FKT Challenges

FKT Challenges There’s something about going out the door with a simple idea: pick a route, push yourself, and see what you’re capable of. FKT Challenges is built around that. This isn’t about big events, travel budgets, or perfectly structured race calendars. It’s for people with jobs, families, responsibilities—people who still feel that pull to go hard, to test themselves, and to see what’s possible on a given day. The idea is simple. Find a route in your local area. It could be a 30 km loop, a 100 km gravel ride, a mountain pass, or something you’ve always looked at and thought, “I wonder how fast I could do that.” Create it. Share it. Ride it. Post your route in the FKT Challenges Strava club. Share it with the community. Put a time down. That becomes the mark. From there, it’s open. Someone else can take a shot at it. Maybe they beat it, maybe they don’t. Maybe you go back and try again. That’s the

FKT Challenges is a sports podcast hosted by svein tuft, with 8 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

svein tuft hosts FKT Challenges, a sports show with 8 episodes published.

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  Episode #8

  Greg Taylor-Winner of the 2026 Jumbo Wild 700

  Aug 17, 20261h 27mS1

  Episode: Greg Taylor — First Winner of the Jumbo Wild 700 In the inaugural episode of the FKT Challenges Podcast, host Svein sits down with Greg Taylor from Coldstream, British Columbia — the first-ever winner of the Jumbo Wild 700 (originally planned as the 600, expanded due to fire reroutes). Greg is a 54-year-old mountain biker who came into the sport through the '90s freeride and gravity scene, spent years downhill racing, and didn't discover structured training until age 48. Since then, he's gotten faster every year, progressing from six-hour races like the Salty Dog and Merit Crown to a third-place finish at The Buckshot, and ultimately to a 742K, 12,800-meter self-supported effort through the Kootenays in 49 hours and 52 minutes. The conversation covers: The winding path into ultra racing — from freeride beginnings to discovering endurance through the Canadian Death Race, to finding structured training late in life Consistency over perfection — why habits and curiosity matter more than rigid protocols, and how motivation fuels consistent riding Race strategy and stop management — the hidden time costs of transitions, how Greg minimized stops, and the fueling and hydration approach that let him carry 600 grams of gel through the race The Jumbo Pass crossing — riding through bear country at night with a partner who got a flat tire and had to turn back, leaving Greg alone for an 8K alpine hike in the dark with nobody on the trail due to nearby wildfires A magical alpine moment — filtering water from a mountain stream at 1am under a smoky orange moon, a moment Greg says he'll carry for the rest of his life A bear encounter on Top of the World — a mother bear charging back up the hill at Greg on a steep, loose descent where stopping meant crashing Sleep deprivation on the second night — tunnel vision on fast descents, weeds turning into animals, and the strange, undisturbed calm of hallucinating in the backcountry The organizer's perspective — Svein on the challenges of routing a race through sensitive alpine trail, the mandatory bike carry, and navigating conservancy concerns Never too old — Greg's message that you can start structured training at any age and still get stronger, and his curiosity-driven approach to pushing boundaries Greg also gives thanks to his wife Heather for finding the race on Instagram and supporting his passion, to Robin for the company on the Glacier Creek climb, to Anne Simonin for meeting him at the finish in Nelson, and to the Nelson and Kootenay gravel community for making the experience unforgettable. The Jumbo Wild 700 is a self-supported bikepacking challenge created by Svein through some of the most remote and beautiful terrain in British Columbia, connecting the Kootenay valleys via two epic alpine passes — Jumbo Pass and Gray Creek Pass — with a ferry crossing on Kootenay Lake. The 2025 edition was altered due to wildfire activity, extending the route to approximately 742K. FKT Challenges Podcast — conversations with the athletes pushing the limits of self-supported endurance. tuftcamps@gmail.com Connect with me @svein.tuft on instagram @fktchallenges on instagram

