Life in the Peloton, presented by MAAP

My Road to the Worlds - On-Road with Mitch Docker

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton!

Well, here we are, it’s the last pod of the year and I’ve got a bumper one for you! As you’ll know the UCI World Road Race Championships were held in Australia this year, and I made the 1,250km trip from my home in Lancefield, near Melbourne, to the race in Wollongong by bike, and I documented the trip for the pod. 

I gave myself five days for the trip, which meant I was doing big days on the bike, but without any ridiculous pressure, and it turned out to be an amazing pilgrimage through my own backyard here in Australia.  

Australia is a huge country that I’ve been away from for my whole career. I’d never ridden this route before, so I based my plans around staying and visiting some well-known pub stops and trying to catch up with other cyclists and friends, and anyone else I could find to have a cleansing ale and a chin wag with along the way. 

Sure, the riding got hard at times, but it really was an incredible experience to meet so many people, soak up the culture, and discover communities in Australia that I’ve never had the chance to meet before. 

I’ve got so many of these amazing characters on the pod, from keen cyclists to landlords wondering what the mad guy in pink lycra was doing in their pub! I spoke to locals who were bike racers, and to locals who had no idea what the Cycling World Championships were, let alone who Wout Van Aert was.

Overall it was an amazing experience. I had a blast in Australia, and I learned a lot about local cycling cultures and everything else along the way. I loved the time on the bike, both alone and with the company I picked up on the route, and I hope that comes across in the pod. 

I also hope that it can even inspire you guys to go and plan a trip yourselves. Remember, it doesn’t need to be epic or for the fastest known time, it can be whatever you want; just get out there and do your own fun trips; have fun on the bike, visit some pubs (of course), meet great people and get out and ride!

I want to say a big thanks to everyone who met me out on the road, gave me a tow, a beer or stopped to chat. Thanks to Tim, Gene, Pykey, Neil, Tom, Jordan, Chris and Stu, Tas, Ryan, Avie, Matilda, Lila and Lou, Kelly, Tom, Hans & Malia, Ben, Jay & Randy, Greg, Jamie, Murray, Shane, Kev & Erin, Gavin, Sam & Talia, Dave, Dan, Chris, Kirk, Tom, Sinna, Frano & the whole Rapha Cycle Club peloton.

This is the last Life in the Peloton episode for 2022, as we take a break for the cycling off season and get ready for another great podcast season next year.

Stay tuned for our final Talking Luft of 2022 with Luke Rowe next week!

Cheers,
Mitch

 

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app. 

Show Notes

This episode is proudly sponsored by Restrap – Yorkshire based makers of top quality, handmade and sustainable bike packing accessories. Hear my setup on the pod.

Use the discount code PELO10 or PELOTON10 for 10% off your next order.

This episode is proudly sponsored by QUADLOCK. Their phone mount was crucial to keeping me on track and connected to you all on this trip. Check out their fantastic range of phone mounts for your bike or every kind of activity out there!

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Check out photos from the trip below or head to the Life in the Peloton Instagram story highlights for more pictures and videos from the trip.

 

 

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

Talking Luft and Official LITP casquettes are back in stock. Shop now!

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

Life in the Peloton’s Theme Music

The theme music for Life in the Peloton was composed by Pete Shelley, who was lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks. It was commissioned by the production company behind Channel 4’s coverage of the Tour de France in the 1980s and was used as the theme music for the nightly highlights show.

I grew up watching those highlights and the music became part of my childhood. When I set out to create Life in the Peloton I knew that theme song was what would set the scene and capture the essence of Life in the Peloton.

Pete died in December 2018. We were given permission by Pete’s widow and his manager to continue using the music for the theme tune to Life in the Peloton. To hear more about the music, listen to the Andre Greipel episode of Life in the Peloton.

 

 

 

 

 

Talking Luft! with Dylan Van Baarle

You all know my love for Paris Roubaix, and in that sense I have some cycling royalty on the pod for you this week. Chatting with none other than the man who conquered this year's Hell of the North, Paris Roubaix winner, Dylan Van Baarle.

I was keen to hear a bit about Dylan and what makes him tick on and off the bike so I sat down with him while he was in Australia for the UCI Road Worlds and got Talking Luft!

Pro kit style, Oreo rice cakes, coffee shop stops, his favourite seat on the bus, the riders who inspire him, best & worst roommates, Netflix on race and a whole lot more!

This was a bit of fun. Enjoy this listen and stay tuned next week for my final LITP episode of the season, On Road with me to the Worlds.

Cheers,

Mitch

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube, on the Life in the Peloton website, or your favourite pod app. 

