The Pinkbike Podcast: Making Bikepacking as Unpleasant as Possible with Tom Bradshaw

Jun 23, 2023
by Henry Quinney  
photo
Art by Taj Mihelich

Ex-Pinkbike presenter Tom Bradshaw has been doing a lot of traveling since he left Canada. However, on a quick trip back to BC we got a chance to chat with him and find out what he's been up to, why he loves hardtails, and if he's ever going to come back to Canada for good.

Would you bother changing your tires to ride the length of a country? Or would you just sling on some packs and head out the door? We catch up with Tom as he explains why he chose the second option.


Featuring a rotating cast of the editorial team and other guests, the Pinkbike podcast is a weekly update on all the latest stories from around the world of mountain biking, as well as some frank discussion about tech, racing, and everything in between.

Subscribe to the podcast via your preferred service (Apple, Spotify, RSS, Megaphone, etc.), or visit the Pinkbike Podcast tag page for the complete list of episodes.

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41 Comments
  • 15 2
 Anyone know if Levy is coming back?
  • 11 0
 Could care 3 bits about bikepacking but Toms such a scream that I had to listen. What a baller stoked dude.
  • 5 0
 keep doing the great shows, the quality is super and the talent is on par for a podcast award
  • 4 0
 Levy got abducted, anal probed and is looking at our sun as a distant star from some solar system many anal probes away... Time to move on.
  • 7 2
 Best podcast ever More Henry and Tom please! I want to be entertained!!
  • 1 0
 I like Tom's approach to bikepacking, just work with what you have and figure it. There has become so much niche stuff and bikes when you can really do it on whatever bike you have.
  • 4 0
 Yeah, Tom's back!
  • 5 2
 At least there's a cartoon Levy. Seems like quite a long tournament.
  • 4 1
 @Muckal: it's all very mysterious.
  • 11 1
 @Muckal: PB's lack of being direct about Levy is frustrating but he is always popping up as online on my dashboard and he's mentioned, still, in the pods. Word is he's just taking time off. Dunno why its a big deal for PB to say that, or he was fired, or he quit or he was abducted by aliens or just left - whatever. Henry's perfectly but for me, Levy was the voice of PB and the pod. Missed.
  • 10 1
 @Mtn-Goat-13: I totally Agree! I WANT THE ONE AND ONLY LEVY BACK!!!!
  • 12 2
 @Mtn-Goat-13: if he was fired, quit or is on vacation PB won't comment as all that is personal and none of our business. If he was abducted by aliens then the aliens likely have infiltrated PB and they obviously aren't going to comment on their plans to enslave the planet.
  • 4 10
flag Muckal (Jun 23, 2023 at 10:52) (Below Threshold)
 @warmerdamj: Levy is a public figure and I feel like the audience on here has a right to know if him and PB parted ways. Not so much about the details, but the general state.
I personally didn't read anything official (maybe I missed it) on Alicia's crash or state until she came back, which worries me a bit in Levy's case.
  • 2 0
 When people stop caring, Outside needs to start worrying. The bigger they come the harder they fall.
  • 5 7
 @Mtn-Goat-13: Because Pinkbike staff see the users and the user concerns as inconveniences. Its always evident in the way they talk about users in the podcasts, they have no respect for us at all.
  • 20 2
 @Muckal: Nobody has any right to know that somebody else left their job or is off work for any reason. You didn't read anything because nobody has a right to know if somebody suffered an injury unless that person wants it public.

