Kate Ouellette is the First Woman to Finish the 2021 TNGA

Photos by TJ Kearns (@timothyjamesphoto)

At 12:05AM EDT this morning, 46-year-old Kate Ouellette from Wilton, New Hampshire crossed the finish line of the 350-mile TNGA at the Alabama border, snagging first place in the women’s category for this year’s race. Kate was a part of the Saturday 8AM depart and finished in 3 days, 16 hours, and 49 minutes (3d:16h:49m). Kate was riding a Santa Cruz 5010c full-suspension bike…

This was Kate’s first bikepacking race, so we asked what led her to the TNGA all the way from New Hampshire. “After finishing the Trans America Bike Race, the self-supported version, I was looking for another adventure.” Kate stumbled on the TNGA documentary and quickly signed up. When asked about challenges within the race, Kate mentioned the fear of riding at night, which she quickly overcame during the race, adding, “what drew me to [the TNGA] was facing that and finding mental toughness.” She also mentioned that the terrain in her home state of New Hampshire offered similar challenges, adding that the toughest part of the route was a navigational issue deep in the backcountry. We also inquired whether she had any other bikepacking routes on her radar. She answered, “I have a list now,” and mentioned that she’d like to follow Lael Wilcox’s route crossing Alaska.

Congrats Kate! For those just tuning in, find a lot more TNGA content on our Tracker.

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