Show Notes

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

Talking Luft and Official LITP casquettes are back in stock. Shop now!

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

Life in the Peloton’s Theme Music

The theme music for Life in the Peloton was composed by Pete Shelley, who was lead singer of the punk band Buzzcocks. It was commissioned by the production company behind Channel 4’s coverage of the Tour de France in the 1980s and was used as the theme music for the nightly highlights show.

I grew up watching those highlights and the music became part of my childhood. When I set out to create Life in the Peloton I knew that theme song was what would set the scene and capture the essence of Life in the Peloton.

Pete died in December 2018. We were given permission by Pete’s widow and his manager to continue using the music for the theme tune to Life in the Peloton. To hear more about the music, listen to the Andre Greipel episode of Life in the Peloton. 

Lael Wilcox - The best of the best in Ultra Endurance Cycling

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton!

Lael Wilcox is an American Ultra-distance cyclist and one of the absolute legends of the discipline. She is the record holder for some of the sport’s most famous races, such as the 2,475 mile Tour Divide and the 4,400 mile Trans Am Bike Race (If you don’t fancy the math – that’s roughly 4000km and 7000km!) - and that's against both men and women. 

...

Ultra-distance racing is an intriguing and new side of cycling that I have only started to discover in the last couple of years. Lael was the perfect person to explain and dive into the interesting ins and outs of this kind of racing.

Having originally taken up cycling to get to work, she found her way into long-distance riding by pure accident, and within a year was already competing in her first 400-mile (640km) event! Since taking on that first challenge in her native Alaska, Lael began travelling the world and competing in other Ultra events. In almost no time at all, she was breaking records.

Lael explained perfectly how the sport works, and the key differences between the types of events, either supported or self-supported. 

We had a great laugh at some of the stories from Lael’s many adventures and we went into the details of how she manages her equipment, her preparation, and even what she prefers to listen to on those long nights alone on the bike.

I also wanted to know what makes Lael, and so many other women excel at Ultra-distance races. It was really interesting to hear her take on why women are so competitive and to hear her recount her excitement when she first started overtaking the men (passing them while they slept in hotels on the route, and then sleeping under a hedge for two hours to drop them all the next morning!)

This chat also came at a great time for me, as I was in my final preparations for my own long-distance adventure riding 1,250km from my home in Lancefield, just outside of Melbourne, to the Road World Championships in Wollongong in five days. (Stay tuned for my On the Road to the Worlds episode in 2 weeks time). 

For now though, sit back, relax and enjoy this one. Lael was a fantastic person to chat all things Ultra-distance and more and I really enjoyed recording this one.

Cheers,

Mitch

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app. 

Show Notes

Check out more of Lael’s adventures:

Tour Divide – Rapha Gone Racing – https://www.rapha.cc/es/en/stories/lael-wilcox

Arizona Trail 2022 – https://youtu.be/4HOk0MmgFwE

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

Talking Luft and Official LITP casquettes are back in stock. Shop now!

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

Talking Luft at the Vuelta! Fred Wright, Daryl Impey, Luke Plapp & Luke Durbridge

Rapha presents Talking Luft!

Well, the Vuelta a España has come to an end, but I managed to sneak in some time to get talking luft with the pros on race.

And I’ve got a fresh batch of Vuelta-themed questions as we chat the hilarious intricacies of the Vuelta and Grand Tour racing.

I caught up with Fred Wright, Daryl Impey, Luke Plapp and podcast favourite Luke Durbridge and asked them about cap style, racing in the rain vs. heat, their art of getting bottles from the car, grand tour saddle sores, some hilarious on-race scenarios and much more!

This was a great laugh as always and I hope you enjoy the listen as much as I did.

Cheers,

Mitch

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app. 

Show Notes

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

Talking Luft and Official LITP casquettes are back in stock. Shop now!

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

 

 

Inside La Vuelta a España 2022 - Fred Wright, Daryl Impey, Luke Durbridge & Luke Plapp

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton!

The Vuelta a España is one of the 3 grand tours and it can slip under the radar after the hype of the Tour de France, but I can tell you first hand from a rider’s perspective it certainly is no easy feat. 

It’s a notoriously tough old lap of Spain, raced in September towards the end of the season and known for its steep climbs and soaring temperatures. But in saying that, there are moments where the stress levels are lower than other grand tours and you can actually enjoy yourself. And that is why I loved it, it was my favourite race, behind Roubaix of course. 

Naturally, I was keen to get some insight into this year’s Vuelta from the pros themselves – to hear about what looks to be one of the toughest Vuelta’s yet, how racing has changed from previous years and also how the battle for the points system is shaping racing this year. 

