Episode 46 – Stefan Barth

Ultra Cycling & Bike Packing: Everything You Need to Know!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Stefan Barth – an athlete and Medical Fitness and Endurance Coach who also has a passion for the sport of ultra endurance cycling. I spoke to Stefan about his own personal journey within the sport, from his first 100km ride as a young teenager to turning up for a 24 hour cycling event in Austria. Stefan has also competed in the gruelling Race Across Germany – which took him 9 days in abysmal weather of rain and thunderstorms. He spoke candidly about his reasons for competing in this sector of the sport, saying it was through these events he could experience a full range of emotions.

To keep things fresh Stefan also takes longer bikepacking trips – and he recently completed the off road European Divide Trail. Stefan specifically focuses on his joy of the sport when riding off road trails like these – and he consciously leaves his competitive ambitions to one side, so he can fully immerse himself in the experience and keep his love for cycling fresh.

It is clear Stefan is a top athlete and he has successfully combined his passion with his work where he coaches many others in this area of the sport. Recently, he also chose to write a book on the topic called Ultra Cycling and Bike Packing: Everything You Need to Know. The idea for the book came to him when he was training for ultra cycling events. He couldn’t find much in the way of books or resources which he could look to gain some advice from. So he decided to create a resource himself.

In putting this book together he interviewed many of the top athletes in the ultra-endurance cycling scene, gathering their insights and coupling them with research studies, to produce a resource which others can now look to draw on.

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