BMX was anything but conventional. From the age of 13 she started to suffer severe anxiety attacks that ultimately saw her stop going to school, and barely leaving the house.  Then she discovered BMX, and she credits it with saving her life.  Nikita shares her story, from discovering the sport and riding in her front yard to gradually participating in events and competitions further from home, building to the incredible place she's in today. But she's also open about the fact that anxiety doesn't go away, what she does to manage it, and why she set up MindTricks to help other athletes open up about mental health.  She also talks about the impact of Freestyle BMX becoming an Olympic sport and what that's meant for women riders, and what her plans are for 2023 and beyond.

From a very unusual start in MTB racing (thanks MBUK Magazine!) to becoming a coach that helped World Champion Evie Richards to the podium, Katy Curd has had an incredible and varied career. Katy shares her experiences, from the highs of racing and a hilarious first championship race experience, to the lows, including a very candid and moving explanation of how concussion affected her physical and mental health.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to work in the bike biz, then this episode is for you! Rachelle Boobar shares her journey from working in TV in Australia to a season in Whistler that just didn’t end. After learning to MTB in the incredible playground of the Sea to Sky corridor in Canada she then worked for mountain biking super-site Pinkbike for several years, and is now the global marketing manager for GT Bicycles. She shares her insider perspective on the current bike and parts shortage, advice for anyone who’s keen to work in the bike world, and how the arrival of her baby son has changed her perspective on riding.  Plus she talks about that time her crash video went viral on social media...

Indian endurance cyclist Vedangi Kulkarni set off around the world in 2018 aged just 19 with a mission to become a Guinness World Record holder and become the youngest women to circumnavigate along the globe. To say it was an adventure in an understatement; close encounters with bears, dead kangaroos, visa issues, wonderful hospitality, saddle sores, incredible landscapes, mugging at knifepoint - the highs and lows were extreme, and Vedangi shares it all with us.  She also answers questions sent in by Spindrift listeners, such as how she managed periods during the attempt, and has some advice for budding adventure cyclists.

Ines Thoma is and always has been VERY competitive, and it's paid off. She's regularly in the top 5 at Enduro World Series mountain bike races, and has a passion for mass-start events like the Megavalanche. She chats about how she made the transition from ski racing as a kid to cross-country mountain bike racing, then on to enduro, what it is she loves about this race format and her all-time favourite EWS venues. Spoiler: it's not just about having great riding! Ines also shares her cycling and pregnancy adventures, her new-found love of eMTB and what her plans for 2021 are.

When it comes to adventure, Jenny Graham and Lee Craigie have plenty of epic experiences under their belts (and a few record breaking ones). They are both Directors of the Adventure Syndicate, a collective of women adventure cyclists who aim to inspire, enable and encourage, they explain what the Syndicate is all about, how they define adventure, and why we should all experience a little Type 2 fun.  They also talk about their latest adventure, Source to Sea, explaining the concept and plan behind this adventure that’s rooted in sustainability and storytelling, and better yet they want YOU to get involved.

Scottish downhill mountain biker Mikayla Parton only discovered the sport relatively recently, but that hasn’t stopper her rising through the ranks to become a World Cup racer! This privateer, supported by the likes of Greenpower, Nevis Range, Trek UK and Endura, shares what it’s like to be a newbie at a World Cup, how she discovered mountain biking and made the switch from skiing, and the highs and lows of her 2020 season which included placing 5th at the World Champs!  Mikayla also talks frankly about the concussion she sustained at the end of 2020, how her recovery is going, her off-season training and her goals for 2021.

She's a mountain bike guide, co-founder of an MTB holiday company, community advocate, diversity and inclusion expert and force of nature! Aneela McKenna is my guest for episode 2 and there's so much to chat about! Aneela shares the story of how she got into cycling and how she wasn't a fan to start with, her favourite trail snacks, the work she does to encourage and empower young girls in cycling, and her work as a diversity and inclusion advisor.

Freerider Vero Sandler chats about how she got into cycling, how she developed her freeride skills, and shares some tantalising snippets of the exciting projects she’s got coming up.  Vero is the rider behind Vision, the female-led freeride mountain bike film and it’s corresponding amazing jump line at the Revolution Bike Park in Wales. She also talks about what it was like to take part in Red Bull Formation, a women’s freeride event that took place in Utah.