I thought, what better way than to chat to all ends of the peloton. On the third rest day I spoke with Fred Wright, current UK professional with Bahrain-Victorious, riding his 4^th Grand Tour at 23 years of age and in fantastic form. 

Then I hear from long time pro, Daryl Impey in his 15th year pro, now racing with Israel Premier-Tech with 11 GTs under his belt. 

And, of course, I had to speak to fan favourite Luke Durbridge, who is a GT veteran having ridden 13 GT’s in his 11 years pro with Bike Exchange-Jayco, but ironically this is his first Vuelta. 

And finally, I wanted to hear from a newbie to grand tours, Luke Plapp. He’s current Australian Road Champion, 21 years of age and in his first year pro with Ineos Grenadiers, how is he finding the step into 21 day stage racing?

I tell you it was a laugh to hear their brutal honesty, especially being 2 weeks in and so close to the finish line.

Jump back into the world tour peloton with me for the last week of grand tour racing this season, I hope you enjoy the insight.

Stay tuned next week as I take Talking Luft on race with the pros at the Vuelta.

Cheers,

Mitch 

 

Photo: Chris Auld

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app. 

Show Notes

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

Talking Luft and Official LITP casquettes are back in stock. Shop now!

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, embroidered tees, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

Talking Luft! with Holly Harris

Rapha presents Talking Luft!

Holly Harris is an Australian Mountain Bike and Gravel racer, who I paired up with last week at the Reef to Reef MTB epic.

I thought, what better way to get to know her than going straight for the hard hittingTalking Luft questions – style, rituals, training, bikes, and of course, beverages.

Naturally, we chat all things MTB and I hear about her favourite MTB and gravel trails around Armadale, we discuss the step up to 29 inch rim mountain bikes from 26, first cycling kits, social rides vs. hour of power, hunting QOMs, cycling heroes and a whole lot more. 

This was a good laugh, I hope you enjoy the chat.

Cheers,

Mitch

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app. 

Show Notes

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

Talking Luft and Official LITP casquettes are back in stock. Shop now!

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, embroidered tees, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

 

 

 

On Race at Reef to Reef MTB with Holly Harris

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton!

It's no secret I'm a newbie on the MTB scene. Having raced on the road for 14 years I'm still finding my footing out on the trails. But I'm a firm believer that you learn by doing, and this year I have loved the challenge of getting out and competing in local events.

Over the weekend I took part in the Reef to Reef - a 4 day mountain bike stage race on the Tropical North East coast of Australia. It's one of the 3 'epic series' in Australia and I thought it would be a great challenge to tackle. But also a bit of fun to enter as part of a team.

I knew I needed someone with a little more experience than me, so I signed up for the mixed pairs event with 6 x Australian MTB & Gravel Champion Holly Harris.

I'd never raced with Holly before, or a four day MTB event for that matter, but that was all part of the fun and challenge - and I thought, whether we pull it off or not, it would be great to take you guys with us.

I wanted to capture the fantastic atmosphere of the 4 day event, give you guys a little bit of insight into the race and especially mixed pairs racing. But also to learn a little more about Holly, her career - getting so close to Commonwealth Games selection and how she tackles these events. I can tell you she taught me a thing or two!

I hope you enjoy the insight, as you'll hear it was a lot of fun with a bit of hard work in between.

Stay tuned next week for a special MTB edition of Talking Luft with Holly Harris!

Cheers,

Mitch

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app. 

Show Notes

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

Talking Luft and Official LITP casquettes are back in stock. Shop now!

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, embroidered tees, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

Talking Luft! with Mark O’Brien

Rapha presents Talking Luft!

I had Australian Mark O’Brien on the pod last week – ex-pro and now coach, giving all the insights on Strava and using it in training.

As you would have heard he’s fantastic to chat to, so I thought it would be great to sit down with him to talk a bit of cycling lifestyle this week on Talking Luft.

Over a cold Orval beer we chat all the good stuff – caps, beer, shaving your legs post career, wearing old pro kit vs. new wave kit, training loops around North Melbourne, beer v. wine, a war story of biting off more than you can chew in the Alps & much more. 

This was a laugh, and I hope you enjoy the listen.

Stay tuned next week as I take you on-race at the 4 day, Reef to Reef MTB stage race up in Tropical North Queensland, Australia.

Until then.. cheers,

Mitch

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app. 

Show Notes

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

Talking Luft casquettes are back! Shop now.

Get ready for next year’s cobbles with our Paris-Roubaix Cap. Jump over to our online shop to grab one.