This is basic HR protocol for any company.
  • 11 2
 @warmerdamj: I would be livid if my employer was just giving out my personal information to random folks on the internet.
  • 4 3
 @mtmc99: I agree 100%. However, PB staff are also cast members of a professional news and entertainment team.
  • 11 3
 @warmerdamj: Exactly. Whether it’s a HR policy or simply that Levy doesn’t want to say anything, it’s none of our business until they choose to tell us. Period. That’s it. End of story. In the meantime, the rest of us just need to drop it. Visit the site, don’t visit the site if you don’t like it. But no one owes us anything. We don’t own any rights to Mike Levy. Let a private matter be a private matter.
  • 3 2
 @warmerdamj: 'right' was the wrong word here, I agree. Couldn't think of a better one at that moment. I still feel like there should be some kind of official statement.
  • 5 8
 @warmerdamj: Of course it is - the PB job is a fully public postiion posting itself out there and making money on it - its not secret services or spy stuff. Plus, I'm not (and most people don't seem to be) asking details at all - just is homey on or not? Any biz can (and in fact most will) confirm or deny. I don't need deets - and it does seem he's just taking some long needed time off but there's no need to avoid. Its the avoidance that's silly... Levy's just
dude. But he does love the alien conspiracy so that could be an option.
  • 2 7
flag Mtn-Goat-13 FL (Jun 23, 2023 at 13:29) (Below Threshold)
 @theconorcons: Hmmmm, dunno about that. Kaz, Brian, Levy & Henry have often commented when I @ them and I've even had Mods contact me to ask about certain comments, if there "was something PB did wrong" - (to which I had no clue why they asked) but I just think there are too many of us to comment & care about literally everything. I'm sure that 95% of what I say & think is BS here anyway but Levy is a public figure, has been the face of PB podcasts, is a f*ckin' funny dude and for him to just go totally awol is kinda absurd really vs. just saying "hey ppl - Levy's taking a few months off". That's totally reasonable and I'd have just gone "Oh, ok - cool" vs. wondering WTF is going on for nearly 3 months.
  • 2 7
flag Mtn-Goat-13 FL (Jun 23, 2023 at 13:31) (Below Threshold)
 @suspended-flesh: AGREED. PB should be stoked so many of us wonder wth is up w/ Levy. That means we like him, what he does for PB, the pod, his articles - the whole Levy schtick. I don't know him & never will - and he's just another dude - plenty more dudes out there. But, Levy got me and probably at lest 37 of us through the pandemic w/ the pod so yeah - Levy is appreciated and I think you made this point better than anyone just now. Radio silence for nearly 3 months is petty in my view.
  • 4 6
 @mtmc99: Who's asking for personal information? No one here that I can tell - but Levy's one of of the big faces of PB. He then goes AWOL for nearly 3 months. PB should care that people care about Levy. Sitting on their hands loses, vs. gains respect. They could say "he no longer works here" or "left to pursue other interests"...or ist just taking time off (which @ Brian Park said more less last week). There's zero invasiveness about it - its creepier to say nothing that to just give basic info so millions & millions of Levy fans aren't just out in the dark wondering wtf is up. This is easy - plenty of companies issue statements like this.
  • 9 2
 @Mtn-Goat-13: the guy has literally told us from his own digital mouth that he has accrued a lot of off time, and he's taking some time away. Both proving he still works for PB,and is taking some personal time. I seriously don't understand possibly what more you need. At this point its clear you wont be satisfied until they drag him back kicking and screaming from alien curling camp and force him to make new articles with the looming threat of making him their e bike editor.

If your reliance on Levy is what's getting you through...I suggest therapy.
  • 3 10
flag Mtn-Goat-13 FL (Jun 23, 2023 at 13:46) (Below Threshold)
 @acdownhill: Sounds like someone ate all the hyperbole pills. Therapy...hilarious. Only someone that's been following all the comments would know this but only after 9-10 weeks of piecing shit together. Most commenters here still don't even have that b/c PB hasn't said nuttin. This was easy - and if he's got all this time off, wft is wrong w/ just saying that? Done. Simple. No one's asking for his address, deets or bank-card #...just wanted to know where our main PB Pod Man is and that's just basic fan-dom. But I don't rely on that - plenty to see here & Levy's just a dude, but he was part of the whole affect that is PB so why leave fans hanging

If you can't get that - "I suggest therapy".
  • 8 1
 Levy commented a few days ago that he's on vacation and tried to step away from media/electronics for a bit. He'll be back.
  • 1 0
 @midwest-mtb: Yep I saw the link earlier. I don't read every comment here and hopefully no one else does.
  • 3 1
 Tom kept Henry on a leash… let him rant free! Awesome pod m8’s, really enjoyed it.
  • 1 0
 Thoroughly enjoyed that. I love the contrast between Henry's dry pessimism and Tom's energy and enthusiasm, the balance works well.
  • 1 0
 Henry- would love to hear a UK riding spots episode and why they don’t matter as everyone just drives to Dyfi
  • 5 5
 Where is Levy? I miss the Levy and Henry show!
  • 5 2
 www.pinkbike.com/u/brianpark/blog/the-pinkbike-podcast-a-deep-dive-on-pivots-prototype-dh-bike-with-bernard-kerr.html#cid3565691 Levy said on another pod recently that he's been burning PTO.
  • 5 0
 @Apoxual: thanks mate. This is literally the first time I have posted. Cuz I miss that dude. He’s a fun human.
  • 1 1
 @DustinHorning: Too bad they don't realize they are stars.
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