In this week's episode, we hear from riders of all levels and distances of Unbound who tell us about their experiences participating in North America's biggest gravel event, and Payson answers your questions.

Payson sits down with professional mountain biker and gravel racer Ryan Standish to preview the second race of the Lifetime Grand Prix, Unbound 200.

Joe Grant is an ultra runner and mountain athlete who holds the FKT on the Colorado Trail and has competed all over the world at races such as the Hardrock 100, Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc, and the Iditarod in Alaska.

Payson sits down with professional mountain biker and former teammate Hannah Otto to discuss her new privateer program, splitting her 2022 schedule between North American gravel racing and UCI World Cups, and her childhood as a world champion triathlete.

In this second part of our coverage of the Epic Rides Whiskey Off-road, Payson sits down with self-proclaimed "weekend warrior" Ben Mauceri, and Cina McConaughy and Kate Phelan, owners of Soul Ride, one of Prescott, Arizona's bike shops.

Payson sits down with professional mountain biker racers Haley Smith and Andrew L’Esperance to talk about their first Whiskey Off-road, and later chats with Todd Sadow, President and CEO of Epic Rides

Quinn Simmons is a professional road cyclist who rides for Trek-Segafredo. At just 20 years old, he is part of a new generation of American road cyclists achieving success in the WorldTour that the country has not seen in generations.

Justin Williams, founder of L39ion Los Angeles and winner of eleven national titles, returns to the show to talk about recovering from shoulder surgery and his latest moves within the industry.

Remi Gauvin is a professional enduro racer from Squamish, BC who has made numerous podiums and top ten Overall Series finishes in the Enduro World Series. In this conversation, Remi talks about how riding dirt jumps in Jordie Lunn's backyard as a kid fueled his passion for cycling. He talks about finding early success as a downhill racer and working on an oil rig to support his cycling career, at one point working 56 days in a row on night shifts in temperatures around -30ºC. He talks about why he transitioned to enduro, the different skillset required for downhill, and what it’s like dating a fellow pro racer (2017 Downhill World Champion, Miranda Miller). He also talks about his tips for fast descending and the Youtube channel he created with Miller and teammate Jesse Melamed to highlight the community and skill-building of pro riding.

Payson is joined by two standout racers from last weekend’s Sea Otter Classic, Mo Wilson and Rob Britton.

Payson is joined by Geoff Kabush and Kateřina Nash to talk about all things Life Time Grand Prix. The six-race gravel series kicks off this weekend with the Sea Otter Classic. Both Geoff and Kateřina have won Sea Otter multiple times, and are racing it again this year. Neither of them, however, is participating in the Grand Prix. Earlier this year, Geoff penned an article in Cycling Tips that criticized the points system and entry requirements of the race, questioning its impact on the careers of pro racers. In this conversation, he, Kateřina, and Payson discuss his concerns and how the Grand Prix might adapt in the coming years.

Dave Hagen has been the Director of the Fort Lewis College cycling program for 18 years. In that time, he’s seen it grow from a club sport to one of the most dominant collegiate teams in the country. He’s helped guide the careers of future pros such as Sarah Sturm, Sepp Kuss, Chris Blevins, and Sofia Gomez-Villafañe, and watched the team secure 15 USA Cycling Collegiate national titles in mountain biking and cyclocross. But under his leadership, the program has focused just as much attention on amateur cycling enthusiasts as future Olympians and World Champions.

Payson sits down with this year’s winner of The Mid South, Cole Paton to discuss his victory and unpack the race. Having spent much of his career winning collegiate XC titles and chasing the World Cup circuit, the 23-year-old was as surprised as anyone when his fitness and savvy tactics snagged him the top step at the season’s first major gravel race. Despite his decisive win, Cole says that self-doubt and low expectations followed him all the way to the finish line, even after his solo breakaway with only a few miles to go.

Keegan Swenson joins Payson one week after setting a course record at 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. They talk about his pivot toward endurance racing after narrowly missing out on a spot at the Olympics for XC, and how he managed to beat out stiff competition to take the top step at 24 HOP in spite of it being his first 24-hour solo race.

Ted King joins Payson to talk about The Mid South, the unofficial kickoff of the 2022 gravel season. They discuss this year’s course, the weather forecast, and where they think the race fits into the bigger picture of gravel. They discuss of the depth of both the men's and women's fields and choose their podium favorites and a few dark horses.

Jesse Melamed is an enduro mountain bike racer who is currently ranked #3 in the world for that discipline. In this conversation, he talks about growing up in Whistler, BC, his love of skiing, and his relationship with his teammate and competitor, Remi Gauvin. He talks about the mixed response he received from fans and sponsors when he won the 2020 Enduro World Series which had several notable absences from riders due to the pandemic. He also talks about why big miles on the road is the best form of training, why filming and editing his own content has remained a priority in spite of a busy race schedule, and the bike touring trip he took from Texas to Louisiana this winter.

Lance Haidet is a professional road and cyclocross racer who currently rides for L39ion of LosAngeles. In this interview, he tells Payson about racing mountain bikes as a teenager in Bend, OR and going on to win U23 Road Nationals for Aevolo under the leadership of Mike Creed. He talks about why he's decided to jump into the gravel racing scene for the 2022 season with the Lifetime Grand Pre, and how he juggles multiple disciplines while getting an engineering degree at CalPoly. He also tells Payson about why he decided to join L39ion in 2020, what he thinks of the backlash the team receives, and how they've changed road cycling in the US.

Sam Pickman worked as an engineer for Specialized for 11 years before joining Allied Cycleworks in 2016. As one of the brand’s first employees, he has been instrumental in developing their unique designs and manufacturing process. In this interview, he tells Payson why he chose to move his family from the Bay Area to northwest Arkansas to work for an as yet unproven brand. He talks about why Allied’s “made here” ethos creates a higher performance product: by designing and manufacturing all their bikes and components under the same roof, they’re able to explore and test more innovative designs than a brand that outsources their manufacturing to other factories. He talks about his own creative process, how some of Allied’s most successful designs were developed, and goes through the steps of how a bike is made.

Marley Blonsky is the co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes, an organization that seeks to make the cycling community more size inclusive. In this conversation, Marley talks about the longtime lack of inclusive sizing in cycling, from clothing options to equipment, why she recently decided to leave her job in corporate America to move to focus on growing her role in the cycling community, and why she views the word "fat" as neutral rather than derogatory. She also talks about ignoring criticism in favor of positivity, her program sponsoring non-traditional athletes to race at SBT GRVL, and her new database matching companies to plus size gear testers around the world.

Cam Wurf started his athletic career in rowing, where he represented Australia at the 2004 Olympics, and went on to compete in road cycling for WorldTour teams including Cannondale-Liquigas. After retiring from the sport in 2015, he started racing triathlons, attaining 5th at the World Championship in 2019, and setting a World Record for the bike leg of the race. In 2020, he was lured back in to professional cycling at the highest level when Ineos Grenadiers came calling. He now leads an unprecedented dual career as a WorldTour cyclist and Ironman triathlete.