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, embroidered tees, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

 

 

Strava: Tool or Toy? - George Bennett, Jay Vine & Mark O’brien

Rapha presents Life in the Peloton!

Strava, the social networking app that tracks physical activity, has become a phenomenon in the cycling world, with ‘taking Segments‘ and ‘giving Kudos‘ becoming part of everyday cycling chat.

Strava was something that I completely ignored as a professional. It didn’t exist when I was a young rider, and as I already uploaded my training for my coach and my team, and I raced people for a living, I just wasn’t interested in another way to be competitive or to measure my work. 

This all changed when I retired, and I’ve found myself not only pretty active on Stravabut also really interested in how people use it. 

For this episode, I thought I’d try to break right down what Strava is, how it works, how people use it and why. I wanted to understand it better and I also find out what the guys in the pro peloton currently think about it. 

I started with my old mate Mark O’Brien who, post-career, has become a self-confessed ‘KOM hunter’ in Melbourne. Mark is also a coach and was great at breaking down the nuts and bolts of how it all works and why so many people enjoy using it. 

I also spoke to two current professional cyclists, who I thought would have interesting point of views on Strava. 

The first was Jay Vine. To me, Jay seems like a poster boy for the Strava generation. Even before he was a pro Jay had a reputation built on taking some pretty famous KOMs around Girona, and as he admits himself he has never known cycling without Strava being a part of it. Jay spoke about how he used Strava to help his career, how he now thinks about some of his famous KOMs and his current use of Strava in training.

For a different take, I also spoke to George Bennett. George has been a pro for twelve years, and he really comes from the old school of bike racing. He also, like myself, always considered race results to be the ‘real’ measure of ability and not just a time on an online leaderboard. But even George, it turns out, is a fan of Strava. I picked his brains about what he likes about it and what benefits he sees from using it alongside his training and life as a pro. 

I enjoy using Strava these days and I know a lot of cyclists of all abilities do too. I found it fascinating to open my eyes up a bit more about it, and I hope you guys all get something from it too!

Cheers, 

Mitch

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app.

Show Notes

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

The last of our T-shirt collab with Çois Cycling for the Tour de France are available online! Shop now exclusively at coiscycling.com

Talking Luft casquettes: The first release of our new Talking Luft cap has now sold out. Stay tuned for the next drop this week.

Get ready for next year’s cobbles with our Paris-Roubaix Cap. Jump over to our online shop to grab one.

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, embroidered tees, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo

 

 

Talking Luft! with Lizzy Banks

Rapha presents Talking Luft!

Talking Luft is back for another week of cycling style, culture, rituals & bit of life off the bike.

Following on from my Tour de France Femmes episode last week, I sat down with a teammate of theirs, British rider for EF Education Tibco SVB, Lizzy Banks.

And this was one hilarious chat. As you’ll hear Lizzy was a laugh to chat to and had some fantastic stories to tell.

We chat caps, bucket hats, aero hair styles, kit style, rice vs. pasta, race breakfasts, the best of curries, best & worst moments in a race, unplugging on the bike and, a first for the podcast – a war story that ends in victory!

All that, plus a whole lot more.

This was a great laugh and I hope you enjoy the listen.

Stay tuned next week for my ‘Ultimate Strava’ episode as I unpack everything Strava with George Bennett, Mark O’Brien and Jay Vine.

Cheers,

Mitch

Photo: Ashley & Jered Gruber

Listen

Listen & subscribe to this series on the Life in the Peloton website, at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Stitcher, Youtube or your favourite pod app.

Show Notes

. . .

This episode is brought to you by Rapha, makers of the world’s finest cycling clothing & accessories and the worlds largest cycling club, RCC. Find out more about Rapha: their kit, their club, their events and awesome clubhouses at rapha.cc.

. . .

Merch

The last of our T-shirt collab with Çois Cycling for the Tour de France are available online! Shop now exclusively at coiscycling.com

Talking Luft casquettes: The first release of our new Talking Luft cap has now sold out. Stay tuned for the next drop in the coming weeks.

Loved the Roubaix stage at the tour? Get ready for next year’s cobbles with our Paris-Roubaix Cap. Jump over to our online shop to grab one.

Shop LITP casual Merch anytime online at our store. From casual caps to mugs, embroidered tees, logo tees, sweaters and much more..

Keep in touch

Find all our episodes, LITP news and merch on our website www.lifeinthepeloton.com

Listen on all good podcast apps, and now on Youtube.

Follow us on socials:

Instagram: @lifeinthepeloton

Twitter: @lifeinthepelo