During work hours or the wee hours of the morning there are two things I love the most: coffee and a good podcast. If it’s not the dooming daily U.S. news I’m listening to a podcast on cycling. When listening to cycling podcasts there are specific things I look for: the races, highlighted issues in cycling, and stories. Just to note, because I’m passionate about women’s cycling, I’m sharing mostly podcasts that represents women’s cycling voices, with a few exceptions who highlight the women’s races. If not interested guys, you can pass this on to your lady cycling friends unless you enjoy learning about the badass work these women do.
“But where to start?” You might ask. Picking a podcast is like walking into a bookstore filled to the brim with thousands of books, and then trying to decide on just one. Whether you’re a seasoned podcast lover or new to the scene, here are 10 podcasts perfect for cyclists.
The Consummate Athlete Podcast
Molly Hurford and Peter Glassford host the Consummate Athlete Podcast, a show that looks at athletes who embrace multiple sports, from running and cycling to football and rowing. They explore their stories and the tactics they use to be awesome in multiple disciplines and to be happy, healthy and productive.
The first season of The Machines Podcast is called Community Building 101 and it’s a nod to the community builders the MFF team have met who have inspired them to keep doing what they’re doing and do it bigger and better and more welcoming and more fun and more badass than they’ve been before. At the end of the Machines Podcast season, they hope to have a guidebook the community can rely on. Something to look to when starting a new group ride or race team but we don’t know where to start. The podcast shares success stories, mistakes, things to learn from and be inspired by. If you’ve got a community in mind you want to build, this is for you.
Friends from Portland, Oregon who share a love for cycling, music, comedy and West Coast culture. We’ve spent the better part of a decade riding, racing, adventuring, and working in the bike industry. Our goal is to tell stories that we don’t hear in mainstream media from the people we all want to hang out with. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and neither should you. In our minds, a casual environment breeds authentic storytelling and that’s all we can ask for in our podcast.
Hosts Abby Mickey and Loren Rowney aim to bring you an “insider” look into the women’s professional peloton. The weekly podcast, released every Monday, will deliver you the rundown on what’s been happening at the UCI Women’s World Tour races. As well as analysis of the races and the who’s who of the peloton. Hosts interview a guest on the show every week. From professional riders, to the women behind the scenes in the sport, the Voxwomen Insider powered by Canyon will deliver all your need to know about what’s going on in women’s cycling.
Quick Brown Foxes is a multimedia research project that seeks to answer the question “how to get women of color into bikes?” by asking women of color, how they got into bikes. Ayesha McGowan has always believed that people of color should be given the opportunity to tell their own stories as there is a rich community of folks from all sorts of backgrounds. Her story isn’t the only story, and she recognizes that it’s certainly not enough. Representation matters and she aims to be the change we wish to see in the world by creating this platform.
The Paceline is a cycling podcast aimed at roadies, mountain bikers, commuters, cyclocross enthusiasts , those who grind gravel—indeed anyone who claims cycling for their own. The bicycle is more than a thing, it’s an issue. The Paceline also discusses the bike’s place in society. The hosts love bike gear so expect some banter about what works and what does not on the road and trail. The Paceline is hosted by Selene “the fit chick” Yeager and Patrick Brady.
I’m fairly new to this podcast but enjoy it. It’s like hanging out at the coffee shop and having a bike conversation with your mates. If you’re someone who loves the pro races but like a little fun addded to it all, this is perfect comedy show about pro bike racing. They also talk women’s pro cycling too which is great! The story with these three cycling aficionados is that they met a decade ago as bike messengers and have spent countless hours racing, and more importantly discussing the finer qualities of all things bicycles, cycling culture and bike racing ever since.
Recorded weekly, the CyclingTips podcast is a conversational chat about all things cycling, including the biggest stories in the racing world, topics from behind the scenes, tips for your riding and what’s new in tech. This one is really juicy and gives you great insight into the peloton and the cycling world.
Cycling Podcast Feminin is a monthly show dedicated to women’s cycling. Presenters Orla Chennaoui, Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe – and a few special guests along the way take us into the world of women’s professional cycling. With a mix of harsh realities, insights, and analysis, journalists cover not just the big talking points but take you behind the scenes. If you love enjoy looking into the minds of the racers, this is a good one.
Wheel Suckers is a “tandem” cycling industry comedy podcast hosted by Alex from Look Mum No Hands! and Jenni from the London Bike Kitchen. Wheel Suckers are my favorite Monday morning listen as it’s usually packed with lots of laughs and talk about the cycling scene, cycling culture, and bike stuff. They also have interviews with some of the greatest in the industry and sport and are pretty candid in their conversations. While there is lots of laughing involved, there are some serious moments too.