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  Episode #7

  Dirty Dan Pre Pan Am FKT

  Jul 20, 20261h 1mS1

  Svein interviews Dirty Dan (Daniel Connell) from Deadhorse, Alaska — the northernmost point of the Pan-American Highway — the night before he attempts to break the Guinness World Record for fastest cycling of the full Pan-American route to Ushuaia, Argentina (~14,000 miles). Since his Pacific Coast FKT, Dan spent two months balancing training with family time rather than going full training mode. He felt good on back-to-back big days a month out and decided to maintain fitness rather than build, believing a "full heart" matters as much as peak form for a 70+ day effort. The route goes south through Alaska and Canada on the Alcan Highway to Calgary, then east of the Rockies through the US to Texas, crossing into Mexico near the Gulf. Dan takes an unconventional Mexican route through a statistically more dangerous state to avoid deadly truck traffic on the main corridor. Through Central America he'll eat street food and deal with rain. He flies the Darien Gap (Panama to Cartagena) per Guinness rules. South America brings coastal Peru with brutal crosswinds, then a crossing into Chile via the Jama Pass — 100 miles above 5,000 meters (16,400 ft) — before a long flat Argentina stretch to the finish. The Guinness record is 84 days (crewed). His real target is Bond's solo 76-day benchmark, after two supportive phone calls where Bond shared route notes. At 200 miles/day Dan would finish in ~67 days — which he admitted out loud "scares the shit out of me." Bond averaged 184. He shipped four supply boxes along the route (Fairbanks, Texas, Panama, Lima) with tires, drivetrain parts, and a fresh kit at halfway. The bike ended up 10 lbs heavier than planned with a spare tire, bigger toolkit, extra layers, and a med kit. The night before departure he met a motorcyclist at the only café in Deadhorse who had just finished the exact reverse journey from Ushuaia. Dan caught him at his final dismount — a full-circle moment that set the tone perfectly. He departs at 6 AM with his filmmaker friend and his mom seeing him off, tracking live every hour.

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  Episode #6

  Rob Britton takes on 3 famous FKT's in the UK in 1 week

  Jul 13, 20261h 33mS1

  Rob Britton: Three FKTs in One Week Across the UK What does it look like to attempt three Fastest Known Times across an entire country in a single week? In this episode, host Svein sits down with pro cyclist and ultra-endurance athlete Rob Britton, fresh off one of the most ambitious efforts we've heard on this podcast. Rob's plan: take on three iconic UK gravel routes — King Alfred's Way in southern England, the Pennine Bridleway in northern England, and the Badger Divide from Glasgow to Inverness in Scotland — all within seven days. Each route sits around 280–300 kilometers with 5,000 to 6,500 meters of climbing, back-to-back, with travel and bike rebuilds wedged in between. The UK terrain surprises people. It's not big alpine passes — it's relentless short punishing climbs, overgrown grass tracks, and on the Pennine Bridleway, hundreds of gates. Some easy, some heavy farm machinery you wrestle open one at a time. Multiply that by the length of an entire route and it will crack you. And crack it did. King Alfred's Way: going well, nine minutes up on the FKT with 80 k to go, until a rear tire hit a rock. Seven plugs later, still losing air, 14 hours of full gas effort with nothing to show. The Pennine Bridleway escalated into a survival situation — soaked to the bone on an exposed ridgeline, eight degrees, 60 km/h winds, a dead phone, no InReach, and the gates making it impossible to sustain enough pace to generate body heat. Rob describes crouching behind a stone wall eating M&Ms in the dark just to think clearly, and racing a descent in near-dark hoping his filmmaker was still waiting at the bottom. Two DNFs. One route left. No confidence. That's where the conversation gets genuinely interesting — the psychology of walking to the start line of something this hard when everything has gone wrong. Rob talks about his prep approach, his pacing philosophy, and what he actually saves for the end of these efforts: not physical energy, but mental fight. The Badger Divide delivers the resolution this story needs. Tune in to hear how it goes.

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  Episode #5

  Dirty Dan takes the Pacific Coast FKT!

  May 12, 20261h 39mS1

  <p>FKT Smashed: Dirty Dan's Pacific Coast Record</p><p>Dirty Dan is back to break down his record-setting Pacific Coast FKT. Two conversations in now — the pre-ride chat before he rolled out, and this one, recorded less than two days after he finished — and if anything, this episode is even better than the first.</p><p>Dan rode from the US-Canada border to the Mexico border in 6 days, 15 hours, and 53 minutes, demolishing the previous record of 9 days and 13 hours across a 2,650 km route. His daily average was roughly 400 km. His total stop time across the entire effort — sleep, food, motels...

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  Episode #4

  Dirty Dan Takes on the US Pacific Coast FKT May 2nd This is his pre ride interview

  May 2, 202646 minS1

  <p>Dirty Dan — Daniel Connell of Dirty Dan Bikes — is about to take on a Pacific Coast FKT, riding from the Canadian border toward Mexico on a route of roughly 2,667 km with over 24,000 metres of climbing.</p><p>This is a pre-ride conversation, recorded just days before he rolls out.</p><p>Dan’s story is a unique one. He didn’t come into cycling through racing or structure—he started with a $100 bike, a loose plan, and a desire to see the world. That mindset led to years of big, self-supported rides, including multiple Tour Divide efforts and countless adventures...

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